Chris Hardwick | |
|---|---|
 Hardwick speaking at the 2013WonderCon | |
| Born | Christopher Ryan Hardwick (1971-11-23)November 23, 1971 (age 54) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Medium | |
| Genres | |
| Subjects | |
Christopher Ryan Hardwick[1] (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer.[2] He hostedTalking Dead, an hourlongaftershow onAMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama seriesThe Walking Dead andFear the Walking Dead, as well asTalking with Chris Hardwick, a show in which Hardwick interviews prominent pop culture figures, andThe Wall, aplinko-inspired gameshow onNBC. Hardwick createdNerdist Industries, operator of theNerdist Podcast Network and home of his podcastThe Nerdist Podcast, which later left the network and was renamed toID10T with Chris Hardwick. His podcast had broadcast 1,000 episodes as of December 2019.
From 2011, he hosted theBBC AmericaBritcom blockMinistry of Laughs. From 2013 to 2017, he hosted@midnight with Chris Hardwick, a nightly comedy-game show series onComedy Central. In 2013, he hostedTalking Bad, a live half-hour talk show on AMC following thefinal eight episodes ofBreaking Bad. From 2016, he hostedTalking Saul for theBreaking Bad spin-offBetter Call Saul. He is also known for performing withMike Phirman in the musical comedy duoHard 'n Phirm, as well as hostingSingled Out,Wired Science, andWeb Soup, the voice of Glowface onThe X's, the voice ofOtis the Cow inBack at the Barnyard, and the voice of Craig the Snake inSanjay and Craig.
Christopher Ryan Hardwick was born inLouisville, Kentucky, on November 23, 1971,[3] the son ofBilly Hardwick (1941–2013), a professionalten-pin bowler, and Sharon Hills (née Facente), a real estate agent in Pasadena, California.[4] His maternal grandfather was Italian-American, and opened a bowling alley where Hardwick's parents first met.[5] Hardwick was raised in his mother's Roman Catholic faith.[6] At age four, he met comedianJoan Rivers and they became lifelong friends.[7] Hardwick grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was the 1983 Memphis City Junior High Chess Champion.[8] He later attendedSt. Benedict at Auburndale before moving toRegis Jesuit High School inAurora, Colorado, and spent his senior year atLoyola High School in Los Angeles.[9] He studied philosophy atUCLA, where he was a member ofChi Phi fraternity during his freshman year and graduated in 1993.[9] He was roommates withWil Wheaton,[10][11] whom he had met at a screening ofArachnophobia in Burbank, California.[10]
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Hardwick was a DJ on Los Angeles radio stationKROQ-FM during the mid-1990s.[9] In the fall of 1998, he starred in theUPN comedyGuys Like Us; the show aired 12 episodes before it was cancelled in January 1999.[12]
Hardwick appeared inRob Zombie's horror filmsHouse of 1000 Corpses andHalloween II.[9] He also made a small appearance inTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines.[12] In 2010, he was featured in the filmThe Mother of Invention. He made guest appearances on such shows asCSI: Crime Scene Investigation,Married... with Children,[9]Boy Meets World[9] andZoey 101, and was a guest commentator on VH1'sI Love the '90s, which aired in 2005.[9] He appeared as a television host onhip hop groupLittle Brother's 2005 album,The Minstrel Show.[13]
Hardwick is a contributing writer forWired (since 2007), wrote forWeb Soup andBack at the Barnyard,[9] and he made regular appearances onThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson andChelsea Lately. As part of what Hardwick calls his "nerd media empire", he ran Nerdist Theater, an entertainment space at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles.[14][15][16] He entered into an equity partnership withGeekChicDaily in June 2011[17] to form Nerdist Industries.[18]
Hardwick published a self-help book,The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life), with Penguin Publishing, in late 2011. In February 2012, GeekChicDaily fully merged with Nerdist Industries and becameNerdist News, with Hardwick operating as Chief Creative Officer.[19]
On July 10, 2012, Nerdist Industries was acquired byLegendary Entertainment. Hardwick was given the title of co-president of Legendary's digital business.[20]
In February 2018, Hardwick announced that he would be rebrandingThe Nerdist Podcast toID10T and that he would be leaving Nerdist since the contract with Legendary came to an end in 2017.[21]
Hardwick voicedAlexander Hamilton inThe Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd and Otis the Cow in theBarnyard series (originally voiced byKevin James in the filmBarnyard).
