Joel McHale

**Joel Edward McHale** (born November 20, 1971) is an Italian-American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, writer, voice artist, and comedian. He is best known as the host of _Talk Soup_ and as Jeff Winger in _Community_. He has acted in movies including _Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World_ as Wilbur Wilson, _Open Season 2_ as the voice of Elliot (taking Ashton Kutcher's place), and _Ted_ as Rex.

## Early life

McHale, the middle of the three brothers, was born **Joel Edward McHale** in Rome, Italy on November 20, 1971. His mother, Laurie, is from Vancouver, British Columbia, and his father, Jack, is from Chicago. McHale and his brothers were born in Rome, where their father worked for an American university. He grew up in the Seattle area, graduating from Mercer Island High School in 1991. Also he participated at Youth Theatre Northwest.

He received a bachelor's degree in History from the University of Washington in 1995. While at the University of Washington, McHale briefly belonged to the Theta Chi Fraternity. He was recruited to be on the rowing team, but later walked onto the football team, playing tight end for two years. McHale received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Professional Actors Training Program at the University of Washington.

### Stand-up comedy

McHale was part of the _Almost Live!_ cast, a local sketch-comedy TV show produced by Seattle's KING-TV (Channel 5). From 1993 until 1997, McHale was a member of the improv comedy group at Unexpected Productions, participating in Theatersports! at the Market Theater located in Pike Place Fish Market in downtown Seattle.

### Acting

After earning his master's degree in acting, McHale moved to Los Angeles and landed small roles in _Oliver Beene_, _CSI: Miami_, and _Will & Grace_. He played a TV reporter in the biopic _Lords of Dogtown_. He guest-starred as a cast member on the NBC improv comedy show _Thank God You're Here_ during the pilot episode and had a guest role on an episode of _Pushing Daisies_. McHale also appeared in _Spider-Man 2_ in a small role as Mr. Jacks, a bank manager.

In 2004, McHale began hosting _The Soup_, a satirical weekly television show on the "E!" television network. Throughout the show, he takes the audience through the oddities and ridiculous happenings of the week in television. He frequently appears as a co-host on _Loveline_. He has also had a long association with Circle X Theatre, where he has done several plays. McHale was a weekly guest on _The Adam Carolla Show_ and _Mickey and Amelia_, and occasional guest on the _Opie and Anthony Show_. He has been a judge on _Iron Chef America_. He was involved in the American version of the British TV show _The IT Crowd_. McHale made a guest appearance on the finale of _Last Comic Standing_ sixth season, when he recapped the show's events in his typical format of jokes made popular on _The Soup_. He usually appeared in _Countdown with Keith Olbermann_ in a humor sequence closing the show.

McHale played FBI Agent Robert Herndon in _The Informant!_ (2009), alongside Matt Damon.

He starred in _Community_, which premiered in fall 2009 and ended in 2015. He also hosted _The Soup_ from 2004 to 2025.

### Voice acting

McHale voiced the mule Elliot in _Open Season 2_ (the direct-to-video sequel to _Open Season_) since Ashton Kutcher didn't come back; but in _Open Season 3_, McHale didn't return himself and got replaced by Matthew W. Taylor, who was replaced by Will Townsend in _Open Season: Scared Silly_.

## Personal life

McHale married Sarah Williams in 1996. They have two sons: Edward Roy, "Eddie" (born 2005) and Isaac Hayden (born 2008). McHale and Williams live in the Hollywood Hills.

## Filmography

|colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Film|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2004|_Spider-Man 2_|Mr. Jacks||
|2005|_Lords of Dogtown_|TV Reporter||
|2005|_Game Time_|Johnson||
|2006|_Mini's First Time_|Host||
|2008|_The Onion Movie_|Office Worker|Uncredited|
|2008|_Open Season 2_|Elliot|Direct-to-video Voice only Replacing Ashton Kutcher|
|2009|_The Informant!_|FBI Agent Robert Herndon||
|2011|_What's Your Number?_|Paul Tyler||
|2011|_Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World_|Wilbur||
|2011|_The Big Year_|Skeeter Yablans||
|2012|_Ted_|Rex|Filming|

## Television work

|colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Television|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1993–1997|_Almost Live!_|||
|1998|_Bill Nye the Science Guy_|||
|2001|_Will & Grace_|Ian||
|2004–present|_The Soup_|Himself – Host||
|2005|_The Huntress_|||
|2006|_The Fugitive_|||
|2006|_Diagnosis: Murder_|||
|2007|_The IT Crowd_|Roy|Failed Pilot|
|2008|_Robot Chicken_|Various|Voice only|
|2008|_CSI: Miami_|Greg Welch||
|2009|_Pushing Daisies_|Harold Hundin||
|2009–2015|_Community_|Jeff Winger||
|2010|_Giants of Radio_|||
|2011|_Phineas and Ferb_|Additional Voices||

## Other websites

- Official website
- E! Online Biography

## Infobox (comedian)

- **name**: Joel McHale
- **image**: Joel McHale 2014 Comic Con (cropped).jpg
- **caption**: McHale in July 2014.
- **birth name**: Joel Edward McHale
- **birth place**: Rome, Italy
- **medium**: Movie, television, Stand-up comedy, stand-up
- **nationality**: United States, American
- **active**: 1991–present
- **genre**: News satire, sarcasm, observational comedy
- **subject**: Celebrities, gossip, pop culture
- **spouse**: Sarah Williams (1996–present)
- **notable work**: Host of _The Soup_
Jeff Winger on _Community (TV series), Community_
- **website**: http://www.joelmchaleonline.com/