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Christopher Mintz-Plasse

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Christopher Mintz-Plasse
McLovin in 2013 (Hawaii)
Born
Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse

(1989-06-20) June 20, 1989 (age 35)
Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
EducationEl Camino Real Charter High School, University of California, Riverside
OccupationActor/Comedian
Years active2006–present

Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse (/mɪnts ˈplɔːs/;[1] born June 20, 1989[2]) is an American actor. Primarily known for his work in comedy films, he has performed roles such as Fogell / McLovin in Superbad (2007), Augie Farcques in Role Models (2008), and Chris D'Amico in Kick-Ass (2010) and its sequel Kick-Ass 2 (2013). He also played the role of "Evil" Ed Lee in the 2011 remake of Fright Night.

Mintz-Plasse provided voice acting for Fishlegs Ingerman in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise (2010–2019) and King Gristle Jr. in the Trolls franchise (2016–2023).

Early life

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Christopher Mintz-Plasse was born in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, where he attended El Camino Real High School, performing on its improv comedy team.[2] He is the son of Ellen Mintz, a school counselor, and Ray Plasse, a postal worker.[2][3] He is Jewish on his mother's side, whereas his father is from a Catholic family.[4][5] His father was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and raised in Webster, Massachusetts, making Mintz-Plasse a life-long Boston sports fan.[6]

Career

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Mintz-Plasse in 2007

When auditioning for the part of Fogell in his film debut Superbad, he had no professional head shots and instead took one with his camera phone.[7] Because he was 17 at the time and still a minor, his mother was required by law to be on set while he filmed his sex scene in the movie.[2] Upon release, the film earned critical and commercial success, with many critics citing Mintz-Plasse's performance as a highlight; he received a nomination for the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance.[8][9]

In 2008, Mintz-Plasse next appeared with Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott in David Wain's film Role Models as Augie Farques, a nerdy teenager obsessed with medieval live-action role-playing games. He also made a small guest appearance on an episode of David Wain's internet series, Wainy Days. He then starred in Harold Ramis's film Year One, as a comedic version of the biblical figure Isaac. He also appeared in a short film The Tale of RJ which became the basis for the television series The Hard Times of RJ Berger.[10]

The next year, he voiced Fishlegs in the animated film How to Train Your Dragon. In April 2010, he appeared in Kick-Ass as the superhero Red Mist, a.k.a. Chris D'Amico, which was planned to be a minor role until director Matthew Vaughn saw Mintz-Plasse audition and his capabilities. Mintz-Plasse originally auditioned for the role of Kick-Ass, but when the producers believed that his acting was too loud and obnoxious, they granted him the role of Red Mist instead.[11][12]

In May 2010, he guest-starred in an episode of Party Down as Kent, a friend of the character Roman. He performed his second voice-over that month in the film Marmaduke, as the stylized dog Giuseppe. The same year he was featured in two music videos, Kid Cudi's "Erase Me", featuring Kanye West, and the indie rock band The Soft Pack's "Answer to Yourself".[13][14]

Mintz-Plasse at a screening of Fright Night at the Deauville American Film Festival in 2011

In 2011, Mintz-Plasse appeared in Fright Night—a remake of the 1985 film—as Edward Lee, former best friend of Charley Brewster, played by Anton Yelchin.[15] At first he was reluctant to accept the role as it was a remake, but he accepted after reading the script and seeing the talent involved.[16]

In 2012, he voiced the bullying student Alvin in the animated film, ParaNorman.[17] The same year he also had a small role in the film Pitch Perfect as Tommy, the university's audition launcher. He then starred in a short film, "Would You", written by his Fright Night co-star Dave Franco and premiered at the SXSW Film Festival.[18][19] Mintz-Plasse was supposed to play the lead role in the CBS sitcom Friend Me and even filmed several episodes, but before the series could air, it was cancelled after series creator Alan Kirschenbaum died by suicide.[20] As a promotion for the video game Far Cry 3, he starred in The Far Cry Experience, a series of online videos, as a fictional version of himself trapped on an island controlled by a psychopathic pirate named Vaas.[21]

He reprised his role of Chris D'Amico in the sequel Kick-Ass 2, which was released in August 2013.[17] Mintz-Plasse found the role to be darker than any other he had portrayed to date, and hired an acting coach to help him with the more intense scenes.[22] He made his third music video appearance in the Unknown Mortal Orchestra's music video "So Good at Being in Trouble".[23]

