Welcome back to the Deep Dive. So our listener
today has really handed us quite a challenge,
a massive stack of sources, all pointing to one
person, John Daly. Yeah, it's a lot. And the
task isn't just, you know, reading off his credits,
because honestly, that list is kind of overwhelming.
It's huge, yeah. The real mission here, I think,
is to sort of figure out the common thread, what
ties his whole career together, from like...
Tiny improv stages in Pittsburgh, all the way
to co -executive producing, big network comedies,
and, well, being a major voice in huge animated
shows. It really is the definition of a deep
dive, isn't it? We're talking about Jonathan
Barney Daly, born April 14, 1977, back in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Okay. And he's absolutely the classic
multi -hyphenate, you know, actor, comedian,
writer, producer, often doing all those things
at the same time. Right. And when you actually
look at the credits, you'll see different names
pop up, too. Sometimes it's Jonathan C. Daly
or John C. Daly or just plain John Daly. Huh.
Does that variation mean anything specific, do
you think? It's hard to say definitively from
the sources, but it almost mirrors his versatility,
you know? Yeah. The way he can shift between
roles. Maybe the name shifts just kind of happened
along the way. Interesting. And yeah, most people
probably do know him, even if the name doesn't
click right away. From The Kroll Show, obviously.
His sketch work there was brilliant. Oh, absolutely.
Foundational. But he also had those key live
action roles like Hobbes in that Amazon show,
Betas, back in 2013. Yeah, the tech startup one.
And Agent Filippo in Zoolander 2, which was quite
a character. Definitely memorable. Intense is
a good word. But yeah, if you only know those
roles, you're missing like 95 % of what he's
actually done. Exactly. That's what we're trying
to get at. Right. So what we're really saying,
a friend, is that... John Daly's career isn't
necessarily about becoming this huge, single,
mainstream star. It's more about this persistent,
decades -long drive to just... creates stuff
yeah so much content in basically every corner
of comedy you can think of yeah his identity
really is just defined by the sheer volume and
range of his work okay so let's dive in let's
unpack this massive catalog and we have to start
right at the beginning because honestly how he
built his career it's like a master class Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania let's go there first yeah his story
really shows you don't need to start in LA or
New York he was born and raised in Pittsburgh
and what's really amazing according to everything
we've read, is that he started doing improv when
he was just 16. 16. Wow. That's incredibly young.
Right. An age when most kids are just thinking
about, I don't know, getting their driver's license
or something. And this wasn't just like school
plays or messing around. Right. He was performing
regularly in a proper local show. Exactly. It
was called Friday Night Improvs, held at the
University of Pittsburgh. So think about that.
He's 16, performing alongside college students,
seasoned performers. In front of a real audience,
learning the ropes. He's learning the discipline,
the speed, how to build a scene, how to commit
all those improv fundamentals. And he's doing
it way before he even finished high school. That
kind of stage time is invaluable. Yeah, you can't
really replicate that later. That early exposure
builds like a muscle memory for performing. It
really does. It cements those core skills. Yeah.
And then what does he do next? He takes that
practical experience and actually goes formal
with it. Right. This is the education piece.
He went to the University of North Carolina School
of the Arts. which shows a real commitment. It
wasn't just a fun hobby he stumbled into. He
actively sought out formal training to, you know,
hone the craft he'd already started developing
back in Pittsburgh. So he's got the raw talent
from the stage plus the structure from school.
That's a powerful combination. And interestingly,
the formal training didn't seem to, like, kill
his love for the spontaneous side of things.
If anything, it probably equipped him better
for when he did hit the big leagues, which brings
us inevitably. to the Upright Citizens Brigade
Theater, UCB. Okay, yeah. UCB is absolutely crucial
here. We have to spend some time on this. For
sure. It wasn't just a place he performed occasionally.
The sources are really clear. He was a regular
there for over 10 years, a decade. And still
performs at the LA branch now, right? That's
right. So UCB, especially back then, say mid
-2000s, it was the place, the absolute proving
ground for... basically everyone who became anyone
in modern alternative comedy. And Daly wasn't
just like hanging around. He was central. He
was part of that ecosystem. Totally. And UCB,
you know, it's not just about quick jokes or
games. It's about long form improv, developing
narrative, creating characters that can actually
sustain a story. Which requires incredible skill.
Patience, listening, consistency. Exactly. And
Daly was a core member of some really pivotal
groups there, specifically Mother and Mr. Air.
Mother was legendary, wasn't it? Considered kind
of the gold standard for long -form improv at
UCB for a long time. Yeah, doing that kind of
work week after week, sometimes for an hour straight
with no script. That's like getting a Ph .D.
in comedy performance. He was totally immersed
in it. In that environment, it's basically an
engine room, right, for developing the rest of
his career. Absolutely, because at UCB, he didn't
have to wait for someone to cast him. He had
a stage right there where he could constantly
try out new ideas, refine characters, perform
original stuff, his own IP, essentially. And
that's where some of his most memorable original
characters came from. Exactly. Two big ones that
get mentioned a lot are Sappity Tappity. Sappity
Tappity. Just the name sounds like peak UCB absurdity.
You can almost picture the character. Totally.
And the other one is Bill Cosby Bukowski. Okay.
Bill Cosby Bukowski. That's quite a mashup. How
does that work? Combining, you know, the dark,
gritty poet Charles Bukowski with the very different
persona of Bill Cosby. I mean, it's pure UCB
aesthetic, isn't it? Taking two wildly different
cultural figures and smashing them together to
create something totally new, weird. Probably
pretty critical. The comedy comes from that clash,
that tension. Right. Like delivering really dark,
cynical lines with that sort of Cosby -esque
folksy charm. It's provocative, sure. But more
than that, it shows a performer who can really
commit to a bizarre, sustained persona. And the
key thing is, these characters didn't just die
on the UCB stage. No, they became assets. He
took them further. Exactly. Like, Tappity eventually
became the basis for a short film. He wrote and
starred in it. So you see the whole path right
there. Pittsburgh improv practice. The formal
arts education, the UCB character lab where he
cooks up these ideas and then actually turning
that IP into his own written and produced work.
Yeah, which leads us perfectly into talking about
his work behind the camera, not just in front
of it. Right. That jump from being the performer
to being like the architect of the comedy. That's
a big deal. And for Daly, the Kroll show seems
like the place where that really crystallized.
Oh, absolutely. Kroll show is huge in his story.
Yeah. We really need to zero in on this because.
Just saying he was on it doesn't really capture
his role. OK, so he was in 26 episodes. He was
a recurring sketch performer. Yes. But he was
also a writer and critically. A co -executive
producer. Co -EP on a show that was, I mean,
really defining Comedy Central's brand at that
time. That's significant. It's massive. It means
he wasn't just showing up to say lines. He was
in the writer's room. He was likely involved
in editing decisions, shaping the tone, maybe
even budget stuff. He was helping steer the ship
alongside Nick Kroll and John Levenstein. And
his background, all those UCB characters must
have made him incredibly valuable there. Totally.
He could write a sketch needing some incredibly
specific weirdo, then step in and be that weirdo
perfectly, and then probably jump back behind
the scenes to help shape the final cut. That's
the multi -hyphenate thing in action. It shows
that the skills he honed on stage directly translated
into real power in TV production. He wasn't just
filling roles. He understood how to build those
comedic worlds. Exactly. But Kroll's show wasn't
his only major writing gig, not by a long shot.
Right. He was already writing before that, wasn't
he? Yeah. If you look back to the late 2000s,
he was right in the thick of that alt -comedy
boom. He's got writing credits on Human Giant.
Wow. Human giant. With Aziz Ansari, Rob Hubel,
Paul Scheer, that show was seminal. Being on
that writing staff puts you right at the kind
of big bang moment for that wave of sketch comedy.
Definitely. And he also worked on that sketch
pilot, The Right Now Show. The one Scott Aukerman
and B .J. Porter created. Ah, Scott Aukerman.
OK, that connection is important, too, because
Aukerman is basically Mr. Earwolf. Precisely.
So Daly was already connected with the key figures
who would shape that whole podcasting comedy
universe well before it really exploded. He was
networked early. And then talk about a shift
in gears. He also wrote for The Eric Andre Show.
