Biography
Brett Gelman's cult comedy credentials were nearly unparalleled. After graduation from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Gelman joined the improv/sketch group Upright Citizens Brigade, and immediately began working at an impressive rate. He appeared in supporting or guest roles in numerous TV shows and feature films, all comedies, many of which were outlandish Comedy Central and Adult Swim TV shows. Gelman was also known for his appearances on multiple podcasts and his trademark scruffy beard. Born in 1976 in Highland Park, Illinois, Gelman saw the Marx Brothers film "Night at the Opera" (1935) at age 6, and decided that comedy was for him. After his stint at UNC, Winston-Salem he headed to UCB New York and quickly became ensconced in the cabal of comedians (including Amy Poelher, Rob Corddry, and Matt Besser) who were just beginning to make their presence known. Gelman's first professional onscreen appearance was in "Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story" (2004). The sports movie satire was a UCB affair, featuring many members of the troupe, including stars Rob Corddry and Paul Scheer. It premiered at the 2004 South by Southwest Film Festival where the film won the audience award, before being picked up for distribution then released in theaters two years later. Although his role was small, the die was cast. Over the next two years Gelman and frequent collaborator Jon C. Daly wrote, produced, and directed a number of music videos for their comedy rap duo Cracked Out, and in 2007 they released their EP The Fleetwood Crack for download. Also in 2007, Gelman appeared in "Watching the Detectives," starring Lucy Liu and Cillian Murphy and a supporting cast chock full of UCB talent. In the postmillennial comedy world, everybody took advantage of the podcast, and Gelman was no exception. He appeared regularly on Scott Aukerman's "Comedy, Bang! Bang!" podcast on Earwolf as well as the subsequent IFC TV series. In 2011 he premiered his own podcast, "Gelmania," also distributed on Earwolf. Still in 2011, Gelman also appeared in his first series regular role. Produced by Conan O'Brien and starring Chris Elliott, "Eagleheart" (Adult Swim, 2011-14) was an outrageous parody of "Walker, Texas Ranger" (CBS, 1993-2001) and other similar police procedurals. Gelman played Brett Mobley, dimwitted partner to Elliott's Marshall Chris Monsanto on their crime fighting adventures. After being cast in "Eagleheart," the floodgates opened. Gelman was a series regular on "The Inbetweeners" (MTV, 2012), a remake of the British show. The same year, he was also a regular on the Matthew Perry vehicle "Go On" (NBC, 2012). Unfortunately, neither show managed to find an audience, and both were cancelled after one season. Gelman appeared in a small part in the Ashton Kutcher film "Jobs" (2013), before coming back to TV with two more series roles in 2014. First, he appeared in the sitcom "Bad Teacher" (NBC, 2014), which also lasted only one season. He then joined the cast of "Married" (FX, 2014-), starring Nat Faxon and Judy Greer. Gelman was a series regular playing AJ, an intense and troubled recently divorced friend of Faxon's character, Russ.
