Andy Samberg | |
---|---|
Born | David A. J. Samberg August 18, 1978 Berkeley, California, U.S. |
Education | University of California, Santa Cruz New York University (BFA) |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1999–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Alfred J. Marrow (adoptive grandfather) Tammy Baldwin (third cousin) |
Comedy career | |
Medium |
|
Genres | |
Musical career | |
Genres | Comedy hip hop |
Discography | The Lonely Island discography |
Member of | The Lonely Island |
Website | thelonelyisland |
Signature | |
Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; [1] August 18, 1978) [2] is an American actor, comedian, musician, writer and producer. He is a member of the comedy music group the Lonely Island, along with childhood friends Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. Samberg was also a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2012, where he and his fellow group members are credited with popularizing the SNL Digital Shorts. [3]
Samberg's starring film roles include Hot Rod (2007), the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs film series (2009–2013), That's My Boy (2012), Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012), the Hotel Transylvania film series (2012–2022), Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), and Palm Springs (2020). From 2013 to 2021, he starred as Jake Peralta in the Fox, and later NBC, police sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine which he also produced. For his work on the show, he was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2013. [4]
David A. J. Samberg was born in Berkeley, California on August 18, 1978. [2] His mother, Marjorie "Margi" (née Marrow), is a retired teacher, who taught at John Muir Elementary School, and his father, Joe Samberg, is a photographer. [5] He has two sisters, Johanna and Darrow. [6] His family is Jewish, and Samberg described his upbringing as "I wouldn’t say we’re super-religious, but we’re very much in touch with the cultural aspect of it." [7] Samberg never had a bar mitzvah. [8] He attended Chabot Elementary School [9] with his future Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-star Chelsea Peretti. [10] At age 5, he told his parents that he wanted to change his name to Andy. [11] [12]
In a 2019 episode of Finding Your Roots , hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., Samberg discovered that his mother Marjorie, who was adopted by Jewish parents, is the biological daughter of an Italian Roman Catholic father named Salvatore Maida, who immigrated in 1925, [13] and a German-Jewish refugee mother named Ellen Philipsborn, who had come to the US in 1938; they met in San Francisco. [14] Samberg is a third cousin of U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), [15] and his adoptive maternal grandfather was industrial psychologist and philanthropist Alfred J. Marrow. [16]
Samberg graduated from Berkeley High School in 1996, where he became interested in creative writing and has stated that writing classes "were the ones that [he] put all [his] effort into... that's what [he] cared about and that's what [he] ended up doing". [17] He attended college at University of California, Santa Cruz for two years [18] before transferring to New York University (NYU)'s Tisch School of the Arts, where he graduated in 2000. [19] While at NYU, writer Murray Miller was his roommate. [20]
Samberg majored in experimental film. He became an online star and made his own comedy videos with his friends Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. [21] When YouTube was created in 2005, the streaming of their videos became much more widespread. Samberg became a featured player on Saturday Night Live in part because of the work he had done on his sketch comedy website TheLonelyIsland.com, which helped him land an agent and eventually get hired at Saturday Night Live. [22] Prior to joining its cast, Samberg was (and remains) a member of the comedy troupe the Lonely Island, along with Taccone and Schaffer. The trio began writing for Saturday Night Live in 2005 and released their debut album Incredibad in 2009. Samberg appeared in numerous theatrical films, commercials, music videos, and hosted special events, including the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.
In 2012, Samberg delivered the Class Day speech at Harvard University, [23] and he starred with Adam Sandler in That's My Boy . The same year, he starred in Hotel Transylvania as the main character, Jonathan, a role he reprised for its sequels Hotel Transylvania 2 and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation . [24] In September 2012, Samberg played Cuckoo in the BAFTA nominated BBC Three series Cuckoo ; [25] and, in 2013, he landed the role of Detective Jake Peralta in Fox's (later NBC's) police sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which first aired on September 17 of the same year. [26] Samberg won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2014 for his role as Peralta. Samberg hosted the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20, 2015. [27] [28] [29] Years later, he co-hosted the 76th Golden Globe Awards with Sandra Oh on January 6, 2019.
