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Taran Killam

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Taran Killam
Killam in 2024
Born
Taran Hourie Killam

(1982-04-01) April 1, 1982 (age 42)
Culver City, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active1994–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2012)​
Children2

Taran Hourie Killam[1] (born April 1, 1982) is an American actor and comedian. He first garnered attention for his brief stint on the Fox comedy series MADtv during its seventh season between 2001 and 2002, followed by his wider success as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2010 to 2016. He has also appeared in other television series such as Wild 'n Out, The Amanda Show, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, and in the main cast of Single Parents. Killam is also known for his portrayal of a teen pop star in the 2004 Disney Channel Original Movie Stuck in the Suburbs. He voiced the title character on the PBS children's cartoon series Nature Cat.

Killam is also known for his roles in Broadway theatre. He played the role of King George III in Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre from January 17, 2017 to April 13, 2017. He returned to Broadway in Spamalot at the St. James Theatre, where he played the role of Lancelot from October 31, 2023 to January 7, 2024.

Early life

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Killam was born on April 1, 1982, in Culver City, California,[1] and lived in Big Bear Lake, California, until age 15.[2] His mother toured with The Charlie Daniels Band and has been described as a singer-songwriter. His father was a part of the City Garage Theatre Group and has been described as having had acting ambitions.[2] Killam is also the great-nephew of Rosemarie Bowe, wife of actor Robert Stack.[clarification needed][3]

Killam attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.[2] He attended the UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television "as a musical theater student", where he stated he "spent much of his time working on UCLA's Theater Festival". He left UCLA to pursue his acting career.[4]

Career

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Early career

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In 1994, Killam made his first film appearance as a boy in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. Killam was featured on Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show, a sketch-comedy vehicle for Amanda Bynes. He played Spaulding, a boy with a crush on Moody in the soap opera parody "Moody's Point".[episode needed]

Killam joined the cast of MADtv as a featured player during its seventh season from 2001 to 2002. Of the 25 episodes that aired during MADtv's seventh season, Killam appeared in 13. Joining the MADtv cast at age 19, Killam was the youngest cast member hired on the show and the only cast member on MADtv to get his start on children's shows (similar to Kenan Thompson on Saturday Night Live). He was a regular cast member on the third and fourth seasons of Wild 'N Out. In 2005, Killam co-starred in the television pilot Nobody's Watching, which never aired on network TV. The pilot gained popularity after it was leaked online and webisodes were produced from 2006 to 2007.[5]

Killam co-starred in the 2004 Disney Channel original film Stuck in the Suburbs. After MADtv, Killam appeared on TV shows such as Jake in Progress, Still Standing, Boston Public, Drake & Josh, Do Over, Roswell and Judging Amy. He has appeared on Scrubs and Scrubs: Interns as Jimmy (the Overly Touchy Orderly).[episode needed] Killam appeared as a contestant on the December 7, 2006 episode of The Price Is Right.

He has been in Big Fat Liar, Just Married, Anderson's Cross, and My Best Friend's Girl.

Killam was a member of the Los Angeles-based improvisational and sketch-comedy troupe the Groundlings. He retired from the main company in 2012.[citation needed]

Saturday Night Live

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On September 25, 2010, Killam joined the cast of Saturday Night Live for the 36th season, making him the second Nickelodeon veteran (after Kenan Thompson) to join SNL and the second SNL cast member who was previously a cast member on the sketch show MADtv (after Jeff Richards). Killam named Eddie Murphy as his favorite SNL cast member and Arcade Fire as his favorite musical guest.[6] In August 2016, Killam and castmate Jay Pharoah left the show.[7][8] Killam said he was not told why his contract was not renewed.[9]

On November 10, 2012, Killam appeared with Kenan Thompson and Anne Hathaway in a SNL music video, "The Legend of Mokiki and the Sloppy Swish". Mokiki is a laboratory test subject who wanders Manhattan performing a shuffling dance move known as the "Sloppy Swish". The sketch briefly became an Internet phenomenon and garnered Killam media and public attention.[10][11] Mike Ryan of The Huffington Post wrote, "It is one of the most bizarre things to ever air on SNL, yet, the next day, everyone was talking about the Sloppy Swish."[12]

Other work

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In December 2011, Killam replicated the Robyn video "Call Your Girlfriend" in a small writer's room and posted it to YouTube. The video went viral and by February 2022, it had been viewed more than 1,277,875 times.[13] The late night antics briefly became an Internet phenomenon and garnered Killam media and public attention.[14] When interviewed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Killam stated that he had not known the dance shown in the song's official video until Robyn was scheduled to appear on SNL as a guest; he watched the video repeatedly until he could perform it himself.[15]

In 2011, Killam appeared in Community episode "Regional Holiday Music" as Mr. Radison (Mr. Rad), a parody of Will Schuester from Glee. In 2012 he appeared in iCarly episode "iMeet the First Lady" as a Secret Service agent.

