Chris Kattan

Christopher Lee Kattan (/kəˈtæn/ kə-TAN; born October 19, 1970)^[1] is an American actor and comedian. After performing with numerous comedy troupes, including The Groundlings in Los Angeles, he broke through as a regular cast member on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (1996–2003).

Following his breakout, Kattan had starring roles in the films A Night at the Roxbury (1998), House on Haunted Hill (1999), Monkeybone (2001), Corky Romano (2001), and Undercover Brother (2002). He experienced a career resurgence with a main role as Bob Weaver on the first five seasons of the ABC sitcom The Middle (2009–2014). In the 2010s, Kattan voiced the title character on the Cartoon Network and Boomerang animated series Bunnicula (2016–2018) and had a supporting voice role in the animated comedy film Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015).

Early life

Kattan was born in Culver City, California.^[2] His father, Kip King ( Jerome Kattan; 1937–2010), was born to Jewish parents from Iraq and Poland and worked as an actor and voice artist. His mother, Hajnalka Biro (b. 1944), was once photographed for Playboy and worked as a model in London. She is a native of Budapest, Hungary, and is a Buddhist.^[3][4] His stepfather was a Buddhist therapist and monk.^[5] His half-brother, Andrew Joslyn, is a professional musician and composer.^[6]

Kattan was raised on a Zen retreat on Mount San Antonio, outside Los Angeles.^[5] He and his mother moved to Bainbridge Island, Washington, where he attended Bainbridge High School, graduating in 1989.^[7]

Career

Early career

Kattan was a member of several improvisational comedy (improv) and sketch comedy troupes, one of them being The Groundlings in Los Angeles. His father was an original member of the troupe.^[8] Kattan also did some minor roles on TV, including the second episode of the second season of NewsRadio, "No, This Is Not Based Entirely on Julie's Life", as a photo shop employee.^[9]

1996–2003: Saturday Night Live

Kattan moved to New York City to work on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2003. His recurring characters included Mr. Peepers, Mango, Azrael Abyss, Kyle DeMarco from The DeMarco Brothers, Gay Hitler, and, most notably, one half of the Butabi Brothers with fellow SNL (and Groundlings) cast member Will Ferrell, known for their trademark head-bobbing. Kattan and Ferrell continued the characters in the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury.

SNL celebrity impersonations

Kattan's celebrity impersonations included Clay Aiken, Christiane Amanpour, Antonio Banderas, Andy Dick, Larry Fine, Bill Gates, Ben Affleck, David Gest, Elián González, Anne Heche, Julio Iglesias Jr., Steve Irwin, Chris Kirkpatrick, Ricky Martin, Al Pacino, Kid Rock, David Lee Roth, Paul Shaffer, David Spade, Kerri Strug (also appeared in Weekend Update with Strug as her fictional brother, Kippy), Geraldo Rivera, Robert Downey Jr., Queen Elizabeth II, and Anthony Fauci.

During his time on SNL, Kattan starred in the films A Night at the Roxbury, House on Haunted Hill (1999), Monkeybone (2001), Corky Romano (2001), and Undercover Brother (2002).

2004–present: Post-SNL work

In 2004 Kattan appeared on Broadway as Xanthias in Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs. He was later replaced in the role by Roger Bart.^[10][11]

Kattan appeared in a Diet Pepsi Max commercial during Super Bowl XLII in 2008 that featured the song "What Is Love" and had many actors in the commercial performing the head bob from A Night at the Roxbury.

In August 2009, Kattan starred in the Independent Film Channel (IFC) miniseries Bollywood Hero, where he portrays himself and the difficulties he faces after a career as a comic actor, trying to attain leading man status.^[12] From 2009 to 2014, Kattan appeared in a supporting role in the sitcom The Middle as Bob, a colleague of Frankie Heck's at Mr. Ehlert's car dealership. Kattan appeared in an episode of How I Met Your Mother as a star in "The Wedding Bride", a fictional movie within the show. He played himself portraying Jed Mosely, the film's villain, which the screenwriter bases on his girlfriend's ex-fiancé, series protagonist, Ted Mosby. He reappeared as the character in the fictional film's sequel, Wedding Bride 2.^[13] On December 17, 2011, Kattan made a guest appearance on the Saturday Night Live Christmas show, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, and again briefly on the final episode of SNL's 37th season.

In June 2014, Kattan reprised his role as former SNL character Mango in a preview of the music video for Sharaya J's "Shut It Down", featured in a fashion campaign by Alexander Wang.^[14] In 2015, he voiced Kakie, a cake monster, in the film Hotel Transylvania 2.^[15] From 2016 to 2018, Kattan voiced the title character in the animated series Bunnicula.^[16] In 2017, Kattan was a contestant on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars paired with professional dancer Witney Carson. He was the first celebrity dancer eliminated.^[17]

Kattan reunited with fellow SNL alumni Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz, and Tracy Morgan during the December 18, 2018, cold open of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which also featured Ariana Grande, in a reprisal of their performance of "I Wish it Was Christmas Today".^[18] It was the first time since 2011 that Fallon, Sanz, Kattan, and Morgan were all present for a performance of the song.

