Hot Nerd of the Week: Joel McHale!

Okay, so let me tell you, I've liked Joel McHale since before it was cool to like Joel McHale. I started my love affair with him back in 2004 when they rebooted "Talk Soup" as "The Soup", and have followed him ever since. The Editor and I even went to see him do stand up a year or two ago, and despite misgivings that The Editor had about how good he thought Joel would be live, he was AMAZING.

Joel was born in Italy, but raised in Seattle. He attended the University of Washington for college, and played tight end of their football team for two years. Joel is kind-of a sports nerd because of this, and it's just another reason why I like him so much. He eventually graduated with a Masters in Fine Arts from the Professional Actors Training Program at the University of Washington.

After college Joel moved to LA, and began getting small roles in movies such as The Informant!, Spider Man 2 and Lords of Dogtown. He also scored some TV roles guest starring in Bill Nye the Science Guy, Robot Chicken and Pushing Daisies. In 2009 he scored the lead role of Jeff Winger in the NBC comedy Community, a role he does while still hosting The Soup.

 Joel has contributed to a number of charities, including "Clothes off Our Back", which uses it's proceeds to help people suffering from malaria in third world countries.  He is also a regular at San Diego Comic Con, and is also a fan favorite while he's there.

His charismatic personality paired with his self deprecating sense of humor (as well as a great sense of fashion) is the reason Joel McHale is this week's Hot Nerd!