Jay Chandrasekhar

2021-06-23T06:53:46Z

2604:3D08:4680:3000:1DD4:E8B6:4676:C902:

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{short description|American film director}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jay Chandrasekhar
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Jayanth Jambulingam Chandrasekhar
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|4|9}}
| birth_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
| nationality = American
| education = [[Lake Forest Academy]]
| alma_mater = [[Colgate University]]<br>[[Loyola University Chicago|Loyola University]] {{small|(withdrew)}}
| occupation = Actor, comedian, writer, director
| years_active = 1996–present
| known_for = [[Broken Lizard]]
| relatives = [[Sendhil Ramamurthy]] (cousin)
| website = {{URL|jay-chandrasekhar.com}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Susan Clarke|2005}}
}}

'''Jayanth Jambulingam Chandrasekhar''' (born April 9, 1968) is an American comedian, film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for his work with the [[sketch comedy]] group [[Broken Lizard]] and for directing and starring in the Broken Lizard films ''[[Super Troopers]]'', ''[[Club Dread]]'', ''[[Beerfest]]'' and ''[[Super Troopers 2]]''. Since 2001, he has also worked frequently as a television director, directing many episodes of ''[[Community (TV series)|Community]]'' and ''[[The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)|The Goldbergs]]'', among dozens of other comedy series.<ref name=Paste-CatchingUp-2013>{{cite news |last1=Rozeman|first1=Mark|title=Catching Up with Jay Chandrasekhar|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2013/05/catching-up-with-jay-chandrasekhar.html|access-date=August 30, 2014|work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|date=May 14, 2013}}</ref> He has also occasionally worked as a film director outside of Broken Lizard projects, most notably on the 2005 film ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard (film)|The Dukes of Hazzard]]''.

== Early life and education ==
Chandrasekhar was born in Chicago to parents who lived in the adjacent suburb of [[Oak Park, Illinois]]. Both his father, Arcot Jambulingam "AJ" Chandrasekhar,<ref name=FamilySearch-AJ-Nat-1977>{{cite web|title=Arcot Jamulingam Chandrasekhar – Illinois, Northern District (Eastern Division), Naturalization Index, 1926–1979|url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2H5J-4V8|website=[[FamilySearch]]|access-date=August 30, 2014}}</ref> and his mother, Hema Chandrasekhar,<ref name=FamilySearch-Hema-Nat-1977>{{cite web|title=Hema Varadan Chandrasekhar – Illinois, Northern District (Eastern Division), Naturalization Index, 1926–1979|url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2H5J-4VD|website=[[FamilySearch]]|access-date=August 30, 2014}}</ref><ref name=DailyHerald-Hinsdale-2012>{{cite news|last1=Sotonoff|first1=Jamie|last2=Gire|first2=Dann|title=Hinsdale's Jay Chandrasekhar: A Broken Lizard makes good – Chandrasekhar's suburban upbringing serves him well in Hollywood, he says|url=http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120807/entlife/708079946/|access-date=August 29, 2014|work=[[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights)|Daily Herald]]|date=August 7, 2012}}</ref> are physicians of [[Tamils|Tamil]] origin and are originally from [[Chennai]], India.<ref name=Rediff-Big-2005>{{cite news|last1=Pais|first1=Arthur J.|title=Jay Chandrasekhar is big! |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2005/aug/05jay.htm|access-date=August 30, 2014|work=[[Rediff]]|date=August 5, 2005}}</ref> The hospital where he was born, old [[Cook County Hospital]], was where his parents worked.<ref name=DailyHerald-Hinsdale-2012 /> Chandrasekhar has an older sister as well as a younger sister named Sandy Chandrasekhar, who are both lawyers.<ref name=LathamWatkins-Sandy>{{cite web|title=Sandhya P. Chandrasekhar|url=http://www.lw.com/people/sandhya-chandrasekhar|website=[[Latham & Watkins]]|access-date=August 30, 2014}}</ref>

Chandrasekhar lived in Oak Park until his family moved farther west from Chicago to the suburb of [[Hinsdale, Illinois|Hinsdale]]. He graduated from the boarding high school [[Lake Forest Academy]].<ref name=DailyHerald-Hinsdale-2012 /> He graduated from [[Colgate University]] with a major in European history and a minor in philosophy.<ref name=DailyHerald-Hinsdale-2012 /> During college he spent a semester at Chicago's [[Loyola University Chicago|Loyola University]].<ref name=DailyHerald-Hinsdale-2012 />

== Career ==

=== Broken Lizard comedy troupe ===
Chandrasekhar formed the troupe [[Broken Lizard]] with other former members of the comedy troupe, Charred Goosebeak, and [[Beta Theta Pi]], people he met during college at [[Colgate University]].<ref name=Paste-CatchingUp-2013/> Chandrasekhar said he found his path to comedy after acting in high school and college. He did some [[open mic]] standup comedy work in Chicago and founded a sketch group called "Charred Goose Beak" at college. After moving to New York, the group was renamed Broken Lizard.<ref name=Paste-CatchingUp-2013 />

Chandrasekhar began making shorts featuring the troupe, then made the self-funded movie ''[[Puddle Cruiser]]'' in 1996.<ref name=Variety-PuddleCruiser-1996>{{cite news|last1=Kelly|first1=Brendan|title=Review: 'Puddle Cruiser'|url=https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/puddle-cruiser-1200447105/|access-date=August 30, 2014|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 27, 1996}}</ref> The film made it into the [[Sundance Film Festival]] in 1997.<ref name=Sundance-PuddleCruiser-1997>{{cite web|title=Puddle Cruiser|url=http://history.sundance.org/films/1597/puddle_cruiser|website=[[Sundance Film Festival]]|access-date=August 30, 2014|year=1997}}</ref> Then in 2001, they made ''[[Super Troopers]]'' as an independent movie, which [[Harvey Weinstein]] helped to develop at [[Miramax Films]], but did not end up distributing.<ref name=RollingStone-ST-OralHist-2014>{{cite news|last1=Neumyer|first1=Scott|title=Altered State Police: An Oral History of 'Super Troopers'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/altered-state-police-an-oral-history-of-super-troopers-20140418|access-date=August 30, 2014|work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]|date=April 18, 2014}}</ref>

=== Directing ===
In 2005, Chandrasekhar directed ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard (film)|The Dukes of Hazzard]]''.<ref name=IGN-DukesofHazard-2005>{{cite news|title=IGN Interviews Jay Chandrasekhar|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/08/04/ign-interviews-jay-chandrasekhar|access-date=August 29, 2014|work=[[IGN Entertainment|IGN]]|date=August 3, 2005}}</ref> The [[action comedy film]] based on the 1970s [[The Dukes of Hazzard|American television series of the same name]] was the debut of pop singer [[Jessica Simpson]] as an actress. While financially successful, the film was met with negative reviews from critics. He has become an established television comedy director, directing episodes of ''[[Undeclared]],'' ''[[Happy Endings (TV series)|Happy Endings]],'' ''[[Chuck (TV series)|Chuck]],'' ''[[Community (TV series)|Community]],'' ''[[Psych (TV series)|Psych]]'' and ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]].''<ref name=Paste-CatchingUp-2013 /> He says that the earlier a director joins a show, the more impact he or she will have on its look and feel.<ref name=Paste-CatchingUp-2013 />

In 2012, Chandrasekhar made the movie ''[[The Babymakers]].''<ref name=HuffPo-Babymakers-2012>{{cite news|last1=Chandrasekhar|first1=Jay|title=Things Have Changed Since Super Troopers|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-chandrasekhar/the-babymakers_b_1730768.html|access-date=August 29, 2014|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=August 2, 2012}}</ref> He directed several episodes of ''[[Blue Mountain State]]''. [[Amazon.com|Amazon]] released a pilot in the 2014 Amazon Original Series that he wrote and directed called ''Really''.<ref name=Amazon-Really-2014>{{cite web|title=Really 1 Season 2014|url=https://www.amazon.com/An-Inside-Look-At-Really/dp/B00MR9YENG/|access-date=August 29, 2014}}</ref>

Between 2014 and 2018, he directed 16 episodes of ''[[The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)|The Goldbergs]]''.

