Langston Kerman

Langston Kerman (born April 23, 1987) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He has acted in shows including ''Insecure'', ''High Maintenance'', '' Bless This Mess'', '' The Boys'' and '' English Teacher''. Kerman is a writer and co-star on HBO Max's '' South Side''. His first comedy album, ''Lightskinned Feelings'', was named to ''Vulture''s list of 10 Best Comedy Albums of 2018.

Early life and education

Kerman was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. His mother is African-American and his father is white and Jewish. He received his bachelor's degree in English from University of Michigan in 2009. After college he taught poetry at his former high school for one year. Kerman later received an MFA in poetry at Boston University and then decided to pursue a full-time career in stand-up comedy.

Career

Kerman has acted in shows such as on '' Adam DeVine's House Party'', ''High Maintenance'', ''Strangers'', and ''Comedy Bang! Bang!''. He was selected by host Chris Rock to write for the 2016 Academy Awards.

In 2016, he appeared in his first recurring acting role as Jered on the first season of Issa Rae's scripted comedy-drama series ''Insecure''. The role led to wider recognition.

On September 28, 2018, Kerman was featured in his own ''Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents'' half-hour special, ''Lightskinned Feelings'' (later titled "White People Can Keep Secrets"). On the same day, he also released an hour-long comedy album of the same name, which was recorded at Punchline Comedy Club in San Francisco. It was named to ''Vulture''s 10 Best Comedy Albums of 2018 list.

Kerman has a voice-over role in IMDb's 2019 animated series ''You're Not a Monster''. He also appeared in the 2019 Comedy Central series ''The New Negroes'', and is also a writer and recurring actor for the HBO Max series ''South Side''.

He was a series regular on the second season of '' Bless This Mess'', and appeared in a recurring role on the second season of '' The Boys''.

In August 2020, Kerman created the comedy podcast ''My Momma Told Me'' on the iHeartRadio Network. He discusses various Black conspiracy theories that he and his guests learned from their mothers.

Kerman co-created and co-stars in the 2022 Peacock series '' Bust Down''. In 2023, he was cast in the Hulu mystery thriller series '' The Other Black Girl'', a television adaptation of the 2021 novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris.

In 2024, Kerman released his first standalone comedy special, ''Bad Poetry'', on Netflix. It was directed by comedian John Mulaney. Critics gave it high marks. In a review in ''The New Yorker'', Vinson Cunningham wrote that "work like Kerman’s is the way back to comedy on its own terms, as an art to be enjoyed in its purest form." ''Vulture'' called it "a stellar introduction to Kerman’s whimsical brand of comedy." ''Cracked'' said that, "story after story, bit after bit, Kerman nails it." ''The Daily Beast'' described Kerman as "one of the most exciting stand-up comedians working right now."

Kerman appeared in a recurring role in the FX comedy series '' English Teacher'', which premiered in September 2024.

Personal life

Kerman is married. He and his wife have two children, a daughter born in 2021 and a son born in 2024.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Official website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerman, Langston
1987 births
21st-century African-American male actors
21st-century American male actors
African-American Jews
African-American male comedians
African-American screenwriters
African-American stand-up comedians
American male comedians
American male television actors
American stand-up comedians
Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Comedians from Illinois
Jewish American comedians
Jewish American comedy writers
Jewish American male actors
Jewish male comedians
Living people
Male actors from Oak Park, Illinois
University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni