T.J. Miller

T.J. Miller Bio

Todd Joseph Miller (born June 4, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter who built his career on sharp improvisational humor and an unmistakable comedic voice. He is best known for playing Erlich Bachman on the HBO series Silicon Valley (2014–2017) and for portraying Weasel in the superhero comedy Deadpool (2016) and its sequel Deadpool 2 (2018). Across stand-up, television, film, voice acting, and podcasting, T.J. Miller has become one of the most recognizable comedic personalities of his generation.

Early Life and Background

Todd Joseph Miller was born on June 4, 1981, in Denver, Colorado, the son of Leslie Miller, a clinical psychologist, and Kent Miller, an attorney originally from Chanute, Kansas. He attended Graland Country Day School and later graduated from Denver’s East High School, where he took part in drama productions and discovered an early passion for performance.

Miller went on to study at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., earning a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a concentration in persuasion theory and social influence in 2003. While at GWU, he joined the campus comedy group Recess and the Lambda chapter of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, sharpening the comedic instincts that would later define his career. He also studied the circus arts at Frichess Theatre Urbain in Paris and attended the British American Drama Academy in London, where he spent a summer studying Shakespeare. These international experiences broadened his approach to storytelling and physical comedy.

Path to Celebrity

After college, T.J. Miller moved to Chicago, where he immersed himself in the city’s celebrated improv and stand-up scene. He performed with many local troupes and toured with The Second City for two years, training in the same comedic tradition that produced generations of major American comedians. In 2008, Variety named him one of the 10 Comics to Watch, signaling his arrival on the national comedy scene.

Miller transitioned from stage work to film and television with a memorable debut in Cloverfield (2008), where he appeared onscreen briefly but provided the off-screen voice heard throughout the found-footage story. He followed that with supporting film roles in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009), Mike Judge’s Extract (2009), She’s Out of My League (2010), and Get Him to the Greek (2010). He also became a frequent presence on Chelsea Lately, appeared as Marmaduke Brooker on ABC’s Carpoolers (2007–2008), and released his first Comedy Central stand-up special, No Real Reason, in 2011.

T.J. Miller Career

Early Career (2007–2011)

From 2007 onward, T.J. Miller built a versatile resume across stand-up, television, and film. His early film work included supporting roles in Unstoppable (2010), Yogi Bear (2010), and Gulliver’s Travels (2010), as well as voice work that would soon become a major part of his career. He voiced Tuffnut Thorston in the Oscar-nominated animated feature How to Train Your Dragon (2010), launching a long-running collaboration with the franchise.

On television, he voiced Robbie Valentino on the Disney Channel series Gravity Falls (2012), hosted Comedy Central’s Mash Up, and made multiple appearances on Conan between 2010 and 2012. In 2014, he voiced Fred in Disney’s Big Hero 6, reinforcing his reputation as a reliable comedic voice actor. In 2012, he released his comedy album Mash Up Audiofile on Comedy Central Records, and in 2011 he released a comedy rap concept album titled The Extended Play E.P., featuring collaborators such as Bo Burnham and Doug Benson.

Breakthrough (2014–2018)

T.J. Miller’s true breakthrough arrived in 2014 when he was cast as the flamboyant startup incubator Erlich Bachman on HBO’s Silicon Valley. The series earned widespread critical acclaim, and in 2015 Miller won the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance. The role cemented his reputation as a scene-stealing comedic actor and remains one of his most recognized performances.

That same period brought a string of high-profile film credits. In 2014, he appeared in Transformers: Age of Extinction and voiced Tuffnut Thorston again in How to Train Your Dragon 2. In 2015, he appeared in the comedy Hell and Back. He later played Weasel in Deadpool (2016), a role he reprised in Deadpool 2 (2018), and voiced the lead character Gene in The Emoji Movie (2017). He also appeared in supporting roles in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), Search Party (2016), and Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One (2018), in which he played the character I-R0K. On the stand-up side, HBO premiered his hour-long special T.J. Miller: Meticulously Ridiculous in 2017, filmed in his hometown of Denver.

Notable Works and Milestones

Among T.J. Miller’s signature works, Silicon Valley stands as his most critically celebrated television role, while Deadpool and Deadpool 2 represent his most commercially successful film appearances. His voice work in How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Big Hero 6, DreamWorks Dragons (2012–2018), and The Emoji Movie showcases his range across animation. He also hosted The Gorburger Show and voiced the Mucinex talking mucus and the Slim Jim character Greg the Genie in advertising campaigns, reflecting his steady presence across media.

T.J. Miller Award Nominations

Across his career in stand-up, television, and film, T.J. Miller has earned recognition from critics and industry organizations for both his on-screen performances and his voice work. His most prominent nomination came from the Critics’ Choice Television Awards, where his portrayal of Erlich Bachman on Silicon Valley drew attention for its sharp comedic timing and eccentric energy.

T.J. Miller Awards Won

T.J. Miller has won awards for his work in stand-up comedy and television acting, reflecting his impact across multiple comedic formats. His most notable win came in 2015, when he took home a Critics’ Choice Television Award for his role on one of HBO’s signature comedies of the era.

T.J. Miller Family

T.J. Miller was raised in Denver, Colorado, by his mother, Leslie Miller, a clinical psychologist, and his father, Kent Miller, an attorney originally from Chanute, Kansas. The family encouraged his early interest in performance, and he continued to pursue comedy throughout his schooling in the Denver area before heading east for college.

Personal Life

T.J. Miller became engaged to actress and installation artist Kate Gorney in 2014, and the couple married at the Denver Botanic Gardens on September 6, 2015. In 2011, Miller publicly discussed learning that he had an undiagnosed cerebral arteriovenous malformation on his right frontal lobe, a condition that required brain surgery during the period he was filming Yogi Bear in New Zealand. He has described himself as a self-identified positive nihilist, and he speaks fluent Spanish in addition to English.