I was a very shy kid. In 8th grade, I had a teacher who got me into improv.

You look at shows on cable, and there's a lot of smart writing out there.

I'm from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I moved to L.A. in 1997.

Before my big break in 'MADtv,' I was doing a lot of commercial work.

I absolutely loved improv! I felt very much at home being onstage. It freed me to be all sorts of people other than myself. It was an escape from myself, if you will. I still love that creative freedom of improv and making people laugh.

I find society's underlings and people with interesting idiosyncrasies the most watchable. But I also love to mimic people who are ego-driven and kind of go through the world like lions.