Dax Shepard

Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Since 2018, he has hosted Armchair Expert, a podcast in which he interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives.

Shepard has appeared in the feature films Without a Paddle (2004), Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), Employee of the Month (2006), Idiocracy (2006), Let's Go to Prison (2006), Hit and Run (2012), and CHiPs (2017), the last two of which he also wrote and directed. Shepard portrayed Crosby Braverman in the NBC comedy-drama series Parenthood from 2010 to 2015. He played Luke Matthews in the Netflix show The Ranch, co-starred in ABC's Bless This Mess and acted in the MTV practical joke reality series Punk'd (2003).

He is a co-founder of the diaper and baby product company Hello Bello with his wife Kristen Bell.

Early life Shepard was born at Beyer Hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan, a city in southeastern Michigan. He is the son of Laura Louise LaBo, who worked at General Motors (GM), and David Robert "Dave" Shepard Sr., who was a car salesman. He is of part French-Canadian descent.

Shepard's mother had developed a substantial business by the time he was in high school. then worked in fleet management at the GM proving grounds in Milford, Michigan, then hosted hospitality days for all the GM family members, eventually moving into public relations at an ad agency.

According to Shepard, his mother named him for the rich playboy Dax (Diogenes Alejandro Xenos), in Harold Robbins' novel The Adventurers. He has an older brother, David Shepard Jr., who lives in Oregon, and 2017's CHiPs. Through marriage, he is distantly related to George Washington on his mother's side.

Shepard has said that he was raised in Milford, He graduated from Walled Lake Central High School in 1993 before enrolling in The Groundlings school.

After attending Santa Monica College and West Los Angeles College, Shepard transferred to UCLA, where he graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in anthropology. He had a deal with his mother that if he went to college she would pay his rent. In 2005, he starred as The Astronaut in Zathura: A Space Adventure, a science fiction adventure fantasy film. In 2006, he appeared with Dane Cook and Jessica Simpson in the comedy Employee of the Month and in Mike Judge's film Idiocracy as the character Frito.

During the same time, Shepard began appearing in more films and landed his first main character role in Let's Go to Prison (2006), alongside Will Arnett and Chi McBride. He had a main role in the 2008 comedy Baby Mama, starring opposite Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Shepard wrote the script for the Paramount venture Get 'Em Wet, where he again appeared with Arnett. In 2010, he wrote, directed, and starred in the low-budget satirical mockumentary feature Brother's Justice; the film won an Audience Award at the 2010 Austin Film Festival. He had a supporting role in the 2010 romantic comedy film When in Rome, which starred his future wife Kristen Bell.

From 2010 to 2015, Shepard was part of the main cast of the NBC drama Parenthood, playing Crosby Braverman.

Shepard wrote, produced, co-directed, and starred in the 2012 low-budget film Hit and Run alongside Bell and his close friend Bradley Cooper. He said the movie, which includes numerous car chases and fast driving scenes, allowed him to live out his Smokey and the Bandit fantasy.

In September 2014, Shepard starred with his wife, Kristen Bell, in a commercial for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S. It was so popular (with over 20 million YouTube views) that they did another commercial for the holiday season.

Shepard wrote and directed CHiPs, based on the 1977 to 1983 American crime drama CHiPs, where he starred as Officer Jon Baker alongside Michael Peña as Frank "Ponch" Poncherello. on March 24, 2017, to negative reviews.

On February 14, 2018, Shepard launched the podcast Armchair Expert with co-host Monica Padman. The show explores the stories of their guests. Featured guests on the show have included Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Kristen Bell, Ashton Kutcher, Will Ferrell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and hundreds of others. On June 7, 2018, the show released their first episode of "Experts on Expert", in which Shepard and Padman interview experts in their fields. Featured experts on the show have included psychologist Wendy Mogel, comedian and author David Sedaris, and speechwriter Jon Favreau. The show was the most popular new podcast on iTunes in 2018. On December 3, 2019, it was revealed that Shepard will be a host of the revived Top Gear America, which premiered on Motor Trend in January 2021. In 2024, the company secured a first-look deal with Wondery, a unit of Amazon, after the success of the podcast show Armchair Expert. In 2024, Armchair Expert was the 8th biggest podcast in the USA on Spotify's platform.

Personal life

Relationships

Shepard met actress Kristen Bell, also a native of Detroit's northern suburbs, at the birthday party of a mutual friend; they began dating in late 2007. The couple announced their engagement in January 2010; they decided to delay marriage until the state of California passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage. After section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on June 26, 2013, Bell asked Shepard through Twitter to marry her, which he accepted. They were married at the Beverly Hills County Clerk's Office on October 17, 2013. They have two daughters, born in March 2013 and December 2014.

