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Brooks Wheelan

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Brooks Wheelan
Wheelan in 2012
Born (1986-08-21) August 21, 1986 (age 38)
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.[1]
Alma materUniversity of Iowa
Occupation(s)Stand-up comedian, actor, writer, podcaster
Years active2013–present

Brooks Wheelan (born August 21, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcaster. First breaking through as a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live during the 2013–2014 season,[2][3] Wheelan currently hosts the podcast Entry Level. He has also released a half-hour special for Comedy Central, acted in various movies and shows including Big Hero 6: The Series, and opened for John Oliver at numerous sets.

Early life and education

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Wheelan was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on August 21, 1986, and raised in Manchester, Iowa, the son of Chris and Jim Wheelan.[4]

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.[5]

Career

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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.[6] 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.[6][7] After being fired from Saturday Night Live, Wheelan embarked on a stand-up tour entitled "The 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 January 27, 2015[8] to critical acclaim.[9][10] The Laugh Button called it "one of the best albums of 2015",[11] 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."[12] As part of the promotion for the record, he appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Wheelan also performed a stand-up set on a September 2015 episode of Comedy Central's The Half Hour.

Saturday Night Live

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Wheelan was a recurring guest on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update segment, 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.[citation needed]

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!".[13] Shortly after his firing, Wheelan admitted that he was not angry and that he was still friends with some of the cast members, and also said that he prefers stand-up.[14]

Impressions on Saturday Night Live

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Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan

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On October 24, 2017, Wheelan launched the podcast Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan. In each episode, he interviews a guest on the often low-paying or undesirable jobs they had before they eventually achieved success in the entertainment industry.[15]

Personal life

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Brooks Wheelan went to Dubuque Hempstead High School in Dubuque, Iowa, where he was crowned homecoming king and became a state qualifier in wrestling.[16]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2013 Adam Devine's House Party Himself
2013–2014 Saturday Night Live Himself / Various Roles Also writer
2014 The Chris Gethard Show Himself [Public Access] #136
@midnight Himself
2015 Ridiculousness Himself
Hawaii Five-0 Owen
Girls Bryce Episode: "Triggering"
Better Off Single Barry
The Half Hour Himself
2016 Those Who Can't Ronnie
Random Tropical Paradise Bowie Pemberton IV
To Tell the Truth Himself / Guest Panelist
2017–2021 Big Hero 6: The Series Fredrick "Fred" Fredrickson IV[17] Voice
2018 The Attempt Bryan Also writer
2019 A.P. Bio Seth
2024 Based on a True Story Bartender Episode: "Based on a Drew Story"

Discography

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Year Title
2015 This Is Cool, Right?
2024 Alive in Alaska

References

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  1. ^ Klingseis, Katherine (October 13, 2013). "Comedian pokes fun at his tattoos, Iowa upbringing on 'Saturday Night Live'". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  2. ^ Lorenza Brascia (July 15, 2014). "'SNL' cast member Brooks Wheelan 'fired'". CNN. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  3. ^ "'Saturday Night Live' Castmember Brooks Wheelan 'Fired'". The Hollywood Reporter. July 14, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  4. ^ Morain, Michael (September 18, 2013). "Native Iowan among new cast this season on 'SNL'". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  5. ^ Ta, Linh (September 27, 2013). "Manchester native named to new 'SNL' cast". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Carter, Bill (September 15, 2013). "New Course for 'Weekend Update,' and All of 'SNL'". The New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  7. ^ Evans, Bradford (August 26, 2013). "Standup Brooks Wheelan Hired to Write for 'SNL'". Splitsider. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  8. ^ Brooks Wheelan [@brookswheelan] (December 13, 2014). "Cover art for my first comedy album, "This is cool, right?" Pick it up JANUARY 27, 2015" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Staff, Laugh Button (December 18, 2015). "Top Comedy Albums of 2015". Laugh Button. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  10. ^ Paste Staff (December 12, 2015). "10 Best Comedy Albums of 2015". Paste. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  11. ^ Staff, Laugh Button (December 18, 2015). "Top Comedy Albums of 2015". Laugh Button. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  12. ^ Fowle, Kyle (February 12, 2015). "Brooks Wheelan goes absurd, honest on debut album This Is Cool, Right?". A.V. Club. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  13. ^ Barsanti, Sam (July 14, 2014). "Saturday Night Live has fired Brooks Wheelan". A.V. Club. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  14. ^ "Brooks Wheelan Talks About Getting Fired From SNL - No You Shut Up!". YouTube. No You Shut Up!. July 28, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  15. ^ "Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan". Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  16. ^ Morain, Michael (April 10, 2015). "Eastern Iowa's Brooks Wheelan moves on after 'SNL'". Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  17. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (November 3, 2016). "Disney XD Details 'Big Hero 6' Series Cast". Animation Magazine. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
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