Roy Norris Wood Jr.[1] (born December 11, 1978) is an American stand-up comedian and actor who first became well known for his correspondent appearances on The Daily Show.[2] Wood has been hosting the American adaptation of the news and entertainment panel show Have I Got News for You on CNN since September 2024.[3]
Roy Wood Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Wood in 2016 | |
| Born | Roy Norris Wood, Jr. December 11, 1978 New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Florida A&M University (BS) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Children | 1 |
| Father | Roy Wood Sr. |
| Website | roywoodjr |
A resident of Manhattan, Wood was raised in Birmingham, Alabama, and Memphis, Tennessee. After graduating from Ramsay High School in 1996, Wood began his career in stand-up comedy as the opening act for Tommy Davidson. He had a position as head writer on the WBHJ radio series Buckwilde Morning Show from 2001 to 2006. Wood has been featured on NBC's reality television series Last Comic Standing in 2010 and the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son from 2011 to 2014. He formerly hosted two podcasts for Comedy Central: Roy's Job Fair and Beyond the Scenes.
Wood was honored at Entertainment Weekly's "12 Rising Stars of Comedy" in 2008 and the 2010 Florida A&M University Young Alumni Awards. From 2015 to 2023, Wood served as a correspondent for The Daily Show on Comedy Central.[4] He hosted the fourth season of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening from 2018 to 2019. In addition to his Daily Show appearances, Wood has starred in the stand-up comedy specials Father Figure (2017), No One Loves You (2019), and Imperfect Messenger (2021). He has also been featured in television series and movies.
Early life and education
Wood was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York. His father, Roy Wood Sr., was a Birmingham, Alabama, radio broadcasting and journalism pioneer who covered the civil rights movement: the racism encountered by African-American soldiers in the Vietnam War, the Soweto uprising, and the Rhodesian Bush War, among other topics.[5] His mother is Joyce Dugan Wood, a college administrator.[6] His paternal three times great-grandfather, Sam Wood, was born c. 1790 in Africa.[1] His parents separated for a time, and Wood lived with his mother in Memphis, Tennessee.[2] When Wood was in the second grade, his parents reconciled, so the family moved to Birmingham;[2] they lived on South Park Road in Birmingham's West End neighborhood.[7] His half-brother is Roy L. Wood, a news anchor.[6]
Wood attended Central Park Elementary and Center Street Middle School.[6] He graduated from Ramsay High School in 1996.[8] In 2001, Wood received a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism from Florida A&M University.[9]
Career
Before Comedy Central
While in college, Wood worked as a morning news reporter for Birmingham, Alabama, radio station WBHJ 95.7 Jamz Hot 105.7. He began focusing on a career in comedy after filling in for the station's in-house comedian, Rickey Smiley.[6][10]
In 1998, when he was 19, Wood began his career as a standup.[11] Wood recalls that he passed on his midterm tests, essentially failing the semester, in order to open for Tommy Davidson.[12] Wood spent his last two years of college doing dishes on the weekends.[13]
In 2001, after graduating from college, Wood returned to Birmingham and became the head writer/producer for the Buckwilde Morning Show (WBHJ 95.7 JAMZ), a position he held until 2006.[6] He continued working in radio, providing prank calls and content to various morning shows nationally and contributing to Jamie Foxx's Foxxhole station on Sirius XM Radio.[6] Wood released three prank call CDs: My Momma Made Me Wear This (2003), Confessions of a Bench Warmer (2005), and I'll Slap You to Sleep (2007).[10] Wood's pranks have been featured on numerous hip-hop mix tapes.
In 2007, Wood moved to Los Angeles.[6]
In 2010, Wood finished third in the seventh season of NBC's Last Comic Standing[14] and began hosting his own morning show, The Roy Wood Jr Show. The show garnered top ratings and won 'Large Market Morning Show of the Year' from the Alabama Broadcasters Association for several years.
From 2011 to 2014, Wood appeared on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son.[15] He had a guest starring role in the first season, but was then promoted to series regular for the second and third seasons. Sullivan & Son was canceled in 2014.
In 2013, Wood's first stand-up comedy CD, Things I Think, I Think, was released.
In 2015, he was cast by ABC to play alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the comedy pilot Delores and Jermaine; the show did not make it beyond the pilot stage.[16]
At Comedy Central
In 2015, Wood joined The Daily Show as a correspondent.[11] Wood moved to New York City to take the job.[13] Wood has said that his background in standup coupled with his degree in journalism prepared him for the job.[17] Wood said that his work doing guest roles in sports on ESPN and related companies prepared him for The Daily Show, giving him experience with acting, timing, and building characters.[2][5]
His first Comedy Central stand-up special, Father Figure, premiered in 2017, with an extended uncensored album of the same name released by Comedy Central Records. In 2017, he was named the new host of Comedy Central's storytelling series This Is Not Happening. Wood's second Comedy Central special, Roy Wood Jr.: No One Loves You, premiered in 2019.
Wood has appeared as a comic on many late night talk shows, including the Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Chelsea Lately, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Conan. Wood has performed for the troops on numerous USO tours in the Middle East and the Pacific Islands.[18]
In 2018, it was announced that Wood planned on shooting a TV show in Jefferson County, Alabama.[19] The pilot, called Jefferson County Probation, started shooting in May 2019.[20] As of March 2020, a completed pilot for the show, now called Jefferson County: Probation, was shot for Comedy Central, with the show in development.[21] The show, created in collaboration with Aaron McGruder (The Boondocks), is about two probation officers in Jefferson County, Alabama. It is loosely inspired by a 1998 experience Wood had as a 19-year-old college student, when he was arrested for stealing $400 to $500 worth of blue jeans and was sentenced to probation.[5]
In 2019, Wood did a series of YouTube videos centered on the Popeyes chicken sandwich craze called The Coalition (Chicken Sandwich Coalition).[5][22]
In 2021, he was a guest on the PBS series Finding Your Roots, where he described how he unexpectedly got probation at 19 for using credit cards he stole while a mail sorter for the US Postal Service to buy fashion jeans, and where it was revealed that he was a distant cousin of Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis.[23]
In 2023, Wood hosted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.[24]
After Comedy Central
On October 5, 2023, it was announced that Wood had quit The Daily Show and would not be returning as a correspondent.[25]
Wood has been hosting the American adaptation of the news and entertainment panel show Have I Got News for You on CNN since 14 September 2024.[3] He hosted the British version on 8 November 2024.
Honors
- 2008: Entertainment Weekly, 12 Rising Stars of Comedy[26]
- 2010: Florida A&M University, Young Alumni Awards: A 40/40 Celebration[27]
Selected publications
- Wood Jr., Roy (September 19, 2018). "For Roy Wood Jr., Alabama Is Painful History, New Hope and Home". The New York Times.
- Wood Jr, Roy (February 9, 2020). "Opinion: I was furious when we moved to Birmingham". Comeback Town, AL.com.
- Wood Jr, Roy (March 16, 2020). "It's Time for Stand-ups to Prepare for the Worst". Vulture. New York Magazine.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Death of Dick Long | Dr. Richter | ||
| 2020 | The Opening Act | Gary | ||
| 2022 | Confess, Fletch | Sergeant Inspector Monroe | ||
| 2023 | Urkel Saves Santa: the Movie | Department Store Santa, Old Man Buechler (voice) | Direct-to-video | |
| 2025 | Love, Brooklyn | Post-production | ||
| TBA | Outcome | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Showtime at the Apollo | Himself | [28] | |
| 2003 | Star Search | — | Comedian Semi Finalist | |
| 2005 | Premium Blend | Himself | ||
| ComicView | ||||
| 2008 | Def Comedy Jam | 1 episode; also writer | ||
| 2010 | Last Comic Standing | 5 episodes; also writer (4 episodes) | ||
| 2012–2014 | Sullivan & Son | Roy | 33 episodes | |
| 2015 | Delores & Jermaine | Jerome Sr. | Comedy pilot | |
| 2015–2023 | The Daily Show | Himself (correspondent), various characters | ||
| 2017 | Impractical Jokers: After Party | Himself | 1 episode | |
| Let's Fix Sports | 1 episode ("Roy Wood Jr: Kill The Kiss Cam"); also writer | |||
| 2018–2019 | This is Not Happening | Himself (host) | 20 episodes; also writer (2 episodes) | |
| 2018 | The Detour | Kevin | 1 episode | |
| 2019 | Crank Yankers | Himself | ||
| Roy Wood Jr.: Snitch Cop | Snitch Cop | TV movie | [28] | |
| Roy Wood Jr.: The Avenging Ones | Luke Rage | TV movie; also writer | ||
| Jefferson County: Probation | — | Pilot; also producer, writer | [21] | |
| 2020 | Better Call Saul | Grant | 1 episode ("Something Unforgivable") | [29] |
| The Last O.G. | Runson | 1 episode | ||
| Space Force | Liaison Bert Mellows | 2 episodes | [30] | |
| Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party | Himself | 1 episode | ||
| 2021 | Only Murders in the Building | Vaughn | ||
| 2021–2022 | Flatbush Misdemeanors | Principal Douglas | 2 episodes | |
| 2023 | The Daily Show | Himself (Guest Host) | 4 episodes (Week of Apr. 3) | [31] |
| White House Correspondents' Dinner | Himself (Host) | April 29 | ||
| 2024 | Last Week Tonight | Boeing Employee | 1 episode ("Airplanes") | [32] |
| Have I Got News For You (US) | Host | [33] | ||
| Have I Got News For You (UK) | 1 episode - Shown on 8 November 2024 | [34] |
Web series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–2020 | The Coalition | — | TV short videos; also writer and creator | [28] |
Stand-up specials
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Father Figure | Comedy Central special also digital download |
| 2019 | No One Loves You | Comedy Central special also digital download |
| 2021 | Imperfect Messenger | Comedy Central special also digital download |
Writing
- 2006: Bob & Tom: Standup Sitting Down TV movie – writer
- 2008: The Funny Spot TV series – writer
Selected discography
- 2003: My Momma Made Me Wear This CD
- 2005: Confessions of a Bench Warmer CD
- 2007: I'll Slap You to Sleep CD
- 2013: Things I Think, I Think CD
References
External links
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