Doug Walker | |
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![]() Walker at the Grand Rapids Comic-Con in Michigan on November 13, 2022 | |
Personal information | |
Born | Douglas Darien Walker November 17, 1981 [1] Naples, Italy |
Nationality | American |
Education | Northern Illinois University (BA) |
Occupations |
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Spouse | Robin Poage (m. 2012) |
YouTube information | |
Channel | |
Years active | 2007–present |
Genre | Film reviews |
Subscribers | 1.36 million [2] |
Total views | 1.17 billion [2] |
Associated acts | |
Last updated: April 7, 2024 |
Douglas Darien Walker (born November 17, 1981) is an American comedian, film critic, actor, and YouTuber. He is best known for creating and starring in the satirical film review web series Nostalgia 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 of whom 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]
He is a descendant of German composer Heinrich Schütz. [8] [ self-published source ]
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. [9]
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. [10] 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. [11]
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. [12]
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. [11] [13] [14] While many of the allegations were directed at Michaud, former contributor Allison "Obscurus Lupa" Pregler, who had been critical of the site since leaving in 2015, [11] [14] said that Doug and Rob Walker were "complicit" and had failed to address complaints about Michaud's behavior. [15] [16] Another former contributor, Lindsay Ellis, described filming conditions on the Walker-directed Channel Awesome anniversary films as "grossly unprofessional", lacking film industry standards such as craft services and safety insurance. [16]
Following the allegations and several poorly received statements from Channel Awesome management, many contributors left the site, with only Walker, Brad Jones, and Larry "Guru Larry" Bundy Jr. remaining by the end of April. Walker later acknowledged the controversy in a 2021 interview with Korey Coleman for Double Toasted , admitting that Channel Awesome had gotten "too big", resulting in poor communication among staff and producers, and that he had since been consciously trying to "keep everything closer and more personal". [17]
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 [18] |
2011 | Suburban Knights | Nostalgia Critic / Ask That Guy with the Glasses / Chester A. Bum | Also cinematographer, director, editor, executive producer, and writer [19] |
2012 | To Boldly Flee | Nostalgia Critic / General Zodd / Chester A. Bum / Ask That Guy with the Glasses / Himself / Additional Voices | Also camera operator, director, editor, and writer |
2013 | Sonic | G.U.N. Soldier | 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 | Himself | Documentary film [20] |
2017 | Jesus, Bro! | Samuel Tobinski / Kendrick Tobinski | [21] [22] |
Disco | Rudy | ||
2019 | Another Cinema Snob Movie | Bally Joe | |
2022 | Adam Heatherly's Frankenstein! | Professor William Barter | [23] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2024 | Smiling Friends | Daniel the Demon Slayer | Episode: "Erm, the Boss Finds Love?" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2007–present | Nostalgia Critic | Nostalgia Critic / Chester A. Bum / Devil Boner / Raoul Puke / Various | Also director, writer, editor, and producer |
2012–2013 | Demo Reel | Donnie DuPre/Jimmy Boyd/Doug Walker/Nostalgia Critic | Also director, writer, editor, and producer [24] |
2010–present | The Cinema Snob | Nostalgia Critic / Chester A. Bum / Luigi Mario / 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 [25] |
Title | Album details |
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Nostalgia Critic's The Wall [lower-alpha 1] |
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Title | Song details |
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"The Real Chipmunks Movie" [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3] |
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Doug Walker has cited to have many influences on his acting and style of comedy, including Mystery Science Theater 3000 , 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 , Dave Chappelle, Robin Williams, and especially Looney Tunes (particularly Daffy Duck). [30]
Walker has been married to clinical social worker and therapist Robin Poage since 2012. [31] [32] [33] Walker and his wife have two cats, Chaplin (a rescued tuxedo cat whom they named after Charlie Chaplin that they adopted in 2018) [34] and Buster (a smaller orange cat whom they named after Buster Keaton that they adopted in 2020). [35]
Walker has often noted that his favorite film of all time is the 1985 Terry Gilliam film Brazil . [36]
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. [37] In his Nostalgia Critic review of The Land Before Time which was released in April 2024, he has mentioned that he very likely has ADHD and OCD. [38]
Jason Michael Lee is an American actor, filmmaker, photographer, and former professional skateboarder. He is known for playing Earl Hickey in the television comedy series My Name Is Earl, for which he was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy TV series in 2005 and 2006 by The Golden Globes. He is also known for his roles in Kevin Smith films such as Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Jersey Girl (2004), Clerks II (2006), Cop Out (2010), and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019). Lee won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in Chasing Amy.
Blip was an American media platform for web series content and also offered a dashboard for producers of original web series to distribute and monetize their productions. The company was founded on May 5, 2005, and it was located in New York City and Los Angeles. It was financed by Bain Capital Ventures, Canaan Partners, and Ambient Sound Investments. Blip's mission statement was "to deliver the best original web series to audiences across multiple platforms." The site showcased a wide variety of dramas, comedies, arts, sports and other shows. Blip was acquired by Maker Studios in 2013 and shut down by them on August 20, 2015.
