Ed Helms

Ed Helms

Helms at the premiere of
Obvious Child in June 2014
Birth name Edward Parker Helms
Born (1974-01-24) January 24, 1974
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Medium Stand-up, film, television
Nationality American
Years active 2002–present

Edward Parker "Ed" Helms[1] (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show, Andy Bernard in the U.S. version of The Office, Stuart Price in The Hangover trilogy, and Rusty Griswold in Vacation.

Early life

Helms was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His mother, Pamela Ann (née Parker), was a school administrator, and his father, John A. Helms, was a lawyer and insurance executive.[2] Helms is the youngest of three children.[3][4] He graduated from The Westminster Schools one year after The Office cast-mate Brian Baumgartner in 1992. Helms had open-heart surgery to correct a severe heart murmur at age 14.[5][6] Helms entered Oberlin College as a geology major, but ended up graduating in 1996 with his B.A. in film theory and technology. He spent a semester as an exchange student at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.[7][8]

Helms is the recipient of an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from Knox College, where he delivered the 2013 Commencement Address.[9] In May 2014, Helms gave the convocation speech at Cornell University, alma mater of Andy Bernard, the character he portrayed for seven seasons on The Office.[10][11] In May 2015, Helms gave the valedictory speech at the University of Virginia.[12]

Career

Early work

After graduating from Oberlin, Helms began his comedy and acting career as a writer and performer with New York City sketch comedy bands, and studied improvisation with the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe.[13] Helms concurrently worked as a trainee film editor at Crew Cuts, a post-production facility in New York City. While doing so, he recorded some rough voiceover scratch tracks that eventually led to paying voiceover work, which in turn led to finding a talent agent.[14]

Television

Helms was performing comedy in New York City when, as he recalled in a 2005 interview, "The Daily Show had a sort of open audition with a casting company that I had dealt with. I read for the part, and got it".[15] In his April 2002 to mid-2006 tenure on the satirical news program, Helms contributed "field reports" in addition to hosting various segments of the show, such as "Digital Watch", "Ad Nauseam", and "Mark Your Calendar". He has also contributed to the "This Week in God" segment. His 2005 segment "Battle of the Bulge", which focused on the wearing of Speedo bathing suits on the beaches of Cape May, New Jersey, and his "Mass. Hysteria" segment, in which he reported criticism of Massachusetts when it became the first state to legalize gay marriage, are regarded by TV Guide as his signature segments on the program.[16]

Helms left the show in 2006, but has occasionally returned for brief appearances. On July 21, 2008 he returned for Obama Quest – a segment covering then-Senator Barack Obama's trip to Iraq. He occasionally narrates the Prescott Group educational films on sister series The Colbert Report. In late July 2006, NBC announced that Helms was added to the cast of the mockumentary The Office, alongside fellow The Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell, in a recurring role as Andy Bernard, a nostalgic Cornell graduate who is obsessed with a cappella music. Helms was a series regular starting with the 3rd season.[17] "He had so much in common with this character we wanted to create," recalled Paul Lieberstein, a writer for the show who also plays Toby Flenderson, the human resources representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin. "I can't remember when they started merging."[18] Helms returned to The Daily Show on December 5, 2006, stating he had been gone because he was "undercover at a paper company in Scranton", an allusion to his stint on The Office. In February 2007, NBC announced that Helms had been promoted to series regular, and in February 2010 Helms was added to the show's opening credits. Helms quickly became a solidifying part of the cast, and eventually came to be one of the show's producers. In June 2009, on a radio interview with National Public Radio, Helms said that like his character, Andy Bernard, he is obsessed with a capella music.

Helms has also appeared on such television shows as The Mindy Project, Wilfred, NTSF:SD:SUV,Tanner on Tanner, Childrens Hospital, Arrested Development and Cheap Seats, and in various Comedy Central specials. He was the celebrity guest on the August 3, 2015 survival skills reality show Running Wild with Bear Grylls, coming to grips with his fear of heights on the Colorado Mountains.[19] He has done commercial voiceover work in campaigns for Burger King, Doritos, Hotels.com, Sharp Aquos and Advair asthma medication, and he voices Angel, a character on Cartoon Network's Weighty Decisions series. Helms plays guitar, banjo (which was shown in the commercial bumpers and on a What Up With That? sketch when he hosted Saturday Night Live in 2011), piano, and all three, as well as a sitar, in some of his entertainment performances.