Killam co-starred in the 2013 comedy film The Heat. Killam voices Zip "Frantic" Danger on the Hulu original series The Awesomes.[citation needed]

In 2013 Killam ventured into the spy genre and the comics industry with The Illegitimates, a six-issue comics miniseries co-written by Marc Andreyko, illustrated by Kevin Sharpe and published by IDW Publishing. The series focuses on a team of illegitimate siblings who are charged with taking the place of their father, Jack Steele, a James Bond-like spy, after his death. The first issue was published December 18, 2013,[6] and received mixed reviews.[16][17][18][19]

Killam appears in the 2013 film 12 Years a Slave, playing the role of Abram Hamilton, one of the kidnappers who brings the main character into slavery.

Killam is a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Raphael his favorite turtle, and successfully lobbied for a role in the 2014 film as Channel 5 staff.[6]

Killam made six guest appearances as Gary Blauman on his wife Cobie Smulders' TV series, How I Met Your Mother. His first appearance was in the March 20, 2006, episode, "Life Among the Gorillas" and the final one was the March 24, 2014, episode, "The End of the Aisle".

In 2015, Killam provided the voice of the titular character on the PBS Kids show Nature Cat, along with SNL alumni Kate McKinnon, Bobby Moynihan, and Kenan Thompson.[citation needed]

On January 17, 2017, Killam succeeded Rory O'Malley in the role of King George III in the Broadway musical Hamilton.[20]

Killam produced, scripted, directed and starred in the comic hitman film Killing Gunther, given a general release in fall 2017. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played Gunther in the film, served as executive producer for it.

In March 2018, Killam was cast as a lead in the comedy pilot Single Parents[21] for ABC, which was picked up to series for a premiere on September 26 of that year.

Personal life

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After several years of dating, Killam and actress Cobie Smulders became engaged in January 2009.[22] They married on September 8, 2012, in Solvang, California.[23] The couple has two daughters,[24] born in 2009[25][26] and 2015.[27]

