Biography
A
Saturday Night Live cast member who received his grooming in the familiar Groundlings comedy breeding ground, a few of funnyman Chris Parnell's favorite parody subjects include Tom Brokow in addition to his frightfully funny
Eminem impression.
Born and raised in Memphis, TN, Parnell took to acting and comedy after his family relocated to nearby Germantown and he got involved with the Poplar Pike Playhouse. Constantly auditioning for nearly every production while taking multiple acting and music classes, Parnell attended the North Carolina School of Arts after graduation and later worked at Houston's Alley Theater after obtaining his B.F.A. Later teaching acting, film, and video back at Germantown High before moving to Los Angeles, the future
SNL star worked at FAO Schwartz while taking classes at the Groundlings theater and acting in small roles in commercials and television sitcoms. Parnell was flown to New York for an
SNL audition after he was spotted by a talent scout from the show, joining the cast in the fall of 1999 alongside fellow freshmen
Jimmy Fallon and
Horatio Sanz. After his feature debut in 1996's
Jingle All the Way, Parnell could be seen on the big screen in fellow
SNL cast member
Tim Meadows'
The Ladies Man in 2000. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide