Christopher William D'Elia (born March 29, 1980)[2][3] is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcast host. He is known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom Whitney (2011–2013), Danny Burton on the NBC sitcom Undateable (2014–2016), Kenny on the ABC television series The Good Doctor (2017–2018) and Henderson on the Netflix thriller series You (2019).
Chris D'Elia | |
|---|---|
 Chris at SXSW 2015 | |
| Born | March 29, 1980 Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.[1] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouses | Emily Montague
(m. 2006; div. 2010)Kristin Taylor (m. 2022) |
| Father | Bill D'Elia |
| Website | chrisdelia |
Early life
Christopher William D'Elia was born on March 29, 1980, in Montclair, New Jersey.[1] His parents are television producer and director Bill D'Elia,[4] and interior decorator Ellie D'Elia (née Dombroski).[5] His father is a second-generation Italian-American,[6] and his mother is of Polish and Italian descent.[citation needed] His younger brother is filmmaker/actor Matt D'Elia.[7] When D'Elia was 12, the family relocated to Los Angeles[8] and he attended La Cañada High School in the late 1990s.[9]
Career
D'Elia started acting in high school and had some guest roles on Chicago Hope.[10] He attended New York University and studied acting, but dropped out after a year because he did not like college.[10] He then appeared in a movie that went straight to DVD. During his downtime as an actor, he started writing scripts. When he was 25, he decided to try stand-up comedy, which he had always wanted to do.[11]
D'Elia has been performing stand-up comedy since 2006. His first set was at the Ha Ha Café in North Hollywood.[8] He considers himself to be a stand-up comedian who acts.[11] He has been featured on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham and Comedy Central Presents, as well as Showtime's Live Nude Comedy. He was introduced to a broader audience as a regular on the series Glory Daze,[12] which ran for one season on TBS. He was initially cast only for the pilot and was later made a series regular.[11] He then costarred on the NBC comedy series Whitney, opposite comedian Whitney Cummings, for two seasons.[12][13]
D'Elia was one of three hosts of the Ten Minute Podcast (2012–2015), along with Bryan Callen and Will Sasso. Since February 2017, he has hosted the weekly podcast Congratulations with Chris D'Elia, which has charted in the top 20 comedy podcasts in multiple countries.[citation needed] Listeners of the podcast are often referred to as 'Babies'. Other podcasts have been heavily influenced by his style, including The Fighter and the Kid.[14] D'Elia also gained over 2 million followers on Vine.
In January 2013, D'Elia released his debut parody rap album, as MC "Chank Smith", called Such Is Life (produced by Mr. Green).[15]
On December 6, 2013, D'Elia's first one-hour stand-up special, White Male Black Comic, aired on Comedy Central.[16] He has had three subsequent comedy specials: Incorrigible (2015), Man On Fire (2017), and No Pain (2020), all of which aired on Netflix. These were directed by his father,[17][1] with the exception of No Pain which was directed by his brother.[18]
D'Elia had a lead role in the 2014–2016 NBC sitcom Undateable as Danny Burton, a ladies' man whose friends are all in one way or another "undateable".[19] The show often incorporated improvisation, with a cast of stand-up comics who were friends before the show.[20][21] In 2015, executive producer Bill Lawrence and comics from the cast (D'Elia, Brent Morin, Ron Funches and Rick Glassman) went on a series of stand-up tour dates to promote the show.[22]
In 2016, D'Elia headlined the Leafly 420 Comedy Tour show in Chicago with special guest Ron Funches.[23]
In March 2019, it was announced that D'Elia had been cast in the recurring role of Henderson on the second season of the Netflix thriller series You.[24]
On an April 2018 episode of his Congratulations podcast, D'Elia imitated rapper Eminem and made fun of Eminem's middle-aged fans, while conceding that Eminem was "one of the best rappers of all time".[25] Positive reaction to that imitation led D'Elia to imitate Eminem's rapping again in videos he posted online in September 2018 (in his car) and January 2019 (in his garage). In February 2019, Eminem posted the garage video on his Twitter account, writing, "This is INCREDIBLE!!! 4 a second I actually thought it WAS me!!" The May 2019 single "Homicide" by Logic featuring Eminem then included an audio clip from the car video at the end of the song. D'Elia said that it was a "huge honor" to be included in the song and that he did not ask for any royalties.[26] D'Elia then had a substantial role in the music video for the song, released in June 2019, which had each rapper's part performed/lip-synced by someone else: Logic's part was performed by actor Chauncey Leopardi (in reference to a humorous internet meme that claimed that the two were the same person), Eminem's part was performed by D'Elia, and D'Elia's part was performed by Eminem, mimicking the appearance of D'Elia in the car video.[27]
In August 2020, it was officially announced that D'Elia would be replaced by Tig Notaro in Army of the Dead (2021).[28] Trailers for the film were released in April 2021 with Notaro in place of D'Elia.[29]
On January 13, 2022, Brendan Schaub and Theo Von added D'Elia to their weekly podcast "King and the Sting", renaming it to "King and the Sting and Wing".[30] On November 4, 2022, "King and the Sting and Wing" was officially renamed "The Golden Hour", with Workaholics actor Erik Griffin Replacing Von.[31]
Four separate episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience featuring D'Elia have been removed by Spotify, but no reason was given.[32]
Personal life
In 2006, D'Elia married actress Emily Montague. They divorced in 2010.[33] On June 18, 2022, Chris married his longtime girlfriend Kristin Taylor.[34] Although his characters in Whitney (Alex Miller) and Undateable (Danny Burton) are both portrayed as frequent drinkers, D'Elia has allegedly never consumed illicit drugs or alcohol.[35]
D'Elia lives in the Beachwood Canyon area of Los Angeles.[36]
Sexual abuse allegations
In June 2020, D'Elia was accused of sexual harassment, grooming, and solicitation of nude photos by multiple underage girls.[37] D'Elia denied the allegations, saying that he had neither "knowingly pursued any underage women at any point" nor "met or exchanged any inappropriate photos with the people who have tweeted about me."[38]
Comedy Central removed the 2011 Workaholics episode "To Friend a Predator," which features D'Elia as a child molester who befriends the main characters, from its website, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. Comedy Central also removed D'Elia's 2013 stand-up special White Male. Black Comic from its website.[39] Creative Artists Agency dropped D'Elia due to the allegations.[40] In August 2020, D'Elia who previously was cast in and shot a role for Army of the Dead[41] was replaced by Tig Notaro, due to the allegations.[42]
In early September 2020, CNN Entertainment reported that in 2011 D'Elia asked actress Megan Drust for a ride home from a Los Angeles restaurant. While in the car, D'Elia allegedly unzipped his pants and exposed himself and started to masturbate before Drust exited the vehicle, saying, "You're defiling my car". According to CNN, two of Drust's friends confirmed being told the story soon after the incident.[43]
In February 2021, D'Elia posted a 10-minute video on his YouTube channel about the allegations, saying "sex controlled my life," and "I stand by the fact that all my relationships have been consensual and legal." He also stated that the allegations represented only a limited view of what had happened and apologized to all who had been affected.[44]
In March 2021, D'Elia was sued by an anonymous woman in U.S. federal court, on allegations that D'Elia sexually abused her and asked her for explicit pictures when she was 17. This allegedly led to the exchange of more than 100 sexually explicit photos and videos via Snapchat in a period of six or seven months in 2014 and 2015, many shared when she was 17 years old. In a statement, a spokesperson for D'Elia said that he denies the allegations.[45][46][47] The lawsuit was voluntarily withdrawn by the accuser a little over a month after it was filed.[48][49]
Influences
D'Elia has cited Jim Carrey, Bryan Callen, Eddie Murphy,[17][50] and Mitzi Shore[51] as major influences on his comedic career.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Almost | Marc | |
| 2005 | Bad Girls from Valley High | Gavin | |
| Crazylove | Jake | ||
| 2012 | Celeste and Jesse Forever | Snow White | |
| 2013 | Funny: The Documentary | Himself | Documentary |
| 2015 | Flock of Dudes | Adam | |
| 2016 | XOXO[52] | Neil | |
| 2017 | Band Aid | Uber Annoying | |
| The Female Brain | Charlie | ||
| Little Evil | Wayne | ||
| 2018 | Half Magic | Edward | |
| 2020 | Life in a Year | Phil |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–1997 | Chicago Hope | Luke Sarison | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Get Real | Chuck | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Boston Legal | Kevin Quinlan | Episode: "An Eye for an Eye" |
| 2005 | American Dreams | Phil Toolin | Episode: "California Dreamin'" |
| Monk | Cal Gefsky | Episode: "Mr. Monk Gets Drunk" | |
| 2010–2011 | Glory Daze | Bill Stankowski | Main role |
| 2011 | Workaholics | Topher | Episode: "To Friend a Predator" |
| 2011–2013 | Whitney | Alex Miller | Main role |
| 2012 | Sullivan & Son | Ryan Capps | Episode: "The Fifth Musketeer" |
| 2013 | White Male. Black Comic | Himself | Television special |
| 2013–2016 | Sanjay and Craig | Remington Tufflips | Voice, recurring role |
| 2014 | Jennifer Falls | Adam | Recurring role |
| 2014–2016 | Undateable | Danny Burton | Lead role |
| 2015 | Incorrigible | Himself | Television special |
| The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber | Himself | Television special | |
| 2016 | Rush Hour | Buddy | Episode: "Welcome Back, Carter" |
| Typical Rick | Lukee Sado | 2 episodes | |
| Lip Sync Battle | Himself | Episode: "Brent Morin vs. Chris D'Elia" | |
| 2017 | The Great Indoors | Aaron Wolf | Episode: "Aaron Wolf" |
| Man On Fire | Himself | Television special | |
| 2017–2018 | The Good Doctor | Kenny | Recurring role (season 1) |
| 2018 | Alone Together | Dean | Recurring |
| 2019 | Comedians of the World | Himself | Episode: "Chris D'Elia" |
| Huge in France | Himself | Recurring | |
| You | Henderson | Recurring role (season 2)[24] | |
| 2020 | No Pain | Himself | Television special |
Web
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–2022 | The Adam Carolla Show | Himself | Podcast |
| 2012–2016 | Ten Minute Podcast[53] | Himself | Podcast |
