Biography
Chris Gooch is an American actor and comedian known for his everyman qualities and comic persona. He is often compared to Woody Allen because of his looks and his character's insecurities and Steve Carell because of his innocent lovable loser persona. A lover of Neil Simon, Mr. Gooch often performed his material while studying acting at Playhouse West, the Meisner technique school founded by Jeff Goldblum and Robert Carnegie. Recently, Mr. Gooch played a lead role in a scifi comedy feature film, When Women Rule The World.
He had the pleasure of a supporting comedic role in Alex D'Lerma's award winning feature film Fear, Love and Agoraphobia. Recently Mr. Gooch completed work in a key role on a thriller feature film, Clique.
Mr. Gooch also enjoys playing the kind of awkward, creepy psychopath that Jake Gyllenhaal portrayed in Nightcrawler. Mr. Gooch had fun playing a similar character in Lyla Masterson's directing debut, the short film, The Rise: You Get What You Get. He has played a murderer, a peeping tom, an abusive father and a serial killer.
Mr. Gooch gained experience by appearing in many student films, including three at the respected University of Southern California and one at Chapman University, Loyola Marymount University, LA Film School, New York Film Academy, and San Diego State University.
Mr. Gooch was born and raised in Torrance, California. The oldest of five siblings, he starting making movies in high school with his friends and family. Shortly after graduating from high school, he directed and acted in an epic feature-length spoof of the Star Wars movies. Through the many short films and sketches he made, he fell in love with filmmaking and acting.
He attended the Maine Media Workshops and UCLA Extension, where he learned more about filmmaking, making many more short films, including shooting on 16 mm film. He co-wrote and directed Dr. Gold's Dream Drink in 2013 with help from his UCLA Extension teacher Fernando Scarpa, who served as producer and Jay Sherer who co-wrote the film. The following year, he co-wrote, directed, and acted in Gutterball, again co-written with Jay Sherer.
He began writing at a young age and when he discovered filmmaking, he shifted to writing short and feature films in various genres, but especially comedy. He also enjoys kids and has really enjoyed writing and performing in slapstick comedy for children's theater.
He studied acting at UCLA Extension, with Alex D'Lerma, at Margie Haber Studios, and at Playhouse West, where his teachers included Wolfgang Bodison, Kathleen Randazzo, Scott Trost and Chris Liebe. He completed four levels of improv training at Upright Citizen's Brigade, as well as studying at Groundlings, IO West and Second City.
