Nick Kroll

Before Nick Kroll created his own show, "Kroll Show" (Comedy Central 2013-15) he was a veteran of stand-up and sketch comedy. The New York comedian got his big break playing the unscrupulous lawyer Rodney Ruxin on "The League" (FX 2009-2015), a sitcom about a group of friends obsessed with fantasy football. Over the course of his career, Kroll developed an arsenal of characters and reality show parodies that evolved into "Kroll Show" and made him a household name.

Nicholas J. Kroll was born on June 5, 1978 in the affluent New York City suburb of Rye. His father Jules, was the founder of the multimillion dollar corporate intelligence agency Kroll, Inc and his mother worked in non-profits and then philanthropy. Growing up on the Long Island Sound, Kroll went to Hebrew day school and an elite private high school. Being the youngest of four children, he sought attention at an early age and participated in a few plays in high school. But it wasn't until Kroll went off to school in Georgetown that he found his comedic calling.

After catching a performance of the Upright Citizens Brigade at school, Kroll ventured to perform again. He bombed miserably at his first attempt doing stand-up at a campus show, but luckily fellow classmate and future comedian Mike Birbiglia caught his set and invited him to join his improv group. Kroll also befriended the future SNL writer John Mulaney at Georgetown, who would serve as his writing partner on many future projects. After graduating in 1996, Kroll moved to New York, determined to try performing stand-up again. He spent the majority of the late nineties performing stand-up and sketch comedy and ended up training at the very establishment that sparked his interest, the UCB Theatre.

Along with his improv training, Kroll cut his teeth on as a contributing writer for another character-driven show, "The Chappelle Show" (Comedy Central 2003-06). For the next decade, Kroll would alternate his time between bit parts on the comedy series "Human Giant" (MTV 2007-08), a talking head on the weekly pop-culture series "Best Week Ever" (VH1 2004-09) and performing live at comedy clubs. His big break came in 2008, as one of the stars of the ill-fated sitcom "Cavemen" (ABC 2007), based on the popular Geico commercials. The critically panned series lasted less than one season, but it afforded Kroll the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and learn about acting on a network show. From then on, Kroll's career propelled forward, appearing in small roles in a string of comedies including "I Love You Man" (2009), "Date Night" (2010), "Get Him to the Greek" (2010) and "Dinner for Schmucks" (2010). Additionally, he started doing voice-acting work in a recurring role in the comedic animated series "Sit Down Shut Up" (Fox 2009-2010) and "The Life & Times of Tim" (HBO 2008-2012) and guest-starring in the satirical medical drama "Children's Hospital" (Adult Swim 2008-).

Like many of his fellow comedians who came up during the rise of Youtube and Funny or Die, Kroll started to introduce many of his signature characters such as the craft services coordinator Fabrice Fabrice and the Jersey-Shore machismo Bobby Bottleservice in digital shorts he produced. His also guest-starred on "Reno 911" (Comedy Central 2003-2009) as his Latino radio DJ persona, El Chupacabra. During this time, Kroll was planting the seeds of characters that would evolve with him throughout the course of his career, appearing online, on podcasts and on TV.

As a writer cum performer, Kroll finally found a more natural fit for a television series when he was cast on "The League" in 2009. From one of the creators of "Curb Your Enthusiam" (HBO 2000-2011), the series followed the same improvisational structure that suited Kroll's improv and writing background perfectly. Starring alongside "Human Giant" alum Paul Scheer and mumblecore auteur Mark Duplass, Kroll's outlandish portrayal of the unapologetic lawyer Ruxin let him take the performance to the extreme. The show elevated Kroll's profile even further and he appeared in his first televised special for Comedy Central "Thank You, Very Cool" (2011). That year he also snagged a recurring role on the sitcom "Parks and Recreation" (NBC 2009-2015) as shock jock "The Douche," reuniting with fellow UCB alum Amy Poehler.

In 2013, he achieved what all comics dream of, starring in his own series with creative control as executive producer of "Kroll Show." The sketch show was the accumulation of characters that had been percolating in Kroll's live performances and online work for years. Many of the characters were mined from Kroll's East Coast upbringing and all the stereotypes that populate the area. That same year, Kroll was honored with the Breakout Star of the Year award at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Canada. Maintaining a grueling schedule of showrunner, stand-up performer and writer, Kroll continued to work on season two of "Kroll Show" while also returning to the world of film. He appeared in the comedy "A Better You" (2014) appearing opposite Natasha Leggero, followed by his first co-writing and starring role in the indie comedy "Brother's Keeper" (2014) co-starring Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale and Joel McHale and produced by his "The League" co-star and veteran indie filmmaker Mark Duplass.