Nathan Fielder

Nathan Joseph Fielder (born May 12, 1983) is a Canadian writer, comedian, actor, and entrepreneur. He is best known for co-creating and starring in the Comedy Central show Nathan for You.

Nathan Fielder
Fielder at the Summit Ice pop-up store in 2017
Birth nameNathan Joseph Fielder
Born (1983-05-12) May 12, 1983
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
Alma materUniversity of Victoria
Years active2006–present
Genres
Websitenathanfielder.com

Early life

Fielder was born to a Jewish family[1] on May 12, 1983[2] in Vancouver, British Columbia.[3] His parents, Eric and Deb, were social workers.[4] He attended Point Grey Secondary School, where he was a member of the school's improv comedy group, which also included comedian Seth Rogen. Fielder worked as a magician during his teenage years and is a member of The Magic Castle in Los Angeles, California.[5] Fielder studied business at the University of Victoria, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2005.[4][6] After university, Fielder moved to Toronto and enrolled in a comedy program at Humber College in 2006.[7][8] He worked briefly for a brokerage firm, before quitting to start his comedy career.[9]

Career

After receiving the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award in 2006,[10] Fielder worked as a writer on Canadian Idol, where he was noticed by Michael Donovan, an executive producer for the CBC comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Donovan hired Fielder as a field correspondent, and developed his popular recurring segment, "Nathan on Your Side".[11] In 2010, Fielder wrote and directed a number of sketches for Season 2 of Important Things with Demetri Martin on Comedy Central.[12] He was also featured as a guest voice actor on the Season 2 finale of Bob's Burgers, "Beefsquatch", as well as the Season 6 episode, "The Land Ship".[12] Fielder played the role of Jon Benjamin's boom operator in the 2011 television series Jon Benjamin Has a Van,[12] and played Bob Woodward in the "Washington, DC" episode of Comedy Central's Drunk History.[13] Fielder has also guest-starred on the Adult Swim show Rick and Morty. He appeared in the 2015 film The Night Before and the 2017 biopic The Disaster Artist. Fielder also has a YouTube channel, mainly comprising short sketches involving him and his friends.[14]

In 2013, Fielder created his own show on Comedy Central, Nathan for You.[6] The show, which he writes, directs, and stars in, is based on the "Nathan On Your Side" segments that he did for This Hour Has 22 Minutes.[6] The show's premise features Fielder, playing a persona loosely based on himself, providing advice for local small businesses.[4][15] In November 2017, the show wrapped up its fourth and final season.[16]

In 2019, it was announced that Fielder had signed an overall deal with HBO, under which he will serve as executive producer for the documentary series How To with John Wilson, and will star, write, and direct in an untitled comedy pilot.[17]

Other ventures

Summit Ice Apparel
Summit Ice pop-up store in Vancouver, Canada in March 2017

Fielder started a not-for-profit company called "Summit Ice Apparel" in 2015 after learning that the Vancouver-based company Taiga posted a tribute to Holocaust denier Doug Collins. He decided to start his own company and produce soft shell jackets. This endeavor was shown during Season 3 of Nathan for You. 100% of Summit Ice Apparel's profits go to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre in Vancouver, Canada.[18] The company had close to $500,000 in sales in the first three months.[19]

In March 2017, Fielder opened up a pop-up shop in Vancouver, Canada where members of the public could buy Summit Ice Apparel or exchange their Taiga jacket for a Summit Ice jacket. Fielder himself worked the register. A film crew was also on-site.[20][21]

Dumb Starbucks Coffee

On the morning of February 7, 2014, a coffee shop called "Dumb Starbucks Coffee" opened in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.[22] The shop stated that they were operating as a parody of the global coffee company and coffeehouse chain Starbucks and utilized the chain's siren logo in their signage, cups, and other materials.[23] The shop mocked items standard to most Starbucks' locations such as Norah Jones CDs and drinks by using the term "Dumb" in front of the names, such as "Dumb Norah Jones Duets" and "Dumb Iced Vanilla Latte".[23] Beverages and pastries were distributed free of charge.[22] A few days later, Starbucks announced that they were not affiliated with the shop and that they were "evaluating [their] next steps" due to the shop deliberately attempting to mimic the look of a legitimate Starbucks location.[24]

The identity of the person behind the shop was not released initially, and various artists and comedians such as Banksy[25] and Tim & Eric were theorized to be involved with the prank,[26] as their production company Abso Lutely Productions had applied for a filming permit at the Dumb Starbucks Coffee location.[27] On February 10, 2014, the shop was closed by the Los Angeles County Health Department for not having the permits required to operate a coffee shop.[28] Shortly thereafter, Fielder announced that he was behind the parody and the Los Angeles Times noted the prank's similarity to other skits performed on Fielder's show Nathan for You.[29]

Personal life

Fielder was married to a children's librarian until their divorce in 2014.[30]

Fielder is misgendered as female on his U.S. green card.[31][32]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2006 Morris N/A Short film
Writer, director
2010 Kelly 5-9 Director Short film
2011 Way Up There N/A Short film
Writer, co-director
2012 Buyer's Market N/A Short film
Director
2013 The Web Manager Short film
Also director, writer and producer
2015 The Night Before Joshua
2017 The Disaster Artist Kyle Vogt

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2007 Canadian Idol N/A Segment producer and writer
2008–2009 This Hour Has 22 Minutes Nathan 9 episodes
2011 Important Things with Demetri Martin Various characters Segment director
2011 Jon Benjamin Has a Van Nathan 10 episodes
Also creative consultant
2011 Nick Swardson's Pretend Time Dan Hyannis Episode: "Legalize Meth"
2012, 2015 Bob's Burgers Jordan
Nathan		 Voice
2 episodes
2013–2014 Drunk History Bob Woodward 2 episodes
2013–2015 Kroll Show Tommy Rothchild
Douglas Dubois
Gil		 3 episodes
2013–2017 Nathan for You Nathan Fielder 31 episodes
Also creator, writer, director and executive producer
2014 The League Evan Episode: "When Rafi Met Randy"
2015 The Simpsons Doug Blattner Voice
Episode: "Sky Police"
2015 Childrens Hospital Matthew Hauser Episode: "Sperm Bank Heist"
2015 Rick and Morty Kyle Voice
Episode: "The Ricks Must Be Crazy"
2015 The Grinder Officer Collins Episode: "Buckingham Malice"
2016 Animals. DJ Lab Rat Voice
Episode: "Rats"
2016 Comedy Bang! Bang! Himself Episode: "Nathan Fielder Wears a Blue and Grey Flannel and Jeans"
2016 Transparent Seth Episode: "When the Battle Is Over"
2017 Tour de Pharmacy Stu Ruckman Television film
2018 Who Is America? N/A Episode "104": Co-Director
Episode "102": Co-Director; Writer
Also consulting producer
2020 How To with John Wilson N/A Executive producer

References
  1. Grief, Amy (November 19, 2015). "Using comedy, Nathan Fielder raises over $100k for Holocaust awareness". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  2. Itzkoff, Dave (February 28, 2013). "'Nathan for You' show the scapegoat for news hoax". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on March 26, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  3. Efrem, Maia (October 23, 2015). "Comedian Nathan Fielder Creates Outerwear Company to Promote Holocaust Awareness". The Forward. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  4. Weiner, Jonah (June 12, 2014). "Nathan Fielder's Ingenious Dumb Humor". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  5. Mooney, Kyle; Fox, Jesse David (October 15, 2015). "Kyle Mooney Talks to Nathan Fielder About Nathan for You, Kitchen Nightmares, and Magic". Vulture. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  6. Semley, John. "Nathan Fielder, still on your side". Now Toronto. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  7. Philps, Rebecca (July 14, 2015). "Cringe Benefits: Nathan Fielder's brand of gonzo comedy is surreal, squirm-inducing and surprisingly human". Toronto Life. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  8. Berube, Chris (March 8, 2013). "The next big thing in comedy? It just might be this deadpan B.C. business grad". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  9. Kaplan, Ben (April 4, 2013). "Q&A: Nathan For You isn't exactly a dream come true for Nathan Fielder". National Post. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  10. "Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award – Past Recipients" (PDF). Ontario Arts Foundation. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  11. Powell, Mike (June 25, 2014). "Nathan Fielder's Awkward Moment". Grantland. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  12. "Nathan Fielder biography".
  13. Heisler, Steve (July 9, 2013). "TV Reviews: Drunk History". A.V. Club. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  14. "nathanfielder". YouTube. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  15. Winkler, Joe (April 9, 2013). "The Understated, Absurd Comedy of 'Nathan for You'". Vulture. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  16. Wright, Megh (October 17, 2018). "Comedy Central Confirms Nathan for You Will Not Return for Another Season". Vulture. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  17. Otterson, Joe (August 12, 2019). "Nathan Fielder Sets HBO Overall Deal, Docu-Series and Comedy Pilot". Variety. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  18. "Home". Summit Ice Apparel. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  19. Greene, Andy (September 15, 2017). "15 Things We Learned Hanging Out With Nathan Fielder". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  20. Nadler, Lonnie (March 27, 2017). "I Went to Nathan Fielder's Holocaust Awareness Outdoor Apparel Sale". Vice. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  21. "Nathan Fielder donates $150,000 to Holocaust education and opens first Summit Ice store in Vancouver". Summit Ice Apparel. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  22. Moran, Lee (February 10, 2014). "'Dumb Starbucks Coffee' pop-up shop opens in Los Angeles". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  23. Hayden, Erik; Kirby, Brandon (February 9, 2014). "'Dumb Starbucks' Shop Appears in L.A.'s Los Feliz". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  24. Lee, Jolie (February 10, 2014). "Starbucks responds to Dumb Starbucks in L.A." USA Today. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  25. Prince, S.J. (February 10, 2014). "Is Dumb Starbucks Banksy? 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  26. Teti, John (February 10, 2014). "Tim & Eric might be the ones behind a "Dumb Starbucks" coffee shop in L.A." AV Club. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  27. Pritchard, Justin (February 11, 2014). "'Dumb Starbucks' in Los Angeles tied to comedy duo". Yahoo News. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  28. Koonse, Emma (February 11, 2014). "'Dumb Starbucks' Coffee Shop Shut Down by Health Officials". The Christian Post. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  29. Tatusian, Tenny (February 10, 2014). "Comedy Central's Nathan Fielder is behind Dumb Starbucks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  30. Greene, Andy (September 7, 2017). "Nathan Fielder: How The Cult Comedian Rules the Outer Limits of Awkward". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  31. Wright, Megh (July 17, 2014). "Nathan Fielder Shows David Letterman His Green Card". Vulture. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  32. "Nathan Fielder's Green Card". Archived from the original on January 19, 2018.
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