T. J. Miller

Todd Joseph Miller (born June 4, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He played Erlich Bachman in the HBO sitcom Silicon Valley (2014–2017) and the Marvel Comics character Weasel in the superhero comedy film Deadpool and its 2018 sequel.

Miller took supporting roles in comedies such as Yogi Bear (2010), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), and Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017) as well in action films such as Unstoppable (2010), Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Ready Player One (2018), and Underwater (2020). He also voiced characters in the How to Train Your Dragon films (2010–2014) and the television series DreamWorks Dragons (2012–2018), as well as Big Hero 6 (2014), Hell and Back (2015) and The Emoji Movie (2017).

Early life and education Todd Joseph Miller was born on June 4, 1981, in Denver, Colorado, the son of Leslie Miller, a clinical psychologist, and Kent Miller, an attorney from Chanute, Kansas. He attended Graland Country Day School and graduated from Denver's East High School, where he participated in drama productions. At GWU, he was a member of the comedy group Recess.

Career

Stand-up

After college, Miller moved to Chicago to perform improvisation and stand-up comedy, performing with many local troupes. He toured with The Second City for two years. In 2011, he released a comedy special, No Real Reason, and a comedy album, Mash Up Audiofile in 2012.

In 2015, Miller was part of Funny or Die's Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival, a touring show which included Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari, and other comics. On June 17, 2017, HBO premiered his hour-long stand-up special, T.J. Miller: Meticulously Ridiculous, which was filmed in Miller's native Denver at the end of his 2016 Meticulously Ridiculous Tour. In October 2017, Miller began his Touring in Perpetuity Tour, a self-described "One Man Philosophy Circus".

Television Miller appeared frequently as a member of the "round table" on Chelsea Lately. He appeared as Marmaduke Brooker in Carpoolers, which ran for thirteen episodes on ABC in 20072008. In 2012, he voiced Robbie Valentino on the Disney channel cartoon Gravity Falls. On December 13, 2010, October 28, 2011, and June 14, 2012, he performed stand-up on Conan. On November 15, 2011, his stand-up special No Real Reason premiered on Comedy Central. In 2011, he hosted a special called Mash Up, which was picked up in 2012 for a full season by Comedy Central. He starred in the Fox TV series The Goodwin Games as Jimmy Goodwin.

Miller starred in the HBO sitcom Silicon Valley, which was met with widespread critical acclaim and he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2015. In May 2017, Miller and HBO jointly announced that Miller would not be returning for the fifth season of Silicon Valley. Series creator Mike Judge later revealed that Miller was removed from the show for failing to show up to work, and for coming to work "seemingly under the influence".

As a commercial actor, Miller voiced a talking ball of mucus in commercials for Mucinex He voiced Gorburger, a giant blue monster talk show host, on The Gorburger Show, which originally aired on Funny or Die and YouTube for two seasons in 201213, then on Comedy Central for a third season in 2017 before being canceled.

Film In Cloverfield, Miller's film debut, he appeared onscreen for only a few minutes, but his voice was heard in almost every scene as the character who videotaped most of the events depicted. In 2009, he played Cessna Jim in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard and the dim-witted grindcore musician Rory in Mike Judge's comedy Extract. In 2010, he co-starred in She's Out of My League as Stainer, played Brian the Concierge in Get Him to the Greek and appeared in a supporting role in the film Unstoppable. Unlike his character on the cartoon show, he is "dumb-but-not-in-a-funny-way", according to the Buffalo News. He was cast in the part after two auditions; as a joke, he sent Warner Bros. an improvised video audition with an actual bear, though he had already been offered the part before they received it.

In 2011, Miller appeared in the film Our Idiot Brother. He had a cameo as administrative personnel for Rolling Stone in the 2012 film Rock of Ages. He starred in the 2016 film Search Party alongside Adam Pally. In 2014, he appeared in Transformers: Age of Extinction. In November 2014, he was the voice of Fred in the superhero CGI film Big Hero 6. He also played Weasel in Deadpool and Deadpool 2. In 2017, he portrayed the voice of the main protagonist Gene, a meh emoji with abnormal expressions, in the animated The Emoji Movie, which received extremely negative reviews. In late March 2018, he appeared in a supporting role as I-R0K in the film Ready Player One, which was directed by Steven Spielberg.

Audio On September 12, 2011, Miller released a comedy rap concept album titled The Extended Play E.P. The album features comedians Bo Burnham, Doug Benson, Pete Holmes and hip-hop artists Ugly Duckling and Johnny Polygon. In 2012, Miller released The Extended Play E.P. Illegal Art Remix Tape. Also in 2012, Miller released Mash Up Audiofile on Comedy Central Records to mixed reviews. Miller started appearing on Chicago-based comedy podcast Red Bar Radio in 2006 as a semi-regular co-host. He hosts a podcast with friend and fellow comedian Cash Levy, titled Cashing in with TJ Miller, which began airing in March 2012 on the artist Network. He is also a frequent guest on Doug Benson's podcast Doug Loves Movies.

Personal life In 2014, Miller became engaged to his longtime girlfriend, actress and installation artist Kate Gorney, who changed her last name to Miller. Miller described learning about an undiagnosed cerebral arteriovenous malformation on his right frontal lobe on the Pete Holmes podcast You Made It Weird on October 28, 2011. He stated that he became more philosophical, narrated his behaviors, and was unable to sleep while filming Yogi Bear in New Zealand in 2010. His brain surgery was successful, though there was a ten percent risk of fatality. Miller speaks fluent Spanish. Miller considers himself a "positive nihilist".

Controversies Physical assault allegation On December 9, 2016, Miller was arrested and jailed in Los Angeles for allegedly assaulting an Uber driver. He was released on his own recognizance after bail was set at $20,000. Miller reached a settlement with the driver in March 2018.

Sexual assault allegation In late 2017, an allegation against Miller from his time in college in 2001 resurfaced, part of the MeToo movement and Weinstein effect. An anonymous woman who attended George Washington University with Miller told The Daily Beast reporter Asawin Suebsaeng that Miller became violent with her during a sexual encounter; he allegedly choked, shook, and punched her in the mouth.

Miller and his wife responded to the allegation, characterizing the accuser as a vindictive former colleague in a campus comedy troupe who was asked to leave due to inappropriate behavior. The statement said: In response to the controversy, DreamWorks Animation removed Miller from How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and had Justin Rupple dub over his lines.

Amtrak bomb threat incident Miller was arrested on the night of April 9, 2018, at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, on federal charges related to a fake bomb threat made while aboard an Amtrak train. According to a Department of Justice press release, he placed an emergency call on March 18, 2018, and reported that a female passenger had "a bomb in her bag" while traveling on Amtrak train #2256 from Washington, D.C., toward New York Penn Station. After authorities evacuated passengers and searched Amtrak Train 2256, it turned out that Miller was actually on train #2258, which was also evacuated of passengers and searched.

No evidence of any explosive device or materials was detected after officials stopped and inspected both trains. According to witnesses interviewed by Amtrak investigators, he appeared to be heavily intoxicated and involved "in hostile exchanges with a woman who was sitting in a different row from him in the first-class car", and that he had been removed from the train prior to his intended stop due to his intoxication. On April 10, 2018, he was released on a $100,000 bond following an appearance at a federal court hearing in New Haven, Connecticut.

In July 2021, the charges against Miller were dismissed. Prosecutors said their decision was based on "expert medical analyses and reports regarding the defendant's prior brain surgery and its continued neurological impacts, which cast doubt upon the requisite legal element of intent to commit the charged offense." Miller agreed to "make full financial restitution for the costs of the law enforcement response to the false 911 call, and to continue a thorough and necessary program of cognitive remediation to render any recurrence of such conduct most highly unlikely".

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2008 Cloverfield Hudson "Hud" Platt 2009 Cessna Jim Extract Rory 2010 She's Out of My League Stainer Get Him to the Greek BrianHow to Train Your DragonTuffnut ThorstonVoice Unstoppable Gilleece Yogi Bear Ranger Jones Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon Tuffnut Thorston Voice, short film Office Christmas Party Clay Vanstone 2017 Goon: Last of the Enforcers Chad Bailey The Emoji Movie GeneVoice; Razzie Award for Worst Screen Combo (as an emoji; shared with any obnoxious emoji) Deadpool 2 Weasel 2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Tuffnut Thorston Voice; lines overdubbed by Justin Rupple The Stand-In Louis A.I. Heart U MarcoFilming

Television Year Title Role Notes 2007–2011 Carpoolers Marmaduke Brooker 13 episodes Traffic Light Jason Episode: "Breaking Bread" Happy Endings Jason Shershow Episode: "The Shershow Redemption" The League Gabriel Episode: "The Light of Genesis" Fact Checkers Unit Cop Episode: "Excessive Gass" T.J. Miller: No Real Reason Himself Stand-up special2011Ice Age: A Mammoth ChristmasPrancerVoice, television short 2012 Romantic Encounters Toy Story 5 Episode: "Toy Story 5" How to Rock Danny Mango 2 episodes 2012–2013 The Gorburger Show Gorburger 16 episodes; also writer 2012–2016 Gravity Falls Robbie Stacy Valentino Voice, 13 episodes 2012–2018 DreamWorks Dragons Tuffnut Thorston Voice, 82 episodes 2013, 2014 American Dad! Benji, Cowboy Voice, 2 episodes 2013 The Goodwin Games Jimmy Goodwin 7 episodes This Is Not Happening Himself Episode: "T.J. Miller Has a Seizure" The Jeselnik Offensive Himself 3 episodes High School USA! Brad Slovee Voice, 12 episodes 2014 Garfunkel and Oates Matthew Episode: "Speechless"; uncredited 2014–2017 Silicon Valley Erlich Bachman 38 episodesCritics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2015)Nominated–Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2016) 2015 Family Guy Premature Volcano Voice, episode: "Roasted Guy" 2016 21st Critics' Choice Awards Himself Host 2016, 2019 Those Who Can't Uncle Jake 2 episodes 2016 22nd Critics' Choice Awards Himself Host Lip Sync Battle Himself Episode: "Sam Richardson vs. T.J. Miller" 2017 The Gorburger Show Gorburger 8 episodes; also writer and executive producer Crashing Himself 2 episodes T.J. Miller: Meticulously Ridiculous Himself Stand-up special 2021 F Is for Family Randy Voice, 5 episodes

Video games Year Title Voice role 2010 How to Train Your Dragon Tuffnut Thorston 2010 Yogi Bear Ranger Jones 2019Kingdom Hearts III Fred