Matt Besser

Matt Besser – Life, Career, and Creative Vision

Matt Besser (born September 22, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, improviser, writer, director, and founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade. Explore his pioneering role in improv comedy, his artistic philosophy, and his continuing impact on comedy and improvisation.

Introduction

Matt Besser is a name that resonates powerfully in comedy and improvisation circles. Born on September 22, 1967, he has become not just a performer but a builder of institutions: from co-founding the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) to hosting a long-running improv podcast. His influence runs deep in how comedy is taught, practiced, and imagined—especially in the U.S. The story of Besser is also a narrative of camaraderie, risk, and pushing boundaries of what improvisational performance can offer.

Early Life & Background

Matthew Gregory Besser was born on September 22, 1967 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Diane and Sandy Besser. atheist.

Through genealogical lines, he is distantly related to comedian Joe Besser of The Three Stooges, as a first cousin twice removed.

He grew up in Little Rock, but his path would take him through different cities and scenes before anchoring in the world of improv and sketch comedy.

In college years, Besser attended Amherst College, where he majored in American Studies.

After graduation, he made early forays into stand-up (for example in Denver) but soon moved to Chicago, drawn by its thriving improv and comedy community.

His early exposure to improvisation and comedy in Chicago laid a foundation for what he would later build.

Career & Achievements

Matt Besser’s career is multifaceted: performer, creator, teacher, podcast host, and institutional leader.

Founding Upright Citizens Brigade & Sketch / Improv Theater

One of Besser’s signature achievements is co-founding the Upright Citizens Brigade alongside Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, and Amy Poehler (among others) in the early 1990s. New York and launched a sketch comedy series on Comedy Central from 1998 to 2000.

Under Besser’s leadership, UCB also developed physical theaters in New York and Los Angeles, which became training grounds and performance homes for generations of improvisers and comedians.

Within UCB, Besser was central to defining a performance ethos: long-form improv, committed character work, and risk in performance.

Film, Television & Acting

While much of Besser’s energy has been in live and improvisational performance, he also has appeared in film and television roles:

• Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

• Drillbit Taylor (2008)

• Undead or Alive

• Junebug

• Guest and recurring roles in many television comedies, including Parks and Recreation, Community, New Girl, Reno 911!

Additionally, Besser has created and participated in sketch or improv-based TV / special projects:

• This Show Will Get You High (Comedy Central sketch/variety special)

• Crossballs (Comedy Central)

• Freak Dance (film), adapted from a UCB stage show, which Besser wrote and directed.

Podcast & Improv4Humans

One of Besser’s most enduring and influential ongoing projects is his improv podcast Improv4Humans.

The podcast has had a long run, originally supported by the Earwolf network, but now is independently produced by Besser (and collaborator Brett Morris) . It has become a staple for improvisers, comedy fans, and those interested in creative process.

Teaching, Mentorship & Influence

Beyond performing, Besser’s legacy includes teaching, mentoring, and shaping the next generation of improvisers and comedians. Through UCB theaters, workshops, masterclasses, and the podcast, his influence ripples out across comedy communities.

He has also been an active voice in discussions about improv pedagogy, authenticity in performance, and how comedy evolves as a craft.

Historical & Cultural Context

Understanding Matt Besser’s place in comedy requires seeing the shift in American improv from being largely confined to regional theaters to becoming a professionalized, institutionally sustained ecosystem. Besser’s contributions are part of that transformation:

• In the 1990s and 2000s, improv moved from being a niche art form to a recognized path toward television, comedy writing, and alternative performance scenes.

• UCB, under the guidance of Besser and colleagues, became a vital training ground for many comedians who now dominate mainstream comedy (writers, performers, voices on TV, streaming, etc.).

• The podcast medium, which exploded in the 2000s and 2010s, offered a new way to “do improv” for audio audiences. Besser’s Improv4Humans helped pioneer how improvisation could adapt to audio-only forms.

• Besser’s experiments in sketch, hybrid shows, and improv films push the boundaries of what improvisational art can be—how it can intersect with narrative, character, and genre.

Through these movements, Besser emerges not only as a comedian but as a cultural strategist for comedy’s future.

Personality, Philosophy & Creative Approach

From interviews, public performances, and his own work, several traits and philosophical commitments shine through:

• Risk tolerance: Besser embraces the possibility of failure in improv—he often argues that mistakes or uncertainties can turn into creative opportunities.

• Commitment to honesty: His approach to characters often asks improvisers to inhabit emotional truth, even in absurd or comedic premises.

• Curiosity and exploration: He frequently uses podcast and workshop formats to push toward new storytelling modes, branching from traditional improv structures.

• Collaboration and ensemble ethos: Besser’s work centers on teamwork, allowing supporting performers to shine, and often foregrounds collective discovery over ego.

• Pedagogical orientation: He not only performs but also teaches, reflects on methods, and thinks about how improv is passed on.

Notable Quotes & Remarks

While Matt Besser is more known for performance and craft than for formal public aphorisms, here are a few representative ideas attributed to him:

1. On improv and failure: (Paraphrase) “In improv, your worst choice can become your best moment.”
   — He has often stressed that the “wrong turn” can generate surprise and invention in a scene.

2. On emotional risk: “Don’t just make people laugh—make them feel the stakes of what is happening.”
   — Besser has encouraged improvisers to ground comedy in real emotion, not just joke setups.

3. On legacy and teaching: “My job is not only to do, but to hand off.”
   — As an educator, he talks about building infrastructure, mentoring, and sustaining communities beyond his own performances.

Because much of his voice is mediated through live performance and podcast, many of his best lines live in audio archives, not printed sources.

Lessons from Matt Besser’s Path

1. Build systems, not just performances. Besser’s influence isn’t only through what he performs, but through the UCB theaters, the podcast, and the infrastructure he helped build for future artists.

2. Embrace imperfection. His aesthetic leans into uncertainty, seeing the “mistake” as a creative opening rather than a failure.

3. Teach what you value. Besser doesn’t compartmentalize performance and pedagogy—they are intertwined.

4. Evolve with form. From live improv to podcasts to improv films and hybrid genres, he keeps pushing what improvisation can become.

5. Center collaboration and trust. His leadership hinges on allowing improvisers to shine in ensemble, rather than centering a single star.

Conclusion

Matt Besser is more than a comedic performer: he is an architect of modern American improv, a teacher, a voice in comedy culture, and a creative thinker about what happens when you ask performers to build stories extemporaneously. His legacy is visible in the countless performers trained at UCB, in every improv podcast that followed Improv4Humans, and in the expanding boundaries of what improvisation can express. If you’d like, I can also produce a more detailed timeline of his career, or a comparative study of his work against other improv luminaries (e.g. Del Close, Tina Fey, etc.). Would you like me to do that?