Eric Petersen is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as the titular character in the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...

dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

series ''

Kevin Can F**k Himself ''Kevin Can F**k Himself'' is an American dark comedy television series created by Valerie Armstrong, who also serves as an executive producer. The first two episodes were made available on AMC+ on June 13, 2021, and the series premiered on AMC ...

'' (2021–present), and for playing the title character in the first US national tour of ''

Shrek The Musical ''Shrek The Musical'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film ''Shrek'', along with elements of its sequels: ''Shrek 2'', ''Shrek Forever After'' a ...

'' (2010).

Early life

Petersen was born in

Carol Stream, Illinois Carol Stream is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. Carol Stream was incorporated on January 5, 1959, and named after its founder's daughter. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,854. History In ...

, a suburb of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and attended

Glenbard North High School Glenbard North High School, or GBN, and locally referred to as "Glenbard" or "North", is a public closed campus four-year high school located at the corner of Kuhn Road and Lies Road in Carol Stream, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, ...

. He began acting during his freshman year of high school, after quitting the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team and subsequently missing soccer tryouts. His friend suggested that he audition for a role in the school production of ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...

'', and the experience of playing that role inspired him to continue acting. Afterwards, he attended

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. The ...

, where he graduated in 2003 with a degree in theater.

Career

After graduating from Bradley, Petersen took a role on the US national tour of ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

''. He played William Barfee, one of the contestants in the eponymous spelling bee. He followed this effort with ''

Shrek the Musical ''Shrek The Musical'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film ''Shrek'', along with elements of its sequels: ''Shrek 2'', ''Shrek Forever After'' a ...

'', serving at first as an

understudy In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

for the title character. Six months after the show opened in 2008, Petersen became part of the first round of replacements, and played Shrek on Broadway for another six months. When ''Shrek The Musical'' began its first national tour in 2010, Petersen once again served in the titular role. Living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at the time, Petersen made the transition into TV with a two-episode arc in the long-running soap opera ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

''. He played a "''

Bad Santa ''Bad Santa'' is a 2003 American Christmas black comedy film directed by Terry Zwigoff and written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. It stars Billy Bob Thornton, with a supporting cast of Tony Cox, Lauren Graham, Brett Kelly, Lauren Tom, John ...

''"-type criminal who held one of the main characters hostage as part of an attempted robbery. He followed this with a series of bit parts in shows such as ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...

'', ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...

'', and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. In 2012, Petersen was cast as a series lead in ''Giant Baby'', later renamed '' Kirstie'', where he starred as Arlo, the long-lost son of Madison Banks (

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...

). In 2021, Petersen starred opposite

Annie Murphy Anne Frances Murphy (born December 19, 1986) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her starring role as Alexis Rose in the CBC sitcom ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020). For her performance in the series, she garnered critical acclaim and ...

as the titular character in the

series ''

''. Petersen's character was meant to channel the stereotypical "

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

husband", in the style of ''

The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...

'', ''

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fol ...

'', and ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'', while revealing the dissatisfaction of Murphy's character, Allison. Eric, and producer Danny Jordan, host two podcasts
''Christmas Countdown Show''
an
''Parenting Countdown Podcast''
Both podcasts share a similar format, in which the hosts countdown show related topics such as movies, TV, music, and special experiences.

Personal life

Petersen married his wife, fellow musical theater actress Lisa Marie Morabito, in 2007. They have two children together: Sophia and Miles.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Eric Living people 21st-century American actors People from Carol Stream, Illinois American television actors Bradley University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)