In 2022, Kattan was announced as a HouseGuest competing on the third season of Celebrity Big Brother.^[19]

In 2023, Kattan did voice work in the film Leo as Alligator #1.^[20]

Personal life

Kattan married model Sunshine Deia Tutt on June 28, 2008, in Oakhurst, California, after proposing to her on Christmas Eve 2006.^[21] The couple separated 44 days later on August 10, 2008, and divorced in February 2009.^[22]

On March 25, 2023, Kattan proposed to his girlfriend, Maria Libri, a writer and former on-air personality, in front of the stage at a Wilco concert held at the Riviera Theatre, while the Chicago band played "I'm the Man Who Loves You." The band members knew about the proposal. Kattan and Libri had met 18 months before the proposal when Kattan was performing a stand-up comedy show at Boondocks Pub in Springfield. They have since collaborated on writing projects, including a romantic comedy, and have also appeared together on the YouTube channel, Hey Kattan!^[23]

Neck injury

Kattan broke his neck while filming an SNL sketch on 12 May 2001 parodying The Golden Girls, during which he threw himself backwards on a chair. He kept this injury a secret from Lorne Michaels and the public for years, although apparently NBC paid for two of the five surgeries he underwent afterwards. He has had impaired mobility ever since.^[24]The pain medication he began taking following his fourth surgery led to a 2014 DUI arrest.^[25]

He kept this injury a secret until the release of his 2019 memoir. Kattan competed in Dancing with the Stars in 2017, where judges criticized him for his stiff upper body movement, not knowing about this injury.

Memoir

In 2019, Kattan published a memoir, titled Baby Don't Hurt Me: Stories and Scars from Saturday Night Live, which included the accident on SNL.^[24]

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Book

• Kattan, Chris (with Travis Thrasher) (2019). Baby, Don't Hurt Me: Stories and Scars from Saturday Night Live. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books. ISBN 978-1944648497

References

1. ^ Chris Kattan (October 19, 2020). "I'm 50 years old today everybody everybody!". No. 1318310789623795715.
2. ^ Kattan, Chris (October 8, 2001). "Interview with Chris Kattan". The Howard Stern Show. pp. 3:00. I was born in Culver City.
3. ^ Parsi, Novid (August 5, 2009). "Kattan can…". Time Out Chicago. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
4. ^ Bloom, Nate (April 15, 2008). "Celebrity Jews". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Archived April 15, 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
5. ^ Rhodes, Joe (July 31, 2009). "Chris Kattan, Reincarnated in Mumbai for 'Bollywood Hero' on IFC". The New York Times. Archived September 9, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
6. ^ Zwickel, Jonathan (January 25, 2017). "Pop Intuition". CityArts. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017.
7. ^ "SNL comic Kattan returns to BI to help historic theater". Bainbridge Island Review. June 15, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
8. ^ Gardner, Elysa (October 3, 2004). "After 30 years, The Groundlings still dig up yuks". USA Today. Archived October 25, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
9. ^ Myerson, Alan (September 19, 1995), "No, This Is Not Based Entirely on Julie's Life", NewsRadio, retrieved May 12, 2025
10. ^ Gans, Andrew & Simonson, Robert (January 30, 2004). "Lincoln Center's The Frogs to Feature New Songs; SNL's Kattan Co-Stars". Playbill. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
11. ^ "Roger Bart to Replace Chris Kattan in The Frogs". Playbill. July 12, 2004. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
12. ^ *Bollywood Hero at IMDb
13. ^ Stanhope, Kate (April 1, 2010). "How I Met Your Mother Taps Malin Akerman, Jason Lewis, Chris Kattan". TV Guide. Archived October 20, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
14. ^ "Watching The Week: T by Alexander Wang 2014 Campaign". Hunger TV. June 8, 2014. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
15. ^ "Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
16. ^ Serrao, Nivea (February 5, 2016). "5 Things to Know About Creepy-Cute Bunnicula From Cartoon Network". TV Insider. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
17. ^ "Dancing With the Stars 2017: Season 24 celebrity cast and partners revealed on 'GMA'". ABC News. March 1, 2017. Archived April 22, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
18. ^ ""I Wish It Was Christmas Today" with Ariana Grande (Cold Open)". NBC. December 18, 2018.
19. ^ "Celebrity Big Brother Season 3 Cast Revealed: Meet the New Famous Houseguests". January 26, 2022. Archived January 27, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
20. ^ Luciani, Kim (November 22, 2023). "Adam Sandler plays emotional support lizard from Florida school in new Netflix movie Leo". News Press. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
21. ^ "Chris Kattan Engaged to Sunshine Tutt". Celebrific. August 1, 2007. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007.
22. ^ "Chris Kattan Divorced After 2-Month Marriage". People. October 15, 2008. Archived November 12, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
23. ^ "Chris Kattan proposes to Maria Libri at Wilco concert in Chicago". The State Journal-Register. Archived September 27, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
24. ^ Schneider, Michael (May 3, 2019). "Chris Kattan Claims He Broke His Neck During Saturday Night Live Sketch". Variety. Archived May 9, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
25. ^ Gomez, Patrick (March 28, 2017). "Chris Kattan Tells All About His Secret 20-Year Health Nightmare After Breaking His Neck". People. Archived August 11, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
26. ^ "Chris Kattan (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived September 29, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 23, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
27. ^ "New movie ‘Concert Heroes’ starring Chris Kattan filmed in San Diego". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2026-02-13. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
28. ^ Accomando, Beth (2026-02-24). "'Concert Heroes' wraps production in San Diego". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved 2026-05-18.

External links

• Chris Kattan at IMDb