Dax Shepard | |
|---|---|
 Shepard atPaleyFest 2013 in Los Angeles | |
| Born | Dax Randall Shepard (1975-01-02)January 2, 1975 (age 50) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Dax Randall Shepard[2] (born January 2, 1975)[3] is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Since 2018, he has hostedArmchair Expert, apodcast in which he interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives.
Shepard has appeared in the feature filmsWithout a Paddle (2004),Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005),Employee of the Month (2006),Idiocracy (2006),Let's Go to Prison (2006),Hit and Run (2012), andCHiPs (2017), the last two of which he also wrote and directed. Shepard portrayedCrosby Braverman in theNBC comedy-drama seriesParenthood from 2010 to 2015. He played Luke Matthews in theNetflix showThe Ranch, co-starred inABC'sBless This Mess and acted in theMTV practical joke reality seriesPunk'd (2003).
He is a co-founder of the diaper and baby product company Hello Bello with his wifeKristen Bell.
Shepard was born at Beyer Hospital inYpsilanti, Michigan, a city in southeasternMichigan.[4][2] He is the son of Laura Louise LaBo,[5][6] who worked atGeneral Motors (GM), and David Robert "Dave" Shepard Sr.,[7][8][9] who was a car salesman.[8][10] He is of part French-Canadian descent.[1] His parents divorced when he was 3 years old.[4] Shepard was sexually abused at age 7, which he believes was a major underlying cause of his later substance abuse issues. He did not reveal the abuse to anyone until 12 years after it occurred.[11]
Shepard's mother had developed a substantial business by the time he was in high school.[5] She worked car shows with traveling events at racetracks. She started as a janitor on the midnight shift at GM,[12] then worked in fleet management at the GM proving grounds inMilford, Michigan, then hosted hospitality days for all the GM family members, eventually moving into public relations at an ad agency.[10] She returned to GM, becoming the owner of four shops that managed publicity events for magazine journalists. From 14 to 18, Shepard worked for his mother on the road, going from racetrack to racetrack.[4] For about two years, Shepard had a stepfather who was an engineer on theCorvette.[4][10] Shepard's mother has been married four times; Shepard said he has had three stepfathers.[13]
According to Shepard, his mother named him for the rich playboy Dax (Diogenes Alejandro Xenos), inHarold Robbins' novelThe Adventurers.[14] He has an older brother, David Shepard Jr., who lives in Oregon,[8] and a younger half-sister, Carly Hatter,[4] whom he cast in two films: 2012'sHit and Run[15][16] and 2017'sCHiPs. Through marriage, he is distantly related toGeorge Washington on his mother's side.[17]
Shepard has said that he was raised in Milford,[4] although he lived in many suburbs of Detroit, growing up primarily inWalled Lake, Michigan. Shepard isdyslexic and said it inspired his acting career.[18] He graduated fromWalled Lake Central High School in 1993[19] before enrolling inThe Groundlings school.[20]
After attendingSanta Monica College andWest Los Angeles College, Shepard transferred toUCLA, where he graduatedmagna cum laude with a B.A. in anthropology.[21] He had a deal with his mother that if he went to college she would pay his rent.[4]
After a year inSanta Barbara, California, Shepard moved to Los Angeles in 1996.[4] He found out aboutThe Groundlings improv troupe from a friend from Santa Barbara, Kareem Elseify, who ended up auditioning (the first time he acted) and took classes while attending UCLA. After about five years of classes, he got into the Sunday Company of The Groundlings—in a group that includedMelissa McCarthy,Octavia Spencer,Fortune Feimster,Tate Taylor, andNat Faxon.[4]
From 2003 onwards, Shepard appeared in the improvCandid Camera-type showPunk'd, withAshton Kutcher. When the show had its 2012 revival, he continued to appear. Shepard said he auditioned forPunk'd and, while doing the pilot, became friendly with Kutcher, who arranged for him to get an agent.[4] He had auditioned unsuccessfully for ten years before landing the role inPunk'd, his first.[4]
In 2004, Shepard starred in the comedyWithout a Paddle, alongsideSeth Green andMatthew Lillard. Despite negative reviews, the film was a commercial success that, as of 2009, grossed more than US$65 million worldwide.[22] In 2005, he starred as The Astronaut inZathura: A Space Adventure, a science fiction adventure fantasy film. In 2006, he appeared withDane Cook andJessica Simpson in the comedyEmployee of the Month and in Mike Judge's filmIdiocracy as the character Frito.
