Chris Redd
Birth nameChristopher Jerell Redd
Born (1985-03-25) March 25, 1985 (age 38)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
MediumStand-up, television, film
Years active2006–present
GenresSketch comedy
Subject(s)
Websiteiamchrisredd.com

Christopher Jerell Redd[1] (born March 25, 1985) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, rapper, and singer. After several years performing stand-up comedy, Redd was hired to join the cast of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live ahead of the show's 43rd season in 2017, making his debut alongside Heidi Gardner and Luke Null, and serving as a cast member for five seasons until 2022. For his work on the show, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics in 2018 for co-writing the SNL song "Come Back Barack". He is also known for his roles in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), Disjointed (2017–2018), and Kenan (2021–2022).

Early life

Redd was born on March 25, 1985,[2][3] in St. Louis, Missouri, and moved to Naperville, a suburb of Chicago, at the age of eight.[4] According to Redd, he had a childhood stutter that he overcame by learning how to rap.[5] He attended Naperville schools, including Gregory Middle School and Neuqua Valley High School,[6] and later attended community college in Elgin, Illinois, where he took his first improvisational theater class.[7]

Career

Redd briefly pursued a career as a rapper, but switched to sketch comedy after realizing that he enjoyed improvisational comedy.[8] He took comedy classes at Jokes & Notes, a now-closed comedy club in Chicago.[9] Redd joined the comedy group The Second City, and was a member of its touring company.[10] He moved to Los Angeles in 2016 to further pursue an acting career, and made his film debut as Hunter the Hungry, an underground rapper, in the 2016 mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.[11] Redd co-starred in the 2017–2018 Netflix comedy series Disjointed, in which he played the role of Dank, a stoner.[7]

After a previous unsuccessful audition for Saturday Night Live,[12] it was announced in September 2017 that Redd had joined the show's cast as a featured player for season 43, alongside fellow newcomers Heidi Gardner and Luke Null.[13] In 2018, Redd won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for writing the song "Come Back Barack", which lamented former president Barack Obama's departure from the White House and aired during Chance the Rapper's episode on November 18, 2017.[14][15] The award was shared with co-writers Kenan Thompson and Will Stephen, and composer Eli Brueggemann.[14] Redd and Gardner were promoted to repertory status in 2019, ahead of SNL's 45th season.[16] His celebrity impressions on the show included U.S. Senator Cory Booker, Kanye West, Sterling K. Brown, and Mayor Eric Adams.[17][18] Redd left SNL in 2022, after the show's 47th season.[19]

Redd's debut stand-up comedy album, But Here We Are, was released by Comedy Central Records in March 2019.[9] Between 2021 and 2022, Redd co-starred in the comedy television series Kenan, alongside his SNL castmate Kenan Thompson.[20] Their ongoing roles in both shows resulted in frequent travel between New York City, where SNL is filmed, and Los Angeles, where Kenan was filmed.[21] Redd appeared in the 2023 film Spinning Gold as Frankie Crocker, a disc jockey for the first black music radio station in New York.[22] Other recent projects include the Lorne Michaels–produced comedy series Bust Down, in which Redd plays a discontented casino employee, and a stand-up comedy special on HBO Max.[23][24]

Personal life

In October 2022, Redd was assaulted by an unknown assailant outside of a comedy club in New York. He was then taken to the hospital, and later released.[25]