In June 2018, the filmmaker revealed that he is in discussions with [[Marvel Studios]] to direct one of their upcoming movies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/jay-chandrasekhar-marvel-studios-mcu/|title=Super Troopers Director Met With Marvel About An MCU Movie|date=June 5, 2018|access-date=October 6, 2018}}</ref>

In February 2021, Chandrasekhar was announced as the director of the family comedy, "Easter Sunday", starring [[Jo Koy]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Kit |first=Borys|title=Jay Chandrasekhar to Direct Family Comedy 'Easter Sunday' for Amblin (Exclusive)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jay-chandrasekhar-to-direct-family-comedy-easter-sunday-for-amblin-exclusive|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=16 February 2021}}</ref>

=== Acting ===
Chandrasekhar guest starred alongside his cousin [[Sendhil Ramamurthy]] in a 2009 episode of ''[[Psych (TV series)|Psych]]''<ref>'''Psych''' (Season 4, Episode 6: ''Bollywood Homicide'') [first aired September 18, 2009]</ref> which Chandrasekhar also directed. He appeared as the cab driver in the "Terror Taxi" skit from ''[[Jackass: Number Two]]''. He appeared as racist comedian Gupta Gupti Gupta in the episode "Basic Email Security" of ''[[Community (TV series)|Community]]''.

=== Stand-up ===
Chandrasekhar often does stand-up comedy, sometimes touring with fellow Broken Lizard friends, [[Steve Lemme]] and [[Kevin Heffernan (actor)|Kevin Heffernan]].<ref name=WashingtonPost-Drafthouse-2014>{{cite news|last1=Greenberg|first1=Ruth|title='Super Troopers' star Jay Chandrasekhar slings jokes at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2014/08/28/super-troopers-jay-chandrasekhar-slings-jokes-at-the-arlington-cinema-drafthouse/|access-date=August 30, 2014|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 28, 2014}}</ref> His stand-up is a mix of jokes and stories.

== Personal life ==
Chandrasekhar has been married to actress Susan Clarke since 2005.<ref name=ChaiTime-File-2011>{{cite news|title=The Jay Chandrasekhar File|url=http://www.khabar.com/magazine/chaitime/the_jay_chandrasekhar_file|access-date=August 30, 2014|work=Chai Time|date=January 2011}}</ref> They have three children, an older son and twin daughters. Chandrasekhar's middle name, Jambulingam, is in honor of his grandfather, and is also his son Will's middle name.<ref name=Rediff-Big-2005 /> During an interview with [[Stephen Colbert]] in 2017, Chandrasekhar stated that the name Jambulingam translates literally in English as "as a euphemism for power" in reference to the Hindu deity [[Shiva]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Jay Chandrasekhar Hung Out (Carefully) With Willie Nelson|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJjyJvjAP34|via=YouTube|access-date=April 3, 2017}}</ref>

Chandrasekhar's cousin is the actor [[Sendhil Ramamurthy]], who played the role of [[Mohinder Suresh]] in the [[NBC]] superpower drama [[Heroes (U.S. TV series)|''Heroes'']] and also appeared in the Broken Lizard film ''[[The Slammin' Salmon]].''<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=jaychandrasekha|number=326404207718580224 |title=My cousin Sendhil joined Twitter. Late, ya bastard. He was the movie star in Slammin' Salmon. So if you want to follow him: @Sendhil_Rama|access-date=23 April 2013|link=https://mobile.twitter.com/jaychandrasekha/status/326404207718580224|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.is/uk77c|archive-date=13 June 2021}}</ref>

== Filmography ==

=== Films ===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Writer
|-
| 1996
| ''[[Puddle Cruiser]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Super Troopers]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
| 2004
| ''[[Club Dread]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
| 2005
| ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard (film)|The Dukes of Hazzard]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
| 2006
| ''[[Beerfest]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
| 2008
| ''Held Up'' (TV movie)
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
| 2010
| ''[[Broken Lizard Stands Up]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
| 2012
| ''[[The Babymakers]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
| 2018
| ''[[Super Troopers 2]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|-
| TBA
| ''[[Easter Sunday (film)|Easter Sunday]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|-
|}