| 2014–2017 | The Joe Rogan Experience | Himself | Podcast |
| 2016 | Hot Ones | Himself | Web Series |
| 2016–present | The Fighter and The Kid | Himself | Podcast |
| 2017–present | Congratulations with Chris D'Elia | Himself | Podcast |
| 2018 | Tigerbelly | Himself | Podcast |
| 2018–2019 | H3 Podcast | Himself | Podcast |
| 2018–present | This Past Weekend with Theo Von | Himself | Podcast |
| 2019 | Armchair Expert | Himself | Podcast |
| 2020–2022 | The King and The Sting and Wing | Himself | Podcast |
| 2022–present | The Golden Hour | Himself | Podcast |
| Lifeline | Himself | Podcast |
Discography
- Comedy albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Such is Life[54] |
|
| White Male. Black Comic.[55] |
|
References
- ^ a b c Martin, Julia (October 11, 2018). "Montclair native Chris D'Elia is a stand-up comic and an actor, in that order". North Jersey Record. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ "Today in History, March 29, 2021". The News-Herald. March 29, 2021. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ Kaye, Ben (June 17, 2020). "Comedian Chris D'Elia Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Grooming Underage Girls [Update]". Consequence. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
- ^ Tomashoff, Craig (March 2013). "Like Father, Like Son". Emmy. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- ^ Beale, Lauren (June 18, 2018). "After a long run, television producer Bill D'Elia parts with his Seal Beach retreat". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ Martin, Babara E. (Winter 2001). "Bill D' Elia: Hollywood Storyteller". WP: The Magazine of William Paterson University. Archived from the original on December 30, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
- ^ Egner, Jeremy (May 17, 2012). "He's Not a Jerk, He Just Plays One". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ a b Downs, Gordon (January 19, 2011). "Interview With Comedian Chris D'Elia". San Diego. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
- ^ Cormaci, Carol (May 22, 2017). "La Cañada History: Comedian Chris D'Elia has role in LCHS production of 'The Pajama Game'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
- ^ a b Gleib, Ben (July 11, 2012). "#034: Guest Chris D'Elia: "God Particle Testicle Fish"". Last Week on Earth with Ben Gleib. Smodcast. Archived from the original (Audio interview/podcast) on April 27, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ^ a b c Lamoray, Lena (February 2, 2011). "Exclusive Interview Chris D'Elia, Chris plays STANKOWSKI in GLORY DAZE on TBS". Lena Lamoray. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- ^ a b Wiegand, David (September 21, 2011). "'Whitney' review: Too much stand-up in sitcom". San Francisco Chronicle. p. E1. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- ^ Clements, Erin (November 15, 2012). "Whitney Cummings, Chris D'Elia Talk Dating Deal-Breakers, Go-To Excuses For HuffPost's #nofilter". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- ^ The Fighter and The Kid (June 5, 2017), The Fighter and The Kid - Episode 265: Chris D'Elia, archived from the original on June 13, 2017, retrieved March 24, 2018
- ^ Gutierrez, Juan (September 12, 2013). "Chris D'Elia's Loveably Clueless Rap Persona". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- ^ Ortiz, Jen (December 2, 2013). "The GQ+A: Comedian Chris D'Elia on His Comedy Central Special and Getting Heckled by Drunk Girls". GQ. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- ^ a b King, Larry (December 6, 2013). "Larry King Now: Alex Borstein & Chris D'Elia". Larry King Now. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- ^ "Chris D'Elia on why he liked being 'tied up' and 'tortured' on Netflix's 'You'". EW.com. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ Kasperowicz, Leslie (March 3, 2013). "Whitney's Chris D'Elia Joins NBC's Undateable Pilot". Cinemablend. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ Ray, Lincee (June 19, 2014). "5 reasons to watch 'Undateable'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
- ^ Radish, Christina (July 6, 2014). "Brent Morin Talks 'Undateable,' Performing Stand-Up, His Weird Life Journey with Chris D'Elia, Being Funny on Camera, Singing on the Show, and More". Collider. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (February 25, 2014). "Bill Lawrence and 'Undateable' Stars Hit the Road to Promote NBC Comedy 'Undateable'". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
- ^ "Leafly Comedy Tour Chicago". Leafly Events. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b Petski, Denise (March 5, 2019). "'You': Chris D'Elia To Recur In Series' Second Season On Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
- ^ Chris D'Elia. "CLIP: Eminem Locker Room Bit - Congratulations with Chris D'Elia". YouTube. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (May 3, 2019). "Chris D'Elia Talks Sample on Eminem & Logic's 'Homicide' Single: 'It's a Huge Honor'". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (June 29, 2019). "Watch Logic, Eminem Recruit Famous Stunt Doubles for 'Homicide' Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ Kit, Borys (August 14, 2020). "Tig Notaro to Replace Chris D'Elia in Zack Snyder's 'Army of the Dead' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ "CG Tig Notaro is the best part of the Army Of The Dead Trailer, though everything else is okay too". Sam Barsanti. April 13, 2021. AVClub.
