Ed Helms

Helms was performing standup comedy in New York City when, he recalled in a 2005 interview, "The Daily Show had a sort of open audition with a casting company that I had dealt with. I read for the part, and got it". In his April 2002 to mid-2006 tenure on the satirical news program, Helms contributed "field reports" in addition to hosting various segments of the show, such as "Digital Watch", "Ad Nauseam", and "Mark Your Calendar." He has also contributed to the "This Week in God" segment. Helms left the show in 2006, although he has occasionally returned for brief appearances. On July 21, 2008, he returned for "Obama Quest" a segment covering then Senator Barack Obama's trip to Iraq. He occasionally narrates the "Prescott Group educational films" on sister series The Colbert Report.

In late July 2006, NBC announced that Helms would join the cast of the mockumentary, The Office, along with his fellow The Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell, in a recurring role as Andy Bernard. Helms has been a series regular since the third season. Helms returned to The Daily Show on December 5, 2006, stating he had been gone because he was "undercover at a paper company in Scranton", an allusion to his stint on The Office. In February 2007, NBC announced that Helms had been promoted to series regular. In June 2009, on a radio interview with National Public Radio, Helms said that like his character, Andy Bernard, he is also obsessed with a capella music.

Helms appeared on such television shows as Tanner on Tanner, Arrested Development, and Cheap Seats, as well as in various Comedy Central specials. He has done commercial voiceover work in campaigns for Burger King, Doritos, Sharp Aquos, and Advair asthma medication, and also voices "Angel", a character on Cartoon Network's Weighty Decisions series.

Ed plays guitar, banjo and piano and has played both in some of his movie and television performances.