News > SNL Alums Join Harold

Written by David Morgan

The Hollywood Reporter says that Chris Parnell and Rachel Dratch have signed on for supporting roles as teachers for T. Sean Shannon's upcoming teen comedy Harold. The film revolves around the title character, a prematurely balding teenager played by Spencer Breslin. Parnell will play the gym teacher who relentlessly hassles Harold while Dratch will play the teacher who forces him to remove his hat. The cast also includes Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray) as Harold's fellow outcast, Ally Sheedy as Harold's mother, and Cuba Gooding Jr. as the janitor who befriends the boy.

Parnell's always had this bad reputation of "not being funny" on SNL, which led to his being fired twice. Personally I think he was a little underrated. He never broke character like Jimmy Fallon or Horatio Sanz, and he'd do absolutely anything for a laugh (wear a blue Speedo and pretend to crap on people's lawns for example). He was also a hell of a straight-man, and that's a sadly under-appreciated breed. Dratch is a quality performer too that people never seemed to connect with.