Yeah. for 10 episodes between 2014 and 2015,
which is fascinating because, you know, Kroll's
show is surreal, yes, but it still has a certain
structure recurring characters. Whereas Eric
Andre is just... Chaos. Pure, unadulterated chaos.
Yeah. Confrontational, experimental, often deeply
uncomfortable, relies on shock and performance
art. It's a totally different beast. So how does
a writer manage that switch from the kind of
layered comedy of Kroll Show to the complete
anarchy of Eric Andre? It suggests he understands
comedy on a like. mechanical level, not just
one specific voice. He knows how to build a joke
based on character consistency, like in Kroll
Show. And he knows how to engineer a moment of
pure deconstruction and shock, like on Eric Andre.
That adaptability is rare. Yeah, really valuable.
And just to round out that producing side, we
should mention the Adult Swim Golf Classic from
2016. He wrote and executive produced that special.
And starred in it too, right? As John Daly. Yep.
A nice little meta nod to the golfer shows that
some awareness. Okay, so beyond the traditional
writer's room, let's talk about Cracked Out.
This feels like a really important part of his
identity, especially his work with Brett Gelman.
Oh, Cracked Out is essential Daily Gelman lore.
It wasn't just a one -off bit. This was a full
-on comedy rap duo. They toured. Right. A comedy
rap duo. What was the vibe there? It was this
kind of perfect storm of parodying hip hop tropes,
absurd materialism, really dark humor, but also
this like intense commitment to the characters.
They went all in. And this was happening when.
Mid 2000s. Yeah. The sources mentioned their
EP, The Fleetwood Crack, was available for download
back in 2007. 2007. OK, think about that. Digital
distribution wasn't what it is now. Putting out
your own EP online back then was pretty DIY,
pretty pioneering for comedians. Totally. It
was proper grassroots stuff using whatever early
digital tools were available to get their specific
niche thing out there without needing a network
or a label to say yes. They were kind of modeling
the independent content creation path that basically
every comedian uses now. They built a whole brand,
characters, music, just because they wanted to.
Exactly. It really hammers home that point. Daly
wasn't waiting around to be discovered. He was
constantly making things, high quality, unique
things. And that same kind of self -starting
energy seems to have led him straight into the
podcasting boom, particularly with Earwolf. He
was right there at the start. He wasn't just
there. He was like a foundational voice for that
network. He was, and still is, a super frequent
and beloved guest on the early giants like Comedy
Bang. Bang! And improv for humans. Which are
basically audio labs for character work, aren't
they? Absolutely. A performer like Daly could
walk into CBB, get a prompt from Scott Aukerman,
invent some completely bizarre character on the
spot, and riff as that character for, you know,
20 minutes. And millions of people would hear
it almost instantly. It's instant testing and
feedback. So he becomes a fixture as a guest,
but then he... takes the next step and launches
his own show on Earwolf. Right. In November 2012,
he started Rafflecast. It ran for 30 episodes.
Rafflecast? What was the premise there? It sounds
specific. Oh, it was delightfully specific and
bizarre. The whole podcast was supposedly dedicated
to discussing like fictional raffles and prizes.
Just talking about imaginary raffle. Yeah, it
relied entirely on his and his guests commitment
to this absurd premise, the made up rules, the
characters who would call in pure long form character
commitment, but an audio format. It sounds like
peak daily, honestly, taking a simple, weird
idea and just committing 100 percent. Exactly.
And it really solidified his place in that podcasting
world, not just as a funny guest, but as someone
who could conceive of, host, and sustain his
own unique creative project over time. This whole
period just shows the incredible range, co -EP
on TV, writing for wildly different shows, doing
comedy rap, and then building his own little
audio empire. OK, so moving into his more sustained
TV roles, the ones where he's playing a character
across a whole season or more. This seems like
where we see those UCB character skills get applied
to more traditional narrative stuff. Yeah, definitely.
A good example to start with is Betis, that Amazon
show from 2013, 2014. He starred as Hobbes for
11 episodes. Right. The Silicon Valley startup
comedy. Exactly. So he had to play a specific
type. You know, the tech guy may be a bit awkward
with certain anxieties. It needed a grounded
performance. Comedic, yes, but grounded over
a whole season arc. Different from just dropping
into a sketch. And then, almost immediately after,
he pivots completely. He's in I'm Dying Up Here.
