Emily Axford

Emily Axford
Emily Axford in Fantasy High: Junior Year Episode 2: "Summer Breakdown" (2024)
Born
Emily Joanne Axford

(1984-07-26) July 26, 1984 (age 40)
Alma materGeorge Washington University
Occupation(s)Actress, writer, producer
Known forAdam Ruins Everything, Hot Date, Not Another D&D Podcast, Dimension 20, Critical Role
SpouseBrian Murphy (m. 2014)

Emily Joanne Axford is an American actress, writer, and producer. She is best known for her various roles in CollegeHumor videos, her role as Emily on the truTV comedy Adam Ruins Everything, and for her role on the Pop original Hot Date.[1]

Early life and education

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Axford grew up in the suburbs of Albany, New York. She attended Bethlehem Central High School, just south of Albany.[2] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion from George Washington University in 2007.[3] At GWU, she was a part of the co-ed improv troupe called ReceSs. After college, Axford studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City and then Los Angeles, where she first ventured into internet sketch comedy.[4]

Career

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From 2011 to 2017, Axford was a writer and actress for digital comedy company CollegeHumor. In 2017, Axford transitioned to working as an executive producer and actor on the Pop show Hot Date, which had begun as a web series for CollegeHumor, alongside her husband Brian Murphy.[5][6] From 2015 to 2019, Axford co-starred in both the College Humor and TruTV iterations of Adam Ruins Everything.[7]

Axford and Murphy co-wrote HEY, U UP? (For a Serious Relationship): How to Turn Your Booty Call into Your Emergency Contact, a satirical relationship advice book that was published in 2018.[8] She and Murphy have, in conjunction with Caldwell Tanner, hosted 8-Bit Book Club (2016–2018), a podcast in which they read and discussed video game novels.[9][10]

Axford participates in a variety of actual play web series where she plays tabletop role-playing games. She is a player and occasional gamemaster in the HeadGum podcast Not Another D&D Podcast with Murphy, Tanner, and Jake Hurwitz.[11][12][13] Axford is a primary cast member of Dimension 20, an actual play anthology web series which premiered in 2018; it was created by CollegeHumor for the streaming service Dropout. She has starred as a variety of characters between the two shows' several campaigns, most of which utilize Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.[14][15][16] She is a featured member of Dimension 20's aftershow, Adventuring Party.[17] In 2023, Axford appeared as a guest player in the third campaign of Critical Role.[18]

Personal life

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Axford is married to Brian K. Murphy, whom she met while working together at College Humor in the early 2010s. The couple has collaborated on several different projects, including satirizations of their own relationship. They currently reside in Los Angeles, California.[19]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 Nice Brothers Emily 2 episodes
2013 BearShark Beverly Episode: "Love"
Inside Amy Schumer Liz Episode: "Sex Tips"
2014 Love's a Bitch Tatiana Episode: "The Truce"
2015–2019 Adam Ruins Everything Emily, various roles 27 episodes
2017–2019 Hot Date Emily 20 episodes
2019 Tuca & Bertie Realtor 2 episodes
2021 Generation Dominique Episode: "The High Priestess"

Web

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Year Title Role Notes
2009–2013 UCB Comedy Originals Various roles 10 episodes
2011–2018 CollegeHumor Originals 172 episodes
2012–2015 Hardly Working 39 episodes
2012–2018 Dorkly Originals 55 episodes
2012 Jake and Amir Emily 6 episodes
2013 Very Mary-Kate Writer Episode: "Instagram"
2016 Bad Internet Naomi Episode: "The Year-Long Ad Experience"
2018–present Not Another D&D Podcast Campaign 1 Moonshine Cybin Main cast and primary composer[11][20]
The Mavrus Chronicles Gamemaster
Trinyvale Onyx Lumiere
Campaign 2
  • Fia Boginya
  • Tarragon Snakeroot
  • Brimstone Billie
Campaign 3 Calliope Petrichor
Twilight Sanctorum Gamemaster
2018–present Dimension 20 Fantasy High Fig Faeth Main cast[21]
The Unsleeping City Sofia Bicicleta Main cast[22]
Fantasy High: Sophomore Year Fig Faeth Main cast[14]
A Crown of Candy
  • Princess Jet Rocks
  • Queen Saccharina of House Frostwhip
Main role[23]
The Unsleeping City: Chapter II Sofia Bicicleta Main cast[24]
A Starstruck Odyssey Sundry Sidney Main role[25]
A Court of Fey and Flowers Lady Chirp Featherfowl Main role[26][27]
Neverafter Ylfa Snorgelsson Main role[28][29]
Fantasy High: Junior Year Fig Faeth Main role[30]
2023 Critical Role Campaign three Prism Guest role; 6 episodes[31][18]
One-shots Babson Episode: "Lookout, Here We Come!"[32][33]

