Jason Sudeikis

Jason Sudeikis' ability to deliver sketches with a dry wit and a smugness often leaves viewers feeling there was more to the joke than he was letting on. The talented performer made the rounds in Chicago's club circuit before landing a coveted spot on the iconic sketch comedy series, "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ); first as a writer and then a cast member.

Sudeikis quickly gained a huge fan base with his memorable portrayals of an ESPN sportscaster promoting feminine hygiene products, or of an annoying preppy with zero social skills. One of his biggest fans was the equally talented "SNL" alum, Tina Fey, who cast Sudeikis as her one-true-love interest on her hit series, "30 Rock" (NBC, 2006-13). As he savored his small screen success, he also began racking up supporting roles in feature films like "What Happens in Vegas" (2008), "Semi-Pro" (2008), and "Going the Distance" (2010).

A starring role in the dark comedy "Horrible Bosses" (2011) pitted Sudeikis against more seasoned actors like Jamie Foxx, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, and established him not only as an A-list comedian but positioned him to become a bankable movie star. Starring roles in broad comedies like "We're the Millers" (2013) and "Masterminds" (2016) followed, but Sudeikis also maintained a presence in TV, appearing in Will Forte's absurdist "The Last Man on Earth" (Fox 2015- ) and starring in the partially-animated sitcom "Son of Zorn" (Fox 2016- ).

Daniel Jason Sudeikis was born on Sept.18, 1975 in Fairfax, VA, and spent his formative years in Overland Park, KS. He attended college on a basketball scholarship, but started acting in plays as well. Due to poor grades, Sudeikis was dropped from the basketball team before he eventually left school to concentrate solely on acting as a possible career.

Sudeikis began his comedic journey in Kansas City, where he co-founded a comedy troupe called Der Monkenpickle. He then moved to Chicago where he sharpened his wit in the Second City National Touring Company, the same company where his uncle, George Wendt of the award-winning TV series "Cheers" (NBC, 1982-1993), also performed. Sudeikis also appeared at the Improv Olympic and The Annoyance Theater, which produced "SNL" alums like Tina Fey, Horatio Sanz, Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch.

Sudeikis next acted with the comedy group Boom Chicago based in Amsterdam and became a founding member of Second City Las Vegas but wanted to move on to the big time. With the encouragement of Wendt and actor Larry Campbell, Sudeikis sent in an audition tape for "SNL." Suitably impressed, executive producer Lorne Michaels hired him; first as a staff writer in 2003 before making Sudeikis a featured player in 2005.

Sudeikis quickly became one of the show's most popular cast members with his pitch-perfect portrayals of Vice-President Joe Biden and, in particular, two reality TV stars: "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell and Poison lead singer Bret Michaels. Sudeikis also garnered attention as one-half of the recurring characters, "The Two A-Holes," in which he and Kristen Wiig played a self-absorbed couple who love to drop pop culture references but ignore everyone around them and refer to one another annoyingly as "babe," much to the irritation of passersby.

One of his best recurring skits was "ESPN Classics," wherein he and Will Forte portrayed sports commentators Pete Twinkle and Greg Stink. Laughs ensued when the stone-faced pair provided their play-by-play recap of women's sporting events sponsored by a feminine product.

The ever-busy Sudeikis also found a major fan in head "SNL" writer, Tina Fey; enough so that when she left the comfort of 30 Rockefeller Plaza to create a fictional primetime sitcom about the same job she had just vacated, she brought along several of her "SNL" buddies. Sudeikis earned a recurring role on the brilliant "30 Rock" (NBC, 2006-2013) as Floyd, former flame to Fey's fictional counterpart, Liz Lemon, who ends up breaking her heart by moving to Cleveland.

At the same time, he provided the voice of Holt Richter, the hipster-wannabe neighbor on the animated series "The Cleveland Show" (Fox, 2009-13). The talented comic also had supporting roles in feature films such as "What Happens in Vegas" (2008), the Drew Barrymore romantic comedy "Going the Distance" (2010), and "The Bounty Hunter" (2010), in which he portrayed a man who falls in love with Jennifer Aniston's character and mistakenly assumes that they are dating.

Sudeikis appeared again alongside Aniston - causing online rumors of a possible off-screen love match.

In 2011, Sudeikis played main characters in two Hollywood comedies: "Horrible Bosses," where he conspired with his friends (Charlie Day and Jason Bateman) to murder their superiors, and "Hall Pass," which found him teaming up with Owen Wilson to portray restless husbands looking to return to their carefree single days. Later in the year, he began dating It girl Olivia Wilde, with the couple getting engaged in early 2013.

Meanwhile, after a 2012 stint on the irreverent cable comedy "Eastbound & Down" (HBO, 2009-13), Sudeikis lent his voice as a supporting character in the ambitious animated "Epic" (2013) and reunited with Aniston for the road-trip film "We're the Millers," with the two co-headlining the movie. Also in 2013, Sudeikis confirmed his departure from "SNL," leaving him free to pursue more projects. The first of these was a return to his most famous film role in the sequel "Horrible Bosses 2" (2014).

Sudeikis next starred opposite Alison Brie in the romantic comedy "Sleeping With Other People" (2015) and Rebecca Hall in "Tumbledown" (2015). A rare dramatic performance in the Jesse Owens biopic "Race" (2016) revealed new facets to Sudeikis' range, while starring roles in Garry Marshall's final film "Mother's Day" (2016) and the animated hit "The Angry Birds Movie" (2016) brought him to new audiences.

However, Sudeikis maintained a strong connection to his comic persona, joining the cast of longtime pal Will Forte's "The Last Man on Earth" (Fox 2015- ) and starring (in voiceover form as an animated superhero in an otherwise normal suburban world) opposite Cheryl Hines and Tim Meadows in the sitcom "Son of Zorn" (Fox 2016- ). His next major film role came alongside Kristen Wiig and Zach Galifianakis in the caper comedy "Masterminds" (2016).