Many might not be aware that many directors and filmmakers we know of today started as comedians. While that might seem like a leap, their writing and performing skills—both necessary to be a successful comedian, aid comedians well in filmmaking.
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Comedians such asJordan Peele, who started in a sketch comedy series such asKey & Peele, would not have been taken seriously as a filmmaker, but how things have changed. Peele and other comedians likeMike Nichols,Judd Apatow, andBen Stillerhave proven that they’re more than just funny.
Jordan Peele
Jordan Peelestarted starring in the Fox sketch comedy seriesMad TV,where he made his breakout role and met his future comedy collaboratorKeegan-Michael Key. After leaving the show, Key and Peele formed and created their own Comedy Central sketch comedy series,Key & Peele. Following the success ofKey & Peele, they continued to collaborate in projects such as appearing as FBI agents in FX’s critically acclaimed anthology seriesFargoand later wrote, starred, and produced in the comedy filmKeanu.
In 2017, Peele transitioned into filmmaking and made his directorial debut withGet Out, starringDaniel Kaluuya, which became a box office success and received accolades, including Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. SinceGet Out, he has produced and directedBlacKkKlansman,Us,Candyman, andNope,all of which have been widely recognized and nominated for many awards.
Larry David
Larry Davidfirst started recognizing his ability to make people laugh simply by being himself while attending the University of Maryland, College Park. While testing the water as a stand-up comedian, David worked as a store clerk, limousine driver, and historian. Not long after, hesecured a job as a writerfor ABC’sFridaysand worked withMichael Richards. Two years later, he became a writer for NBC’sSaturday Night Live(SNL), where he metJulia Louis-Dreyfus, who would later be part of theSeinfeldcast.
In 1989, David and comedianJerry Seinfelddecided to collaborate on a pilot for NBC calledThe Seinfeld Chronicles, which was later developed into the full-blown sitcom program,Seinfeld. It becameone of the most successful shows in history.In 1999, HBO aired a one-hour special ofLarry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, and by 2000, the special had turned into a television series:Curb Your Enthusiasm, a sitcom about Larry David, who plays a semi-fictionalized version of himself.
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Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols’ was playing the leading role ofMiss Juliewhen he saw his future counterpart,Elaine May, sitting in the front row. After they started to get to know each other and even had a brief romance, they eventually formed the comedy duo actNichols and May. Nichols and May had a good run of performing in many nightclubs and even on radio and television. In 1961, the failure of May’sA Matter of Position,which starred Nichols, added to personal tensions between the two and led to the duo’s professional breakup.
In the 1960s, Nichols began to use his stage and theater background into good use. He was offered the job to directNeil Simon’s playBarefoot in the Park. At that moment, Nichols believed that he wanted to direct plays and films. The play was a big hit as it ran 1530 performances and later earned Nichols a Tony award for his role as a director. It kickstarted his career, and he would go on to direct feature films such asWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,The Graduate,Silkwood,Working Girl,Primary Colours,along with theater productions such asLuvand a revival ofDeath of a Salesman.Nichols is also one of the few members of EGOT, a person who has won all four significant entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.
Elaine May
Following the split of the comedy actNichols and May, Elaine May took on a different path and became a screenwriter and playwright while doing a bit of acting and directing work. She wrote several plays, includingNot Enough Rope,Mr. Gogol and Mr. Preen,Hotline,After the Night and the Music, and more, but her most successful play was the one-act,Adaptation. In 1971, May made her film writing and directorial debut withA New Leaf,a black comedy based onJack Ritchie’sThe Green Heart. A year later in 1972, May followed her debut by directingThe Heartbreak Kid.It starredCharles Grodin,Cybill Shepherd,Eddie Albert, and even May’s daughter,Jeannie Berlin. The film was a critical success and garnered a91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
A few years later, she wrote and directed two more films,Mikey and Nicky(1976) andIshtar(1987), which were initially not well-received but were later recognized as favorable in the 21st Century. As a writer, May earned her first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nomination forWarren Beatty’sHeaven Can Wait.And as an actor, starred in films such asWoody Allen’sSmall Time Crooksand reunited with Nichols on the feature filmThe Birdcageand his stage production ofWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which were all well-received.
Bob Odenkirk
Since his teen years,Bob Odenkirkhas always had a knack for comedy sketch writing. Odenkirk began comedy writing asa radio DJ for WIDB, a college station at South Illinois University,where he created a late-night radio comedy show he calledThe Prime Time Special. By 1987, Odenkirk worked as a writer forSaturday Night Live(SNL) and worked alongsideRobert SmigelandConan O’Brienon the show.
Odenkirk andDavid Crosscreated a comedy-sketch show calledMr.Show, which ran for four seasons on HBO and received several Emmy Award nominations. He began doing roles in television shows such asEverybody Loves Raymond,Dr. Katz,Curb Your Enthusiasm,andArrested Developmentand eventually landed playing Saul Goodman onBreaking Badand its prequelBetter Call Saul. Odenkirk has also written, produced, and directed many projects, such asMr. Show with Bob and David,Tenacious D,Tom Goes to the Mayor,The Birthday Boys, and many more.
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Judd Apatow
Judd Apatowwas first exposed to the world of live stand-up comedy when his mother spent a summer working at a comedy club. At age seventeen,Apatow had begun performing stand-up comedy.While studying at the University of South California, he volunteered for benefit concerts for HBO’s Comic Relief and was given the opportunity to perform at the Improv in Hollywood. His career as a comedian and writer became more promising after landing gigs such as writing for the 1991 Grammy Awards, co-producing comedy specials withTomArnold,Roseanne Arnold,andJim Carrey, and writing and co-producingThe Larry Sanders Show.
In 2005, he made his directorial debut withThe 40-Year-Old Virgin, which he co-wrote with the film’s leading role,Steve Carell. The film reachednumber one at the box office and grossed over $175 million worldwide.Two years later, in 2007, he followed his debut with the romantic comedyKnocked Up, which starredSeth RogenandKatherine Heigland became a widely-acclaimed film. Apatow wrote, produced, and directed more feature films, includingPineapple Express,This is 40,andThe King of Staten Island.
Billy Crystal
Billy Crystalgrew up in a family with three younger brothers who would reenact the comedy routines ofBob Newhart,Rich Little, andSid Caesarfrom the tapes their father brought homefor them. Crystal and two of his friendsformed a comedy trio actand performed in colleges and coffee houses for several years. Later, however, Crystal parted ways with his friends and ventured on his own as a solo act, regularly performing atThe ImprovandCatch a Rising Star. By 1984, he had hostedSaturday Night Livetwice and eventually joined the regular cast for the 1984 - 85 season.
While doing comedy, Crystal also became interested in acting and filmmaking. He first appeared inJoan Rivers’Rabbit Testand later progressed as an actor after playing the leading role inWhen Harry Met SallyalongsideMeg Ryan. Following the success of his acting career, Crystal wrote, directed, and starred inMr. Saturday NightandForget Paris, and most recently,Here Today.
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Mel Brooks
Mel Brooksworked as a drummer and pianist in the Borscht Belt resorts and nightclubs. When a stand-up comic at the club was too ill to perform, Brooks took the opportunity to fill in for the comic and eventually became a regular stand-up performer. As Brooks honed his career in comedy,Sid Caesarhired him to write for the DuMont/NBC seriesThe Admiral Broadway Revueand again in Caesar’s variety comedy seriesYour Show of Shows. Later, Brooks became close friends withCarl Reiner,and the two began to improve comedy routines together. In 1960, Brooks and Reiner began performing their “2000 Year Old Man” act onThe Steve Allen Show, which led to the release of their comedy album2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks,which sold over a million copies.
After two producers,Joseph E. LevineandSidney Glazier, saw the potential in Brooks and his unconventional idea, his first feature film, a musical comedy about Adolf Hitler titledThe Producers, became a reality. Though many major companies did not find it compelling, it won the Oscar forBest Original Screenplay at the 41st Academy Awards.Brooks has since directed an additional eleven feature films, notablyBlazing SaddlesandYoung Frankenstein.
Ben Stiller
Most notably known as a comedy actor,Ben Stillerhas acted in many box-office movies such asZoolander,theNight at the Museumfranchise, theMeet the Parentsfilm series,Along Came Polly,The Royal Tenenbaums,Tropic Thunder, and more. Many, however, might not have been aware that not long after Stiller started acting in 1986, he made his directorial debut with a short film,Elvis Stories, just three years later. In 1994, Stiller made his feature debut with the romantic comedy,Reality Bites, which starred himself,Winona Ryder, andEthan Hawkeand was produced byDanny DeVitoandMichael Shamberg. And in 1996, he directed another feature titledThe Cable Guy, which, similar toReality Bites, only received average ratings.
In 2001, Stiller decided to write, direct, producer, and star inZoolander. Although the film was initially perceived as simply a“wacky satire”and was released at the wrong time: two weeks after the 9/11 attacks in New York and involves a plot of the assassination of a prime minister, it eventually got the appreciation it deserved. Film criticRoger Ebert, who at the time of its releaseheavily criticized the film and gave the film a rating of one out of four, later told Stiller in private that he had changed his mind about the film and thathe found it funny, and apologized for going “overboard.”
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