He and his Kick-Ass co-star Chloë Grace Moretz starred in a short segment, "Middle School Date", in the film Movie 43. He also had small roles in Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's This Is the End, playing a fictional version of himself, and in the romantic comedy film The To Do List, with Aubrey Plaza.[24][25]

In September 2013, Mintz-Plasse and Dave Franco set out on a week-long road trip across America to promote the technology company LG's "It's All Possible" campaign for its flagship smartphone, the LG G2. The actors documented their process and broadcast it on Funny or Die.[26] Mintz-Plasse had a supporting role as college fraternity student Scoonie in the 2014 hit comedy film Neighbors and reprised his role as Fishlegs in the animated sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2.[27][28] He reprises his role of Fishlegs in the DreamWorks Dragons television series, which aired on Cartoon Network and Netflix.[29]

Mintz-Plasse played drums for the rock band The Young Rapscallions,[30] which split after eight years in 2015. He then founded the band Bear on Fire, in which he plays bass guitar.[31] He has also played bass guitar for Ben Kweller.[32]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 Superbad Fogell
2008 Role Models Augie
2009 The Tale of RJ RJ Short film
2010 Kick-Ass Chris D'Amico/Red Mist
How to Train Your Dragon Fishlegs Ingerman Voice
Marmaduke Giuseppe
Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon Fishlegs Ingerman Voice, short film
2011 Fright Night "Evil" Ed Lee
Gift of the Night Fury Fishlegs Ingerman Voice, short film
Book of Dragons
2012 ParaNorman Alvin Voice
Would You Himself Short film
Pitch Perfect Tommy
2013 Movie 43 Mikey Segment: "Middleschool Date"
This Is the End Himself
The To Do List Duffy
Kick-Ass 2 Chris D'Amico/The Motherfucker
2014 Neighbors Scoonie Schofield
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Fishlegs Ingerman Voice
2015 Tag Jacob
2016 Get a Job Ethan
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising Scoonie Schofield
Trolls King Gristle Jr. Voice
2017 The Disaster Artist Sid Scene deleted
2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Fishlegs Ingerman Voice
2020 Promising Young Woman Neil
Trolls World Tour King Gristle Jr. Voice cameo
2022 Honor Society[33] Mr. Calvin
2023 Trolls Band Together King Gristle Jr. Voice

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 Wainy Days Sketchy laborer #2 Episode: "Tough Guy"
2010 Party Down Kent Episode: "Steve Guttenberg's Birthday"
2012 Friend Me Evan Unaired series
The Far Cry Experience Himself Web shorts
2012–2018 DreamWorks Dragons Fishlegs Ingerman Voice, 102 episodes
2015 Sharing Grant Pilot
2016 Sanjay and Craig Randy Noodman Voice, episode: "Dude Snake Nood"
Flaked Topher 3 episodes
2016–2017 The Great Indoors Clark 22 episodes
2017 Trolls Holiday King Gristle Voice, television special
2018 The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale Various roles 3 episodes
Stan Against Evil Zach Episode: "Vampire Creek"
2019 How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming Fishlegs Ingerman Voice, television special
2020 Home Movie: The Princess Bride Westley Episode: "Chapter Seven: The Pit of Despair"
2021 When Nature Calls with Helen Mirren Additional voices 3 episodes
2023 Stars on Mars Himself 1 episode
2024 Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pigeon Pete Voice

Web

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Year Title Role Notes
2018–2021 Blark and Son Son 32 episodes


Music videos

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Year Song Artist Notes
2010 "Erase Me" Kid Cudi featuring Kanye West
"Answer to Yourself" The Soft Pack
2013 "So Good At Being In Trouble" Unknown Mortal Orchestra
2015 "U Don't Know" Alison Wonderland featuring Wayne Coyne
"Ready" Kodaline
2020 "CVS" Winnetka Bowling League featuring Hilary Duff

Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Nominated work Result
2008 MTV Movie Award Best Breakthrough Performance Superbad Nominated
Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor Nominated
2010 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Villain Kick-Ass Nominated
Scream Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
2014 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Screen Combo (with the entire cast) Movie 43 Nominated
Young Hollywood Awards Best Cast Chemistry (with the entire cast) Neighbors Nominated
Best Threesome (with Zac Efron and Dave Franco) Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Fight (shared with Aaron Taylor-Johnson) Kick-Ass 2 Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Christopher Mintz-Plasse (guest) (October 8, 2008). The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (TV series). Los Angeles, CA: Worldwide Pants, Inc. Retrieved January 26, 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ a b c d Strauss, Bob (June 2009). "Christopher Mintz-Plasse's big sacrifice". Cineplex.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2010. Chris, who'll turn 20 on June 20th [2009] ...
  3. ^ "Not just McLovin". Los Angeles Times. November 6, 2008.
  4. ^ Jewish Journal: "Jews Get Geek on at Comic-Con" by Adam Wills July 22, 2009
  5. ^ "Interfaith Celebrities: Isla Fisher Joins the Tribe". InterfaithFamily. February 3, 2009.
  6. ^ "Celtics fans were loving McLovin, Bailey Zappe courtside during Game 5".
  7. ^ Mintz-Plasse, Christopher (August 30, 2007). The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Season 15. Episode 152. NBC.
  8. ^ "Superbad (2007) - Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 24, 2007.
  9. ^ Ebert, Roger (August 16, 2007). "Superbad". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
  10. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (May 20, 2010). "A Standout Student at Ribald High". The New York Times. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  11. ^ Gomez, Luis (June 26, 2010). "Christopher Mintz-Plasse feels fortunate to be part of DreamWorks' 'Fright Night' remake". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013.
  12. ^ Millar, M. (2010). Kick-Ass: Creating the Comic, Making the Movie. Titan Books. ISBN 9781848564091.
  13. ^ Kid Cudi featuring Kanye West (October 11, 2010). Erase Me. YouTube.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  14. ^ The Soft Pack (October 11, 2012). Answer to Yourself. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ Kit, Borys (June 8, 2010). "Doctor Who and Red Mist join 'Fright Night' (exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010.
  16. ^ Murray, Rebecca (August 2013). "Exclusive Interview with Christopher Mintz-Plasse on 'Fright Night'". About.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  17. ^ a b Radish, Christina (July 18, 2012). "Christopher Mintz-Plasse Talks 'ParaNorman', Voice Acting, Bullying and Updates on 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' and 'Kick-Ass 2'". Collider.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  18. ^ "You're So Hot w/Dave Franco & Christopher Mintz-Plasse". Brian-McGinn.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  19. ^ Vary, Adam B. (March 7, 2012). "Dave Franco bringing his 'weirdly sexual' short film to SXSW". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  20. ^ Kimball, Trevor (August 13, 2013). "Friend Me: What Happened to the CBS Comedy?". TVSeriesFinale.com. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  21. ^ "The Far Cry Experience". YouTube.com. Machinima. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  22. ^ "Mintz-Plasse: I want darker roles". The Belfast Telegraph. August 26, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  23. ^ Unknown Mortal Orchestra - So Good At Being In Trouble. YouTube.com. February 4, 2013. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  24. ^ Bricken, Rob (April 2, 2013). "The new This Is the End redband trailer contains Michael Cera's graphic death. That is all". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on April 5, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  25. ^ "CBS Films Moves Up Aubrey Plaza Comedy 'The To-Do List'". Deadline Hollywood. August 28, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  26. ^ "'Neighbors' Stars Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse Road Trip for Your Amusement (Video)". TheWrap.com. September 4, 2013.
  27. ^ "Neighbors (2014)". Box Office Mojo. June 15, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  28. ^ "More How to Train Your Dragon Sequel Details". ComingSoon.net. October 11, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  29. ^ Flint, Joe (May 29, 2014). "Netflix to debut 'DreamWorks Dragons' in 2015". Capital Gazette. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  30. ^ "Home". TheYoungRapscallions.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  31. ^ Leas, Ryan (June 1, 2015). "Q&A: Christopher Mintz-Plasse On His New Band Bear On Fire". Stereogum. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  32. ^ Johnston, Abby (March 18, 2023). "Ben Kweller Plays First Show Following His Son's Death". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  33. ^ Cordero, Rosy (January 18, 2022). "Awesomeness Films Greenlights 'Honor Society' Starring Angourie Rice, Gaten Matarazzo And Christopher Mintz-Plasse". Deadline.
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