Douglas 'Dougy' Darien Walker (born November 17, 1981) is an Italian-born American comedian, film critic, actor and YouTuber. He is best known for creating and starring in the satirical film reviewweb seriesNostalgia Critic, wherein the titular character reviews nostalgic media in an angry or profane manner.[3] 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 2012.[4][5]
Walker is the son of Barney (b. 1946), a naval officer and musician, and Sandra Ruth (née Polkow) Walker (1947–2016), a therapist.[6] Both parents, as well as Walker's older brother Rob (b. June 5, 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.[7]
After graduating 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.[8]
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.[9] 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.[10]
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.[11]
In March 2018, numerous former Channel Awesome contributors and employees accused the company of widespread mismanagement and mistreatment, culminating in the Twitterhashtag #ChangeTheChannel and a Google Doc entitled "Not So Awesome" chronicling the complaints of over 20 contributors.[10][12][13]
Filmography
Film
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2010
Kickassia
Nostalgia Critic / Spider Smith / Chester A. Bum / Ask That Guy with the Glasses / Dominic
Also director, editor, executive producer, and writer[14]
2011
Suburban Knights
Nostalgia Critic / Ask That Guy with the Glasses / Chester A. Bum
Also cinematographer, director, editor, executive producer, and writer[15]
2012
To Boldly Flee
Nostalgia Critic / General Zodd / Chester A. Bum / Ask That Guy with the Glasses / Soldier / Himself / Additional Voices
Also camera operator, director, editor, and writer
In August 2023, Doug Walker contracted shingles on his head, which he explained hurt so badly that he couldn't put on his signature hat or glasses, which got in the way of his progress in releasing videos.[28]
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