Chris Bailey is an American animator and film director.
The Angry Video Game Nerd, originally known as The Angry Nintendo Nerd, is an American retrogaming review comedy web series created by and starring James Rolfe. The series centers on Rolfe's titular skit character, often simply shortened to "the Nerd", a short-tempered and foul-mouthed gamer who delivers commentary on retro games of poor quality. While the series began with Rolfe simply playing games while providing retrospective commentary, the show has grown in scope to encompass sketches featuring guest characters, reviews of gaming consoles and peripherals, and short lectures about video game history and culture.
The Key of Awesome is a YouTube channel that produced comedy videos starring writer/performer Mark Douglas. "The Key of Awesome" was created by Mark Douglas and Ben Relles and is the channel's most popular series, mainly producing viral music videos and parodies. Barely Political was created in June 2007 by Ben Relles and subsequently debuted its first music video, "Crush on Obama", starring Amber Lee "Obama Girl" Ettinger, created by Ben Relles and Jake Chudnow. Videos on the channel have been seen over 3.37 billion times online. "The Key of Awesome" became the central identity of the channel.
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past.
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe, better known by his stage name Chip, is a British rapper from Tottenham, North London. In the past 14 years he has collaborated with the likes of Skepta, T.I., Meek Mill, Young Adz and many others. In 2009, he released his debut album, I Am Chipmunk, featuring four songs which peaked in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, including the chart-topping "Oopsy Daisy". In 2011, Chipmunk released his follow-up album, the American hip hop-influenced Transition. It included the single "Champion" featuring Chris Brown, which peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart.
Channel Awesome, Inc. is an American online media production company based in Lombard, Illinois. The company was created in 2008 by Mike Michaud, Mike Ellis, and Bhargav Dronamraju. Channel Awesome operated the That Guy with the Glasses website until late 2014, when it was phased into the Channel Awesome website. The site is best known for the comedic film review series Nostalgia Critic, starring Doug Walker.
Lindsay Ellis is an American science fiction author and video essayist. Her debut novel, Axiom's End, published in July 2020, became a New York Times Best Seller.
Nostalgia Critic is an American review comedy web series created, directed by, and starring comedian Doug Walker. The series initially launched on YouTube on July 3, 2007, before moving to Walker's own site, That Guy with the Glasses, and finally to the online production company Channel Awesome. The show follows Walker as the title character, a bitter and sarcastic critic who reviews films and television shows from his childhood and recent past, usually with comically exaggerated hysteria. The show focuses on analysis of the episode's subject, often incorporated with sketches, rants, or embedded storylines. Many of the films reviewed—such as Exorcist II: The Heretic, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Batman & Robin, and Foodfight!—are generally considered as the worst films ever made.
James D. Rolfe is an American YouTuber, filmmaker, and actor. He is best known for creating and starring in the comedic retrogaming web series The Angry Video Game Nerd (2004–present). His spin-off projects include reviews of retro films, television series, and board games. He is considered a pioneer of internet gaming videos, and is noted for his widespread influence on YouTube content after the series premiered on the site in 2006.
Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie is a 2014 American independent science-fiction adventure comedy film written and directed by James Rolfe and Kevin Finn. It is based on the web series of the same name, also created by Rolfe, with himself as the lead character alongside Jeremy Suarez, Sarah Glendening, Stephen Mendel, Time Winters, Helena Barrett, David Dastmalchian, Robbie Rist, and Eddie Pepitone.
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Awesomeness, formerly and best known as AwesomenessTV, is an American digital media and entertainment network company owned by Paramount Digital Studios, a division of Paramount Global. Established in July 2012 by Brian Robbins and Joe Davola, the company operated a network initially focused on children’s programs, teen dramas, comedies, live events and music videos targeting adolescents and young adults.
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Robert Andrew Scallon is an American YouTuber, musician, and multi-instrumentalist based in Chicago, Illinois. He is best known for several viral videos featuring his music, including heavy metal songs played with traditionally non-metal instruments.
First of October is an American-Canadian indie rock duo formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 2018. It was formed between musical YouTubers Rob Scallon and Andrew Huang from an idea where they would go into a recording studio and write and record a 10-track album in a 10-hour recording session. The duo's name is derived from the day that they recorded their first album, Ten Hours. The band recorded and released four more albums of the sort in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, with plans to repeat the project annually.
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers is a 2022 American live-action/animated adventure comedy film based on the characters Chip and Dale and loosely inspired by the 1989 animated TV series of the same name. Directed by Akiva Schaffer and written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, the film stars John Mulaney and Andy Samberg as the voices of the eponymous pair, respectively, with KiKi Layne, Will Arnett, Eric Bana, Flula Borg, Dennis Haysbert, Keegan-Michael Key, Tress MacNeille, Tim Robinson, Seth Rogen, and J.K. Simmons. Walt Disney Pictures co-produced the film in association with The Lonely Island and David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman's Mandeville Films.
Quotations related to The Nostalgia Critic at Wikiquote