Jordan Peele
Jordan Peele | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jordan Peele |
Jordan Peele (born February 21, 1979) is a comic actor. Peele is most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv.
Biography
Jordan Peele was born on February 21, 1979 in New York City, New York, U.S., where he was raised. He attended the same independent, college preparatory school as Ben Stiller, the Calhoun School in Manhattan, New York and graduated in 1997. Afterwards, Peele attended Sarah Lawrence College. While at college, Peele harnessed his improv and sketch comedy skills by joining comedy troupe at Sarah Lawrence called Judith. He enjoyed improv so much that he left school two years early to co-write and perform in Two White Guys in Chicago with fellow student Rebecca Drysdale. The show was a huge hit, first at the Sky Box theatre at The Second City and then at Improv Olympics; it won "Best Scripted Show," at the Improv Olympic's annual awards show, the Del's. After college, Peele studied at The Second City. While training at Second City, Peele met his future fellow MADtv cast members, Ike Barinholtz, Nicole Parker and Josh Meyers. The trio also teamed together to perform in the comedy show Boom Chicago in Amsterdam.
MADtv
Peele joined the cast of MADtv in 2003 as a featured performer, for the ninth season. Around the time Keegan-Michael Key joined the cast as a featured performer, it was assumed that Key would be chosen over Peele. However, Peele created enough memorable characters - including Funkenstein and Superstitious Knight Ty Gray - and would be carried over to the next season.
Peele also impressed with his various celebrity impersonations, which included favorites Caroll Spinney (as the voice of Big Bird), Ja Rule, James Brown, Justin Guarini, Montel Williams, Morgan Freeman, and Forest Whitaker.
Characters
- Dontel LaMontrose (Inside Looking Out)
- Funkenstein
- Killbrain the Fury
- Larvelle Dupree (Real Mother****ing Talk)
- Noodles (Clownin' and Krumpin)
- Stingray (Abercrombie and Fitch)
- Ty Gray (The Superstitious Knights)
- Tyrone Conkling (Holly Meadow Estates)
- Wheel of Fortune contestant (name unknown) who suffered a rigged gane
Impressions
Trivia
- His Laker character, Saffron Johnson, said he attended Sarah Lawrence College, the same college that Jordan attended.
- His exaggerated impression of Forest Whitaker on dying to win an Academy Award actually happened in the Awards itself after the sketch.
- Jordan and Nicole Parker were well known for their duets at Boom Chicago.
- Portrayed a popular character called "Danish Supermodel Ute" during his time at Boom! Chicago
- Hosted MTV's Comedy Weekend in 2002
- Peele was absent for unknown reasons from the first 4 episodes of his second season on MADtv.
- Made a cameo in Weird Al Yankovic's video - "White & Nerdy" with fellow MADtv co-star Keegan-Michael Key.
- is in a viral video entitled Hillary vs Obama
Catch phrases
- "Mmm, mmm, mmm;" "I love this woman!" - Dontelle LaMontrose
- "Man up!" - Gray the Superstitious Knights
- "Oh my god! I think I'm straight!" - Wheel of Fortune
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| N/A | None | N/A |
Television Appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2003 - Present | MADtv | Various Characters | Sketch Comedy |