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Brendan Hunt

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Brendan Hunt
Hunt in 2023
Born (1972-06-28) June 28, 1972 (age 52)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian, screenwriter
Years active1996–present
PartnerShannon Nelson (engaged)
Children2

Brendan Hunt (born June 28, 1972) is an American actor and writer known for roles in the films We're the Millers (2013) and Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) as well as voicing two characters in the video game Fallout 4 (2015).[1] He is a co-creator of the Apple TV+ sitcom Ted Lasso, as well as a writer and regular cast member (Coach Willis Beard).[2]

Early life and education

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In 1996, Hunt completed the theater program at Illinois State University.[3] While there, he performed at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival and completed a week-long master class under the guidance of actress Judith Ivey.[4]

Career

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After getting his theater degree, Hunt studied with The Second City in Chicago before heading to Amsterdam and joining the Boom Chicago comedy troupe.[5]

Boom Chicago

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From 1998 to 2008, Hunt was a regular writer and performer with the Boom Chicago comedy and improvisational troupe.[citation needed] Hunt was the head writer and featured in the Comedy Central (Netherlands) satirical news program Comedy Central News (CCN) that was produced by Boom Chicago.[1] While with the group, Hunt performed alongside Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses, We're the Millers, Saturday Night Live), Jordan Peele (Key and Peele) and Seth Meyers (Late Night with Seth Meyers, Saturday Night Live). [citation needed]

While Boom Chicago was based in Amsterdam, they embarked on a "comedy exchange" with The Second City performing at their Chicago, Illinois theater in 2003.[6] The Chicago Tribune noted Hunt's performance as soccer star Roy Keane, calling it the "best character of the night."[6]

While with Boom, Hunt co-wrote and co-starred in a pair of two-man shows at Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Iconic Yanks with Meyers and Here Comes the Neighborhood with Peele.[3]

Five Years in Amsterdam

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After returning to the United States, Hunt developed a one-man show based on his time in the Netherlands called Five Years in Amsterdam.[7]

In the performance, Hunt takes a comedic and touching look back at five years living in Europe as an American. Among topics examined are relationships, drug excesses, experiences at a fetish club and his feelings about the Match of the Day anthem and Alan Hansen.[7] He also recounts a rough childhood with "an absent father" and an alcoholic mother.[7]

In its review, The Stage said of the show, "each drop of comedy gold is lovingly extracted in a superbly crafted, unflinchingly honest and enormously enjoyable whole" and called it a "must see" at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[7]

Hunt performed the play at the 2007 edition of The Comedy Festival in Aspen, Colorado.[1] and also took the show on the road to The Second City in Chicago, Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City and iO West in Los Angeles.[3]

Sacred Fools

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In 2007, Hunt joined the Sacred Fools Theater Company. Hunt's time at Sacred Fools included a turn as the lead in the musical Savin' Up for Saturday Night that proved to be an Ovation Awards-winning role. Hunt won Lead Actor in a Musical at the 2010 Ovation Awards.[8]

Absolutely Filthy

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In 2013, Hunt wrote and was the lead actor in a dark comedy parody of the Charlie Brown Peanuts comic strip called Absolutely Filthy. The play has won multiple awards in both Los Angeles and New York.

Hunt based his lead character, The Mess, on an older version of the character of Pig-Pen, who is now homeless and trying to cope with his recent breakup from The Bereaved, who is based on the Peanuts character Sally Brown.[5] The setting of the play is a reunion of the old gang during the funeral of The Deceased (a version of Charlie Brown).[9] For legal reasons, the characters were given abstract names in the program of the show, though the characters are referred to by their familiar Peanuts names on stage.[10]

To illustrate his cloud of dust, Hunt keeps a Hula Hoop in constant motion around his body throughout the show.[9]

Hunt came up with the idea of the play while dancing alone during the Burning Man festival with the resulting kick-up of dust in the sunrise reminding him of Pig-Pen.[5] The play was originally created as a series of 10-minute sketches for the Sacred Fools Theater Company as part of its "Serial Killers" late-night series.[10] Hunt was asked to turn the sketches into a single play.[5]

The play has received overwhelmingly favorable reviews, with The New York Observer saying it creates an "endorphin high that accompanies laughing until your eyes water."[5] The LA Weekly gave accolades for Hunt's performance, saying he "steals the show.".[9]

Hunt and the play also won several awards. The 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival named Absolutely Filthy as "Top of the Fringe" and Best Comedy.[11] At the 2014 FringeNYC, the play won three awards that included an acting award for Hunt as well as prizes for overall play and TheaterMania audience favorite.[12] Hunt was nominated in four categories in the 2014 LA Weekly Theater Awards, winning the top prize in the categories of Best Male Performance and Comedy Ensemble.[13]

Film, TV and video game work

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After roles in episodes of the television series Reno 911!, Parks and Recreation, Community and How I Met Your Mother, Hunt made his major motion picture debut as the "Sketchy Dude" in 2013's We're the Millers, which featured his Boom Chicago castmate Jason Sudeikis.[1]

Hunt had a role in another Sudeikis vehicle, 2014's Horrible Bosses 2, playing a sex addiction group member.

