Chris Parnell

Biography

​Thomas Christopher "Chris" Parnell (born February 5, 1967) is an American comic actor best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998–2006 and currently for his recurring role as Dr. Leo Spaceman on NBC's Emmy Award-winning comedy series 30 Rock. Parnell is currently one of the lead voices on the FX animated comedy Archer. In 2010, Parnell starred alongside his former SNL castmate Horatio Sanz in the Comedy Central series Big Lake. After performing as a company player with The Groundlings for a number of years, Parnell was hired to join the cast of Saturday Night Live as a featured player on September 26, 1998, and was promoted to repertory player the following season. In the summer of 2001, budget cuts and hiring four new cast members required Lorne Michaels to dismiss two cast members; he chose to lay off Parnell and Jerry Minor over Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch, and Maya Rudolph. While on SNL, Parnell appeared in numerous sketches, and commercial parodies, and performed memorable impressions of various celebrities. One of his most popular sketches is Lazy Sunday, a rap video he shot with Andy Samberg about buying cupcakes and going to see The Chronicles of Narnia. He has also performed raps about hosts Jennifer Garner, Britney Spears, Kirsten Dunst and Ashton Kutcher. In the summer of 2006, Lorne Michaels announced that four cast members would be fired due to budget cuts, but he did not say who. On September 22, 2006 it was announced that three cast members had been fired: Parnell, Horatio Sanz, and Finesse Mitchell. This effectively made him the only SNL performer to have been fired twice by Lorne Michaels, though Parnell did say in a 2008 interview with The Sound of Young America podcast that he was okay with being let go this time, because he was considering leaving after that season anyway, but added that he probably would have stayed one last season if he was asked back. He had been with SNL for eight seasons; at the time only four people (Darrell Hammond, Tim Meadows, Kevin Nealon, and Al Franken) have been cast members longer. He has since made uncredited cameo appearances on the show, most recently in 2008 parodying newscasters Tom Brokaw, Jim Lehrer, and Bob Schieffer. Parnell and his former SNL castmate Horatio Sanz recently starred together in Big Lake, a 2010 sitcom on Comedy Central from executive producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. He also recently appeared as Dr. Drummer/Santa in the SyFy Holiday Special episode from the television show Eureka, which aired on December 7, 2010 (Season 4 Episode 10).

Known For

Barry Pasternack

Hot Rod

TV Emcee

Down with Love

Theo

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Du-ug

Evil Alien Conquerors

Garth Holliday

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Garth Holliday

Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie

Announcer #2 (voice)

Turbo

Ralph

I'm Reed Fish

therapist (voice)

Yung Punx: A Punk Parable

Terrence

Eavesdrop

Peter

Paper Man

Hammer (voice)

Escape from Planet Earth

Dave Bollinari (voice)

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers

Brian Collins

Answer This!

Mr. Thistleton (voice)

Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice

Voice Actor (voice)

Electric City

John (voice)

Millennial Hunter

Jay LaRoche

Break Point

As We Know It

Mike

Hot Mess Holiday

Alan Dickinson

Austin Found

Self / Various (archive footage)

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell

Cole Fusion / Ninja (voice)

Kung Fu Magoo

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies

Edward Turlington (archive footage)

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Amy Poehler

Veterinarian

Our Little Secret

Washington (voice)

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again

Dr. Ronald Silverberg

Ira & Abby

Bank Manager

The Ridiculous 6

Harold Melvin

The Grand

Self

Jeff Dunham: Unhinged in Hollywood

Mr. Fly (voice)

Hotel Transylvania

Phil Swanson

The Ladies Man

Phil

Sisters

Toy Store Sales Clerk

Jingle All the Way

Jerry Steinwald

Labor Pains

The Religetables

Toby

Micro Budget

Coach Vanderpool

Harold

Frank

Kabluey

Dr. Vince Harbert

Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special

Migs (voice)

Elena and the Secret of Avalor

Guy Borne

Looking for Kitty

Bill

The Five-Year Engagement

Mr. Ronald Greitzer

Barely Legal

Mr. Truzack (Wayne)

Life of the Party

Dad (voice)

AJ's Infinite Summer

Peter West

Hollywood & Wine

DJ

Battle of the Sexes

News Anchor

The Dictator

Daniel

The Better Half

Walter

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween

Mr. Gordon

21 Jump Street

Stan / Fish Man (voice)

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

Fly (voice)

Hotel Transylvania 2

Mayor Tracy

Slice

Doomed Gringo #2

The Laundromat

Garth Holliday

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Charlie Green

The Last Laugh

Kevin Keith Baker

Sunny and Share Love You

Various (archive footage)

The Women of SNL

Self

The Maya Rudolph Show

A Freezerburnt Christmas

Junior

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend

WordGirl: The Rise of Ms. Power

Uncle Stu

Home Sweet Home Alone

Artie Mogull

I Am Woman

Larry

Farm Sluts

Brown

Finding ʻOhana

Jim Conway

Senior Year

Brian Franks

The Dogfather

Migs (voice)

Elena of Avalor: Realm of the Jaquins

Lyle Ayker

In Fidelity

The Dink

Self

SNL50: The Homecoming Concert

Self

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music

Jack Conrad

Mimics