Matthew Braunger (born August 1, 1974) is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. His most recent special ''Finally Live In Portland'' was launched by Comedy Dynamics in 2019. Outside of performing stand-up, Braunger is noted for being a cast member on ''MADtv'' during its final season in 2008–2009, numerous guest star roles (NBC's ''Up All Night'', Marvel's ''Agent Carter'', Netflix' ''

Disjointed ''Disjointed'' is an American television sitcom created by David Javerbaum and Chuck Lorre and starring Kathy Bates. Twenty episodes of the series were ordered from Warner Bros. by Netflix, with the first 10 episodes premiering on August 25, 2017 ...

''), and numerous voice over roles (Amazon's ''The New VIPs'', Netflix' ''

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 ...

'').

Early years

Braunger was born August 1, 1974, in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. His family moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, when he was young. After graduating from Portland's Grant High School, Braunger studied theater at

Manhattanville College Manhattanville College is a private university in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 at 412 Houston Street in lower Manhattan, it was initially known as Academy of the Sacred Heart, then after 1847 as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart ...

, in

Purchase, New York Purchase is a hamlet in the town and village of Harrison, in Westchester County, New York, United States. One myth explains that its name is derived from Harrison's purchase, where John Harrison was to be granted as much land as he could ride in ...

. After earning his bachelor's degree, he moved to Chicago to develop his career in comedy.

Career

Comedian

Matt Braunger has three hour comedy specials: ''Shovel Fighter'' (Comedy Central, 2012), ''Big Dumb Animal'' (Comedy Dynamics for Comedy Central and Netflix, 2015), and ''Finally Live in Portland'' (Comedy Dynamics for Amazon Prime, 2019). He also has six comedy albums: ''Soak Up the Night'' (Comedy Central, 2009), Shovel Fighter (Comedy Central, 2012), ''Big Dumb Animal'' (Comedy Dynamics, 2015), ''Going Way Back'' (800lb Gorilla Records, 2019), ''Finally Live in Portland'' (Comedy Dynamics, 2019) and "Please Hold Me" (800lb Gorilla Records, 2020). His late night appearances include ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, as part of NBC's ''Tonight Show'' franchise. O'Brien had previously hosted NBC's ''Late Ni ...

'', The Late Late Show, Conan, ''

John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show ''John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show'' is a stand-up comedy television series that aired on Comedy Central in the United States. Hosted by British-American comedian John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-Americ ...

'' and ''

Live at Gotham ''Live at Gotham'' is a standup comedy television show airing on Comedy Central in the United States. The show features up and coming stand up comedians performing live at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City Ne ...

'' on Comedy Central. He tours regularly. 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. He co-founded the popular

Bridgetown Comedy Festival The Bridgetown Comedy Festival is a stand-up comedy festival located in the Hawthorne district of Portland, Oregon that took place every spring from 2008 to 2017, featuring standup comedy showcases, live podcasts, panel discussions and improv comed ...

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 Comedy Central Records is a record label based in New York and owned by Paramount Global. The label specializes in stand-up comedy albums and is distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. The label has r ...

. 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 ''Comedy Central Presents'' is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series e ...

special, and in 2012 his hour-long special, ''Shovel Fighter'', aired on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

. He released his third comedy album ''Big Dumb Animal'' in 2015 along with a special aired on Netflix. Matt released a fourth album and third hour long special ''Finally Live in Portland'' in 2019, the special now streaming on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

. Matt's television credits include ''Mad TV'', ''Up All Night'', ''Marvel's Agent Carter'', ''

The Michael J. Fox Show ''The Michael J. Fox Show'' is an American sitcom television series starring Michael J. Fox, that aired on NBC in the United States from September 26, 2013, to January 23, 2014, as part of the 2013–14 American television season. Fox made his r ...

'', ''

'', ''Happy Endings'', '' Blue Mountain State'', ''Maron'', ''The New VIPs'', ''

'', ''Take My Wife'', ''Man with a Plan'', ''Fuller House'', ''Superstore''; and various roles on ''

'', the ''

'', ''

United States of Tara ''United States of Tara'' is an American television comedy-drama created by Diablo Cody, which aired on Showtime from 2009 to 2011. The series follows the life of Tara (Toni Collette), a suburban artist and mother coping with dissociative identit ...

'', ''

Pushing Daisies ''Pushing Daisies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007, to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life ...

'', ''

Carpoolers ''Carpoolers'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 2, 2007, to March 4, 2008. The show was created by Bruce McCulloch, who also executive produced alongside Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, David Miner, Marsh McCall, Joe ...

'', ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, ...

'', ''

Acceptable TV ''Acceptable.TV'' is a television program created by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab that aired on VH1 from March 23 to May 11, 2007. Each show was composed of several mini-episodes created by the Acceptable.TV staff, with one mini-episode that was subm ...

'', and ''

''. He also was regular guest on the ''

Chelsea Lately ''Chelsea Lately'' is an American Late night television, late night Television comedy, comedy talk show created by Brody Stevens and hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler which was broadcast on E! The show debuted on July 16, 2007, and was produced ...

'' roundtable. His most popular roles are the judgmental Gene Martin on ''Up All Night'' and the annoying Dr. Samberly on ''Marvel's Agent Carter''. He will next be seen on Amazon's ''Upload'', created by Greg Daniels (''The Office''), playing the role of Brad. Braunger has performed his stand-up act on television programs, such as his ''

'' special that aired on April 9, 2010. ''

MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...

'' Braunger joined the cast of ''MADtv'' in 2008 as a feature performer, during the show's final season on FOX (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), a sizeable number of celebrity impressions, his most popular including

Nick Jonas Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...

(with Eric Price and

Johnny A. Sanchez Johnny A. Sanchez (born May 14, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian and actor, best known as a repertory player on ''MADtv'' from 2007 until 2009. Career Johnny A. Sanchez has spent many years as a stand-up comedian and is a veteran of many L ...

as the other two Jonas brothers),

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy series ...

(as Fred Mertz in an ''I Love Lucy'' parody), and

J.D. Power J.D. Power is an American consumer research, data, and analytics firm based in Troy, Michigan. The company was founded in 1968 by James David Power III. It conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for the aut ...

of J.D. Power and Associates, and a popular one-shot character, Roger Stuart, a field news reporter trying to act professional during a report on the economy despite being drunk.

Characters and impersonations

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

titled ''Braunger'', which he co-wrote with ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

'' writer

Brent Forrester Brent Forrester is an American writer and producer, who has written for 6 Emmy Award-winning television comedies. He wrote several episodes of the animated television sitcom ''The Simpsons'' between 1993 and 1997. He has worked as a writer on ''T ...

. The pilot was not picked up to series. Since 2013, Braunger has hosted ''Ding-Donger with Matt Braunger'', a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

on the Nerdist Podcast Network which ended in 2018. He is now runnin
''Advice From A Dipshit with Matt Braunger''
a

independently produced by Matt with his podcasting partner Amanda Rosenberg. 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!''. Braunger is a podcast guest favorite, and has been featured on ''

Never Not Funny ''Never Not Funny'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian Jimmy Pardo, since spring 2006, currently releasing two episodes a week. He and producer/co-host Matt Belknap have appeared in every episode. Comedian Mike Schmidt appeared as co-host f ...

'' w/ Jimmy Pardo, ''

Comedy Bang! Bang! ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' (formerly ''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'') is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009.A Special Thing Forums:Comedy Death-Ray Radio starts today! Popularly known as ''Humanit ...

'', ''

The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It launched on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and producer until ...

'', ''

The Nerdist Podcast ''ID10T with Chris Hardwick'' (formerly ''The Nerdist Podcast'') is a weekly interview show "about what it really means to be a nerd" hosted by Chris Hardwick, once usually accompanied by Jonah Ray and Matt Mira. The audio podcasts are typicall ...

'', ''

You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes ''You Made It Weird'' is a weekly comedy interview podcast, hosted by Pete Holmes. It was hosted on the Nerdist network since October 25, 2011; however, as of August 2022, it is independently distributed. The show originated under the premise t ...

'', ''The Bertcast with Bert Kreischer'', ''All Fantasy Everything,'' ''

Your Mom's House ''Your Mom's House'' is a comedy podcast hosted by married comedians Tom Segura and Christina Pazsitzky. The podcast was started in 2010 and covers a wide range of topics such as ongoing events, comedy, and the daily life of the two co-hosts—inte ...

'' with Tom Segura and Christina Pazitski, ''Bullseye'' with Jesse Thorn, Ryan Sickler's ''The Honeydew'', and many more.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

*
Official sitePodcast
on Megaphone {{DEFAULTSORT:Braunger, Matt 1974 births Living people American stand-up comedians American male television actors American television writers American male television writers Male actors from Portland, Oregon Grant High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Manhattanville College alumni American sketch comedians 21st-century American comedians Comedians from Oregon Screenwriters from Oregon Screenwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers