Rob Schneider

Who is Rob Schneider?

Rob Schneider is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and comedian. A talented actor with an amazing sense of humor and wit, Schneider continues to outclass many of his contemporaries in the comedy genre with his self-deprecating jokes and goofy antics. Though he is known as a popular comedian today, Schneider did not have a fairytale start to his career. He took up a number of odd jobs and performed at local clubs and radio stations before landing the position of a writer for ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Subsequently, he was made a featured player and eventually a cast member. However, not the one to be satisfied easily, he went a step further and made his debut on the big screen. Several supporting roles later, he landed the lead role in ‘Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.’ The film gained much critical acclaim and established him as a comedy actor. Over the course of his career, he has appeared in a number of films, including ‘The Hot Chick,’ ‘The Longest Yard,’ ‘50 First Dates,’ ‘Eight Crazy Nights,’ ‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,’ and ‘Grown Ups.’

Career

He tried his hand at stand-up comedy way back during his high school days when he opened for San Francisco’s band ‘Head On.’

After graduating from high school, he decided to pursue a career in comedy. To start with, he performed at the Bay Area nightclubs, including ‘Holy City Zoo’ and ‘The Other Cafe.’ Furthermore, he was a regular guest at the local radio stations.

Soon, he was opening for the bigwigs of the industry, such as Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld. In 1987, he opened a show for Dennis Miller. It was his brilliance and talent that earned him a slot at HBO’s 13th ‘Annual Young Comedians Special.’

While his career was moving along pretty well, the big break still eluded him. However, he did not have to wait for a long period of time as he landed the position of a writer at the NBC sketch comedy series ‘Saturday Night Live’ (SNL) in 1988.

From working as a writer, he slowly graduated to the position of a featured player and eventually becoming a full cast member. For four years, from 1990 to 1994, he played varied roles and characters, including ‘Tiny Elvis,’ ‘Orgasm Guy,’ ‘Richard Laymer,’ and so on.

He was featured in the video release of ‘The Bad Boys of Saturday Night Live’ along with his colleagues Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Chris Farley. Some of the famous people whom he imitated include Adolf Hitler, K. D. Lang, Jeff Gillooly, Erik Menendez, Soon-Yi Previn, Rick Dees, and Elvis Presley.

He left SNL in 1994 to pursue a career in films. He then started landing supporting roles in films like ‘Surf Ninjas,’ ‘Judge Dredd,’ ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’ ‘Demolition Man,’ and ‘Down Periscope.’

Other than films, he also starred in the TV series ‘Coach,’ playing a recurring role. Furthermore, he was cast in the NBC sitcom ‘Men Behaving Badly,’ an Americanized version of the hit British series of the same name.

The biggest breakthrough of his career came in 1998 when he was cast in the movie ‘The Waterboy.’ The following year, he was seen in ‘Big Daddy.’ These films were successful and established him as an actor.

It was in 1999 that he landed the role of the protagonist in the movie ‘Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.’ The film narrates the tale of a fish-tank cleaner who is forced to become a gigolo in order to pay off his hefty debts. Though the film received commercial acclaim, it was panned by the critics.

The success of ‘Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo’ landed him another lead role in the film ‘The Animal.’ The story of the movie revolves around a man who receives animal powers because of the experiments of a mad scientist. The film became a commercial success.

His next release was ‘The Hot Chick.’ A rom-com film, it had him playing the role of a petty thief who mystically gets switched to the body of a pretty high school cheerleader.

The success of ‘Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo’ led to its sequel ‘‘Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo.’ However, unlike the first instalment, which had gained the support of the audience, the sequel was a debacle.

While continuing his big screen pursuits, he also made several appearances on television. He was seen in the TV special ‘Back to Norm’ and appeared in TV series, such as ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Ally McBeal.’ He then hosted ‘Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit ‘97’ and the 2005 ‘Teen Choice Awards.’ He has also been a frequent guest on NBC's late-night variety program ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.’

He then featured in movies, such as ‘The Benchwarmers,’ the 2004 remake of ‘Around the World in 80 Days,’ ‘Muppets From Space,’ ‘Little Nicky,’ ‘50 First Dates,’ ‘The Longest Yard,’ ‘Bedtime Stories,’ and ‘You Don't Mess with the Zohan.’

It was in 2007 that he tried his hand at direction with the comedy flick ‘Big Stan.’ The film released in 2007 and collected $8.7 million at the box office. He even starred in the film, playing the role of a con artist who gets arrested for perpetrating real-estate scams.

Rob Schneider is also known for lending his voice for Adam Sandler's 'Eight Crazy Nights,' an animated musical comedy-drama Christmas film. Furthermore, he made an uncredited cameo appearance as a wedding-chapel minister in the comedy film ‘I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.’

He has ventured into comedy albums as well, coming up with his own album titled ‘Registered Offender’ in July 2010. The album comprises of audio sketches and songs – he has voiced all the characters of the recording.

The same year, he revived his stand-up comedy career by going on international tours. It was during one of the tours that he befriended Neal McCoy for whom he appeared in the music video ‘Billy’s Got His Beer Goggles On.’

He was then seen playing the titular character, which was partially based on his own life, in the CBS-TV situation comedy ‘Rob.’ However, the series was canceled in 2012.

In 2015, he was seen in the western action comedy film ‘The Ridiculous 6’ in which he played ‘Ramon.’ The same year, he was seen in the series ‘Real Rob.’ Created by Rob Schneider, the series features him and his real-life wife Patricia and daughter Miranda. It was aired from December 2015 to September 2017.

Meanwhile, Schneider was featured as a special guest on ‘Game Grumps’ in 2016.

In 2017, he was seen in the comedy film ‘Sandy Wexler.’ In 2020, he played 'Komante' in Tyler Spindel's romantic comedy film 'The Wrong Missy.'