Chris D'Elia is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and rapper.
Background
D'Elia was born in New Jersey, the son of TV producer and director Bill D'Elia, and interior decorator Ellie D'Elia (née Dombroski). His father is first generation Italian-American. D'Elia grew up in New Jersey until he was 12 years old, when his family relocated to Los Angeles.
Education
He went to New York University and studied acting but dropped out after a year because he didn't like college.
Career
He played Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom Whitney and currently the role of Danny Burton on the sitcom Undateable, also on NBC. He has a younger brother, filmmaker/actor Matt D'Elia. D'Elia started acting in high school, did some guest starring parts on Chicago Hope. He then got in a movie that went straight to DVD. During his downtime as an actor he started writing scripts.
When he was 25 he decided to do standup, which is what he always wanted to do. D'Elia has been doing stand-up comedy since 2006. He considers himself to be a standup comedian who acts.
D'Elia has been featured on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham and Comedy Central Presents as well as on Showtime's Live Nude Comedy. D'Elia was introduced to a broader audience as a regular on the series Glory Daze, which ran for one season on TBS, playing "the Oracle", William Stankowski. He was originally only cast for the pilot but they made him a series regular.
He co-starred in the NBC comedy series Whitney, opposite comedian Whitney Cummings for two seasons. D'Elia was one of three hosts of the Ten Minute Podcast, along with Bryan Callen and Will Sasso. In January 2013, D'Elia released a parody rap album as MC "Chank Smith," releasing a debut album called "Such Is Life" that was produced by Mr.
Green. On December 6, 2013, D'Elia's first one-hour stand-up special, White Male Black Comic, aired on Comedy Central. It was directed by his father. In May 2014, D'Elia was cast in the lead role of the NBC sitcom Undateable, which premiered on May 29, 2014.
Bill Lawrence is the executive producer. The show is a multi-camera sitcom with a live audience based on the book Undateable: 311 Things Guys Do That Guarantee They Won't Be Dating or Having Sex by Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle. The show often incorporates improv, with D'Elia playing Oscar to Brent Morin's straight-man Felix à la The Odd Couple.
The cast of the show includes stand-up comics who were good friends before the show. In 2015 Bill Lawrence and the cast (D’Elia, Brent Morin, Ron Funches, and Rick Glassman) went on a series of stand-up tour dates to promote the show.