Brooks Patrick Wheelan (born August 21, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, voice actor, and podcaster. First breaking through as a cast member on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves as ...

'' for the 2013–2014 season, he has had a half-hour special for

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 programmin ...

, hosts the podcast Entry Level, acted in various movies and shows including '' Big Hero 6: The Series'', and opened for

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

at numerous sets.

Early life and education

Wheelan was born in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. I ...

, on August 21, 1986, and raised in

Manchester, Iowa Manchester is a city in Delaware Township, Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,065 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Delaware County. Manchester is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and ...

, the son of Chris and Jim Wheelan. Growing up, his interest mostly focused on science and mathematics. He performed regularly in

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

during his college years. He graduated from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

in 2009 with a biomedical engineering degree.

Career

Wheelan started performing

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories ...

in his late teens in

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, then went to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

and Chicago, before eventually moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where he began to perform stand-up comedy full-time. Before joining ''Saturday Night Live'', he performed stand-up comedy in Los Angeles while he had a job as a biomedical engineer, doing research on eyes and heart valves. In 2013, Wheelan was hired to write for ''Saturday Night Live'' for the 2013–2014 season and was made a cast member the week before the season started. After being fired from ''Saturday Night Live'', Wheelan embarked on a stand-up tour entitled "The Brooks Wheelan Falls Back on Standup Comedy (Sorta) Tour", in reference to his firing. As part of his promotion for the tour he performed on '' Conan''. Wheelan's first stand-up comedy album ''This Is Cool, Right?'' was released on January 27, 2015 to critical acclaim. The Laugh Button called it "one of the best albums of 2015", while ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...

'' wrote, "''This Is Cool, Right?'' is at turns manic, honest, and completely absurd. Brooks crafts jokes not unlike sketches, and has an ear for storytelling that finds universal truths in the examining of his personal life." As part of the promotion for the record, he appeared on ''

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...

''. Wheelan also performed a stand-up set on a September 2015 episode of

's '' The Half Hour''.

''Saturday Night Live''

Wheelan was a recurring guest on ''Saturday Night Live''s ''

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typica ...

'' segment, using his stand-up stories as

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

s against irresponsible behavior. On the

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series '' Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...

episode, the commentary centered on having tattoos that have no meaning, with Wheelan showing off three tattoos he had in his youth: a tribal stamp on his left arm meant to look like the one

Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...

from

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, fu ...

has, a nautical star on his right arm, and a weird oceanscape on his side (which came from a doodle he drew in his freshman year of high school, and which does not make sense to him because he grew up in Iowa, which is not a coastal state). On the

Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Satellite Award, five Teen Choice Awards, three MTV Movie Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award a ...

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom ...

episode, the commentary centered on the dangers of drinking alcohol, and the story of how his friends put

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

down his pants while he was blacked out drunk and Wheelan worrying that he was dying of an undiscovered

sexually transmitted disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral s ...

. On July 14, 2014, Wheelan announced through

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, an ...

that he was no longer a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'', stating, "FIRED FROM NEW YORK IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!". Shortly after his firing, Wheelan admitted that he was not angry and that he was still friends with some of the cast members, and also said that he prefers stand-up.

Impressions on ''Saturday Night Live''

Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the junior U.S. senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is a son of former three-time presidential candidate and ...

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Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician ...

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

''Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan''

On October 24, 2017, Wheelan launched the podcast ''Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan''. In each episode, he interviews a guest on the often low-paying or undesirable jobs they had before they eventually achieved success in the entertainment industry.

Personal life

Brooks Wheelan went to Dubuque Hempstead High School in Dubuque, Iowa, where he was crowned homecoming king.

Filmography

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheelan, Brooks 1986 births Living people American stand-up comedians American male television actors American sketch comedians People from Manchester, Iowa Male actors from Iowa University of Iowa alumni Actors from Cedar Rapids, Iowa 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians Comedians from Iowa