Jermaine Fowler is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for his role as King Akeem Joffer's long-lost son Lavelle Junson in the 2021 romantic comedy film '' Coming 2 America'' and Franco Wicks on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

television series ''

Superior Donuts ''Superior Donuts'' is a play by American playwright Tracy Letts. Its world premiere was staged by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 2008. It premiered on Broadway in 2009. Synopsis The play focuses on the relationship between despo ...

''.

Early life

The second oldest of four children, Fowler and his twin brother were born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and raised in

Hyattsville, Maryland Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and also a close, urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States Census. History Before Europeans reached the area, the upper An ...

, where he graduated from Northwestern High School. Fowler dropped out of college at age 20 and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. By day he job-searched and by night he performed at open mics in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

Career

2012–2015: Comic Special

In 2012, he began touring the country performing at comedy clubs and colleges. In 2013, he was cast in MTV2's ''

Guy Code ''Guy Code'' is an American reality comedy television series on MTV2. The series debuted on November 15, 2011, and features various pop culture entertainers, top comics, athletes, and specialized experts who tell the story of the special code o ...

'' and writing, producing, and starring in his own pilots. In 2014, he starred in ''

Friends of the People ''Friends of the People'' is an American sketch comedy television series. It was slated to premiere on TruTV in summer 2014, but was pushed to October 28, 2014, as part of the network's shift in their programming direction. Many of the cast mem ...

'' which lasted two seasons on TruTV. In 2015, Fowler produced and starred in his debut comedy special, "Give 'Em Hell, Kid", that he licensed to

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

''Superior Donuts''

In 2017, Fowler became an executive producer and star of the CBS sitcom ''

''. The show's popularity led to it being renewed for a second season on March 23, 2017. The series was formally cancelled after two seasons. He also has a recurring role on HBO's '' Crashing.'' On September 17, 2017, Fowler was the announcer of the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

Filmography

*''

'' (2012) *''

The Eric Andre Show ''The Eric Andre Show'' is an American surreal sketch comedy television series which began airing on May 20, 2012. The show premiered on Adult Swim and is a parody of late night talk shows. The series is hosted by comedian Eric André and forme ...

'' (2012) *''

Funny or Die Presents ''Funny or Die Presents'' is a half-hour sketch comedy show that spawned from the comedy website Funny or Die, created by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. It premiered on HBO on February 19, 2010. Creation Funny or Die Presents was created in June 2 ...

'' (2013) *'' Lucas Bros. Moving Co.'' (2014–2015) *''

BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animation, adult animated Black comedy, black Comedy drama, comedy-drama streaming television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F ...

'' (2014) *''

Comedy Underground with Dave Attell ''Comedy Underground with Dave Attell'' is a stand-up comedy series on Comedy Central. The series has featured fellow comics Jeff Ross, Amy Schumer, Jermaine Fowler, Ari Shaffir, Judah Friedlander, Brad Williams, Jay Oakerson, Nikki Glaser, Kur ...

'' (2014) *''

'' (2014) *''Delores and Jermaine'' (2015) *''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...

'' (2015) *''

Give 'Em Hell, Kid Give may refer to: making someone get or receive something from someone Places * Give, Denmark, a small town ** Give Municipality, a former municipality Music * ''Give'' (Balkan Beat Box album), 2012 album by Balkan Beat Box * ''Give'' (The Bad ...

'' (Standup Comedy Show, 2016) *''Morris and the Cow'' (2016) *'' Crashing'' (2017) *''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' (2017) * ''

Lip Sync Battle ''Lip Sync Battle'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on April 2, 2015, on the American cable network Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and John K ...

'' (2017) *''

'' (2017–2018) *''

Sorry to Bother You ''Sorry to Bother You'' is a 2018 American surrealist black comedy film written and directed by Boots Riley, in his directorial debut. It stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, Dav ...

'' (2018) *''

Buffaloed ''Buffaloed'' is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Tanya Wexler and written by Brian Sacca. It stars Zoey Deutch, Judy Greer, Jermaine Fowler, Noah Reid, and Jai Courtney. The film tells the story of a paroled convict who will do anything ...

'' (2019) * ''

The Opening Act ''The Opening Act'' is a 2020 American comedy film written and directed by Steve Byrne, in his directorial debut. It stars Jimmy O. Yang, Alex Moffat, Cedric the Entertainer, Neal Brennan, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Jermaine Fowler, Ken Jeon ...

'' (2020) * ''

RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race ''RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race'' is an American reality competition series that premiered April 24, 2020 on VH1. A spin-off of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the series features celebrities competing for charity, mentored by alumni of the ''Dra ...

'' (2020) * ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelist ...

'' (2020) * ''

Judas and the Black Messiah ''Judas and the Black Messiah'' is a 2021 biographical crime drama film about the betrayal of Fred Hampton (played by Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in late-1960s Chicago, by William O'Neal (played ...

'' (2021) * '' Coming 2 America'' (2021) * '' RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars 6'' (2021) * ''

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur ''Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur'', or simply ''Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur'', is an American animated television series developed by Steve Loter, Jeffrey M. Howard, and Kate Kondell and produced by Cinema Gypsy Productions, Disney T ...

'' (2022) * ''

Tuca & Bertie ''Tuca & Bertie'' is an American animated sitcom created by cartoonist Lisa Hanawalt for Netflix. It began streaming on May 3, 2019. It stars Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong, with a supporting cast including Steven Yeun, John Early, Richard E. Gra ...

'' (2022) * ''

Am I Ok? ''Am I OK?'' is a 2022 American comedy-drama film directed by Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne and written by Lauren Pomerantz. It stars Dakota Johnson, Sonoya Mizuno, Jermaine Fowler, Kiersey Clemons, Molly Gordon, June Diane Raphael, Tig Not ...

'' (2022) * ''

The Blackening ''The Blackening'' is the sixth album by American heavy metal band Machine Head. Released on March 27, 2007, in the United States, ''The Blackening'' sold 16,000 units in its first week, and became Machine Head's third highest charting release a ...

'' (2022) *'' Riverdance: The Animated Adventure'' (2021) *'' Late Bloomers'' (2023)

References

External links

* 1988 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century American comedians 21st-century African-American people African-American male actors African-American male comedians American male comedians American male writers American film producers Living people People from Washington, D.C. People from Hyattsville, Maryland {{US-actor-stub