Robert Scott Adsit (born November 26, 1965) is an American actor, writer, voice actor, and improvisational comedian. Born in Northbrook, Illinois, Adsit joined the mainstage cast of Chicago's The Second City in 1994 after attending Columbia College Chicago. He appeared in several Jeff award-winning revues, including Paradigm Lost for which he won The Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor in a Comedy.
From 2005â€"2008, he co-directed, co-wrote and co-produced the Adult Swim stop-motion animation program Moral Orel with Dino Stamatopoulos and Jay Johnston. He also voiced several characters and was nominated for an Annie Award for his work as Clay Puppington, Orel's father. After the success of Moral Orel, Adsit and Stamatopoulos worked together again on their stop-motion animation series Mary Shelley's Frankenhole. Adult Swim ordered ten episodes for its first season, which began airing June 27, 2010.
Adsit is known for his role as Pete Hornberger, the well-meaning but frequently terrified executive producer, on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, which won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2008. In 2014, Adsit voiced the robot Baymax in the Disney animated film Big Hero 6.
Life and career
Early life and 1990s
Adsit was born in Northbrook, Illinois, the son of Genevieve "Genny" (Butz) and Andrew Scott Adsit, a real estate attorney.
After attending Columbia College Chicago, Adsit joined the mainstage cast of Chicago's The Second City in 1994, where he appeared in several Jeff award-winning revues, including Piñata Full of Bees and Paradigm Lost for which he won The Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor in a Comedy. A sketch he performed with future Saturday Night Live head writer Adam McKay, "Gump," was included as one of Second City's all-time best in the theater's 25th anniversary compilation. He appeared in the 1997 PBS documentary about the process of creating the multi-award winning Second City review, Paradigm Lost, Second to None along with castmates Tina Fey, Kevin Dorff, Rachel Dratch, Jenna Jolovitz and Jim Zulevic. Adsit also attended DePauw University in Indiana.
In 1996, he portrayed an alcoholic and drug-addicted father in the Hazelden Substance Abuse Clinic (Minnesota) short-subject production, Reflections From The Heart Of A Child. This 26-minute video/DVD feature has become required curriculum in most DWI Repeat Offender classes and substance abuse rehabilitation clinics across the U.S. In 1997, Adsit recorded the voices for the King of Payne, Sir Psycho, The Duke of Bourbon, and Merlin for Williams' Medieval Madness pinball machine. Adsit co-wrote the game's recorded dialog with fellow Second City cast member, Kevin Dorff. Adsit, Dorff and their Second City castmate, Tina Fey, played the character voices in the game. Adsit appeared as a cast member in the renowned sketch comedy program, Mr. Show. He also plagued the band Tenacious D as a neighbor and a demon in their HBO show.
2000s
In 2001, he starred in an episode of Friends, "The One with Ross and Monica's Cousin" in Season 7. After moving to Los Angeles, Adsit appeared in several sitcoms and commercials.
From 2005â€"2008, he co-directed, co-wrote and co-produced the Adult Swim show Moral Orel with Dino Stamatopoulos and Jay Johnston. He also provides the voice of Orel's father, Clay Puppington, as well as his best friend, Doughy, Link McMissins, Art Posabule, Mr. Christein, Junior Christein, Doctor Potterswheel, Billy Figurelli, Mrs. Figurelli and Tiny Tina, among others. He was nominated for an Annie Award for his work as Clay.
Adsit also had a minor role in the The Office episode "Conflict Resolution" as a photographer. Adsit also had a small role in the movie Kicking & Screaming, starring Will Ferrell, where he played the coach of a rival team. In 2006, he joined the cast of 30 Rock with former Second City castmate Tina Fey, as Pete Hornberger, a longtime friend of Fey's character, Liz, and well-meaning but frequently terrified executive producer of TGS with Tracy Jordan, a fictitious sketch comedy series. Adsit, an old friend of Fey, had his character written based on him. In 2007 Adsit starred together with Brendon Small in Let's Fish, a pilot for Adult Swim, but the pilot did not become an official series. Adsit continues to act, improvise and teach at I.O. West and the Upright Citizens Brigade.
2010s
After the success of Moral Orel, Adsit and Dino Stamatopoulos started working together again on their newest stop-motion animation series Mary Shelley's Frankenhole, which Adult Swim has ordered ten episodes for its first season, which began airing on June 27, 2010. Adsit directed, wrote, produced and provided many of the lead voices. In June 2010, Adsit hosted a panel featuring comic book writers Dan Slott, Frank Tieri, and Chris Claremont at HeroCon in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2012 Adsit was immortalized as an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the pages of Marvel's Deadpool. The character, Agent Scott Adsit, has since become a recurring character in the title.
Adsit also guest starred as the "Guest Bailiff" in three episodes of John Hodgman's podcast Judge John Hodgman. Adsit starred as himself in John Hodgman's Netflix comedy special John Hodgman: Ragnarok.
Adsit voices the huggable robot Baymax in the 2014 Disney animated film Big Hero 6. Producer Roy Conli said "The fact that his character is a robot limits how you can emote, but Scott was hilarious. He took those boundaries and was able to shape the language in a way that makes you feel Baymax’s emotion and sense of humor. Scott was able to relay just how much Baymax cares."
Adsit joined the Season 3 cast of the Adult Swim live-action TV series The Heart, She Holler as the corrupt Sheriff, starring alongside Amy Sedaris. Paste Magazine stated that "Sedaris and Adsit, two relatively new co-stars, have great chemistry".
Filmography
References
External links
- Scott Adsit at the Internet Movie Database
- The Second City Coffee Table Book, including Adsit's "Gump"
- Radio Interview with Adsit on The Sound of Young America
- Nerdist Podcast Interview With Adsit
- The Onion's A.V. Club Interview with Scott Adsit