Who

Cross is the comedian and TV actor best known for cult fave Mr. Show, his cameos on The Colbert Report, and his role as neurotic "never-nude" wannabe thespian Tobias Fünke on Arrested Development.

Backstory

The Georgia native and Emerson College dropout toured the comedy circuit in Boston for years before he got his big break writing for The Ben Stiller Show. The gig was short-lived, but it garnered him a 1993 writing Emmy and hooked him up with Bob Odenkirk, with whom he'd co-create the brilliantly nonsensical sketch comedy series Mr. Show for HBO in 1995. Since then, he's had a variety of movie bit parts and television comedy roles, most notably in Fox's cult hit Arrested Development, where he starred alongside Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, Jason Bateman, and Michael Cera. The show was cancelled in 2006, much to the disappointment of its diehard fans.

Of note

Cross has always paid the rent with a series of profoundly uncool film appearances, many of which he'd probably love to have stricken from his IMDB record, including parts in Scary Movie 2, She's the Man, School for Scoundrels, Curious George, and Alvin in the Chipmunks. Still, his work on indie comedy favorites like Arrested Development, Wonder Showzen, and Freak Show ensures he won't be abandoned by the American Apparel set any time soon. He also still maintains his stand-up career: One of his CDs, 2002's Shut Up You Fucking Baby! was nominated for a Grammy for best comedy album; in 2003, he released Let America Laugh, a film about his cross-country tour. More recently, in 2005 and 2006, he played a foil to Stephen Colbert as contentious liberal talk-show host "Russ Lieber" on The Colbert Report. Cross's attempt to break into the nightlife business, however, never took. In 2005, he teamed up with Albert Hammond Jr. to buy the Lower East Side bar Eleven and open it as a bar/performance space. They were outbid.

Drama

In 2005 Nashville club owner Thomas Weber sued Cross, claiming that the performer had used his likeness on his two comedy albums; Weber even created a website to make the fight public, offering up a "David Cross Halloween Costume," which featured a bald wig, glasses and a set of gnarly false teeth. The suit was dismissed in July 2006. Cross has also had a public feud with fellow stand-up Larry the Cable Guy after he called the self-styled redneck a racist and a homophobe in a 2005 interview. This is in addition to an ongoing feud with actor Jim Belushi, which dates back to the time Belushi rejected Cross's request for an autograph on behalf of a fan with a sick child.

Personal

Formerly involved with Sara Egan, a makeup artist, Cross has recently been linked to actress Amber Tamblyn, who's 19 years younger than he is. He lives on East 3rd Street and owns a weekend home in Eldred, NY.

No joke

In November 2005, NYC gossip blogs reported that one or more David Cross imposters were traipsing through the city, accepting free drinks at bars and sleeping with unsuspecting women who thought they were bedding the comedian. Cross recommended checking for his signature tattoo (a smiling pig with its chest cut open, holding a plate full of its own barbecued ribs) in order to positively ID him.