Chris Parnell
Thomas Christopher "Chris" Parnell (born February 5, 1967) is an American comic actor best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998–2006 and currently for his recurring role as Dr. Leo Spaceman on NBC's Emmy Award-winning comedy series 30 Rock. Parnell is currently one of the lead voices on the FX animated comedy Archer. In 2010, Parnell starred alongside his former SNL castmate Horatio Sanz in the Comedy Central series Big Lake.
After performing as a company player with The Groundlings for a number of years, Parnell was hired to join the cast of Saturday Night Live as a featured player on September 26, 1998, and was promoted to repertory player the following season. In the summer of 2001, budget cuts and hiring four new cast members required Lorne Michaels to dismiss two cast members; he chose to lay off Parnell and Jerry Minor over Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch, and Maya Rudolph.
While on SNL, Parnell appeared in numerous sketches, and commercial parodies, and performed memorable impressions of various celebrities. One of his most popular sketches is Lazy Sunday, a rap video he shot with Andy Samberg about buying cupcakes and going to see The Chronicles of Narnia. He has also performed raps about hosts Jennifer Garner, Britney Spears, Kirsten Dunst and Ashton Kutcher.
In the summer of 2006, Lorne Michaels announced that four cast members would be fired due to budget cuts, but he did not say who. On September 22, 2006 it was announced that three cast members had been fired: Parnell, Horatio Sanz, and Finesse Mitchell. This effectively made him the only SNL performer to have been fired twice by Lorne Michaels, though Parnell did say in a 2008 interview with The Sound of Young America podcast that he was okay with being let go this time, because he was considering leaving after that season anyway, but added that he probably would have stayed one last season if he was asked back. He had been with SNL for eight seasons; at the time only four people (Darrell Hammond, Tim Meadows, Kevin Nealon, and Al Franken) have been cast members longer. He has since made uncredited cameo appearances on the show, most recently in 2008 parodying newscasters Tom Brokaw, Jim Lehrer, and Bob Schieffer.
Parnell and his former SNL castmate Horatio Sanz recently starred together in Big Lake, a 2010 sitcom on Comedy Central from executive producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
He also recently appeared as Dr. Drummer/Santa in the SyFy Holiday Special episode from the television show Eureka, which aired on December 7, 2010 (Season 4 Episode 10).
Photos
Movies (89)
Hechizo: Bienvenidos a Hexe
2026 · (voice)
Wake
2026
The Dink: Pasión por el pickleball
2026 · Neil
¡Detengan ese tren!
2026 · Conductor Davenport
Lorne
2026 · Self - Narrator (voice)
Micro Budget
2026 · Toby
Mimics
2026 · Jack Conrad
A Loud House Christmas Movie: Naughty or Nice
2025 · Gerald (voice)
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
2025 · Self
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
2025 · Self (archive footage)
Nuestro Secretito
2024 · Veterinarian
An SNL Thanksgiving
2024 · (archive footage)
In Fidelity
2024 · Lyle Ayker
As We Know It
2023 · Ted Sommers
Millennial Hunter
2023 · John (voice)
Una noche en el museo: El regreso de Kahmunrah
2022 · Washington (voice)
Chip y Dale: Al rescate
2022 · Dave Bollinari (voice)
El año de mi graduación
2022 · Jim Conway
Hot Mess Holiday
2021 · Mike
Yung Punx: A Punk Parable
2021 · therapist (voice)
Home Sweet Home Alone
2021 · Uncle Stu
Finding ʻOhana
2021 · Brown
I Am Woman
2020 · Artie Mogull
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend
2020 · Junior
The Laundromat
2019 · Doomed Gringo #2
The Last Laugh
2019 · Charlie Green
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
2018 · Walter
Slice
2018 · Mayor Tracy
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
2018 · Stan / Fish Man (voice)
Life of the Party
2018 · Mr. Truzack (Wayne)
Battle of the Sexes
2017 · DJ
Elena of Avalor: Realm of the Jaquins
2017 · Migs (voice)
Austin Found
2017 · Alan Dickinson
Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special
2017 · Dr. Vince Harbert
Elena and the Secret of Avalor
2016 · Migs (voice)
Sisters
2015 · Phil
The Better Half
2015 · Daniel
The Ridiculous 6
2015 · Bank Manager
Hotel Transylvania 2
2015 · Fly (voice)
Jeff Dunham: Unhinged in Hollywood
2015 · Self
WordGirl: Earth Day Girl
2014 · The Narrator
Wordgirl: Monkey Business
2014 · The Narrator
The Maya Rudolph Show
2014 · Self
AJ's Infinite Summer
2014 · Dad (voice)
Break Point
2014 · Jay LaRoche
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
2013 · Garth Holliday
Turbo
2013 · Announcer #2 (voice)
WordGirl Vs. The Energy Monster
2013 · The Narrator
Escape from Planet Earth
2013 · Hammer (voice)
Hotel Transylvania
2012 · Mr. Fly (voice)
The Dictator
2012 · News Anchor
The Five-Year Engagement
2012 · Bill
21 Jump Street
2012 · Mr. Gordon
WordGirl: The Rise of Miss Power
2012
Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice
2011 · Mr. Thistleton (voice)
Answer This!
