Craig Robinson (actor)

Craig Robinson
Robinson at Wondercon 2013
Birth name	Craig Phillip Robinson
Born	(1971-10-25) October 25, 1971 (age 49) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Medium	Film, stand-up, television, singer
Alma mater	Saint Xavier University (MEd) Illinois State University (BA)
Years active	2001–present
Website	www.mrcraigrobinson.com

Craig Phillip Robinson (born October 25, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, musician and singer. He is best known for his roles as Darryl Philbin on The Office (2005–2013) and Doug Judy (the "Pontiac Bandit") on Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–present). He is also known for his frequent collaborations with Seth Rogen, including Pineapple Express (2008), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), This Is the End (2013), and Sausage Party (2016). Robinson has appeared in numerous other television shows and films, including Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) and Dolemite Is My Name (2019). He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film Morris from America.

Early life[]

Robinson was born in Chicago, Illinois, to a music teacher mother and an attorney father.^[1][2] He was raised on the South Side of Chicago, and was brought up Methodist.^[3] He attended Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. He received his undergraduate degree from Illinois State University in 1994, and his Master of Education from Saint Xavier University. He was a music teacher at Horace Mann Elementary School in Chicago, and Benjamin Franklin Elementary School and East Chicago Central High School in East Chicago, Indiana.^[4]

Career[]

Acting and comedy[]

Robinson began doing stand-up and taking classes in improv and acting at The Second City in Chicago while still in college.^[5] He was on Def Comedy Jam season 7, episode 2. After doing open-mic sessions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere and winning regional comedy competitions, he began to get spots on late night TV shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live. ^[5] 2004 saw him cast in bit parts, including episodes of Friends, The Bernie Mac Show, LAX and Arrested Development.^[5] Those led to small movie roles in Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

Beginning in 2005, he portrayed Darryl Philbin on the American version of The Office, appearing first in the fourth episode of the first season entitled, "The Alliance".^[6] Robinson was promoted to a starring role in the fourth season and continued until the show ended in 2013.

In 2010, he hosted season seven of Last Comic Standing with judges Greg Giraldo, Natasha Leggero, and Andy Kindler.

He has appeared on other television shows, including Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Lucky, Halfway Home, and Reno 911!. He appeared in the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Hump de Bump". He voiced Cookie in Shrek Forever After (2010) and played Reg Mackworthy on the HBO hit series Eastbound & Down (2009–2012).

Robinson is a frequent collaborator with Seth Rogen, starring alongside Rogen in the films Knocked Up (2007), Pineapple Express (2008), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), This Is the End (2013) and Sausage Party (2016).

Robinson performed at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in 2008.^[4]

Robinson in 2009

On top of Shrek Forever After and Sausage Party, Robinson has also provided his voice for the films Escape from Planet Earth (2013), Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) and Henchmen (2018).

He also appeared in what was then the highest-grossing Korean film, D-War (Korean: 디워, released in North America as Dragon Wars: D-War) in 2007.

Making a departure from his comedy background, Robinson portrayed saxophonist Maceo Parker in the James Brown biopic Get On Up (2014). In December 2015, he appeared in several Wal-Mart commercials promoting their credit card while singing and playing the piano at the store.^[7] He received rave reviews for the A24 drama Morris from America (2016),^[8] earning a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He also played the role of Ray Hayworth in the second season of the drama series Mr. Robot.

In 2019 Robinson became the spokesman for the Philadelphia-area meat producer Dietz & Watson, appearing in several commercials for the company’s line of deli meats. The first of these commercials aired in January 2019, featuring Robinson and his brother Chris promoting the snack Dietz Nuts with Robinson playing up the double entendre in the name of the product.^[9]

On June 2020, Robinson was reportedly confirmed to be starring in the pandemic-themed thriller produced by Michael Bay Songbird alongside Demi Moore, Peter Stormare and Paul Walter Hauser.^[10]

Robinson was a guest judge in season four of The Masked Singer where he also performed Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" as a "Mystery Piano Man" during his introduction.

Robinson later became the host of The Masked Dancer which has the same format as The Masked Singer.

Music[]

Robinson performing in 2014

For a number of years, Robinson and comedian Jerry Minor had a comedy act where they performed as musical duo L. Witherspoon & Chucky, with Minor as smooth singing L. Witherspoon and Robinson as Chucky, the keyboard player and back-up singer. They performed the act on HBO's Sketch Pad, several stand-up shows on Comedy Central, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!^[11]

He occasionally performs with his band, The Nasty Delicious, alongside his brother Chris Rob. They were featured as his band in an episode of The Office, and on the season finale of the seventh season of Last Comic Standing. He has also performed in character in multiple episodes of The Office, and was featured on the Hot Tub Time Machine soundtrack, singing "Jessie's Girl" and "Let's Get It Started." He was also in the film Miss March, playing the role of the hit rapper Phil, also known as Horsedick.MPEG. Robinson produced two songs from that same film.

He has also performed with his band in the 2018 stand-up comedy special Seth Rogen's Hilarity for Charity.

Personal life[]

In June 2008, Robinson was arrested in Culver City, California for possession of MDMA and methamphetamine.^[12] He was charged with two felonies but the charges were dismissed after he completed a diversion program.^[13] In October 2013, Robinson was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Force and fined $1,000 by a Bahamas court for possession of a half gram of marijuana and 18 MDMA pills.^[13]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Television[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Craig Robinson (actor).

• Craig Robinson at IMDb
• Craig Robinson at TV.com