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Connor Ratliff
Ratliff in New York City, 2012 photographed by Benjamin Ragheb
Born (1975-08-27) August 27, 1975 (age 49)
Jefferson City, Missouri
Occupation(s)Comedian, actor, podcaster
Years active1998–present
Known forDead Eyes, The George Lucas Talk Show

Connor Ratliff (born 27 August 1975) is an American actor, comedian and podcaster. He created three series of the podcast Dead Eyes, recounting his experience of being fired by Tom Hanks from the TV series Band of Brothers, and has presented The George Lucas Talk Show since 2014.

Early life

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Ratliff was born 27 August 1975 in Jefferson City, Missouri, to parents Bill, a local television weatherman and Gretta.[1] In 1992, during his senior year of high school, he played the lead role in a production of Ordinary People at the University of Missouri opposite Jon Hamm.[2] He studied at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) in the United Kingdom in 1996.[3]

Career

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After graduating from LIPA in 1998, Ratliff moved to London to pursue his acting career. He had a brief spell of success, including a leading role at the Royal Court Theatre in the West End.[4] It was during this time he auditioned, was accepted, then lost the role in Band of Brothers which inspired his 2019 podcast, Dead Eyes.

Returning to the United States in 2002, he moved to New York and in 2009 became a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade improvisation company where he was part of the ASSSSCAT cast.[5][6] In 2014 he launched The George Lucas Talk Show at the UCB Theatre, interviewing guests while impersonating Star Wars director George Lucas. In 2023, he and Griffin Newman wrote and performed The Baron and the Junk Dealer, a play featuring their characters from The George Lucas Talk Show, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[7]

In 2022, Ratliff released the first episodes of this podcast Dead Eyes on the Headgum network. The podcast tried to discover what had happened when, after a final audition before Tom Hanks for Band of Brothers, Ratliff was told he had lost the role because Hanks had decided he had "dead eyes". The podcast continued for 31 episodes and featured guests such as Aimee Mann, Jon Hamm, Judd Apatow, Band of Brothers cast members Ron Livingston and Stephen McCole and culminated with an interview with Hanks himself.[8] The podcast was critically acclaimed, being named one of Time's 10 best podcasts of 2020[9].

Ratliff played Mr Rapp in Mean Girls (2024), Chester in The Marvellous Mrs Maisel and Ted in Search Party.[10][11] He was one of the narrators for the audiobook version of Hanks' novel The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece.[12]

In 2024 the documentary "I'm George Lucas: the Connor Ratliff Story" premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2021-10-27). "Tom Hanks Nearly Destroyed Connor Ratliff's Life. So He Made a Podcast About It". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  2. ^ "Dead Eyes - 01 - He's Having Second Thoughts". Headgum. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  3. ^ Heritage, Stuart (2022-03-10). "'Tom Hanks would be boring if he was just nice': the podcaster interviewing the star – after being fired by him". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  4. ^ Woods, Austin (April 2023). "the (UN)LUCK IEST guy from mid-missouri". Vox Magazine. 25 (3): 28–32.
  5. ^ Ratliff, Connor (2018-07-03). "A Eulogy for UCB's Del Close Marathon in New York". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  6. ^ Zarum, Lara (2018-06-26). "The Oral History of ASSSSCAT, the World's Longest-Running Improv Show". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  7. ^ Logan, Brian; Akbar, Arifa; Winship, Lyndsey (2023-07-05). "Edinburgh festival 2023: 50 shows to see". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  8. ^ "Headgum // Dead Eyes". headgum.com. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  9. ^ Dockterman, Eliana (2020-11-22). "The 10 Best Podcasts of 2020". TIME. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  10. ^ Grobar, Matt (2023-03-22). "'Mean Girls' Movie Musical From Paramount Finds Its Kevin G. In Mahi Alam; Connor Ratliff Also Set". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  11. ^ Harrison, Ellie (12 March 2022). "Tom Hanks apologises to Connor Ratliff for firing him from Band of Brothers because of his 'dead eyes'". Independent. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  12. ^ Quinn, WJ (2023-07-17). "Podcast Star Connor Ratliff - Long Read interview!". theqr.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  13. ^ Mecca, Dan (2024-03-20). "I'm 'George Lucas': A Connor Ratliff Story Review: A Loving Portrait of a Unique Comedian". Retrieved 2024-11-28.
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