During the same time, Shepard began appearing in more films and landed his first main character role inLet's Go to Prison (2006), alongsideWill Arnett andChi McBride. He had a main role in the 2008 comedyBaby Mama, starring oppositeTina Fey andAmy Poehler. Shepard wrote the script for theParamount ventureGet 'Em Wet, where he again appeared with Arnett. In 2010, he wrote, directed, and starred in the low-budget satiricalmockumentary featureBrother's Justice; the film won an Audience Award at the 2010Austin Film Festival. He had a supporting role in the 2010romantic comedy filmWhen in Rome, which starred his future wifeKristen Bell.
From 2010 to 2015, Shepard was part of the main cast of the NBC dramaParenthood, playing Crosby Braverman.[23][24][25]
Shepard wrote, produced, co-directed, and starred in the 2012 low-budget filmHit and Run alongside Bell and his close friendBradley Cooper.[26][27] He said the movie, which includes numerous car chases and fast driving scenes, allowed him to live out hisSmokey and the Bandit fantasy.[4]
Shepard had a supporting role in the 2014 filmThe Judge.[28]
In September 2014, Shepard starred with his wife,Kristen Bell, in a commercial for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S.[29] It was so popular (with over 20 million YouTube views) that they did another commercial for the holiday season.[30]
Shepard wrote and directedCHiPs, based on the 1977 to 1983 Americancrime dramaCHiPs, where he starred as Officer Jon Baker alongsideMichael Peña as Frank "Ponch" Poncherello.[28] The project was released by Warner Bros.[31][32][33] on March 24, 2017, to negative reviews.
On February 14, 2018, Shepard launched thepodcastArmchair Expert with cohostMonica Padman. The show explores the stories of their guests. Featured guests on the show have includedBarack Obama,Bill Gates,Kristen Bell,Ashton Kutcher,Will Ferrell,Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and hundreds of others. On June 7, 2018, the show released their first episode of "Experts on Expert", in which Shepard and Padman interview experts in their fields. Featured experts on the show have included psychologistWendy Mogel, comedian and authorDavid Sedaris, and speechwriterJon Favreau. The show was the most popular new podcast oniTunes in 2018.[34] On December 3, 2019, it was revealed that Shepard will be a host of the revivedTop Gear America, which premiered onMotor Trend in January 2021.[35] In 2024, the company secured a first-look deal with Wondery, a unit ofAmazon, after the success of the podcast showArmchair Expert.[36] In 2024, Armchair Expert was the 8th biggest podcast in the USA onSpotify's platform.[37]
Shepard met actressKristen Bell, also a native of Detroit's northern suburbs, at the birthday party of a mutual friend; they began dating in late 2007. The couple announced their engagement in January 2010; they decided to delay marriage until the state of California passed legislation legalizingsame-sex marriage.[38][39] After section 3 of theDefense of Marriage Act was ruled unconstitutional by theSupreme Court on June 26, 2013, Bell asked Shepard through Twitter to marry her,[40] which he accepted.[41] They were married at the Beverly Hills County Clerk's Office on October 17, 2013.[42] They have two daughters, born in March 2013[43] and December 2014.[44]
Shepard has said that, except for a year in high school when he used drugs, he did not have asubstance abuse problem until he was 18 years old.[4] After struggling for years with alcohol, cocaine, and pills,[45] Shepard achieved sobriety in September 2004.[4] On September 25, 2020, in a special episode of his podcast,Armchair Expert, Shepard revealed he had relapsed while recovering from an accident by using painkillers to augment a prescription. He announced that he was again sober, with seven days of sobriety as of the recording date (September 21, 2020).[46][47]
Shepard races motorcycles atButtonwillow Raceway Park, including hisDucati Hypermotard 1100S andSuzuki GSX-R1000.[48] He donates much of his time to the Hollenbeck Youth Center, an after-school program that provides opportunity to at-risk inner-city youth. He has served as their official Master of Ceremonies, along with his friendTom Arnold, for theInner-City Games and Hollenbeck Youth Center's Miracle on 1st Street Toy Giveaway Program in East Los Angeles.[49][50]