He provided the voice forGreen Arrow/Oliver Queen onThe Batman andLego Dimensions, Glowface inThe X's, andSokka inThe Legend of Korra,[22] as well as voice work forThe Minstrel Show from the rap group Little Brother, and narration for the introduction video for the Flash animation gameGeorge Plimpton's Video Falconry. Between May 2013 and July 2016, he voiced "Craig the Snake" onSanjay and Craig. He also voiced the character Vaughn inTelltale Games'sTales from the Borderlands,[12] reprising his role in theBorderlands 2 DLCCommander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary and inBorderlands 3.
In 2017, Hardwick guest-voiced the villain Klaxxon for a special episode ofFuturama released on the Nerdist podcast.
In 1993, Hardwick hosted the MTV game showTrashed, in which contestants would answer trivia questions or risk some of their belongings being destroyed.[23] From 1995 to 1998, he co-hosted withJenny McCarthy the MTV dating game showSingled Out,[24] in which the main contestant selects from a pool of 50 people based on their attributes without seeing them. While working onSingled Out, he met fellow MTV personalityJacinda Barrett, to whom he became engaged but never married. Later, he hosted the syndicated dating showShipmates.
From October through December 2007, Hardwick hosted the weekly seriesWired Science on PBS, while writing forWired magazine. On June 7, 2009, he became the host ofG4'sWeb Soup, a spinoff ofE!'sThe Soup. Hardwick had previously guest-hostedThe Soup's predecessor,Talk Soup.
Since February 2010, Hardwick has been producing the "Nerdist" podcast, which he hosts withJonah Ray andMatt Mira.[25] The podcast was named one of 2010's best byThe A.V. Club[26] and one of the 10 best comedy podcasts byRolling Stone.[27]
In May 2011, Hardwick signed a contract with BBC America to host a pilot of a panel talk show for the network based on the podcast. The pilot also included Hardwick doing intros and outros for BBC America's new Saturday-nightMinistry of Laughs comedy block of Britcoms.[28]
In 2011, Hardwick began hostingTalking Dead, a live half-hour (later expanded to one hour) aftershow to AMC's seriesThe Walking Dead. Hardwick interviews celebrity fans ofThe Walking Dead as well as members of its cast and crew, interacts with the studio audience, re-airs clips of the episode, plays games with and polls the viewers via the Internet, and offers exclusive clips of the next episode.In August 2013, Hardwick began hostingTalking Bad, a live half-hour (later expanded to one hour on the final episode) talk show companion series to thefinal eight episodes of the AMC seriesBreaking Bad.[citation needed] In February 2016, Hardwick began hostingTalking Saul, a live one-hour talk show companion series to theseason two premiere and finale of the AMC seriesBetter Call Saul.
On December 24, 2011, BBC America airedThe Nerdist: The Year in Review, a comedy special hosted by Hardwick in Los Angeles. In August 2012, he hosted a special episode ofThe Nerdist on BBC America to "debate" the effects of time and space with other friends and celebrity nerds. The episode was really an effort to promote the network's upcoming September 1 seventh-season premiere of the seriesDoctor Who.[citation needed]
On April 30, 2013, Comedy Central announced that Hardwick would host a half-hour comedic panel show called@midnight with Chris Hardwick.Thomas Lennon andRobert Ben Garant, formerly ofReno 911!, served as executive producers/showrunners.[29] It premiered on October 21, 2013.
On November 7, 2014, he hosted the "Talent, Art, Movie and Costume" section of theBlizzCon gaming convention.