Right. 2017 -2018 on Showtime. He played Arnie
Brown across 18 episodes. That show was set in
the 1970s L .A. stand -up scene. Super gritty.
High stakes. Totally different world, totally
different tone. That requires serious dramatic
chops, would you say, playing the pressure cooker
environment of that comedy scene. Absolutely.
It demands a different kind of performance energy,
maybe more desperation, definitely a period feel.
So he jumps from contemporary tech comedy to
this really demanding period drama about ambition
and its dark side. The range is pretty striking.
And then almost at the same time, he's also doing
another period. Yeah. 2015 to 2018. He played
Officer Kurt Trussell O 'Kelly for 11 episodes,
which is just pure over -the -top. costume, comedy,
absurdity, Gilded Age parody. So within just
a few years there, he's hitting tech comedy,
70s drama, and historical parody. It really shows
how casting directors must see him as this incredibly
versatile character actor who can slot into wildly
different genres. For sure. He's reliable. He
delivers the specific flavor needed. Now, we
have to talk about that Parks and Recreation
credit. It's kind of unusual, but it says a lot.
Oh, yeah. The book ends. He's in the very first
episode, credited just as drunk. And then six
years later, Literally in the final episode of
the entire series, he pops up again, credited
as John. It's such a great little callback. But
what does it really signify, do you think? Well,
beyond just being a fun Easter egg for fans,
it really speaks to his relationships within
that specific comedy world, right? The Mike Schur,
Greg Daniels, Parks and Rec, The Office universe.
Yeah, it suggests he's part of that trusted circle.
Exactly. He's someone they clearly like. And
respect enough to bring back for the literal
final moments of this beloved show, even just
for a quick visual gag. It points to that loyalty
and, you know, mutual appreciation within that
specific group of creators. And his presence
is felt across so many key comedies from that
era, like a couple of episodes on Happy Endings
as Bernie Daniels. Which was such a great underrated
show. And two episodes on NTSA, SATSUV, which
was just. brilliantly meta, playing Billy Pittman
and Chad. Right. That show was pure parody genius.
And even his one -off roles often have this really
specific character flavor, like playing Chris
Christopherson on Drunk History. Oh, Drunk History
is perfect for him, isn't it? It's tailor -made.
You need total commitment to the character, the
look, the timing, all while lip -syncing to this
slurred, often inaccurate historical narrative.
It's like UCB improv meets historical reenactment
parody. Okay, so... His live action work shows
incredible versatility. But the voice acting,
that's where the sheer volume and longevity really
become apparent. This feels like the ultimate
payoff from all that UCB character generation.
The output in voice acting is just, it's immense.
Honestly, his biggest credit right now, the one
that's defined a huge chunk of his recent career,
has to be Big Mouth. Right, voicing Jed Birch
and others too, right? Jed Birch primarily, but
various other voices too. Across, get this, 41
episodes so far. And the show's running until
2025, so that number will climb. That's nearly
a decade playing that character. And Judd is...
Well, Judd's a very specific kind of uncomfortable,
awkward teenager, voicing him consistently for
that long, finding that exact vocal quality.
It demands incredible precision, and that's where
the improv background helps again, I think. Voice
acting requires you to make strong, specific
choices instantly and then replicate them perfectly,
take after take, sesh after sesh. The improviser
is trained to lock onto a voice, a physicality,
an attitude, and just live in it. Exactly. For
Judd, he delivers that specific frequency of
teenage angst and awkwardness reliably year after
year. But it's not just Big Mouth. He's kind
of everywhere in animation. He really is. Even
going back earlier, like the Life and Times of
Tim on HBO, he did various voices on 14 episodes
there between 2010 and 2012. And then he becomes
a regular fixture on the big network animated
comedies. Yeah, look at this list. 10 episodes
on Family Guy between 2014 and 2017. 11 episodes
on American Dad from 2017 up to 2023. Six episodes
on Bob's Burgers as... Sasha and other characters.
That's not just guesswork. That's recurring employment.
They keep bringing him back. Because he's reliable.