'''Acting roles'''
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
|-
| 1996
| ''[[Puddle Cruiser]]''
| Zach
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Super Troopers]]''
| Arcot "Thorny" Ramathorn
|-
| 2004
| ''[[Club Dread]]''
| Putman
|-
| 2005
| ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard (film)|The Dukes of Hazzard]]''
| Campus Cop #1
|-
|rowspan=2| 2006
| ''[[Beerfest]]''
| Barry Badrinath
|-
| ''[[Jackass Number Two]]''
| Himself/Terror Taxi host
|-
|rowspan=3| 2009
| ''[[I Love You, Man]]''
| Party Guest
|-
| ''[[The Slammin' Salmon]]''
| Nuts/Zongo
|-
| ''The 2 Bobs''
| Spam King
|-
| 2010
| ''[[Broken Lizard Stands Up]]''
| Self
|-
|rowspan=2| 2012
| ''[[The Babymakers]]''
| Ron Jon
|-
| ''[[Freeloaders (film)|Freeloaders]]''
| Porn Director
|-
| 2021
| ''[[Plan B (2021 film)|Plan B]]''
| Pharmacist
|-
|}

'''Editor'''
* ''[[Los Enchiladas!]]'' (1999)

=== Television ===
'''Director'''
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Episode
|-
| 2001–2002
| ''[[Undeclared]]''
|
* "Hal and Hillary"
* "Hell Week" "Rush and Pledge"
|-
| 2003
| ''[[Andy Richter Controls the Universe]]''
|
* "Saturday Early Evening Fever"
|-
|rowspan=2| 2004
| ''[[Oliver Beene]]''
|
* "Kissing Babies"
|-
| ''[[Cracking Up (TV series)|Cracking Up]]''
|
* "Grudge Match"
|-
| 2003–2004
| ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]''
|
* "Justice is Blind"
* "Altar Egos"
* "Beef Consommé"
* "My Mother The Car"
|-
| 2006–2007
| ''[[The Loop (U.S. TV series)|The Loop]]''
|
* "The Dutch"
* "CSI: Donut Idol Bowl"
* "The Rusty Trombone"
* "The Tiger Express"
|-
| 2007
| ''[[Human Giant]]''
|
* "Ta Da"
* "Lil 9-11"
* "Let's Go"
|-
| 2008
| ''[[Lipstick Jungle (TV series)|Lipstick Jungle]]''
|
* "Chapter 4: Bombay Highway"
* "Chapter 17: Bye, Bye Baby"
|-
| 2008–2009
| ''[[Knight Rider (2008 TV series)|Knight Rider]]''
|
* "Knight of the Hunter"
* "Fly by Knight"
|-
| 2010–2011
| ''[[Blue Mountain State]]''
|
* "Superstition"
* "The Peak"
* "Riot"
* "Drunk Tank"
* "Marathon Monday"
|-
| 2008–2012
| ''[[Psych (TV series)|Psych]]''
|
* "Let's Doo-Wop It Again"
* "Chivalry Is Not Dead... But Someone Is"
* "Bollywood Homicide"
* "The Greatest Adventure in the History of Basic Cable"
|-
| 2008–2012
| ''[[Chuck (TV series)|Chuck]]''
|
* "Chuck Versus the Ex"
* "Chuck Versus the Suburbs"
* "Chuck Versus the Living Dead"
* "Chuck Versus the Balcony"
* "Chuck Versus Sarah"
|-
| 2009–2012
| ''[[Royal Pains]]''
|
* "The Hankover"
* "A Guest House Divided"
* "Hank and the Deep Blue Sea"
* "Am I Blue?"
|-
| 2010–2015
| ''[[Community (TV series)|Community]]''
|
* "Mixology Certification"
* "Intro to Political Science"
* "Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts"
* "The First Chang Dynasty"
* "Advanced Documentary Filmmaking"
* "Introduction to Teaching"
* "Basic Story"
* "Basic Email Security"
* "Basic RV Repair and Palmistry"
|-
| 2011–2012
| ''[[Happy Endings (TV series)|Happy Endings]]''
|
* "The Girl with the David Tattoo"
* "Meet the Parrots"
* "You Snooze, You Bruise"
* "More Like Stanksgiving"
|-
| 2011–2012
| ''[[Up All Night (TV series)|Up All Night]]''
|
* "First Night Away"
* "Baby Fever"
|-
|rowspan=3| 2012
| ''[[Warehouse 13]]''
|
* "No Pain, No Gain"
|-
| ''[[Animal Practice]]''
|
* "Dr. Yamamazing"
|-
| ''[[Ben & Kate]]''
|
* "Career Day"
|-
| 2014
| ''Really''
|
* "Pilot" (Also wrote and produced)
|-
| 2014–2018
| ''[[New Girl (TV series)|New Girl]]''
|
* "Sister III"
* "The Crawl"
* "Jeff Day"
* "Mario"
* "The Cubicle"
|-
| 2014–2021
| ''[[The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)|The Goldbergs]]''
| 22 episodes
|-
| 2015–2016
| ''[[The Grinder (TV series)|The Grinder]]''
|
* "The Curious Disappearance of Mr. Donovan"
* "A System on Trial"
* "Full Circle"
|-
| 2016
| ''[[Crazy Ex-Girlfriend]]''
|
* "When Will Josh See How Cool I Am?”
|-
| 2017–2019
| ''[[Fresh Off the Boat]]''
|
* "A League of Her Own"
* "Workin’ the Ween"
* "TMI: Too Much Integrity"
|-
|rowspan=3| 2018
| ''[[The Mayor (TV series)|The Mayor]]''
|
* "The Lockdown"
|-
| ''[[Instinct (U.S. TV series)|Instinct]]''
|
* "Long Shot"
|-
| ''[[Us & Them]]''
|
* "Corn & Cancer"
|-
|rowspan=2| 2019
| ''[[Lethal Weapon (TV series)|Lethal Weapon]]''
|
* "Dial M for Murtaugh"
|-
| ''[[Single Parents (TV series)|Single Parents]]''
|
* "That Elusive Zazz"
|-
| 2019-2020
| ''[[Schooled (TV series)|Schooled]]''
|
* "Tamagotchis and Bells"
* "CB Likes Lainey"
* "The Rudy-ing of Toby Murphy"
* "FeMellor"
|-
| 2019-2021:
| ''[[Good Trouble (TV series)|Good Trouble]]''
|
* "In The Middle"
* "New Moon"
|-
| 2021
| ''[[Resident Alien (TV series)|Resident Alien]]''
|
* "Birds of a Feather"
* "Love Language"
|}

