Matt Besser

Last updated
Matt Besser
2024-03-08 SXSW-2024 Orson-Welles-Roast 05478.jpg
Besser at SXSW 2024
Born
Matthew Gregory Besser

(1967-09-22) September 22, 1967 (age 56)
Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Alma mater Amherst College
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • director
  • producer
  • writer
Years active1988–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2008)​
Children1
Family Joe Besser (first cousin twice removed)
Website mattbesser.com

Matthew Gregory Besser (born September 22, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, director, producer, writer, and one of the four founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, who had their own show on Comedy Central from 1998 to 2000. He hosts the improvisation-based podcast Improv4humans on the Earwolf podcasting network.

Contents

Early life

Besser was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, [1] to parents Diane and Sandy Besser. [2] His father was Jewish, whereas his mother was Christian. Besser is an atheist. [3] [4] He is a quarter German and a quarter French from his mother's side. [5] Besser's grandfather's cousin was Joe Besser of The Three Stooges. [6]

He was recruited to play soccer after starting on his high school team, but instead attended Amherst College with a major in American Studies. There, he started doing stand-up comedy and competed in a contest at UMass that was judged by Judd Apatow. [7] After graduating, he briefly moved to Denver in an attempt to pursue stand-up, but quickly moved to Chicago. He worked various odd jobs, including stints as a substitute teacher, a host at Carnegie Deli and as a host at Dick's Last Resort. [7]

Career

After seeing an improvisational comedy show at Second City iO Theater featuring Dave Koechner, Tim Meadows and Chris Farley, Besser began taking classes there. [7] His improv group Victim's Family (alongside Rick Roman, Adam McKay, Miles Stroth, and Ian Roberts), later renamed The Family (minus Roman, plus Neil Flynn, and Ali Farahnakian), was directed by Del Close, the first long-form group Del focused on. [7]

Besser is a founding member of Upright Citizens Brigade, which began as a sketch comedy group in Chicago in 1990. Original members included Ian Roberts, Ali Farahnakian, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, and Horatio Sanz.

In 1993, UCB were regular guests on stage at the New Variety produced and hosted by R. O'Donnell at the Chicago Improv comedy club. [8]

While performing at the New Variety, Besser was cast and directed by O'Donnell in the New Year's Eve special Twisted, which aired on WFLD Fox 32 TV, Chicago. [9] Twisted also featured Besser (and comedian Michelle Garb) in a series of improvised commercials directed by O'Donnell for McDonald's, Toyota, and Ameritech. [10]

In 1996, the UCB relocated to New York City. Their sketch-comedy series Upright Citizens Brigade aired for three seasons on Comedy Central from 1998 to 2000. The cast consisted of Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. It originally included a voice-over by Del Close. After its cancellation, Comedy Central released all three seasons on DVD.

Besser and the UCB moved on to other projects and opened comedy theaters in New York City and Los Angeles. Besser went on to be the creator and co-star of the Redman & Method Man MTV hidden camera prank show Stung. In 2004, he created and starred in his second Comedy Central show, Crossballs , which mocked news debate shows by pitting fake experts (played by Besser and other comedians) against real people.

Besser has appeared in films such as Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story , Martin & Orloff, Year One , Undead or Alive , Drillbit Taylor , and Junebug , in addition to a number of sitcoms including Reno 911! , How I Met Your Mother , New Girl and alongside his wife Danielle Schneider in Community . In 2003, the UCB filmed their first full-length improvised movie, Wild Girls Gone. In early 2010 the film was screened at several indie theaters in the Los Angeles area and is sold for digital download on iTunes and on DVD at the official UCB Theater website. The troupe had also performed their signature brand of longform improv (ASSSSCAT) in a special for the Bravo channel in 2005. In 2008, they released a DVD entitled ASSSSCAT!: Renegade Improv Comedy through Shout! Factory, which features an uncensored improv performance by the troupe and special guests. The DVD also includes deleted scenes and along with other bonus features.

In 2008, Besser played the part of "Courtney Frenchip", the hippie roommate of David Cross in David's Situation, a pilot made for HBO written by Cross and Bob Odenkirk. The pilot was filmed live on May 9, 2008, but was not picked by HBO as a series. In 2013, he portrayed Edwin Stanton in the "Chicago" episode of Comedy Central's Drunk History . Between 2011 and 2014, he appeared on Parks and Recreation as the morning DJ Crazy Ira.

