The 25 Most Famous UCB Alumni

Along with The Groundlings in Los Angeles, and both Second City and iO in Chicago, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre is one of the premiere comedy training grounds in America. A slew of comic performers, writers, and directors have cut their teeth on the UCB stage, either at the original New York location (founded by Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts, and Amy Poehler in 1996), their recent East Village addition, or their L.A. theater.

UCB has come under fire recently for not paying performers, but defenders of the organization point to the opportunities UCB provides comic minds who would otherwise have nowhere to hone their skills. Supporters of the theater maintain that by not relying on a commercial product, it can test comic boundaries in a way other houses can't. As theatre co-founder Matt Besser recently said, "We pay our performers, just not with money.”

Even those critical of the UCB business model can't deny the influence the theater has had on the national comedy scene. Many artists involved in your favorite comic television and film projects trained at UCB: selecting the twenty-five most famous performers who trained there is difficult, as so many of them go on to do great work. That's not counting comedy legends like Conan O'Brien or Tina Fey, who, while having trained elsewhere, drop in sporadically to get in on the improv action.

Whether or not you question the methods, you can't question the talent it's produced. Here are the 25 Most Famous UCB Alumni.

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Written by Brenden Gallagher (@muddycreek)

25. Seth Morris

A former UCBLA artistic director, Seth Morris began studying with UCB in 1997. He's also appeared in comedy festivals all over the country and enjoyed a long-run with off-Broadway show Marijuanalogues.

Though you likely recognize Morris as a regular on Go On, you've probably seen him on television before. His credits span many prominent comedy shows of the last decade, including Curb Your Enthusiasm, Chappelle's Show, and Reno 911.

24. Andrew Daly

Odds are, you recognize Daly from Semi-Pro and Eastbound and Down, but this funny guy has been on the comedy scene for some time. Before showing up on shows like MadTV and Reno 911, Daly spent a lot of time doing stage comedy work in New York, and was one of the first students at UCB. He was a member of the legendary improv troupe, The Swarm, which is regarded today as one of the best ever.

Daly is slated to play the lead in a new Comedy Central program this year, Review with Forrest MacNeil. If you can't wait until then, we recommend you check out his acclaimed Nine Sweaters, a character-based comedy album.

23. Chris Gethard

Despite airing on public access, The Chris Gethard Show has attracted national critical attention. Before the show was televised, it was a stage show at UCB. Gethard recently outlined his extensive history with the theatre in a blog post addressing the recent conflict between UCB and some members of the New York stand-up community. Over the last five years, if there'd been a list of "up and coming" comic performers, Gethard has been on it. But it might now be time to take him off of those lists: Between his new book and a deal with IFC, it looks like Gethard has just arrived.

22. Rob Huebel

Along with Aziz Ansari and Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel was part of Human Giant, a sketch group that landed a show at MTV in 2007. Since then, Huebel has popped up on many of your favorite comedies, including, Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

He currently has a recurring role on Children's Hospital with fellow UCB veteran Rob Corddry.

21. Kay Cannon

Before she landed a writing gig on 30 Rock and penned Pitch Perfect, Cannon was was improvising all over the place. She did work in Las Vegas, Amsterdam, and Chicago before landing at UCBLA and joining a house team there. Between her various writing commitments, Cannon still manages to find time to perform long-form improvisation at her show Let's Have a Ball at UCBLA.

20. Jason Mantzoukas

The League fan favorite, Jason Mantzoukas recently gained wider appreciation for his role in The Dictator. Mantzoukas began his work with the UCB in 1998, where he was on one of the theatre's earliest house teams. He also performed his long-running show, "Soundtrack," which involved creating an improvised performance out of audience members' ipod playlists, at the theatre.

While in New York, Mantzoukas was also part of the acclaimed comedy duo, "The Mantzoukas Brothers;" he and partner Ed Herbstman were named best improv duo by Time Out New York in 2006. In addition to his burgeoning acting career, Mantzoukas co-hosts the "How Did This Get Made" podcast with Paul Scheer.

19. Lennon Parham

After a brief stint as a teacher, Parham moved to New York City to pursue comedy. While developing her skills as a writer and performer at UCB, Parham gained attention as an actress, landing a role on the short-lived Accidentally on Purpose. More recently, she and her writing partner Jessica St. Clair created Best Friends Forever.

