Doug Walker

Douglas Darien Walker (born November 17, 1981) is an American film critic, comedian, YouTuber, filmmaker, and actor. He is best known for creating and starring in the satirical film review series Nostalgia Critic, wherein the title character reviews nostalgic media in an exaggeratedly aggressive manner. After an initial run on YouTube, Walker co-created the website That Guy with the Glasses (later merged into Channel Awesome) in 2008, where he and the series gained wider popularity. The site also presented other media critics who created similar content, including Lindsay Ellis and Angry Joe. Walker and his series returned to YouTube in 2014.

Early life and education Walker was born Douglas Darien Walker on November 17, 1981, the son of Barney Walker (b. 1946), a naval officer and musician, and Sandra Ruth (née Polkow) Walker (1947–2016), a therapist. Both parents, as well as Walker's older brother Rob (b. 1979), would later appear regularly in his videos. Due to his father's career, Walker was born on a naval base in Naples, Italy, and moved frequently as a child, spending parts of his childhood in Rhode Island, Washington, and Jacksonville, Florida, before moving to the Chicago, Illinois area in his teen years.

Walker attended and graduated from Northern Illinois University, majoring in mass communication and minoring in visual art, also serving as an editor and cartoonist for the school newspaper.

Nostalgia Critic

After graduating from college, Walker worked as an illustrator and janitor. He started making videos on the-then fairly new video-sharing site YouTube in his spare time. Although his early Nostalgia Critic videos were popular, Walker claims his rise to internet fame first came from the success of his 5 Second Movies edits. Walker has stated that the Nostalgia Critic character is primarily inspired by Daffy Duck and the Queen of Hearts, as well as by comedians Lewis Black, Stephen Colbert, and Bill Murray.

In 2008, Walker moved his skits from YouTube to independent site That Guy With the Glasses, later renamed Channel Awesome, with videos hosted via Blip.tv. The majority of his skits have since been reuploaded to YouTube, and form a full web series spanning several seasons. Walker now works as a full-time content creator and staff member of Channel Awesome in Chicago, under the leadership of CEO Mike Michaud.

In September 2012, Walker announced that the Nostalgia Critic series would be ending and that he and his brother would create the sketch comedy web series Demo Reel. In January 2013, however, Walker released "The Review Must Go On", a short film announcing that the series would continue. The new incarnation would co-star Malcolm Ray and Rachel Tietz of Demo Reel, playing fictionalized versions of themselves as well as performing in sketches. Tamara Chambers would later join the series following Tietz's departure in 2014; following Chambers' departure in 2024, Heather Reusz joined the series as the new lead female cast member after being a supporting actress since 2016.

In March 2018, numerous former Channel Awesome contributors and employees accused the company of widespread mismanagement and mistreatment, culminating in the Twitter hashtag #ChangeTheChannel and a Google Doc entitled "Not So Awesome" chronicling the complaints of over 20 contributors. On August 2, 2021, Walker addressed the controversy in an interview with Korey Coleman on Double Toasted, admitting that Channel Awesome had gotten "too big" and thus resulted in poor communication among the staff and producers. Since then, they had been consciously trying to keep everything closer and more personal.

Influences Walker has cited many influences on his acting and style of comedy, including Monty Python, The Simpsons, Lewis Black, Tom and Jerry, Mel Brooks, South Park, Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Rowan Atkinson, Bill Murray, Animaniacs, Louis C.K., Robin Williams, and especially Looney Tunes (particularly Daffy Duck).

Personal life Walker has been married to clinical social worker and therapist Robin Poage since 2012. In October 2025, Walker revealed he had been suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome since 2023, which was a result of getting shingles.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2010 KickassiaNostalgia Critic / Spider Smith / Chester A. Bum / Ask That Guy with the Glasses / Dominic Also director, editor, executive producer, and writer 2011 Suburban Knights Nostalgia Critic / Ask That Guy with the Glasses / Chester A. Bum Also cinematographer, director, editor, executive producer, and writer 2012 To Boldly Flee Nostalgia Critic / General Zod / Chester A. Bum / Ask That Guy with the Glasses / Soldier / Himself / Additional Voices Also camera operator, director, editor, and writer 2013 Sonic G.U.N. Soldier Unofficial short film 2014 Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Himself Cameo 2015 Atop the Fourth Wall: The Movie Dominic / Lori Prince / Nostalgia Critic 2016 Room Full of Spoons HimselfDocumentary film 2017 Jesus, Bro! Samuel Tobinski / Kendrick Tobinski Disco Rudy2019 Another Cinema Snob Movie Bally Joe 2022 Adam Heatherly's Frankenstein! Professor William Barter

Television Year Title Role Notes 2024 Smiling Friends Daniel the Demon Slayer Episode: "Erm, the Boss Finds Love?"

Web Year Title Role Notes 2007–present Nostalgia Critic Nostalgia Critic / Chester A. Bum / Devil Boner / ThatGuy / Raoul Puke / Melvin, Brother of the Joker / Various Also director, writer, editor, and producer 2008–2016 Bum Reviews Chester A. Bum Also director, writer, editor, and producer 2008–2014 Ask That Guy with the Glasses That Guy with the Glasses Also director, writer, editor, and producer2012–2013Demo ReelDonnie DuPre/Jimmy Boyd/Doug Walker/Nostalgia CriticAlso director, writer, editor, and producer 2010–present The Cinema Snob Nostalgia Critic / Chester A. Bum / Luigi / Christopher Walken's Arm / Ask That Guy with the Glasses Also writer 2012; 2013 Joueur du Grenier Nostalgia Critic 2 episodes 2014 Everything Wrong with... Himself Episode: How the Grinch Stole Christmas 2015 James and Mike Mondays Himself 4 episodes 2016 Honest Trailers Himself Episode: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of Their Shells (feat. The Nostalgia Critic) 2018–2020 Cinemassacre Himself / Nicolas Cage 6 episodes 2025Oney PlaysHimself Episode: "Slightly artistic with Doug Walker"

Discography + Studio albumsTitleAlbum details Nostalgia Critic's the WallReleased: September 8, 2019 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles Title Song details "The Real Chipmunks Movie"Released: July 3, 2016 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download, streaming