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Matthew James Gourley (b. May 23, 1973) is an American actor, comedian, and podcaster best known for his work on the Superego and Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcasts and Drunk History.
Matt Gourley | |
|---|---|
 Gourley during a live performance of Superego at the LA Podcast Festival in 2012 | |
| Born | Matthew James Gourley May 23, 1973 Whittier, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | California State University, Long Beach |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse |
Amanda Lund (m. 2017) |
| Children | 1 |
Matthew James Gourley was born and raised in Whittier, California, by his mother Welford.[1][2][3] He grew up near Richard Nixon's childhood home.[4]
Theater and improv
Gourley graduated from California State University, Long Beach,[5] with a bachelor's degree in technical theater and an MFA in performance.[6][7]
Gourley has acted in, directed, and worked on the technical side of productions in the Los Angeles area since the early 1990s, including as Curly in Of Mice and Men,[8] Antipholus in The Comedy of Errors,[9] Dogberry's henchman in Much Ado About Nothing,[10] Orville in The Doctor In Spite of Himself,[11] Hal in Loot,[12] Brindsley in Black Comedy,[13] the director of Tooth and Nail at the Little Fish Theatre,[14] and as a set/lighting designer on The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).[15] Gourley did video work and set design for multiple productions of Fellowship!.[16][17][18]
Gourley began performing with ComedySportz in Los Angeles during elementary school.[6][19] He met Jeremy Carter at a ComedySportz tournament in San Jose in the mid-90s.[20] He spent years as an actor and improviser at various Disney theme parks along with Carter and Mark McConville, among others.[21][22] Gourley has also performed at Second City, ImprovOlympic, and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.[23]
Teaching
Gourley has taught theater and improvisation at Riverside City College,[24] Long Beach City College,[25] and College of the Canyons.[26][27] He has also led workshops on Shakespearean improv at the Fracas! Improv Festival.
Television
Gourley and Carter were founding contributors to Channel 101, producing and starring in the "retro futuristic action spectacular" Ultraforce.[19][20] Ultraforce lasted three episodes and also featured Derek Mears, Jeff B. Davis, and Chris Tallman.
Gourley appeared in the late 90s on Kwik Witz, an Improvisational comedy program on NBC. At this time, he was one of the "mileage mules" employed by Steve Belkin, one of Kwik Witz' producers who later became a travel entrepreneur.[28][29]
In 2013, Gourley sold a pilot titled Wunderland that he wrote with his then-girlfriend and now-wife, Amanda Lund, to Fox.[30] The series was a workplace comedy loosely based upon the time Gourley and Lund spent working as actors at Disney theme parks, though it did not end up getting produced. This pilot can be heard recorded on the Dead Pilot's Society Podcast's 3rd episode.[31] Gourley has appeared on Community, HarmonQuest, Ghost Ghirls, and Drunk History, as well as doing voice work for Adventure Time.
Commercials
Gourley's best known commercial work is his position as a spokesperson for Volkswagen in 2014 and 2015.[32][33] He has also appeared in ads for McDonald's,[34] Carlton Draught,[35] Lowe's,[36] Hewlett-Packard, Hyundai, Xbox,[37] Late Night with Conan O'Brien,[38] and Budweiser.
Podcasts
In 2006, Gourley and Carter launched Superego, an improvisational podcast they conceived of on Christmas Eve 2005 based on the conceit of clinical case studies.[39] Superego has since added Mark McConville, Jeff Crocker, and Paul F. Tompkins as regular cast members.[40]
In September 2013, Gourley started hosting a podcast along with Matt Mira titled James Bonding on the Nerdist network,[41] later acquired by the Earwolf podcast network. The podcast discusses the James Bond films one by one with guests.[42] In November 2014, Gourley helped launch the new Wolfpop podcast network, a sister to Earwolf, along with Paul Scheer and Adam Sachs.[43] As part of this launch, Gourley himself began a new podcast, titled I Was There Too, which focuses on the actors and stories behind the most classic scenes from film and television.[44] Gourley also co-hosted The Andy Daly Podcast Pilot Project on Earwolf with Andy Daly.
