Chris Rock

Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, filmmaker, director, producer, writer, and voice artist. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1990-1993. Rock has also been impersonated by Jimmy Fallon and Jay Pharoah after his departure.

Saturday Night Live[]

Rock was hired for the start of SNL's sixteenth season. He and Chris Farley were the first cast members to be in the new "middle" cast category; that category debuted that season, and Rock and Farley were placed there from the start. Both were hired to replace Nora Dunn and Jon Lovitz, who hadn't returned from the previous season.

A major part of Rock's hiring stemmed from a lack of non-white cast members, which was plaguing the show– the last black cast member had been Danitra Vance five years prior. This lack of diversity had created controversy in the media and was the driving force behind SNL competitor In Living Color. Rock would make multiple guest appearances on ILC after departing SNL at the end of season 18.

Rock has hosted SNL three times; The first time was on November 2, 1996, the fifth episode of Season 22, with musical guests The Wallflowers. The second time was on November 1, 2014, the fifth episode of Season 40, with musical guest Prince and his first appearance in 17 years, 11 months, and 30 days.

The third time he is hosting the Season 46 premiere on October 3, 2020, with musical guest Megan Thee Stallion. Rock is also the fourth former cast member to host the season premiere of Saturday Night Live after Chevy Chase, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, as well as the second African-American celebrity to host the season premiere since LeBron James in 2007.

Career outside Saturday Night Live[]

While at SNL he appeared in films New Jack City, Boomerang and CB4, which Rock also wrote and produced. Rock reached mainstream stardom with the critically acclaimed Bring the Pain in 1996, the second of his five HBO comedy specials. His other HBO comedy specials include Bigger & Blacker, Never Scared and Kill the Messenger. HBO also aired his talk show, The Chris Rock Show, which gained critical acclaim for Rock's interviews with celebrities and politicians.

Rock was cast in starring film roles in Down to Earth, Head of State, The Longest Yard, the Madagascar film series, Grown Ups, its sequel Grown Ups 2, Top Five and Spiral. He developed, wrote, produced and narrated the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, which was based on his early life. In 2020, he starred in the fourth season of the FX black comedy–crime drama anthology series Fargo.

Rock hosted the Academy Awards twice, in 2005 and in 2016. He has won four Emmy Awards out of 19 total nominations for his television work and three Grammy Awards for best comedy albums. Rock was ranked No. 5 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.

2022 Academy Awards incident[]

Rock presented the award for Best Documentary Feature at the 94th Academy Awards in March 2022. During the ceremony, Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head, which he compared to Demi Moore's shaved head in G.I. Jane. Pinkett Smith's baldness is caused by alopecia. Her husband, Will Smith, walked on to the stage and slapped Rock across the face. Smith then returned to his seat and yelled to Rock, twice, saying "Keep my wife's name out your fucking mouth!" Later in the night, Smith was named Best Actor for King Richard, and while accepting the award, Smith apologized to the Academy and the other nominees, but not to Rock, in his acceptance speech. Rock declined to file a report with the Los Angeles Police Department regarding the incident.

The next day, and following public backlash, Smith issued a formal apology, explaining that he believed Rock's joke referenced his wife's "medical condition" which, according to Smith, "was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally." Smith apologized to Rock through social media and stated that he was "out of line" and that his behavior was "unacceptable and inexcusable." During a stand-up performance in Boston, Rock stated that Smith had not reached out to him personally and they haven't spoken since the ceremony.

The slap was parodied on April 2, 2022, in both Weekend Update jokes and the "Seat Fillers" sketch.

Impressions / Characters[]

Impressions[]

Arsenio Hall
Eddie Murphy
Flavor Flav
Idi Amin
Jaleel White
Long Dong Silver
Luther Campbell
M.C. Hammer
Michael Jackson
Nipsey Russell
Todd Bridges
Whoopi Goldberg

Characters[]

Buster Jenkins
Kevin Stubbs
Nat X
Onski
Young Pop

Trivia[]

Was the last former Bad Boy SNL cast member to star in a movie with Chris Farley before Farley's tragic death in 1997. Rock also admits that the last time he had to stay in contact with Farley was the night that Farley had hosted SNL.
Is best friends with Adam Sandler, and was good friends with Chris Farley.
Never stops thinking about Farley till this very day since they had a lot in common because they share the same first name.
His role as Onski on SNL's I'm Chillin sketch is SNL fans number 1 favorite role of him and is his most recognizable role.
Had pay tribute to Eddie Murphy by telling the audience how Murphy inspired him to be a comedian when he saw him on SNL. Rock also told the audience that Murphy is the host for Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special.