Judah Friedlander

Judah Friedlander is unmissable—you’d perhaps see him wearing trucker’s hats and oversized glasses that fail to cover up his scruffy appearance. He makes it a point that his roles would have such a look. The comedian, born on March 16, 1969 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, started out as a soundman for Chris Rock’s 1989 short, Who is Chris Rock? It was only ten years later when he finally appeared in front of the camera, starring in episodes of the short-lived sitcom LateLine.

Friedlander’s most prominent television role, however, is as Frank Rossitano in the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. Like in most of his roles, his trademark look is evident in every episode that his character is in, complete with different slogans on the trucker hats that he wears, most of which he coins himself. He is the most prominently featured writer of the show-within-a-show TGS with Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), after protagonist Liz Lemon (Tina Fey). He is often portrayed as childish, lazy and libidinous, and always makes fun of and pulls pranks on his colleagues.

Friedlander has also performed stand-up routines across different venues in New York and Los Angeles. One of his more popular schticks involve him making outlandish claim of greatness in any imaginable aspect. Fans of the Dave Matthews Band may also know him as the “hug guy” in the band’s music video for Everyday he appeared in many other films. Some of these include Meet the Parents, Wet Hot American Summer, Zoolander, American Splendor, Along Came Polly, Starsky and Hutch, Date Movie, Live Free or Die, Full Grown Men and Meet Dave.