Killam is an avid fan of the Los Angeles Rams, often being spotted at local home games.[28][29]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1994 Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult Boy of Geriatric Park
2002 Big Fat Liar Bret Callaway
2003 Just Married Dickie McNerney
2004 Stuck in the Suburbs Jordan Cahill
2006 The Showdown The Batter Short film
Dr. Miracles Mr. Peterson
2007 Epic Movie Pirate
2008 My Best Friend's Girl Josh
2009 Three Matthew McConaugheys and a Baby Matthew McConaughey Short film
2010 Anderson's Cross Austin Wilson
2013 The Heat Adam/Simon Larkin
Grown Ups 2 Male Cheerleader Cameo
12 Years a Slave Abram Hamilton
2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Jim McNaughton
2015 Ted 2 Himself
Underdogs Captain Skip / Rufus (voice)
2016 Casual Encounters Justin Davis
Brother Nature Roger Fellner Also writer
2017 All Nighter Gary
Killing Gunther Blake Also director, producer and writer; directorial debut
2018 Night School Stewart
2023 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Patrick O'Hara / Web-Slinger and Widow (voice)
River Wild Gray Reese Direct-to-video film[30]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Jersey Varsity 1 Episode: "Nick's a Chick"
Judging Amy Freddie Felleman Episode: "The Wee Hours"
Touched by an Angel Teenage Robert Episode: "The Grudge"
2000–2002 The Amanda Show Spaulding 7 episodes
2001 Undressed Blake 40 episodes
Roswell Malamud Episode: "Heart of Mine"
2001–2002 MADtv Various 13 episodes
2002 Do Over Dave Episode: "The Block Party"
2003 All That Host Special: "R U All That?: Nickelodeon's Search for the Funniest Kid in America"
2004 Drake & Josh Trevor Episode: "Dune Buggy"
Boston Public Alex Buchanan Episode: "Chapter Seventy-Eight"
Still Standing Andy Episode: "Still Narcing"
Stuck in the Suburbs Jordan Cahill TV film
2005 Jake in Progress Todd Episode: "Loose Thread"
2006 Girlfriends Jordan Gray Episode: "Hustle & Dough"
2006–2014 How I Met Your Mother Gary Blauman 6 episodes
2006–2007 Wild 'n Out Various 29 episodes
2007 Nick Cannon Presents: Short Circuitz Various 8 episodes; also writer
2009 Scrubs Jimmy 4 episodes
Scrubs: Interns Episode: "The Late Night with Jimmy Show"
2010–2016 Saturday Night Live Himself, Various 126 episodes
2011 Community Professor Cory Radison / Mr. Rad Episode: "Regional Holiday Music"
2012 iCarly Agent Kinsey Episode: "iMeet the First Lady"
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday Patient, Steve Doocy, Guy 2 episodes
2013–2018 Drunk History Various 6 episodes
2013–2015 The Awesomes Zip "Frantic" Danger (voice) Main role; 30 episodes
2014 Comedy Bang! Bang! Smith Calvins Episode: "Jenna Fischer Wears a Floral Blouse & Black Heels"
Sesame Street Professor Buck Awe Episode: "School for Chickens"
2015–2024 Nature Cat Nature Cat (voice) Main role; 98 episodes
2016 New Girl Fred Episode: "What About Fred"
Mating Jay Pilot
2018 A.P. Bio Mr. Vining Episode: "Teacher Jail"
Dallas & Robo Bright Eyes / various (voice) 4 episodes
Robot Chicken Various voices Episode: "Ext. Forest Day"
2018–2020 Single Parents Will Cooper Main role, 45 episodes
2018 We Bare Bears Willoughby-Wentworth (voice) Episode: "Adopted"
Angie Tribeca Pierre Cardin 6 episodes
2019 Documentary Now! Benedict Juniper Episode: "Original Cast Album: Co-Op"
Arrested Development Young George Bluth, Sr. 3 episodes[31]
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Zam Larson Episode: "Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner"
What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage Himself Episode: "Elevator"
Star Wars Resistance Stormtrooper #2 (voice) Episode: "Station to Station"
2020 The Simpsons Glen Tangier/Airshot (voice) Episode: "Bart the Bad Guy"
Loafy Hypnotist Hwayne / Punk Kid #2 (voice) 2 episodes
Vampirina Ichabod Crane (voice) Episode: "A Tale Of Two Hollows"
The George Lucas Talk Show Himself Episode: "Revenge of the Sick"
2021 Star Wars: The Bad Batch Depot Manager / Goatal / Landspeeder Driver (voice) Episode: "Cornered"
Impeachment: American Crime Story Steve Jones Recurring role, 5 episodes
Mr. Mayor Taryn Digiacomo Episode: "Mr. Mayor's Magical L.A. Christmas"
2022 The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib Ace Perfection (voice) Episode: "The Great Medieval London Fire of 1135"
2022–2023 The NFL Pile On Host
2023–2024 Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Hap / various (voice) 18 episodes
2024 High Potential Ludo Radovic Recurring role

Theatre

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Year Title Role Notes
2015 Little Shop of Horrors Orin Scrivello & Others Off-Broadway
Encores!
2017 Hamilton King George III Broadway debut;
Replaced Rory O'Malley
2023–2024 Spamalot Sir Lancelot / The French Taunter /
Knight of Ni / Tim the Enchanter 		Broadway
2023 Gutenberg! The Musical! The Guest Producer Broadway; One night appearance
2024 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Vice Principal Douglas Panch Kennedy Center
2025 Urinetown Officer Lockstock Off-Broadway
Encores!

