Chris Hardwick

Early life

Christopher Ryan Hardwick was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 23, 1971, the son of Billy Hardwick (1941–2013), a professional ten-pin bowler, and Sharon Hills (née Facente), a real estate agent in Pasadena, California. His maternal grandfather was Italian-American, and opened a bowling alley where Hardwick's parents first met. Hardwick was raised in his mother's Roman Catholic faith. At age four, he met comedian Joan Rivers and they became lifelong friends. Hardwick grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was the 1983 Memphis City Junior High Chess Champion. He later attended St. Benedict at Auburndale before moving to Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado, and spent his senior year at Loyola High School in Los Angeles. He studied philosophy at UCLA, where he was a member of Chi Phi fraternity during his freshman year and graduated in 1993. He was roommates with Wil Wheaton, whom he had met at a screening of Arachnophobia in Burbank, California.

Career

Acting and podcasting

Hardwick was a DJ on Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM during the mid-1990s. In the fall of 1998, he starred in the UPN comedy Guys Like Us; the show aired 12 episodes before it was cancelled in January 1999.

Hardwick appeared in Rob Zombie's horror films House of 1000 Corpses and Halloween II. He also made a small appearance in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. In 2010, he was featured in the film The Mother of Invention. He made guest appearances on such shows as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Married... with Children, Boy Meets World and Zoey 101, and was a guest commentator on VH1's I Love the '90s, which aired in 2005. He appeared as a television host on hip hop group Little Brother's 2005 album, The Minstrel Show.

Hardwick is a contributing writer for Wired (since 2007), wrote for Web Soup and Back at the Barnyard, and he made regular appearances on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Chelsea Lately. As part of what Hardwick calls his "nerd media empire", he ran Nerdist Theater, an entertainment space at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles. He entered into an equity partnership with GeekChicDaily in June 2011 to form Nerdist Industries.

Hardwick published a self-help book, The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life), with Penguin Publishing, in late 2011. In February 2012, GeekChicDaily fully merged with Nerdist Industries and became Nerdist News, with Hardwick operating as Chief Creative Officer.

On July 10, 2012, Nerdist Industries was acquired by Legendary Entertainment. Hardwick was given the title of co-president of Legendary's digital business.

In February 2018, Hardwick announced that he would be rebranding The Nerdist Podcast to ID10T and that he would be leaving Nerdist since the contract with Legendary came to an end in 2017.

Voice-over work

Hardwick voiced Alexander Hamilton in The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd and Otis the Cow in the Barnyard series (originally voiced by Kevin James in the film Barnyard).

He provided the voice for Green Arrow/Oliver Queen on The Batman and Lego Dimensions, Glowface in The X's, and Sokka in The Legend of Korra, as well as voice work for The Minstrel Show from the rap group Little Brother, and narration for the introduction video for the Flash animation game George Plimpton's Video Falconry. Between May 2013 and July 2016, he voiced "Craig the Snake" on Sanjay and Craig. He also voiced the character Vaughn in Telltale Games's Tales from the Borderlands, reprising his role in the Borderlands 2 DLC Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary and in Borderlands 3.

In 2017, Hardwick guest-voiced the villain Klaxxon for a special episode of Futurama released on the Nerdist podcast.

Hosting

In 1993, Hardwick hosted the MTV game show Trashed, in which contestants would answer trivia questions or risk some of their belongings being destroyed. From 1995 to 1998, he co-hosted with Jenny McCarthy the MTV dating game show Singled Out, in which the main contestant selects from a pool of 50 people based on their attributes without seeing them. While working on Singled Out, he met fellow MTV personality Jacinda Barrett, to whom he became engaged but never married. Later, he hosted the syndicated dating show Shipmates.

From October through December 2007, Hardwick hosted the weekly series Wired Science on PBS, while writing for Wired magazine. On June 7, 2009, he became the host of G4's Web Soup, a spinoff of E!'s The Soup. Hardwick had previously guest-hosted The Soups predecessor, Talk Soup.

Since February 2010, Hardwick has been producing the "Nerdist" podcast, which he hosts with Jonah Ray and Matt Mira. The podcast was named one of 2010's best by The A.V. Club and one of the 10 best comedy podcasts by Rolling Stone.

In May 2011, Hardwick signed a contract with BBC America to host a pilot of a panel talk show for the network based on the podcast. The pilot also included Hardwick doing intros and outros for BBC America's new Saturday-night Ministry of Laughs comedy block of Britcoms.