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2022 The Quarry Grace [34]

References

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  1. ^ "Emily Axford and Brian K. Murphy are the Married Masterminds Behind 'Hot Date'". Observer. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Bethlehem high school digital yearbooks - 2003 faculty/senior class".
  3. ^ "Take a Study Break with GWU's ReceSs This Weekend". dcist.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  4. ^ "Emily Axford". UCB. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  5. ^ Bill Zwecker (7 August 2017). "Chicago 'clicked' for couple turning 'Hot Date' into a TV series". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  6. ^ Erik Pedersen (27 August 2019). "'Hot Date': Season 2 Premiere Date For Pop TV's Sketch Comedy Series". Deadline. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Adam Ruins Everything". IMDB. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  8. ^ "An Excerpt from 'Hey, U Up? (For a Serious Relationship): How to Turn Your Booty Call into Your Emergency Contact,' by Emily Axford and Brian Murphy By Brian Boone". Vulture. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  9. ^ "8-Bit Book Club". Apple Podcasts. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  10. ^ Arthur, Kenneth (November 8, 2017). "Inside 'Hot Date' with Emily Axford and Brian Murphy". Vulture. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "About". Not Another D&D Podcast. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  12. ^ "Not Another D&D Podcast: Why You Should Check Out Welcome to Eldermourne". CBR. 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  13. ^ Martin, Emily (2023-02-20). "The 10 Best D&D Podcasts for Everyone from DMs to Newbies". BOOK RIOT. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  14. ^ a b Heim, Bec (2023-01-02). "Dimension 20: All Intrepid Hero Campaigns, Ranked". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  15. ^ "Dungeons & Dragons: Dimension 20 Is a TOTALLY Different Take On Actual-Play". CBR. 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  16. ^ Hall, Charlie (2022-07-20). "A new actual play ports Jane Austen into Dungeons & Dragons". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  17. ^ "Dimension 20's Adventuring Party". Dropout. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  18. ^ a b McCauley, Tara (May 19, 2023). "Critical Role Shocks Fans With a Major Bait-And-Switch". CBR. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  19. ^ "Real-Life Couple Emily Axford and Brian Murphy Star in PopTV's "Hot Date"". Cheddar News. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Episodes". Not Another D&D Podcast. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  21. ^ "Dimension 20: Fantasy High – Lord of the Rings Meets John Hughes On College Humor". Bleeding Cool. March 23, 2019. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  22. ^ Plante, Corey (8 July 2019). "'Dimension 20' Season 3: Meet the D&D Cast of "Unsleeping City" (Exclusive)". Inverse. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  23. ^ "Dimension 20's A Crown of Candy shows the sweet and sour sides of nobility". The Peak. July 19, 2020. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  24. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (October 30, 2020). "Dimension 20 Announces The Unsleeping City Season Two". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors.
  25. ^ Dimension 20 🎲 [@dimension20show] (November 3, 2021). "❄️Wanna know what Dimension 20 is bringing you this winter? 🗓️Well, we have some good news...🧛✨🪐 🤔FAQ here: https://t.co/4cGyklhRk6 #Dimension20 https://t.co/zr9wIhLwLM" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022 – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ Friedman, Em (2022-08-24). "My favorite new Jane Austen adaptation is an elaborate game of Dungeons & Dragons". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  27. ^ Friedman, Em (2022-10-06). "A Court of Fey & Flowers has a lot to say about love, class, and equality". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  28. ^ Friedman, Em (2022-12-15). "Battles have gone badly before in Dimension 20, but not like this". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  29. ^ Zambrano, J. R. (2022-10-14). "'Dimension 20: Neverafter' is a Dark D&D Fairy Tale". Bell of Lost Souls. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  30. ^ Zeoli, Rowan (2024-01-11). "Fantasy High's Junior Year shows the evolution of Dimension 20 — and a new form of entertainment". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  31. ^ "Somewhere Out There". Critical Role. Series 3. Episode 59. May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  32. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (May 19, 2023). "Critical Role will embark on a Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom one-shot". Polygon. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  33. ^ "Lookout, Here We Come!". Critical Role. June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  34. ^ "The Quarry cast and characters". PCGamesN. March 29, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
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