Milton "Lil Rel" Howery Jr. (born December 17, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for playing Robert Carmichael in NBC's television comedy series '' The Carmichael Show'' (2015–2017) and Rod Williams in the horror film '' Get Out'' (2017). He starred in the short-lived TV series '' Rel'' (2018–2019), which he created and co-produced.

Early life

Milton Howery Jr. grew up on the West Side of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, the son of Nancy and Milton. He attended Providence St. Mel School from fifth grade to ninth. He transferred to Crane High School. At Crane, Howery wrote jokes and created a script in a senior talent show, after which he decided to pursue comedy professionally. Playing high school basketball, he reminded people of his older cousin Darrel, and was nicknamed Lil Rel."Storytelling like a good uncle is stand-up comic's best weapon". ''The Plain Dealer''. (Cleveland, Ohio). September 11, 2015. p. T20.

Career

Howery began performing comedy in

.LilRel Howery bio
". ''IMDb''. Retrieved September 18, 2015. He made his television debut in January 2007 on the reality television competition ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' is an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, and again in 2014 and 2015. Each season a comedian from an initially large group of hopefuls was picked as ...

''.Zwecker, Bill (April 4, 2012). "Local Light". ''Chicago Sun-Times''.Howery, Lil Rel
Last Comic Standing
". ''MySpace''. Retrieved September 19, 2015. The same year, he was on ''P. Diddy Presents: The Bad Boys of Comedy'' on HBO. In 2009, he was part of America's National Night Out Against Crime in Chicago. In 2012, Howery and five other comedians starred in Fox's revival of the 1990s sketch program '' In Living Color''. The show was canceled in 2013. Howery went on to work as a writer, producer, and one of the regular cast members of the

truTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable Television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of Television comedy, comedy, Reality television, docusoaps and reality shows, with a rec ...

sketch comedy series '' Friends of the People''.Bernhardt, Ross (September 4, 2015).
Lil Rel Howery: The Comedy King of Chicago
". ''Paste Magazine''. Retrieved September 18, 2015. In 2015, he began co-starring as Bobby Carmichael on the NBC sitcom '' The Carmichael Show'' alongside the show's creator, Jerrod Carmichael.The Carmichael Show: About: Lil Rel Howery
". ''NBC''. Retrieved September 18, 2015. In early 2016, Netflix added Howery's first exclusive solo stand-up special, ''Kevin Hart Presents: Lil Rel: '', for streaming in the United States. Howery won the 2017 "Best Comedic Performance" MTV Movie & TV Award for his performance in

Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for his film and television work in the Comedy film, comedy and Horror film, horror genres. He has received List of awards and nominations r ...

's satirical horror film '' Get Out''.Romero, Ariana (May 7, 2017).
Lil Rel Deserved So Much Better For His Big MTV Movie & TV Awards Win
". ''Refinery29''. On May 10, 2018, Fox picked up '' Rel'', a sitcom starring Howery in the lead role and Jerrod Carmichael and Mike Scully serving as executive producers. Howery said the show is loosely based on his own life, including being a divorced father. The series premiered September 9, 2018. Howery starred alongside Ryan Reynolds in the comedy film '' Free Guy''. He played Buddy, a security guard. From 2019 to 2022, Howery had played the character Bishop on the HBO Max sitcom '' South Side''. In 2019,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

released Howery's second stand-up special, ''Lil Rel Howery: Live in Crenshaw''. His third special, ''I said it. Y'all thinking it.'' was filmed in his hometown of Chicago and released in 2022. He starred in several films from 2022 to 2023 such as '' I Love My Dad'', '' Deep Water'', and '' Vacation Friends 2''. In 2024, he would have a role in the

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of ''

Harold and the Purple Crayon ''Harold and the Purple Crayon'' is a 1955 Children's literature, children's picture book written and illustrated by Crockett Johnson. Published by HarperCollins Publishers, it is Johnson's most popular book, and has led to a series of other rel ...

'', playing Harold's friend Moose.

Personal life

Howery married Verina Robinson on November 24, 2008. They have two children. The couple divorced in 2017. In June 2016, Howery was a passenger in a vehicle that struck another car in University Village, Chicago. The driver in the other car argued with Howery and called 911, claiming that Howery had punched him in the face."Celebrity File". ''Daily Post'' (Palo Alto, California). June 21, 2016. p. 26. The driver of the car in which Howery was riding drove away without him. Police officers arrested Howery on a charge of misdemeanor battery, but he was found not guilty.Swartz, Tracy (September 8, 2018). "Lil Rel Howery's TV success comes amid real-life drama". ''Chicago Tribune''. The driver sued Howery for injuries suffered during the fight.

Filmography

Film

{, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" , Notes , - , 2017 , '' Get Out'' , Rod Williams , , - , rowspan=3, 2018 , '' Tag'' , Reggie , , - , '' Uncle Drew'' , Dax Winslow , , - , '' Bird Box'' , Charlie , , - , rowspan=3, 2019 , ''

Brittany Runs a Marathon ''Brittany Runs a Marathon'' is a 2019 American comedy film written and directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo, in his List of directorial debuts#2019, directorial debut. It stars Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery, and Mic ...

