Chris Parnell

Thomas Christopher Parnell born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2006 and played the role of Dr. Leo Spaceman on 30 Rock. In animation, he voices Cyril Figgis on the FX series Archer, Jerry Smith on Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty, and the narrator on the PBS Kids series WordGirl. He also voices “The Progressive Box” in a series of advertisements by the Progressive Corporation.

Parnell was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to a Southern Baptist family.[1] His father, Jack Parnell, was a radio personality in Memphis. He attended the Southern Baptist Educational Center, and graduated from Germantown High School. He decided to pursue acting as a career at age 17 and set his sights on being a theater actor. He attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he received his BFA in Drama. He moved to Houston, Texas after college to do an apprentice actor program for a season at the Alley Theatre, but did not get asked back to join the company. He became temporarily disenchanted with acting, and returned to his hometown and taught high school for a year. He moved to Los Angeles and auditioned for the Groundlings in 1992