St. Charles actor finds 'Love' on Netflix

Second City alumnus and St. Charles native Chris Witaske auditioned for three parts on Judd Apatow's new Netflix series "Love," but he wasn't quite right for any of them.

The show's directors liked him so much, though, that they wrote a role just for him - as the lead character's best friend.

"They named the character Chris, so I wouldn't get confused," he said.

The role is the latest career move for Witaske - the son of Hampshire village attorney Raymond Witaske and teacher Peggy Witaske - since he left the Chicago comedy and improv scene two years ago and moved out to Los Angeles.

Besides "Love," Witaske hosts a monthly live interview show, "So You Do Comedy ...?" at the UCB Theatre in L.A., where he talks with different comedians. Recent guests include Fred Willard, Andy Richter and former Naperville resident Bob Odenkirk.

"The coolest part of living in L.A. is that you have access to all these people. A lot of them are willing to be interviewed," Witaske said. "I've been recording them all, and maybe I'll release them as a podcast or something."

Witaske is also a huge Cubs fan (he lived in Wrigleyville for six years), closely follows politics (he's a Bernie Sanders supporter) and is dating Katie O'Brien, a former Chicago improv actress who now stars in "Teachers" on TV Land.

Witaske's performing days began in the 1990s, when he was a class clown at St. Charles East High School. He and friend Tim Stopka performed magic shows at children's birthday parties.

"We made my sister levitate. That was our big, grand finale," Witaske said. "It was pretty awesome, actually."

When he was 13, his parents took him to see his first show at Second City, "Slaughterhouse 5, Cattle 0." He remembers looking in awe at Second City's photo wall of his "heroes" who got their start there, including Bill Murray, John Candy and John Belushi.

The experience inspired Witaske to start an after-school improv group, enroll in classes at Second City and take an internship at the Pheasant Run Resort's dinner theater, working backstage on musicals. He studied theater at the University of Iowa, and then returned home to perform at iO and Second City in Chicago.

One of his Second City shows, "We're All in This Room Together," won a prestigious Jeff Award and also starred Aidy Bryant, now a cast member on "Saturday Night Live." Among his Second City roles was playing an obnoxious American Apparel employee. He spoke in a valley girl-like voice and wore brightly colored tiger leggings, a neon yellow shirt and a fur vest. The sketches are on YouTube.

"It was us ruthlessly making fun of this hipster culture in Wicker Park. It was an assault of laughs," he said. "It holds the record for one of the longest scenes."

With his comedy career soaring, Witaske was invited to meet with "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels and discuss becoming a cast member. He was ultimately passed over, but that rejection spurred him to move to L.A. and take his career in a different direction, toward more acting and show hosting.

So far, so good. With a second season of "Love" in the works, Witaske says he's looking ahead to more writing projects, comedian interviews and show development.

"I want to continue to be a working actor, which is my goal," he said.

• Dann Gire and Jamie Sotonoff are always looking for people from the suburbs who are now working in Hollywood. If you know of someone who'd make an interesting feature, email them at dgire@dailyherald.com and jsotonoff@dailyherald.com.