David Scott Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and film productions, most notably the 1988-1995 TV sketch comedy show The Kids in the Hall, as well as the 1996 film Brain Candy. He also starred as Dave Nelson in the sitcom NewsRadio, voiced the main character, Flik, in A Bug's Life, portrayed recurring character Bob Moore in the sitcom Hot in Cleveland, and hosted the game show Celebrity Poker Showdown.
David Scott Foley was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, the son of Mary and Michael, a steamfitter. His mother is from Stafford, England.
After dropping out of high school, Foley pursued standup comedy for about a year in the Toronto Second City Training Centre, where he began taking improv classes and met Kevin McDonald, who gave him a job as an usher at a local art house movie theatre. He played Lewis Allen in the miniseries Anne of Avonlea. Foley, McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson formed The Kids in the Hall in 1984. The troupe's eponymous TV series debuted in 1988 and ended in 1995. Foley played characters including Hecubus, one of the Sizzler sisters, the A. T. & Love boss, Bruno Puntz Jones, Mr. Heavyfoot, Jocelyn and Lex. Initially involved with Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, he left the troupe in the middle of the writing, dissatisfied with the internal strife and the quality of the script, and joined the NewsRadio cast instead. As he had not signed any contract with the studio, Foley agreed to sign a deal which would allow the rest of the troupe to get paid for the script, though he was convinced that it would never be shot. When it was greenlit, Foley appeared in the film because he was contractually obligated to do so. He is the only member of the group who is uncredited as a writer. Foley rejoined the troupe in 2000 and has been an integral part of their various reformations. He appeared in the Kids in the Hall 2010 reunion project Death Comes to Town. Paul Simms, creator of NewsRadio, happened to be a huge fan of Foley's work and wrote the role of Dave Nelson specifically for him. Much of his character on the show was based on his own personality quirks, including his coffee addiction and his love of the sitcom Green Acres.