An Emmy Award nomination was among the accomplishments for Hunt as a regular performer on the Comedy Central series Key & Peele. Along with appearing in several sketches, Hunt was nominated at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.[14] The nomination, with Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele and Rich Talarico, was for the Key & Peele Super Bowl Special.[14]

In 2013, Hunt co-wrote a Premier League advertising campaign for NBC Sports featuring himself as an assistant coach to Tottenham Hotspur with Sudeikis.[15] Sudeikis told GQ magazine that the two drew off their years in Amsterdam playing FIFA together before and after shows.[16] The commercials were named as the second-best TV soccer sketch by Paste with the magazine saying, "Brilliant though Sudeikis is, the unsung hero of these sketches is Brendan Hunt."[17] The campaign received a Bronze award at the 2014 Sports Clio Awards.[18]

Hunt was a writer and performer in the 2015 online comedy-documentary series Thank You and Sorry for Google Play.[1] The six-episode series featured a mix of comedy sketches and a real-life look at musician Jack Antonoff and his tours with Bleachers.[19]

In 2015, Hunt brought his voice as one of the main DJs in the game Fallout 4. Hunt plays DJ Travis of Diamond City Radio, whose monotone voice reflects on the surroundings of the ruins of Boston now known as the Commonwealth.[20] Hunt also plays Detective Perry, who is seen in a holotape.[1]

Starting in 2014, Hunt also made his mark in children and teen television with roles in the Disney Channel series Dog With a Blog and Austin & Ally, as well as Disney XD's Kirby Buckets.[1]

Hunt co-created the series Ted Lasso and appears as a regular cast member; the series launched on Apple TV+ in 2020.[2]

He has appeared in several commercials, including ads for GEICO, Skittles, Oscar Mayer, and Volkswagen.[21]

Other work

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At the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival, Hunt debuted the one-man play Still Got It.[22] In the show, Hunt plays a person reeling from making a bad toast at his friend’s wedding.[22] Hunt's performance was honored for top Solo Performance at the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival Awards.[23]

In 2023, Hunt began performing his solo show The Movement You Need. In the show, Hunt describes his encounter with Paul McCartney and recounts his life experiences in relation to The Beatles.[24]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1999 An Amsterdam Tale Busker
2002 Snapshots Hooligan in red light district
2003 The American Bickman Burger Peter Pike Short
2005 The Adventures of Big Handsome Guy and His Little Friend Bar Freak Short
2006 Day is Done Thin Thug
2008 Freak Dance Prank Short
2009 Continuum The Scientist Short
2013 We're the Millers Sketchy Dude
2013 Snail Issac Short
2014 ETXR Tweaker
2014 Horrible Bosses 2 Sex Addiction Group Member
2017 A Happening of Monumental Proportions Kyle

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 Derek and Simon: The Show Karaoke DJ 2 episodes
2007 Comedy Central News (CCN) Recurring Player Series on Comedy Central (Netherlands)
2009 Reno 911! Soccer Hooligan Episode: "Extradition to Thailand"
2010 Parks and Recreation Man #3 Episode: "Sweetums"
2010 Everyone Counts Glen
2010 Svetlana Professor Winthrop
2011 Zeke and Luther Johnnie King Episode: "Trucky Cheese"
2011 Community Hitchhiker Episode: "Studies in Modern Movement"
2012 How I Met Your Mother Hot Dog Guy Episode: The Stamp Tramp
2012–2015 Key and Peele Whittling Pirate/Suspect/The Clown/Creepy Van Guy 4 episodes
2013 The Bridge Morgue Attendant Episode: "Pilot"
2014 Dog with a Blog Bill Episode: "Stan Runs Away"
2014, 2016 Austin & Ally Spike Stevens 2 episodes
2015 MOCKpocalypse EDM
2015 Thank You and Sorry Self Documentary
2015 Animation Domination High-Def (voice) Episode: "The Ballad of Ninja Turtles' Shredder"
2015 Kirby Buckets Lead Clown Episode: "Send In The Clowns"
2016 Son of Zorn Eric Episode: "A Taste of Zephyria"
2017 Girlboss Frederick Episode: "Vintage Fashion Forum"
2017 Casual Rich Episode: "Fresno"
2017 Adam Ruins Everything Instructor/Professor Loiacono 2 episodes
2019 Cousins for Life Miles Episode: "Trapped for Life"
2019 Bless This Mess Frank 2 episodes
2020–2023 Ted Lasso Coach Beard 34 episodes
2023 Celebrity Jeopardy! Himself 2 episodes
2024 After Midnight Himself Episode #20

