David Lawrence McCary (born July 2, 1985) is an American comedian, writer, producer and director. From 2013 to 2018, he was a segment director and writer for ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

.'' He is married to actress

Emma Stone Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress and film producer. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2017, she was the world's highest-paid actr ...

, with whom he co-founded the production company

Fruit Tree A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans. All trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the te ...

Early life

McCary was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. He graduated from Monroe High School in

Monroe, Wisconsin Monroe is a city in Green County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,661 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered by the town of Monroe to the north and the town of Clarno to the south. It is nicknamed the "C ...

in 2003. He later attended the

Brooks Institute of Photography Brooks may refer to: * Brook (small stream) Places Antarctica * Cape Brooks Canada *Brooks, Alberta United Kingdom * Brooks, Cornwall * Brooks, Powys, a location United States * Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas * Brooks, California *Brooks, ...

before dropping out after two years. McCary was childhood friends with

Kyle Mooney Kyle James Kozub Mooney (born September 4, 1984) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. Mooney was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2013 to 2022. In 2017, he co-wrote and starr ...

, and the two lived together while Mooney attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Career

In 2007, McCary formed the sketch comedy group Good Neighbor with Mooney,

Beck Bennett Christopher Beck Bennett (born October 1, 1984) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' for eight seasons, joining for its 39th season in 2013 and leaving at the end of its ...

, and Nick Rutherford. In 2013, Good Neighbor filmed a pilot for

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

, ''The Good Neighbor Show'', produced by

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

and

Adam McKay Adam McKay (born April 17, 1968) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. McKay began his career as a head writer for the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') from 1995 to 2001. After leaving ''SNL'', McKay co-w ...

under Gary Sanchez Productions. The same year, McCary joined ''

'' for season 39 as a segment director, with Mooney and Bennett joining the show's cast. McCary left the show at the end of season 43 in 2018. In 2024, McCary returned to ''SNL'' to direct the pre-taped sketch "Papyrus 2". In 2017, McCary directed the

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film ''

Brigsby Bear ''Brigsby Bear'' is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed by Dave McCary in his feature directorial debut, written by Kevin Costello and Kyle Mooney, and starring Mooney, Claire Danes, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear, Andy Samberg, Matt Walsh ...

'' produced by

The Lonely Island The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). The th ...

. The film stars Mooney,

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, and the Joker (character), Joker in various animated DC Comics projects, starting with ''Batm ...

Greg Kinnear Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor and former talk show host. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in '' As Good as It Gets'' (1997). Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, ...

, Matt Walsh,

Michaela Watkins Michaela Watkins (born December 14, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. After several years performing with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Watkins achieved widespread attention for her brief stint as a featured player on th ...

Jorge Lendeborg Jr. Jorge David Lendeborg Jr. (born January 21, 1996) is an American actor. Early life Lendeborg was born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, and moved to Miami, Florida at around age four. Career He made his theatrical acting debut in the ...

and Ryan Simpkins. It premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in January 2017, and was released in July 2017 by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

. In August 2020, McCary co-founded the production company,

, with a two-year first-look television deal at

A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...

Personal life

McCary began dating actress

in October 2017. They announced their engagement in December 2019, and married the following year. They had a daughter in March 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCary, Dave 1985 births Living people 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male writers American male comedians American television directors American television writers American male television writers Comedians from San Diego American comedy film directors Film directors from California University of Southern California alumni Writers from San Diego Writers Guild of America Award winners