Michael Patrick O'Brien (born June 22, 1976) is an American comedian. He was a writer on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2009 to 2015, and a featured player for one season. He is also the creator of the 2018 NBC comedy series A.P. Bio.
Career
O'Brien was born in Blissfield, Michigan, to Connie and James O’Brien. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1999, where he majored in film-video and was the founder and editor of a monthly comedy newspaper named The Anti-Daily.
O'Brien moved to Chicago and began taking improv and sketch classes. At iO Chicago he performed with a group called The Reckoning (2001–present). He trained at the Second City in Chicago, eventually joining the company's mainstage, where he performed for one year as a part of "America: All Better".
Saturday Night Live O'Brien worked as a staff writer on Saturday Night Live for seven seasons, joining the show in 2009, and also appeared as a featured player for the 2013–14 season. After his sole season as a featured player, he left the cast but continued to write for the show in his final season from 2014 to 2015. Some of O'Brien's sketches include "Monster Pals" starring James Franco as well as "Puppet Class" starring Bill Hader. His short films "Grow a Guy" and "The Jay-Z Story" were each given the title card, "A Mike O'Brien Picture" in season 40. After leaving the writing staff in season 41, O'Brien continued to contribute short films under the title, A Mike O'Brien Picture for a brief period.
7 Minutes in Heaven with Mike O'Brien In 2011, O'Brien introduced 7 Minutes in Heaven with Mike O'Brien, a comedy routine in which he interviews celebrities in a closet and closes by trying to kiss the celebrity.
Tasty Radio In 2015, O'Brien released a sketch comedy album entitled Tasty Radio, which features Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis, Vanessa Bayer, Seth Meyers, John Mulaney, Jorma Taccone, John Lutz and Scarlett Johansson.
A.P. Bio In 2018, he created the comedy series A.P. Bio, starring Glenn Howerton and Patton Oswalt. O'Brien's former SNL colleagues Lorne Michaels and Seth Meyers are also executive producers on the show. The series premiered on February 1, 2018. The series was canceled after two seasons on May 24, 2019. On July 17, 2019, it was announced that A.P. Bio would return for a third season on NBCU's streaming platform Peacock in 2020, and the show was renewed for a fourth season which ran in 2021 before the show was canceled again.
Filmography As actor Year Title Role Notes 2009–16 Saturday Night Live Various TV Series: 44 Episodes 2013 Portlandia Birthday Invitee TV Series: 1 Episode 2014 Late Night with Seth Meyers Coffeehouse Customer TV Series: 1 Episode 2014–15 Above Average Presents Husband TV Series: 2 Episodes 2015 Staten Island Summer Chuck Documentary Now! Young Alexander Krauss TV Series: 1 Episode 2016 Brother Nature Nick (Karaoke) Comedy Bang! Bang! H. Marcus McGwire TV Series: 1 Episode 2016–17 Virtually Mike and Nora Various TV Series: 5 Episode 2017 Idiotsitter TV Series: 1 Episode 2019 Sword of Trust Yach Booksmart Pat the Pizza Guy 2021 I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson Jeff TV Series: 1 Episode 2024 What We Do in the Shadows Jerry the Vampire TV Series: recurring
As writer Year Title Notes 2009–16 Saturday Night Live TV Series: 103 Episodes 2009–12 Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday TV Series: 5 Episodes 2013 28th Independent Spirit Awards TV Special 2014–16 Above Average Presents TV Series: 3 Episodes 2016–17 Virtually Mike and Nora TV Series: 5 EpisodesAlso Executive Producer/Director 2017 Man Seeking Woman TV Series: 2 EpisodesAlso Supervising Producer: 3 Episodes 2018–21 A.P. Bio TV Series: 42 EpisodesAlso Creator/Executive ProducerAlso Director: 1 Episode 2019 Sword of Trust 2021 I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson TV Series: 1 Episode
Bibliography
References
External links