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Dec 14, 2023 · Chris Parnell: There's what I want to see from Cyril in terms of him growing as a person, being more confident, and being able to have a better perspective on Archer, and not have his buttons pushed so easily by Archer and other people. And just being in a better, more secure place, I think, would be nice. I don't know if that's as funny.
2 [1] [2] Thomas Christopher Parnell ( / pɑːrˈnɛl /; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Parnell found wider success during his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2006.
YearTitleRoleNotes2024Overseer Benjamin2 Episodes2024Voice, 2 episodes2023–2024Various voices3 episodes [15]2023–2024Voice, 7 episodes [17] [15]Feb 20, 2024 · Chris Parnell talks ‘Rick and Morty,' being a Born Again thespian, and dad stuff. The 'Rick and Morty' star talks growing up outside of Memphis, why khakis are a bad idea, and why you should be ...
- Corey Plante
Dec 25, 2023 · The perpetually put-upon accountant turned agent -- played deftly for 14 years by Saturday Night Live alum Chris Parnell-- has is Sterling Archer's favorite punching bag, both verbally and physically.
- "It's not a big leap for me to play Jerry."
- What's the Status of Rick and Morty Season 5?
- Getting Into the Jerry Mindset
- Group Recordings and Improvisation
- Parnell's Favorite Episodes and Moments
- Is Jerry a Villain?
- One-Upping Rick
By Jesse Schedeen
Updated: May 11, 2020 8:51 pm
Posted: May 8, 2020 2:02 pm
The latest installment of IGN's Watch From Home Theater is a little different from the norm. IGN readers voted on their favorite Jerry-centric episode of Rick and Morty, and the winner was Season 1's "Meeseeks and Destroy." Jerry Smith himself, Chris Parnell, stopped by to watch this classic episode, reflect on the challenges of being Jerry and even give an update on the status of Rick and Morty: Season 5.
An IGN viewer asked Parnell about the current status of Season 5 and whether it might be coming down the pipeline soon. After all, creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon promised a faster turnaround for new seasons, and we know the series was renewed for a whopping 70 episodes after Season 3.
Parnell dashed any hopes of Season 5 being right around the corner, unfortunately. He revealed that while the next season has been written and at least partly storyboarded, none of the actors have recorded their lines yet.
Parnell said, "We have not started recording Season 5, but I know they have, certainly, episodes written and have it boarded to a certain extent. But I don't know when we'll start recording."
Most likely, that means no more new episodes in 2020 after the second half of Season 4 wraps in late May. The silver lining, at least, is that Parnell doesn't foresee the ongoing COVID-19 situation interfering with the process of recording lines.
For many fans, it's Jerry, not Rick or Morty, who ranks as their favorite character on the series. He's an entertaining guy, but he's also a perpetual sad-sack loser who rarely gets any respect. We were curious if Parnell ever finds it difficult to get into the mindset of Jerry Smith and playing a character who seems to be the universe's favorite punching bag. According to Parnell, it's surprisingly easy to be Jerry.
"Well, it's fun to play a character that's put upon like Jerry is by, really, everyone else in the show," he said. "Especially Rick, obviously. It's fun to play someone who's essentially a loser. For better or for worse, it's not hard for me to tap into that part of myself. It's not a big leap for me to play Jerry. Take that as you will."
Parnell returned to the topic of identifying with Jerry a bit later in the stream, saying, "The low self-esteem is something I struggle with. I've pretty much dealt with it through therapy, and you have to have a certain amount of confidence to do something like SNL. But I can relate to the loser in Jerry for sure. I think that helps inform a fair bit of my comedy, because I'm often playing characters you wouldn't typically describe as winners."
It seems Parnell had an especially easy time getting into character for "Meeseeks and Destroy," as he revealed he's a terrible golfer who has exactly one game of mini-golf under his belt.
One of the more surprising reveals during the stream came when Parnell told us the cast has never done a group recording session. Instead, the various actors record their lines individually.
"We've never done a group record," he explained. "Which... is fine. I think everybody kind of likes recording solo. Spencer [Grammer] is in New York now, most of the time, and Sarah [Chalke] is in Canada most of the time. It kind of makes sense that we would do it separately."
When asked about his favorite Rick and Morty episode so far, Parnell went with a fan-favorite choice - Season 2's "Total Rickall." He also named Mr. Poopybutthole as his favorite character. "I think he means well. He's saddled with an unfortunate name, but he doesn't seem to mind it."
However, Parnell has a different pick for his favorite Jerry-centric episode, and no, it's not "Meeseeks and Destroy." He favors Season 3's "The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy."
When a viewer asked if Parnell has a favorite Beth and Jerry moment, he turned toward Season 2's "Big Trouble in Little Sanchez."
Parnell said, "When they go to the marriage counseling planet and they get to see a physical manifestation of how Jerry sees Beth and how she sees Jerry, and Jerry's a little, pathetic, wormy creature. I found that very delightful."
Some fans argue Jerry is actually the villain of Rick and Morty, given his victim complex and how so many characters (including his own family) seem to outright despise him. However, Parnell said he doesn't necessarily agree with that viewpoint.
"I think he's generally undeserving of the heat he gets. He does play the victim, I guess, a fair bit. He's sort of gotten used to that mode of operating. But he can also be content doing his own thing and puttering around, which is why I think he'd do okay in a quarantine situation like this. But, you know, I obviously have a lot invested in Jerry, so it's hard for me to feel like a bad guy."
Parnell did admit Jerry comes up a bit lacking in the father department, as we asked him whether he felt Jerry had a stronger attachment to Morty or Summer.
"That's a good question," he said. "I don't remember him showing a lot of parental affection to either of them. If there's evidence to suggest his love of one over the other, I don't remember it."
A CineFix viewer posed an interesting question to Parnell. What's one area in which Jerry could actually one-up Rick? The answer? Astronomy.
"I think if he could prove Pluto was a planet, he would enjoy that," he said. "I think any time his relationship with Beth is good - on those rare occasions - and solid, he feels good about that in the face of Rick's constant scorn and disbelief that he's married to his daughter."
If you want to learn the big reveals from other recent WFH Theater episodes, find out about a major T-Rex blooper in Jurassic Park, learn why Data and the Borg Queen definitely had sex in Star Trek: First Contact and learn more about the hidden video game influences in 10 Cloverfield Lane.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Dec 11, 2023 · Ahead of the release of the sendoff, we talked to four members of the show’s cast—H. Jon Benjamin, Aisha Tyler, Amber Nash, and Chris Parnell—about their legendary tenure on the series. We ...
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Jan 26, 2023 · According to Cyril Figgis voice actor Chris Parnell, Archer season 14 is currently in production, though the renewal has not been announced publicly. Adam Reed's hit adult animated sitcom premiered in 2009, and stars H. Jon Benjamin alongside Aisha Tyler, Judy Greer, Lucky Yates, Reed, and Parnell. Archer follows the misadventures of Benjamin's ...
