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Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a
correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...
on
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
's '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman
Andy Bernard Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford branch of paper distribution c ...
in the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
sitcom '' The Office'' (2006–2013), and starred as Stuart Price in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. He later starred in the comedy series '' Rutherford Falls'' (2021–2022), which he co-wrote. Helms has also starred in dramatic films and comedic films such as ''
Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. It ...
'', ''
Jeff Who Lives at Home ''Jeff, Who Lives at Home'' is a 2011 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Jay and Mark Duplass, starring Jason Segel and Ed Helms, and co-starring Judy Greer and Susan Sarandon. The film premiered on September 14, 2011, at the ...
'' (both 2011), '' We're the Millers'' (2013), '' Vacation'' (2015), '' Chappaquiddick'' (2017), ''
A Futile and Stupid Gesture ''A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever'' is an American book by Josh Karp that was published in 2006. It is a history of ''National Lampoon'' magazine and one of its three founders, Doug Kenn ...
'', '' Tag'' (both 2018) and ''
Together Together ''Together Together'' is a 2021 American comedy film written and directed by Nikole Beckwith. The film stars Ed Helms, Patti Harrison, Tig Notaro, Julio Torres, and Anna Konkle. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival ...
'' (2021). He provided the voice to the animated films, ''
Everyone's Hero ''Everyone's Hero'' is a 2006 American computer-animated sports comedy-drama film directed by Christopher Reeve (in his final directed film after his death in 2004), Daniel St. Pierre, and Colin Brady. Starring the voices of Jake T. Austin, Rob ...
'' (2006), '' Monsters vs. Aliens'' (2009), '' The Lorax'' (2012), '' Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie'', '' Mune: Guardian of the Moon'' (both 2017) and '' Ron's Gone Wrong'' (2021). He has received six Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series winning in 2008. He also received a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Writing for a Comedy or Variety Special for ''The Fake News with Ted Nelms'' (2018).


Early life

Helms was born in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. He is of English, Irish, German, Dutch, and French descent. He had
open-heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to c ...
at age 13 to correct a severe congenital heart defect involving supravalvular
aortic The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ox ...
and
pulmonic stenosis Pulmonic stenosis, is a dynamic or fixed obstruction of flow from the right ventricle of the heart to the pulmonary artery. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood. Signs and symptoms Cause Pulmonic stenosis is usually due to isolated valvula ...
. According to Helms, his surgery lasted nine hours, and he was kept in an intensive care unit for one week after. He attended Interlochen Center for the Arts as a youth and graduated in 1992 from
The Westminster Schools The Westminster Schools is a Kindergarten –12 private school in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, founded in 1951. History Westminster originated in 1951 as a reorganization of Atlanta's North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS), a girls' schoo ...
, one year after ''The Office'' castmate
Brian Baumgartner Brian Baumgartner (born November 29, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Kevin Malone, a character in the NBC sitcom '' The Office'' (2005–2013). Early life and career Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Baumgartner attended Holy ...
. Helms entered Oberlin College as a geology major, but graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in film theory and technology. He spent a semester as an exchange student at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts., May 16, 2017. Jimmy Kimmel Live! During his college years, he turned down a summer internship with ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late night talk show, late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity i ...
'' because he had committed to an internship with WNBC's press and publicity department.


Career


Early work

After graduating from Oberlin, Helms began his comedy and acting career as a writer and performer with New York City
sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and i ...
bands. While studying
improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
with the
Upright Citizens Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, ...
troupe, he was a trainee
film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...
at Crew Cuts, a post-production facility in New York City, where he recorded some rough voiceover tracks that eventually led to paying voiceover work. He soon found a talent agent.


Television

Helms was performing comedy in New York City when, as he recalled in a 2005 interview, "''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
'' had a sort of open audition with a casting company that I had dealt with. I read for the part, and got it". In his April 2002 to mid-2006 tenure on the satirical news program, Helms contributed "field reports" in addition to hosting various segments of the show such as "
Digital Watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
", "
Ad Nauseam ' is a Latin term for an argument or other discussion that has continued to the point of nausea."ad nauseam" ...
" and " Mark Your Calendar". He has also contributed to the " This Week in God" segment. His 2005 segment "Battle of the Bulge", about the wearing of Speedo bathing suits on the beaches of
Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of t ...
, and his "Mass. Hysteria" segment, where he reported criticism of Massachusetts when it became the first state to legalize gay marriage, are regarded by '' TV Guide'' as his signature segments. Helms left the show in 2006, but occasionally returned for brief appearances over the next two years. On July 21, 2008 he returned for "Obama Quest"—a segment covering Senator
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's trip to Iraq. He also occasionally narrated the "Prescott Group" educational films on sister series '' The Colbert Report''. In late July 2006,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
announced that Helms was added to the cast of the mockumentary '' The Office'', alongside fellow ''The Daily Show'' correspondent
Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in ''The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Car ...
, in a recurring role as
Andy Bernard Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford branch of paper distribution c ...
, a nostalgic Cornell graduate who is obsessed with a cappella music. Helms was a series regular starting with the 3rd season. "He had so much in common with this character we wanted to create," recalled
Paul Lieberstein Paul Bevan Lieberstein (born February 22, 1967) is an American actor, screenwriter, television director and television producer. A Primetime Emmy Award winner, he is best known as writer, as executive producer, and as supporting cast member Toby ...
, a writer for the show who also plays
Toby Flenderson ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments w ...
, the human resources representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin. "I can't remember when they started merging." Helms returned to ''The Daily Show'' on December 5, 2006, saying that he had been working "undercover at a paper company in
Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
", an allusion to his stint on ''The Office''. In February 2007, NBC announced that Helms had been promoted to series regular on ''The Office'', and in February 2010 Helms was added to the show's opening credits. He quickly became a solidifying part of the cast, and one of the show's producers. In June 2009, in an interview with National Public Radio, he said that, like his character Andy Bernard, he had an interest in ''a cappella'' music. Helms has also appeared on such television shows as '' The Mindy Project'', '' Wilfred'', '' NTSF:SD:SUV'', ''
Tanner on Tanner ''Tanner on Tanner'' is a 2004 4-part comedy miniseries. It is the sequel to the 1988 Robert Altman-directed and Garry Trudeau-written miniseries about a failed presidential candidate, ''Tanner '88''. The sequel focuses mostly on Alex Tanner ( Cy ...
'', ''
Childrens Hospital ''Childrens Hospital'' (originally titled ''Children's Hospital'' as webisodes) is an American black comedy television series and web series that parodies the medical drama genre, created by and starring actor/comedian Rob Corddry. The series b ...
'', ''
Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...
'', and '' Cheap Seats'', and in various
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
specials. He was the celebrity guest on the August 3, 2015 survival-skills reality show ''
Running Wild with Bear Grylls ''Running Wild with Bear Grylls'' is a survival skills reality television series starring Bear Grylls. In each episode, Grylls brings a different celebrity along on his adventures. The crew consists of host Bear Grylls, a story producer, two came ...
'', coming to grips with his fear of heights on the Colorado Mountains. He has done commercial voiceover work in campaigns for
Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant chain ...
,
Doritos Doritos () is an American brand of flavored tortilla chips produced since 1964 by Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. The original Doritos were not flavored. The first flavor was Toasted Corn, released in 1966, followed by Taco in ...
,
Hotels.com Hotels.com is a website for booking hotel rooms online and by telephone. The company has 85 websites in 34 languages, and lists over 325,000 hotels in approximately 19,000 locations. Its inventory includes hotels and B&Bs, and some condos and oth ...
,
Sharp Aquos The Sharp Aquos is a product brand name for LCD televisions and component screens, originally sold by Sharp Corporation of Japan and also used by licensees. History It encompasses small, portable models (e.g. the 13" B series) up to large hom ...
, and Advair asthma medication. He voices Neil the Angel, a character on
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
's ''Weighty Decisions'' series. He plays guitar, banjo, piano, as well as a
sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...
, in some of his entertainment performances. He co-created the Peacock sitcom '' Rutherford Falls'' with
Sierra Teller Ornelas Sierra Nizhoni Teller Ornelas (born 1981) (Navajo) is an American showrunner, screenwriter, filmmaker and weaver from Tucson, Arizona. She is one of three co-creators of the scripted NBC (Peacock) comedy series ''Rutherford Falls'', alongside Ed ...
(now showrunner) and
Michael Schur Michael Herbert Schur (born 1975) is an American television producer, writer, director and actor. He was a producer and writer for the comedy series ''The Office'', and co-created ''Parks and Recreation'' with ''Office'' producer Greg Daniels. ...
. Together with Ornelas, the series has a total of five indigenous writers.