In August 2014, it was announced that Helms will to star in Alejandro González Iñárritu's new Starz television drama series The One Percent, with Hilary Swank and Ed Harris.[20] Helms will also serve as an executive producer on the upcoming TV series adaptation of the web series Jake and Amir.[21]

Film

Helms at the Savoy Cinema Irish premiere of The Hangover in Dublin, (2009)

Helms starred in the 2011 film Cedar Rapids and co-starred in the blockbuster The Hangover film trilogy as Stuart Price. He had minor roles, including Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story, Meet Dave, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, I'll Believe You, Evan Almighty, Semi-Pro and, with Office co-star Jenna Fischer, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. In 2009, Helms appeared in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, directed by Neal Brennan and starring Jeremy Piven, and in 2012, he voiced the Once-ler in The Lorax. He played the lead role, Rusty Griswold, in the 2015 film Vacation, a sequel/spin-off of the National Lampoon's Vacation series.[22] The movie began shooting in September 2014 in Helms' native Atlanta, with Christina Applegate playing Rusty's wife Debbie Griswold.[23]

Helms was cast to play the title role in the forthcoming Dreamworks animation Captain Underpants[24] and is also slated to star in the Paramount Pictures Naked Gun reboot in development as of December 2013.[25]

Other work

Helms is also in a bluegrass band called The Lonesome Trio with his friends Ian Riggs and Jacob Tilove. They formed the band when they were at Oberlin College, and still get together to play a few shows every year. They recorded an as-yet-untitled album in summer 2013, shortly after appearing on the Bluegrass Situation stage at the Bonnaroo festival, which Helms curated.[26][27] Helms is a self-confessed "bluegrass nerd" and founded the annual LA Bluegrass Situation festival.[28] Helms plays banjo, guitar and piano.[29]

Helms features in the video for Mumford and Sons' song "Hopeless Wanderer".[30] In 2015, he had a cameo appearance in the band's music video for the song "The Wolf".[31] Helms launched his own production company, Pacific Electric Picture Company, in 2013. The company has a two-year development deal with Universal Television.[32]

In 2013, Helms co-wrote, produced and starred in the Yahoo! Screen web series Tiny Commando, about a former Navy SEAL who is accidentally shrunken in a military experiment to four inches in height, and is then employed in places that his size allows him to infiltrate.[33]

In 2015, Helms played the character Mickey on the web series Jake and Amir after Tweeting his support for the series.

Personal life

In 2010, Helms revealed that he had introduced Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres on the set of Arrested Development in 2004.[34]

In 2012, Helms joined the boycott against fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A in the wake of Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy's publicly stated opposition to same-sex marriage. Helms called this position "lame" and said the fast food franchise had lost a loyal customer.[34]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2004 Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story Bunker McLaughlin
2006 Everyone's Hero Hobo Louie Voice
2006 Night at the Museum Dentist Scene deleted
2007 Evan Almighty Ark Reporter / Ed Carson
2007 I'll Believe You Leon
2007 Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story Stage Manager
2008 Semi-Pro Turtleneck Reporter
2008 Confessions of a Shopaholic Garret E. Barton Uncredited
2008 Meet Dave Number 2
2008 Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay Interpreter
2008 Lower Learning Maurice Bunting
2009 The Smell of Success Chet Pigford
2009 The Hangover Dr. Stuart Price
2009 Monsters vs. Aliens News Reporter Voice
2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Larry Daley's Assistant Uncredited
2009 The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard Paxton Harding
2011 Cedar Rapids Tim Lippe Executive producer
2011 The Hangover Part II Dr. Stuart Price
2011 Jeff, Who Lives at Home Pat
2011 High Road Barry Uncredited
2012 The Lorax The Once-ler Voice
2013 We're the Millers Brad Gurdlinger
2013 The Hangover Part III Dr. Stuart Price
2014 Someone Marry Barry Ben
2014 They Came Together Eggbert
2014 Stretch Karl-with-a-K
2015 Vacation Russell "Rusty" Griswold
2015 Love the Coopers Hank
2016 Central Intelligence Filming
2016 Bastards Filming
2017 Captain Underpants Mr. Krupp/Captain Underpants Pre-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2002–2009 The Daily Show Correspondent 207 episodes
2004 Cheap Seats Bradley Wallace 2 episodes
2004, 2013 Arrested Development James Carr 3 episodes
2006 The Colbert Report Narrator – The On Notice Board: A Wonder of the Modern Age Episode: Linda Hirshman
2006 Samurai Love God Samurai Love God (voice) Miniseries
2008 Upright Citizens Brigade Guest Monologist Uncredited
2008 American Dad! Mr. Buckley (voice) Episode: Stanny Slickers II: The Legend of Ollie's Gold
2008 Wainy Days Doctor Episode: Angel
2009 Family Guy Al Gore (voice) Episode: FOX-y Lady
2010 Funny or Die Presents Cast (Holdup) 4 episodes
2006–2013 The Office Andy Bernard Series regular (163 episodes)
2008–2010 Childrens Hospital Doctor / TV Announcer 5 episodes
2011 Wilfred Daryl Episode: Acceptance
2011 NTSF:SD:SUV:: Eddie 2 episodes
2012 The Mindy Project Dennis 2 episodes
2012 Ugly Americans Dennis Episode: Mark Loves Dick
2012 Comedy Bang! Bang! Himself Episode: Ed Helms Wears A Grey Shirt & Brown Boots
2013 Kroll Show Sex in the City Dude Episode: San Diego Diet
2013 Saturday Night Live Ted Pelms Uncredited
Episode: Zach Galifianakis/Of Monsters and Men,
2014 Brooklyn Nine-Nine Jack Danger Episode: USPIS
2015 Bojack Horseman Kyle Episode: Escape from L.A.
2015 Jake and Amir Mickey Episode: The Auditions
2015 The Muppets Himself Episode: "Pig Out"
2016 The One Percent Alfred Murphy Filming