Besser and the UCB continue to run a Los Angeles comedy theater in Franklin Village. Besser and the UCB perform several times a week at the Los Angeles theater, in their show ASSSSCAT 3000 every Sunday night.

Other work

Besser makes frequent appearances on many podcasts on the Earwolf podcasting network, including Comedy Bang Bang , as well as hosting "The Earwolf Challenge", a reality-competition series where several podcasters compete against each other.

Besser's Comedy Central pilot This Show Will Get You High aired as a sketch comedy special on October 27, 2010. The show featured video shorts and sketches from Besser and Upright Citizens Brigade Theater comedians John Gemberling, Brett Gelman, Paul Rust, and Betsy Sodaro, and Nathan Barnett. [11]

In 2011, Besser began hosting the Improv4humans podcast, where he and guest improvisers perform scenes based on suggestions sent in via Twitter. The podcast releases an episode each week and has differing guests.

Besser wrote and directed his first film, Freak Dance , [12] based on his long-running UCB stage show. The film premiered at the Austin Film Festival on October 21, 2011, and had a limited theatrical and video on-demand release in May 2012. The film was made available on DVD and iTunes on July 10, 2012.

In 2014, Besser and comedian Rich Fulcher had an Adult Swim special air as part of the channel's "4AM Infomercial Parody" series, called In Search Of Miracle Man. Besser and Fulcher hosted the show as two men claiming the second coming of a savior they call "Miracle Man".

Besser co-starred in both seasons of the Hulu comedy series The Hotwives , which stars his wife Danielle Schneider, who also co-created the series. Besser plays the husband of Schneider's character. In 2015, Besser and Schneider played another married couple ("Blake and Karen") in the epilogue of a 2015 episode of the comedy series Community .

Personal life

Besser married actress-comedian Danielle Schneider in 2008. Their daughter was born on July 29, 2013.

Related Research Articles

The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, Horatio Sanz and Drew Franklin. Other early members included Neil Flynn, Armando Diaz, Ali Farahnakian and Rich Fulcher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horatio Sanz</span> Chilean-American actor and comedian

Horacio Sanz, better known by his stage name Horatio Sanz, is a Chilean-American actor and comedian. Sanz was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre</span> Improvisational comedy venue

The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre is an American improvisational and sketch comedy training center and theatre originally founded by Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Walsh (comedian)</span> American actor and comedian (born 1964)

Matthew Paul Walsh is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for his role as Mike McLintock in Veep for which he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He is a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, with which he co-starred in its original television series and the 2015 reboot. He also previously starred in short-lived comedy programs such as Dog Bites Man and Players, and was a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He has also appeared in films such as Road Trip (2000), Bad Santa (2003), School for Scoundrels (2006), Role Models (2008), The Hangover (2009), and The Do-Over (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Roberts (American actor)</span> American actor, comedian and writer (born 1965)

Ian Michael Roberts is an American actor, comedian, writer, and a founding member of the famed Upright Citizens Brigade improv and sketch comedy troupe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Huebel</span> American actor and comedian

Robert Anderson Huebel is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for his sketch comedy work on the MTV series Human Giant and for his role of Dr. Owen Maestro on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital. He also appeared as Russell on the FX/FXX series The League and as Len Novak on the Amazon Prime Video series Transparent. In December 2022, Entertainment Weekly called Huebel "the premier d-bag character actor of his generation".

Danielle Caroline Schneider is an American actress, writer, and improvisational comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She co-created and starred in the Hulu reality TV parody series The Hotwives and currently co-hosts the podcast Bitch Sesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Respecto Montalban</span> Comedy troupe in New York from 1998 to 2005

Respecto Montalban was an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe associated with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City from 1999 until September 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Anne Campbell</span> American actor and comedian

Heather Anne Campbell is an American writer, comedian, podcast host, and actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earwolf</span> American podcasting network

Earwolf is an American comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. In 2011, they announced a partnership with Funny Or Die. It merged with podcast advertising network The Mid Roll in 2014, a separate company founded by Ullrich, to form Midroll Media. Midroll was acquired by the E. W. Scripps Company in 2015. In July 2020, Sirius XM acquired Midroll Media, which includes Stitcher Radio and Earwolf, for $325 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Pally</span> American comedian and actor

Adam Saul Pally is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for starring as Max Blum in Happy Endings and as Dr. Peter Prentice in The Mindy Project. He also starred in Making History and was the executive producer of The President Show.

