10 Movie Comedians Who Got Their Start In Stand-Up

The comedy world has always been a place where stand-up comics thrive, but there are plenty of other places the greatest names in the genre have come from. People like Jim Carrey started out in sketch comedy, while still others started out with improvisational comedy.

While not everyone who’s ever gotten big in stand-up has transitioned over to the world of comedy films, plenty of them have. Some of the names on this list might be surprising considering the skill it takes to act convincingly, but some people have mastered comedy to such a degree that they thrive in both environments.

10 Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy has been in tons and tons of films over the years, although his output has certainly dropped off in years past, as we see Murphy instead generally acting as a producer on most films he does work for.

That being said, back in the 80s, Eddie Murphy was an absolute titan of stand-up, with his special RAW being one of the most groundbreaking and critically-acclaimed stand-up sets of all time. People know Murphy from films like The Nutty Professor, Coming To America, and as the voice of Donkey in Shrek.

9 Rodney Dangerfield

Rodney Dangerfield started out on the stand-up circuit before he was widely featured as a guest act on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show. After he had been exposed to the masses like that, his career absolutely blew-up. Rodney Dangerfield was well-known for perfecting a type of self-loathing insult comedy, directed at himself.

The boomer jokes about his wife blended beautifully with the depression comedy he became known for is a really fun mix of vibes that honestly prefigured a lot of millennials and Gen Z humor, surprisingly enough. He’s appeared in films such as Easy Money and Caddyshack, in addition to playing a dramatic role in Natural Born Killers.

8 Nick Thune

Nick Thune’s brand of comedy is perhaps best described as lazy hipster wordplay, featuring both a blend of one-liners and longer-form stories. Nick Thune tends to play guitar sometimes, doing a kind of spoken-word act over the instrumentals. Listening to Thune’s style immediately calls to mind the surreal one-liner comedy of the late, great comedy legend, Mitch Hedberg.

Nick Thune still continues to do stand-up, recently streaming a special of all-new material from his house thanks to the restrictions of Covid-19. Thune had cameo roles in the Judd Apatow comedy Knocked Up and in the holiday movie Unaccompanied Minors. More recently, he starred in a horror-comedy called Dave Made A Maze. 

7 Maria Bamford

Maria Bamford would be the first to acknowledge the fact that she’s all over the place when it comes to comedy. She started out in stand-up comedy, but since then she’s branched out to improv, being a frequent guest on the comedy improv podcast Comedy Bang! Bang!.

Maria Bamford’s topics in her comedy are frequently dark and divisive, and her personality is pretty much her trademark, presenting herself as frantic and generally in a pretty agitated state, broaching subjects from her bipolar disorder to suicidal ideation. While it might not seem like the best fodder for comedy, Bamford has a unique charm. She also makes appearances in Seven Stages To Achieve Eternal Bliss in addition to voicing plenty of characters in animated comedies.

6 Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle has pretty much been a household name since the 90s when he spearheaded and starred in his very own sketch comedy show, Chappelle’s Show. Dave Chappelle is known for his frequently controversial material and his satirical performances and biting social commentary.

While Chappelle is mainly known for this show, he’s had a few wildly popular standup specials mostly released through Netflix in the past couple of years. He resides in Yellow Springs, Ohio, about 20 minutes outside of Dayton or a couple of hours from Columbus, where he frequently performs stand-up at open mics in addition to being spotted frequently grabbing food at local pizza shops. He’s appeared in Half-Baked and The Nutty Professor.

5 Paul F. Tompkins

Despite the low amount of name recognition Paul F. Tompkins might have, any fan of comedy has no doubt seen or heard some of his work, from his early appearances writing and acting for the cult HBO sketch show Mr. Show to his appearances on VH1’s Best Week Ever or Real Time With Bill Maher. He’s well known for his sophisticated sense of humor, which frequently blends absurdist styles with wordplay.

Paul has also appeared in a number of dramatic films, ranging from There Will Be Blood to The Informant!. When Paul isn’t working on films or starring in various comedy shows, he hosts and appears on various improv comedy podcasts.

4 George Carlin

George Carlin is well-known for maybe being among the greatest stand-up comedians of all time, beginning his career in the 1970s, kicking it off with a bang as one of his most famous routines known as “Seven Dirty Words” led to a supreme court case regarding censorship.

Carlin is known for his performances which revolve pretty much solely around political commentary, dark humor, and generally taboo subjects, making him the target of more than a little controversy. Carlin has made appearances (although mostly cameos) in films like Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back and Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey. George Carlin, unfortunately, passed away in 2008, but the mark he left on comedy is immortal.

3 Steve Martin

Steve Martin is known as one of the greats, whether we’re talking about film comedians, stand-ups, or improvisers, and when it comes to Steve Martin, we don’t actually have to choose any of these backgrounds. While Steve Martin started in stand-up comedy and was known for his one-liners which provide an ironic twist on the expectations of the audience, he also trained at the Second City, an improv comedy theater in Chicago that was the birthplace of the careers of many comedians.

He’s known for being 1/3 of the titular Three Amigos, starring with John Candy in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, as well as being a star of one of the greatest casts of Saturday Night Live. He’s still going strong and has appeared in plenty of recent films as well.

2 Richard Pryor

Richard Pryor was one of the most controversial comedians of all time, and he’s a major influence on almost anyone who decides to get into the art form these days. Richard Pryor has been awarded an Emmy and 5 Grammys over the course of his career. Richard Pryor is inspiring due to the fact that when he first started, his stage fright was insane.

The audience could tell that he was shaking like a leaf, a problem he’d overcome as his humor became cruder and cruder and he came into his own. Richard was so raunchy that he got a call from Bill Cosby, who asked him not to be so profane. He’s appeared in David Lynch’s Lost Highway, The Wiz, The Muppet Movie, and Superman III.

1 Joan Rivers

Joan Rivers is another actress that straddled the line between improv and stand-up, although she got her start in the latter. She was the very first woman to ever host a late-night talk show, competing with her mentor, Johnny Carson.

Joan Rivers is well-known as an insult comic, being both self-deprecating and constantly inflammatory towards other celebrities and audience members. She’s frequently been cited as one of the most important female comedians of all time and has appeared in films such as John Waters’ Serial Mom, Shrek 2, and Iron Man 3.

About The Author