Jordan Peele
Jordan Peele | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 21, 1979 |
| Occupation | Actor/Comedian |
Jordan Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor and comedian known as a cast member on MADtv from 2003–2008 and currently for his recurring role as Dr. Brian on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital.
Career
Peele joined the cast of MADtv in 2003 as a featured performer, for the ninth season. Around the time Keegan-Michael Key joined the cast as a featured performer, it was assumed that Key would be chosen over Peele. However, Peele created enough memorable characters—including Funkenstein and Superstitious Knight Ty Gray—and would be carried over to the next season.
Peele also impressed with his various celebrity impersonations, which included favorites Caroll Spinney (as the voice of Big Bird), Ja Rule, James Brown, Flavor Flav, Justin Guarini, Montel Williams, Morgan Freeman, and Forest Whitaker.
Jordan was nominated for a 2008 Emmy for his song parody "Sad Fitty Cent," a music video parody about 50 Cent lamenting over his rivalry with Kanye West. The lyrics were, according to the music video, written by Jordan himself, and he was also involved in arranging its music.
After five seasons on MADtv, Jordan decided to leave the cast during the show's 13th season.
In 2010, Peele co-starred in the FOX comedy pilot The Station and currently appears with a recurring role in the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital. He will also have a supporting role in the upcoming David Wain directed comedy Wanderlust, which will be released on October 7, 2011.
Peele and his former MADtv castmate Keegan-Michael Key will star in their own sketch show on Comedy Central in early 2012.
Characters
| Character | Sketch | Season of First Appearance | Catch Phrase | Notes |
| Dontel LaMontrose | Inside Looking Out | "Mmm, mmm, mmm;" "I love this woman!" | He is married to a white wife who makes racially insensitive remarks. | |
| Funkenstein's Monster | Dr. Funkenstein | |||
| Killbrain the Fury | Astroman & Killbrain | "ASStroman!" | He is the arch enemy of Astroman who has to take on demeaning jobs because his elaborate plans fail. | |
| Larvelle Dupree | Real Mother****ing Talk | He is one of Dollar Bill Montgomery's talk show guests. | ||
| Marcus Macleod | Scottish Warlord | He is a Scottish warlord who was violated by the English troops. | ||
| Melvin Dufrane | 911 Police Report | |||
| Noodles | Clownin' and Krumpin | "Krumping!!!" | He is an abusive krump dancer | |
| Stingray | Abercrombie and Fitch | 10 | He is an African American version of the Abercrombie and Fitch models/salesmen. | |
| Ty Gray | The Superstitious Knights | "Man up!" | ||
| Tyrone Conkling | Holly Meadow Estates | |||
| Leandro Kezeele | Fashion Surprise |
Impressions (on and off MADtv)
Other work
His Laker character, Saffron Johnson, said he attended Sarah Lawrence College, the same college that Jordan attended. His exaggerated impression of Forest Whitaker on dying to win an Academy Award actually happened in the Awards itself after the sketch.
Prior to joining MADtv, Peele regularly performed improv comedy at Boom Chicago and The Second City in Chicago. He and Nicole Parker were well known for their musical duets at Boom Chicago. He portrayed a popular character called "Danish Supermodel Ute" during his time at Boom! Chicago, and hosted MTV's Comedy Weekend in 2002.
Peele was absent for unknown reasons from the first 4 episodes of his second season on MADtv. He made a cameo in "Weird Al" Yankovic's video - "White & Nerdy" with fellow MADtv co-star Keegan-Michael Key.
Peele appeared in a viral video entitled Hillary vs Obama (which was shown as a MADtv sketch) where he and a Hillary Clinton supporter (played by short-lived castmember Lisa Donovan) argue over whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama would make a better President, only to get upstaged by a Rudy Giuliani supporter (played by Lisa Donovan's brother, Ben). Peele auditioned to be a castmember for Saturday Night Live when SNL producers were looking for someone to play Barack Obama, but Peele instead remained at MADtv, and the role went to Fred Armisen.
Filmography
Movie appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2007 | Twisted Fortune | G-Money | |
| 2010 | Little Fockers | EMT | |
| 2011 | Wanderlust | Rodney |
Television appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2003 – 2008 | MADtv | Cast Member | Sketch Comedy |
| 2008 | Chocolate News | Kelvin Melvin | Recurring Role |
| 2009 | Reno 911! | Three-Card Monte Guy | 1 episode |
| 2009 | SuperNews | Various Voices | Animated Series |
| 2010 – present | Childrens Hospital | Dr. Brian | Recurring Role |
Awards/Nominations
| Year | Association | Award Category | Result |
| 2008 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | Nominated |
References
- ^ Burke, Owen. "Obama reads bush's letter". funnyordie.com.