Matt Besser
A foundational architect of alternative comedy in America, co-creating the Upright Citizens Brigade and its empire of improv.
Born 1967 (age 59)·American actor and comedian·Birthday: September 22·Generation X
Biography
Matt Besser is a comedy insurgent from Little Rock, Arkansas, who helped redraw the map of American humor. Moving to Chicago, he immersed himself in the city's improv scene before co-founding the Upright Citizens Brigade with a trio of fellow performers. The group's mission was anarchic and theatrical, leading them to New York and then to a cult TV show on Comedy Central that blended sketch with surreal, often confrontational, street theater. Besser's true legacy, however, is institutional. As a co-founder of the UCB Theatre, he helped build a sprawling network of training centers and stages in New York and Los Angeles that became the essential pipeline for a generation of comedians, writers, and actors. A fierce advocate for the purity of improv, he has hosted the long-running podcast 'Improv4Humans', showcasing the form's spontaneous, game-based possibilities with a zealot's passion.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Matt was born in 1967, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Matt Was Born
The biggest hits of 1967
#1 Movie
The Jungle Book
Best Picture
In the Heat of the Night
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Matt's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1967Born
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1972Started school
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1980Became a teenager
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Could drive
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1985Could vote
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Turned 21
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1997Turned 30
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 40
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 50
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 59 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe and the associated UCB Theatre training centers and stages in New York and Los Angeles.
- Starred in and co-wrote 'The Upright Citizens Brigade' television series on Comedy Central from 1998 to 2000.
- Created and hosts the long-form improv podcast 'Improv4Humans', which has aired for hundreds of episodes.
- Directed the 2013 feature film 'The UCB Show', which documented the stage show of the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Did You Know?
He is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he studied film.
He made a cameo appearance in the 2005 Bob Dylan film 'Masked & Anonymous'.
He is known for his strict adherence to the 'rules' of improv comedy, particularly those derived from the teachings of Del Close.
“The rule is there are no rules, only the truth of the scene.”