Hardwick is also a stand-up comedian and performs withMike Phirman in the music comedy duoHard 'n Phirm, whose half-hour comedy specialComedy Central Presents: Hard 'n Phirm premiered in January 2008.[30]
In 2004, Comedy Central used some of his material for an animated series calledShorties Watchin' Shorties.[31][better source needed] In 2007, both his solo standup and duo act were featured on the comedy compilation CDComedy Death Ray. Hard 'n Phirm completed several songs for the 2009Rob Zombie animated movieThe Haunted World of El Superbeasto. Hardwick announced plans to do a live stand-up album from his 2009 tour.[citation needed] He has toured as a featured comedian forJoel McHale. In 2010, he appeared as a stand-up comic onJohn Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show twice.[32][33] In the same year, Hardwick performed on the Comedy Central showThe Benson Interruption.[12]
On February 17, 2012, Hardwick filmedMandroid, his first one-hour stand-up special for Comedy Central in New York City. Jonah Ray was his unaired opener.[34][better source needed] The special aired on Comedy Central on November 10, 2012, and was well received.[35] Extended and uncensored DVD, CD, and digital versions were released January 22, 2013.[36][37]
Hardwick has said his influences includeSteve Martin,George Carlin,Richard Pryor,Sam Kinison,Rodney Dangerfield,Bill Hicks,Emo Philips, andBill Cosby.[38]
Hardwick is a recovering alcoholic and says he has been sober since October 2003.[39][40] A former co-worker said that Hardwick "replaced his alcoholism withworkaholism".[41]
Hardwick was previously engaged to model and actressJacinda Barrett, and had a relationship with actressAndrea Savage. In 2004, he started a relationship with actress and comedianJanet Varney and they were together for seven years until their separation in 2011.[42] Shortly after, he would go on to dateChloe Dykstra (from late 2011 to July 2014).[43][44] He became engaged to model and actressLydia Hearst on September 12, 2015,[45] and the two married on August 20, 2016, in Pasadena, California.[46] In August 2021, they announced that they were expecting their first child together.[47] On January 29, 2022, they announced the arrival of their daughter.[48]
Hardwick and his family currently live inLos Feliz, Los Angeles.[49] He also owns a residence inEagle Rock, Los Angeles.[50]
Hardwick's ex-girlfriendChloe Dykstra published an essay onMedium on June 14, 2018, in which she alleged that she had been subjected toemotional andsexual abuse by an unnamed ex-boyfriend, and claimed that she was subject tocareer blacklisting in retaliation for ending the relationship.[51][52] The essay did not name the abuser, but the timing and several key details led readers to conclude it was Hardwick.[53] In response, Nerdist removed all mentions of Hardwick from its website[54] while AMC announced that further episodes ofTalking with Chris Hardwick would be pulled. Hardwick also stepped away from moderating all AMC and BBC America panels atSan Diego Comic-Con.[55][56]
On July 25, 2018, AMC announced that a comprehensive investigation conducted alongside law firmLoeb & Loeb had failed to confirm Dykstra's allegations and that Hardwick would return as host ofTalking Dead andTalking with Chris Hardwick. Their statement read, "We take these matters very seriously and given the information available to us after a very careful review, including interviews with numerous individuals, we believe returning Chris to work is the appropriate step."[57] Dykstra, who refused to cooperate in the investigation, stated two days later on Twitter, "I chose not to participate in the investigation of the person I spoke of. I do not believe inan eye for an eye." She also stated that she "originally wrote [her] essay so [she] could move on with [her] life, and now [she intends] to do so".[58] On July 31, 2018, NBC announced that Hardwick would return as host ofThe Wall following its own investigation.[59] On August 10, 2018, his name was returned to Nerdist's website after their own investigation.[60]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Beach House | Ross | |
| 1997 | Courting Courtney | Tim | |
| 1998 | Win a Date | Evrett | Short film |
| Beach House | Ross | ||
| Art House | Weston Craig | ||
| 2000 | Jack & Diane | Jack | Short film |
| 2002 | Jane White Is Sick & Twisted | Burger | |
| 2003 | House of 1000 Corpses | Jerry Goldsmith | |
| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | 2nd Engineer | ||
| 2004 | Spectres | Sam Phillips | |
| Johnson Family Vacation | Arson investigator | ||
| 2005 | The Life Coach | Milos | |
| 2009 | The Mother of Invention | Drake Wooderson | |
| Halloween II | David Newman | ||
| 2010 | Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers | Bones | Voice, direct-to-video[61] |
| 2011 | Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | Estate Sale Organizer | |
| 2013 | Booker, Catch! | Booker | Short film |
| 2015 | Me Him Her | Culk Didip | |
