Charles Esten
Chip Esten (born Charles Esten, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, September 9th 1965) is an American actor and singer best known for his appearances on the improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
Educated at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, Esten moved to the United Kingdom to make his theatrical debut, winning massive acclaim for his title role in the musical Buddy. In 1992, his potential was spotted by the makers of Whose Line Is It Anyway? who asked him to audition for an episode, which he did successfully. Consequently, Esten made his debut on the Channel 4 show and "won" the episode, reading the credits in the style of an auctioneer. He subsequently appeared in more episodes later the same year when the show did a run in New York. At the time, the show needed a second specialist improvisational singer to account for episodes when Mike McShane wasn't on, and thus Esten proved a worthwhile experiment.
Esten made one more appearance in the UK edition before moving back to the USA and playing the role of Luke in Party of Five. Although in demand as a jobbing actor on stage and screen thereafter, it was his return to Whose Line Is It Anyway? - in the show's new-look American format, with Drew Carey as host - which established him with a mainstream American audience. He has now become a regular "fourth contestant" on the show and continues to be adept at the singing games in particular, though has satisfied his early potential to become an outstanding all-round improviser.
In 2001, Esten appeared in Billy Crystal's TV movie 61* as Kevin Maris, the son of legendary New York Yankees slugger Roger Maris.
He is a member of the touring Improv All-Stars group and is familiar to motorcyclists as the face of the Riding Straight safety campaign.
Esten is married to Patty - whom he met at college - and they have two daughters and a son. They live in Los Angeles.