Biography

Rod Knoll plays frumpy nerds and "squares" such as a by-the-book, nerdy bird watcher on an episode of CBS' Bull (2016) and a helpless, nerdy nebbish on an episode of Marvel's hit series Daredevil (2015). Rod also played an obsessed gay peep show customer on an episode of the HBO series The Deuce (2017). He filmed a recent episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) where he played another nerdy, hapless guy who gets caught in a vulnerable situation, but unfortunately, most of his role was cut out of the episode.

Rod got his SAG card at the age of 22 by doing a commercial in 1987. He had his first TV success on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990) playing the role of a preppy friend of "Carlton" and member of the ultra-preppy and ultra-"square" high school glee club called the "Alligaroos". Equally at home in both comedy and drama, Rod even appeared in a unique commercial where he played a "sobbing tooth" in a dark PSA warning against the dangers of chewing tobacco.

Rod's most notable success in theater came in comedies when he garnered rave reviews for playing the comedic leading role of "Eugene Jerome" in several stage productions of Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical "Brighton Beach" plays, "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and its sequel, "Biloxi Blues".

Rod is a New York-trained actor, and he spent many years studying various techniques and approaches to acting under many acting teachers in New York. Rod grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, but he left right after high school and moved to New York City to start studying acting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Through NYU, Rod was able to get a diverse array of acting training with many teachers including many first-generation Strasberg method acting teachers such as Geoffrey Horne, David Gideon and Fred Sadoff who together have trained many successful actors. Rod also studied with first-generation Chekhov acting technique teachers, including briefly with Oscar winner Beatrice Straight.
- IMDb mini biography by: rodknoll

While at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, he studied with various teachers at both the Michael Chekhov Studio and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Rod's acting teachers included many first-generation Strasberg method acting teachers such as Geoffrey Horne, David Gideon and Fred Sadoff who together have trained many successful actors. Rod also studied with first-generation Chekhov acting technique teachers, including briefly with Oscar winner Beatrice Straight.

His first TV role was on NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990) playing a friend of "Carlton" and member of the high school glee club, called the "Alligaroos".

While still in his early 20's, he received rave reviews for playing the lead role of "Eugene" in multiple productions of two of Neil Simon's plays, "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Biloxi Blues", including two back-to-back productions of "Biloxi Blues" with entirely different supporting casts.

Is of German ("Pennsylvania Dutch") descent, and he grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania.