Keegan-Michael Key

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Keegan-Michael Key
Keegan-Michael Key Peabody 2014 (cropped).jpg
Key at the Peabody Awards, May 2014
Born (1971-03-22) March 22, 1971 (age 53)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Alma mater University of Detroit Mercy (B.F.A)
Pennsylvania State University (M.F.A.)
Occupation Actor, writer, comedian
Years active 1999–2016
Spouse(s) Cynthia Blaise (m. 1999; div. 2015)

Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He stars in the Comedy Central sketch series Key & Peele and co-stars in the USA Network comedy series Playing House. He spent six seasons as a cast member on MADtv. In 2014, he also starred in the first season of the FX series Fargo and the final season of the NBC series Parks and Recreation. He has had supporting roles in several films, including Let's Be Cops, Tomorrowland and Pitch Perfect 2. In 2015, Key appeared at the White House Correspondents' Dinner as the character Luther, President Barack Obama's anger translator. Since 2013, he has made several guest appearances on Whose Line is it Anyway?

Early life

Key was born in Southfield, Michigan, and was raised in Detroit. He is biracial, and was adopted as a child by a black father and a white mother. Being biracial has been a source of comedic material for Key, who told Terri Gross in an interview for NPR that "I think the reason [Key and Peele co-star Jordan Peele and I] became actors is because we did a fair amount of code switching growing up, and still do."[1]

[2] In 1989, he graduated from Shrine Catholic High School in Royal Oak, Michigan. Key attended the University of Detroit Mercy as an undergraduate and earned his Master of Fine Arts in Theater at Pennsylvania State University.[3] While at The University of Detroit Mercy, he was a brother of Phi Kappa Theta. He later discovered the identity of his birth mother and that he had two half-brothers who were both already deceased, among them comic book writer, Dwayne McDuffie.[4][5]

Career

MADtv

Key joined the cast of MADtv midway into the ninth season. He and Jordan Peele were cast against each other so that FOX could pick one black cast member, but both ended up being picked after demonstrating great comedic chemistry.

Key played many characters on the show. One of his most famous characters is "Coach Hines", a high school sports coach who frequently disrupts and threatens students and faculty members. On the penultimate episode of MADtv, Hines revealed that he is the long-lost heir to the Heinz Ketchup company and only became a Catholic school coach to help delinquent teenagers like Yamanashi (Bobby Lee). During seasons 9 and 10, Key appeared as "Dr. Funkenstein" in blaxploitation parodies, with Jordan Peele playing the monster.

Key also portrayed various guests on Real **********ing Talk like the strong African Rollo Johnson and blind victim Stevie Wonder Washington. He often goes "backstage" as Eugene Struthers, an always-ecstatic water- or flower-delivery man who accosts celebrities. There is also "Jovan Muskatelle", a shirtless man with a jheri curl and a shower cap. He interrupts live news broadcasts by a reporter (always played by Ike Barinholtz), annoying him with rapid fire accounts of events that have happened frequently exclaiming "It was crazy as hell!"

Celebrities that Key impersonated on the show include Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Roscoe Orman (as his character Gordon from Sesame Street), Matthew Lillard, Bill Cosby, Al Roker, Terrell Owens, Tyler Perry, Robin Antin, Keith Richards, Eddie Murphy (as his character James "Thunder" Early from the movie Dreamgirls), Sherman Hemsley (as his character George Jefferson on The Jeffersons), Charles Barkley, Sendhil Ramamurthy (as Mohinder Suresh), Tyson Beckford, Seal (originally played by Jordan Peele until Peele left the show at the end of season 13), Sidney Poitier, Lionel Richie, Barack Obama, and Kobe Bryant.

He also played female celebrities, including Phylicia Rashād, and Eva Longoria (as Gabrielle Solis on a "Desperate Housewives" parody).

