Matt Iseman

Matt Iseman (born January 22, 1971)[1] is an American comedian, actor, and television host,[2] who began his career as a physician. He is best known for his role as play-by-play announcer of American Ninja Warrior. He became the first (and only) winner of The New Celebrity Apprentice in early 2017.

Matt Iseman
Born (1971-01-22) January 22, 1971
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Columbia University (MD)
OccupationComedian, actor, television host, physician

Early life and medical career

Iseman was born in Denver, Colorado.[1] The son of a pulmonologist, Iseman was raised in Denver and followed his father into a medical career,[3] earning a B.A. with honors from Princeton University and an M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.[4] Iseman is of Ashkenazi Jewish, Irish, Danish, and English descent. He did his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Colorado Hospital in his home town of Denver,[5] and later relocated to the Los Angeles area.

Comedy career

Iseman began doing stand-up comedy, with a routine based partly on his experiences as a doctor. He worked with the improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and in 2002 became a full-time professional comedian. In addition to comedy club work, Iseman's medical background has led to performing for medical and health-related organizations. He has performed at USO shows in Afghanistan, South Korea, Bosnia, and Hungary.[6]

He cites Brian Regan as a comedy inspiration.[7] Iseman's comedy outside of humor about medicine and medical profession is mainly observational, and he generally avoids off-color material.

Television work

Iseman has hosted the game shows Scream Play on E! and Casino Night on GSN. He appears as a regular cast member on the home makeover show Clean House and its companion outtakes show, Clean House Comes Clean, both on the Style Network. Additionally, he has hosted 8 out of 9 seasons of American Ninja Warrior on the channel G4, and then on the NBC network. The only season he did not host was season 1. Iseman began working with American Ninja Warrior in 2010. He uses his athleticism and work as a comedian to add his style to the show with Akbar Gbaja-Biamila (former NFL player), and Zuri Hall (sideline correspondent).[6]

He also has worked episodically in television shows including The Drew Carey Show, NCIS, and General Hospital. He has appeared on the syndicated MAD TV, Comedy Central's Premium Blend, Fox's The Best Damn Sports Show Period, and Fox News Channel's Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld. He was the narrator of Dumbest Stuff On Wheels on SPEED. As of May 4, 2010, Iseman is the host of Sports Soup,[8] a spin-off of E!'s The Soup, on Versus.

Iseman won the 15th overall season and first run of The New Celebrity Apprentice[9] and appeared as one of the contestants in the third episode of RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race[10] to raise funds for the Arthritis Foundation.

Iseman is the new host of Live Rescue on A&E, taking over for former host Ashleigh Banfield.[11]

Personal life

Iseman was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2002, at age 31. His disease is being treated successfully.[12]

Iseman is a cancer survivor. He wrote on his Instagram account that he had part of a kidney removed due to cancer more than 10 years ago.[13]

Selected filmography

As actor
Year Title Role Notes
2003 General Hospital Rock Fowler
2010 P Lo's House Dr. Tuck TV Movie
2013 The League Airport Police Officer Episode: "The Bye Week"
2014 Hot in Cleveland Mike Episode: "The Undead"
2017 American Dad! Demon Sportscaster Voice, episode: "The Life and Times of Stan Smith"

As himself
Year Title Role Notes
2003–2011 Clean House Go-to guy Main/Recurring role
2010–2020 American Ninja Warrior Host
2011–2012 Dumbest Stuff on Wheels Narrator
2013–2017 Home & Family Guest/Co-host Multiple episodes
2014–2020 Today Guest/Segment co-host Multiple episodes
2016 American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja Host
2017 The New Celebrity Apprentice Contestant
2018–2019 American Ninja Warrior Junior Host
2019 Live Rescue Host
2019–2020 25 Words or Less Celebrity guest Multiple episodes
2020 RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race Special guest Episode:"RuPaul roast"

Video game
Year Title Role Note
2019 American Ninja Warrior: Challenge Himself[14] Voice

References
  1. "Matt Iseman". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  2. Weiner, Yitzi (11 October 2017). "The Inspiring Backstory of Matt Iseman, Host of American Ninja Warrior". Medium (website).
  3. Adams, Sam (2015-06-09). "Fire and Ise: American Ninja Warrior's Matt Iseman". Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  4. Austin, Ezra (18 September 2019). "Matt Iseman '93 Highlights Amazing Athletes on American Ninja Warrior". Princeton Alumni Weekly.
  5. "Curriculum Vitae Michael D. Iseman, M.D." (PDF). National Jewish Health.
  6. American Ninja Warrior Hosts, G4; G4; NBC Universal (June 2012). "American Ninja Warrior Hosts". NBC Universal. p. hosts. Retrieved 17 June 2012. Matt joined the American Ninja Warrior team in 2010. Before co-hosting ANW, Matt had intentions of being a medical doctor but quickly realized stand-up comedy was more in his DNA. He has utilized his energetic, charismatic style around the world performing shows for troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Bosnia, Hungary and other top vacation destinations and has been able to parlay that into his work as co-host with Akbar Gbaja-Biamila on American Ninja Warrior.
  7. Diaz, Anthony; Jimenez, Daniella; Lombardo, Gabriella; Rivera, Joseph (1 November 2019). "Talking with comedian and 'American Ninja' host Matt Iseman". New York Newsday.
  8. Michael Schneider (14 September 2008). "E! heats up 'Sports Soup': Versus to offer sports-flavored edition of show". Variety. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  9. Nilles, Billy (February 13, 2017). "Who Won The New Celebrity Apprentice: Boy George or Matt Iseman?". E! News. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  10. ""American Ninja Warrior", "Schitt's Creek", "Glee" stars transform into "Celebrity Drag Race" in a breathtaking way". archyde. 2020-05-09. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  11. Belcher, Sara (21 August 2020). "'Live Rescue's New Host Is a Former Doctor". distractify.com.
  12. Morgan, John; Shoop, Stephen A., M.D. (July 20, 2004). "'Scream Play' host scripts triumph over rheumatoid arthritis,". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  13. Lee, Nikki (5 February 2018). "Matt Iseman shared a deeply personal message for World Cancer Day". americaninjawarriornation.com.
  14. Life, Nintendo (2019-01-25). "American Ninja Warrior Makes The Leap To Video Games, Lands On Switch This March". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
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