What’s the deal with “Zippy,” anyway?

Long story short, the nickname “Zippy” comes from a character I played in a 2nd grade talent show. It was my first acting experience, and the name stuck!

So should I call you “Christopher?” “Chris?” “Zippy?” I’m confused!

Doesn’t matter- I’ll answer to any of the three!

Pretty cool that acting’s been in your blood since you were a kid. Did you do anything with that passion?

Why yes- I took on a whole mess of student loans! Oh, I also got a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where I was lucky enough to get a mix of classical and experimental theatre training from some of the top instructors in the country. They also had wild Halloween parties.

What happened after college?  

I got a job.

Then what?

Ahh, the comedy portion of the story! A well-timed Groupon led to standup comedy classes over at Mi’s Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica, CA, and I loved it. From there, I went through WCT’s improv program, wrote & produced a sketch comedy show, and found myself a regular performer in their flagship show, Mission Improvable- as Agent Hammertime.

Oh goodness, another nickname?

Yup. I guess it’s kind of my thing.

After a few years at Westside, I found myself living in Stamford, CT—

Wait, what?! But…but…you said you loved WCT! I don’t get it! IF you loved being there so much, why’d you leave, mmm? Spill the tea!

Well you know the phrase “When opportunity knocks, you…get on a plane and move to the opposite coast?” Well, a short stint as a creative writer at WWE—

Hold up- did you say WWE? As in, the professional wrestling company???

That’s the one.

You know it’s all fake, right?

Next question.

Okay okay, my bad. So today I see you’re a voice actor full-time. How’s that going for you?

Quite well! After WWE, I took a chance and explored an avenue I’ve always been interested in: VoiceOver. I now live in Las Vegas (yup, people actually *live* here), and have voiced it up for clients like Google, Dictionary.com, and Audible.

One last question: What do you like to do for fun?

When I’m not in the booth, you can probably find me in the kitchen (I’ve got a killer chocolate-chip cookie recipe), at a spin class (gotta work off those cookies somehow), or on the couch (March Madness is kinda-sorta my Christmas break).