In 2011, Hardwick began hosting Talking Dead, a live half-hour (later expanded to one hour) aftershow to AMC's series The Walking Dead. Hardwick interviews celebrity fans of The Walking Dead as well as members of its cast and crew, interacts with the studio audience, re-airs clips of the episode, plays games with and polls the viewers via the Internet, and offers exclusive clips of the next episode. In August 2013, Hardwick began hosting Talking Bad, a live half-hour (later expanded to one hour on the final episode) talk show companion series to the final eight episodes of the AMC series Breaking Bad. In February 2016, Hardwick began hosting Talking Saul, a live one-hour talk show companion series to the season two premiere and finale of the AMC series Better Call Saul.

On December 24, 2011, BBC America aired The Nerdist: The Year in Review, a comedy special hosted by Hardwick in Los Angeles. In August 2012, he hosted a special episode of The Nerdist on BBC America to "debate" the effects of time and space with other friends and celebrity nerds. The episode was really an effort to promote the network's upcoming September 1 seventh-season premiere of the series Doctor Who.

On April 30, 2013, Comedy Central announced that Hardwick would host a half-hour comedic panel show called @midnight with Chris Hardwick. Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, formerly of Reno 911!, served as executive producers/showrunners. It premiered on October 21, 2013.

On November 7, 2014, he hosted the "Talent, Art, Movie and Costume" section of the BlizzCon gaming convention.

Stand-up comedy

Hardwick is also a stand-up comedian and performs with Mike Phirman in the music comedy duo Hard 'n Phirm, whose half-hour comedy special Comedy Central Presents: Hard 'n Phirm premiered in January 2008.

In 2004, Comedy Central used some of his material for an animated series called Shorties Watchin' Shorties. In 2007, both his solo standup and duo act were featured on the comedy compilation CD Comedy Death Ray. Hard 'n Phirm completed several songs for the 2009 Rob Zombie animated movie The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. Hardwick announced plans to do a live stand-up album from his 2009 tour. He has toured as a featured comedian for Joel McHale. In 2010, he appeared as a stand-up comic on John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show twice. In the same year, Hardwick performed on the Comedy Central show The Benson Interruption.

On February 17, 2012, Hardwick filmed Mandroid, his first one-hour stand-up special for Comedy Central in New York City. Jonah Ray was his unaired opener. The special aired on Comedy Central on November 10, 2012, and was well received. Extended and uncensored DVD, CD, and digital versions were released January 22, 2013.

Influences

Hardwick has said his influences include Steve Martin, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Hicks, Emo Philips, and Bill Cosby.

Personal life

Hardwick is a recovering alcoholic and says he has been sober since October 2003. A former co-worker said that Hardwick "replaced his alcoholism with workaholism".

Relationships

Hardwick was previously engaged to model and actress Jacinda Barrett, and had a relationship with actress Andrea Savage. In 2004, he started a relationship with actress and comedian Janet Varney and they were together for seven years until their separation in 2011. Shortly after, he would go on to date Chloe Dykstra (from late 2011 to July 2014). He became engaged to model and actress Lydia Hearst on September 12, 2015, and the two married on August 20, 2016, in Pasadena, California. In August 2021, they announced that they were expecting their first child together. On January 29, 2022, they announced the arrival of their daughter.

Hardwick and his family currently live in Los Feliz, Los Angeles. He also owns a residence in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles.

Abuse allegation

Hardwick's ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra published an essay on Medium on June 14, 2018, in which she alleged that she had been subjected to emotional and sexual abuse by an unnamed ex-boyfriend, and claimed that she was subject to career blacklisting in retaliation for ending the relationship. The essay did not name the abuser, but the timing and several key details led readers to conclude it was Hardwick. In response, Nerdist removed all mentions of Hardwick from its website while AMC announced that further episodes of Talking with Chris Hardwick would be pulled. Hardwick also stepped away from moderating all AMC and BBC America panels at San Diego Comic-Con.

On July 25, 2018, AMC announced that a comprehensive investigation conducted alongside law firm Loeb & Loeb had failed to confirm Dykstra's allegations and that Hardwick would return as host of Talking Dead and Talking with Chris Hardwick. Their statement read, "We take these matters very seriously and given the information available to us after a very careful review, including interviews with numerous individuals, we believe returning Chris to work is the appropriate step." Dykstra, who refused to cooperate in the investigation, stated two days later on Twitter, "I chose not to participate in the investigation of the person I spoke of. I do not believe in an eye for an eye." She also stated that she "originally wrote [her] essay so [she] could move on with [her] life, and now [she intends] to do so". On July 31, 2018, NBC announced that Hardwick would return as host of The Wall following its own investigation. On August 10, 2018, his name was returned to Nerdist's website after their own investigation.

