Craig Robinson (actor)
Craig Robinson | |
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 Robinson at Wondercon 2013 | |
| Born | Craig Phillip Robinson October 25, 1971 |
| Education | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2001–present |
Craig Phillip Robinson (born October 25, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. The accolades he has received include nominations for five Screen Actors Guild Awards, an Independent Spirit Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award.
Robinson is best known for portraying Darryl Philbin on The Office (2005–2013). He also portrayed Ray Heyworth on Mr. Robot (2016), LeVar "Freight Train" Brown on The Cleveland Show (2009–2013), and Doug "the Pontiac Bandit" Judy on Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021). He also frequently collaborates with Seth Rogen, including the films Pineapple Express (2008), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), This Is the End (2013), and Sausage Party (2016). Robinson has appeared in numerous other television shows and films, including Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Get On Up (2014), An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn (2018), and Dolemite Is My Name (2019), as well as voicing characters in films such as Shrek Forever After (2010) and The Bad Guys (2022). He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film Morris from America.
From 2020 to 2021, Robinson hosted the reality dancing show The Masked Dancer. He also has appeared in commercials for Pizza Hut, Dietz & Watson, Walmart, Dodge Motors, and Gain detergent. Since 2022, Robinson stars in and executive produces the Peacock series Killing It.
Early life
[edit]Robinson was born on October 25, 1971,[1][2] in Chicago, Illinois, to a music teacher mother and an attorney father.[3][4] He was raised on the South Side of Chicago, and was brought up Methodist.[5] He attended Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Illinois State University in 1994, and his Master of Education from Saint Xavier University. He was a music teacher at Horace Mann Elementary School in Chicago, and Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Hammond, Indiana and East Chicago Central High School in East Chicago, Indiana.[6]
Career
[edit]Acting and comedy
[edit]Robinson began doing stand-up and taking classes in improv and acting at The Second City in Chicago while still in college.[7] He was on Def Comedy Jam season 7, episode 2. After doing open-mic sessions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere and winning regional comedy competitions, he began to get spots on late night TV shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live.[7] 2004 saw him cast in bit parts, including episodes of Friends, The Bernie Mac Show, LAX and Arrested Development.[7] Those led to small film roles in Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Beginning in 2005, he portrayed Darryl Philbin on the American version of The Office, appearing first in "The Alliance", the fourth episode of the first season. Robinson was promoted to a starring role in the fourth season and continued until the show ended in 2013.
In 2010, he hosted season seven of Last Comic Standing with judges Greg Giraldo, Natasha Leggero, and Andy Kindler.
He has appeared on other television shows, including Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Lucky, Halfway Home, and Reno 911!. He appeared in the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Hump de Bump". He voiced Cookie in Shrek Forever After (2010) and played Reg Mackworthy on the HBO hit series Eastbound & Down (2009–2012).
Robinson is a frequent collaborator with Seth Rogen, starring alongside Rogen in the films Knocked Up (2007), Pineapple Express (2008), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), This Is the End (2013), Sausage Party (2016), as well as the miniseries Santa Inc. (2021).
Robinson performed at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in 2008.[6]
In addition to Shrek Forever After and Sausage Party, Robinson has also provided his voice for the films Escape from Planet Earth (2013), Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013), Henchmen (2018), and Dolittle (2020).
He also appeared in the Korean film D-War (Korean: 디워), released in North America as Dragon Wars: D-War in 2007.
Around 2014, Robinson portrayed a farmer in commercials for the mobile game Hay Day.
Making a departure from his comedy background, Robinson portrayed saxophonist Maceo Parker in the James Brown biopic Get On Up (2014). In December 2015, he appeared in several Wal-Mart commercials promoting their credit card while singing and playing the piano at the store.[8] He received rave reviews for the A24 drama Morris from America (2016),[9] earning a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He also played the role of Ray Hayworth in the second season of the drama series Mr. Robot. In 2018 he had a lead role playing the title character in the crime comedy film An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn.
In 2019 Robinson became the spokesman for the Philadelphia-area meat producer Dietz & Watson, appearing in several commercials for the company's line of deli meats. The first of these commercials aired in January 2019, featuring Robinson and his brother Chris promoting the snack Dietz Nuts with Robinson playing up the double entendre in the name of the product.[10]
In June 2020, Robinson was reportedly confirmed to be starring in the pandemic-themed thriller produced by Michael Bay Songbird alongside Demi Moore, Peter Stormare and Paul Walter Hauser.[11]
Robinson was a guest judge in season four of The Masked Singer where he also performed Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" as a "Mystery Piano Man" during his introduction.
Robinson later became the host of The Masked Dancer which has the same format as The Masked Singer. In 2021, Robinson was featured as a spokesperson for Pizza Hut advertising the return of their Detroit Styled Pizza and Original Stuffed Crust Pizza. Robinson also voiced a singing bust in Muppets Haunted Mansion.[citation needed]
In 2021, he started doing commercials for Gain detergent, singing a parody of "Maniac" by Michael Sembello.
His next series, Killing It, premiered on Peacock in April 2022[12] and he voiced Mr. Shark, in the 2022 DreamWorks Animation film The Bad Guys.[13] That year, he also hosted Ri-Karlo Handy's docuseries Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward on CNBC,[14] which received an Emmy nomination.[15]
Music
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For a number of years, Robinson and comedian Jerry Minor had a comedy act where they performed as musical duo L. Witherspoon & Chucky, with Minor as smooth singing L. Witherspoon and Robinson as Chucky, the keyboard player and back-up singer. They performed the act on HBO's Sketch Pad, several stand-up shows on Comedy Central, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Jimmy Kimmel Live![16]
He occasionally performs with his band, The Nasty Delicious, alongside his brother and musical director Chris Rob on keyboards, Ethan Farmer on bass, Asa Watkins on drums, David Sampson on guitar, Lakecia Benjamin and Reggie Hines on saxophones, Winston Byrd on trumpet, and Bendji Allonce on percussion.[17] They were featured as his band in an episode of The Office, and on the season finale of the seventh season of Last Comic Standing. He has also performed in character in multiple episodes of The Office, and was featured on the Hot Tub Time Machine soundtrack, singing "Jessie's Girl" and "Let's Get It Started". He was in the film Miss March, playing the role of the hit rapper Phil, also known as Horsedick.MPEG. Robinson produced two songs from that same film.
He has performed with his band in the 2018 stand-up comedy special Seth Rogen's Hilarity for Charity.
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Play'd: A Hip Hop Story | Cole | Television film |
| 2003 | Lucky | Mutha Rhodes | 13 episodes |
| 2004 | The Bernie Mac Show | Wayne | Episode "Hair Jordan" |
| LAX | Wayne | Episode: "Abduction" | |
| Friends | Clerk | Episode: "The One with Princess Consuela" | |
| 2005 | Arrested Development | Studio Guard #1 | Episode: "Switch Hitter" |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Attendant #1 | Episode: "The End" | |
| 2005–2013 | The Office | Darryl Philbin | Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2011–2013) Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2009–2013) |
| 2007 | Halfway Home | Mr. Brown | Episode: "Halfway Working" |
| 2009 | James Gunn's PG Porn | Havana Bob | Episode: "Helpful Bus" |
| Reno 911! | Levon French | Episode: "Deputy Dance" | |
| 2009, 2012 | Eastbound & Down | Reggie Mackworthy | 4 episodes |
| 2009–2013 | The Cleveland Show | LeVar "Freight Train" Brown | Voice |
| 2011 | Love Bites | Bowman | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Kroll Show | Various Characters | Episode: "The Greatest Hits of It" |
| 2014 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | Episode: "Craig Robinson Wears a Bordeaux Button Down & Dark Jeans" |
| 2014–2021 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Doug Judy (The Pontiac Bandit) | 9 episodes |
| 2015 | Key & Peele | Wisdom Caldwell / Himself | Episode: "Super Bowl Special" |
| Mr. Robinson | Craig Robinson | 6 episodes; also producer | |
| 2016 | Mr. Robot | Ray Heyworth | 7 episodes |
| 2016–2019 | American Dad! | Security Officer / Dirk Turlington / DJ Avalanche / Himself | Voice 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Caraoke Showdown | Himself (host) | 10 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Ghosted | Leroy Wright | 16 episodes; also executive producer |