Awards and nominations

Year Nominated work Award Results
2008 The Office SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Won
2009 Nominated
The Hangover Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Rockstar Moment Nominated
2010 The Office SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated
2011 The Hangover Part II Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Hissy Fight Won
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor Comedy Nominated
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis) Nominated
2012 The Office SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated
2013 Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Hangover Part III Set Visit : Ed Helms – Moviehole. Moviehole.net. Retrieved on 2014-02-10.
  2. ↑ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/atlanta/obituary.aspx?pid=162639777
  3. ↑ Stephen Whitty: Ed Helms' booming career has grown out of his ability to find laughs in truth and decency. New Jersey On-Line, February 13, 2011, retrieved June 5, 2011
  4. ↑ "Look Who’s Related: Ed Helms and Michelle Obama". Geni.com. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  5. ↑ 5 Facts About Me: Ed Helms – Ed Helms. People.com. Retrieved on 2014-02-10.
  6. ↑ Goldman, Andrew. (2011-05-27) Hangover 2 Star Ed Helms Interview. ELLE. Retrieved on 2014-02-10.
  7. ↑ Phipps, Keith (June 3, 2009). "Ed Helms". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Ed Helms: Biography". TVGuide.com. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Knox College Announces 2013 Honorary Degrees". Knox.edu. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  10. ↑ Kingkade, Tyler (May 27, 2014) "Ed Helms Tells Cornell Graduates To 'Keep Creating Good Old Days'". The Huffington Post.
  11. ↑ "2014 Senior Convocation featuring Ed Helms, TV's 'Andy Bernard'". Cornell University. May 24, 2014.
  12. ↑ http://mashable.com/2015/05/17/ed-helms-uva-commencement/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link]. Cornell University. May 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ "The Office Cast Biographies – Ed Helms". NBC.com. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  14. ↑ Sternbergh, Adam (September 14, 2008). "The Jerk: Daily Show alum and The Office star Ed Helms on the highs (and lows) of being obnoxious". New York. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Ed Helms on Politics, The Media and The Daily Show". TheComical.com. 2005. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008.
  16. ↑ Rudolph, Ileane (July 27, 2015). "Alumni Association: A roundup of The Daily Show's coolest Graduates". TV Guide. pp 21-22.
  17. ↑ Snierson, Dan (June 28, 2006). "Ed Helms joins the cast of The Office". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  18. ↑ Itzkoff, Dave (March 11, 2012). "Ambitious, but in a Polite Sort of Way". The New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  19. ↑ Elizabeth, Stormy. "Running Wild with Bear Grylls Recap 8/3/15: Season 2 Episode 4 “Ed Helms”". celebdirtylaundry.com. Celeb Dirty Laundry. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  20. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (August 12, 2014). "Starz Orders Drama ‘One Percent’ to Star Ed Helms, Hilary Swank". Variety.
  21. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (December 18, 2013). "'Jake & Amir' Web Series Heading To TBS With Ed Helms Producing". Deadline Hollywood.
  22. ↑ "Ed Helms to Play Rusty Griswold in New Vacation". ComingSoon.
  23. ↑ Brett, Jennifer (September 19, 2014). "Photos from the Atlanta set of 'Vacation' starring Ed Helms and Christina Applegate". AJC.com.
  24. ↑ Abramovitch, Seth (January 21, 2014). "Ed Helms, Kevin Hart Slip Into DreamWorks Animation's 'Captain Underpants'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  25. ↑ McNary, Dave (December 13, 2013). "Ed Helms Firing Up ‘The Naked Gun’ Reboot for Paramount". Variety.
  26. ↑ Ed Helms' Bluegrass Situation Superjam with special guests. lineup.bonnaroo.com
  27. ↑ The Lonesome Trio. Facebook (2013-04-21). Retrieved on 2014-02-10.
  28. ↑ Bluegrass Situation festival: Banjo, comedy unite Steve Martin, Ed Helms – Los Angeles Times. Articles.latimes.com (2011-04-26). Retrieved on 2014-02-10.
  29. ↑ Bienstock, Richard (2013-04-22). "Better Off Ed: Ed Helms of 'The Hangover' and 'The Office' Talks Guitars, Banjos and Bluegrass". Guitar Aficionado.
  30. ↑ "Mumford and Sons release hilarious Hopeless Wanderer video". Music Blogged. 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2013-08-04.
  31. ↑ "Watch Mumford & Sons Take Over Bonnaroo in 'The Wolf' Video". Rolling Stone. 2015-07-30. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  32. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (2013-09-16) "Ed Helms Launches Production Company, Inks Overall Deal With Universal TV". The Hollywood Reporter.
  33. ↑ Rothman, Lily (September 17, 2013). "Ed Helms’ Three Favorite Web Series". Time.
  34. 1 2 Kinser, Jeremy (2012-07-18). "Ed Helms Star of The Hangover and The Office Joins Chick fil A Boycott". The Advocate.

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