Samberg starred in Sleater-Kinney's "No Cities to Love" video along with other actors such as Fred Armisen, Elliot Page, and Norman Reedus. On May 16, 2016, Samberg and the Lonely Island performed their 2009 hit "I'm on a Boat" with classroom instruments on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , as part of a recurring segment on the show. [30]
In September 2005, Samberg joined Saturday Night Live as a featured player and writer. Though his live sketch roles were limited in his first year, he appeared in many prerecorded sketches including commercial parodies and various other filmed segments. On December 17, 2005, he co-starred with castmate Chris Parnell in the Digital Short show "Lazy Sunday", a hip hop song about a quest to see the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe . The short became an Internet phenomenon and garnered Samberg significant media and public attention. Acclaim continued, especially for "Dick in a Box", a duet with Justin Timberlake that won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. [3] The video for his comedy troupe's collaboration with T-Pain, "I'm on a Boat", had over 56 million views on YouTube, after debuting on February 7, 2009. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award. Another digital short, "Motherlover", also featuring Timberlake, was released on May 10, 2009, to commemorate Mother's Day. Outside of his prerecorded segments, he participated in recurring live segments, such as his Blizzard Man sketch. [31] On June 1, 2012, Samberg's spokesperson announced that Samberg had left the show. [32] [33] He returned to the show to host the Season 39 finale in 2014 [34] and to host the 40th anniversary special's Digital Short. He later returned in Season 50 to portray Doug Emhoff in the run up to the 2024 election, as well as providing some additional Digital Shorts.
In November 2023, the first issue of Holy Roller, a comic written by Samberg, Rick Remender, Joe Trohman and illustrated by Roland Boschi, was released and published by Image Comics. It is about a pro bowler who is forced to quit his dream job and return to his hometown, which he soon discovers has been overrun by Neo-Nazis, leading him to become a trick bowling ball-wielding Jewish superhero. [35]
Samberg co-hosts The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast alongside Schaffer, Taccone and Seth Meyers, which discusses the Lonely Island's SNL Digital Shorts. [36]
Samberg is married to musician Joanna Newsom. He once described himself as a "superfan", and they met at one of her concerts. [37] [38] After five years of dating, Samberg proposed to her in February 2013, and they married on September 21, 2013, in Big Sur, California, [39] [40] [41] with Saturday Night Live co-star Seth Meyers serving as Samberg's groomsman. [42]
In March 2014, Samberg and Newsom purchased the Moorcrest estate in the Beachwood Canyon area of Los Angeles, California, [43] which was associated with various historical figures: in the 1920s, it was owned by the parents of actress Mary Astor; and, prior to that Charlie Chaplin rented it. The couple also owns a home in Manhattan's West Village. [44] They announced the birth of their daughter on August 8, 2017. [45] The birth of their second child, a boy, [46] was announced by the Lonely Island's Jorma Taccone in February 2023. [47]
Samberg, who grew up in the East Bay, is a fan of the Oakland Athletics and the Golden State Warriors. [48]
Samberg was raised in a Jewish family, but considers himself "not particularly religious". [49]
† | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003–2004 | The 'Bu | Aaron | 8 episodes; also writer |
2005 | Premium Blend | Himself | Episode: "8.4" |
Arrested Development | Stage Manager | Episode: "Righteous Brothers" | |
House of Cosbys | Cosby Team TriOsby (voice) | 2 episodes | |
2005–2012 | Saturday Night Live | Various Characters | 139 episodes; also writer |
2008 | Human Giant | Jonathan | 4 episodes |
2009 | 2009 MTV Movie Awards | Himself (host) | Television special |
2009–2011 | American Dad! | Ricky the Raptor / Anti-Christ (voices) | Episode: "Rapture's Delight" |
2010 | Freaknik: The Musical | Chad (voice) | Television film |
The Sarah Silverman Program | Troy Bulletinboard | Episode: "Smellin' of Troy" | |
Parks and Recreation | Carl Lorthner | Episode: "Park Safety" | |
2011–2017 | Adventure Time | Party Pat, Bear, Rap Bear | 3 episodes [50] |
2012 | Portlandia | Andy | Episode: "Mixologist" |
30 Rock | Himself | Episode: "The Ballad of Kenneth Parcell" | |
SpongeBob SquarePants | Colonel Carper (voice) | Episode: "Hello Bikini Bottom!" | |
Cuckoo | Dale "Cuckoo" Ashbrick | 7 episodes | |
2012–2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | 5 episodes |
2013 | 28th Independent Spirit Awards | Himself (host) | Television special |
The Awesomes | Various voices | 3 episodes [50] | |
Comedy Central Roast of James Franco | Himself (roaster) | Television special | |
2013–2021 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Jake Peralta | Main role; 153 episodes, also producer |
2014 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | Episode: "Andy Samberg/St. Vincent" |
2015 | The Eric Andre Show | Eric Andre | Episode: "Pauly D & Rick Springfield" |
Major Lazer | Dr Nerd/Dr Bass Drop (voice) | 2 episodes | |
7 Days in Hell | Aaron Williams | Television film; also executive producer | |
67th Primetime Emmy Awards | Himself (host) | Television special [53] | |
2016 | Party Over Here | — | Creator and executive producer |
New Girl | Jake Peralta | Episode: "Homecoming" | |
2017 | Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special | Kenny G | Television special |