Parham and St. Clair have another shot this pilot season: the USA network has ordered a new comedy from the duo.

18. Zach Woods

As a part of the beloved long-form improv group, The Stepfathers, Zach Woods worked with a host of New York improv favorites including Chris Gethard, Will Hines, and Michael Delaney while honing his craft. Woods also taught improv classes at UCB.

He can currently be seen on The Office with a number other New York comedy veterans. He's also appeared in Bored to Death and The League.

17. Adam Pally

Happy Endings star Adam Pally has done work at the UCB theatre since 2003. For much of that time, he's worked with house team Death by Roo Roo, though he appeared with other sketch and improv groups too. In addition to his work on Happy Endings, currently in its third season, Pally is a regular on the Earwolf podcasting network and has appeared in several recent feature films.

16. Rob Riggle

Prior to beginning his career in comedy, Rob Riggle was an officer in the US Marine Corp, serving in Liberia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. He transitioned from military service to pursuing his acting career in 1997, when hefirst started with UCB. In a previous interview with Complex, Riggle discussed his beginnings at UCB: "I took a stand-up comedy class and I hated it. I thought I made a huge mistake. I thought to myself, 'Why did I give up flying for this?' Then, I went down to the UCB, saw a show called Asssscat on Sunday night and I was blown away. I was like, 'That's it, that's exactly what I want to do.' "

It's worked out well for Riggle, who has landed dozens of roles in the last decade, in films as varied as The Lorax and 21 Jump Street.

15. Kate McKinnon

The heat has been building around Kate McKinnon. McKinnon made Forbes Magazine's "30 Under 30" in the entertainment industry section, and has been heralded by several media commentators as "the next Kristen Wiig."

As a performer at UCB, McKinnon was very active in sketch and solo forms. One of her one-woman shows, Kate McKinnon on Ice, was a character showcase that flexed some of the same comic muscles that would make her a stand-out at SNL, where she's known for impressions of Ann Romney, Penelope Cruz, and Ellen DeGeneres. McKinnon will soon celebrate her one year anniversary on SNL, where she is the first openly gay cast member.

14. Rob Corddry

Comedy fans have been knowing about Corddry for years for his work on The Daily Show, Hot Tub Time Machine, and other projects, but it's only recently that viewers have gotten a glimpse of Corddry's full power. Corddry created the cult comedy favorite Children's Hospital for adult swim in 2009.

In addition to his improv training at UCB, Corddry has an legit theatre background. While building his acting career, he did a year-long stint with the National Shakespeare Company.

This year, you can see in Corddry in the films Hell Baby, Escape from Planet Earth, and Warm Bodies.

13. Ben Schwartz

We love him as Jean-Ralphio on Parks and Recreation, but Ben Schwartz's role as the night-life lover comprises just a small portion of his comic work. Schwartz also stars in the series House of Cards and is a prolific writer. He's published three books and written for Robot Chicken.

12. Jack McBrayer

McBrayer—best known for his work on 30 Rock—began his improv training in Chicago with iO and the Second City before moving to NYC and starting with UCB.

After years of working in the improv scenes in New York and Chicago, McBrayer landed a recurring gig on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which put him on the track to national recognition. In addition to McBrayer's work as Kenneth on 30 Rock, he's lent his talents to Ugly Americans, Phineas & Furb, Yo Gabba Gabba!, and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.

11. Horatio Sanz

Sanz was with the Upright Citizens Brigade from its beginnings in Chicago. He fondly recalled those daring early days in an interview with New York Magazine, saying, "How awesome would it be to be arrested in front of this audience, and have them thinking, Did they plan this? How did they get that cop car? What's going on? So I just kept chanting, 'Kill Rostenkowski! Fight the power!' as they were throwing me in this cop car. After the car pulls away, I'm like, 'I'm an actor, by the way.' I spent the night in jail.' "

In addition to his stint on SNL, Sanz appeared on the Comedy Central shows Big Lake and Nick Swardson's Pretend Time.

10. Ellie Kemper

Ellie Kemper's one-woman show at UCB, Feeling Sad/Mad attracted the sort of attention that led to her work on The Office and in Bridesmaids. Between graduating from Princeton and getting gigs on shows like Important Things with Demetri Martin and The Gastineau Girls, Kemper appeared on improv teams working at both UCB and the nearby People's Improv Theatre, while also writing for publications such as The Onion and McSweeney's.

