Character comedy

Character comedy is a method or genre in which a comedian performs as though they were a character created by the comedian themselves. A good deal of comedians have enjoyed fame from character comedy.

Famous comedians who use character comedy

• Paul Reubens - Plays the manic man-child, Pee-wee Herman.
• Jim Carrey – In many of his films he portrays a hyper-animated maniac.
• Andy Kaufman – Various characters
• Tracey Ullman – Various characters
• George Carlin – Played the character of Al Sleet the "hippy-dippy weatherman" in his stand-up routine.
• Rowan Atkinson – Plays Mr. Bean.
• María Elena Velasco – Played La India María
• Tim Allen – Plays a "handyman" in Home Improvement and his stand up routines.
• Sacha Baron Cohen - Plays Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, and Brüno in Da Ali G Show and the subsequent film follow-ups: Ali G Indahouse, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, and Brüno. He tends to avoid making public appearances or doing interviews out of character.
• Andrew Dice Clay - Has played the 'Diceman' character for most of his stand-up career.
• Ricky Gervais - various characters
• Stephen Colbert - performed a fictional version of himself when he was a correspondent on The Daily Show and when he hosted The Colbert Report
• Steve Coogan famously created several characters in his act spinning one of them, Alan Partridge into TV shows
• Sam Lloyd - Various Characters
• Jerrod Guillory - Uncle Dutt, T-Blue, Skillet and various others
• Sarah Silverman - Early stand-up performances showcase a dim-witted, naïve persona who treads insensitively through controversial topics.
• Jane Turner and Gina Riley - various characters including Kath Day-Knight and Kim Craig from Kath & Kim. They rarely make public appearances out of character.
• Maria Bamford
• Dom Irrera
• Leigh Francis - Most famous for the portrayal of Keith Lemon
• Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson perform live stand-up as the characters on their Comedy Central series Broad City.
• Colleen Ballinger - plays the talentless and cocky Miranda Sings
• Chris Lilley - played Ja'mie King, Mr G and Jonah Takalua on the Australian miniseries Summer Heights High
• Anders Matthesen - various alter egos and stereotypical characters. Some starred in the 2004 animated musical dark comedy horror film Terkel in Trouble
• George Miller – Played and created various characters, most famously Filthy Frank, the title character of the online Filthy Frank Show. Another of Miller's characters, the inarticulate Pink Guy, famously started the viral Harlem Shake online trend in 2013.