Ali Reza Farahnakian is an American actor, writer, and improvisational comedian. He is the founder of The Peoples Improv Theater in NYC and co-starred in the Adult Swim comedy series Delocated. He has been married to Beth Saunders since September 2004.

Seth Morris is an American actor, comedian, and writer known for his recurring roles on programs such as Go On, Happy Endings, The Hotwives of Orlando, The League, Kroll Show, and Childrens Hospital.

Betsy Sodaro is an American actress. She is a regular performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. Sodaro is best known for her appearances on comedy programs such as Ghosts, Another Period, Duncanville, Clipped, Animal Practice, Nailed It, Big Time in Hollywood, FL and the Netflix show Disjointed.

Armen Weitzman is an American actor and comedian best known for playing Garfield in the Comedy Central series Another Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Lapkus</span> American actress and comedian

Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus is an American actress and comedian, known for portraying Susan Fischer in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black and Jess in the HBO comedy-drama series Crashing (2017–2019). She has also appeared in the television series Are You There, Chelsea? (2012), Hot in Cleveland (2012), Clipped (2015), The Big Bang Theory (2018–2019), and Good Girls (2020–2021) and in the films Jurassic World (2015), The Unicorn (2018), and The Wrong Missy (2020). She played the voice role of Lotta in the animated comedy series Harvey Girls Forever! (2018–2020).

Jon Daly, sometimes credited as Jonathan C. Daly, Jon C. Daly or Jonathan Barney Daly, is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer best known for his sketch comedy work on the Comedy Central series Kroll Show. In 2013 he starred as Hobbes in the Amazon Studios original series Betas, and also played Agent Filippo in Zoolander 2 (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Tarver</span> American actor

Andrew Tarver is an American actor and comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. He is known for starring as Cary Dubek on the comedy series The Other Two, his role on the Seeso show Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, and for his appearances on comedy podcasts, including Comedy Bang! Bang! and Big Grande's The Teachers Lounge.

Jessica McKenna is an American actress, comedian and singer. McKenna trained with The Groundlings and at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, where she regularly performs. McKenna was one of the stars of Fox's Party Over Here, alongside Nicole Byer and Alison Rich, and hosted the podcast Off Book: The Improvised Musical until 2023.

Nicholas Wiger is an American comedian, improviser, podcast personality, and television writer. He is the co-host of the popular weekly podcast Doughboys, which reviews chain restaurants with guests and includes additional segments centered around snack food and related topics. He is also the co-host of Get Played, a podcast about video games.

References

  1. ↑ Edwards, Gavin. "The Merry Pranksters". Details Magazine. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  2. ↑ "The Funny Ones" selections from the Diane and Sandy Besser Collection / Opening Reception Friday April 20th, 2012, | Eggman & Walrus Art Emporium Archived 2014-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Nashville Scene Review -". www.mattbesser.com. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "Matt Besser: The _Heeb_ Interview – Heeb". heebmagazine.com. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Totally Laime" . Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "A Couple of Stooges, episode #9 of Who Charted? on Earwolf". www.earwolf.com. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "BA #029: Matt Besser". Box Angeles podcast. 19 June 2014.
  8. ↑ Spitznagel, Eric (October 11, 1993). "The New Variety Just Might Make Comedy Dangerous Again". The Third Word magazine Sept/Oct issue.
  9. ↑ Hoffhines, Eric. "Fox 32 Twisted TV with Matt Besser". YouTube. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  10. ↑ Hoffhines, Eric. "Fox 32 Twisted TV with Besser & Garb". YouTube. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
  11. ↑ THIS SHOW WILL GET YOU HIGH on Comedy Central
  12. ↑ Matt Besser interview on blankmaninc.com (July 9, 2012)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.