1967-02-05 Memphis, Tennessee, USA
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).
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SNL50: The Homecoming Concert | Self | 2025-02-14 |
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Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music | Self | 2025-01-27 |
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In Fidelity | Lyle Ayker | 2024-11-04 |
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Our Little Secret | Veterinarian | 2024-11-27 |
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Micro Budget | Toby | 2024-08-24 |
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Millennial Hunter | John (voice) | 2023-08-13 |
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As We Know It | 2023-11-24 | |
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Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again | Washington (voice) | 2022-12-08 |
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Senior Year | Jim Conway | 2022-05-11 |
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Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers | Dave Bollinari (voice) | 2022-05-20 |
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Home Sweet Home Alone | Uncle Stu | 2021-11-11 |
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Finding ʻOhana | Brown | 2021-01-29 |
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Hot Mess Holiday | Mike | 2021-12-11 |
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Yung Punx: A Punk Parable | therapist (voice) | 2021-11-12 |
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I Am Woman | Artie Mogull | 2020-08-28 |
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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend | Junior | 2020-05-12 |
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The Last Laugh | Charlie Green | 2019-01-11 |
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The Laundromat | Doomed Gringo #2 | 2019-09-27 |
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Life of the Party | Mr. Truzack (Wayne) | 2018-05-10 |
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Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween | Walter | 2018-10-11 |
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Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | Stan / Fish Man (voice) | 2018-06-28 |
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Slice | Mayor Tracy | 2018-09-10 |
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Elena of Avalor: Realm of the Jaquins | Migs (voice) | 2017-08-12 |
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Battle of the Sexes | DJ | 2017-09-22 |
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Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special | Dr. Vince Harbert | 2017-02-07 |
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Austin Found | Alan Dickinson | 2017-07-07 |
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Elena and the Secret of Avalor | Migs (voice) | 2016-11-20 |
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Electric City | Voice Actor (voice) | 2016-01-07 |
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Hotel Transylvania 2 | Fly (voice) | 2015-09-21 |
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Sisters | Phil | 2015-12-18 |
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The Better Half | Daniel | 2015-12-15 |
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Jeff Dunham: Unhinged in Hollywood | Self | 2015-09-17 |
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The Ridiculous 6 | Bank Manager | 2015-12-11 |
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Break Point | Jay LaRoche | 2014-03-08 |
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The Maya Rudolph Show | Self | 2014-05-19 |
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AJ's Infinite Summer | Dad (voice) | 2014-05-16 |
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Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues | Garth Holliday | 2013-12-18 |
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Turbo | Announcer #2 (voice) | 2013-07-11 |
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WordGirl: The Rise of Ms. Power | 2012-01-01 | |
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Escape from Planet Earth | Hammer (voice) | 2012-10-09 |
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The Dictator | News Anchor | 2012-05-15 |
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The Five-Year Engagement | Bill | 2012-04-27 |
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Hotel Transylvania | Mr. Fly (voice) | 2012-09-20 |
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21 Jump Street | Mr. Gordon | 2012-03-14 |
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Hollywood & Wine | Peter West | 2011-05-03 |
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Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice | Mr. Thistleton (voice) | 2011-12-05 |
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Answer This! | Brian Collins | 2011-10-13 |
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The Women of SNL | Various (archive footage) | 2010-11-01 |
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Kung Fu Magoo | Cole Fusion / Ninja (voice) | 2010-05-11 |
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The Dogfather | Brian Franks | 2010-04-12 |
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Labor Pains | Jerry Steinwald | 2009-06-19 |
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Paper Man | Peter | 2009-06-15 |
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Saturday Night Live: The Best of Amy Poehler | Edward Turlington (archive footage) | 2009-04-18 |
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Eavesdrop | Terrence | 2008-08-01 |
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Harold | Coach Vanderpool | 2008-07-13 |
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Sunny and Share Love You | Kevin Keith Baker | 2007-01-01 |
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Hot Rod | Barry Pasternack | 2007-08-03 |
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Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | Theo | 2007-12-21 |
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I'm Reed Fish | Ralph | 2007-06-01 |
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The Grand | Harold Melvin | 2007-06-07 |
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Kabluey | Frank | 2007-06-25 |
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Ira & Abby | Dr. Ronald Silverberg | 2006-06-23 |
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Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies | 2006-05-23 | |
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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy | Garth Holliday | 2004-06-28 |
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Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie | Garth Holliday | 2004-12-28 |
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Looking for Kitty | Guy Borne | 2004-05-06 |
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Evil Alien Conquerors | Du-ug | 2003-12-03 |
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Down with Love | TV Emcee | 2003-05-08 |
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Barely Legal | Mr. Ronald Greitzer | 2003-05-15 |
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Farm Sluts | Larry | 2003-01-01 |
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A Freezerburnt Christmas | 2002-12-21 | |
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Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell | Self / Various (archive footage) | 2002-09-28 |
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The Religetables | 2002-11-16 | |
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The Ladies Man | Phil Swanson | 2000-10-13 |
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Jingle All the Way | Toy Store Sales Clerk | 1996-11-21 |
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The Dink |
