Chris Parnell is a regular on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, where he has brought a number of popular characters to life, including Sean DeMarco, one half of the bungling interpretive dance team The DeMarco Brothers, and the obnoxious Wayne Bloder of the Bloder Brothers. Parnell is also well known for his impressions of Tom Brokaw, Eminem and prominent political figures Joseph Lieberman, John McCain and Newt Gingrich.

Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Chris Parnell earned his BFA in Drama from the North Carolina School of Arts. Moving to Los Angeles, he began studying with the famed improv troupe The Groundlings, and soon became a member of The Groundlings’ main company. While performing with the improv group, Parnell was spotted by Saturday Night Live talent scouts and asked to audition for the show. In 1998, he became a featured player on SNL, joining fellow Groundling alums Will Ferrell, Ana Gasteyer and Chris Kattan. The following year, he was made a regular member of the cast.

In addition, television audiences have seen Parnell in guest roles on such series as Friends, Seinfeld, Ed, The Jamie Foxx Show and Suddenly Susan. On the big screen, he has appeared in the Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas movie Jingle All the Way, The Ladies Man, with SNL castmate Tim Meadows, and the romantic comedy Down With Love, starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.