# Scott Adsit
**Scott Adsit** (born Robert Scott Adsit, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and writer known for playing the put-upon television producer Pete Hornberger on the NBC sitcom *30 Rock* and for voicing the inflatable healthcare robot Baymax in Disney's *Big Hero 6* (2014)[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/scott-adsit-4684/biography) • [2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/scott-adsit-47145.php). He trained in Chicago's sketch and improv scene, spending roughly eight years climbing the ladder at [The Second City](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-second-city) before moving to television[3](https://www.avclub.com/scott-adsit-1798231782).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965, Northbrook, Illinois[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/scott-adsit-4684/biography) |
| Signature TV role | Pete Hornberger, producer on *30 Rock* (NBC, 2006–13), seven seasons[4](https://www.secondcity.com/people/scott-adsit) |
| Signature voice role | Baymax in *Big Hero 6* (2014), a film that earned about $650 million worldwide and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature[5](https://www.wired.com/story/big-hero-6-scott-adsit-interview/) |
| Comedy training | The Second City, Chicago: training center, touring company, Second City Northwest, E.T.C. stage, Mainstage, over about eight years[3](https://www.avclub.com/scott-adsit-1798231782) |
| Award | Joseph Jefferson (Jeff) Award for Best Actor in a Comedy, for the revue *Paradigm Lost*[4](https://www.secondcity.com/people/scott-adsit) |
| Other voice work | *Moral Orel*, *Mary Shelley's Frankenhole*, *Harvey Beaks*, *Big Hero 6: The Series*[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/scott-adsit-47145.php) |
## Early life and training
Adsit was born in Northbrook, Illinois, and attended [Glenbrook North High School](https://www.edgepedia.org/glenbrook-north-high-school), where he performed with a student improv group called the Immediate Conception[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/scott-adsit-47145.php) • [6](https://www.timeout.com/chicago/comedy/great-scott). He enrolled at [DePauw University](https://www.edgepedia.org/depauw-university) in Indiana, dropped out after one semester, and transferred to [Columbia College Chicago](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-college-chicago)[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/scott-adsit-47145.php). At Columbia he studied film and expected to become a filmmaker, then drifted toward acting through serious stage work; his acting teacher Sheldon Patinkin, a longtime figure of the Chicago theater scene, urged him to take classes at The Second City[3](https://www.avclub.com/scott-adsit-1798231782) • [4](https://www.secondcity.com/people/scott-adsit).
He joined Second City in 1987 and described his rise through its stages as hitting every rung of a ladder: the training center, the touring company, the suburban Second City Northwest stage in Rolling Meadows, the E.T.C. stage, and finally the Mainstage, a process he called an eight-year one[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/scott-adsit-47145.php) • [3](https://www.avclub.com/scott-adsit-1798231782). His resident stage debut came in the Second City Northwest show *Casino Evil*, which the Second City alumni page dates to 1993 in its biographical text and to 1992 in its show list[4](https://www.secondcity.com/people/scott-adsit).
## Second City mainstage years
Between 1994 and 1998 Adsit wrote and performed in several Second City revues, including *Old Wine in New Bottles* (1994), *Pinata Full of Bees* (1995), *Citizen Gates* (1996), and *Paradigm Lost* (1997)[4](https://www.secondcity.com/people/scott-adsit). *Pinata Full of Bees*, described by the theater as a format-shattering show, featured him alongside [Adam McKay](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-mckay), Rachel Dratch, and [Jon Glaser](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-glaser)[4](https://www.secondcity.com/people/scott-adsit). For *Paradigm Lost* he won the Jeff Award for Best Actor in a Comedy; the revue's development process became the subject of the 1999 documentary *Second to None*, which featured Adsit and castmates [Tina Fey](https://www.edgepedia.org/tina-fey), Kevin Dorff, Rachel Dratch, Jenna Jolovitz, and Jim Zulevic[4](https://www.secondcity.com/people/scott-adsit).
His mainstage years put him on stage with Tina Fey and [Rachel Dratch](https://www.edgepedia.org/rachel-dratch), connections that shaped his later television career[7](https://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/22572/interviews-tim-meadows-scott-adsit-kevin-dorff-at-2013-just-for-laughs?page=2).
## Television and film
After leaving Second City for Los Angeles, Adsit worked with fellow alumnus [Bob Odenkirk](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-odenkirk) on the HBO sketch show *Mr. Show* and with [Jack Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-black)'s band [Tenacious D](https://www.edgepedia.org/tenacious-d) on its HBO program[4](https://www.secondcity.com/people/scott-adsit). Through the late 1990s and 2000s he made guest appearances on shows including *Felicity*, *Friends*, *Curb Your Enthusiasm*, *Ally McBeal*, *Alias*, *The Office*, and *CSI: Miami*, working in both comedies and dramas[8](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/scott-adsit-41432/biography/) • [1](https://www.fandango.com/people/scott-adsit-4684/biography).
**30 Rock.** In 2005 Tina Fey called him to say she was writing a part with him in mind and that he should keep his schedule open. The part became producer Pete Hornberger on *30 Rock*, which ran on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013, and Adsit played the role for all seven seasons[4](https://www.secondcity.com/people/scott-adsit) • [2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/scott-adsit-47145.php). Pete, the good-natured but weary producer of the show-within-the-show, became the role for which he is best known[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/scott-adsit-47145.php). His screen comedy style relied on precise timing and an everyday appearance rather than broad characters or impressions[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/scott-adsit-4684/biography).