Video games

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Year Title Voice Notes
2004 Call of Duty: Finest Hour Additional Voices
2015 Fallout 4 Travis Miles / Francis Perry
2016 Earthfall Jonas
2017 Final Fantasy XV: Comrades Additional Voices
2022 FIFA 23 Coach Beard

Online

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Year Title Role Notes
2012 CollegeHumor CH Originals Sheriff/Museum Director 2 episodes
2015 Thank You and Sorry Various
2016 Toasty Tales Pancakey Voice

Credits

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Credits in films, television, theater and video game productions[1]
Year Title Medium Role Notes
2007 Comedy Central News (CCN) TV series Head writer
2015 Key and Peele Super Bowl Special TV series Writer
2015 Thank You and Sorry Online series Writer

Accolades

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List of awards and nominations
Year Award / Film Festival Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2010 Ovation Awards Lead Actor in a Musical Savin' Up for Saturday Night Won [8]
2014 LA Weekly Theater Awards Comedy Ensemble Absolutely Filthy Won [13]
Leading Male Performance Won
Male Comedy Performance Nominated
Playwriting Nominated
FringeNYC Awards Acting Won [12]
2015 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special (shared with Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele and Rich Talarico) Key & Peele Super Bowl Special Nominated [14]
2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival Awards Solo Performance Still Got It Won [23]
2021 Writers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Ted Lasso Won [25]
Outstanding Writing for a New Series Won
Producers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Production of Episodic Television, Comedy Nominated [26]
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated [27]
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Won [28]
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Nominated
2022 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Won [29]
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series Won [30]
2023 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Nominated [29]
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated [31]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Brendan Hunt". IMDb. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Haring, Bruce (May 30, 2020). "Apple's 'Ted Lasso' Comedy Series Offers First Look At Jason Sudekis In Title Role". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Cast/Crew". AbsolutelyFilthy.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  4. ^ "2010 Ovation Nominee Profile: Brendan Hunt". This Stage Magazine. December 14, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e Vranjican, Nicole (August 20, 2014). "Charlie Brown Is Dead and the NYC Fringe Festival Has Gotten Absolutely Filthy". The New York Observer. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Jones, Chris (June 28, 2003). "Humor Makes Long Journey from Amsterdam to Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d Dowell, Ben (August 14, 2007). "Brendan Hunt: Five Years in Amsterdam review at Pleasance Dome Edinburgh". The Stage. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "2009/2010 Ovation Award Winners". January 17, 2011. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Keshaviah, Mayank (January 31, 2013). "Absolutely Filthy". LA Weekly. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Meisel, Myron (February 18, 2013). "Absolutely Filthy: Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  11. ^ Stacy Jones Hill (June 30, 2013). "2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival Award Winners". Hollywood Fringe Festival. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Awards 2014".
  13. ^ a b "L.A. Weekly Theater Awards 2014: The Winners". LA Weekly. April 7, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  14. ^ a b c "67th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". Emmys.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  15. ^ Nudd, Tim (August 19, 2013). "How Jason Sudeikis Learned to Love the Other Football for NBC Sports". Adweek. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  16. ^ Oliver Franklin-Wallis (September 16, 2013). "GQ&A: Jason Sudeikis". GQ. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  17. ^ Grove, Daryl (October 31, 2014). "TV's 11 Funniest Soccer Sketches". Paste. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  18. ^ "Archive". Sports Clio Awards. Archived from the original on August 29, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  19. ^ Bacle, Ariana (June 4, 2015). "Jack Antonoff debuts trailer for his new comedy-doc series, Thank You and Sorry". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  20. ^ Noble, Russell (November 26, 2015). "Fallout 4: Full review (Xbox One)". Techly. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  21. ^ "Brendan Hunt TV Commercials". iSpot. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  22. ^ a b "Still Got It". Hollywood Fringe Festival. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  23. ^ a b Stacy Jones Hill (June 26, 2016). "2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival Award Winners". Hollywood Fringe Festival. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  24. ^ Riley, Jenelle (October 27, 2023). "Brendan Hunt Talks Honoring His Late Mother and Love for The Beatles With New One-Man Show". Variety. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  25. ^ "'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,' 'Promising Young Woman' Win at Writers Guild Awards 2021". March 21, 2021.
  26. ^ "Amazon and Netflix Lead Producers Guild Nominations, All-Black 'Judas' Team Makes History". March 8, 2021.
  27. ^ "2021 SAG Awards: The Complete Nominations List". February 4, 2021.
  28. ^ Hipes, Patrick (July 13, 2021). "Emmy Nominations: 'The Crown', 'The Mandalorian' Top List; HBO/HBO Max Edges Netflix For Top Spot – Full List Of Nominees". Deadline. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  29. ^ a b "Brendan Hunt". Television Academy. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  30. ^ Lewis, Hilary; Coates, Tyler (January 12, 2022). "SAG Awards: 'House of Gucci,' 'The Power of the Dog' Lead Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  31. ^ "Nominations Announced for the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®" (Press release). Screen Actors Guild. January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
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