Gourley co-hosted Pistol Shrimps Radio with his Superego colleague Mark McConville.[45] The podcast consisted of unedited commentary of the games of The Pistol Shrimps, a women's rec league basketball team in Los Angeles.[46][47]
In addition to hosting his own shows, Gourley has guested on numerous podcasts over the years, including Never Not Funny, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Thrilling Adventure Hour, and Spontaneanation. In addition to editing Superego, Gourley has also edited Judge John Hodgman and The Sound of Young America.[48][49]
In 2018, he started hosting In Voorhees We Trust With Gourley and Rust with Paul Rust, a podcast series reviewing every Friday The 13th film in the franchise. The self-proclaimed "easy-listening cozy-cast," now simply titled With Gourley and Rust, has had several seasons analyzing and discussing horror films.[50]
Gourley has served as a producer and co-host on Conan O'Brien's podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend since it debuted in November 2018.
In January 2023, Gourley debuted the first episode of Mallwalkin' with co-host Mark McConville. Each episode the co-hosts walk a local mall and comment on retail offerings while recording impromptu interviews with business owners and avoiding audio recording policy violations. [51]
Gourley is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He composed the theme for I Was There Too with James Bladon.[52] He has released a solo album titled Garanimal Farm,[53] recorded tracks with his band named Townland,[54] and released an album with The Journeymen titled Mount Us More.[55]
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In 1997, Gourley won a contest to see who could best imitate the sound of a flushing toilet.[56]
Gourley lives in Pasadena with his wife, Amanda Lund, with whom he has a daughter.[45][1]
Television
| Year | Title | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Kwik Witz | Himself | |
| 2003 | Ultraforce | All | Kel |
| 2003 | Buckle Up! | TV Short | Mustang |
| 2003 | The Fastest Samurai in the West | TV series short | Bad Ass Cowboy |
| 2003 | Time Belt | "Oh. Shit. Zombies." "Can I Tell You a Story?" "Hitler!" "Got Any Micro-Transistors?" |
Jesus Christ |
| 2004 | "Finally" | Soldier | |
| 2004 | World Cup Comedy | 1x10 | Himself |
| 2004–2005 | Laser Fart | 1x3, 1x6 | Robot Dick |
| 2006 | Lingo | 5x57 | Himself[57] |
| 2012 | Attack of the Show! | August 11, 2012 | Himself |
| 2012 | Margot Rourke and the Boys Club | Short | Narrator |
| 2012 | The Incendiary Adventures of a Scientist Gone Mad! | Short | Replacement |
| 2013–2015 | Drunk History | 1x01,[58] 1x08, 3x04, 3x13 | Narrator/Ian Fleming |
| 2013 | TakePart Live | 1x70 | Himself |
| 2013 | Ghost Ghirls | "School Spirit" | Ghost Dad |
| 2013 | Boardwalk Empire's Richard Harrow: Murderer for Hire | Video short | |
| 2013 | The Funtime Gang | TV movie | Det. Jeff Seabury |
| 2014 | Nerdterns | "Key of Awesome in the Lipton Book of World Records" | Julian P. Harumph |
| 2015 | Community | "Wedding Videography" | Briggs Hatton |
| 2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | "Randall Park Wears Brown Dress Shoes With Blue Socks" | Professor Ellis |
| "Robert Kirkman Wears a Tan Blazer and Red Suit Pants" | Martin Thomas Newton | ||
| 2015, 2020 | Talking Tom and Friends | 2 episodes | Gilbert (voice) |
| 2015 | Adventure Time | "Orgalorg" | Ma Elder (voice) |
| 2016 | Another Period | "Harvard" | Albert Einstein |
| 2016 | HarmonQuest | "Earthscar Village" | Chadge |
| 2017 | Blindspot | "Borrow or Rob" | Thad Munson |
| 2017 | Better Things | "Blackout" | BBC News Announcer |
| 2019 | Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ | "Royale Pains" | Chavdar |
| 2019 | HarmonQuest | "Goblopolis Lost" | Chadge |
| 2020 | Kidding | 3 episodes | Bobby Belongo |
