Kyle James Kozub Mooney (born September 4, 1984) is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, which he was featured in from 2013 to 2022. In 2017, he co-wrote and starred in the comedy drama Brigsby Bear, which premiered at that year's Sundance Film Festival and went on to receive critical acclaim upon its theatrical release. In 2021, he co-created and starred in the Netflix animated series Saturday Morning All Star Hits! and directed his second feature, the horror-comedy Y2K in 2024.
Early life
Mooney was born the youngest in a family of three boys in San Diego, California, to parents Linda (née Kozub) and Brian Mooney. Linda was a former reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune, and Brian is an environmental consultant and planner. He has two older brothers, Sean and Ryan.
Mooney's Marshall Middle School class chose him as the most likely to become a television star. He graduated from Scripps Ranch High School in 2003, where he won Best Actor as Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest and was hailed as class clown. Mooney studied film at the University of Southern California. There, he performed improv and sketch comedy with collegiate group Commedus Interruptus. After a six-week audition process in 2003, the three new members added to the group were Mooney, Beck Bennett, and Nick Rutherford. He graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2007.
Career
Good Neighbor
In 2007, Mooney, Bennett, Rutherford and Dave McCary formed the sketch comedy group Good Neighbor, uploading video content on the YouTube channel GoodNeighborStuff. Bennett and McCary joined Saturday Night Live alongside Mooney in 2013 (as a performer and director, respectively), and Rutherford was hired as a writer the following year. In 2014, Good Neighbor was featured on NewMediaRockstars' Top 100 Channels, ranked at No. 98.
Saturday Night Live
Mooney auditioned to join Saturday Night Live in the summer of 2012 but was rejected; he successfully auditioned the following year, joining the cast during the show's 39th season. On September 28, 2013, he debuted as a featured player. At the start of the season 41, Mooney was upgraded to repertory status.
Mooney brought some of his YouTube characters to the show, including his person-on-the-street interviews, the 4/20 Weed-Smoking Guy, Chris Fitzpatrick, Todd from Inside SoCal, and Bruce Chandling.
His celebrity impressions on Saturday Night Live include Jim Acosta, Woody Allen, Criss Angel, Fred Astaire, David Axelrod, Jeff Bezos, Neil Cavuto, Lincoln Chafee, Bradley Cooper, Tom Cotton, Johnny Depp, Michael Jackson, Bruce Jessen, Steve Jobs, John Kennedy, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Lawrence, Macklemore, Howie Mandel, Chuck Norris, Rand Paul, Pope Francis, Axl Rose, Skrillex, Stephen Stills, and Steven Tyler. He left the show in 2022 at the conclusion of season 47, ending a nine-season run. He has made subsequent cameo appearances in the pre-taped sketch "Papyrus 2", during Charli XCX's hosting debut, and the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special.
Other work
Mooney has appeared on a number of shows, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Sports Show with Norm Macdonald. He has also served as a writer and performer with the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Mooney starred in and co-wrote the film Brigsby Bear, which premiered in 2017 at the Sundance Film Festival. He co-wrote the film with Kevin Costello, drawing inspiration from his own life, his interest in 1980s children's television shows and cartoons, and his experience making short films with Costello and McCary in middle school. McCary directed the film.
Mooney co-created, wrote, and produced the adult animated comedy Saturday Morning All Star Hits!, released on Netflix on December 10, 2021. He appears in several roles including twins Skip and Treybor, Bruce Chandling, and animated characters Randy and Brusho. The eight-episode series is co-directed by McCary and series co-creator Ben Jones. Mooney and Jones created the show based on a mutual appreciation of retro Saturday-morning cartoon blocks.
Mooney directed the disaster comedy Y2K for A24. The movie debuted at the South by Southwest Festival on March 9, 2024, and was released on December 6, 2024.
Under the name Kyle M., Mooney released his debut album, The Real Me, on March 21, 2025, on the independent record label Stones Throw. In August 2025, Mooney and Bennett launched the podcast What's Our Podcast?
Personal life
In 2021, Mooney married actress Kate Lyn Sheil. In December 2023, Mooney revealed that he and his wife had welcomed a daughter.
