Judah Friedlander as Frank Rossitano
Still curious about actors from 30 Rock? Well here’s a little more info to store away in your brain for future trivia nights at your favorite bar. Someday you will get a question about Judah Friedlander and because you read this, you will know the answer and win the prize and the esteem of all your drinking buddies. Or perhaps Judah Friedlander IS one of your drinking buddies!
Friedlander was born in 1969 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. (I used to live near Gaithersburg, so I can tell you that the city is not a hotbed of comedy talent, so that makes Friedlander’s success even more impressive.) He is known for his big glasses and is collection of ugly trucker hats, which seem to have a new slogan with every appearance (and which are designed by Friedlander himself.) He also seems to be known posing with the “#1″ finger in a lot of pictures, such as the one above. That may have something to do with his stand-up comedy routines, where he claims to be “The World Champion of the World.”
If you are a fan of Dave Matthews, then your first exposure to Friedlander may have been his role as the Hug Guy in the video for “Everybody.”
Friedlander has also appeared in more movies and television shows that you might think, including “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Wonder Showzen,” “Flight of the Conchords,” Meet the Parents, Old School, Starsky and Hutch, and Date Movie. His best known movie role (and probably the role where he is most unrecognizable) is probably as “Genuine Nerd” Toby Radloff in the Harvey Pekar biopic, American Splendor. (Another piece of trivia to store up for trivia night — the movie is set in Cleveland, Ohio.)
Watch for a future entry, when we tell you more about Friedlander’s 30 Rock character, Frank Rossitano. In the meantime, you can be friends with Friedlander on MySpace or check out his blog.
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