David Cross

David Cross : Role: Tobias Fünke
Birthday : 4th April 1964
Birthplace : Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Recent Role : Co-Worker on Important Things with Demetri Martin
Height : 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
Gender : Male

David Cross was born as the son of a computer retailer named Susi while many details about his father are not known. He has two sisters named Juli and Wendy. When he was only six months old, David’s family moved to Florida and later to New York and Connecticut, before settling back in Atlanta. David has remained alienated from his father since he was 19-years-old. He has referred to his father as a con man of some type, who brokered all of David’s personal possessions, when he was 15-years old.

David studied at the Northside High School of the Performing Arts which is now known as North Atlanta High School. Before he graduated in 1982, Cross was chosen as the treasurer of his senior class, besides which his classmates also selected him as the Most Humorous, through voting. On the next day of graduating from high school, Cross shifted to New York where he briefly worked for a lawn care company in Long Island, before enrolling at Emerson College in Boston.

Although Cross dropped out after completing only one semester, during his time at Emerson College, he discovered his love for partying and sketch comedy. He then joined a college sketch group named, This is Pathetic. It was here that he met John Ennis, another aspiring actor with whom he later took a road trip to Los Angeles in 1985.
Cross is of the Jewish descent, but has become an atheist. He has openly acknowledged his intense hatred for pop rock bands like Creed, Evanescence, P.O.D., and Staind. He has even openly stated that say that post-grunge had killed rock music. He is a good friend of James Lipton, whom he had initially criticized, but later apologized to him, when he co-stared with him on Arrested Development. He is rumored to be having a long-term relationship with Amber Tamblyn.

Cross started doing stand-up acts when he was just 17-years-old. In 1990, when a new a new comedy scene began emerge, he along with Janeane Garofalo, Louis C.K., and other comics, started performing regularly at a small club named Catch a Rising Star. Later, cross formed a sketch comedy group named Cross Comedy, which consisted of twelve other performers and that presented a new shoe every week He also performed at the Un-Cabaret, the alternative comedy club in Los Angeles.

David started his career on the small screen as a writer for the series named, The Ben Stiller Show and also made brief appearances in its sketches. He later went on to appear on numerous other shows which include, A Bucket of Blood, The Drew Carey Show, Mr. Show With Bob and David, King of the Hill, Oliver Beene, Arrested Development, The Colbert Report, Freak Show, Odd Job Jack, Human Giant and Important Things with Demetri Martin, etc.

David has also been cast in various characters in a large number of movies. His most prominent big screen projects include, Destiny Turns on the Radio, Small Soldiers, Ghost World, Scary Movie 2, Men in Black II, Crashing, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Legend of Secret Pass and Year One, etc. His other upcoming projects include, Demoted and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which are currently undergoing the process of post-production, Cat Tale, which is currently in production and Arrested Development, which has only been announced as yet.

In addition to his acting talents, David is also well known as a writer. His writing credits include, The Ben Stiller Show, Mr. Show and the Incredible, Fantastical News Report, Run Ronnie Run, David’s Situation etc. As a producer David has also worked on Mr. Show with Bob and David, Tenacious D, and Freak Show etc., with some of these also having been written by him. David has also directed David Cross: Let America Laugh and Mr. Show with Bob and David.

David has also released many comedy albums which include, Shut Up You Fucking Baby!, Let America Laugh, It’s Not Funny, Invite Them Up and Comedy Death-Ray etc.

In 2003, David won the DVD Exclusive Award under the category of the Best Original Song in a DVD Premiere Movie for Run Ronnie Run. In 1993, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program, for The Ben Stiller Show. In 2005, David won the Glow Award at the G-Phoria Awards under the category of Best Voice Performance - Male for Halo 2. In 2003, David along with his co-stars from Melvin Goes to Dinner won the Copper Wing Award at the Phoenix Film Festival, under the category of Best Ensemble Acting. Also in 2004, David and his co-stars from Arrested Development won the Future e Award at the TV Land Awards.

In addition to winning the above awards, David has also been nominated for other prestigious awards which include two Emmy Awards, one Golden Satellite Award, one DVD Exclusive Award and two Screen Actor Guild Awards.

Role In Arrested Development

In Arrested Development, David plays the role of Tobias Fünke. He is the father of Maedy Funke and the husband of Lindsay Bluth. Even though he pursues the profession of medicine, throughout the entire series, he aspires to become an actor and continues to make efforts in the same direction, though without much success. His homosexual inclinations are a topic of humor throughout the series and he seems to be completely ignorant of the repeated sexual double-entendres made by him. Having faced sexual differences with Lindsay, who had married Tobias against the wishes of her parents, the two mutually decide to try out an open marriage. However, Tobias is not able to follow through even with an open relationship.