| 2017 | The Lego Batman Movie | Reporter #3 | Voice, cameo[61] |
| The Lego Ninjago Movie | Radio DJ | ||
| 2018 | My Brother Peter! | Himself | Short film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Thirtysomething | Young Man | Episode: "Closing the Circle" |
| 1994 | Trashed | Himself (host) | 50 episodes |
| 1995–1998 | Singled Out | 130 episodes | |
| 1996 | Boy Meets World | Himself | Episode: "Singled Out" |
| Married... with Children | Dan Inwood | 2 episodes | |
| MADtv | Himself | 1 episode | |
| 1998–1999 | Guys Like Us | Sean Barker | 13 episodes |
| 2001 | The Zeta Project | Ro's Brother | Voice, episode: "Ro's Reunion"[61] |
| 2001–2003 | Shipmates | Himself (host) | |
| 2005 | Zoey 101 | Garth Berman | Episode: "Spring Fling" |
| 2005–2007 | The X's | Glowface, additional voices | Voice, 20 episodes[61] |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Mikey Shoemaker | Episode: "Rashomama" |
| 2007 | Wired Science | Himself (host) | 11 episodes |
| 2007–2008 | The Batman | Oliver Queen / Green Arrow | Voice, 3 episodes[61] |
| 2007–2011 | Back at the Barnyard | Otis the Cow, additional voices | Voice, 52 episodes[61] |
| 2008 | Chop Socky Chooks | Chuckie Chan | Voice, English dub |
| Comedy Central Presents | Himself | Episode: "Hard 'n Phirm" | |
| The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd | Alexander Hamilton | Episode: "407" | |
| 2008–2013 | Attack of the Show! | Himself | 73 episodes |
| 2009–2011 | Web Soup | Himself (host) | 53 episodes |
| 2010 | John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show | Himself | 2 episodes |
| The Benson Interruption | 1 episode | ||
| 2010–2011 | McBusters | Morgan Spurlock | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2011–2012 | Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated | Additional voices | 2 episodes |
| 2011–2022 | Talking Dead | Himself (host) | Also producer |
| 2012 | The Legend of Korra | Sokka | Voice, episode: "Out of the Past"[61] |
| Chris Hardwick: Mandroid | Himself | Stand-up special | |
| 2012–2013 | The Nerdist | Himself (host) | 18 episodes |
| 2013 | Video Game High School | Anchorman | Episode: "Loopholes" |
| Talking Bad | Himself (host) | 8 episodes | |
| 2013–2016 | Sanjay and Craig | Craig, additional voices | Voice, 60 episodes[61] |
| 2013–2017 | @midnight with Chris Hardwick | Himself (host) | 600 episodes; also creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2013–2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | Garfunkel & Oates | Episode: "Rule 34" | |
| Maron | Episode: "Marc on Talking Dead" | ||
| 2015 | Family Guy | Johnny Lawrence | Voice, episode: "Once Bitten" |
| 2016–2017 | Talking Saul | Himself (host) | 4 episodes; also executive producer |
| Talking Preacher | 3 episodes; also executive producer | ||
| 2016 | Turbo Fast | Turblows47 | Voice, episode: "Don't Feed the Troll"[61] |
| Chris Hardwick: Funcomfortable | Himself | Stand-up special | |
| Critical Role | Gern Blanston | Episode: "Cindergrove Revisited" | |
| Force Grey: Giant Hunters | Wil Wee-Tawn | Web series[62] | |
| The Jim Gaffigan Show | Himself | Episode: "No Good Deed: Part 2" | |
| 2016–present | The Wall | Himself (host) | Also executive producer |
| 2017 | Bunsen Is a Beast | Officer Steve Stevenson | Voice, episode: "Fright at the Museum" |
| Robot Chicken | Himself | Voice, episode: "The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who's Walking" | |
| Talking with Chris Hardwick | Himself (host) | 15 episodes[63] | |
| 2017–2018 | America's Got Talent | Himself | 2 episodes[64] |
| 2019 | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Season premiere | |
| 2023 | Krapopolis | Voice, episode: "Big Man on Hippocampus" | |
| Barmageddon | Episode: "Rob Riggle vs. Chris Hardwick" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Tales from the Borderlands | Vaughn | [61] |
| 2016 | Lego Dimensions | Green Arrow | |
| 2019 | Borderlands 2 | Vaughn[61] | Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary DLC |
| Borderlands 3 |
| Year | Title | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | The Initials Game 548, KFAN Power Trip Morning Show | Won | |
| 2014 | Spike Guys' Choice Award for Smartacus | Won | |
| 2014 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Program[65] | @midnight with Chris Hardwick | Nominated |
| 2015 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Program | @midnight with Chris Hardwick | Nominated |
| 2015 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media – Social TV Experience | @midnight with Chris Hardwick | Won |
| 2016 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media – Social TV Experience | @midnight with Chris Hardwick | Won |
| 2016 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Program | Talking Dead | Nominated |
Chris validates and rejects entries on his Wikipedia page...
Hardwick talks openly about being a recovering alcoholic and has been sober since October 8, 2003
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