Connor Ratliff (born August 27, 1975) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his podcast Dead Eyes, is the star and creator of the long running stage and streaming show The George Lucas Talk Show, and is associated with Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City where he is a member of the long form improv comedy troupe The Stepfathers.

Early life Ratliff grew up in Missouri, the son of Bill and Gretta Ratliff, and after high school attended the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts in Liverpool, England. He stayed in London after graduation and worked as a reader while looking for work as an actor.

Career He began acting at The Royal Court Theatre in London, where in 1998 he appeared as one of the four lead roles in Christopher Shinn's debut play Four. In 2000, Ratliff was cast in a small role in Band of Brothers, but the role was recast before Ratliff's scene was filmed. This experience later prompted Ratliff to create the podcast Dead Eyes.

UCB Theatre and The Chris Gethard Show After moving to New York, Ratliff began working at the UCB Theatre East, where he performed weekly Friday nights with the improv troupe The Stepfathers, and performed Sunday nights in the theatre's longest running show, ASSSSCAT 3000. He also wrote and performed on The Chris Gethard Show throughout its run as both a stage show and its many iterations on Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Fusion, and TruTV. During its run, he launched a 2012 Presidential campaign and debated Jimmy McMillan, contributed short films with award-winning artist Maelle Doliveux as The Lone Cornmeal Machine, and served as a warm up comedian and panelist.

The George Lucas Talk Show

In 2014, Connor Ratliff began hosting a live talk show where he appears as George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, and he interviews real guests as themselves in a panel format. He is joined by sidekick Star Wars characters: initially Jar Jar Binks, played by comedian Shaun Diston, and in current shows, Watto, played by Griffin Newman. The show was performed monthly live on stage at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre until the COVID 19 pandemic forced the venue to close. On May 4, 2020, the show resumed as a live broadcast on Twitch, first on Planet Scum and then on Paul Scheer's channel Friendzone, and was performed remotely until the stage show format was revived in June of 2022.

In 2024 the documentary I'm "George Lucas": A Connor Ratliff Story premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival.

Dead Eyes

In 2000, Ratliff was cast in the role of Private John Zielinski in the HBO television series Band of Brothers and was set to begin filming when he was subsequently fired, allegedly because series co-creator Tom Hanks believed Ratliff had "dead eyes". In 2020, Ratliff began a podcast, Dead Eyes, that set out to "solve a very stupid mystery" of why he was fired, and to more generally explore the concept of rejection in the entertainment industry, drawing on many fellow actors to share their own experiences. The podcast gained significant media attention in March 2022 when, for its season 3 finale, Ratliff finally got Hanks to appear on the program.; 00:01:50.

Film, television, and other work Ratliff played Mr. Rapp in Mean Girls (2024), Chester in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2018–2022), and Ted in Search Party (2016–2022). He was one of the narrators for the audiobook version of Hanks' novel The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece. Ratliff starred as Gil in the podcast In The Cards (2023) by Next Chapter Podcasts.

Filmography

Films +YearTitleRoleNotes2001Living in MissouriRyan Johnson2009Mortimer Hayden Smyth Talks About Gay Marriage Mortimer Hayden SmythShort film2012The Sale Was YesterdayShort film2013The Joy of BasketballingBasketballerShort film2015HBO's Project Greenlight Finalist: Winning Entry RickyShort filmSurvival Job Talent AgentShort filmChasing BanksyDan Miller Dan MillerShort filmAmy PorterDr. MarcShort film2016Don't Think TwiceConnorOmni: VerseStandards & Practices: A Short Film About Modern Romance RickShort film2017Coin HeistMr. GarciaThe Discovery CoronerThe Third PartyLuke Gravy2019Standing Up, Falling DownTommy2022Pinball: The Man Who Saved the GameJimmy2024Mean GirlsMr. Rapp2026Run AmokMr. Watson

Television +YearTitleRoleNotes2008–2014Stone Cold FoxVarious2009UCB TourCo2011The George Kareman Variety Hour(voice)2011–2018The Chris Gethard Show Himself / various2011–2015CollegeHumor OriginalsVarious2012–2016UCB Comedy OriginalsVarious2012UCB Live! 2014Broad City SHP Call Center OperatorEpisode: "Working Girls"2015VeepEpisode: "Testimony"2016–2022Search Party Ted7 episodes2016Cop ShowBad GuyThe Characters Pathetic ManEpisode: "Lauren Lapkus"Animal AgentDarren2017The UCB ShowGeorge LucasEpisode: "The Phantom in Us"Adam Ruins EverythingStrangerEpisode: "Adam Ruins Halloween"2017–2023Last Week Tonight with John OliverVarious5 episodes2018Orange Is the New BlackReuben Siegel2 episodes2018–2019Dollar Store Therapist Dollar Store Therapist 2018–2022The Marvelous Mrs. MaiselChester5 episodes2019The Late Show with Stephen ColbertSchlubby GuyEpisode: "Hank Azaria/Henry Louis Gates Jr./Emilia Clarke/Jeff Goldblum"Chris Gethard Presents Episode: "Talk-A-Doodle-Doo with Connor Ratliff"2020Unbreakable Kimmy SchmidtCrew GuySpecial: "Kimmy vs the Reverend"2020–presentThe George Lucas Talk Show Retired Filmmaker George Lucas2021The BlacklistMax FreyEpisode: "The Protean (No. 36)"2023The Great NorthLooney Louie (voice)2 episodesThe Daily ShowSatanic PriestEpisode: "Judd Apatow"2024Bob's BurgersFire Marshal (voice)Episode: "Hope N' Mic Night"GhostsScott MorganEpisode: "A Star Is Dead"2025Jellystone!Thundarr the Barbarian (voice)Episode: "Thundarr the Barber-barian"ÉtoileMortonEpisode: "The Swap"Super Duper Bunny LeagueFlymacher (voice)Episode: "Frog Face"2026Widow's BayDeputy KentEpisode: "Beach Reads"

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