Ed Helms

As one of several comedic actors who generated considerable buzz as a correspondent on "The Daily Show " (Comedy Central, 1996- ), Ed Helms managed to parlay his popularity into a successful career in features and on television. After having gotten his start in stand-up and doing commercial voiceovers, Helms scored his breakthrough when he joined "The Daily Show" cast in 2002, playing a brash, sarcastic and sometimes silly caricature that gained him certain notoriety for several hilarious and outlandish segments that lived on as some of the show's finest moments. At the height of his popularity, Helms followed fellow "Daily Show" alum Steven Carell and Stephen Colbert out the door in pursuit of greater success. He immediately landed on one of the hottest sitcoms of the moment, "The Office" (NBC, 2005-13), which allowed him to display his chops as an ill-tempered Dunder-Mifflin employee who undergoes anger management and becomes a socially awkward softy prone to breaking out into song. With "The Hangover" (2009), a surprise summer blockbuster, Helms proved that he was able to translate his comedic skills to the big screen, promising fans that better things were still to come.