Lucas Neff (born November 7, 1985) is an American actor best known for his lead role in the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

sitcom '' Raising Hope'' (2010-2014). Most recently, he starred in the CBS sitcom '' Carol's Second Act'' (2019) and co-starred as Duncan on ''

Monsters at Work ''Monsters at Work'' is an American computer-animated streaming television series that debuted on Disney+ on July 7, 2021, as part of the ''Monsters, Inc.'' media franchise. A direct continuation of the original 2001 film, it features the voic ...

'' (2021) for Disney+.

Personal life

Neff was born and raised in the Andersonville area of Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Meade Palidofsky, is the founder of Storycatchers Theatre and his father, Alan, is a lawyer and novelist. He is of Irish and Jewish descent. He graduated from

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School Whitney M. Young Magnet High School (locally known simply as Whitney Young) is a public magnet high school and middle school located in the Near West Side neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Whitney Young is operated by the Chicago ...

in 2004 and with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2008. He started acting when he was mistakenly assigned to the performing arts department at UIC. After college, he took classes at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. Neff has a younger brother. He lives in Los Angeles, California. He and Australian actress Caitlin Stasey were married in 2016, and divorced in late 2020.

Career

His local theater debut was in the Chicago-based theater company Collaboraction's production of ''Jon''. While trying to start his career by appearing in storefront theater and commercials, Neff financed himself by cleaning houses, which he only began a week before being cast in his first major role. His first television role came when he was cast in a minor role in the series finale of

A&E Network A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, television drama, dramas, and ...

's '' The Beast''. When a nationwide casting call was put out for '' Raising Hope'', Neff taped his ten-page audition and sent it in to Greg Garcia. From the first tape, Neff became Garcia's first choice for the role of Jimmy Chance. However, he was still required to go through multiple auditions, before he could be confirmed in his first major role. Neff said of the series at the time of the pilot, "It's a very sweet-hearted, kind show, and it places family first and doing the right thing first. You don't see a lot of that in TV or movies. We celebrate a lot of fancy heroes and fancy criminals and infidelity and, generally, just a lot of bad behavior. It's nice to be part of a show that celebrates decency and being good to one another." Neff maintained his links with the theater, writing plays, such as ''The Last Duck'', which was performed at the

Jackalope Theatre The jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns. The word ''jackalope'' is a portmanteau of ''jackrabbit'' and ''antelope''. Many jackalope taxidermy mounts, including the origina ...

in Chicago as the final play of the 2011–2012 season. It was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work.

Filmography

Film

Television Credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neff, Lucas 1985 births Living people Male actors from Chicago American male film actors American people of Irish descent American people of Jewish descent American male television actors American male stage actors American male voice actors University of Illinois Chicago alumni