He's versatile. He clearly has this huge toolbox
of voices he can pull from. Animation studios
doing high volume work need people who can come
in, nail multiple distinct characters quickly
and efficiently. He fits that bill perfectly.
And he also did a lead voice role in that Marvel
show, MODOK. In 2021, he voiced the super adaptoid
for all 10 episodes. Yeah. Which is kind of fitting,
right? A character whose whole deal is mimicking
others. Huh. Yeah. Drawing directly on those.
improv mimicry skills. And he's still showing
up in newer stuff too, like the Great North on
FOX recently. OK, before we shift fully to film,
we have to mention a couple of really notable
recent live action appearances that put him right
in the middle of like current prestige comedy
and even genre TV. Absolutely. First, Curb Your
Enthusiasm. He played the mailman in two episodes
in 2020. Which is such a perfect fit. Curb is
all about performers who can play that awkward,
escalating everyday conflict with total deadpan
sincerity. You need that improv grounding to
react genuinely within those absurd situations
Larry David creates. Daly nails that uncomfortable
reality. And then the big one recently, Fallout,
the Amazon series. Yeah. Huge hit show in 2024.
He played the snake oil salesman in two episodes.
Which is fascinating because Fallout blends really
bleak post -apocalyptic stuff with very dark,
very specific comedy. And Daly's casting there
shows his particular brand of committed, slightly
unhinged character work fits perfectly even in
that grim sci -fi setting. Snake Oil Salesman
is this classic archetype, and he just leans
into it. It feels like a real confirmation that
he can operate way beyond just alt -comedy circles
now. He fits into these massive global franchises.
Okay, so we've covered TV, voice work, the writing,
the producing. Now let's look at his move into
feature films. Often he's brought in to provide
that specific character beat or memorable moment
that really makes a scene pop. Right, he started
getting into bigger studio movies pretty consistently.
Back in 2013, he was Tim Noddin in The Secret
Life of Walter Mitty. And then back into his
more specific wheelhouse, Agent Flippo in Zoolander
2 in 2016. Agent Flippo is pure daily character
work, isn't he? Just that level of... intense,
bizarre specificity feels straight out of UCB.
Totally. And then you see him pop up in something
like the Coen Brothers' Hail, Caesar, also in
2016. He played the cop at the French postcard
house. Which shows he's comfortable in those
big, prestigious ensembles. Respected directors
are using him as a reliable character actor.
Exactly. And one of the most interesting film
roles, I think, is when he played Bill Murray.
in a futile and stupid gesture. Yeah, the National
Lampoon movie from 2018. Playing a real person
is tough, but playing a comedy icon like Bill
Murray with all his distinct mannerisms, that's
a huge challenge. It's the ultimate test of those
character skills, but in reverse, right? Instead
of inventing someone new like Sappity Tappity,
he had to meticulously capture and channel someone
universally known. That takes serious craft.
And he's still mixing it up with genre stuff
too, like playing Swig in that horror comedy
Destroy All Neighbors, just this. year, 2024.
He keeps exploring those blends. But let's also
rewind a bit and look at his early indie film
work because that really tracks his development.
And we could even see that name change thing
we talked about earlier. Oh, yeah. You mentioned
he was credited differently early on. Right.
In a very early feature, 13th Childs from 2002.
The credit is Jonathan C. Daly. Huh. So that
marks a point before he maybe simplified it to
just John Daly professionally, like he was still
figuring out the public persona. Possibly. And
he was also in some key indie comedies that became
kind of cult hits later, like Mystery Team in
2009 playing Greg. With Donald Glover and Derek
Comedy. Yeah. And even earlier, Black Bolt. The
Bobby Duke story, that paintball mockumentary
from 2004. He was credited as a Mayhem team member.
So he was embedded in that whole underground
comedy scene right as it was starting to bubble
up and eventually cross over into the mainstream.
Exactly. But really, the core of his creative
engine, the most direct line back to UCB. Has
to be his short films. The sheer number of them
where he wasn't just acting, but usually writing
them, too. These were his calling cards, weren't
they? Proof of concept for his characters. Totally.
They showed he could take these weird, specific
personas and build a little cinematic world around
them. Like This Is Our City from 2006, where
he wrote and starred as MC Record Deal. Or the
Ed Hardy Boy shorts. Those were huge online back
in the day, 2009, 2011. He played Peter Paparazzo.
