Craig Phillip Robinson is an American actor, comedian, musician and singer. He is best known for his roles as Darryl Philbin on The Office and Doug Judy on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Robinson has appeared in numerous other television shows and films, including Pineapple Express, Zack and MiriMake a Porno, Hot Tub Time Machine, This Is the End, Sausage Party and Dolemite Is My Name.
Robinson began doing stand-up and taking classes in improv and acting at The Second City in Chicago while still in college. After doing open-mic sessions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere and winning regional comedy competitions, he began to get spots on late night TV shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live. 2004 saw him cast in bit parts, including episodes of Friends, The Bernie Mac Show, LAX and Arrested Development. Those led to small movie roles in Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and '. Beginning in 2005, he portrayed Darryl Philbin on the American version of The Office, appearing first in the fourth episode of the first season entitled, "The Alliance". Robinson was promoted to a starring role in the fourth season and continued until the show ended in 2013. In 2010, he hosted season seven of Last Comic Standing with judges Greg Giraldo, Natasha Leggero, and Andy Kindler. He has appeared on other television shows, including Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Lucky, Halfway Home, and Reno 911!. He appeared in the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Hump de Bump". He voiced Cookie in Shrek Forever After and played Reg Mackworthy on the HBO hit series Eastbound & Down. Robinson is a frequent collaborator with Seth Rogen, starring alongside Rogen in the films Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, This Is the End and Sausage Party. Robinson performed at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in 2008. On top of Shrek Forever After and Sausage Party, Robinson has also provided his voice for the films Escape from Planet Earth, ' and Henchmen. He also appeared in what was then the highest-grossing Korean film, D-War in 2007. Making a departure from his comedy background, Robinson portrayed saxophonist Maceo Parker in the James Brown biopic Get On Up. In December 2015, he appeared in several Wal-Mart commercials promoting their credit card while singing and playing the piano at the store. He received rave reviews for the A24 drama Morris from America, earning a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He also played the role of Ray Hayworth in the second season of the drama series Mr. Robot. In 2019 Robinson became the spokesman for the Philadelphia-area meat producer Dietz & Watson, appearing in several commercials for the company’s line of deli meats. The first of these commercials aired in January 2019, featuring Robinson and his brother Chris promoting the snack Dietz Nuts with Robinson playing up the double entendre in the name of the product. On June 2020, Robinson was reportedly confirmed to be starring in the pandemic-themed thriller produced by Michael BaySongbird alongside Demi Moore, Peter Stormare and Paul Walter Hauser.
Music
For a number of years, Robinson and comedian Jerry Minor had a comedy act where they performed as musical duo L. Witherspoon & Chucky, with Minor as smooth singing L. Witherspoon and Robinson as Chucky, the keyboard player and back-up singer. They performed the act on HBO's Sketch Pad, several stand-up shows on Comedy Central, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! He occasionally performs with his band, The Nasty Delicious, alongside his brother Chris Rob. They were featured as his band in an episode of The Office, and on the season finale of the seventh season of Last Comic Standing. He has also performed in character in multiple episodes of The Office, and was featured on the Hot Tub Time Machine soundtrack, singing "Jessie's Girl" and "Let's Get It Started." He was also in the film Miss March, playing the role of the hit rapper Phil, also known as Horsedick.MPEG. Robinson produced two songs from that same film. He has also performed with his band in the 2018 stand-up comedy special Seth Rogen's Hilarity for Charity.
