T.J. Miller

One might never guess that the nerdy guy in "She's Out of My League" was actually a graduate of Oxford's British Academy of Dramatic Arts. But then, T.J. Miller was never your ordinary stand up comedian. While certainly gifted as a comedic actor, he had his share of strange roles that had him acting alongside such dramatic heavies as Denzel Washington and Gerard Butler. Born Todd Joseph Miller in Denver, T.J. knew from a young age that acting was his ultimate fate, although it wasn't clear to him it would be comedic acting until he was well into high school. But once he knew that was his calling he jumped into it with both feet. After his time at Oxford, he found he was ready for the Mecca of comedy, Chicago. There he honed his skills with the group Chuckle Sandwich, appearing at the Toronto International Improv Festival and others, as well as working with the famed Second City troupe. He had his first major breakthrough when he was cast as Hud, the main character in the sci-fi found footage film "Cloverfield" (2008), though his character is primarily behind the camera in this monster film of earth in peril. But the work got him enough attention to land the lead role in the sitcom "Carpoolers" (ABC 2008-09) for the year that the show lasted. The next few years saw supporting roles in a variety of television shows and films, until Miller began to blossom as a comedic actor. He was cast in the role of sidekick Stainer in "She's Out of My League" (2010) and Ranger Jones in "Yogi Bear" (2010), a remake of the cartoon classic. Even his tiny role in "Get Him to the Greek" (2010) as Brian the hapless concierge got him notice. His fan-favorite role opposite Kristen Wiig as Tuffnut in "How to Train Your Dragon" (2010) was reprised in the TV short "Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon" and the video short "Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury," and led to further voice work in the next few years. By 2012 he had a recurring role in the animated "Gravity Falls" (Disney 2012-16) as neighborhood punk rocker Robbie, and one of the three lead roles in the short-lived family sitcom "The Goodwin Games" (Fox 2012). In 2014, Miller parlayed his amiably nerdy persona into a leading role in Mike Judge's tech satire "Silicon Valley" (HBO 2014-), leaving the series in June 2017 following its fourth season. Supporting roles in "Transformers: Age of Extinction" (2014), animated comedy "Big Hero 6" (2014), comic superhero spoof "Deadpool" (2016) and racous comedy "Office Christmas Party" (2016) raised his profile considerably, as did quirky comic sketch series "The Gorburger Show" (Comedy Central 2017), which began as a series of shorts on the Funny Or Die website. Another stand-up special, "T.J. Miller: Meticulously Ridiculous" (Netflix 2017), followed. Miller next appeared in Steven Spielberg's "Ready Player One" (2018) and the sequel "Deadpool 2" (2018). On April 9, 2018, Miller was arrested on federal charges at Laguardia Airport, related to a false bomb threat he had reported on an Amtrak train on March 18, 2018.