Christopher John O'Neill is a comedian and Broadway actor, best known
for playing the role of Elder Arnold Cunningham in the musical The
Book of Mormon. While performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with
his two-man traveling comedy act, The Chris and Paul Show, O'Neill was
spotted by a casting director and invited to audition for the role of
Elder Cunningham. He joined the first national tour as Elder
Cunningham in December , his professional acting debut, and in January
he joined the Broadway cast. In , The Chris and Paul Show competed in
the NBC comedy competition television series Bring the Funny, making
it to the finals of the show's first season.Christopher John O'Neill
grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, the son of Rich and Karen O'Neill.
His father is a multi-instrumentalist and Juilliard School-educated
pianist, and his mother is a middle school teacher. He also has one
brother, Brian. While O'Neill took up music and performed in musicals
and plays, he grew up wanting to be a soccer player, and by the end of
high school he wanted to be a professional comedian. O'Neill applied
to several college theater programs, but owing to a lack of
experience, was not accepted into any of them.Starting in , O'Neill
and Paul Valenti began collaborating as a sketch-comedy duo called The
Chris and Paul Show. O'Neill described the duo's style as "stupid and
abrupt"; it also involved physical comedy. In , shortly after O'Neill
graduated high school, the pair moved to New York City, where O'Neill
worked a series of retail and service jobs while Valenti found gigs
for the duo to perform at. The Chris and Paul Show did receive some
acclaim, with O'Neill receiving the Best Actor in a Comedy award from
the New York Television Festival and the duo receiving Best Newcomer
award at the Montreal Sketch Festival. They were also nominated for
the same award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which invited them
to return in .In , The Chris and Paul Show competed in the NBC comedy
competition television series Bring the Funny, making it to the finals
of the show's first season.
for playing the role of Elder Arnold Cunningham in the musical The
Book of Mormon. While performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with
his two-man traveling comedy act, The Chris and Paul Show, O'Neill was
spotted by a casting director and invited to audition for the role of
Elder Cunningham. He joined the first national tour as Elder
Cunningham in December , his professional acting debut, and in January
he joined the Broadway cast. In , The Chris and Paul Show competed in
the NBC comedy competition television series Bring the Funny, making
it to the finals of the show's first season.Christopher John O'Neill
grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, the son of Rich and Karen O'Neill.
His father is a multi-instrumentalist and Juilliard School-educated
pianist, and his mother is a middle school teacher. He also has one
brother, Brian. While O'Neill took up music and performed in musicals
and plays, he grew up wanting to be a soccer player, and by the end of
high school he wanted to be a professional comedian. O'Neill applied
to several college theater programs, but owing to a lack of
experience, was not accepted into any of them.Starting in , O'Neill
and Paul Valenti began collaborating as a sketch-comedy duo called The
Chris and Paul Show. O'Neill described the duo's style as "stupid and
abrupt"; it also involved physical comedy. In , shortly after O'Neill
graduated high school, the pair moved to New York City, where O'Neill
worked a series of retail and service jobs while Valenti found gigs
for the duo to perform at. The Chris and Paul Show did receive some
acclaim, with O'Neill receiving the Best Actor in a Comedy award from
the New York Television Festival and the duo receiving Best Newcomer
award at the Montreal Sketch Festival. They were also nominated for
the same award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which invited them
to return in .In , The Chris and Paul Show competed in the NBC comedy
competition television series Bring the Funny, making it to the finals
of the show's first season.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.