Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael (/dʒəˈrɒd/jə-ROD; born April 6, 1987) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker.[1][2] He has released three stand-up comedy specials on
HBO: Love at the Store (2014), 8 (2017), and Rothaniel (2022). He also co-created, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the semi autobiographical
NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show (2015–2017). Carmichael directed, produced, and starred in On the Count of Three (2021). In 2022, he won a
Primetime Emmy Award for writing Rothaniel and was nominated for guest hosting Saturday Night Live that same year.
Carmichael moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20 to pursue his dream of being a stand-up comedian although he had never performed comedy.[7] His first time doing stand-up was at an
open mic night at
The Comedy Store in
West Hollywood.[8] Working his way up through the clubs he appeared in the "New Faces" showcase at the 2011
Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal.[9] He appeared on the show The Goodwin Games (2013)[9] and had his breakout role as an actor in the film Neighbors in 2014.[2][10] His first
HBO stand-up comedy special, Love at the Store (2014), was directed by filmmaker
Spike Lee and filmed at The Comedy Store.[8][11]
Carmichael's second stand-up comedy special, 8 (2017), was directed by comedian
Bo Burnham and filmed in the Grand Lodge Room of New York's
Masonic Hall.[12] Carmichael next co-created, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the semi-biographical
NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show (2015–2017) which was well-received and was notable for pushing the envelope broaching topics including the
Black Lives Matter movement,
LGBT issues, gun rights, politics, and the reality of being black in America.[13][14][15][16][17] He also served as an executive producer for the
Fox sitcom Rel (2018–2019) and directed
Drew Michael's stand-up comedy special Drew Michael in 2018 which was acclaimed for its unusual style. Michael talks directly to the camera in a dark room without an audience; there are also scenes of him in varying degrees of confrontation with an unidentified woman played by English actress
Suki Waterhouse.[18]
Carmichael made an appearance on
Tyler, the Creator's fifth album Igor in 2019, narrating the album using short phrases to find logic in the
title character Igor's state of mind.[19] In the same year, he was hired by
Quentin Tarantino to co-write a film adaptation based on the Django/
Zorro crossover comic book series.[20] He created, directed, produced, and starred in the HBO documentaries Home Videos (2019) and Sermon on the Mount (2019) which are autobiographical. He directed and starred in the comedy thriller film On the Count of Three in 2021.[21] His third HBO special, Rothaniel (2022), was also directed by Burnham.[22] Two days after the release of Rothaniel, Carmichael hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time. Carmichael hosted the
80th Golden Globe Awards.[23]
Carmichael lives in New York City.[25] He discussed his relationships with both men and women during his documentary series Home Videos (2019).[26][27] He
came out as gay in his comedy special Rothaniel (2022).[28]