Matt Walsh
Matt Walsh (born October 13, 1964)[1] is an American comedian, actor, director, and writer, 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 the 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 co-starred in films such as Ghostbusters, Life of the Party, Ted, Into the Storm, Brigsby Bear, and Old School.
Matt Walsh | |
---|---|
Walsh in 2014 | |
Born | |
Occupation | Comedian, actor, director, writer |
Years active | 1992–present |
Spouse(s) | Morgan Walsh |
Children | 3 |
Early life
Walsh was born in Chicago, the fourth of seven children of Dick and Audrey Walsh. He graduated from Hinsdale South High School in 1982. While in high school he played on the football team as a backup tight end. He attended Northern Illinois University, where he graduated with a degree in Psychology, also spending a year studying abroad in Austria at Salzburg College.[1]
Career
After college, Walsh took improvisational comedy classes in Chicago, where he would become a regular performer at the Annoyance Theater and ImprovOlympic, where he studied under Del Close. In 1991, he met comedian Matt Besser, with whom he began performing stand-up comedy. Along with Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, and Ian Roberts, he is a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade improv comedy troupe and played "Trotter" in the troupe's sketch comedy series, which ran for three seasons on Comedy Central. Before the show, the UCB comedy foursome had already been doing improv shows at their theatre in New York, which used to be a burlesque house before they remodeled it to become a theatre. To date, they have founded four successful Upright Citizens Brigade comedy theaters located in New York at UCB Chelsea and The East Village UCB, and Los Angeles with UCB Franklin and UCB Sunset.
Besides his sketch work with the Upright Citizens Brigade, Walsh is also known for his memorable supporting roles in popular comedy films in recent years including Cyrus, Old School, The Hangover, Role Models, and Semi-Pro. Walsh also wrote and starred in the cult indie-comedy Martin & Orloff, which had a limited theatrical run in 2002 and 2003. In addition, he was also a correspondent on The Daily Show from 2001 to 2002, and made regular appearances in comedy sketches on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and MTV's Human Giant as well as starring in the Comedy Central mockumentary series Dog Bites Man in the summer of 2006. Walsh has the distinction of having appeared in several Todd Phillips comedy films, most often playing characters aptly named "Walsh".
In 2010, Walsh created the improvised comedy series Players for Spike TV. Walsh (creator, writer, director and executive producer of the show) stars in the series alongside his Upright Citizens Brigade partner Ian Roberts, as two brothers who run a sports bar together. The show aired for one season, concluding on August 14, 2010.[2]
Walsh currently hosts the podcast Bear Down[3] with comedian Scot Armstrong (screenwriter of Old School) where they discuss their favorite football team The Chicago Bears and do sports-themed comedy bits such as fake call-ins and in-character interviews. The podcast has also featured appearances by comedians such as Horatio Sanz, Ian Roberts, Joseph Nunez, and Matt Price.
In 2010, Walsh had recurring roles on the NBC comedy series Outsourced and on the HBO comedy series Hung. In 2012, he began co-starring as Mike McLintock in the HBO series Veep, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2016 and 2017. During that year, Walsh portrayed J. R. R. Tolkien in The Dead Authors Podcast.
