Keegan-Michael Key
- Born:
- March 22, 1971, Southfield, Michigan, U.S.
Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971, Southfield, Michigan, U.S.) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter best known as one half of the comedic duo Key and Peele alongside actor and filmmaker Jordan Peele.
Early life
Key, who is biracial, was adopted at a young age by an African American father, Michael Key, and a white mother, Patricia Walsh, both social workers, and was raised in Detroit. His experience growing up in a biracial family would play a part in shaping his later comedy with Peele, who also has a biracial background; their work often focused on themes of racial identity and cultural stereotypes. Key became interested in acting as a youth, and he was especially enthusiastic about studying improvisational and sketch comedy. In a 2023 interview with National Public Radio, Key cited actor Eddie Murphy’s stand-up comedy and character work on Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a major influence on his decision to pursue a career in comedy:
Once I saw Eddie Murphy, I just was done. I was like, that’s it. I want in. I don’t know what this is or how you do it. And my parents, being social workers, they really didn’t have any knowledge to share with me about the industry.…But when we watched him on SNL, he was a dynamo.…I would just look at him and just go, whatever that guy is doing, I want in. I want to be able to figure out how to be part of that world.
Key studied at the University of Detroit Mercy, where he participated in several stage plays and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater in 1993. He went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater from Pennsylvania State University in 1996. He subsequently returned to Detroit and began taking improv comedy classes at the Second City Detroit comedy theater, and in 1998 he began performing with the company. He moved to the Second City Chicago’s e.t.c. theater in 2001 and performed there until 2004. During this time he started landing minor roles in television and film, including an appearance (2001) on the medical drama series ER.
Career
It was during his tenure at Chicago’s Second City that Key first met Peele. They were both hired to work on the sketch comedy television series MADtv (Peele from 2003 to 2008 and Key from 2004 to 2009), where they gained a reputation for their comedic timing, sharp wit, and impressions. Key notably performed impressions of celebrity figures such as pioneering actor Sidney Poitier, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, pop singer Lionel Richie, and U.S. Pres. Barack Obama.
The duo went on to create their own critically acclaimed sketch comedy series, Key and Peele, which aired from 2012 to 2015 and used humor to poke at issues of racial identity, bigotry, and cultural stereotyping. In 2013 Key and Peele received a Peabody Award in recognition for outstanding public service and achievement in electronic media, their award citation stating: “Their sketches evoke Dave Chappelle one minute, Sid Caesar the next. They break new ground even as they lay claim to all of comedy’s traditions.” Concurrent with Key and Peele, Key continued to appear on television and in films, including recurring roles on the crime drama series Fargo (2014) and the sitcom Parks and Recreation (2014–15). He voiced the role of Foreman Jim in the animated comedy film The Lego Movie (2014), and he lent his voice to the role of Sebastian St. Clair in the animated sitcom series BoJack Horseman (2014–15). He also played supporting roles in the films Let’s Be Cops (2014), Horrible Bosses 2 (2014), and Pitch Perfect 2 (2015). Key and Peele won an Emmy Award for outstanding variety sketch series in 2016. That same year Key and Peele starred in the action comedy film Keanu, cowritten by Peele, about cousins who run afoul of street gangs as they search for a stolen kitten.
Key and Peele ended its run in 2015, and Peele subsequently focused on directing films while Key continued to pursue acting roles. He starred in comedian Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice (2016), a film about improv and sketch comedy, and he appeared in actor James Franco’s biographical comedy film The Disaster Artist (2017). Key performed voice roles in the animated sitcoms Bob’s Burgers (2014–17) and Archer (2016–17) and in the animated films Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) and Toy Story 4 (2019).
From 2017 to 2019 Key played a leading role in the comedy series Friends from College, about a group of friends who reconnect 20 years after graduation. He also starred in the holiday film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) with actor Forest Whitaker. From 2021 Key has starred opposite actress Cecily Strong in the Broadway musical parody TV series Schmigadoon!; the show’s second season premiered in 2023. Key reunited with Peele in 2022 to voice the role of Wendell (Peele voiced Wild) in director Henry Selick’s stop-motion animated horror-comedy film Wendell & Wild. In 2023 he lent his voice to the role of Toad in the animated comedy The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and he also voiced the role of Delroy the scarlet macaw in the animated adventure comedy Migration. That same year he portrayed the corrupt and greedy chief of police in the musical fantasy Wonka.
In addition to his acting work, Key worked as a producer for various projects, including Keanu and the comedy series Reboot (2022). Although he has mostly focused on television and film roles, he made his Broadway debut in Steve Martin’s comedy Meteor Shower in 2017. He also won acclaim for his portrayal of Horatio in an Off-Broadway production of Hamlet alongside actor Oscar Isaac that same year. In 2021 Key launched a podcast called The History of Sketch Comedy with his wife, Elle Key, and they adapted the podcast into a book of the same name in 2023.