Updated Feb 20, 2026
Details
Known For
Actor
Occupations
Television actor, Voice actor, Actor, Comedian, Singer
Birthday
(Sunday)
Nationality
Citizenship
United States
Languages
English
Education
Germantown High School, University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Zodiac Sign
♒ Aquarius
Chinese Zodiac
羊 Goat
Popularity
Tier B -- 45,727 Wikipedia views/month
DROPTHE_ GOSSIP
Screen debut
First screen credit at age 29
Year context
Born in 1967 -- Six-Day War in the Middle East; Summer of Love; Lyndon B. Johnson was US president
Year 1967 →
Career
Career spanning 30 years (1996-2026)
DROPTHE GOOD_
14
Notable
out of 100
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Human Impact
0
Innovation
0
Giving
0
Sustainability
75
Cultural Uplift
63
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★
★
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★
★
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Filmography (28)
The Dink
The Dink
Film
A Loud House Christmas Movie: Naughty or Nice
Gerald (voice)
Home Sweet Home Alone
Uncle Stu
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
Walter
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Stan / Fish Man (voice)
grown-ish
TV Series
Happy Together
TV Series
Elena of Avalor
Migs (voice)
The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show
Mr. Peabody (voice)
Rick and Morty
Jerry Smith (voice)
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 (Da
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Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Chris Parnell?
Chris Parnell is 59 years old, born on .
Where was Chris Parnell born?
Chris Parnell was born in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
What movies or shows has Chris Parnell been in?
Chris Parnell has 28 credits in our database. Notable titles include The Dink (2026), A Loud House Christmas Movie: Naughty or Nice (2025), Home Sweet Home Alone (2021), Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018), Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018).
What is Chris Parnell known for?
Chris Parnell is primarily known as an actor. 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…
Where can I find more information about Chris Parnell?
You can find more about Chris Parnell on IMDB, TMDB, Wikidata. Their full profile and filmography is available on this page.
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