Master of None | Nicolas Cage (voice) | Episode: "New York, I Love You" | |
Tour de Pharmacy | Marty Hass | Television film; also executive producer | |
Lady Dynamite | Himself | 2 episodes | |
2018 | Alone Together | — | Executive producer |
Bob's Burgers | Brett (voice) | Episode: "Sleeping with the Frenemy" [50] | |
2019 | 76th Golden Globe Awards | Himself (co-host) | Television special |
PEN15 | — | Executive producer | |
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson | Paul | Episode: "We Used to Watch This at My Old Work"; also executive producer | |
The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience | Jose Canseco | Television special; also executive producer | |
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Heretic (skekGra) (voice) | 4 episodes [54] | |
2020 | Mapleworth Murders | Bran BcBillan | 2 episodes [55] |
Kal Penn Approves This Message | Himself (guest) | Episode: "Kal Penn Approves Voting" | |
2020–2022 | Never Have I Ever | Himself (voice) | 3 episodes |
2021 | Baking It | Himself (host) | 6 episodes |
2022 | The Boys Presents: Diabolical | Gary (Reception Guy) (voice) | Episode: "John and Sun-Hee"; also writer [50] |
2023 | Mulligan | Prophet Dave (voice) | Episode: "The Easter Egg Hunt" |
2023–present | Digman! | Rip Digman (voice) | Main role; also co-creator, writer, and producer [56] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Tiny Tina's Wonderlands | Captain Valentine | Voice [50] |
James Thomas Fallon is an American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2004. He was the host of the late-night talk show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014 and became the anchor of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon following his departure from Late Night.
Joanna Newsom is an American singer-songwriter and actress.
Seth Adam Meyers is an American comedian, television host, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. He hosts Late Night with Seth Meyers, a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to hosting Late Night, Weekend Update, he was a cast member on NBC's sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2014, and served as the host's head writer as well as an anchor of the show's news parody segment from 2006 until he left in 2014.
The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program Saturday Night Live (SNL).
Incredibad is the debut studio album of the American comedy troupe The Lonely Island, released on February 10, 2009, through Universal Republic Records. Composed of writers and childhood best friends Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, the album consists of hip hop-inspired comedy songs and skits with a satirical slant on traditional hip hop culture.
Jorma Christopher Taccone is an American writer, producer, director, comedian, actor, and musician. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island with his childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer. In 2010, Taccone co-wrote and directed the SNL spinoff film MacGruber, which was his directorial debut. He directed his second feature alongside Schaffer, the musical comedy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, which he also co-wrote and co-starred in with Schaffer and Samberg.
"Lazy Sunday" is a single and short film by American comedy troupe The Lonely Island. It was released on December 17, 2005, when it premiered on episode nine, season 31 of Saturday Night Live as the troupe's second Digital Short. Primarily performed by Andy Samberg and fellow cast member Chris Parnell, the song and accompanying music video follow the two comedians as they eat cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery, buy snacks at a convenience store, and smuggle the food into a Sunday afternoon matinee of The Chronicles of Narnia.
Akiva Daniel Shebar Schaffer is an American writer, producer, director, comedian, actor, and musician. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island, along with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone. Schaffer began his career with The Lonely Island making videos for Channel 101. In 2005, Saturday Night Live hired the trio, with Schaffer joining as a writer. In their time at SNL, The Lonely Island pioneered the digital short format, creating popular sketches such as "Lazy Sunday", "I Just Had Sex", "I'm on a Boat", and "Dick in a Box". After SNL, Schaffer went on to direct movies including Hot Rod, The Watch, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers. The Lonely Island has made albums such as Incredibad, Turtleneck & Chain, and The Wack Album. Schaffer also produced a number of TV shows and movies, including MacGruber, PEN15, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, and Palm Springs.
An SNL Digital Short is one in a series of comedic and often musical video shorts created for NBC's Saturday Night Live. The origin of the Digital Short brand is credited to staff writer Adam McKay, who created content for the show in collaboration with SNL hosts, writers, and cast members. The popularity of these segments exploded following the addition of The Lonely Island to the show, and it is to them that credit is given for ushering SNL "into the age of digital online content in a time when it needed to tap into that relevance more than ever." The Lonely Island's digital shorts were originally recorded with consumer grade digital video cameras and edited on personal computers. It is typical for the show's hosts and musical guests to take part in that week's Digital Short, and several shorts have included appearances by celebrities who were not scheduled to appear in any of that episode's live sketches.