Mooney is a self-described collector and owns a VHS collection that he started as a child. Through connections made while working on SNL, he has been able to get several VHS tapes autographed by the actors who have starred in them, including a Beetlejuice VHS signed by both Michael Keaton and Alec Baldwin.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Kill Me Now | Jake | |
| The Party Is Over | Natan | ||
| 2013 | iSteve | Father | |
| 2014 | Playing It Cool | Other Dude | |
| 2015 | Hello, My Name Is Doris | Robert | |
| Me Him Her | Moot Morezit | ||
| It Had to Be You | Gary the Midwife | ||
| 2016 | Zoolander 2 | Don Atari | |
| Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising | R.A. | ||
| 2017 | Brigsby Bear | James Pope | Also co-writer |
| 2018 | Never Goin' Back | Brandon | |
| The Unicorn | Gabe | ||
| 2019 | Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Michelangelo (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2020 | Spree | Miles Manderville | |
| 2021 | Naked Singularity | The Golem | |
| 2023 | Jamojaya | Producer | |
| No Hard Feelings | Jody | ||
| 2024 | Unfrosted | Snap | |
| Y2K | Garrett | Also writer and director | |
| 2025 | Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie | Kitty Gnome (voice) | |
| 2026 | Street Fighter | Marvin | Post-production |
| The Man with the Bag | Post-production | ||
| 2027 | A Place in Hell | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Remember When | Kyle | Episode: #1.1 |
| 2010–2011 | Pretend Time | Various | 5 episodes |
| 2011 | The Street Fighter | Rick | |
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Himself/Correspondent | Episode: #9.172 | |
| Sports Show with Norm Macdonald | Nephew Kyle | 3 episodes | |
| Parks and Recreation | Keith | Episode: "The Treaty" | |
| 2012 | Best Friends Forever | Doug | Episode: "The Butt Dial" |
| Money From Strangers | Himself | Episode: "Why So Serious?" | |
| 2013 | Festival Road Trip | Himself/Good Neighbor Member | Episode: "Campus MovieFest 2013" |
| Nathan for You | —N/a | Writer; 8 episodes | |
| Wilfred | Alan | Episode: "Heroism" | |
| Hello Ladies | Rory | 6 episodes | |
| 2013–2022 | Saturday Night Live | Himself, various | 186 episodes |
| 2014 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Intern Monty | Episode: "Nick Offerman Wears a Green Flannel Shirt & Brown Boots" |
| Hello Ladies: The Movie | Rory | TV movie | |
| 2014–2018 | Drunk History | Himself / Sam Patch | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Hot Package | —N/a | Consulting writer; season 2 |
| 2017 | Me, Myself & I | Attendant | Episode: "The Card" |
| 2018–2019 | Arrested Development | Murphy Brown Fünke | 13 episodes |
| 2020 | The Shivering Truth | (voice) | Episode: "The Diff" |
| 2020–2022 | Bob's Burgers | Nick / Kyle (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Rick and Morty | Blazen (voice) | Episode: "Rickdependence Spray" |
| Saturday Morning All Star Hits! | Various | Co-creator, writer, and executive producer; 8 episodes | |
| 2023 | The Great North | Cody (voice) | Episode: "Can't Hardly Date Adventure" |
| Digman! | Sludgely (voice) | Episode: "The Puff People" | |
| Killing It | Bugs | Episode: "It Follows" | |
| Miracle Workers | John Christ | 3 episodes | |
| Hamster & Gretel | The Flake (voice) | Episode: "Flake It Till You Make It" | |
| 2024 | A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter | Dave | Television special |
| 2025 | Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special | Groomsman, himself | Television special, NBC |
| Platonic | Terry | 2 episodes | |
| 2026 | Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness | Paul Revere | Episode 6 ("Buzz") |
| Big City Greens | Mikey (voice) | Episode: "Daddy Ditty" | |
| Ted: The Animated Series | TBA (voice) |
Web series and shorts
| Date | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Roommate | Kyle | |
| 2009 | Nick's Big Show | —N/a | |
| Bad Reputation | Randall | ||
| 2010 | Vicariously | Tyler | Nine Shots of Bourbon |
| The O.D. | Plain Jane | ||
| 2011 | How I Know | Toro Y Moi | |
| Nick and Andy: Coming Soon | —N/a | ||
| The Yule Tide Good Samaritan | Barry Cameo | ||
| Grammar Class | Henry | ||
| 2011–2012 | College Humor Originals | Student/Guy 1 | Some Study That I Used to Know Sorority Pillow Fight |
| 2012 | Take a Knee | Walter Telly | Mock Christian & basketball public access show |
| Cracked Advice Board | Little Boy | Money-Making Tips | |
| The Dinner Party | Steven Evans | Short web film with BriTANicK | |
| Epic Rap Battles of History | Dr. Watson | Batman vs. Sherlock Holmes | |
| 2013 | Youth Large | Danus Apicary | Rejected Adult Swim pilot |
| The Caper Kind/Swiss Mistake | Lookey Lou | ||
| Mike & Doug's Fantasy Corner | Mike | Fantasy Sports Advice | |
| Pound House | Kyle | Open Mic | |
| D and K Podcast | Kyle | Instagram video series |
Discography
- Studio albums
- The Real Me (2025)
- EPs
- Winter's Wish (2025)