Yes. That character perfectly captured that specific
early 2010s trashy fashion moment. It became
this iconic piece of early viral comedy. Pure
UCB character work translated to video. And then
he actually adapted his big UCB stage characters
into shorts, too. Right. Bill Cosby Bukowski
got its own short film in 2011, which he wrote
and starred in. And the Sappity Tappity Show
came out in 2012. These weren't just recordings
of stage bits. They were scripted narratives,
expanding the characters' worlds. It really confirms
that idea of him as an IP generator. Every character
he created felt like it had the potential to
be its own mini project. Absolutely. And, you
know, just to underscore his ubiquity, you even
see him pop up in totally uncredited roles, like
being the tattoo customer in something from Tiffany's
in 2022. He just seems willing to show up and
work. He's just always around. Yeah. And finally,
we should give a nod to some non -traditional
stuff, too. Like being in that Duck Sauce music
video for NRG in 2014. He played Dr. Dale Rattington.
Music videos can be great little showcases for
character actors. For sure. And bring it right
back home. Almost literally, he appeared as Buzzy
Duraco in the web series Pittsburgh Dad back
in 2018. Ah, Pittsburgh Dad. That's a nice full
circle moment, isn't it? Connecting back to his
roots, even after becoming this established L
.A. comedy figure. It really is. A nice little
echo of where it all started. Hashtag tag tag
outro synthesis and final thought. Okay. So,
we've gone through this. Mountain of credits.
What does it all add up to? What's the synthesis
here? We've traced John Daly from high school
improv stages in Pittsburgh. Right, through the
UCB furnace. Into writing rooms, getting executive
producer credits on major sketch shows. Anchoring
huge animated series for a decade. Starring in
indie films, studio comedies, Coen Brothers movies,
playing Bill Murray. And now showing up in massive
genre. It's like Fallout. It is. But I think
the synthesis is actually pretty clear. John
Daly is the definition of an adaptable performer.
But, and this is key, that adaptability isn't
passive. It's not just about fitting in. It's
built on his active, constant creation of very
specific, often very strange characters. Right.
His success isn't really about one single breakout
role that made him a household name. No. It's
defined by his relentless consistency. He's the
guy you bring in when you need that specific
flavor of funny or weird or awkward. He's the
super effective, always memorable supporting
player or the writer who understands multiple
comedic engines or the producer who gets character
driven comedy. He just delivers. And he can shift
modes so easily from the voice of Judd Burch
in Big Mouth, which is all teenage awkwardness,
to the physical and vocal mimicry needed to play
Bill Murray convincingly. It's seamless. And
the thread connecting it all seems to be that
he just never stopped building his own stuff.
Whether it was putting out that cracked out EP
himself back in 07 or launching Rafflecast on
Earwolf early on, he was always generating his
own IP. Absolutely. That's the foundation. And
think about the journey we've traced. That contrast
is amazing. You have these early, self -made,
totally bizarre characters like Sappity Tappity,
born in his hiney black box theater at UCB. And
now, today, he's a player in these huge global
franchises. We mentioned Fallout. And he's also
set to be in the Twisted Metal series next year,
in 2025, playing a character called Emperor.
Wow. Okay, so that arc from Sappity Tappity to
Emperor in Twisted Metal. It really does raise
a big question, doesn't it? Especially for you,
the listener, thinking about comedy today. Yeah,
definitely. In this landscape where there's just
so much content, everyone's fighting for attention,
is the most reliable path to a sustainable, successful
career maybe not about waiting for that one massive
mainstream hit? Right. Is it actually about doing
what Daily did? which is just continuous, high
volume, really prolific work across every single
medium you can access. Podcasts, shorts, writing,
acting, voice work. Using your own self -generated
characters and ideas as the engine. Exactly.
It's that relentless creation, that sheer output,
the key. Daily's career makes a really strong
case for it. You just build and build and build
your own creative infrastructure. Until the industry
basically has to notice and utilize the massive
thing you've created. Precisely. You just never
stop working. It's a truly impressive career
defined by character, adaptability, and just
sheer volume. A fascinating depth dive. Agreed.
Thanks for joining us.