Key & Peele

Key in 2012

Key and his former MADtv castmate Jordan Peele starred in their own Comedy Central sketch series Key & Peele, which began airing on January 31, 2012, and has run for five seasons until September 9, 2015.[6] Key and his comedy partner Jordan Peele starred in an episode of Epic Rap Battles of History, with Key playing Mahatma Gandhi and Peele playing Martin Luther King Jr.[7] The pair then returned to Epic Rap Battles of History for the second time in the "Muhammad Ali versus Michael Jordan" battle, with Key portraying Jordan.[8]

In March 2015, it was announced that Key will reprise his role as Mr. Garvey in a feature-length film based on the character portrayed in sketches on the show, while Peele will portray a rival teacher. The film titled Substitute Teacher will be written by Rich Talarico and Alex Rubens who are co-producers on the show.[9]

Key was introduced by President Barack Obama at the 2015 White House Correspondents' Dinner as Luther, Obama's Anger Translator, one of Key's characters from the show.[10]

Other work

Key was one of the founders of Hamtramck, Michigan's Planet Ant Theatre, and was a member of the Second City Detroit's mainstage cast before joining the Second City e.t.c. theater in Chicago. Key co-founded the Detroit Creativity Project along with Beth Hagenlocker, Marc Evan Jackson, Margaret Edwartowski, and Larry Joe Campbell.[11] The Detroit Creativity Project teaches students in Detroit improvisation as a way to improve their communication skills. Key performed with The 313, an improv group formed with other members of Second City Hollywood that appears around the country.[12][13] The 313 is made up primarily of former Detroit residents and named for Detroit's area code.[14] Key also hosted Animal Planet's The Planet's Funniest Animals.

He made a cameo in "Weird Al" Yankovic's video "White & Nerdy" with fellow MADtv co-star Jordan Peele.[15] In 2009, Key hosted GSN's "Big Saturday Night", and has co-starred in Gary Unmarried on CBS. Key was a panelist on the NPR comedy quiz show Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me... on March 27 and July 24, 2010. Key has been in several episodes of Reno 911! as the "Theoretical Criminal".

Key and Peele were featured on the cover and in a series of full-page comic photos illustrating The New York Times Magazine article "Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?" on March 31, 2013. A live-action video version was also featured on the Times' website.[16] Key co-stars in the upcoming horror-comedy Hell Baby. Key is one of the rotating "fourth chair" performers in the 2013 revival of Whose Line Is It Anyway?.

In addition to Key & Peele, he also is currently co-starring in the USA Network comedy series Playing House, which began airing its first season in April 2014.

Together with his comedy partner Jordan Peele, Key played an FBI agent in a recurring role in the 2014 FX crime drama Fargo.

Key was involved in audio episodes for the marketing campaign, "Hunt the Truth" on the website for the video game Halo 5: Guardians, voicing a fictional journalist and war photographer named Benjamin Giraud, who investigates the Master Chief's background.[17]

