Sarah Burns is an American

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

, best known for playing Krista on

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 ...

's '' Enlightened''.

Early life

Born on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Burns has performed

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, 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 ...

regularly at the

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Ad ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York.

Career

Burns is known for her appearances in comedic films and television series. Her film roles include Anne in ''

Slow Learners ''Slow Learners'' is a 2015 American romantic comedy film directed by Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce and starring Adam Pally, Sarah Burns, Reid Scott, Catherine Reitman, and Kevin Dunn. An indie, romantic comedy film, it follows two friends ...

'' (2015) opposite

Adam Pally Adam Saul Pally (born March 18, 1982) is an American comedian and actor. He first earned recognition for starring as Max Blum in '' Happy Endings'', as Dr. Peter Prentice in ''The Mindy Project'', as Wade Whipple in ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (202 ...

, Hailey in ''

I Love You, Man ''I Love You, Man'' is a 2009 American bromantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, based on a script by Larry Levin. The film stars Paul Rudd as a friendless man looking for a best man for his upcoming wedding. However, his ...

'' (2009), Harper in '' Going the Distance'' (2010) and Janine Groff in '' Life as We Know It'' (2010). She has also appeared in television productions including '' Damage Control'' (one episode; 2005), ''

Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's c ...

'' (one episode; 2007), '' Party Down'' (one episode; 2010) and '' Ben and Kate'' (one episode; 2012). She had a costarring role in the

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

''Cried Suicide'' (2010), which was screened at the 2010

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

. Her

"The First Step" (2012) premiered at the 2013

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

. She appears as part of a recurring cast of sketch players for the

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 ...

television series ''

Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's executive p ...

'', which premiered in July 2013. In 2015, Burns was a series regular in second season of the FX comedy series ''

Married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

''. Burns was cast as Assistant District Attorney Emily Sinclair in Season Two of the show ''

How to Get Away With Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal drama thriller television series that premiered on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk and pro ...

''. In 2009, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' named her one of the "25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood". In June 2013, ''

'' named Burns one of "15 Actresses We're Rooting For" as part of its "Emmy Watch". In 2016, Burns appeared as Margie Turley in the

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...

-produced '' Brother Nature''. In 2017, Burns appeared as Gabrielle in the

original miniseries '' Big Little Lies'' and in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later''. In 2020, Burns appeared as Kaylie in the

film '' Desperados'' as well as a major role in the Netflix series '' Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Actresses from New York (state) American women comedians American film actresses American television actresses Living people Comedians from New York (state) 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians Year of birth missing (living people) People from Long Island {{US-screen-actor-1980s-stub