Matt Walsh (comedian)

Matthew Paul "Matt" Walsh (born October 13, 1964) is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe, one of the stars of Dog Bites Man on Comedy Central and most recently as the star/creator of the Spike TV series Players.

Early life
Walsh was born in Chicago, the fourth of seven children of Dick and Audrey Walsh. He attended Hinsdale South High School and played on the football team as a backup tight end and graduated from Northern Illinois University with a degree in psychology, spending a year in Austria at Salzburg College. He began his comedy career in Chicago, performing at the Annoyance Theater and studying comedy at ImprovOlympic under improv comedy legend Del Close. In 1991, he met comedian Matt Besser, who he began performing stand-up comedy with. He would eventually join Besser in the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, along with Amy Poehler and Ian Roberts.

Career
Along with Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, and Ian Roberts, he is a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade improv comedy troupe and played "Trotter" in the troupe's sketch comedy series, which ran for three seasons on Comedy Central. Before the show, the UCB comedy foursome had already been doing improv shows at their theatre in New York, which used to be a burlesque house before they remodeled it to become a theatre. To date, they have founded two successful Upright Citizens Brigade comedy theaters located in New York and Los Angeles.

Besides his sketch work with the Upright Citizens Brigade, Walsh is also known for his memorable supporting roles in popular comedy films in recent years including Cyrus, Old School, The Hangover, Role Models and Semi-Pro. Walsh also wrote and starred in the cult indie-comedy Martin & Orloff, which had a limited theatrical run in 2002 and 2003. In addition, he was also a correspondent on The Daily Show from 2001–2002, made regular appearances in comedy sketches on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and MTV's Human Giant as well as starring in the Comedy Central mockumentry series Dog Bites Man in the summer of 2006. He also has the distinction of appearing in every Todd Phillips comedy film to date, most often playing characters aptly named "Walsh".

He had been frequently involved in various comedy segments on the popular radio program "The Best Show on WFMU". Sadly, due to his spat of toilet talk on the February 23rd, 2010 broadcast of the Best Show, he was heave-ho'd, and received a lifetime ban.

Walsh recently finished filmed a new half-hour comedy series Players, for Spike TV. Walsh (creator, writer, director and executive producer of the show) will star in the series alongside his Upright Citizens Brigade partner Ian Roberts, as two brothers who run a sports bar together. Spike has ordered 10 episodes of the series, which recently filmed in Los Angeles and began airing on March 2, 2010.

Walsh hosts the podcast "Bear Down" (beardownpodcast.com) with comedian Scot Armstrong (screenwriter of Old School) where they discuss their favorite football team The Chicago Bears and do sports-themed comedy bits such as fake call-ins and in-character interviews, most often played by comedian Sean Conroy. The podcast also features regular appearances by comedians such as Horatio Sanz, Joseph Nunez, and Matt Price.

In summer 2010, Walsh directed his first feature film called The High Road, which he co-wrote with Josh Weiner.

Personal life
Walsh lives in Los Angeles with his wife Morgan. They have two sons, Jude and Emmet.

Television work

 * Players (2010) – Bruce Fitzgerald
 * Childrens Hospital (2010) – Dr. Trotter
 * Party Down (2010) – Larry Duckett
 * The League (2009) – Oracle's Father
 * Human Giant (2007–2008) – Recurring Guest Star
 * Dog Bites Man (2006) – Kevin Beekin
 * Reno 911! (2004–2009) – Ranger Glen/Various
 * The Daily Show (2001–2002) – Correspondent
 * Upright Citizens Brigade (1998–2000) – Trotter/Various Characters
 * Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1996–2004) – Various Comedy Sketches