'''Acting roles'''
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Note
|-
| 2004
| ''[[The 100 Scariest Movie Moments]]''
| Himself
| TV Special
|-
|rowspan=2| 2007
| ''[[Attack of the Show]]''
| Co-host
|
|-
| ''[[Welcome to the Parker]]''
|
| Episode 1
|-
| 2009
| ''[[Psych (TV series)|Psych]]''
| Jawaharlal 'Jay' Singh
| Episode "Bollywood Homicide"
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Royal Pains]]''
| Jake
| Episode "A Guesthouse Divided"
|-
|rowspan=2|2013
| ''[[Call Me Crazy: A Five Film]]''
| Joey
| TV Movie
|-
| ''[[Franklin & Bash]]''
| JD Altero
| Episode "Gone in a Flash"
|-
| 2014
| ''Really''
|
|
|-
| 2015
| ''[[Community (TV series)|Community]]''
| Gupta Gupti Gupta
| Episode "Basic Email Security"
|-
| 2016
| ''[[Family Guy]]''
| Indian Man / Census Taker
| Episode "[[Road to India (Family Guy)|Road to India]]"
|-
| 2018
| ''[[Nailed It!|Nailed It]]
| Guest judge
| Episode 6: "In Your Face!"
|-
| 2018
| ''[[Brooklyn Nine-Nine]]''
| Himself
| Episode [[NutriBoom]]
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|0151540}}

{{Jay Chandrasekhar}}
{{Broken Lizard}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandrasekhar, Jay}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century American male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Illinois]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American male voice actors]]
[[Category:American Hindus]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:American people of Indian Tamil descent]]
[[Category:American television directors]]
[[Category:American film directors of Indian descent]]
[[Category:American male writers]]
[[Category:American male actors of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Broken Lizard]]
[[Category:Colgate University alumni]]
[[Category:Comedy film directors]]
[[Category:Lake Forest Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Male actors from Chicago]]
[[Category:Film directors from Illinois]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Illinois]]

IndianPedia - User contributions [en]

Jay Chandrasekhar