Biographie
Chris Wodniak was born on February 17th, 1995 in the suburbs of Chicago, IL to Ann and Tom Wodniak. A proud descendant of Polish, Scandinavian, and Central European immigrants, Chris grew up with a wide range of global influences and inspirations, aided by his family's ability to travel. While still a young boy, Chris enjoyed his first performance exposures as a catalogue model, the Huggies diaper baby, and even appearing in one of the USA's first talking baby commercials.
Chris took to Cub Scouts in 2001, working adamantly for 11 years through the program into Boy Scouts, eventually earning the title Eagle Scout - for life - in July 2012. Gravitating towards environmentalism, volunteer work, and community events, Chris and his little sister Natalie founded their own disaster relief nonprofit, Kids Care for Katrina, donating about $3000 to the American Red Cross Association in the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina.
As a young adult, Chris began his performing arts resume in musical theatre and playing trombone. Despite zero background in song or dance, Chris soaked up coaching, performance tips, and professional demeanors from various figures in his live performance experiences and from broadcast personalities. He eventually worked his way into earning 1st Chair Trombone in the Des Moines All-City Band, as well as a featured spot as a Tenor 1 in the Iowa All-State Choir. During his high school years, Chris fought to compete for time in his endeavors, including regional show choir, jazz band, marching band, football, track, baseball, cross country, ultimate frisbee, and the annual musicals to name a few. Two ACL surgeries prevented Chris from continuing Football and accepting one of the top positions in Iowa's Ultimate Frisbee All-State team.
Before committing to the University of Southern California's Class of 2017, the Des Moines Civic Center invited him to participate in a statewide Triple Threat Competition, part of a larger showcase guided by both local and traveling Broadway performers and coaches. Chris stunned the panels, earning himself his first two awards in the theatrical world: the "Outstanding Achievement in a Leading Role" award from Des Moines Performing Arts for his performance as Joe Hardy in "Damn Yankees". He also went home with the Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Triple Threat Runner-Up hardware. Chris was invited back to emcee the awards show & competition the following year.
Finally at home with the right people at the University of Southern California's School of Dramatic Arts (USC SDA), Chris decided to steer into a professional career in Stage, Film, and Television performance. He was fortunate enough to work alongside some of the brightest minds of all ages both at SDA and the School of Cinematic Arts. During his studies, Chris made an emphasis to develop his performance abilities for the camera, learning early on that the disciplines of stage and camera performances, even from television to film, are from completely different worlds. Graduating with honors in 2017, Chris and his professors were confident that he attained his goals.
Having worked professionally for about 6 years, Chris has enjoyed dozens of appearances in his journey to grow a global fanbase. From community theatre and hosting gigs to exposure with companies like Disney and ESPN, Chris always has his sights set for greater things. Out of all his experience, however, Chris may be most beloved for his leadership position in the USC Spirit of Troy Marching Band from 2016-2017. Commonly, however incorrectly, referred to as "Tommy Trojan", Chris guided the 350+ member band, and at some points the football team, through a rollercoaster of a season featuring their 4th head coach in just as many seasons. Through his speeches, example, and poise on and off the field, Chris inspired the Trojan Family to turn the season around, battling their way all the way to 2017's Rose Bowl victory against Penn State. Chris is fondly remembered by several fans as "the best Drum Major to ever hold the sword." Chris's historic Rose Bowl stab can be seen again in an upcoming commercial for the 2020 College Football Playoffs.
Chris is based out of Los Angeles, CA, continuing his career as a stage, film, and television actor. He also underwent training from the U.S. Southwest's most requested entertainment/party company to earn another title as Master of Ceremonies (MC). As an MC, Chris has hosted birthdays, corporate fundraising events, weddings, mitzvahs, and even VIP concerts for about 15,000 people throughout his career, and counting. His latest gig was to MC for Dierks Bentley at the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open at the Coors Light Birds Nest in Phoenix, AZ. He's recently built his own professional-grade home studio to adapt to the COVID-19 crisis and continues to deliver the performance quality he's been known for his whole life.
