Myq Kaplan (; born October 7, 1978Myq Kaplan at MySpace) is an American stand-up comedian. Born Michael KaplanChannon, Alison. "Brandeis comedians take smarts to the stage", The Brandeis Hoot, 13 March 2009. in Livingston, New Jersey,Wilkowe, Ellen S. "Things to do in Morris County, NJ: Last Comic Standing tour comes to Morristown, NJ, Jan. 15", Daily Record (Morristown), January 13, 2011. Accessed February 24, 2011. "One-time aspiring singer/songwriter Myq Kaplan, 32, formerly of Livingston and now of New York City, changed his tune … and converted to comedy."Yaryshkin, Slava. Stand-up Comedy 101 Interview with Myq Kaplan , 6 April 2009. he works out of BostonAlterman, Sara Faith. "Montreal Comedy Festival: The New Faces showcase", The Boston Phoenix, 23 July 2009. and New York City.Gadino, Dylan P. Just For Laughs: New Faces" , Punchline, 27 July 2009.
Education Kaplan received his bachelor's degree from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts in 2000, and a master's degree in linguistics from Boston University in Boston.Laskowski, Nicole. "The Last Comic Standing?", BU Today, 8 August 2007. While a student at Boston University in 2005, he won the "funniest student" contest.
Comedy career Kaplan tours North America and has performed over 1,000 shows at comedy clubs. He was a semifinalist in the 2006 Boston Comedy Festival and in the 2006 Seattle Comedy Competition. He was one of nine finalists in Comedy Central's 2007 Open Mic Fight competition. In 2008, a reader poll by The Phoenix, a Boston newspaper, named him Local Comedian of the Year.Readers' Pick: Best Local Comedian: Myq Kaplan, The Boston Phoenix, 2008. He took part in Montreal's Just for Laughs comedy festival in 2009.Borden, Jane. "Just for Laughs in Montreal: Day One" , Time Out New York, 23 July 2009.
Television, internet, and recordings Myq Kaplan has appeared on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, in promos for CC, and on Netflix. He has been featured on ABC News Now. On December 16, 2009, he performed for the first time on The Tonight Show., 16 December 2009. Kaplan also was a contestant on the competition TV series Last Comic Standing during the summer of 2010 and placed fifth."'Last Comic Standing' crowns Felipe Esparza seventh-season champ", Reality TV World.com, August 10, 2010.
He is also a frequent guest on long running comedy podcast Keith and the Girl. He has been a guest on the "Comedy Bang! Bang!" podcast four times, #110 (June 27, 2011), #658 (May 31, 2020), #818 (June 26, 2023) and #943 (November 24, 2025). He has been a guest on the podcast "You Made It Weird With Pete Holmes" 2 times, one released on April 4, 2012, and as a returning guest released December 20, 2017. Kaplan hosts his own podcast Hang Out with Me.myqkaplan.com
On April 30, 2010, his Comedy Central Presents special aired on Comedy Central. His comedy album Vegan Mind Meld came out on April 27, 2010, and his second album, Please Be Seated, was released in 2012. In August 2014, his one-hour standup special entitled Small, Dork, and Handsome appeared on Netflix for streaming. On January 31, he was the first guest on Bombing with Mike Dorval, where he talked about his joke writing and a joke that bombed for The New York Times. He was also a contestant on the tenth season of America's Got Talent making it to the Quarterfinals.
Personal life Kaplan is a musician, primarily a guitarist and vocalist. He is a vegan, polyamorous, and has said he is "atheistic". at his official website However in a 2016 podcast, he elaborated, saying that he became more spiritual through using psychedelics.