He is an avid car enthusiast.[51] He owns the 1967Lincoln Continental that was featured in the movieHit and Run, and races off-road.[4]
Shepard and his wife were advocates of California Senate Bill 606, called "no-kids paparazzi".[52] Bell said: "We're not saying that we can't be newsworthy. We're saying that our child is not newsworthy."[53] California Senate Bill 606[54] passed in 2013, with testimony by actressesHalle Berry andJennifer Garner.[52]
Shepard practicesTranscendental Meditation.[55]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Hairshirt | Guy Vomiting at Party | Credited as Dax Sheppard |
| 2003 | Cheaper by the Dozen | Camera Crew Member | |
| 2004 | Without a Paddle | Tom Marshall | |
| 2005 | Sledge: The Untold Story | SFX Coordinator | |
| Zathura: A Space Adventure | Adult Walter / The Astronaut | ||
| 2006 | Employee of the Month | Vince Downey | |
| Idiocracy | Frito Pendejo | ||
| Let's Go to Prison | John Lyshitski | ||
| 2007 | Knocked Up | Himself | Uncredited Cameo |
| Smother | Noah Cooper | ||
| The Comebacks | Sheriff | ||
| Cutlass | Background extra #1 | Short film | |
| 2008 | Baby Mama | Carl | |
| Confessions of an Action Star | SFX Coordinator | ||
| 2009 | Old Dogs | Gary | Uncredited Cameo |
| 2010 | When in Rome | Gale | |
| Reunited | Hugh Patterson | Short film | |
| Shrink Test | Himself | ||
| The Freebie | Darren | ||
| Brother's Justice | Himself | Also writer, director, stunt coordinator | |
| 2012 | Hit and Run | Charlie Bronson/Yul Perrkins | Also writer, director, editor |
| 2014 | Veronica Mars | Overconfident Club Boy | Cameo |
| This Is Where I Leave You | Wade Beaufort | ||
| The Judge | C.P. Kennedy | ||
| 2015 | Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 4 | White Fang | Short film |
| 2017 | CHiPS | Jon Baker | Also writer, director and producer |
| El Camino Christmas | Deputy Billy Calhoun | ||
| 2020 | Buddy Games | Durfy | |
| 2021 | Paw Patrol: The Movie | Ruben | Voice |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The New Tom Green Show | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2003–2012 | Punk'd | 56 episodes | |
| 2004 | Life with Bonnie | Kyle Levine,[56] Dr. Iskarr[57] | 2 episodes |
| 2004–2008 | King of the Hill | Zack (voice) | |
| Asa (voice) | 1 episode | ||
| 2005 | My Name Is Earl | Dirk | |
| 2005–2016 | Robot Chicken | Various voices | 4 episodes |
| 2007 | The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show | Joe Sands | 1 episode |
| Halfway Home | Ben | ||
| 2009 | The Goode Family | Steve (voice) | |
| 2010–2015 | Parenthood | Crosby Braverman | Main role; Director |
| 2011 | Good Vibes | Jag Knullerbrod (voice) | 1 episode |
| Smilin' Mike (voice) | |||
| 2013 | Hollywood Game Night | Himself | |
| 2014–2015 | About a Boy | Crosby Braverman | 2 episodes; Director |
| Web Therapy | Abel Jans | 3 episodes | |
| 2015 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Jojo | 1 episode |
| Parks and Recreation | Hank Muntak | ||
| Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | ||
| 2017 | SuperMansion | Titanium Dax (voice) | 2 episodes |
| Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later | Mikey | ||
| Ghosted | SAM | Episode: "Sam" | |
| 2018 | The Good Place | Chet | Episode: "Rhonda, Diana, Jake, and Trent" |
| The Final Table | Himself | Episode: "USA" | |
| 2018–2020 | The Ranch | Luke Matthews | Main role |
| 2019–2020 | Bless This Mess | Mike | Main role; also producer |
| 2019 | Spin the Wheel | Himself / Host | Also producer |
| 2020 | Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time | Himself - Video Clue Presenter | 1 episode |
| 2021 | Top Gear America | Himself / Host | |
| Family Game Fight | 8 episodes | ||
| HouseBroken | Rutabaga | Episode: "Who's a Good Therapist?" | |
| 2023 | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Himself / Guest | Episode: October 5[58] |
| Year | Award Show | Category | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Reality/Variety Star – Male | Punk'd | Nominated | |
| 2015 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Dramatic TV Actor | Parenthood | ||
| 2020 | People's Choice Awards | Top Podcast of the Year | Armchair Expert | [59] |
Birth Name: Dax Randall Shepard