Key has had small supporting roles in numerous films, including 2014's Horrible Bosses 2, Let's Be Cops and the animated The Lego Movie, as well as Pitch Perfect 2 and Tomorrowland in 2015. Key and Peele are currently working with Judd Apatow on a feature-length film for Universal Pictures.[18]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Get the Hell Out of Hamtown J
2000 Garage: A Rock Saga TV Studio Manager
2003 Uncle Nino Airport Stranger
2004 Mr. 3000 Reporter
2006 Alleyball Curt Braunschweib
2006 Grounds Zero Arch Short film
2007 Sucker For Shelley Michael Short film
2008 Yoga Matt Matt Short film
2008 Role Models Duane
2008 Land of Arabia Dwayne Short film
2010 Welcome to the Jungle Gym Mike McKenzie Short film
2010 Due Date New Father
2011 Just Go with It Ernesto
2011 Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star Guinness Man
2012 Wanderlust Marcys Flunkie
2013 Hell Baby F'Resnel
2013 Afternoon Delight Bo
2014 The Lego Movie Frank the Foreman Voice
2014 Teacher of the Year Ronald Douche
2014 Let's Be Cops Pupa
2014 Horrible Bosses 2 Mike
2015 Pitch Perfect 2[19] Beca's Boss
2015 Tomorrowland Hugo Gernsback
2015 Vacation Jack Peterson
2015 Hotel Transylvania 2 Murray the Mummy Voice
2015 Freaks of Nature Mr. Keller
2016 Keanu Post-production
2016 The Angry Birds Movie Hal Voice
2016 Don't Think Twice Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2001 ER Witkowski Episode: "Quo Vadis?"
2004 I'm With Her Orderly Episode: "Poison Ivy"
2004–2009, 2016 MADtv Various 107 episodes; also writer
2005–2008 The Planet's Funniest Animals Host 30 episodes
2007 Frangela DeShawn TV movie
2008 Chocolate News Woodsy Episode: "1.5"
2008–2009 Reno 911! Theoretical Criminal 8 episodes
2010 Sons of Tucson Eric Episode: "Pilot"
2009–2010 Gary Unmarried Curtis 17 episodes
2010–2015 Childrens Hospital Cop / Captain Tripper 3 episodes
2011 A Series of Unfortunate People Ted Episode: "Family Secret"
2011 Love Bites Drew 2 episodes
2011 Wilfred Dick Barbian Episode: "Identity"
2011 The League Steve/Carmenjello Episode: "Carmenjello"
2012–2015 Key & Peele Himself / Various Also co-creator, writer, executive producer
2013–present Whose Line is it Anyway? Himself / Fourth Seater 6 Episodes
2013 How I Met Your Mother Calvin Episode: "Something New"
2013 Übermansion Titanium Rex Voice
Episode: "Pilot"
2013 Super Fun Night Slade Episode: "Pilot"
2014 The Middle Reverend Deveaux Episode: "Hungry Games"
2014–2015 Parks and Recreation Joe 5 episodes
2014 Bob's Burgers Beefer Sutherland / Todd / Darnell Voice
3 episodes
2014–present Playing House Mark Rodriguez 10 episodes
2014 Fargo Bill Budge 4 episodes
2014 Robot Chicken Jamal / Journalist Voice
Episode: "Stone Cold Steve Cold Stone"
2014–2015 BoJack Horseman Sebastian St. Clair Voice
4 episodes
2015 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Gameshow Host Episode: "The Gang Goes on Family Fight"
2015 White House Correspondents' Dinner Luther TV special
2015 Rick and Morty Fourth Dimensional Being Voice
Episode: "A Rickle in Time"
2015 SuperMansion American Ranger Voice
2015 W/ Bob and David Traffic Cop Episode: "Episode 3"
2016 Modern Family Tom Delaney Episode: "Playdates"

Music videos

Year Title Role Artist
2006 "White & Nerdy" Black gangster "Weird Al" Yankovic

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2013 Writers Guild of America Award[20] Best Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Key & Peele Nominated
Peabody Award[21]
 Key & Peele Won
2014 NAACP Image Award[22] Outstanding Variety – Series or Special Key & Peele Nominated
American Comedy Award[23] Best Alternative Comedy Series Key & Peele Won
American Comedy Award[23] Best Comedy Actor – TV Key & Peele Nominated
American Comedy Award[23] Best Comedy Writing – TV Key & Peele Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award[24] Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series Key & Peele Nominated
2015 People's Choice Award[25] Favorite Sketch Comedy TV Show Key & Peele Nominated
NAACP Image Award[26] Outstanding Comedy Series Key & Peele Nominated
NAACP Image Award[26] Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series Key & Peele Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award[27] Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Key & Peele Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series Key & Peele Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special Key and Peele Super Bowl Special Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program Key & Peele Presents Van and Mike: The Ascension Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Variety Sketch Series Key & Peele Nominated

References

  1. ↑ http://www.npr.org/2013/12/31/256605611/for-key-and-peele-biracial-roots-bestow-special-comedic-power
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  10. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/wp/2015/04/26/watch-more-of-keegan-michael-key-as-luther-obamas-anger-translator/
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  20. ↑ Mitchell, Gregg; Strell, Jay (December 6, 2012). "2013 Writers Guild Awards Television, News, Radio, Promotional Writing, and Graphic Animation Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America
  21. ↑ Peabody Awards web site
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

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