Michael William Day (born March 20, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host of the Netflix show '' Is It Cake?'' He joined ''

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 (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' as a writer in its 39th season, became a featured player in its 42nd, and was promoted to a repertory player beginning in its 44th season. He previously was an on-air correspondent for ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' and ''

The Jay Leno Show ''The Jay Leno Show'' is a talk show created and hosted by Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/ PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late ...

''.

Early life and education

Day was born March 20, 1980, in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before 1920. While many other ...

. He attended Panorama Elementary School and later graduated from El Modena High School, the same high school as actor Milo Ventimiglia, in the city of

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. There, he was involved in the drama program and the student government. He wrote comedic sketches for monthly assemblies and made the theme for his

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

, " Batman". He also experienced extreme bullying, seeking refuge in theater. Day graduated from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

with a degree in theater.

Career

Day began his career with

the Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniqu ...

, a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

-based

improvisational theater Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

group. With the Groundlings, Day and Michael Naughton wrote and co-starred in ''David Blaine Street Magic'', a parody of magician

David Blaine David Blaine (born April 4, 1973) is an American illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance and has set and broken several world records. Early life Blaine was born and r ...

, portrayed by Mitch Silpa. The video, posted to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

, was once one of the most-viewed videos on the site. Day was an original cast member on the

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

series '' Wild 'n Out'' on MTV. He played various characters in the Groundling stage show ''Groundlings, In The Study, With The Candlestick'' in early 2009 and directed ''Groundlings Space Camp''. Day wrote for Showtime's '' The Underground'' in 2006. Day starred in

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 ...

's '' Kath & Kim remake'' (2009), wrote for and co-produced the Cartoon Network show ''

Incredible Crew ''Incredible Crew'' is an American sketch comedy television series, created by Nick Cannon for Cartoon Network. Cannon created the series in early 2012, and the series aired from January 24 to April 11, 2013, featuring a 22-minute run time. ...

'' (2013), and wrote for

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

's '' Robot Chicken'' in 2014. Day hosted a recurring segment parodying ''

TMZ TMZ is a tabloid news website owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, originally as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. On September 13, 202 ...

'' from 2010 to 2013 on ''

'' and ''

''. Day was a featured cast member of

variety show '' Maya & Marty'', alongside Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, and

Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. He was also t ...

. He also served as one of the show's co-head writers.

2013–present: ''Saturday Night Live''

Day was hired as a writer for ''

'' in 2013 for its 39th season. He was recommended for the job by

Nasim Pedrad Nassim ( ar, نسیم) also transliterated as Nacim, Naseem, Nasseem, Nasim, Nesim or Nessim, is a unisex Arabic name. It is mostly used in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures and language groups. It may refer to: Company *Nasim Sdn Bhd, a m ...

who had worked with him before and was a cast member of SNL at the time. On ''SNL'' he wrote many sketches featuring cast member & former ''Wild 'n Out'' co-star

Taran Killam Taran Hourie Killam (born April 1, 1982) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for his television work on ''The Amanda Show'', ''How I Met Your Mother'', ''MADtv'', ''New Girl'', ''Saturday Night Live'', and ''Single Parents''. ...

, with whom he wrote the screenplay to '' Brother Nature'' (2016). He was promoted to featured player for season 42 and was promoted to a repertory player in the beginning of season 44. For his

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...

, he impersonated Donald Trump Jr. and ''SNL'' actor Kyle Mooney. His debut appearance was in season 42's first episode, October 1, 2016, hosted by

Margot Robbie Margot Elise Robbie (; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in both blockbuster and independent films, she has received several accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Golden Glob ...

. Bobby Moynihan, Streeter Seidell, and Day wrote the sketch "Haunted Elevator" for the October 22, 2016 episode of ''SNL''. Starring

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

as David S. Pumpkins, Day played one of two dancing skeletons in the sketch. The sketch went viral, and he reprised the role for ''

The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special ''The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special'' is an animated Halloween television special that aired on NBC on October 28, 2017. It stars Tom Hanks as ''Saturday Night Live'' character David S. Pumpkins. The 21-minute special was written by and als ...

'' (2017). ; ;Celebrity impressions on ''Saturday Night Live'' *

Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist in the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump during t ...

(dressed as the Grim Reaper) *

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Tran ...

Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal (; born February 13, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of ...

* Bruce Castor *

John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip for ...

* Steve Doocy *

Jack Dorsey Jack Patrick Dorsey (born November 19, 1976) is an American Internet entrepreneur and programmer who is a co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, Inc., as well as a co-founder and the CEO and chairperson of Block, Inc., the developer of the Squa ...

* Matt Duffer *

Joseph Dunford Joseph Francis Dunford Jr. (born December 23, 1955) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, who served as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2015, until September 30, 2019. He was the 36th command ...

* Sean Evans * Michael Flynn *

Willie Geist William Russell Geist (born May 3, 1975) is an American television personality and journalist. He is co-anchor of MSNBC's ''Morning Joe'' and anchor of ''Sunday Today with Willie Geist''. Geist also frequently serves as a fill-in anchor on bot ...

* Matt Hall *

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

Pee-Wee Herman Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his films and television series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that q ...

* Rian Johnson *

Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...

Brian Kilmeade Brian Kilmeade (born May 7, 1964) is an American television and radio presenter and political commentator for Fox News. On weekdays he co-hosts the morning show, '' Fox & Friends'', and he hosts the Fox News Radio program ''The Brian Kilmeade S ...

* Steve King * Greg Lee * Adam Levine *

Kevin Love Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time NBA All-Star Game, All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA ...

* Joe Manchin III *

Roy Moore Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as the 27th and 31st chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2013 to 2017, each time being removed fr ...

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...

* John Oliver *

Mehmet Oz Mehmet Cengiz Öz (; born June 11, 1960), known professionally as Dr. Oz (), is an Turkish American former professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University, television presenter, author and former political candidate. The son of Tur ...

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

* Jamie Raskin *

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

* Paul Ryan * Bruce Schroeder *

Nate Silver Nathaniel Read Silver (born January 13, 1978) is an American statistician, writer, and poker player who analyzes baseball (see sabermetrics), basketball, and elections (see psephology). He is the founder and editor-in-chief of ''FiveThirtyEigh ...

Phil Simms Phillip Martin Simms (born November 3, 1955) is an American former football quarterback who spent his entire 15-year professional career playing for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He is currently a television sport ...

* Donald Trump Jr. ;Recurring characters on ''Saturday Night Live'' * Greg Duncan, one half of a couple whose forays into spicing up their sex life leave Greg seriously and comically injured by his shy, yet intimidating wife Shelley Duncan ( Leslie Jones) *Mort Fellner, a supercentenarian who reports on the achievements and experiences of fellow supercentenarians; however, each report culminates in revealing that the achievement is due to the subject dying. *Nico Slobkin, one half a shallow couple always on the brink of an argument, who runs a relationship-themed Instagram account with his girlfriend Brie Bacardi (

Heidi Gardner Heidi Lynn Gardner (born July 27, 1983) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She has been a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2017, beginning in season 43. Early life Gardner was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. Sh ...

). *Matt Shatt, one half of a couple, who is so disproportionately unexceptional compared to his exceptionally attractive partner that others can't help but question how their relationship exists. * Josh, one of the two unintelligent kids (the other being Lonnie, played by

Cecily Strong Cecily Legler Strong (born February 8, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. Strong is most notable for being a cast member of '' Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2022. She is also the longest-tenured female cast member in the ...

) in the Science Room sketches.

Disney

Day and his writing partner Streeter Seidell have completed one project and have two projects in development for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. The first of these, '' Home Sweet Home Alone'', the sixth film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, was released on

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

on November 12, 2021. A live-action

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...

film is in pre-production. A remake of ''

SpaceCamp ''SpaceCamp'' is a 1986 American science fiction adventure film inspired by the U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Directed by Harry Winer, story by Patrick Bailey and Larry B. Williams, screenplay by Clifford Green (as W. W. Wicket) and Ca ...

'' produced by

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

is also planned.

Personal life

Day is in a relationship with actress Paula Christensen. Their son was born in August 2012.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Mikey 1980 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male comedians Male actors from Orange County, California UCLA Film School alumni American male voice actors 21st-century American male actors Comedians from California American impressionists (entertainers) 21st-century American comedians