Film

Helms starred in the 2011 film ''
Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. It ...
'' and co-starred in the blockbuster ''
The Hangover ''The Hangover'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, co-produced with Daniel Goldberg, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper, ...
'' film trilogy as Stuart Price. He had minor roles, including '' Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian'', '' Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story'', ''
Meet Dave ''Meet Dave'' is a 2008 American science fiction comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Bill Corbett and Rob Greenberg. It stars Eddie Murphy in the title role, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union, Ed Helms, Scott Caan and Kevin Hart ...
'', '' Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay'', ''
I'll Believe You ''I'll Believe You'' is a 2006 American comedy film starring David Alan Basche, Patrick Warburton and Siobhan Fallon. Late-night radio host Dale Sweeney ( David Alan Basche)'s usual line up of odd-ball, conspiracy-obsessed callers is interrupted ...
'', '' Evan Almighty'', '' Semi-Pro'' and, with ''The Office'' co-star
Jenna Fischer Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
, '' Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story''. In 2009, Helms appeared in '' The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard'', directed by
Neal Brennan Neal Brennan (born October 19, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. He is best known for co-creating and co-writing the Comedy Central series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) with Dave Chappelle and for his N ...
and starring Jeremy Piven. In 2012, he voiced the Once-ler in '' The Lorax''. He played the lead role, Rusty Griswold, in the 2015 film '' Vacation'', a sequel/spin-off of the ''
National Lampoon's Vacation ''National Lampoon's Vacation'', sometimes referred to as simply ''Vacation'', is a 1983 American road trip comedy film directed by Harold Ramis starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, John Candy, and Christie B ...
'' series. The film began shooting in September 2014 in Helms' native
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, with
Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film a ...
playing Rusty's wife Debbie Griswold. In 2015, Helms starred in Jessie Nelson's movie, ''
Love the Coopers ''Love the Coopers'' (titled ''Christmas with the Coopers'' in the UK and Ireland) is a 2015 American Christmas comedy-drama film directed by Jessie Nelson and written by Steven Rogers. The film stars an ensemble cast, including Alan Arkin, Joh ...
''. In 2017, he starred in ''
The Clapper The Clapper is a sound-activated electrical switch, sold since 1984 by San Francisco, California based Joseph Enterprises, Inc. Joseph Pedott marketed the clapper with the slogan "Clap On! Clap Off! The Clapper!". The Clapper plugs into a U.S. ...
'' as Eddie Krumble, a paid audience member for infomercials. He has a whirlwind of unwanted overnight fame after a late-night talk show host publicizes his frequent infomercial appearances. Helms voiced the title role in the DreamWorks animated film '' Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie'' (2017). In 2013, he was attached to star in the unproduced Paramount Pictures '' Naked Gun'' reboot. Helms played Joe Gargan in the 2018 film '' Chappaquiddick''.


Other work

Helms is in a bluegrass band called The Lonesome Trio with friends Ian Riggs and Jacob Tilove. They formed the band when they were at Oberlin College and still play a few shows every year. They recorded an eponymous album in summer 2013 shortly after appearing on the Bluegrass Situation stage at the
Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in Man ...
festival, which Helms curated. Helms is a self-confessed "bluegrass nerd" and founded the annual LA Bluegrass Situation festival. Helms plays banjo, guitar and piano. He and Amy Reitnouer co-founded a music blog also titled ''The Bluegrass Situation''. It summarizes its mission as "Creating and covering content across every level of the international scene, ranging from timeless traditional bluegrass, blues, and old-time to contemporary singer/songwriter, Americana, folk, and everything rootsy beyond and in between." On April 22, 2020, ''The Bluegrass Situation'' debuted ''The Whiskey Sour Happy Hour'', a weekly music and comedy program benefiting the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund and
Direct Relief Direct Relief (formerly known as Direct Relief International) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief in the United States and internationally. The organization is headed by an inde ...
. Helms features in the video for Mumford and Sons' song " Hopeless Wanderer". In 2015, he had a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
in the band's music video for the song " The Wolf". Helms launched his own production company, Pacific Electric Picture Company, in 2013. The company had a two-year development deal with Universal Television. In 2013, Helms co-wrote, produced, and starred in the
Yahoo! Screen The company Yahoo! ran several similar video services. Yahoo! Video, a video hosting service, was established in 2006. Later, the ability to upload videos was removed, changing it to a more pure video on demand service; the website became a p ...
web series ''Tiny Commando'', about a former Navy SEAL who is accidentally shrunken in a military experiment to four inches in height. Subsequently, he is deployed to places that his unique size enables him to infiltrate.


Civic life

Helms is a board member at
RepresentUs RepresentUs is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization focused on ending political corruption in the United States. It refuses to take donations from political parties and it neither endorses nor opposes particular political candidates. Funded by d ...
, a
non-profit group A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
that works to pass anti-corruption laws in the United States.


Personal life

Helms is married and has one daughter. Helms: "I've been married a couple years, and she's fabulous, and she enjoys a lot more anonymity than I do."


Honors

*Helms received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Knox College, where he delivered the 2013 Commencement. *In May 2014, Helms gave the convocation speech at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teac ...
, alma mater of
Andy Bernard Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford branch of paper distribution c ...
, the character he portrayed for seven seasons on '' The Office''. *In May 2015, Helms gave the commencement speech at the University of Virginia.


Filmography


Film


Television


Music videos


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Helms, Ed 21st-century American male actors American banjoists American male comedians 21st-century American comedians American male film actors American male television actors American television writers American male singers American male voice actors American male television writers Living people Male actors from Atlanta Tisch School of the Arts alumni Oberlin College alumni People with congenital heart defects Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers The Westminster Schools alumni Writers Guild of America Award winners 1974 births Comedians from Georgia (U.S. state)