Please Rewind Talent Wall

Craig Robinson

Craig Robinson’s career makes the most sense when comedy, acting and music are viewed as parts of the same performance. Born in Chicago on October 25, 1971, Robinson was raised on the city’s South Side and earned a Bachelor of Music from Illinois State University and a Master of Education from Saint Xavier University. Before becoming a familiar screen presence, he worked as a music teacher in schools across Chicago and northwest Indiana. Robinson began performing stand-up and studying improv and acting at The Second City while still in college. Early television appearances on Friends, The Bernie Mac Show, LAX and Arrested Development opened the way to film roles in comedies including Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. His defining television run began in 2005, when he first appeared as Darryl Philbin on the American version of The Office. Promoted to a starring role in the fourth season, Robinson remained with the series through its conclusion in 2013. Darryl gave him room to establish a screen persona built on restraint, confidence and an ability to land a joke without pushing it too hard. That presence carried across television and film, from Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Eastbound & Down to collaborations with Seth Rogen including This Is the End and Sausage Party. Robinson has also moved beyond straightforward comedy. He portrayed saxophonist Maceo Parker in Get On Up, appeared in the drama Morris from America—earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Male—and played Ray Hayworth in the second season of Mr. Robot. His later work includes the title role in An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn and the Peacock series Killing It. Music has remained central throughout. Robinson performs as a singer and keyboard player, has appeared with his band The Nasty Delicious, and has brought that musical ability into projects including The Office, Hot Tub Time Machine and Dolemite Is My Name. Voice roles in Shrek Forever After, Escape from Planet Earth, Dolittle and The Bad Guys further show the range of a performer whose comedy has always had rhythm behind it.