Charlie Hall and his dad, Brad Hall. (Instagram/Charlie Hall)
Sophomore Charlie Hall isn’t just another Northwestern basketball player enjoying his school’s first trip to the NCAA March Madness tournament. He’s also the son of comedy icon Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
The university in Evanston, Illinois, has never been to the tournament before. They’ve earned a No. 8 seed and beat Vanderbilt in their first game, a 68-66 thriller. Hall didn’t get in the game.
Northwestern’s magical season came to an end on March 18 when they lost to Gonzaga 79-73. Hall also didn’t play in that game.
The 19-year-old Hall is very active on social media. You can follow him on Instagram at @Charlie_Hall and on Twitter at @Charlie_Hall23.
Hall’s mother and father, Brad Hall, are both Northwestern graduates. He has an older brother named Henry. Hall is expecting to graduate in 2019.
Here’s a look at his life and career.
1. Hall Was a Walk-On After Playing Basketball in High School
Brad Hall, Henry Hall, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Charlie. (Instagram/Charlie Hall)
Hall played high school basketball at Crossroads High School, a private school in Santa Monica, California. In October 2015, Northwestern announced that Hall was joining the team as a walk-on.
According to his MaxPreps.com stats page, he’s listed at 6’5″ and also played volleyball.
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Louis-Dreyfus joined that her son get his height from her, but it likely came from his father. Brad Hall, who also appeared on Saturday Night Live and earned an Emmy nomination for Brooklyn Bridge, is 6’3″ “when I stand up straight,” he said.
2. He’s Had an Interest in Basketball ‘As Soon as I Was Born’
In a Chicago Tribune profile, Hall said that his father Brad coached him from the moment he began showing interest in basketball.
He started coaching his son “once I showed an interest in basketball, basically as soon as I was born,” Hall told the Tribune. “He’s a trouper. He has had to deal with a lot in terms of me as a basketball player. I’m a very sore loser. Any efforts to console me would not go over well.”
Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall both graduated from Northwestern and his father dreamed of playing on the football team. “A lot of us thought, ‘I can make the team.’ I had played on frat teams and was actually kind of fast back then. As soon as I saw how big the actual players were, that fantasy died,” he told the Tribune.
3. He Still Hasn’t Scored a Single Point in Two Seasons
Hall still hasn’t scored a single point in two seasons. He’s appeared in just 14 games, most recently in the March 9 game against Rutgers. The Wildcats won that game in a blowout victory, 83-61.
As The Tribune reported, there was a chance for Hall to finally score, but his teammate Nate Taphorn decided to go for a three-pointer himself instead of passing the ball to Hall.
After the game, Hall showed off some of the comedy talents he’s inherited in an interview with Taphorn. Taphorn agreed to apologize “because it’s the right thing to do.”
His parents were at that game, and Hall told the Tribune that he could actually hear his mom scream.
“It’s so fun. They have come to my games since elementary school. To have them still come even when I’m not playing is really great,” Hall said. “And I can always hear my mom, which is really fun. She’s loud and she gets nervous and she yells.”
4. Hall Says He Helps His Teammates at Practice & Loves His Role on the Team
Although Hall doesn’t get to much action during games, he still has a role that he loves, he told USA Today. He said that he helps out players like Vic Law and Bryant McIntosh brush up on their skills.
” I’m a scout team guy as well,” he explained to USA Today. “Even though most people don’t, I get to see how my role pays off. I’ll see Vic Law or I’ll see B-Mac (Bryant McIntosh) do a one-dribble pull-up. I’ll say, ‘Hey, you did that on me yesterday. We were working on that,’ which is really fun. Off the court, though, it’s a really long season. It’s grueling. It is really fun and rewarding, but it is tough.”
He also thinks that “keeping people’s spirits up and making sure everyone’s excited to play and excited to practice is important” and he likes to focus on boosting off-court chemistry that “helps with on-court chemistry.”
5. He’s Never Done the ‘Elaine Dance’
We’re going to the dance, boys! @NUMensBball making history! #proud #B1GCats #poundtherock #NCAA @marchmadness
After the Wildcats made it to the NCAA tournament, Louis-Dreyfus famously tweeted the above GIF, showing her “Elaine Dance” from the Seinfeld episode “The Little Kicks.” In his USA Today interview, Hall said he’s never done the dance.
“I’ve never done the ‘Elaine Dance,'” Hall said. “My teammates haven’t asked me to do it, thankfully, because I don’t know if I would or if I even could. I’ve never done that dance. I like to dance. I cannot say I can do that exact dance or copy that in any way. Maybe I’ll try one day.”
As The Chicago Tribune notes, some students have asked him to do the dance.
“Basketball is a serious sport, but being a guy who can alleviate some pressure is something I like to do,” he told the Tribune.