He later took recurring roles as Vinny Geary in *The Goldbergs* and Greg Hart in *Veep*, and in 2026 appeared in a *Law & Order* episode as Brian Leavy, a dead pilot whose AI avatar becomes central to the case[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/scott-adsit-47145.php) • [9](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/law-and-order-cast-30-rock-star-scott-adsit-to-play-victim-id-love-liz-lemons-take).
## Voice acting and Baymax
Adsit's voice work includes the [Adult Swim](https://www.edgepedia.org/adult-swim) stop-motion series *Moral Orel* and *Mary Shelley's Frankenhole*, and Nickelodeon's *Harvey Beaks*[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/scott-adsit-47145.php) • [10](https://archive.nerdist.com/exclusive-comedian-scott-adsit-on-voicing-baymax-and-the-future-of-big-hero-6/).
His best-known voice role is Baymax, the inflatable personal healthcare companion in Walt Disney Animation's *Big Hero 6* (2014), loosely based on a [Marvel Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-comics) property[5](https://www.wired.com/story/big-hero-6-scott-adsit-interview/) • [11](https://www.looper.com/913024/scott-adsit-on-voicing-baymax-and-potential-for-a-30-rock-revival-exclusive-interview/). The casting was unusual for Hollywood: Disney casting staff heard him at a one-night stage show in Los Angeles in 2013 and called him in for an hour-long audition the next day, with no agents involved[5](https://www.wired.com/story/big-hero-6-scott-adsit-interview/). The character's robotic twang was largely his natural voice. A filter created for Baymax was dialed back at the insistence of studio head [John Lasseter](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-lasseter), applied subtly in the first scene, reduced as the robot's relationship with Hiro develops, and absent entirely by the film's end[5](https://www.wired.com/story/big-hero-6-scott-adsit-interview/).
*Big Hero 6* grossed about $650 million worldwide and won the [Academy Award for Best Animated Feature](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-animated-feature)[5](https://www.wired.com/story/big-hero-6-scott-adsit-interview/). Adsit continued in the role across the franchise, voicing Baymax in *Big Hero 6: The Series* and in the 2022 *Baymax!* series[12](https://www.animationscoop.com/interview-actors-scott-adsit-and-ryan-potter-of-big-hero-6-the-series/) • [13](https://www.slashfilm.com/910785/baymax-star-scott-adsit-on-finding-that-distinctive-voice-and-the-power-of-community-interview/).
## Improv career
Improv remained central to Adsit's working life alongside screen acting. He has performed and taught improvisation at IO West in Los Angeles[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/scott-adsit-4684/biography), and as of 2012 was doing monthly shows at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City[3](https://www.avclub.com/scott-adsit-1798231782). He has explained the trade-off plainly: improv and theater pay next to nothing compared with on-camera work, but the stage is the actor's medium, where performers control what happens rather than answering to a committee of editors, producers, and studio heads[14](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2013/02/02/scott-adsit-interview/). He has also appeared in stage productions in New York, including *Celebrity Autobiography* and the 2026 City Center staging of Eric Bentley's docudrama *Are You Now or Have You Ever Been*[15](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Scott-Adsit/).
## References
1. [Scott Adsit Biography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/scott-adsit-4684/biography)
2. [Scott Adsit Biography, The Famous People](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/scott-adsit-47145.php)
3. [Scott Adsit interview, The A.V. Club (2012)](https://www.avclub.com/scott-adsit-1798231782)
4. [Scott Adsit, The Second City alumni page](https://www.secondcity.com/people/scott-adsit)
5. [Baymax speaks: actor Scott Adsit on his role in Disney's Big Hero 6, WIRED](https://www.wired.com/story/big-hero-6-scott-adsit-interview/)
6. [Great Scott!, Time Out Chicago (2009)](https://www.timeout.com/chicago/comedy/great-scott)
7. [Interviews: Tim Meadows, Scott Adsit, Kevin Dorff at 2013 Just for Laughs, HollywoodChicago](https://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/22572/interviews-tim-meadows-scott-adsit-kevin-dorff-at-2013-just-for-laughs?page=2)
8. [Scott Adsit Biography, Showtimes](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/scott-adsit-41432/biography/)
9. [Law And Order Cast A 30 Rock Star To Play A Victim, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/law-and-order-cast-30-rock-star-scott-adsit-to-play-victim-id-love-liz-lemons-take)
10. [Comedian Scott Adsit on Voicing Baymax and the Future of BIG HERO 6, Nerdist](https://archive.nerdist.com/exclusive-comedian-scott-adsit-on-voicing-baymax-and-the-future-of-big-hero-6/)
11. [Scott Adsit On Voicing Baymax And Potential For A 30 Rock Revival, Looper](https://www.looper.com/913024/scott-adsit-on-voicing-baymax-and-potential-for-a-30-rock-revival-exclusive-interview/)
12. [Interview: Actors Scott Adsit and Ryan Potter of Big Hero 6: The Series, Animation Scoop](https://www.animationscoop.com/interview-actors-scott-adsit-and-ryan-potter-of-big-hero-6-the-series/)
13. [Baymax! Star Scott Adsit On Finding That Distinctive Voice, SlashFilm](https://www.slashfilm.com/910785/baymax-star-scott-adsit-on-finding-that-distinctive-voice-and-the-power-of-community-interview/)
14. [Scott Adsit Interview, Trainwreck'd Society (2013)](https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2013/02/02/scott-adsit-interview/)
15. [Scott Adsit, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Scott-Adsit/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames A to At*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license