Brooks Wheelan

Brooks Patrick Wheelan (born August 21, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer who was a cast member on Saturday Night Live for the 2013–2014 season.[2][3]

Brooks Wheelan
Wheelan on July 18, 2012
Born
Brooks Patrick Wheelan

(1986-08-21) August 21, 1986
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.[1]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Iowa
OccupationStand-up comedian, actor, writer
Years active2013–present

Early life and education

Wheelan was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on August 21, 1986, and raised in Manchester, Iowa, the son of Chris and Jim Wheelan.[4]

Growing up, his interest mostly focused on science and mathematics. He performed regularly in Iowa City during his college years. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 2009 with a biomedical engineering degree.[5]

Career

Wheelan started performing stand-up comedy in his late teens in Iowa, then went to Kansas City and Chicago, before eventually moving to Los Angeles where he began to perform stand-up comedy full-time. Before joining Saturday Night Live, he performed stand-up comedy in Los Angeles while he had a job as a biomedical engineer, doing research on eyes and heart valves.[6] In 2013, Wheelan was hired to write for Saturday Night Live for the 2013–2014 season and was made a cast member the week before the season started.[6][7] After being fired from Saturday Night Live, Wheelan embarked on a stand-up tour entitled 'Brooks Wheelan Falls Back On Standup Comedy (sorta) Tour', in reference to his firing. As part of his promotion for the tour he performed on Conan.

Wheelan's first stand-up comedy album This is Cool, Right? was released on 27 January 2015[8] to critical acclaim.[9][10] The Laugh Button called it, "One of the best albums of 2015."[11] While the A.V. Club wrote, "This Is Cool, Right? is at turns manic, honest, and completely absurd. Brooks crafts jokes not unlike sketches, and has an ear for storytelling that finds universal truths in the examining of his personal life." [12] As part of the promotion for the record, he appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Wheelan also has a Comedy Central half-hour stand-up special airing in summer 2015.

Saturday Night Live

Wheelan was a recurring guest on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update," using his stand-up stories as public service announcements against irresponsible behavior. On the Bruce Willis / Katy Perry episode, the commentary centered on having tattoos that have no meaning, with Wheelan showing off three tattoos he had in his youth: A tribal stamp on his left arm meant to look like the one Anthony Kiedis from Red Hot Chili Peppers has, a nautical star on his right arm, and a weird oceanscape on his side (which came from a doodle he drew in his freshman year of high school, and which does not make sense to him because he grew up in Iowa, which is not a coastal state). On the Anna Kendrick / Pharrell Williams episode, the commentary centered on the dangers of drinking alcohol, and the story of how his friends put butter down his pants while he was blacked out drunk and Wheelan worrying that he was dying of an undiscovered sexually transmitted disease.

On July 14, 2014, Wheelan announced through Twitter that he was no longer a cast member of Saturday Night Live, stating, "FIRED FROM NEW YORK IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!".[13] A couple of days later, Wheelan admitted that he was not angry and that he is still close to some of the cast members. He says he prefers stand-up.[14]

Impressions on Saturday Night Live

Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan

On October 24, 2017, Wheelen launched a podcast called, "Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan". In each episode, Brooks interviews a guest on the often low-paying or undesirable jobs they had before they eventually achieved success in the entertainment industry.[15]

Personal life

Brooks Wheelan went to Dubuque Hempstead High School in Dubuque, Iowa, where he was crowned homecoming king.[16]

Wheelan was engaged to his longtime girlfriend but they broke it off.[17] In 2017, he started dating YouTube star Grace Helbig. Their relationship ended in October 2018.

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2013 Adam Devine's House Party Himself
2013-2014 Saturday Night Live Himself / Various Roles Also writer
2014 @midnight Himself
2015 Ridiculousness Himself
Hawaii 5-0 Owen
Girls Bryce Season 4, Episode 2: "Triggering"
Better Off Single Barry
The Half Hour Himself
2016 Those Who Can't Ronnie
Random Tropical Paradise Bowie Pemberton IV
To Tell the Truth Himself / Guest Panelist
2017–2021 Big Hero 6: The Series[18] Fredrick "Fred" Fredrickson IV Voice
2018 The Attempt (Short Film) Bryan Also writer
2019 A.P. Bio Seth

Discography
Year Title
2015 This is cool, Right?

References
  1. Klingseis, Katherine (October 13, 2013). "Comedian pokes fun at his tattoos, Iowa upbringing on 'Saturday Night Live'". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  2. Lorenza Brascia. "'SNL' cast member Brooks Wheelan 'fired'". CNN. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  3. "'Saturday Night Live' Castmember Brooks Wheelan 'Fired'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  4. Morain, Michael (September 18, 2013). "Native Iowan among new cast this season on 'SNL'". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  5. Ta, Linh (September 27, 2013). "Manchester native named to new 'SNL' cast". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  6. Carter, Bill (September 15, 2013). "New Course for 'Weekend Update,' and All of 'SNL'". The New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  7. Evans, Bradford (August 26, 2013). "Standup Brooks Wheelan Hired to Write for 'SNL'". Splitsider. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  8. Brooks Wheelan [@brookswheelan] (December 13, 2014). "Cover art for my first comedy album, "This is cool, right?" Pick it up JANUARY 27, 2015" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. Staff, Laugh Button (December 18, 2015). "Top Comedy Albums of 2015". Laugh Button. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  10. Staff, Paste (December 12, 2015). "10 Best Comedy Albums of 2015". Paste. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  11. Staff, Laugh Button (December 18, 2015). "Top Comedy Albums of 2015". Laugh Button. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  12. Fowle, Kyle (February 12, 2015). "Brooks Wheelan goes absurd, honest on debut album This Is Cool, Right?". A.V. Club. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  13. Barsanti, Sam (July 14, 2014). "Saturday Night Live has fired Brooks Wheelan". A.V. Club. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  14. "Brooks Wheelan Talks About Getting Fired From SNL - No You Shut Up!". YouTube. No You Shut Up!. July 28, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  15. "Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan".
  16. Morain, Michael (April 10, 2015). "Eastern Iowa's Brooks Wheelan moves on after 'SNL'". Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  17. "Gatekeeper with Jamie Flam: #28 Brooks Wheelan". Player.fm.
  18. Milligan, Mercedes (November 3, 2016). "Disney XD Details 'Big Hero 6' Series Cast". Animation Magazine. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
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