Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, television host, writer, producer, podcaster, and musician. He is the chief executive officer of Nerdist Industries, the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. He currently hosts Talking Dead, an hourly aftershow on AMC, affiliated with the network's zombie drama series The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead as well as Talking with Chris Hardwick, a show in which Hardwick interviews prominent pop culture figures; and The Wall, a plinko-inspired gameshow on NBC. He was also the host of @midnight with Chris Hardwick, a nightly comedy-game show series on Comedy Central until it ended its run on August 4, 2017.
Hardwick originated the role of Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages during its premiere run in Los Angeles (2005–2006). In 2011, he began hosting Ministry of Laughs, a BBC America Britcom block, and Talking Dead, a live hour talk show on AMC following episodes of The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. In 2013, Hardwick hosted Talking Bad, a live half-hour talk show on AMC following the final eight episodes of Breaking Bad, and in 2016 he started to host Talking Saul for Breaking Bad's spin-off, Better Call Saul. He is also known for performing with Mike Phirman in Hard 'n Phirm, hosting Singled Out, Wired Science, Web Soup, and Nerdist Podcast, and as the voice of Otis in Back at the Barnyard, replacing Kevin James. His podcast currently has 923 episodes, becoming one of the most popular and long-lived podcasts on iTunes.