Discography

• Horses and Grasses (2005)
• Mandroid (2012)
• Funcomfortable (2016)

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

• Ben Folds Five's "Do It Anyway": Executive producer and actor

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "Honored to share my birthday today w/ Doctor Who!".
2. (June 16, 2018). "AMC Pulls 'Talking With Chris Hardwick' After Chloe Dykstra's 'Troubling Allegations". [[Oath Inc.]].
3. "Honored to share my birthday today w/ Doctor Who!".
4. Silberman, Stephen M.. (September 30, 1996). "In Their Own Prime Time". [[Meredith Corporation]].
5. Hardwick, Chris. (November 11, 2011). "Happy Veterans Day".
6. (March 15, 2013). "Nerdist Podcast 335: Live from Gilda's Laugh Fest".
7. (2014-09-04). "Conan O'Brien, Chris Hardwick talk Joan Rivers' death on 'Conan'".
8. (2017-01-11). "Jarrod and Shantell".
9. (May 20, 2011). "Nerdist Podcast 90: Finish Book".
10. (February 22, 2011). "Nerdist Podcast 63: Wil.Wheaton".
11. Wheaton, Wil. (September 2, 2001). "Wil Wheaton dot Net:1.5: Nimrod's Son".
12. Staff. (2013-08-26). "Chris Hardwick Destined to Host Everything". Theblacksheeponline.com.
13. Leijon, Erik. (July 28, 2011). "The dean of dweebs: Chris Hardwick fine-tunes his nerd-dar at Just for Laughs". Communications Gratte-Ciel Ltée.
14. Ng, Philiana. (May 25, 2011). "Chris Hardwick Reveals Details of BBC America Deal, How Nerdist Podcast Will Be Adapted For TV". [[Eldridge Industries]].
15. "The NerdMelt Origin Story". NerdMelt.
16. Finke, Nikki. (6 June 2011). "Nerds And Geeks Unite In MultiPlatform Deal". Penske Media Corporation.
17. Graser, Marc. (June 6, 2011). "Nerdist, GeekChic team up". Penske Media Corporation.
18. Hardwick, Chris. "Nerd is the Word". The Nerdist.
19. (10 July 2012). "Legendary Entertainment Acquires Nerdist Industries". The Hollywood Reporter.
20. (2 February 2018). "Chris Hardwick Rebrands 'Nerdist Podcast' as Long-Running Show Gets New Home (Exclusive)".
21. "Voice Of Glowface". Behind The Voice Actors.
22. {{IMDb name. 0362534
23. Grace Bello. (2012-01-13). "Talking to The Nerdist's Chris Hardwick, January 2012". Theawl.com.
24. Bacon, Caleb. (June 30, 2009). "Chris Hardwick: Nerdism For Fun and Profit". LAist.
25. Hardwick, Chris. (February 8, 2010). "The Nerdist Podcast: Now A Thing!". nerdist.com.
26. (December 29, 2010). "The Best Podcasts of 2010". The A.V. Club.
27. Berkowitz, Joe. (April 6, 2011). "The 10 Best Comedy Podcasts of the Moment". Rolling Stone.
28. Wicks, Kevin. "Chris Hardwick to Host 'Ministry of Laughs' and 'Nerdist' Pilot for BBC America". bbcamerica.com.
29. Andreeva, Nellie. (April 30, 2013). "Comedy Central To Launch Late-Night Show Hosted By Chris Hardwick, Funny Or Die Produces, Tom Lennon & Ben Garant To Run".
30. (2008-01-25). "Tonight: Hard 'N Phirm's Comedy Central Presents Special | Insider Blog | Comedy Central's Insider". CCInsider.ComedyCentral.com.
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36. Hardwick, Chris. (January 1, 2013). "Chris Hardwick: Mandroid". [[Amazon.com]].
37. "Chris Hardwick: Mandroid – Widescreen – DVD". Bestbuy.com.
38. Bello, Grace. (June 13, 2012). "Talking to the Nerdist's Chris Hardwick". [[The Awl]].
39. Hardwick, Chris. (April 17, 2011). "Chubby Emo Chris Hardwick of 2003 Says, "You Can Do It!"".
40. Hrabkovska, Silvia. (1 December 2015). "50 facts about comedian, actor, TV host, author, writer, producer, and podcaster Chris Hardwick".
41. (June 19, 2018). "Chris Hardwick's Hard Times: The Silence From Those in His Orbit Is Deafening". TheWrap, Inc..
42. (2017-07-19). "Chris Hardwick: Nerdism For Fun and Profit: LAist". Laist.
