Michael Patrick O'Brien (born June 22, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. O'Brien is best known for his tenure as a writer and featured player on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...

series ''

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 ...

'' from 2009 to 2015. He is also the creator of the 2018

comedy series '' A.P. Bio''.

Career

O'Brien was born in

Blissfield, Michigan Blissfield is a village in Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,340 at the 2010 census. The village is mostly located within Blissfield Township with only very small portions extending west into Palmyra Township an ...

to Connie and James O’Brien. He attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where he majored in film-video and was the founder and editor of a monthly comedy newspaper named ''The Anti-Daily''. O'Brien moved to Chicago and began taking improv and sketch classes. At iO Chicago he performed with a group called The Reckoning (2001–present). He trained at the Second City in Chicago, eventually joining the company's mainstage, where he performed for one year as a part of "America: All Better".

''Saturday Night Live''

O'Brien worked as a staff writer on ''

'' for seven seasons, joining the show in 2009, and also appeared as a featured player for the 2013–14 season. After his sole season as a featured player, he left the cast but continued to write for the show in his final season from 2014 to 2015. Some of O'Brien's sketches include "Monster Pals" starring James Franco as well as "Puppet Class" starring Bill Hader. His short films "Grow a Guy" and "The Jay-Z Story" were each given the title card, "A Mike O'Brien Picture" in season 40. After leaving the writing staff in season 41, O'Brien has continued to contribute short films under the title, ''A Mike O'Brien Picture''.

''7 Minutes in Heaven with Mike O'Brien''

In 2011, O'Brien introduced ''7 Minutes in Heaven with Mike O'Brien'', a comedy routine in which he interviews celebrities in a closet and closes by trying to kiss the celebrity.

''Tasty Radio''

In 2015, O'Brien released a sketch comedy album entitled ''Tasty Radio'', which features

Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the creator, producer, writer, director, and star of the HBO dark comedy series ''Barry'' (201 ...

, Fred Armisen,

Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 200 ...

Vanessa Bayer Vanessa Bayer (born November 14, 1981) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for being a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' from 2010 to 2017, which earned her an Emmy nomination. She co-created, co-executive produces, and ...

Seth Meyers Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to that, he was a cast member and head writer for NB ...

John Mulaney John Edmund Mulaney (born August 26, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He first rose to prominence for his work as a writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 to 2013, where he contributed to numerous ...

Jorma Taccone Jorma Christopher Taccone (; born March 19, 1977) is an American comedian, director, actor, and writer. He is one-third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island, with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer. In 2010, Taccone co-wr ...

John Lutz John Michael Lutz (born April 23, 1973) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing J. D. Lutz on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'', and for his work as a writer on the NBC series ''Saturday Night Live'' for seven ...

and

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

''A.P. Bio''

In 2018, he created the comedy series '' A.P. Bio'', starring

Glenn Howerton Glenn Franklin Howerton III (born April 13, 1976) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for the long-running dark satirical comedy ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present) on FX/FXX, a show he co-created ...

and

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom '' The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...

. O'Brien's former ''SNL'' colleagues

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...

and

are also executive producers on the show. The series premiered on February 1, 2018. The series was canceled after two seasons on May 24, 2019. On July 17, 2019, it was announced that '' A.P. Bio'' would return for a third season on NBCU's streaming platform

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...

in 2020, and the show was renewed for a fourth season which ran in 2021 before the show was canceled again.

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Mike Living people 1976 births 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American screenwriters American male comedians American male television actors American male television writers American sketch comedians American television writers Male actors from Michigan The New Yorker people People from Blissfield, Michigan Place of birth missing (living people) Screenwriters from Michigan University of Michigan alumni 21st-century American male writers