Before you hear the comedian Andy Samberg, one of this year's Class Day speakers, Flyby thinks you should know a few things about the man who's sure to elicit more than a few chuckles. Here are five fun facts about the Saturday Night Live star in anticipation of his big speech today.
1. A native of the Bay Area, Samberg attended the University of California at Santa Cruz before transferring to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, from which he graduated in 2000.
2. Samberg joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2005, fulfilling a dream he'd had since he was eight years old.
3. Samberg is a member of the comedy troupe, The Lonely Island, a group that has written a number of popular digital shorts, including "Lazy Sunday," "Natalie Rap" (featuring Harvard alum Natalie Portman '03), and "I Just Had Sex."
4. Samberg frequently collaborates with SNL regular Justin Timberlake, and the two have become good friends. Their 2006 short "D*** in a Box" won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. Timberlake also makes a cameo in The Lonely Island's hit video "J**z In My Pants."
5. Unlike some Harvard students, Samberg doesn't always aspire to awe everyone with his intellect. Of his sense of humor, he once said, "Stupid is the highest compliment a person can pay to me."
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
CORRECTION: May 23
An earlier version of this blog post misspelled the name of Class Day speaker Andy Samberg. The post also misstated the name of the comedy troupe in which Samberg performs. It is The Lonely Island, not The Lonely Planet.