Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse (; born June 20, 1989
) is an American actor and comedian. He has performed roles such as Fogell (McLovin) in ''
Superbad'' (2007), Augie Farcques in ''
Role Models'' (2008), and Chris D'Amico in ''
Kick-Ass'' (2010) and its sequel ''
Kick-Ass 2'' (2013).
Mintz-Plasse provided voice acting for Fishlegs Ingerman in the
''How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise (2010–2019) and King Gristle Jr. in ''
Trolls
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
'' (2016).
Early life
Mintz-Plasse was born in
Woodland Hills,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, where he attended
El Camino Real High School, performing on its
improv comedy
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...
team.
He is the son of Ellen Mintz, a school counselor, and Ray Plasse, a postal worker.
He is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
on his mother's side, whereas his father is from a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
family.
Career
When auditioning for the part of Fogell in his film debut ''
Superbad'', he had no professional
head shot
A head shot or headshot is a modern (usually digital) portrait in which the focus is on the person. The term is applied usually for professional profile images on social media, images used on online dating profiles, the 'about us page' of a cor ...
s and instead took one with his camera phone. Because he was 17 at the time and still a minor, his mother was required by law to be on set while he filmed his sex scene in the movie.
Upon release, the film earned critical and commercial success, with many critics citing Mintz-Plasse's performance as a highlight; he received a nomination for the
MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award winners and nominees for Best Breakthrough Performance, first awarded in 1992. In 2010 and 2011, it was renamed Best Breakout Star. In 2012, it returned to its original name but was turned into a non ...
.
In 2008, Mintz-Plasse next appeared with
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...
and
Seann William Scott
Seann William Scott (born October 3, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Steve Stifler in the '' American Pie'' franchise, and also for his role as Doug Glatt in both '' Goon'' and '' Goon: Last of the Enforcers''. He has al ...
in
David Wain's film ''
Role Models'' as Augie Farques, a nerdy teenager obsessed with medieval live-action role-playing games. He also made a small guest appearance on an episode of David Wain's internet series, ''
Wainy Days
''Wainy Days'' is an internet video series starring David Wain that is hosted on the website, My Damn Channel. The web series follows a fictionalized version of Wain through his everyday life as he tries to form relationships with numerous women ...
''. He then starred in
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russell ...
's film ''
Year One'', as a comedic version of the biblical figure
Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...
. He also appeared in a short film titled ''The Tale of RJ'' which ended up becoming the basis for the television series ''
The Hard Times of RJ Berger
''The Hard Times of RJ Berger'' is an American television sitcom created by David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith for MTV. The show's central character is RJ Berger ( Paul Iacono), an unpopular sophomore at the fictional Pinkerton High School ...
''.
The next year, he voiced Fishlegs in the animated film ''
How to Train Your Dragon
''How to Train Your Dragon'' (abbreviated ''HTTYD'') is an American media franchise from DreamWorks Animation and loosely based on the eponymous series of children's books by British author Cressida Cowell. It consists of three feature films: ' ...
''. In April 2010, he appeared in ''
Kick-Ass'' as the superhero Red Mist, a.k.a. Chris D'Amico, which was planned to be a minor role until director
Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Allard de Vere Drummond (born Matthew Allard Robert Vaughn; 7 March 1971) is an English filmmaker. He has produced films including ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) and '' Snatch'' (2000), and directed ''Layer Cake'' (2004 ...
saw Mintz-Plasse audition and his capabilities. Mintz-Plasse originally auditioned for the role of Kick-Ass, but when the producers believed that his acting was too loud and obnoxious they immediately gave him the role of Red Mist instead.
In May 2010, he guest-starred in an episode of ''
Party Down
''Party Down'' is an American sitcom created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States in 2009 and 2010. The series follows a group of caterers in Los Ang ...
'' as Kent, a friend of the character Roman. He performed his second voice-over that month in the film ''
Marmaduke
''Marmaduke'' is a newspaper comic strip revolving around the Winslow family and their Great Dane, Marmaduke, drawn by Brad Anderson from June 1954 to 2015.
Publication history
The strip was created by Anderson, and sold to the John F. Dille ...
'', as the stylized dog Giuseppe. The same year he was featured in two music videos,
Kid Cudi's "
Erase Me", featuring
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
, and the indie rock band
The Soft Pack
The Soft Pack is an indie rock band from San Diego, United States.
History
The band was originally named The Muslims, but changed the name due to "ignorant and racist" comments. Matt Lamkin has stated Soft Pack can describe the band as being ...
's "Answer to Yourself".
In 2011, Mintz-Plasse appeared in ''
Fright Night
''Fright Night'' is a 1985 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Tom Holland (in his directorial debut) and produced by Herb Jaffe. It stars Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall, Amanda Bearse, Jonathan Star ...
''—a remake of the
1985 film—as Edward Lee, former best friend of Charley Brewster, played by
Anton Yelchin. At first he was reluctant to accept the role as it was a remake, but he accepted after reading the script and seeing the talent involved.