Walsh directed his first feature film High Road, an indie-comedy he co-wrote with Josh Weiner.[4] The film was released on March 6, 2012.[5] Walsh co-wrote his second film, A Better You, with Brian Huskey, who also stars in the film.[6]
In the movie Into the Storm, Walsh stars as Pete Moore, who is the driver of the Tornado Intercept Vehicle nicknamed "Titus."[7]
He appeared in the MyCareer mode in the basketball simulation game NBA 2K17.[8]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Tomorrow Night | ||
Talent | Ted | ||
1999 | Fatty Drives the Bus | Man in Baseball Uniform | |
2000 | Road Trip | Crime Scene Photographer | |
2002 | Martin & Orloff | Dr. Eric Orloff | |
2003 | Pushing Tom | Co-Worker | |
Old School | Walsh | ||
The Test | Joe | Short film | |
Death of a Dynasty | Frat Boy No. 1 | ||
Elf | Eye Witness | ||
Brainwarp | Captain Maniac | Video | |
Bad Santa | Herb | ||
2004 | The Sensual Lover of Bindalele | Budo | Short film |
Starsky & Hutch | Eddie | ||
Christmas with the Kranks | Neighbor #2 | ||
2006 | School for Scoundrels | Walsh | |
2007 | Wild Girls Gone | Sheriff Terry Moran | |
Dante's Inferno | Mussolini / Fox Reporter / Airport Security Pursuer (voice) | ||
2008 | Lower Learning | Mr. Conroy | |
Be Kind Rewind | Officer Julian | ||
Drillbit Taylor | Not for Pot Driver | ||
Semi-Pro | Father Pat | ||
Step Brothers | Drunk Corporate Guy | ||
Role Models | Davith of Glencracken | ||
2009 | Mystery Team | Jim | |
I Love You, Man | Impatient Golfer | ||
The Hangover | Dr. Valsh | ||
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard | Captain Ortiz | ||
May the Best Man Win | Fred Anderton | ||
2010 | Cyrus | Tim | |
Due Date | TSA Agent | ||
Queens of Country | Cleveland Norvis | ||
Cherry | Prof. Van Auken | ||
Breast Picture | Jack | ||
2011 | Freak Dance | Adolf Hitler, Jr. | |
2012 | High Road | Man | Also co-writer and director |
Ted | Thomas | ||
Free Samples | Mr. Hightower | ||
Queens of Country | Cleveland Norvis | ||
The Brass Teapot | Antique Dealer | ||
2013 | Movie 43 | Amanda's Dad | Segment: "Middleschool Date" |
Coffee Town | Police officer | ||
2014 | Hits | Dave | |
Into the Storm | Pete | ||
Sex Ed | Washout | ||
Jason Nash Is Married | Randy Plymouth | ||
A Better You | Patrick | Also writer and director | |
2015 | Get Hard | Bathroom Stall Man | |
Bad Night | Ari | ||
2016 | Other People | Steve | |
The Darkness | Gary Carter | ||
The Do-Over | Shecky | ||
Ghostbusters | Rourke | ||
Wild Oats | Forbes | ||
Keeping up with the Joneses | Dan Craverston | ||
Office Christmas Party | Ezra | ||
2017 | Brigsby Bear | Greg Pope | |
2018 | A Futile and Stupid Gesture | Matty Simmons | |
Family[9] | Dan | ||
Life of the Party | Daniel “Dan” Miles | ||
Under the Eiffel Tower | Stuart | ||
Widows | Ken | ||
2019 | The Perfect Date | Charlie Rattigan | |
TBA | Unplugging | Dan | Filming; Also writer, producer |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Escape from It's a Wonderful Life | Clarence / Various (voice) | |
1996–2000 | Saturday Night Live | Angry Dad / Construction Worker / Hidden Camera Victim | 3 episodes |
1996–2004 | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Various | |
1997 | Apartment 2F | Iron Stomach | 2 episodes |
1998–2000 | Upright Citizens Brigade | Trotter/Various Characters | 30 episodes |
2000 | Strangers with Candy | Banker / Doctor Robots | Episode: "Yes You Can't" |
2001 | Late Friday | Old Man | Episode: "#1.6" |
2001–2002 | The Daily Show | Correspondent | |
2004 | Cheap Seats without Ron Parker | Gordon Sumner | Episode: "#Stanford-Cal: The 1982 Big Game" |
Arrested Development | The D.A. | Episode: "Let 'Em Eat Cake" | |
O'Grady | Kevin's Dad (voice) | Episode: "The Fly" | |
2004–2009 | Reno 911! | Ranger Glen / Ian Meltzer | 5 episodes |
2006 | Dog Bites Man | Kevin Beeken | 9 episodes |
2007–2008 | Human Giant | Various characters | 9 episodes |
2008 | Worst Week | Peacemon | Episode: "The Monitor" |
The Sarah Silverman Program | Tennis Player | Episode: "Patriot Tact" | |
