Chris Hardwick facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chris Hardwick
Hardwick speaking at the 2013 WonderCon
Birth name	Christopher Ryan Hardwick
Born	(1971-11-23) November 23, 1971 (age 53) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up podcast television film
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Years active	1991–present
Genres	Observational comedy sarcasm musical comedy self-deprecation satire
Subject(s)	American culture American politics human behavior pop culture current events
Spouse	Lydia Hearst ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	1

Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is a famous American comedian, actor, and host. He is known for hosting many popular TV shows and podcasts. You might know him from Talking Dead, where he discusses the zombie drama series The Walking Dead. He also hosted Talking with Chris Hardwick, where he interviewed famous people from pop culture. Another show he hosted was The Wall, a fun game show on NBC.

Chris Hardwick also created Nerdist Industries. This company ran the Nerdist Podcast Network and was home to his own podcast, The Nerdist Podcast. Later, his podcast became independent and was renamed ID10T with Chris Hardwick. By December 2019, he had broadcast 1,000 episodes of his podcast!

He also hosted the Ministry of Laughs comedy block on BBC America and the comedy-game show @midnight with Chris Hardwick on Comedy Central. He even hosted talk shows like Talking Bad and Talking Saul, which were companion shows for Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Besides hosting, Chris is part of the musical comedy duo Hard 'n Phirm and has lent his voice to characters like Glowface on The X's and Otis the Cow in Back at the Barnyard.

About Chris Hardwick

Early Life and Education

Christopher Ryan Hardwick was born on November 23, 1971, in Louisville, Kentucky. His dad, Billy Hardwick, was a professional bowler. His mom, Sharon Hills, worked as a real estate agent. Chris was raised in the Roman Catholic faith.

When he was just four years old, he met the famous comedian Joan Rivers. They became friends for life! Chris grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He was even the Memphis City Junior High Chess Champion in 1983. He went to high school in different places, including St. Benedict at Auburndale, Regis Jesuit High School, and Loyola High School. He later studied philosophy at UCLA and graduated in 1993. While at UCLA, he was roommates with actor Wil Wheaton.

His Career in Entertainment

Acting and Podcasting Ventures

Chris Hardwick in 2010

In the mid-1990s, Chris Hardwick worked as a DJ at the Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM. In 1998, he starred in a comedy show called Guys Like Us on UPN.

He also appeared in movies like Rob Zombie's horror film Halloween II and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. In 2010, he was in the film The Mother of Invention. Chris also made guest appearances on TV shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Married... with Children, Boy Meets World, and Zoey 101. He was a guest commentator on VH1's I Love the '90s.

Chris Hardwick in July 2011

Chris Hardwick is a writer for Wired magazine. He also wrote for Web Soup and Back at the Barnyard. He often appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Chelsea Lately. Chris also ran Nerdist Theater, a performance space in Los Angeles. In 2011, he partnered with GeekChicDaily to create Nerdist Industries.

He wrote a self-help book called The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life) in 2011. In 2012, GeekChicDaily fully joined Nerdist Industries, becoming Nerdist News. Chris became the Chief Creative Officer. Later that year, Legendary Entertainment bought Nerdist Industries. Chris was named co-president of Legendary's digital business. In 2018, Chris announced he was leaving Nerdist and renaming his podcast to ID10T.

Voice Acting Roles

Chris Hardwick has voiced many characters. He was Alexander Hamilton in The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd. He also voiced Otis the Cow in the Barnyard TV series.

He was the voice of Green Arrow/Oliver Queen on The Batman and Lego Dimensions. He voiced Glowface in The X's and Sokka in The Legend of Korra. From 2013 to 2016, he voiced "Craig the Snake" on Sanjay and Craig. He also voiced Vaughn in Telltale Games's Tales from the Borderlands and in later Borderlands games. In 2017, he voiced the villain Klaxxon in a special episode of Futurama.

Hosting Many Shows

Chris Hardwick (left) hosting the Legendary Comics panel at the 2012 New York Comic Con.

In 1993, Chris hosted the MTV game show Trashed. From 1995 to 1998, he co-hosted the MTV dating game show Singled Out with Jenny McCarthy. Later, he hosted another dating show called Shipmates.

From 2007, Chris hosted Wired Science on PBS. In 2009, he became the host of G4's Web Soup. He had also guest-hosted Talk Soup before.

Since 2010, Chris has produced and hosted the "Nerdist" podcast with Jonah Ray and Matt Mira. This podcast was named one of the best by The A.V. Club and Rolling Stone. In 2011, he signed a deal with BBC America to host a pilot talk show based on his podcast.

In 2011, Chris began hosting Talking Dead. This is a live show that airs after AMC's The Walking Dead. On the show, Chris interviews celebrity fans and cast members. He also interacts with the audience and plays games. In 2013, he started hosting Talking Bad, a similar show for Breaking Bad. In 2016, he hosted Talking Saul for the show Better Call Saul.

In 2013, Comedy Central announced that Chris would host @midnight with Chris Hardwick. This was a half-hour comedy panel show that premiered on October 21, 2013. In 2014, he hosted a section of the BlizzCon gaming convention.

Stand-up Comedy Performances

Chris Hardwick is also a stand-up comedian. He performs with Mike Phirman in the music comedy duo Hard 'n Phirm. Their comedy special, Comedy Central Presents: Hard 'n Phirm, aired in 2008.

In 2004, Comedy Central used some of his jokes for an animated series called Shorties Watchin' Shorties. In 2007, his comedy was featured on the CD Comedy Death Ray. Hard 'n Phirm also wrote songs for the 2009 animated movie The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. Chris has toured as a comedian for Joel McHale. He also performed on John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show and The Benson Interruption.

In 2012, Chris filmed Mandroid, his first one-hour stand-up special for Comedy Central. It aired in November 2012 and was very popular.

Comedy Influences

Chris Hardwick has shared that he looks up to many famous comedians. Some of his biggest influences include Steve Martin, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Hicks, and Emo Philips.

Personal Life and Family

Chris Hardwick married model and actress Lydia Hearst on August 20, 2016, in Pasadena, California. In August 2021, they announced they were expecting their first child. Their daughter was born on January 29, 2022.

Chris and his family live in Los Feliz, Los Angeles. He also has a home in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles.

Discography

• Horses and Grasses (2005)
• Mandroid (2012)
• Funcomfortable (2016)

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music Videos

• Ben Folds Five's "Do It Anyway": Executive producer and actor

Awards and Nominations

Chris Hardwick has received several awards and nominations for his work:

See also

In Spanish: Chris Hardwick para niños