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Jerrod Carmichael
American comedian (born 1987) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael (/dʒəˈrɒd/ jə-ROD; born April 6, 1987) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker.[1][2]
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Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he later moved to Los Angeles, where his career began in the early 2010s comedy club scene. Carmichael has since released four stand-up comedy specials on HBO: Love at the Store (2014), 8 (2017), Rothaniel (2022), and Don't Be Gay (2025), the third of which won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special. He also co-created, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the semi autobiographical NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show (2015–2017).
Carmichael made his feature film directorial debut when he directed, produced, and starred in the dark comedy film On the Count of Three (2021). In 2022, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for guest hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live.
In 2023, Carmichael hosted the 80th Golden Globe Awards and appeared in the Academy Award-winning film Poor Things. In 2024, he was the subject of the HBO documentary series, Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, which had its world premiere at South by Southwest.
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Early life
Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on April 6, 1987.[3] He has one older brother named Joe.[1] He grew up poor, which is a frequent topic in his stand-up comedy work. In fifth grade, he hosted a morning news show on his elementary school's local access channel.[4]
In 2005, he graduated from Robert B. Glenn High School in Kernersville, North Carolina.[5]
Career
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Carmichael moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20 to pursue a stand-up comedy career, despite never having tried it before.[6] His first time doing stand-up was at an open mic night at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood.[7] Working his way up through the comedy clubs, he appeared in the "New Faces" showcase at the 2011 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal.[8] He appeared on the show The Goodwin Games (2013)[8] and had his breakout role as an actor in the film Neighbors (2014).[1][9] His first HBO stand-up comedy special, Love at the Store (2014), was directed by Spike Lee and filmed at The Comedy Store.[7][10]
Carmichael's second stand-up comedy special, 8 (2017), was directed by friend and fellow comedian Bo Burnham and filmed in the Grand Lodge Room of New York's Masonic Hall.[11] Carmichael next co-created, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the semi-biographical NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show (2015–2017), which was well-received and was notable for broaching topics including the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBT issues, gun rights, politics, and the reality of being black in America.[12][13][14][15][16] He also served as an executive producer for the Fox sitcom Rel (2018–2019) and directed Drew Michael's stand-up comedy special Drew Michael (2018), which was acclaimed for its "unusual style".[17]
Carmichael made an appearance on rapper Tyler, the Creator's album Igor (2019), narrating the album using short phrases to find logic in the title character Igor's state of mind.[18] That same year, he was hired by Quentin Tarantino to co-write a film adaptation based on the Django/Zorro crossover comic book series.[19] He created, directed, produced, and starred in the HBO autobiographical documentaries Home Videos (2019) and Sermon on the Mount (2019).
His feature film directorial debut, On the Count of Three, competed in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival; Carmichael directed, produced, and starred in the film.[20]
His third HBO special, Rothaniel (2022), was also directed by Burnham and earned Carmichael the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.[21] Two days after the release of Rothaniel, Carmichael hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He also won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Television Writing in a Comedy/Variety Specials for his work writing Rothaniel.[22]
In 2023, Carmichael hosted the 80th Golden Globe Awards.[23] That year, he also appeared in the Academy Award-winning film Poor Things alongside Emma Stone.[24]
In 2024, he starred in Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, an HBO documentary series revolving around his life.[25] The series screened at South by Southwest on March 10, 2024,[26] before being released on HBO 19 days later.[27]
On May 24, 2025, his fourth special Don't Be Gay premiered on HBO's streaming service Max.
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Influences
His early comedic influences were George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, and Sinbad.[28]
Personal life
Carmichael lives in New York City.[29] He has discussed his relationships with both men and women in his work,[30][31] before coming out as gay in his comedy special Rothaniel (2022).[32]
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
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Awards and nominations
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See also
References
External links
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