Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, writer, director and podcast host. He is best known for his work in the feature films Without a Paddle (2004), Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), Employee of the Month (2006), Idiocracy (2006), Let's Go to Prison (2006), Hit and Run (2012), and CHiPs (2017), the last pair of which he also wrote and directed, and the MTV practical joke reality series Punk'd (2003). He portrayed Crosby Braverman in the NBC comedy-drama series Parenthood from 2010 to 2015. Since 2018, he has hosted the popular podcast Armchair Expert. He played Luke Matthews in the Netflix show The Ranch and co-stars in ABC's Bless This Mess.
Shepard was born in Highland Township, Oakland County, Michigan, in suburban Detroit. He is the son of Laura LaBo, who worked at General Motors (GM), and David Robert "Dave" Shepard, Sr.(deceased), who was a car salesman. His parents divorced when he was 3 years old.