Discography Comedy albums Vegan Mind Meld (2010, BSeenMedia) Meat Robot (2013, Comedy Central Records) Small, Dork, and Handsome (2014, Comedy Dynamics) No Kidding (2017, Aspecialthing Records) Live in Between Albums (2018, Blonde Medicine) A.K.A. (2020, Blonde Medicine) Live in Between Albums 2: Rocky Mountain Hi! (2022, Blonde Medicine) Rini (2025, Blonde Medicine)
Music albums Please Be Seated w/ Micah Sherman (2012, BSeenMedia) Many Mini Musics (2016, My Grandfather Was A Spy)
Podcast albums The Best of Super Hang, Vol. 1 (2014, Keith and The Girl) The Long Shot Season 3 - Episode #318: "Road Trips (feat. Myq Kaplan)" (2015)
EPs The Micah Myq Mega Mixtape w/ Micah Sherman (2014, Bandcamp, 9-tracks)
Singles The Micah Myq Mega Mixtape w/ Micah Sherman (2016, BSeenMedia, 3-tracks)
Compilation appearances Comedy Death-Ray Xmas CD 2010 (2010) - Track 3: "How Hitler Saved Christmas" Live from Jamestown: Latenight @ Lucy Comedy Fest 2013 (2014) - Track 14: "The Fast & Furious" The Comedy Holiday Album (2017) - Track 10: "Merry Passover" Just for Laughs: Premium, Vol. 26 (2018) - Track 10: "Children (Jfl 2015)" Just for Laughs: Funny AF, Vol. 6 (2019) - Track 13: "My Demographic (Jfl 2012)"
Film and television appearances Films JK LOL (Short, 2009) - Himself Broken Mike (2012) - Himself Like Me (2014) - Himself Welcome to Bridgetown (2015) - Himself Punching Henry (2016) - Zack Off Stage: Myq Kaplan (2017) - Himself Tasteless (2018) - Himself
TV series Louie (2010) - Myq Kaplan Comedy Bang! Bang! (2015) - Lenny The Comedy Show Show (2016) - Mitch Hedberg Who Is? (2016) - Voice Giving Up (2017) - Wake Performer Tales from the Trip (2019) - Himself Comedy Central Originals: High School Fails (2019) - Himself Broadway Comedy Club Presents (2020) - Contestant/Comic Mystery Mansion (2021) - Eyeball
Comedy specials Comedy Central Presents (2010, Comedy Central) Small, Dork, and Handsome (2014, Comedy Dynamics/Netflix) Live from the Universe (2021, Dry Bar Comedy) I Got Punched for These Jokes (2025, Dry Bar Comedy) Rini (2025, Blonde Medicine)
Stand-up appearances Live at Gotham (1 episode, 2008) The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (1 episode, 2009) Last Comic Standing (1 episode, 2010) The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (4 episodes, 2010–13) Late Show with David Letterman (2 episodes, 2011–12) Conan (5 episodes, 2011–17) Funny As Hell (1 episode, 2012) Late Night with Seth Meyers (1 episode, 2014) Just for Laughs (1 episode, 2015) America's Got Talent (3 episodes, 2015) The Late Late Show with James Corden (1 episode, 2017) Paste Magazine (1 video, 2018)
Videography Comedy animations Jews and Sea Creatures (2010) Axes and Brains (2014) Highs and Lose (2014) Nothing, Everything, and Eddie Murphy (2017) A Meditation to Help You Relax... (2020) The Longest Sidewalk in the World (2020)
Music videos Bop 25 w/ Micah Sherman (2012) Movie Star w/ Micah Sherman (2013) Comedian's National Anthem w/ Micah Sherman (2013) Music's Fun (To Play) (2016) Sung Advice #1-8 (2017)
Video podcasts Risk!: NYC PodFest (2013) Robert Kelly's You Know What Dude: #162 (2017) Never Not Funny: Talking Eyebrows (2020) Quip League: with Moshe Kasher (2020) Linda Marcus Smith's The Comics' Spot: with Comedian Michael Adam Kaplan (2020) Ghole: Hanging with Myq A.K.A. Myq Kaplan (2020) The Comedy Studio: Podcast LIVE Sept. 22 (2020) Face to Facetime: #22 (2020) The Dave Hill Goodtime Hour: October 5 (2020) The Ted Alexandro Show: Ep. 27 (2020) Scot Nery: Is it a mistake to specialize? (2020) The Rhett Sever Podcast: #2 Existentialism (2021)
References
External links Official website Archived