David Cross

David Cross

Irreverent comedian and social commentator David Cross has maintained a relatively low celebrity profile while at the same time working consistently in TV, film, and the live performance circuit, endearing himself to legions of fans. His smart and fearless comedy style is marked by a simultaneous honesty and cynicism that kind of goes beyond satire to somewhere else. His solo work tends to focus on topics of religion, politics, and a total refusal to skirt around any issue. Characterized by his small frame, bald head, and black glasses, his major career accomplishment has been as one-half of the HBO series Mr. Show with Bob and David. However, his memorable bit parts (Donnie, the guy who repeatedly says "Chicken Pot Pie" on NBC's Just Shoot Me) tend to stick in the imagination of the larger public. Born in Atlanta, GA, he went to college in Boston and started doing stand-up comedy before moving out to Los Angeles. He met Bob Odenkirk while working as a writer for The Ben Stiller Show on HBO and the two joined forces to create the unique sketch comedy series Mr. Show in 1995. With Odenkirk and Cross as the original funders, writers, actors, and executive producers, the show was nominated for several Emmy awards and eventually ended in 1998. The enigmatic ending of the series led to a book, Mr. Show -- What Happened?, written by Naomi Odenkirk. During this time, Cross made several notable TV guest appearances on The Drew Carey Show, News Radio, and a couple of Cartoon Network shows, as well as strange short-lived projects like Joel Hodgson's TV Wheel. After making his film debut with a short bit in Destiny Turns on the Radio, his big-screen career continued in this pattern with funny yet really small roles in The Truth About Cats & Dogs, Men in Black, The Cable Guy, and Waiting for Guffman. As a voice actor, he worked on the Hercules animated TV series, the feature films Small Soldiers and Dr. Dolittle 2, and as a cartoon characterization of himself in Scooby Doo's Night of the Living Doo. The small film roles continued in Ghost World, Pootie Tang, Scary Movie 2, and both Men in Black movies. After starring in his own HBO comedy special, he got bigger parts in several independent comedies that received very limited releases or no theatrical release at all. Based on a skit from Mr. Show, Run Ronnie Run! was supposed to be his feature film writing debut and first starring role as Ronnie Dobbs, a guy who makes a career out of getting arrested. However, after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, New Line decided not to distribute it. Soon after, he moved to New York City, appeared live on-stage in various formats (often with indie pop-rockers Ultrababyfat), wrote columns for magazines, and did a Mr. Show tour with Odenkirk. In November 2002, Cross released a two-disc comedy album, Shut Up You Fucking Baby!, consisting of highly charged political rants and other solo material recorded live in concert. In 2003, he appeared in Melvin Goes to Dinner, written by Odenkirk, as well as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, written by Charlie Kaufman. Andrea LeVasseur