--- name: "Joel McHale" canonical: "https://film.one/person/joel-mchale" fi1m_id: "joel-mchale" imdb_id: "nm0570364" tmdb_id: 74949 wikidata_id: "Q311993" roles: ["Actor"] born: "20 November 1971" reviewed_on_fi1m: 10 average_fi1m_score: 75 average_as: "actor" average_over: 10 updated: "2026-10-05T12:33:44.260984+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Joel McHale ## Identity Joel McHale - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/joel-mchale - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** joel-mchale - **IMDb ID:** nm0570364 - **TMDB ID:** 74949 - **Wikidata ID:** Q311993 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_McHale, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q311993, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570364/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/74949 Actor. Born 20 November 1971 in Roma, Italy. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 20 November 1971, Roma, Italy - **Active:** 2004–present - **Also known as:** Joel E. McHale, Joel Edward McHale - **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as actor, over 10 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 80 (4), 2010s 78 (3), 2020s 64 (3) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 68 across 10 titles - **Score spread:** 5 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 4 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Comedy 7, Drama 4, Crime 3, Action 2, Animation 2, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 2 - **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $1,598m across 5 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_McHale, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q311993, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570364/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/74949 ## Streaming the US now - **Hulu:** [*Community*](https://film.one/tv/community.md) (83) - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Informant!*](https://film.one/film/the-informant.md) (71) - **Apple TV:** [*Scream 7*](https://film.one/film/scream-7.md) (48) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Joel McHale > Joel McHale plays men who are quicker than everyone around them and know it, and he makes them better company than they deserve. Given a good writer that carries a series; given a thin one, the smirk is all that is left. Jeff Winger stands up at the study table in *Community* (2009) and gives a speech. It is about friendship, or trust, or why everyone should stop fighting and pass the exam, and it sounds like every speech a sitcom lead has ever given. Joel McHale delivers it as if he has only just thought of it and believes every word. The programme then points out that it was rubbish. We were talked round by those speeches more often than we would like to admit, and slightly cross with ourselves each time, which is what Dan Harmon's writers intended. He found the effect early. He came up through sketch comedy in Seattle on *Almost Live* and improv in the 1990s, and spent eleven years, from 2004 to 2015, hosting *The Soup*, a clip show in which he watched television and was rude about it. The job taught him to talk about the medium while standing inside it, and *Community* was built to use that. Jeff is a disbarred lawyer who thinks he is above a community college. Our view is that he is a fine deliverer of speeches and a thin man to carry six seasons, and that the writers knew it and made the thinness the joke. When the programme needed more, in the paintball episode "Modern Warfare" (2010), he could run, dive and take a hit like a proper action lead, and it was funnier for how seriously he did it. His film work has been mostly supporting, and the best of it plays the sarcasm down. In Steven Soderbergh's *The Informant* (2009) he is Robert Herndon, an FBI agent partnered with Scott Bakula, and he spends the film wearing the face of a man doing sums in his head while Matt Damon's whistleblower talks. It is comedians playing it straight, and it works because McHale's stillness is the reaction we are having ourselves. He is Rex in *Ted* (2012) and Mr Jacks in *Spider-Man 2* (2004), a bit part from the year *The Soup* began. In *Scream 7* (2026) he is Mark Evans, husband to Neve Campbell's Sidney, in the least sharp film the series has produced; what the script does with him we will not say, but it is not enough. The risk with a persona this fixed is that writers reach for it rather than for him. *Animal Control* (2023–present) casts him as Frank Shaw, another sarcastic everyman, and without Harmon behind the scripts the snark can curdle into plain unpleasantness. The charm that made Jeff Winger forgivable needs someone writing his comeuppance. Somebody should cast McHale as a man who is wrong and has no idea, with nobody on hand to tell him. We suspect he would be good at it, and that he would enjoy it more. ## Biography Joel McHale is an American actor and comedian. He was born on 20 November 1971 in Rome, Italy, and raised in Washington state. He earned a BA in history and an MFA from the University of Washington. McHale hosted the E! series The Soup from 2004 to 2015 and played Jeff Winger in the NBC sitcom Community (2009–2015). His film credits include Mr. Jacks in Spider-Man 2 (2004), Robert Herndon in The Informant! (2009), and Mark Evans in Scream 7 (2026). He has also appeared in Ted (2012), Blended (2014), and The Happytime Murders (2018), and provided voice work for Rick and Morty and other series. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, ew.com.* ## On Fi1m (10) - *Scream 7* (2026), Fi1m 48, as Mark Evans — [page](https://film.one/film/scream-7.md) - *Stop! That! Train!* (2026), Fi1m 63, as Male Passenger 2 — [page](https://film.one/film/stop-that-train.md) - *The Bear* (2022), Fi1m 82, as David Fields — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-bear-2022.md) - *BoJack Horseman* (2014), Fi1m 91, as Alex (voice) — [page](https://film.one/tv/bojack-horseman.md) - *Rick and Morty* (2013), Fi1m 78, as Hemorrhage (voice) — [page](https://film.one/tv/rick-and-morty.md) - *Ted* (2012), Fi1m 64, as Rex — [page](https://film.one/film/ted.md) - *Community* (2009), Fi1m 83, as Jeff Winger — [page](https://film.one/tv/community.md) - *The Informant!* (2009), Fi1m 71, as Robert Herndon — [page](https://film.one/film/the-informant.md) - *Pushing Daisies* (2007), Fi1m 82, as Harold Hundin — [page](https://film.one/tv/pushing-daisies.md) - *Spider-Man 2* (2004), Fi1m 85, as Mr. Jacks — [page](https://film.one/film/spider-man-2.md) ## Complete filmography (88) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Stop! That! Train!* (2026), as Male Passenger 2 — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/stop-that-train.md) - *Scream 7* (2026), as Mark Evans — Fi1m 48, [page](https://film.one/film/scream-7.md) - *Strip Law* (2026), series, as Pringus (voice) - *Tim Travers and the Time Traveler's Paradox* (2025), as James Bunratty - *California King* (2025), as Zane - *The Dawgfather: The Legend of Don James* (2024), as Narrator (voice) - *Parachute* (2024), as Jamie Collins - *It's a Wonderful Knife* (2023), as David Carruthers - *Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match* (2023), as Johnny Cage (voice) - *The Ultimate Improv Show* (2023), series, as Monologist - *Krapopolis* (2023), series, as Games Commentator (voice) - *Office Race* (2023), as Spencer - *Animal Control* (2023), series, as Frank Shaw · Executive Producer - *The Seven Faces of Jane* (2023), as Michael - *I Am Phenomenal* (2022), as Bill Winger - *The Bear* (2022), series, as David Fields — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-bear-2022.md) - *Yellowjackets* (2021), series, as Kody — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/yellowjackets.md) - *Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms* (2021), as Johnny Cage (voice) - *Queenpins* (2021), as Rick - *Happily* (2021), as Tom - *Becky* (2020), as Jeff - *Psych 2: Lassie Come Home* (2020), as Lassiter's Father - *DC's Stargirl* (2020), series, as Sylvester Pemberton / Starman, Sylvester Pemberton - *Community Table Read* (2020), as Jeff Winger - *Dummy* (2020), series, as Agent Jason - *Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge* (2020), as Johnny Cage (voice) - *Medical Police* (2020), series, as Joel McHale - *Dark Harbor* (2019), as Greg - *Trouble* (2019), as Norbert (voice) - *Joel McHale: Live from Pyongyang* (2019), Writer, Producer - *What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage* (2019), series, Actor - *The Twilight Zone* (2019), series, Actor - *Love, Death & Robots* (2019), series, as Sergeant Morris (voice) - *The Rookie* (2018), series, as Brad Hayes - *Assassination Nation* (2018), as Nick Mathers - *The Happytime Murders* (2018), as Agent Campbell - *Stuck* (2018), as Judge Lepetri - *Game Over, Man!* (2018), as Joel McHale - *A Futile and Stupid Gesture* (2018), as Chevy Chase - *Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television* (2017), series, as Joel McHale - *Will & Grace* (2017), series, as Phil - *Mystery Science Theater 3000* (2017), series, as Doug McClure · Writer - *Dimension 404* (2017), series, as Mr. Maker - *Santa Clarita Diet* (2017), series, as Chris - *The Great Indoors* (2016), series, as Ashley Jack Gordon - *American Housewife* (2016), series, as Doyle Bradford - *Milo Murphy's Law* (2016), series, as Victor (voice) - *Six Seasons and a Finale* (2016), Thanks - *The Human Face of Big Data* (2016), as Narrator - *Dr. Ken* (2015), series, as Ross - *Difficult People* (2015), series, as Felix - *A Merry Friggin' Christmas* (2014), as Boyd Mitchler - *black-ish* (2014), series, as Joel McHale - *Adult Beginners* (2014), as Hudson - *BoJack Horseman* (2014), series, as Alex (voice) — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/bojack-horseman.md) - *Advanced Television Production - 5 Days, 2 Scripts, No Sleep* (2014), Thanks - *Deliver Us from Evil* (2014), as Butler - *Blended* (2014), as Mark - *Rick and Morty* (2013), series, as Hemorrhage (voice) — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/rick-and-morty.md) - *The Mighty T* (2013), as Narrator - *Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja* (2012), series, as First Ninja (voice) - *Ted* (2012), as Rex — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/ted.md) - *The Big Year* (2011), as Barry Loomis - *What's Your Number?