'' , Demetrius , , - , '' Good Boys'' , Lucas' Dad , , - , ''

The Angry Birds Movie 2 ''The Angry Birds Movie 2'' is a 2019 animated comedy film based on the ''Angry Birds'' video game series. It is the second installment in the Angry Birds film series, and was directed by Thurop Van Orman from a screenplay by Peter Ackerman, ...

'' , Alex (voice) , , - , rowspan=3, 2020 , '' The Photograph'' , Kyle , , - , '' Clouds'' , Milton Weaver , , - , ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

'' , Jayden , Also executive producer , - , rowspan=8 , 2021 , '' Judas and the Black Messiah'' , Wayne , , - , '' Tom & Jerry'' , Tom's shoulder devil and angel (voice) , , - , ''

Bad Trip A bad trip (also known as challenging experiences, acute intoxication from hallucinogens, psychedelic crisis, or emergence phenomenon) is an acute adverse psychological reaction to the effects of Psychoactive drug, psychoactive substances, namely ...

'' , Bud Malone , , - , ''

Fatherhood A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fathe ...

'' , Jordan , , - , '' Space Jam: A New Legacy'' , Himself (Game Announcer) , Cameo , - , '' Free Guy'' , Buddy , , - , '' Vacation Friends'' , Marcus Parker , , - , '' National Champions'' , Coach Ronnie Dunn , , - , rowspan=5 , 2022 , '' I Love My Dad'' , Jimmy , , - , '' Spin Me Round'' , Paul , , - , '' Deep Water'' , Grant , , - , ''

Luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at a ...

'' , Marv (voice) , , - , '' Bromates'' , Jonesie , , - , rowspan=7, 2023 , '' The Out-Laws'' , Tyree , , - , '' Vacation Friends 2'' , Marcus Parker , , - , '' We Grown Now'' , Jason , , - , '' Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie'' , Sam Stringer (voice) , , - , '' The Mill'' , Joe , , - , '' Dashing Through the Snow'' , Nick , , - , '' Good Burger 2'' , Cecil McNevin , , - , rowspan="3", 2024 , '' Reunion'' , Ray , Also producer , - , ''

'' , Moose , Also voice , - , '' Code 3'' , Mike , Also executive producer , - , rowspan="3" , 2025 , '' One of Them Days'' , The Buyer , , - , '' Dog Man'' , Chief (voice) , , - , ''Too Good'' , Michael , Short film; post-production , - , 2026 , '' Animal Friends'' , TBA , Post-production , - , , '' F*ck Valentine's Day'' , , Filming

Television

{, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" , Notes , - , 2014 , '' Friends of the People'' , Various , Writer, producer, cast , - , 2015 , ''Kevin Hart Presents: Lil Rel: RELevent'' , Himself , Standup special , - , 2015–17 , '' The Carmichael Show'' , Bobby Carmichael , Starring role , - , rowspan="1", 2016 , '' Acting Out'' , Himself , , - , rowspan="2", 2017 , '' Insecure'' , Quentin , 5 episodes , - , '' Drop the Mic'' , rowspan="2", Himself , Episode: " Nicole Scherzinger vs. Lil Rel Howery / Charlie Puth vs.

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...

" , - , 2018 , '' Lip Sync Battle'' , Episode: "Lil Rel Howery vs. Naya Rivera" , - , 2018–19 , '' Rel'' , Rel , Main role , - , rowspan="2", 2018 , '' The Comedy Central Roast'' , Himself , Episode: " Bruce Willis" , - , ''The Bobby Brown Story'' , Brian Irvine , 2 episodes , - , rowspan="6" , 2019 , '' Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure'' , Virtuous St. Goodberry (voice) , Episode: "The Eye of Pincosta" , - , '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' , Chuckles (voice) , Episode: "If You Can't Beat 'em, Totem! or It's Raining Gems!" , - , '' South Side'' , Bishop , 3 episodes , - , ''Sherman's Showcase'' , Himself , Episode: “The Ladies of Showcase” , - , '' A Black Lady Sketch Show'' , Fake Manager , Episode: "Born at Night, But Not Last Night" , - , ''Lil Rel Howery: Live in Crenshaw'' , Himself , Standup special , - , 2019–2025 , '' Craig of the Creek'' , Darnell (voice) , 3 episodes , - , 2020 , '' The Chi'' , Zeke Remnick , 2 episodes , - , rowspan="2", 2021 , '' Nailed It!'' , Himself , Episode: "We're Gonna Need a Bigger Cake" , - , '' Small Fortune'' , Host , Also executive producer , - , rowspan="2" , 2022 , '' Eureka!'' , Rollo (voice) , Main role , - , ''I said it. Y'all thinking it.'' , Himself , Standup special , - , rowspan="2" , 2023 , '' Poker Face'' , Taffy Boyle , Episode: "The Stall" , - , ''

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

'' , Freddie Wilson , Episode: "As Assist from the Sidelines" , - , rowspan= "2 , 2025 , '' The Studio'' , Himself , Episode: "Casting" , - , '' Win or Lose , James (Voice) , 3 Episodes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howery, Lil Rel Living people African-American stand-up comedians American stand-up comedians American male television actors Male actors from Chicago 21st-century American male actors American male comedians Comedians from Chicago 1979 births 21st-century American comedians 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American male actors African-American male comedians