2011 · Brian Collins
Hollywood & Wine
2011 · Peter West
The Women of SNL
2010 · Various (archive footage)
Kung Fu Magoo
2010 · Cole Fusion / Ninja (voice)
Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again
2010 · Self
The Dogfather
2010 · Brian Franks
Labor Pains
2009 · Jerry Steinwald
Paper Man
2009 · Peter
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Amy Poehler
2009 · Edward Turlington (archive footage)
Eavesdrop
2008 · Terrence
Harold
2008 · Coach Vanderpool
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
2007 · Theo
Hot Rod
2007 · Barry Pasternack
Sunny and Share Love You
2007 · Kevin Keith Baker
Kabluey
2007 · Frank
The Grand
2007 · Harold Melvin
I'm Reed Fish
2007 · Ralph
Ira & Abby
2006 · Dr. Ronald Silverberg
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies
2006
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie
2004 · Garth Holliday
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
2004 · Garth Holliday
Looking for Kitty
2004 · Guy Borne
Evil Alien Conquerors
2003 · Du-ug
Barely Legal
2003 · Mr. Ronald Greitzer
Down with Love
2003 · TV Emcee
Farm Sluts
2003 · Larry
A Freezerburnt Christmas
2002
The Religetables
2002
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell
2002 · Self / Various (archive footage)
The Ladies Man
2000 · Phil Swanson
Jingle All the Way
1996 · Toy Store Sales Clerk
Shadows on the Wall
1986 · Charlie
Harry and the Mutant Mid-Century Furniture
Crohnie
TV shows (91)
Breaking Bear
2026 · Dwight Salter / Governor Jim Cummings / Shooter (voice)
El Halcón
2026 · Anton Floyd
Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America
2026 · Benjamin Franklin
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
2025 · Self - Guest
Oh My God...Yes! Una Serie de Circunstancias Extremadamente Comunes
2025 · Ted (voice)
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night
2025 · Self
Fallout
2024 · Overseer Benjamin
Piedra, Papel, Tijera
2024 · Parchment Paper (voice)
Krapopolis
2023 · Ares (voice)
Mis Aventuras con Superman
2023 · Agent Slade Wilson (voice)
Perros en el espacio
2021 · Ed (voice)
Marvels M.O.D.O.K
2021 · Alvin Healy / Tenpin (voice)
Name That Tune
2021 · Self - Contestant
Close Enough
2020 · Ron (voice)
Dummy
2020 · Agent Chett
Love, Death & Robots
2019 · The Cat (voice), Sanchez (voice)
Alien News Desk
2019
Miracle Workers
2019 · God's Dad
Happy Together
2018 · Wayne
grown-ish
2018 · Dean Burt Parker
Will & Grace
2017 · Dr. DiLorenzo
Great News
2017 · Gerald
Rhett & Link's Buddy System
2016 · Vice Chairman
Ask the Storybots
2016
Elena de Avalor
2016 · Migs (voice)
The $100,000 Pyramid
2016 · Self
Match Game
2016 · Self - Panelist
Bajillion Dollar Propertie$
2016 · Walton Rothchild
Dawn of the Croods
2015 · Snoot / Evil Egg (voice), Snoot / Dub (voice), Snoot (voice)
Highston
2015 · Wilbur Liggetts
The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show
2015 · Mr. Peabody (voice)
Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
2015 · Dustin Wallswreath / Jim McCoy / Cop (voice)
Adam Ruins Everything
2015
The Spoils Before Dying
2015 · Bebop Jones
Another Period
2015 · Dr. Sigmund Freudas
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
2015 · Junior
Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero
2014 · Judge Blort Clooney (voice)
Benched
2014 · Mitch
Bad Judge
2014 · Douglas Riller
black-ish
2014 · Dean Parker
BoJack Horseman
2014 · Klaus / News Reporter (voice)
Garfunkel and Oates
2014 · Stan
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
2014 · HOA Ambassador, (voice)
The Tom and Jerry Show
2014 · Narrator (voice)
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014 · Self - Guest
Rick and Morty
2013 · Jerry Smith (voice)
The Goldbergs
2013 · Harrison Whitby
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2013 · Geoffrey Hoytsman
Drunk History
2013 · Thomas Edison, King Charles II, Jim Bowie, Carl Sagan
Gravity Falls
2012 · Host (voice), Additional Voices (voice)
Comedy Bang! Bang!
2012 · Poseidon, Stephendorff
Suburgatory
2011 · Fred Shay
I Just Want My Pants Back
2011 · JB
Love Bites
2011 · Chad Banks (segment "A Sexual Haunting")
Workaholics
2011 · Bruce Benson
Mad Love
2011 · Officer Barrett
Bob's Burgers
2011 · Warren Fitzgerald (voice)
Conan
2010 · Self, Book Signing
T.U.F.F. Puppy
2010 · Caped Cod (voice)
Fish Hooks
2010 · Announcer / Allibut (voice)
Big Lake
2010 · Chris Henkel
Archer
2009 · Cyril Figgis (voice), Siegbert Fuchs (voice)
Glenn Martin, DDS
2009
Glee
2009 · Mario
Better Off Ted
2009 · Walter
Childrens Hospital
2008 · Ron Pippin
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday
2008
The Life & Times of Tim
2008 · William (voice)
Miss Guided
2008 · Bruce Terry
WordGirl
2007
30 Rock
2006 · Dr. Leo Spaceman
Eureka
2006 · Dr. Noah Drummer
Robot Chicken
2005 · Scooter / Major Nelson (voice)
American Dad!
2005 · Doctor (voice), (voice), Valet / Borax Employee (voice), Francine's Drinking Buddy (voice), Book on Tape (voice), Kidnapper (voice), Dr. Moe Munney (voice), James Garfield / Mint Worker (voice), Co-Worker (voice), James Garfield (voice), Train Actor (voice), Funeral Speaker (voice)
TV Funhouse
2000 · James Brolin (voice)
Curb Your Enthusiasm
2000 · Hank
Ed
2000 · DJ Curtis Morris
Padre de Familia
1999 · Joe Paterno (voice), Priest / Father Raccoon (voice), Highway Man (voice), White Guy (voice), Target Manager / Veterinarian (voice), Smarmy (voice), Priest (voice), Doug (voice), Guy at Pool / Priest (voice), Card Store Owner (voice)
The Hughleys
1998 · Rick
Conrad Bloom
1998 · Simpson
Union Square
1997 · Don
Suddenly Susan
1996 · Waiter, Phil
The Jamie Foxx Show
1996 · Director
Caroline in the City
1995 · Gene
Hope and Gloria
1995 · Howard
Friends
1994 · Bob
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993 · Self - Guest
Los Simpson
1989 · Surgeon fiancé (voice)
Seinfeld
1989 · NBC Executive
Murphy Brown
1988
Saturday Night Live
1975 · Self - Various Characters, Self - Cameo (uncredited), Self, Tom Brokaw (voice), Jim Lehrer (uncredited), Self (uncredited)