Little Britain USA | Senator's Press Rep / Businessman at Urinal | 3 episodes | |
2009 | The League | Mr. Freidman | Episode: "The Draft" |
Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Ray (voice) | Episode: "Fry Legs" | |
2010 | Players | Bruce Fitzgerald | 10 episodes |
Party Down | Larry Duckett | Episode: "Cole Landry's Draft Day Party" | |
Nick Swardson's Pretend Time | Police Chief | Episode: "Relapse Into Refreshment" | |
Community | Joshua the Groundskeeper | Episode: "Aerodynamics of Gender" | |
Funny or Die Presents | Producer | Episode: "#1.5" | |
Hung | Matt Saline | 6 episodes | |
Childrens Hospital | Cameraman / Dr. Trotter | 2 episodes | |
2010–2011 | Outsourced | Jerry Stern | 8 episodes |
2011 | Jon Benjamin Has a Van | Dr. Nathan Kumerly / Rob Shutterman | 2 episodes |
2011–2013 | NTSF:SD:SUV | President Grant / NASA Agent | 2 episodes |
2012 | Animal Practice | Alan Waxman | Episode: "Pilot" |
Happy Endings | Duckie Blenkinship | Episode: "KickBall 2: The Kickening" | |
MyMusic | Mr. Indie | Episode: "Back in Black!" | |
2012–2019 | Veep | Mike McLintock | 65 episodes |
2013 | Parks and Recreation | Leonard Tchulm | Episode: "Emergency Response" |
The Aquabats! Super Show! | Santa Claus | Episode: "Christmas with the Aquabats!" | |
2013–2014 | Drunk History | Joseph Pulitzer / KKK Member | 2 episodes |
2013–2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | L. Jefe Maninchargo | 11 episodes |
2014 | How I Met Your Mother | Captain Dearduff | Episode: "Sunrise" |
Bob's Burgers | Rick (voice) | Episode: "The Kids Rob a Train" | |
2014–2016 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Detective Lohank | 3 episodes |
2015 | Rick and Morty | Sleepy Gary (voice) | Episode: "Total Rickall" |
Playing House | Phil | Episode: "Employee of the Month" | |
Hot in Cleveland | Arnie | Episode: "Bad Girlfriends" | |
2016 | Animals. | Grey Horse (voice) | Episode: "Rats" |
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Jason Clark | Episode: "Doping" | |
2017 | Teachers | Harvey | Episode: "Getting Drilled" |
Black-ish | President Schock | Episode: "Liberal Arts" | |
Do You Want To See a Dead Body? | Himself | Episode: "A Body and a Train" | |
2018 | Crazy Ex-Girlfriend | Frank | Episode: "Oh, Nathaniel, It's On!" |
Another Period | Father | Episode: "Little Orphan Garfield" | |
The Good Fight | Judge Oliver Walenstadt | Episode: "Day 443" | |
Alex, Inc. | Detective Phipps | Episode: "The Grande Apologano" | |
No Activity | Larry Turnbull | 3 episodes | |
Champaign ILL | Lester Noyce | Episode: "Cherry Vintage Rascal" | |
The Guest Book | Dave | Episode: "Someplace Other Than Here" | |
2019 | Weird City | Tawny's Dad | Episode: "A Family" |
Desus & Mero | Dexter Homeland | Episode: "Electric Lemonade" |
References
- "Matt Walsh Biography". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016.
- "Spike TV greenlights 'Players'".
- Bear Down
- "Matt Walsh to take the 'High Road'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- Evans, Bradford. "Talking to Matt Walsh, Horatio Sanz, and Joe Lo Truglio, the Cast and Crew of the New Movie High Road". www.vulture.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- "Hypnotherapy Run Amok: Matt Walsh's 'A Better You' At SBIFF – Hot Trailer". Deadline. January 21, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- Trumbore, Dave (July 5, 2014). "Matt Walsh Talks INTO THE STORM, Researching Storm Chasing, Cameras on the Titus, Driving the Vehicle, Tornado Anecdotes & His Character's Serious Nature". Collider. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- Sarkar, Samit (August 26, 2016). "NBA 2K17 demo lets you start the career mode early, for free". Polygon. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
- Fear, David (March 6, 2018). "20 Movies We Can't Wait to See at SXSW 2018".
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Walsh (comedian). |
- Matt Walsh at IMDb
- Audio interview on The Sound of Young America: MP3 Link
- Interviewed by Josh Fulton on Improv Resource Center