Matt Braunger
| Matt Braunger | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Matthew Braunger |
| Born |
August 1, 1974 Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Website | Official site |
Matthew "Matt" Braunger (born August 1, 1974) is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. Outside of performing stand-up, Braunger is noted for being a cast member on MADtv during its final season in 2008–2009 and as a recurring guest star on NBC's Up All Night.
Early years
Braunger was born August 1, 1974 in Chicago, Illinois. However, his family moved to Portland, Oregon when he was young. After graduating from Portland's Grant High School,[1] Braunger studied theater at Manhattanville College, in Purchase, New York. After earning his bachelor's degree, he moved to Chicago to develop his career in comedy.[2]
Career
Comedian
Braunger has been featured at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal 2007, The Las Vegas Comedy Festival 2007, South By Southwest, and won “Best Of The Fest” at the inaugural Rooftop Comedy Festival in Aspen.[3] He co-founded the popular Bridgetown Comedy Festival that takes place annually in Portland. His debut stand-up comedy album 'Soak up The Night' was released digitally on July 14, 2009 on Comedy Central Records. In 2009, he was named to Variety's Top 10 Comics to Watch and Comedy Central's Hot 9 in '09 list. 'Soak up the Night' was named to the iTunes REWIND Top 20 Albums of 2009. In 2010, he recorded his half-hour Comedy Central Presents special, and in 2012 his hour-long special, Shovel Fighter, aired on Comedy Central to mixed reviews.[4] He released his third comedy album Big Dumb Animal in 2015 along with a special set to air on Netflix.
Matt's television credits include a recurring role on NBC's Up All Night, a series regular role on MADtv, and various roles on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the Late Show with David Letterman, United States of Tara, Pushing Daisies, Carpoolers, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Acceptable TV, and Live at Gotham. He is also a regular guest on the Chelsea Lately roundtable.
Braunger has performed his stand-up act on television programs such as the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show and Live at Gotham on Comedy Central. He had a Comedy Central Presents special that aired on April 9, 2010. In recent months he has also become a frequent panel guest on Chelsea Lately.
MADtv
Braunger joined the cast of MADtv in 2008 as a feature performer, during the show's final season (14th season; 2008–2009). Despite the short tenure (often not appearing in episodes), Braunger had a recurring character (Careco, one of Coach Hines' troublemaking students) and a sizeable number of celebrity impressions, his most popular including Charlie Sheen, Jimmy Kimmel, William Shatner, William Frawley (as Fred Mertz in an I Love Lucy parody), and J.D. Power of J.D. Power and Associates. He also played newsman Roger Stuart, who he goes on the street to question people about the economy. He is a little off because he was told he didn't have to work today, and is a little drunk due to a lunch time gathering with some of his old college buddies. He starts off small, doing things like banging the microphone into people’s mouths, and stuttering through the questions, but as the day goes on the effects of the alcohol starts to hit him, as he does things like cry uncontrollably, and getting feelings of nausea. He then pulls out a flask from his pocket and starts to tell stories of his former elementary/high school girlfriend (he was 10, she was 16) to the camera. He starts getting sick, and violently starts throwing up. He ends the report with a final message that the economy is not good and wanders into a water fountain.
Characters and Impersonations
| Celebrity | Sketch | Season of First Appearance | Notes |
| Careco | Coach Hines | 14 | Another student in Coach Hines' class |
| Roger Stuart | "Drunk Newsman" | 14 | Newsman |
| Tom Bergeron | Various | 14 | Game show host |
| William Frawley | Various | 14 | As his character Fred Mertz from "I Love Lucy". |
| Andy Griffith | Various | 14 | As his character Andy Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show. |
| Nick Jonas | Various | 14 | Musician; member of the Jonas Brothers |
| Jimmy Kimmel | Various | 14 | Comedian and late night talk show host. |
| John Mayer | Various | 14 | Musician. |
| Al Michaels | Various | 14 | Television sportscaster |
| J.D. Power | Various | 14 | Founder of the J.D. Power and Associates Marketing firm. |
| William Shatner | Various | 14 | Actor |
| Charlie Sheen | Various | 14 | Actor |
Other projects
Braunger and comedian Matt Dwyer hosted a weekly comedy podcast called "MATTs Radio" on mattsradio.com, they taped their final episode on September 30, 2010.
In 2012, Braunger starred in a pilot he created for Comedy Central titled "Braunger", which he co-wrote with The Office writer Brent Forrester. The series was not picked up to series.
Since 2013, Braunger has hosted Ding-Donger with Matt Braunger, a podcast on the Nerdist Podcast Network.
In 2014 he starred in Steel Panther's video for the song "The Burden of Being Wonderful". He has also appeared in Episodes 11 and 12 of Steel Panther TV's internet smash "Demolicious!".
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Box Office Performance | Director | Other notes |
| 2006 | Asian Stories | Deli Customer | N/A | Ron Oda Kris Chin | Comedy (short film) |
| 2007 | Lose Weight with Cancer | Fat Jackson | N/A | Elysia Skye | Comedy (short film) |
| 2008 | Who the F#ck Is Chip Seinfeld? | Himself | N/A | Mike Newman | Comedy (short film) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Total Episodes | Other notes |
| 2007 | Carpoolers | Patient | 1 | |
| 2007 | iCarly | Gary | 1 | |
| 2007 | Pushing Daisies | Rick | 1 | |
| 2008–2009 | MADtv | Various Characters | 12 | |
| 2008 | Late Show with David Letterman | Himself | 1 | |
| 2010 | Blue Mountain State | Darrell | 1 | |
| 2010 | John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show | Himself | 2 | |
| 2010 | United States of Tara | Jarrett | 2 | |
| 2010 | Nick Swardson's Pretend Time | Various | 1 | |
| 2011 | Mash Up | Himself | 1 | Standup and sketch comedy |
| 2011–2012 | Up All Night | Gene Martin | 19 | |
| 2013 | Happy Endings | Kevin | 1 | |
| 2013 | @midnight | Himself | 4 | |
| 2014 | Garfunkel & Oates | Jesse | 1 | |
| 2016 | Agent Carter | Aloysius Samberly | 5 | |
| 2016 | Take My Wife | Bob | 3 |
References
- ↑ Hallett, Alison. "Happening This Weekend: EVERYTHING". Portland Mercury. October 13, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ↑ see http://www.planetmadtv.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9597
- ↑ see http://www.madtv.com/
- ↑ Tedder, Michael. "Matt Braunger Shovel Fighter special review". The Spit Take. Retrieved April 11, 2013.