David Michael Koechner (/ˈkɛknər/ KEK-nər; born August 24, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing roles such as Champ Kind in the Anchorman films and Todd Packer on NBC's The Office.
Koechner first became involved in performing when he began studying improvisational comedy in Chicago at ImprovOlympic, under the teachings of Del Close, before joining the Second City Northwest. Koechner relocated to New York City in 1995, doing year long stints of sketch comedy as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (1995–1996) and as a sketch regular on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in the mid-1990s. In 1997, Koechner moved to Los Angeles and started working regularly in various film and television comedies, making his first film appearances with small roles in the films such as Wag the Dog, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Man on the Moon.
While filming the country mockumentary film Dill Scallion in 1998, Koechner befriended actor/comedian Dave 'Gruber' Allen, and eventually began performing as the comedy duo, The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show, a live musical comedy act. The act became a hit at Hollywood clubs such as Largo, and Allen and Koechner were invited to open for Tenacious D. In 2007, Koechner and Allen created and starred together in a Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show sketch comedy series that ran for one season on Comedy Central.
After his breakout role as Champ Kind in the 2004 comedy Anchorman, Koechner began appearing frequently with larger supporting roles in many high-profile comedic films including Talladega Nights, Thank You for Smoking, Waiting..., Semi-Pro, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, and Extract. His first leading film role, as Coach Lambeau Fields in Fox Atomic's sports comedy, The Comebacks opened on October 19, 2007. More recently, Koechner reprised his role of Champ Kind for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, co-starred in the horror-comedy Krampus, and received praise from critics for his dark turn in the 2014 black comedy Cheap Thrills. He co-starred in the sitcoms Bless This Mess and Superior Donuts and recurred on Comedy Central's Another Period and on Showtime's reboot of Twin Peaks. He makes regular appearances on the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs and provides the voices of Dick Reynolds on American Dad!.
Early life and education
Koechner was born on August 24, 1962, in Tipton, Missouri, to Margaret Ann (née Downey) and Cecil Stephen Koechner. He has two brothers, Mark and Joe, and three sisters, Mary-Rose, Cecilia and Joan. His father ran a business that manufactured turkey coops (Koechner has stated that "If you see a turkey going down the road in a big truck, most likely its coop is from Tipton..."). He was raised Catholic, and is of German, English, and Irish descent. Koechner studied Political Science at Benedictine College and the University of Missouri, before he eventually decided to pursue a career in improvisational comedy and moved to Chicago. After studying at Chicago's ImprovOlympic, under famed improvisation instructor Del Close, Koechner joined The Second City comedy troupe in Chicago, graduating in 1994.
