Helms was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His father, John A. Helms, was a lawyer, insurance executive, and Navy veteran, and his mother, Pamela Ann (née Parker), was a school administrator. Helms is the youngest of three children, having a sister, Susan Carol Helms, and a brother, Paxton Helms, who is an immersion world geography teacher at Gunston Middle School in Virginia. Helms had open-heart surgery at age 13 to correct a severe congenital heart defect, which he described as supravalvular aortic and pulmonic stenosis. He graduated from The Westminster Schools one year after The Office castmate Brian Baumgartner in 1992. Helms entered Oberlin College as a geology major, but ended up graduating in 1996 with his B.A. in film theory and technology. He spent a semester as an exchange student at New York University\'s Tisch School of the Arts.\n', '

Helms is the recipient of an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from Knox College, where he delivered the 2013 Commencement Address. In May 2014, Helms gave the convocation speech at Cornell University, alma mater of Andy Bernard, the character he portrayed for seven seasons on The Office. In May 2015, Helms gave the valedictory speech at the University of Virginia.\n', '

After graduating from Oberlin, Helms began his comedy and acting career as a writer and performer with New York City sketch comedy bands, and studied improvisation with the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe. Helms concurrently worked as a trainee film editor at Crew Cuts, a post-production facility in New York City. While doing so, he recorded some rough voiceover scratch tracks that eventually led to paying voiceover work, which in turn led to finding a talent agent.\n', '

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