- ^ "King and the Sting". Youtube. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ "The New Best Hour of the Week". Youtube. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ Resnikoff, Paul (April 6, 2021). "Spotify Continues to Remove Joe Rogan Episodes — 42 Shows Now Deleted". Digital Music News.
- ^ Rivas, Aby (December 10, 2019). "Inside the Life of Actress Emily Montague and Her Two Marriages". amomama.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ "Chris d'Elia Marries Girlfriend Kristin Taylor After Misconduct Allegations". June 20, 2022.
- ^ Roots, Kimberly (November 12, 2012). "Whitney Season 2 Preview: Whitney Cummings on Alex's Issues, the Possible Patter of Little Feet". TVLine. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- ^ David, Mark (August 8, 2013). "Comedian Craig Ferguson Sells to Comic Chris D'Elia". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ^ Nolan, Emma (June 17, 2020). "Chris D'Elia Accused of Sexually Harassing Multiple Underage Girls". Newsweek. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (June 17, 2020). "Chris D'Elia Denies Allegations of Sexually Harassing Teenagers". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ Moreau, Jordan (June 21, 2020). "'Workaholics' Episode With Chris D'Elia Playing a Child Molester Removed From Hulu, Amazon Prime, Comedy Central". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (June 23, 2020). "Chris D'Elia Dropped by CAA After Sexual Misconduct Allegations". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- ^ Galuppo, Mia (July 15, 2019). "Zack Snyder's 'Army of the Dead' Rounds Out Cast with Omari Hardwick, Chris D'Elia". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 28, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ Kit, Borys (August 14, 2020). "Tig Notaro to Replace Chris D'Elia in Zack Snyder's 'Army of the Dead' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ Melas, Chloe (September 2, 2020). "Comedian Chris D'Elia accused of exposing himself". CNN Entertainment. Atlanta, Georgia: Turner Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ Haring, Bruce (February 20, 2021). "Chris D'Elia Issues Confessional Video On His Prior Conduct: "I Know It Looks Bad"". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- ^ D'Zurilla, Christie (March 2, 2021). "Chris D'Elia faces child-porn lawsuit from woman who says he had sex with her at 17". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- ^ "Chris D'Elia accused of soliciting nude photos from 17-year-old in child pornography lawsuit". The Independent. March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- ^ "Chris D'Elia Accused of Possessing Child Pornography in Sexual Exploitation Suit". The Hollywood Reporter. March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- ^ "Woman Drops Lawsuit Accusing Comedian Chris D'Elia Of Possessing Child Porn". Radar Online. April 26, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
- ^ "Chris D'Elia Child Porn Accuser Drops All Charges Against Him: Report". Hot New HipHop. April 27, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
- ^ "I am comedian Chris D'Elia (from Workaholics and other things). Ask me anything. (self.IAmA)". Reddit. December 5, 2013. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
- ^ Martin, Brittany (April 11, 2018). "What Comedy Store Owner Mitzi Shore Meant to Yakov Smirnoff, Chris D'Elia, and Comedy in L.A." Los Angeles Magazine. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ Gerard, Jeremy (August 8, 2013). "Hayley Kiyoko Of 'CSI: Cyber' Is Cast In 'XOXO', Netflix' Indie-Fest Feature Project". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ "Last Night On @midnight: Will Sasso, Bryan Callen, Chris D'Elia". Nerdist. May 30, 2011. Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
- ^ "Chris D'elia AKA Chank Smith released his rap album...."Such is Life"". Duncan Trussell. May 30, 2011. Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
- ^ ""Chris D'Elia: White Male. Black Comic." Extended and Uncensored CD/DVD Combo". Comedy Central. November 18, 2013. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