| Big Mouth | Various | Voice 4 episodes | |
| 2018 | Dream Corp, LLC | Mr. Metzler | Episode: "Guys and Dads" |
| 2020 | Medical Police | Edgar Tooby | Episode: "The Lasagna as a Whole" |
| What We Do in the Shadows | Claude | 2 episodes | |
| Home Movie: The Princess Bride | Fezzik | Episode: "Chapter Eight: Ultimate Suffering" | |
| Ryan's Mystery Playdate | Himself | Episode: "Ryan's Jurassic Playdate"[20] | |
| The Masked Singer | Guest panelist | Episode: "The Semi Finals – The Super Six" | |
| 2020–2021 | The Masked Dancer | Himself | Host |
| 2020–present | Your Attention Please | Himself | Host |
| 2021 | Nickelodeon's Unfiltered | Himself | Episode: "This DJ is Bananas!" |
| Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Himself | Episode: "Hair" | |
| Muppets Haunted Mansion | Singing Bust | TV special | |
| Santa Inc. | Junior | Voice 8 episodes | |
| 2022 | The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse | Snowflake Boss | Voice Episode: "The Wonderful Winter of Mickey Mouse" |
| Storybots: Answer Time | Lost Tourist | Episode: "GPS" | |
| 2022–present | Killing It | Craig Foster | Main role; also executive producer |
| Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward | Himself | Host; also executive producer Pending—Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Educational or Informational Program |
References
[edit]- ^ "Craig Robinson". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ^ "Milestones: October 25". Brooklyn Eagle. October 25, 2017.
- ^ "5 questions for Craig Robinson". Chicago Tribune. March 11, 2009.
- ^ "Craig Robinson on The Office | Interview". Timeoutchicago.com. April 26, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ^ "Apocalypse and The Office: Craig Robinson ends the world. Twice". Dailynews.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ^ a b "Illinois State Alumni Magazine" (PDF). Illinois State University. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 23, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Office star Craig Robinson got Hollywood start at ISU". May 10, 2013.
- ^ "Walmart Credit Card TV Commercial, 'Satchel' Featuring Craig Robinson". iSpot.tv.
- ^ "Morris From America (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/01/29/1706731/0/en/Dietz-Watson-Launches-Dietz-Nuts-the-First-Ever-Meat-Nut-Snack-in-Time-for-Super-Bowl [dead link]
- ^ "Demi Moore, Craig Robinson Board Michael Bay-Produced Pandemic Thriller 'Songbird'". The Hollywood Reporter. June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
- ^ Oddo, Marco Vitto (February 2, 2022). "'Killing It' Trailer Reveals Craig Robinson's Snake-Hunting Comedy Series on Peacock". Collider. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ^ Serben, Brandy Lynn (December 14, 2021). "The Bad Guys Trailer Shows Just How Hard Being Good Can Be". MovieWeb. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ^ Bell, BreAnna (February 17, 2023). "'Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward' Showrunner Ri-Karlo Handy Signs With A3 (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
- ^ "The 50th Annual Daytime Emmys".
- ^ "L. Witherspoon & Chucky on Real Time". YouTube.com. May 24, 2007. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ^ Greenough, Jason (April 3, 2018). "Craig Robinson gives us the Nasty Delicious experience we deserve". Vanyaland. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- ^ "Netflix Announces 'Plankton: The Movie' Set in the 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Universe". June 6, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 26, 2024). "DreamWorks Animation Sets 'The Bad Guys 2' For Late Summer 2025". Deadline. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
- ^ Nick Jr. (June 24, 2020). "Catch @mrcraigrobinson in a new episode of @ryansmysteryplaydate Friday at 12:30p/11:30c". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021.
External links
[edit]
- Craig Robinson at IMDb
- Craig Robinson Archived June 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine at TV.com Archived May 20, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1971 births
- 21st-century American male actors
- 21st-century American comedians
- African-American male comedians
- African-American comedians
- American male comedians
- American comedy musicians
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American male voice actors
- American stand-up comedians
- Illinois State University alumni
- Living people
- Male actors from Chicago
- Saint Xavier University alumni
- Whitney M. Young Magnet High School alumni
- Comedians from Chicago
- 21st-century African-American male actors
- Methodists from Illinois
- The Nasty Delicious members