25 Facts About Neal Brennan

1.

Neal Brennan was born on October 19,1973 and is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster.

2.

Neal Brennan is best known for co-creating and co-writing the Comedy Central series Chappelle's Show with Dave Chappelle and for his Netflix stand-up comedy special 3 Mics.

3.

Neal Brennan lived in Villanova until the age of six, moving with his family in 1978 to Wilmette, Illinois.

4.

Neal Brennan has said that he realized he was funny and liked comedy at about 8 or 9 years of age, and had already been performing material for his classmates in a style that emulated comedians David Brenner, Richard Lewis, and Jerry Seinfeld.

5.

Neal Brennan watched a large amount of comedy on TV during his high school years, often staying up late to see Late Night with David Letterman and The Arsenio Hall Show.

6.

Neal Brennan would spend weekends attending Kevin's performances at The Improv in New York City, where he would meet comedians such as Dave Attell, David Juskow, Ray Romano, and Mike Royce.

7.

Neal Brennan said in an interview with Independent Film Channel that after watching his brother do stand-up, he realized it was possible to make a living in comedy.

8.

Neal Brennan moved to New York to attend film school at NYU, but he dropped out after a year.

9.

Neal Brennan began as a doorman at the now-defunct Boston Comedy Club in Greenwich Village where he met frequent performer Dave Chappelle.

10.

Neal Brennan shared an apartment with comedian Jay Mohr while living in New York.

11.

Neal Brennan later recounted that he "got no laughs" and did not perform stand-up again for five years.

12.

Neal Brennan said that he and Chappelle read the book Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, by Tom Shales when they started writing sketches for the show, and found the book very helpful.

13.

Neal Brennan directed some sketches in the show's second season, including the sketch featuring Chappelle as musician Rick James.

14.

Neal Brennan was nominated for three Emmy Awards in 2004 for his work on the show as a director, writer and producer.

15.

Neal Brennan later recommended the band to Jimmy Fallon as his house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

16.

Neal Brennan left without warning Brennan or others of the show's crew.

17.

In 2015, Neal Brennan developed and performed a comedy show, 3 Mics, in Los Angeles.

18.

Neal Brennan brought it to New York City in 2016, opening on March 3 at the Lynn Redgrave Theater.

19.

In 2006, Neal Brennan directed and co-wrote the made-for-TV movie Totally Awesome.

20.

Neal Brennan has written comedy material for the 83rd Academy Awards, as well as for Seth Meyers's speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2011.

21.

Neal Brennan continues to perform stand-up regularly in the Los Angeles area as well as nationally.

22.

Neal Brennan has appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Lopez Tonight, and Conan.

23.

In 2013, Neal Brennan directed 10 episodes of Inside Amy Schumer.

24.

Neal Brennan has said that his comedy influences are Chris Rock, Mort Sahl, Dave Attell, Mike Royce, and David Juskow.

25.

Neal Brennan described himself as an atheist in July 2011, but stated in November 2020 that he is no longer an atheist after using ayahuasca several times.