| 2020 | The George Lucas Talk Show | "Season VII: The Arli$$ Awaken$" | Himself |
| 2021 | Close Enough | "Men Rock!/Secret Horse" | Additional voices |
| 2022 | Birdgirl | "Fli on Your Own Supply" | Office worker (voice) |
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | You Are The Captain | Dante Elmers |
Podcasts
| Podcast | Episode | Date | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superego | All | 2006–present | Dr. Matt Gourley, PyT/Various |
| Comedy Bang! Bang! | #38 | 2010/01/29 | Grandma Jonesy |
| #289 | 2014/05/26 | H.R. Giger | |
| #308 | 2014/09/01 | Himself/H.R. Giger | |
| #326 | 2014/12/15 | Ian Fleming | |
| #348 | 2015/04/27 | Jim Chambers/Professor Stillwater | |
| #370 | 2015/08/17 | Himself/Danielle Steel | |
| #382 | 2015/10/19 | H.R. Giger | |
| #405 | 2016/03/03 | Irvin Kershner | |
| #412 | 2016/04/04 | Professor Stillwater | |
| #555 | 2018/07/16 | Cal Buckley/Professor Stillwater | |
| #623 | 2019/10/14 | Himself/Ted Kemper/Jed Kemper | |
| #663 | 2020/07/05 | P.A.I.G.E. | |
| #702 | 2021/4/18 | H.R. Giger | |
| #746 | 2022/2/27 | P.A.I.G.E. | |
| #787 | 2022/12/4 | Teen Giger | |
| The Wolf Den | #15 | 2011/05/15 | Himself[59] |
| #66 | 2014/11/05 | Himself[43] | |
| Pop My Culture | #52 | 2011/09/01 | Himself (with Superego) |
| The Apple Sisters | #17-18 | 2011/09/26-10/03 | [60] |
| This American Wife | Extrasode 1 | 2012/08/20 | Advice columnist[61] |
| Thrilling Adventure Hour | Various | 2012–2015 | Various |
| The Dead Authors Podcast | Chapter 5 | 2012/01/17 | Carl Sagan |
| Chapter 19 | 2012/12/24 | Authors of the Gospel (John) | |
| Chapter 13 | 2012/12/31 | Brothers Grimm | |
| Chapter 38 | 2014/10/09 | Ian Fleming | |
| Chapter 47 | 2015/06/23 | Carl Sagan | |
| Addendum ii | 2015/07/17 | Christopher Marlowe | |
| Addendum iii | 2014/07/24 | Aleister Crowley | |
| Walking the Room | #125 | 2012/10/16 | Himself (with Superego)[62] |
| The Andy Daly Podcast Pilot Project | All | 2013–2018 | Co-host/various |
| James Bonding | All | 2013–present | Co-host |
| Quit It | Star Charting | 2013/03/13 | Himself[63] |
| Earwolf Presents | #25 | 2013/12/16 | Himself[64] |
| I Was There Too | All | 2014–2018 | Host[65] |
| Hollywood Handbook | #38 | 2014/06/24 | Himself[66] |
| The Nerdist Podcast | #548 | 2014/07/18 | Himself |
| Never Not Funny | 15J | 2014/10/12 | Himself |
| 16I | 2014/04/12 | Himself | |
| Who Charted? | #210 | 2014/12/10 | Himself[67] |
| How Did This Get Made? | #99 | 2014/12/12 | Himself (crossover with James Bonding) |
| #126 | 2015/12/25 | Himself | |
| The Canon | #19 | 2015/03/23 | Himself[68] |
| Spontaneanation | #1, #10, #15, #16, #22, #27, #28, #34, #37, #58, #60, #62, #68, #86, #99.5 #107, #125, #137, #145, #146, #155, #165.5, #171, #175, #183 |
2015–2018 | Improviser |
| Black List Table Reads | #301-304 | 2015/06/11–2015/07/02 | [69] |
| Get Up On This | #200 | 2015/07/14 | Himself[70] |
| Welcome to Vinci | 2015/07/26 | Himself[71] | |
| Pistol Shrimps Radio | All[72] | 2015–2020 | Co-host |
| Superego: Forgotten Classics | All | 2015 | Cast member |
| Hello from the Magic Tavern | 100C | 2017 | Chamblin Bunnycuddle |
| With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus | #88 | 2016/07/22 | Dennis Palp |
| #121 | 2017/06/30 | Mother | |
| With Gourley and Rust | All | 2018–present | Co-host |
| Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend | All | 2018–present | Producer and Co-host |
| Bonanas for Bonanza | All | 2020–present | Mutt Taylor |
| Keys to the Kingdom | All[73] | 2023 | Co-host and Co-creator |
Other appearances:
- Star Wars Minute
- Comedy Film Nerds
- Earwolf Challenge
- Accept the Mystery
- Cracked
- Podcast: The Ride
- Jordan Jesse Go
- Feral Audio
- Before You Were Funny
- Succotash
- Feliz Navipod
- The Biggest Mistake
- Film Junk
- Doug Loves Movies
- The Big Ones
- Newcomers
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