Other activities

In June 2020, Redd and fellow The Second City alumna Lisa Beasley raised over $360,000 on GoFundMe to cover the medical costs of racial justice protesters who had contracted COVID-19.[26] After Second City CEO Andrew Alexander resigned during the same month over allegations of institutional racism within the group, Redd and 18 other black alumni and current employees signed an open letter calling for an independent investigation into the allegations.[27]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2016 Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping Hunter the Hungry [11]
2017 Handsome Detective Gunner [28]
2018 A Futile and Stupid Gesture Skeptical Black Man [29]
2018 Deep Murder Jace [30]
2019 Joker Comedy Club Emcee [31]
2020 Scare Me Carlo [32]
2020 Vampires vs. the Bronx Andre [33]
2023 Spinning Gold Frankie Crocker [22]
2023 Candy Cane Lane Lamplighter Gary [34]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref(s).
2014 Chicago P.D. Carl Episode: "Thirty Balloons" [35]
2015 Empire Roger 2 episodes [36]
2016 Lonely and Horny Omar 4 episodes [37]
2016 Comedy Bang! Bang! The Cleaning Crew Rapper Episode: "Krysten Ritter Wears a Turtleneck and Black Boots" [11]
2017 Love Justin 2 episodes [38]
2017 Detroiters Donut Episode: "Smilin' Jack" [39]
2017 Sofia the First Singe (voice) Episode: "The Royal Dragon" [5]
2017 Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later Mason 2 episodes [40]
2017–2018 Disjointed Steven "Dank" Dankerson 18 episodes [7]
2017 Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents Himself Stand-up special [41]
2017–2022 Saturday Night Live Himself/Various Repertory player
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (2018) 		[16]
[14]
2017 Will & Grace Alvin Episode: "Emergency Contact" [42]
2018 Teachers Darnell Episode: "For Poorer or Poorer" [43]
2019 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Additional voices Episode: "Junkin' Janna/A Spell with No Name" [44]
2019 Big Mouth Additional voice 2 episodes [44]
2019 Laff Mobb's Laff Tracks Himself Episode: "Chris Redd Headlines"
2021–2022 Kenan Gary Williams Main role [20]
2022 Bust Down Chris Main role; also co-creator, executive producer, and star
2022 The Simpsons Trevor McBride (voice) Episode: "Girls Just Shauna Have Fun"
2023 Is It Cake? Himself / Judge Episode: "Winner Cakes All!"

Discography

Year Title Notes Ref.
2019 But Here We Are Stand-up comedy album [9]

