Sebastian Maniscalco
An impeccably tailored man thoroughly disgusted by modern human behavior.
6 specials · 2008–2025
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He acts out his grievance. Sebastian Maniscalco does not just stand at the mic and complain about the guy holding up the line at the airport. He paces the stage, pulling his face into a grimace of pure disgust, pantomiming the exact slack-jawed shuffle of someone wearing pajama pants in public. He wears sharp, tailored suits and moves with tight, rigid bursts of physical frustration. When a joke reaches its peak, he will drop his voice to a judgmental whisper, pausing to let the room sit in the awkwardness.
Specials
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A highly physical performance about the minor embarrassments of modern life.
Netflix · 65 min
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A physical comedy set targeting the absurdities of modern life.
Showtime · 63 min
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An agitated man catalogs the decline of modern social etiquette.
Showtime · 75 min
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A 2008 half-hour set about sushi bills, T9 texting, and airport dogs.
Comedy Central · 22 min
On stage
He plays the largest arenas in the country on the strength of this specific irritation. He sells out massive venues like Madison Square Garden and the United Center by leaning into a perspective that rejects modern permissiveness. He provides an outlet for people who are just thoroughly annoyed by everyone else.
He stays grounded by making himself the uptight weirdo as much as he mocks the people around him. A typical bit starts with a basic annoyance, like someone bringing a dog into a restaurant, and escalates entirely through his physical exaggeration of the interaction. He ignores large structural issues to police basic social etiquette. He wants to know why you wore flip-flops to dinner, and he wants to know why your kid is misbehaving.
That sense of strict propriety comes from an old-school Italian-American upbringing in the Chicago suburbs. He filters every social encounter through the lens of a family where people had manners, felt a sense of shame, and put on real shoes to leave the house.
Turning points
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2005–2008
Breakthrough on Vince Vaughn's Comedy Tour
After years of doing open mics while waiting tables at the Four Seasons, Maniscalco was chosen as one of four comedians for Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show, catalyzing his career.
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Co-Writing and Starring Opposite Robert De Niro
Maniscalco made his lead film acting debut by co-writing and starring in About My Father, with Robert De Niro portraying a character based on Maniscalco's real-life immigrant father.
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Historic Record-Breaking Madison Square Garden Run
During his 'It Ain't Right' tour, Maniscalco set records at Madison Square Garden with five consecutive sold-out shows, drawing 91,336 fans and establishing venue comedy records for attendance and grosses.
At a glance
- Born
- 1973, Arlington Heights, Illinois
- On stage
- since 1998
- Style
- observational, physical comedy, satire, insult comedy, storytelling
- Breakout
- Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights – Hollywood to the Heartland
- Influences
- Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, Brian Regan, John Ritter, Johnny Carson, Andrew Dice Clay, Bill Burr, Don Rickles
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Website, Wikipedia
Fans also like
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Pete Correale
As long-running co-hosts of their weekly podcast, Correale and Maniscalco share an aligned sensibility grounded in classic Italian-American storytelling, marital exasperation, and etiquette critiques.
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Jerry SeinfeldA primary formative influence cited by Maniscalco, Seinfeld shares his hyper-detailed focus on everyday societal absurdities and etiquette.
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Brian Regan
Regan is a key stylistic influence who pioneered an expressive, full-bodied physical commitment to observational standup comedy.
Podcasts
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The Pete and Sebastian Show · co-host
Sebastian Maniscalco and Pete Correale discuss life, culture, family, and the strange absurdities people accept as normal.
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Behind the Irishman · host
A three-part official companion podcast exploring Martin Scorsese's film The Irishman.
Also on screen
- The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature
- The House
- Green Book
- Tag
- Cruise
A clip to start with
A clip of Sebastian Maniscalco