Christian Finnegan

by David JeffriesStandup comedian Christian Finnegan came up through the very happening New York City "indie" comic scene, but his style is more traditional and influenced by the comedy albums of his youth. He stumbled into the N.Y.C. scene while attending NYU as an acting student. While he liked acting, he didn't like the auditions and networking involved, so he switched his major to playwriting. Problem was, he also lacked the discipline for writing, but he still craved a creative outlet. Remembering the Steve Martin and Woody Allen albums he loved way back when, Finnegan fell into standup, working with improv and other groups that did "weirdo stuff" at first. He later realized he was a more traditional comedian and began playing to his strengths. Things started moving in the right direction, and in 2001 he appeared on the Comedy Central cable network's Premium Blend. A year later he was writing for the television show Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn while keeping a busy standup schedule. His big break came in 2004 when he became a panelist on VH1's Best Week Ever, a weekly, smarmy look at pop culture. The show was an instant hit and soon Finnegan was appearing on Chappelle's Show and Shorties Watchin' Shorties. He landed a reoccurring gig on The Today Show and in 2005 was featured on his own Comedy Central Presents special. Finnegan used the special as an opportunity to break free of any Best Week Ever typecasting. He continued to prove he could do a lot more than just be snide about celebrities with his debut CD, Two for Flinching, which was released by the Comedy Central record label in 2006.