References

  1. ^ Night Live (October 18, 2017), 43 For 43: Chris Redd – SNL, retrieved November 2, 2017
  2. ^ "Chris Redd". Saturday Night Live. NBC. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2021. ...his birthday is March 25.
  3. ^ Brusie, David (March 13, 2019). "Chris Redd aims to be a singular stand-up and 'SNL' team player". Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020. Redd, 33...
  4. ^ Ihejirika, Maudlyne (August 21, 2018). "SNL's Chris Redd to his hometown Chicago: 'Stop killing each other, man'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Donald, Elizabeth (September 27, 2017). "Live from St. Louis, it's one of SNL's new cast members". Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  6. ^ Hegarty, Erin (September 27, 2017). "New 'SNL' cast member attended Naperville schools". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Metz, Nina (July 13, 2017). "With summer camp comedy and a Netflix pot series, Chris Redd's star on the rise". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  8. ^ "'I Love What That Job Has Brought Me': Chris Redd On 'Saturday Night Live', The Second City, 'Deep Murder'". CBS Local. June 11, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Santi, Christina (March 14, 2019). "'SNL' Star Chris Redd Credits Chicago & Rap for His Shameless Comedy". Ebony. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  10. ^ Virtusio, Jessi (December 12, 2019). "Second City skewers holiday season in 'Ugly Sweater' show at Beverly Arts Center". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Beechick, Talia (June 17, 2016). "'Whirlwind of rap' got Chicago comedian Chris Redd into 'Popstar'". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  12. ^ "Chris Redd: How comedy can be a force for social change". MSNBC. December 11, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 26, 2017). "'Saturday Night Live' Taps Heidi Gardner, Luke Null & Chris Redd As New Cast Members, Adds 7 Writers For Season 43". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  14. ^ a b c Otterson, Joe (July 16, 2020). "Don Johnson, Chris Redd Join Kenan Thompson Comedy Series at NBC". Variety. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Calfas, Jennifer (November 19, 2017). "Saturday Night Live Begs Barack Obama to Come Back in '90s-Inspired Sketch". Time. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (September 24, 2019). "'SNL' Promotes Heidi Gardner & Chris Redd To Full Cast Members". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  17. ^ Porter, Rick (September 24, 2019). "'Saturday Night Live' Promotes Heidi Gardner, Chris Redd to Regular Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  18. ^ "Eric Adams Said He Was 'Laughing So Hard' at His SNL Portrayal, Wants to Go on Show Himself: 'He Had Me Down to a Science'". January 16, 2022.
  19. ^ Steinberg, Brian (September 19, 2022). "Chris Redd Is Latest to Exit 'Saturday Night Live'". Variety. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  20. ^ a b "New NBC comedy 'Kenan' stars Kenan Thompson, Don Johnson and Chris Redd". KSNT. February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  21. ^ White, Peter (January 26, 2021). "'Kenan': Kenan Thompson Prepared For Challenge Of Filming New NBC Comedy & 'SNL' – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Moore, Matt (February 17, 2021). "SNL's Chris Redd to star in new sitcom from Lorne Michaels". Last Night On. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  23. ^ White, Peter (February 17, 2021). "Peacock Picks Up Craig Robinson Comedy & Lorne Michaels' 'Bust Down' To Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  24. ^ Porter, Rick (July 22, 2020). "Chris Redd Scores HBO Max Comedy Special". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  25. ^ "SNL Alum Chris Redd Assaulted Outside of New York's Comedy Cellar". Rolling Stone. October 27, 2022.
  26. ^ Metz, Nina (June 24, 2020). "'Saturday Night Live' star Chris Redd and Chicago comedian Lisa Beasley set up a COVID-19 protestor relief fund". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  27. ^ Evans, Greg (June 8, 2020). "'SNL's Chris Redd, 'Veep's Sam Richardson Among Second City Alum Demanding Investigation Into Comedy Institution's Racism & Sexual Misconduct Allegations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  28. ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (May 7, 2017). "Handsome". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  29. ^ Zuckerman, Esther (January 25, 2018). "David Wain's Futile and Stupid Movie Is a Vital Piece of Comedy History". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  30. ^ Cruz, Niki (June 11, 2019). "Chris Redd talks 'Deep Murder,' NYC and 'SNL' after-parties". AM New York Metro. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  31. ^ Reilly, Dan (October 15, 2019). "What Joker Gets Right About Stand-Up Comedy". Vulture. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  32. ^ Scheetz, Cameron (September 30, 2020). "SNL's Chris Redd believes aliens are trolling us with crop circles". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  33. ^ Allen, Nick (October 2, 2020). "Vampires vs. the Bronx". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  34. ^ "Robin Thede, Nick Offerman and Chris Redd Join Eddie Murphy's 'Candy Cane Lane' (EXCLUSIVE)". January 5, 2023.
  35. ^ "You Probably Forgot These 9 Stars Appeared on Chicago P.D." Sun Journal. TV Guide. February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  36. ^ Thompson, Avery (September 29, 2017). "Chris Redd: 5 Things You Need To Know About The New 'SNL' Cast Member". Hollywood Life. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  37. ^ Dickie, George (April 2, 2016). "Netpicks". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  38. ^ Petski, Denise (February 10, 2017). "'Disjointed': Chris Redd Cast In Netflix Pot Comedy Series From Chuck Lorre". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  39. ^ Simons, Seth (April 19, 2017). "A Comprehensive Ranking of All 10 Episodes of Comedy Central's Detroiters". Paste. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  40. ^ Dubois, Lauren (August 3, 2017). "When Does 'Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later' Premiere On Netflix?". International Business Times. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  41. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (September 26, 2017). "'SNL' Adds Three Featured Players for Season 43". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  42. ^ Kirkland, Justin (October 26, 2017). "Will & Grace recap: 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  43. ^ "Teachers – Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  44. ^ a b Palat, Lakshana (October 1, 2020). "'Vampires vs The Bronx': Meet Sarah Gadon, Chris Redd, Shea Whigham and rest of the cast of Netflix's horror-comedy". MEAWW. Retrieved February 24, 2021.

External links

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics
Authority control databases
Categories