Kyle Mooney

Kyle Mooney
Mooney in 2009
Born	Kyle James Kozub Mooney[1] (1984-09-04) September 4, 1984 San Diego, California, U.S.
Education	University of Southern California
Occupation	Actor, comedian, writer
Years active	2008-present

Kyle James Kozub Mooney (born September 4, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and co-founder of the sketch comedy group Good Neighbor.^[2] His man-on-the-street interviews have been featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Sports Show with Norm Macdonald.^[3]

He also co-starred as Rory on the HBO comedy series Hello Ladies^[4] and joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2013.^[5]

Early life

Mooney was born in San Diego, California, to parents Linda Kozub and Brian Mooney. Linda is a former San Diego Union reporter and Brian is an environmental consultant and urban planner.^[6] Kyle has two brothers, Sean and Ryan Mooney; he is the youngest of the three.

His Marshall Middle School class chose him as the most likely to become a T.V. star.^[7] He graduated from Scripps Ranch High School in 2003 where he won Best Actor as Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest ^[8] and was hailed as class clown.^[7]

Mooney studied film at the University of Southern California.^[9][10] There, he performed improv and sketch comedy with collegiate group, Commedus Interruptus. After a six-week audition process in 2003,^[11] the three new members added to Commedus were: Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, and Nick Rutherford.^[12]

Career

Good Neighbor

In 2007, Mooney, Bennett, and Rutherford came together to form the sketch comedy group, Good Neighbor, along with Mooney's best friend, director, and editor, Dave McCary.^[13] Their first viral video success was a sketch based on a toddler dressed up as Jamie Lynn Spears.

The name Good Neighbor originated from an experience they had after a night of partying during their senior year of college. Bennett woke up to a knocking at his door. It was his neighbor; an old lady dressed in a muumuu with white, curly hair, and glasses. She held up cigarette butts and starting expressing to Bennett how angry she was that they were on her lawn. She explained that her dog was very curious. She worried he would smell the cigarette butts and light on fire and then proceed inside and light her house on fire. In spite of how ridiculous her concerns were, Bennett didn't miss a beat and responded with: "It's wrong. It's morally wrong. I didn't know it was happening. I don't smoke. If I ever have friends over again, I will put up signs that say, My neighbor has a very curious dog. Please don't throw your cigarette butts on her lawn.. What happened to you is not right. And I will do everything in my power to not let it happen again." After a pause, the old lady replied, "Good Neighbor." Then she walked away and Bennett never saw her again.^[14]

In 2014, Good Neighbor was featured on New Media Rockstars' Top 100 Channels, ranked at #98.^[15]

Bennett and McCary joined Mooney on SNL in 2013.^[16]

Saturday Night Live

On September 28, 2013, Kyle Mooney made his debut on Saturday Night Live as a featured player along with Beck Bennett, John Milhiser, Michael Patrick O'Brien, Brooks Wheelan, and Noël Wells. The featured players were introduced during the opening monologue of the season thirty-nine premiere by host, Tina Fey, who described the season as "a rebuilding year".^[17] Mooney was initiated into the cast along with his fellow featured players by Fey. She made them dance, shake, and thrust on stage in gold, sequined jackets and tight, short shorts. Of the six featured players hired at the beginning of Season 39, only Mooney and his Good Neighbor partner Beck Bennett returned for Season 40 (along with Sasheer Zamata and Colin Jost).

Mooney has brought some of his YouTube characters to SNL including his man on the street interviews, Chris Fitzpatrick, Todd from Inside SoCal, and Bruce Chandling.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series and shorts

References

External links

• Kyle Mooney at the Internet Movie Database
• Kyle Mooney's channel on YouTube