43. Dykstra, Chloe. (13 July 2014). "Hey guys. As you might have heard, @nerdist and I are no longer together. I am eating lots of pizza. It's all going to be fine.".
44. Hardwick, Chris. (13 July 2014). "Hey gang sorry for the awkward tweet but @skydart & I have decided to part ways. It's very fresh so please be respectful during this time.".
45. Carlson, Adam. (September 13, 2015). "Chris Hardwick and Lydia Hearst Are Engaged – Check Out Her Sweet Ring". [[Meredith Corporation]].
46. Stone, Natalie. (August 21, 2016). "Talking Dead's Chris Hardwick and Lydia Hearst Are Married!". [[Meredith Corporation]].
47. Allison Schonter. (August 23, 2021). "Lydia Hearst and Chris Hardwick Announce They're Expecting First Child Together". [[PopCulture.com]].
48. "New human alert!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️Dimity Facente Hearst-Hardwick HAS ARRIVED TODAY❤️❤️❤️❤️ Lyds loved this picture so much she requested I post it to let everyone know that she and baby are doing great! The experience of watching Lydia go through pregnancy and give birth to our sweet little peanut was humbling and inspiring. She is an absolute warrior and I am grateful, blessed, and honored! The first moment seeing and hearing our child after all this time is indelibly imprinted onto my soul. Holy crap this whole process is amazing! Delivery was originally scheduled for Feb 9 but the baby's development had plateaued, the placenta had hardened, her fluid reserves were low, and she was breech so they took her out a wee bit early at just over 37 weeks. Lyds is happy, Dimity is perfect and I am over the moon with love for the both of them. 👶🏻✨🥳 #dadsofinstagram".
49. "Chris Hardwick and Lydia Hearst paid $11 million for home".
50. (22 December 2017). "Exclusive: Comedian Chris Hardwick is buying a $5.6M Eagle Rock mansion".
51. (June 14, 2018). "Rose-Colored Glasses: A Confession.". A Medium Corporation.
52. Corinthios, Aurelie. (June 15, 2018). "Chris Hardwick's Ex Chloe Dykstra Accuses Unnamed Boyfriend of Sexual Assault, Emotional Abuse". [[Meredith Corporation]].
53. Ross, Martha. (June 15, 2018). "Chris Hardwick's ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra alleges 'long-term' emotional and sexual abuse in essay". [[Digital First Media]].
54. Parker, Ryan. (June 15, 2018). "Nerdist Removes Chris Hardwick References From Site Amid Chloe Dykstra's Abuse Claim". Eldridge Industries.
55. Maddus, Gene. (June 16, 2018). "Chris Hardwick Denies Allegations of Abuse of Ex-Girlfriend". Penske Media Corporation.
56. Patten, Dominic. (June 16, 2018). "AMC Silences Chris Hardwick Talk Show & Comic-Con Panels After Abuse Claims". Penske Media Corporation.
57. Gonzalez, Sandra. (July 25, 2018). "Chris Hardwick returning as host of 'Talking Dead' following investigation". [[Turner Broadcasting Systems]].
58. Liptak, Andrew. (July 25, 2018). "Chris Hardwick will return to AMC next month". [[The Verge]].
59. Nemetz, Dave. (July 31, 2018). "Chris Hardwick to Return as Host of NBC's The Wall Next Season".
60. Kilkenny, Katie. (August 10, 2018). "Chris Hardwick's Name Returns to Nerdist Website After AMC Investigation". Eldridge Industries.
61. "Chris Hardwick (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
62. (11 July 2016). "Check Out Matt Mercer's New D&D Show – Force Grey: Giant Hunters – Geek and Sundry".
63. Anderson, Derek. (March 2, 2017). "AMC Announces New Extension Series TALKING WITH CHRIS HARDWICK". Daily Dead.
64. (21 April 2017). "'America's Got Talent': Chris Hardwick, DJ Khaled Announced as Season 12 Guest Judges". TV Insider.
65. (July 10, 2014). "2014 Emmy Nominations: 'Breaking Bad,' 'True Detective' Among the Honored". New York Times.