In 2012, he voiced the bullying student Alvin in the animated film, ''
ParaNorman
''ParaNorman'' is a 2012 American stop-motion animated comedy horror film directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler (the latter's feature directorial debut), and written by Butler. Produced by Laika, the film stars the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, ...
''.
The same year he also had a small role in the film ''
Pitch Perfect
''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis ...
'' as Tommy, the university's audition launcher. He then starred in a short film, "Would You", written by his ''Fright Night'' co-star
Dave Franco
David John Franco (born June 12, 1985) is an American actor. He began his career with small roles in films such as ''Superbad'' (2007) and '' Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010). Following a starring role in the ninth season of the comedy series '' Scru ...
and premiered at the
SXSW Film Festival
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...
.
Mintz-Plasse was supposed to play the lead role in the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
sitcom ''
Friend Me'' and even filmed several episodes, but before the series could air, it was cancelled after series creator
Alan Kirschenbaum
Alan Kirschenbaum (April 19, 1961 – October 26, 2012) was an American television sitcom producer and writer.
Early life, family and education
Kirschenbaum was born in New York to stand-up comedian Freddie Roman (a.k.a. Fred Kirschenbaum) and ...
died by suicide. As a promotion for the video game ''
Far Cry 3
''Far Cry 3'' is a 2012 first-person shooter game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the third main installment in the '' Far Cry'' series after '' Far Cry 2''. The game takes place on the fictional Rook Islands, a ...
'', he starred in ''The Far Cry Experience'', a series of online videos, as a fictional version of himself trapped on an island controlled by a psychopathic pirate named
Vaas.
He reprised his role of Chris D'Amico in the sequel ''
Kick-Ass 2'', which was released in August 2013.
Mintz-Plasse found the role to be darker than any other he had portrayed to date, and hired an acting coach to help him with the more intense scenes. He made his third music video appearance in the
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Unknown Mortal Orchestra (UMO) is a New Zealand psychedelic rock band formed in Auckland, primarily composed of singer, guitarist, and songwriter Ruban Nielson, and bassist Jake Portrait. The band is currently based in Portland, Oregon, United ...
's music video "So Good at Being in Trouble".
He and his ''Kick-Ass'' co-star
Chloë Grace Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz (; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including four MTV Movie & TV Awards, two People's Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and two Young Artist Awards.
She began actin ...
starred in a short segment, "Middle School Date", in the film ''
Movie 43
''Movie 43'' is a 2013 American anthology comedy film conceived by producer Charles B. Wessler. The film features fourteen different storylines, each one by a different director, including Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundie ...
''. He also had small roles in
Seth Rogen
Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series '' Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part o ...
and
Evan Goldberg
Evan D. Goldberg (born September 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American filmmaker and comedian. He has collaborated with his childhood friend Seth Rogen on the films '' Superbad'', ''Pineapple Express'', ''This Is the End'', '' The Interview'', and '' ...
's ''
This Is the End
''This Is the End'' is a 2013 American apocalyptic
stoner action fantasy black comedy film written, directed and produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, in their directorial debuts. It is a feature-length film adaptation of the short film ...
'', playing a fictional version of himself, and in the romantic comedy film ''
The To Do List
''The To Do List'' is a 2013 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Maggie Carey in her feature film directorial debut, starring Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, Bill Hader, Alia Shawkat, Sarah Steele, Scott Porter, Rachel Bilson, Ch ...
'', with
Aubrey Plaza
Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom ''Pa ...
.
In September 2013, Mintz-Plasse and Dave Franco set out on a week-long road trip across America to promote the technology company
LG's "It's All Possible" campaign for its flagship smartphone, the
LG G2
The LG G2 is an Android (operating system), Android smartphone developed by LG Electronics. Serving as a successor to 2012's LG Optimus G, Optimus G and the 2013 LG Optimus G Pro, Optimus G Pro phablet, the G2 was unveiled at a press event in N ...
. The actors documented their process and broadcast it on ''
Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a comedy video website and film/television production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007. The website contained exclusive material from a re ...
''. Mintz-Plasse had a supporting role as college fraternity student Scoonie in the 2014 hit comedy film ''
Neighbors'' and reprised his role as Fishlegs in the animated sequel ''
How to Train Your Dragon 2
''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' is a 2014 American computer-animated action fantasy film loosely based on the book series of the same name by Cressida Cowell. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is the sequ ...
''.
He reprises his role of Fishlegs in the ''
DreamWorks Dragons
''Dragons'', commonly referred to as ''DreamWorks Dragons'', is an American computer-animated television series based on the 2010 film '' How to Train Your Dragon''. The series serves as a bridge between the first film and its 2014 sequel.
J ...
'' television series, which aired on
Cartoon Network and
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
.
Mintz-Plasse played drums for the rock band The Young Rapscallions, which split after eight years in 2015. He then founded the band Bear on Fire, in which he plays bass guitar.
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mintz-Plasse, Christopher
1989 births
21st-century American drummers
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American rock drummers
El Camino Real High School alumni
Jewish American male actors
Living people
People from Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
21st-century American Jews