New Book of Mormon Star Christopher John O'Neill on Making His Idols Laugh & Being an 'Obnoxious' Dad

Age: 32

Hometown: Stamford, CT

Current Role: A boisterous Broadway debut as clownish missionary Elder Cunningham in the Tony-winning hit musical The Book of Mormon.

Stage Cred: Before joining the national tour of Mormon in 2012, O'Neill toured internationally with his sketch comedy act, The Chris and Paul Show (with friend and comedy partner Paul Valenti). He also plays real-life dad to his adorable seven-month-old daughter Harper.

“High school wasn’t my thing. I was like, ‘This sucks!’ My ADD was always kicking in, and I was overwhelmed by the whole thing. But I have a lot of teachers in my family, and I didn’t want to be the idiot kid who screws up the family name.”

“When my daughter was born, I was like, ‘She’s mine?!’ It didn’t feel like I deserved her. Here’s the most beautiful thing in the world, and I’m some idiot. It’s like having a little best friend. She makes fart noises and I’m like, ‘That’s my daughter!’”

“A Mormon casting director saw my comedy partner [Paul Valenti] and I perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She came up to us after, asked if we could sing and we lied and said yes. So, she invited us to come audition in NYC. We didn’t have a smidge of hope we’d get anything.”

“I made Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who are idols of mine, laugh at my audition, and I was like, ‘I can die right now.’ Working with them is a dream come true. I didn’t think I’d even get to see Mormon, so being in it is the coolest thing.”

“I don’t turn on sad music and write poems and crap when I get offstage [laughs]. If you look at my dressing room, I’ve got posters, candy and toys everywhere. On or offstage, I want to have fun with everyone, and I’m that obnoxious dad that's always showing videos and pictures of my family.”

“Every night I think, ‘I’m on Broadway right now!’ It doesn’t make any sense. If someone said to me in high school, ‘Don’t worry, in about 14 years, you’re going to be standing on Broadway as the lead in a huge show,’ I would’ve been like, ‘Go f*ck yourself!’”