* (2011), as Roger the Boss - *Spy Kids: All the Time in the World* (2011), as Wilbur Wilson - *Regular Show* (2010), series, as DVD (voice) - *The Informant!* (2009), as Robert Herndon — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/film/the-informant.md) - *Community* (2009), series, as Jeff Winger — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/community.md) - *Open Season 2* (2008), as Elliot (Voice) - *Sons of Anarchy* (2008), series, as Warren — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/tv/sons-of-anarchy.md) - *The Onion Movie* (2008), as Office Worker - *Water and Power* (2008), series, as Joel McHale - *Pushing Daisies* (2007), series, as Harold Hundin — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/pushing-daisies.md) - *Mini's First Time* (2006), as Host - *Lords of Dogtown* (2005), as TV Reporter - *Spider-Man 2* (2004), as Mr. Jacks — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/spider-man-2.md) - *Oliver Beene* (2003), series, as Man in Elevator - *CSI: Miami* (2002), series, as Greg Welch - *The Huntress* (2000), series, as Quicky the Clown - *Will & Grace* (1998), series, as Ian - *American Messiah* (1995), as Assassin - *Diagnosis: Murder* (1993), series, as Richard - *The X-Files* (1993), series, as Tad O'Malley — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md) - *The Simpsons* (1989), series, as Joel McHale (voice) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md) - *The IT Crowd*, series, as Roy - *Star Wars Detours*, series, as Host of Galaxy Rumors (voice) - *Reimagined*, as Hamilton Lydell - *Untitled Community Movie*, as Jeff Winger · Executive Producer ## Gallery - ![Joel McHale](https://film.one/media/person/7062/gallery-200e08550074.jpg) Joel McHale — Gage Skidmore, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Joel_McHale_2014_Comic_Con_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Joel_McHale_2014_Comic_Con_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Community cast at San Diego Comic-Con International 2012](https://film.one/media/person/7062/gallery-ed566ca6422a.jpg) Community cast at San Diego Comic-Con International 2012 — Keith McDuffee from Northborough, MA, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Community_cast_at_SDCC_2012_1.jpg/1280px-Community_cast_at_SDCC_2012_1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Community cast at San Diego Comic-Con International 2012](https://film.one/media/person/7062/gallery-6d5f1bd8adcf.jpg) Community cast at San Diego Comic-Con International 2012 — Keith McDuffee from Northborough, MA, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Community_cast_at_SDCC_2012_2.jpg/1280px-Community_cast_at_SDCC_2012_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![DSC_6417 (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/7062/gallery-4fc335c5fcda.jpg) DSC_6417 (2012) — Genevieve, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Danny_Pudi%2C_Gillian_Jacobs%2C_Alison_Brie%2C_Joel_McHale_%287594713034%29.jpg/1280px-Danny_Pudi%2C_Gillian_Jacobs%2C_Alison_Brie%2C_Joel_McHale_%287594713034%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Joel McHale](https://film.one/media/person/7062/gallery-a7d05b64a6ab.jpg) Joel McHale — Image via TMDB - ![Joel McHale](https://film.one/media/person/7062/gallery-6308d3b2b4b1.jpg) Joel McHale — Image via TMDB - ![Joel McHale](https://film.one/media/person/7062/gallery-43b0f77f6012.jpg) Joel McHale — Image via TMDB - ![Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, Olivia Munn and Joel McHale speaking at the 2014 WonderCon, for "Deliver Us from Evil", at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, C](https://film.one/media/person/7062/gallery-e38997730d85.jpg) Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, Olivia Munn and Joel McHale speaking at the 2014 WonderCon, for "Deliver Us from Evil", at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, C — Gage Skidmore, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Eric_Bana%2C_Edgar_Ramirez%2C_Olivia_Munn_%26_Joel_McHale_2014_WonderCon.jpg/1280px-Eric_Bana%2C_Edgar_Ramirez%2C_Olivia_Munn_%26_Joel_McHale_2014_WonderCon.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Joel McHale and Gillian Jacobs speaking at the 2014 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Community", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Califor](https://film.one/media/person/7062/gallery-dccdf0671e51.jpg) Joel McHale and Gillian Jacobs speaking at the 2014 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Community", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Califor — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Joel_McHale_%26_Gillian_Jacobs_%2814584165729%29.jpg/1280px-Joel_McHale_%26_Gillian_Jacobs_%2814584165729%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/joel-mchale