Brooks Wheelan

Brooks Wheelan

Wheelan on July 18, 2012
Born Brooks Patrick Wheelan
(1986-08-21) August 21, 1986
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.[1]
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Iowa
Occupation Stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, voice artist, comedian
Years active 2013–present

Brooks Patrick Wheelan (born August 21, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, voice artist, and comedian who was a cast member on Saturday Night Live for the 2013–2014 season.

Early life and education

Wheelan was born Brooks Patrick Wheelan in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on August 21, 1986 and raised in Manchester, Iowa, the son of Chris and Jim Wheelan.[2]

Growing up, his interest mostly focused on science and mathematics. He performed regularly in Iowa City during his college years. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 2009 with a biomedical engineering degree.[3]

Career

Wheelan started performing stand-up comedy in his late teens in Iowa, then went to Kansas City and Chicago, before eventually moving to Los Angeles where he began to perform stand-up comedy full-time. Before joining Saturday Night Live, he performed stand-up comedy in Los Angeles while he had a job as a biomedical engineer, doing research on eyes and heart valves.[4] In 2013, Wheelan was hired to write for Saturday Night Live for the 2013–2014 season and was made a cast member the week before the season started.[4][5] After being fired from Saturday Night Live, Wheelan embarked on a stand-up tour entitled 'Brooks Wheelan Falls Back On Standup Comedy (sorta) Tour', in reference to his firing. As part of his promotion for the tour he performed on Conan.

Wheelan's first stand-up comedy album This is Cool, Right? was released on 27 January 2015[6] to critical acclaim.[7][8] The Laugh Button called it, "One of the best albums of 2015."[9] While the A.V. Club wrote, "This Is Cool, Right? is at turns manic, honest, and completely absurd. Brooks crafts jokes not unlike sketches, and has an ear for storytelling that finds universal truths in the examining of his personal life." [10] As part of the promotion for the record, he appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Wheelan also has a Comedy Central half-hour stand-up special airing in summer 2015.

Saturday Night Live

Wheelan was a recurring guest on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update," using his stand-up stories as public service announcements against irresponsible behavior. On the Bruce Willis / Katy Perry episode, the commentary centered on having tattoos that have no meaning, with Wheelan showing off three tattoos he had in his youth: A tribal stamp on his left arm meant to look like the one Anthony Kiedis from Red Hot Chili Peppers has, a nautical star on his right arm, and a weird oceanscape on his side (which came from a doodle he drew in his freshman year of high school, and which does not make sense to him because he grew up in Iowa, which is not a coastal state). On the Anna Kendrick / Pharrell Williams episode, the commentary centered on the dangers of drinking alcohol, and the story of how his friends put butter down his pants while he was blacked out drunk and Wheelan worrying that he was dying of an undiscovered sexually transmitted disease.

On July 14, 2014, Wheelan announced through Twitter that he was no longer a cast member of Saturday Night Live, stating, "FIRED FROM NEW YORK IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!".[11]

Impressions on Saturday Night Live

Brooks Wheelan went to West Delaware High school in Manchester Iowa.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Adam Devine's House Party Himself
2013-2014 Saturday Night Live Himself / Various Roles Also writer
2014 @midnight Himself
2015 Ridiculousness Himself
Hawaii 5-0 Owen
Girls Bryce Season 4, Episode 2: "Triggering"
Stereotypically You Barry
The Half Hour Himself
2016 Those Who Can't Ronnie
Random Tropical Paradise Bowie Pemberton IV
To Tell the Truth Himself / Guest Panelist
2017 Big Hero 6: The Series[12] Fred Voice
Replacing T. J. Miller

Discography

Year Title
2015 This is cool, Right?

References

  1. ↑ Klingseis, Katherine (13 October 2013). "Comedian pokes fun at his tattoos, Iowa upbringing on 'Saturday Night Live'". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Morain, Michael (18 September 2013). "Native Iowan among new cast this season on 'SNL'". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Ta, Linh (27 September 2013). "Manchester native named to new 'SNL' cast". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 Carter, Bill (15 September 2013). "New Course for 'Weekend Update,' and All of 'SNL'". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Evans, Bradford (26 August 2013). "Standup Brooks Wheelan Hired to Write for 'SNL'". Splitsider. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Cover art for my first comedy album, "This is cool, right?" Pick it up JANUARY 27, 2015". Twitter.
  7. ↑ Staff, Laugh Button (18 December 2015). "Top Comedy Albums of 2015". Laugh Button. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  8. ↑ Staff, Paste (12 December 2015). "10 Best Comedy Albums of 2015". Paste. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Staff, Laugh Button (18 December 2015). "Top Comedy Albums of 2015". Laugh Button. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  10. ↑ Fowle, Kyle (12 February 2015). "Brooks Wheelan goes absurd, honest on debut album This Is Cool, Right?". A.V. Club. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  11. ↑ Barsanti, Sam (14 July 2014). "Saturday Night Live has fired Brooks Wheelan". A.V. Club. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  12. ↑ http://www.animationmagazine.net/features/disney-xd-details-big-hero-6-series-cast/

External links

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