Chris Hardwick

Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosts Talking Dead, an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, as well as Talking with Chris Hardwick, a show in which Hardwick interviews prominent pop culture figures, and The Wall, a plinko-inspired gameshow on NBC, Hardwick created Nerdist Industries, operator of the Nerdist Podcast Network and home of his podcast The Nerdist Podcast, which later left the network and was renamed to ID10T with Chris Hardwick. His podcast has broadcast 1,000 episodes as of December 2019. From 2011, he hosted the BBC America Britcom block Ministry of Laughs. From 2013 to 2017, he hosted @midnight with Chris Hardwick, a nightly comedy-game show series on Comedy Central. In 2013, he hosted Talking Bad, a live half-hour talk show on AMC following the final eight episodes of Breaking Bad. From 2016, he hosted Talking Saul for the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul. He is also known for performing with Mike Phirman in the musical comedy duo Hard 'n Phirm, as well as hosting Singled Out, Wired Science, and Web Soup, and the voice of Otis the Cow in Back at the Barnyard. Early life Christopher Ryan Hardwick was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 23, 1971, the son of Billy Hardwick (1941–2013), a professional ten-pin bowler, and Sharon Hills (née Facente), a real estate agent in Pasadena, California. His maternal grandfather was Italian-American, and opened a bowling alley where Hardwick's parents first met. Hardwick was raised in his mother's Roman Catholic faith. At age four, he met comedian Joan Rivers and they became lifelong friends. Hardwick grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was the 1983 Memphis City Junior High Chess Champion. He later attended St. Benedict at Auburndale before moving to Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado, and spent his senior year at Loyola High School in Los Angeles. He studied philosophy at UCLA, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity during his freshman year and graduated in 1993. He was roommates with Wil Wheaton, whom he had met at a screening of Arachnophobia in Burbank, California. Career