Matt Braunger
A tall, loud comic acting out his own worst decisions.
4 specials · 2010–2020
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Matt Braunger uses his physical size and his voice like theatrical props. He is a large man who moves with surprising elasticity on stage, suddenly contorting his face into a cartoonish grimace or dropping his register to an intense stage-whisper to act out an internal monologue. His bits usually start with an ordinary frustration—a weird interaction at a bar, a terrible job, an overly polite hometown—that he escalates into a full-body reenactment of a bad decision.
Specials
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Comedy Dynamics · 60 min
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A loud single guy catalogs his most humiliating public choices.
Comedy Central · 66 min
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A booming half-hour of weird premises, medical marijuana, and literate athletes.
Comedy Central
On stage
He helped anchor the Pacific Northwest alt-comedy boom. By co-founding Portland’s Bridgetown Comedy Festival, he built a hub for a whole wave of indie comics. He operates now as a veteran club headliner, the guy other standups walk out to the back of the room to watch.
His signature move is playing the big, confused guy who means well. He pulls a lot of laughs from the gap between his lumberjack exterior and his easily startled interior. He is at his best when describing his own failures, mapping out the exact moment he realized he was the problem in a story. If his act has a weakness, it is that his sheer energy can sometimes outpace a thinner premise, relying on his volume to muscle a joke across the finish line. But when the writing matches the performance, he hits on a perfect visual, like pantomiming the quiet shame of ordering a Jägerbomb.
His background in acting, which includes a stint on MADtv and regular sitcom work, explains his control over his facial expressions and stage blocking. He knows exactly where to stand to make a punchline land harder.
Turning points
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2008–2009
Cast Member on MADtv's Final Season
Braunger joined the cast of MADtv during its final season, bolstering his television profile and transitioning his Chicago improv experience to national sketch television.
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2014–2015
Filming Big Dumb Animal in Brooklyn
Braunger recorded his second hour-long special at The Bell House in Brooklyn, creating a cohesive, narrative-focused hour detailing masculine foolishness and aging.
At a glance
Fans also like
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Kyle KinaneBoth comedians emerged together from the Chicago scene and share a gruff, foul-mouthed, everyman storytelling sensibility grounded in personal self-deprecation.
Podcasts
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This Might Help with Matt Braunger · host
An advice podcast where Matt Braunger and guest performers take unsolicited voicemail questions from listeners and offer immediate, unscripted solutions.
Also on screen
- 2008–2009
- MADtv
- United States of Tara
- 2017–2018
- I'm Dying Up Here
- Man with a Plan
- Carol's Second Act
A clip to start with
A clip of Matt Braunger