Brandon Wardell (comedian)

Brandon Scott Wardell (born September 5, 1992) is an American comedian.

For the actor, see Brandon Wardell (actor).

Brandon Wardell
Birth nameBrandon Scott Wardell
Born (1992-09-05) September 5, 1992
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand up
  • television
  • music
Years active2010–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Websitebrandonwardell.net

Early life

Brandon Wardell was born in the Seattle area before moving to Northern Virginia when he was a child. He grew up in Fairfax, Virginia and attended Robinson Secondary School.[2] Wardell was a frequent contributor on the ToonZone forum in his youth.[3] After attending Robinson, Wardell briefly attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, but ultimately dropped out to pursue a career in comedy.[2]

Career

Wardell's career began at the age of 17 in early 2010 doing open mics, before being invited to comedy hours in the Washington, D.C. region.[4] Garnering local success, Wardell was scouted to perform at SXSW in Austin, Texas and the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, Oregon in the Spring 2012, eventually leading him to be featured in The Washington Post in October 2012.[5]

In mid-2013, an agent in Los Angeles noticed Wardell through the Washington Post article, and scouted Wardell to be part of his organization.[6] After spending two weeks at VCU, Wardell accepted the terms, dropped out of VCU, and moved to Los Angeles to further pursue comedy.

After Wardell appeared on several podcasts,[7][8] his work was noticed by Bob Odenkirk, who featured Wardell on his late 2014 live comedy album, Amateur Hour, in which Wardell is featured on the opening four tracks.[9]

While the album was well received, Wardell's performance received negative reviews, with many fans and critics questioning Wardell's presence on the album. One critic panned his performance, saying that Wardell starts the album off with a "thud" and "unmemorable bits".[10] A writer for The A.V. Club found it "strange" that Wardell was included on the album.[11]

In 2015, he toured with Bo Burnham. He then became the host of Comedy Central's Snapchat series "Hot Takes." On January 27, 2016 he made his TV debut appearing on the Comedy Central show @midnight.[12]

In addition to stand-up, Wardell has written articles for Vice,[1][13][14] The Washington Post,[15] and Four Pins.[16] In November 2017, Wardell began recording a podcast entitled Yeah, But Still with co-host Jack Wagner.[17][18] As of January 2020, the podcast ranked in the top 50 most popular podcasts on Patreon, with supporters pledging over $15,000 per month.[19]

In 2016, Wardell received internet fame for popularizing the "dicks out for Harambe" meme.[20]

Performance credits

Discography

Filmography

References
  1. Koester, Megan (November 24, 2014). "Brandon Wardell Is a 22-Year-Old Comic Who's Already Done an Album with Bob Odenkirk". Vice. Vice.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  2. Wardell, Brandon. "Education - Brandon Wardell". Facebook.
  3. Episode 1: Fanfiction, The Matrix & Babyshower Auditions, retrieved May 16, 2018
  4. "Hollywood Improv - Brandon Wardell". Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  5. Ramanathan, Lavany (October 18, 2012). "Could these four be comedy's next big things?". The Washington Post. Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  6. Smith, Katlynn. "The Young Standup: Brandon Wardell on Drake, Bob Odenkirk, and Taking the Unexpected Path". SplitSider. Splitsider.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  7. "The Full Charge Power Hour Episode 60 featuring Brandon Wardell". AllThingsComedy.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  8. Kreisher, Burt. "Episode #47 - Matt Fulchiron, Brandon Wardell, & ME".
  9. Wright, Megh (July 31, 2014). "Bob Odenkirk has a New Album and Upcoming Tour with Brandon Wardell". Splitsider. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  10. "'Tuned In' review: Bob Odenkirk's a pro on funny 'Amateur Hour'". Knoxville News Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  11. "The best comedy albums and specials of 2014". The A.V. Club.
  12. "@midnight Episodes: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2016". Comedy Central. CC.com.
  13. Wardell, Brandon. "Comedians Give Advice to Their 18-Year-Old Selves". Vice. vice.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  14. Wardell, Brandon. "Mr. Pregnant Is an Incredibly Weird Los Angeles Comic Who Might Just Be a Genius". Vice. Vice.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  15. Wardell, Brandon. "Wale made an album with Jerry Seinfeld, so we had a comedian review it". The Washington Post. Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  16. Wardell, Brandon. "The Four Pins Guide To Being A Male Thot". Four Pins. fourpins.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  17. Song, Sandra (January 28, 2019). "Yeah, But Still: The Comedy Podcast Providing You Feet Pics". PAPER Magazine. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  18. Saincome, Matt (December 28, 2018). "Best New Comedy Podcasts of 2018". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  19. "Top Patreon Podcasts". Graphtreon. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  20. Hiatt, Brian (November 29, 2016). "Brandon Wardell: Meet the 'Dicks Out for Harambe' Voice of a Generation". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  21. "Amateur Hour – Bob Odenkirk feat. Brandon Wardell". ASpecialThing Records. ASTRecords.BigCartel.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  22. Meehan, Ryan. "10 Questions with Brandon Wardell". First Order Historians. Firstorderhistorians.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  23. "Login • Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
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