Bibliography

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Taran Killam". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Owen Turner, Arrissia (July 15, 2004). "From Big Bear to big time-Taran Killam". Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  3. ^ "12 Years A Slave and Saturday Night Live with Taran Killam, episode #96 of I Was There Too". earwolf.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  4. ^ Yan, Marjorie (February 22, 2011). "Killam with laughter: actor, comedian, and former Bruin lands dream job on 'Saturday Night Live' cast". Daily Bruin. University of California, Los Angeles. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  5. ^ "Nobody's Watching Part 2 ", YouTube, June 8, 2006
  6. ^ a b c Dietsch, T.J. (October 17, 2013). "NYCC: 'Saturday Night Live's' Taran Killam Debriefs 'The Illegitimates'". Comic Book Resources.
  7. ^ Ausiello, Michael (August 8, 2016). "SNL Vets Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah Not Returning for Season 42". TVLine.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  8. ^ Ryan, Mike (August 8, 2016). "Taran Killam On Why He's Leaving 'Saturday Night Live'". Uproxx.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  9. ^ Ryan, Mike (August 9, 2016). "We Spoke to Taran Killam about why he's not returning to 'SNL'". Uproxx. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Hernandez, Brian Anthony (November 11, 2012). "Mokiki's Sloppy Swish Is the Next 'Gangnam Style'". Mashable. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  11. ^ "What's Trending: Look Out, Psy: SNL's 'Sloppy Swish' Might be the Next 'Gangnam Style'". MSN Now. November 12, 2012. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2013. The ridiculous "Sloppy Swish" dance by Mokiki was featured in an SNL sketch last night, and, with the speed that it's gone viral today, some people are predicting it could be the next Gangnam Style. Parodies have already begun springing up on YouTube and there are Tumblr pages for both "Mokiki" and "Sloppy Swish." Sorry, Psy — there may be a new viral dance sensation on the block.
  12. ^ Ryan, Mike (November 14, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live': Origins Of The Sloppy Swish And Mokiki, Explained By Taran Killam". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  13. ^ "Call Your Girlfriend SNL". YouTube. December 12, 2011. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  14. ^ Hughes, Sarah (December 13, 2011). "Taran Killam and 'SNL' cohorts do late night recreation of Robyn's 'Call Your Girlfriend' (Video)". Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 15, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  15. ^ "Talkin' Robyn with Taran Killam". Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  16. ^ Konrad, Jeremy (October 16, 2013). "Taran Killam And IDW's The Illegitimates Win Over The Crowd". Bleeding Cool.
  17. ^ Jasper, Marykate (December 20, 2013). "The Illegitimates #1". Comic Book Resources.
  18. ^ Ostrowski, Vince (December 19, 2013). "Review: The Illegitimates #1". Multiversity Comics.
  19. ^ Hunsaker, Andy (December 18, 2013). "The Illegitimates #1: 'SNL' Star Taran Killam's Comic Debut". CraveOnline.
  20. ^ Lee, Ashley (December 14, 2016). "Taran Killam to Make Broadway Debut in 'Hamilton'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  21. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 2, 2018). "Taran Killam, Leighton Meester & Brad Garrett Cast In 'Single Parents' ABC Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  22. ^ Alexander, Reagan (January 28, 2009). "HIMYM's Cobie Smulders Flashes Her New Engagement Ring". People. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  23. ^ Clark, Jerry (September 8, 2012). "'SNL's' Taran Killam Marries 'How I Met Your Mother's' Cobie Smulders". RumorFix. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  24. ^ Keveney, Bill (September 25, 2019). "'Stumptown' star Cobie Smulders: 'Going through cancer has made me a better person'". USA Today. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  25. ^ Leon, Anya (July 3, 2009). "It's a Girl for Cobie Smulders". People.
  26. ^ "Taran Killam and Cobie Smulders Expecting Second Child". People. October 21, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  27. ^ Klassen, Anna (January 26, 2015). "'Unexpected' Star Cobie Smulders & Director Kris Swanberg On Finally Making a Pregnancy Film From the Female Perspective". Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  28. ^ Gonzalez, Alden (September 18, 2018). "A day at the game with an SNL alum and a (real) celebrity Rams fan". ESPN. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  29. ^ "Taran Killam and the Miz compare Rams & Browns fanbases". NFL. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  30. ^ Huff, Lauren (July 13, 2023). "Adam Brody, Leighton Meester and Taran Killam have ominous on-screen reunion in River Wild trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  31. ^ Snierson, Dan (March 7, 2019). "Arrested Development: Cobie Smulders and Taran Killam to play Lucille and George Sr". Entertainment Weekly.
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