Hot Rod is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Akiva Schaffer and written by Pam Brady. The film stars Andy Samberg as amateur accident-prone stuntman Rod Kimble, whose stepfather, Frank, continuously mocks and disrespects him. When Frank becomes ill, Rod raises money for his heart operation by executing his largest stunt yet. The film also stars Jorma Taccone, Sissy Spacek, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Isla Fisher and Bill Hader.
"Dick in a Box" is a song by the American comedy group The Lonely Island featuring American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. The trio—Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone—co-wrote the song with Timberlake, Katreese Barnes, and Asa Taccone. Barnes and Asa Taccone co-produced it with Jorma Taccone. Saturday Night Live (SNL) creator and producer Lorne Michaels asked Samberg to write a musical sketch for the 2006 Christmas episode with Timberlake, who was returning as both host and musical guest. Samberg developed the concept with other members of the group before working with Timberlake on December 14. They recorded the track around midnight and spent the next day and a half filming the corresponding music video.
"Like a Boss" is a song written and recorded by comedy hip hop troupe the Lonely Island and released on their debut studio album Incredibad. The song is a parody of the song "Like a Boss" from Slim Thug's debut album Already Platinum. The parody is narrated by a businessman who describes his increasingly outlandish daily activities as "the boss".
"Jizz in My Pants" is a SNL Digital Short which aired on Saturday Night Live on December 6, 2008, and YouTube on the same day. It serves as the music video for the first single from the Lonely Island's debut album, Incredibad. The video stars the Lonely Island members Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and, briefly, Akiva Schaffer, and also features guest appearances by Justin Timberlake, Molly Sims and Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Portions of the video appear in the James Franco 2010 documentary, Saturday Night, which was filmed during the December 1-6, 2008 production week.
"Motherlover" is the first sequel to "Dick in a Box" by the Lonely Island, also featuring Justin Timberlake. It debuted on Saturday Night Live as an SNL Digital Short on May 9, 2009. The song finds the two ballad singers singing of their desire to have sex with each other's mothers as the ultimate tribute to Mother's Day. Set five months after the events of "Dick in a Box", the video opens with the balladeers being released from jail, only to be faced with the quandary of what to get their respective mothers for Mother's Day.
Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again is a two-hour documentary television special that showcases the years of Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2009. It features interviews with the cast and crew from those years, and aired on NBC on April 15, 2010. It was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Special.
"Jack Sparrow" is a song by American comedy troupe The Lonely Island featuring singer-songwriter Michael Bolton. The song and music video debuted on Saturday Night Live as an SNL Digital Short on May 7, 2011. The plot follows the troupe inviting Bolton to work on a new hip hop track, in which the members rap about meeting at a club and taking women home. Bolton ruins the group's song by instead singing choruses about the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and its primary protagonist Captain Jack Sparrow, but also with references to Forrest Gump, Erin Brockovich, Scarface and Jerry Maguire.
"3-Way " is a song recorded by American comedy music group the Lonely Island, featuring American singers Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga. The R&B and new jack swing track was written by Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Timberlake, while produced by the Futuristics with further production from Asa Taccone and Ryan & Smitty. It appeared as an SNL Digital Short on May 21, 2011, in the episode of the sketch comedy television series Saturday Night Live, which saw Timberlake and Gaga as the host and musical guest, respectively. She commented that Samberg and Timberlake were nervous about presenting the idea to her. The song was released as a single on May 24, 2011, three days after the broadcast.
Aleric Banks, known professionally as Rick tha Rular, is an American percussionist, composer and producer. He is the founder of St. Louis–based StarStrukk Productions, and is best known for his comedy hip hop collaborations with Andy Samberg. Rick and Monique Hines wrote the music for two Saturday Night Live skits, "Like a Boss" and "Shy Ronnie", which was nominated for a 2010 Emmy Award as part of the "Rihanna and Shy Ronnie" Digital Short.
Aidan Mackenzy Bryant is an American actress and comedian. Bryant is most notable for being a cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live for ten seasons, joining the show for its 38th season in 2012, and leaving at the end of its 47th season in 2022. For her work on the series she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is a 2016 American mockumentary musical comedy film directed by Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone and written by and starring Andy Samberg, Taccone, and Schaffer. The trio, collectively known as The Lonely Island, also co-produced the film with Judd Apatow and Rodney Rothman. Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows, Imogen Poots, Joan Cusack, Maya Rudolph, and Chris Redd appear in supporting roles.
... he was born, as David A.J. Samberg—he changed it to Andy at the age of five ...