 |
Ian Roberts | |
|---|---|
 Roberts in 2015 | |
| Born | Ian Michael Roberts July 29, 1965 Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Grinnell College |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1990–present |
Ian Michael Roberts (born July 29, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and a founding member of the famed Upright Citizens Brigade improv and sketch comedy troupe.
Roberts was born in Queens, New York to parents Don and Penny Roberts, but spent most of his childhood in Secaucus, New Jersey, where he moved at age four. [1] In1987 he graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa, where he majored in theater. He moved to Milwaukee and eventually to Chicago where he became involved in improvisational comedy, studying under comedy legend Del Close.
In the early 1990s, Roberts and Matt Besser (along with several other Chicago improv comics) formed the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe. Amy Poehler and Matt Walsh later joined them, forming the UCB foursome who went on to create their own Comedy Central series and open the affiliated Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and Los Angeles, well-known venues for live alternative comedy and improv where many other comics have launched their careers.
Roberts wrote and starred in the limited release film Martin & Orloff , and had supporting roles in films such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy , Bring It On , Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby , Drillbit Taylor , Reno 911!: Miami and Semi-Pro . On the Upright Citizens Brigade's sketch series on Comedy Central, he was often seen as UCB Agent Antoine, and portrayed other sketch characters such as Steve Youngblood and Astronaut Mike Birchwood. A running joke on the sketch series was that his character (Agent Antoine) was thought by the other UCB Agents (Colby, Trotter, Adair) to be a cyborg despite his constant assertions to the contrary.
Roberts, along with his other UCB castmates, has appeared in sketch comedy segments on Late Night with Conan O'Brien for many years. He also had a recurring character in the sitcom Arrested Development , Dr. Fishman (AKA The Literal Doctor, AKA Dr. Wordsmith), and returned for several episodes for the show's revived 4th season on Netflix in 2013.
Circa 2002, he voice-acted in Home Movies, a largely improvised cartoon that has developed a cult following. His character, Tom Wilsonberg, featured in the episode "Stowaway," was an entrepreneur with a gambling addiction and eccentric behavior. [2]
Roberts was one of the additions to the cast of Reno 911! in its final season, as Sgt. Jack Declan. In 2010 he starred with UCB partner Matt Walsh in the Spike TV improvised comedy series Players , created by Walsh, where starred as brothers who ran a sports bar. Roberts and Walsh also directed several episodes. It ran one season, concluding on August 14, 2010.
In September 2010, Roberts appeared with Conan O'Brien in commercials promoting O'Brien's new TBS show. Roberts played the captain of the "Conan Blimp", with O'Brien as a passenger.
Roberts has written several screenplays with writing partner Jay Martel, one of which was recently sold to DreamWorks. They wrote the script for the comedy Get Hard , starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. They were also showrunners for all five seasons of the Comedy Central sketch series Key & Peele . They were executive producers and showrunners of the 2016 TV Land series Teachers .
Roberts lives in Agoura Hills, California, with his wife Katie and their two children, Declan and Josie.[ citation needed ]
Actor
Writer
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.
Reno 911! is an American comedy television series created by Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver for Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically Cops, with comic actors playing the police officers. Lennon, Garant and Kenney-Silver all starred in and are billed as creators of the series.
Second Nature is a long-form improvisational theatre troupe based in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California.
Matthew Gregory Besser 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.
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.
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).
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".
Brian Stack is an American actor, comedian, and writer best known for his sketch comedy work. He worked on all three late-night talk shows hosted by Conan O'Brien including Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on NBC, and Conan on TBS. Stack left Conan in April 2015 to join the writing staff of the CBS series The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Andrew Daly is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred as Forrest MacNeil on the Comedy Central series Review, and had a supporting role in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down as Terrence Cutler. He has also made recurring appearances on television programs such as Silicon Valley, Veep, Modern Family, Black-ish, Trial & Error, the Netflix series The Who Was? Show, Reno 911!, and Comedy Bang! Bang!, as well as animated shows such as Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites, Bob's Burgers, Adventure Time, and Harley Quinn.
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.
The Fracas! Improv Festival is a three-day annual improvisational theatre festival held at The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. The festival is hosted by Second Nature Improv, one of USC's improv troupes. In addition to performances, the festival hosts discussion panels with professional improvisers currently working in television, film, and/or theatre, as well as improv workshops. While the performances and panels are open to the public, workshops are available only to registered festival participants.
Charles Henry Sanders is an American actor, comedian, and Writers Guild Award–winning writer best known for starring as Officer Joe Stubeck in the MTV comedy-action series Death Valley, writing on all five seasons of Key & Peele and creating the YouTube Premium series Weird City. He is currently hosting the hit podcast 'Bald Talk' on iHeartMedia with comedian and actor Brian Huskey.
Brian Huskey is an American character actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy programs such as People of Earth, Childrens Hospital, Veep, and Another Period. He also provides the voice of Regular Sized Rudy on the animated comedy Bob's Burgers.
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.
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).
Upright Citizens Brigade is an American sketch comedy television series. It premiered on August 19, 1998 on Comedy Central, with three seasons of ten episodes each. It features four members of Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational sketch comedy group. The cast includes Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. The cast later reunited for another series called The UCB Show, of a similar format that premiered in 2016 on Seeso.
Colton Dunn is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his role as Garrett McNeil on the NBC workplace comedy Superstore (2015–2021) and for his work on Comedy Central sketch comedy series Key & Peele (2013–2015), where he served as writer, producer, and occasionally performer throughout its five-season run. Dunn also played Herman in Lazer Team (2015) and its sequel Lazer Team 2 (2017).
The UCB Show is an American sketch comedy series that premiered on December 3, 2015 via the Seeso comedy subscription streaming service. The series features members of Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational sketch comedy group. The cast includes Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh, the same actors that appeared on Upright Citizens Brigade, the previous show that aired on Comedy Central in the 1990s. The variety series features various sketches, characters and stand-up shows from the Upright Citizens Brigade theatres in Los Angeles and New York. The show is hosted by the original actors of the theatre and filmed in front of a live studio audience. The UCB Show was renewed for a second season, which premiered January 12, 2017.
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.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