Substance use problem Shepard has said that, except for a year in high school when he used drugs, he did not have a substance abuse problem until he was 18 years old. Shepard achieved sobriety in September 2004.

Interests and charity work Shepard races motorcycles at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, including his Ducati Hypermotard 1100S and Suzuki GSX-R1000. He donates much of his time to the Hollenbeck Youth Center, an after-school program that provides opportunity to at-risk inner-city youth. He has served as their official Master of Ceremonies, along with his friend Tom Arnold, for the Inner-City Games and Hollenbeck Youth Center's Miracle on 1st Street Toy Giveaway Program in East Los Angeles.

He is an avid car enthusiast. He owns the 1967 Lincoln Continental that was featured in the movie Hit and Run, and races off-road. Bell said: "We're not saying that we can't be newsworthy. We're saying that our child is not newsworthy." California Senate Bill 606 passed in 2013, with testimony by actresses Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1998 Hairshirt Guy Vomiting at Party Credited as Dax Sheppard 2003 Cheaper by the Dozen Camera Crew Member 2004 Without a Paddle Tom Marshall 2005 Sledge: The Untold Story SFX Coordinator Zathura: A Space Adventure Adult Walter / The Astronaut 2006 Employee of the Month Vince Downey Idiocracy Frito Pendejo Let's Go to Prison John Lyshitski 2007 Knocked Up Himself Uncredited Cameo Smother Noah Cooper The Comebacks Sheriff Cutlass Background extra #1 Short film 2008 Baby Mama Carl Loomis Confessions of an Action Star SFX Coordinator 2009 Old Dogs Gary Uncredited Cameo 2010 When in Rome Gale Reunited Hugh Patterson Short film Shrink Test Himself The Freebie Darren Brother's Justice Himself Also writer, director, stunt coordinator 2012 Hit and Run Charlie Bronson/Yul Perrkins Also writer, director, editor 2014 Veronica Mars Overconfident Club Boy Cameo This Is Where I Leave You Wade Beaufort The Judge C.P. Kennedy 2015 Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 4 White Fang Short film 2017 CHiPS Jon Baker Also writer, director and producer El Camino Christmas Deputy Billy Calhoun 2020 Buddy Games Durfy 2021 Paw Patrol: The Movie Ruben Voice

Television Year Title Role Notes 2003 The New Tom Green ShowHimself 1 episode 2003–2012 Punk'd 56 episodes 2004 Life with Bonnie Kyle Levine, Dr. Iskarr 2 episodes 2004–2008King of the Hill Zack (voice) Asa (voice) 1 episode 2005 My Name Is Earl Dirk 2005–2021 Robot Chicken Various voices 5 episodes 2006–2025 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Himself / Guest 29 episodes 2007 The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show Joe Sands1 episode Halfway Home Ben 2009 The Goode Family Steve (voice) 2010–2015 Parenthood Crosby Braverman Main role; Director 2011Good Vibes Jag Knullerbrod (voice) 1 episode Smilin' Mike (voice) 2013 Hollywood Game Night Himself 2014–2015 About a Boy Crosby Braverman 2 episodes; Director Web Therapy Abel Jans 3 episodes 2015 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Jojo 1 episode Parks and Recreation Hank Muntak Comedy Bang! Bang! Himself 2017 SuperMansion Titanium Dax (voice) 2 episodes Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later Mikey Ghosted SAM Episode: "Sam" 2018 The Good Place Chet Episode: "Rhonda, Diana, Jake, and Trent" The Final Table Himself Episode: "USA" 2018–2020 The Ranch Luke Matthews Main role 2019–2020 Bless This Mess Mike Main role; also producer 2019 Spin the Wheel Himself / Host Also producer 2020 Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time Himself - Video Clue Presenter 1 episode 2021 Top Gear AmericaHimself / Host Family Game Fight 8 episodes HouseBroken Rutabaga (voice) Episode: "Who's a Good Therapist?" Ultra City Smiths Congressman Chris Pecker (voice) 6 episodes 2022 Stoner Cats Chad / Chad Wilkins (voice) 3 episodes

Awards and nominations Year Award show Category Work Result Ref. 2003 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Reality/Variety Star – Male Punk'd 2015 People's Choice Awards Favorite Dramatic TV Actor Parenthood 2020 People's Choice Awards Top Podcast of the Year Armchair Expert 2026 Golden Globe Awards Best Podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard