Erik Charles Nielsen

Erik Charles Nielsen (born May 8, 1981) is an American actor and comedian.

Early life Nielsen was born in West Sayville, New York. He is of Danish descent. Nielsen graduated from Palm Bay High School in 1999. While attending Boston University, he was named the funniest comedian on campus. After continuing to hone his act at The Comedy Studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he moved to Los Angeles, California to do a Ph.D. program at the University of California, Los Angeles, but withdrew before completion. Turning to comedy full-time, he got his first big break at the 2007 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado.

Career Nielsen is best known for his recurring role as Garrett Lambert in the television comedy series Community from 2009 to 2015. His other acting credits include Bad Milo (2013) and the pilot episode of IFC's Maron. He also starred in Erik the Librarian, a web series created by Brent Forrester.

Nielsen has appeared on Just for Laughs, Conan, and on HBO Canada's stand-up series Funny as Hell.

On December 10, 2014, he appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast.

Nielsen appeared as a contestant on Jeopardy! on September 25, 2025. On December 15, he returned to Jeopardy! for the Second Chance Tournament.

Filmography Film Year Title Character Notes 2013 Bad Milo Allistair

Television Year Title Character Notes 2007 iThunes TV mini-series2008 Comedy Gumbo Episode: "Smooth Taste" History of the Joke Himself TV movie documentary 2009–2015 Community Garrett Lambert 43 episodes 2010 Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Merv Paynus Episode: "Crows" 2011 Talking Hedz Short 2012 Small Business Kevin Middlewater TV movie 2013 Maron Darryl Episode: "Internet Troll" Conan Himself Comic Guest 2014 Crazy House TV movie The Muffs: Weird Boy Next Door Weird Boy Next Door Short 2015 The Middle Wizard Episode: "Flirting With Disaster" 2016 Another Period John John 2 episodes 2017 Dr. Ken Student Episode: "Ken's Big Audition" 2019 Corporate Rick Episode: "Vacation" 2023 Krapopolis Scott, additional voices Recurring role 2025 Jeopardy! Himself Contestant, 2 episodes