Chad Ridgely

Chad Ridgely reached comedy and film by an unusual route. Raised in the Washington, D.C. area, he earned a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Maryland, College Park, and spent more than a decade as a police officer in the capital region, rising to lieutenant and teaching at a police academy. After moving to Los Angeles he worked as a bodyguard for celebrities and industry executives.

His first television appearance was on America's Most Wanted in 1992. Small film parts followed, among them Blair Witch 2 and, much later, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. On television he turned up in three episodes of The Wire and eight episodes of the series Jump Outs, and he played Colonel Wilks in the mockbuster Transmorphers: Mech Beasts.

The comedy side of his work is largely self-made. Through his company Full Auto Films he writes, produces and directs, and his comedy credits include the short Amateur Hour Comedy Show, The Chad Ridgely Show and Sketchers Comedy Special, which he wrote, produced and directed himself. He has done voice work as well, for example on The Trouble with Terkel.