Joel E. McHale, born on November 20, 1971 in Rome, Italy, is an actor and host of The Soup on the E! Entertainment Television network. In 1995, he earned his bachelor's degree in history from the University of Washington and later completed a master's degree from the Professional Actors Training Program of the same university. For a while, he played football for the Huskies, with whom he earned a ring from the 1991 Rose Bowl Game. Upon graduating, he moved to Los Angeles and got roles on television series such as Oliver Beene, CSI and Will and Grace. McHale also played small roles on the film Spiderman 2 and in the drama, Lords of Dogtown. He has also been a judge on Iron Chef America, a cast member on Thank God You're Here and took the lead role for the series The IT Crowd.

Roy is played by Joel McHale on the new NBC comedy, The IT Crowd. Roy is a geek in the real sense of the word--a techie know-it-all who knows nothing about socializing and life outside of work. Together with his friend Moss, they comprise the IT support of a company which banishes them to the basement of their building. Their lives turn around when they meet Jen, an attractive woman who may not know anything about computer technology, but can teach them what they're really missing while being secluded in the basement.



(Photo courtesy of NBC)