Ed Helms is an American actor and comedian. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating from The Westminster Schools in 1992 before attending Oberlin College in Ohio, graduating in 1996. At the age of 14, Helms was diagnosed with a heart murmur and required open-heart surgery. He lived in the affluent Brookwood Hills area in Midtown where he served as a lifeguard at the neighborhood pool.

Helms has had roles in shows like Tanner on Tanner and various Comedy Central specials, as well as movies like Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story (alongside his fellow TDS correspondent Rob Corddry).

He has also made guest appearances in a number of television shows, including Arrested Development and Cheap Seats. He also voices "Angel", a character on Cartoon Network's Weighty Decisions series (again alongside Corddry), and has done prolific commercial voiceover work, including campaigns for Burger King, Doritos, Sharp Aquos, and Advair asthma medication.

Helms was hired for small roles as a news-reporter Ed Carson, in Steve Carell's Evan Almighty and with Office co-star Jenna Fischer in Walk Hard. He also was a reporter in Semi Pro. He was also seen in small roles opposite Daily Show co-stars Rob Corddry in Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Mo Rocca in I'll Believe You, and in Eddie Murphy's Meet Dave.

In May 2008, Helms voiced a character named Mr. Buckley, in the American Dad! episode Stanny Slickers II: The Legend of Ollie's Gold.

In his tenure on The Daily Show, from April 2002 to mid 2006, Helms contributed field reports in addition to hosting various sections 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 his role as a regular correspondent for The Daily Show in 2006, although he has occasionally returned for brief appearances.

In late July 2006, NBC announced that Helms would join the cast of The Office, in a recurring role as Jim Halpert's smarmy colleague, Andy Bernard, at Dunder-Mifflin's Stamford branch for at least ten episodes of the third season.