9. Paul Scheer

Though many of you know Scheer best from The League, he's been all over the comedy landscape over the last few years: you can see him on adult swim's NTSF:SD:SUV, listen to his How Did This Get Made podcast, and even catch him from time to time on Yo Gabba Gabba.

Scheer's work with UCB began in 1998; as an improviser, he worked with familiar faces like Rob Riggle and Jack McBrayer. In 2005, he began collaborating with Rob Huebel, Aziz Ansari, and Jason Woliner, which became Human Giant, the group that spawned a show on MTV and launched their careers.

8. Aubrey Plaza

According to Aubrey Plaza, she did two things during college: comedy and internships. Though her internship for a post-it note company didn't lead anywhere, her comedy studies have certainly paid off.

Plaza's time at UCB began in 2004 while studying at NYU. During her time working at the theatre, Plaza appeared a number of projects created fellow UCB performers, including Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz and Charlie Todd's Improv Everywhere. After her breakout role in Funny People in 2009, Plaza went on to land a recurring role on Parks and Recreation. Plaza landed her first starring role on film in Mark Duplass's Safety Not Guaranteed last year. She's also something of a indie sex symbol, in case you were wondering.

7. Bobby Moynihan

Prior to landing a spot on SNL, Moynihan was prolific at the UCB theatre. Over the course of roughly a decade, Moynihan appeared on both in-house teams and with the theatre's touring company. In addition to his work on SNL, Moynihan has made the rounds through a number of other sketch comedy projects. His credits include sketch writing for Conan O'Brien, contributing as a writer on Human Giant, and recurring appearances at CollegeHumor.

6. Donald Glover

DERRICK Comedy, Glover's former sketch comedy group, supplemented its Internet content with live shows at the UCB Theatre on its way to becoming online sensations. His success since DERRICK has been well documented. Not only is Glover a series regular on Community, he's written for 30 Rock, appeared numerous times on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and, of course, raps as Childish Gambino.

5. Nick Kroll

Kroll Show and The League have recently brought Nick Kroll into the spotlight, but he's worked long and hard in the comedy community to get to there. Kroll first studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade when he was a freshman at Georgetown University in 1996. Kroll got his first breaks as a writer, contributing to both The Life and Times of Tim and Human Giant, while also landing a variety of bit parts in television and film.

Since then, he's been involved in comedy projects large and small, from web series to network television shows, and his impressive amount of comedic output shows no signs of slowing.

4. Ed Helms

After moving to New York City, Helms split his time between studying at UCB, practicing with sketch comedy groups, and working at a post-production facility, where he borrowed equipment to record the voice-over reel that would land him an agent. Years of working in the New York comedy scene paid off when he landed a role as correspondent on The Daily Show in 2005.

After being hired on The Office the next year and appearing in the smash-hit, The Hangover in 2009, Helms was officially a household name. With The Office coming to an end and The Hangover franchise hopefully coming to a close, we look forward to seeing what projects Helms gets involved in with next.

3. Aziz Ansari

As he hustled his way through the New York City stand-up comedy scene, Ansari also performed sketch and improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade. His career took off after he formed Human Giant with Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, and Jason Woliner. Shortly after Human Giant wrapped its two season run on MTV, Ansari was on his way to becoming a household name.

2009 brought increased stand-up success and prominent rolls in the films Funny People, Observe and Report, and I Love You, Man. While we see Ansari most often on Parks and Recreation these days, he's involved in a number of exciting comic projects.

2. Adam McKay

Arguably the most influential man in American comedy today, McKay is not only behind films like Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys, but is also a co-founder of Funny or Die. McKay is usually only briefly mentioned in the tales of UCB's early days. He was with the group during their formative days in Chicago, but was already in New York writing for SNL when the founding four members of the UCB theatre arrived in Manhattan.

McKay and long-time partner Will Ferrell will drop their Anchorman sequel this year, and McKay is attached to a number of other features in various stages of development.

1. Amy Poehler

Discussion of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre has to begin with Amy Poehler. Though there were numerous members of the original Upright Citizens Brigade improv troupe in Chicago (including Adam McKay and Horatio Sanz), Poehler was one of the four members of the group to move to New York and open the first UCB location in an abandoned strip club in Chelsea, along with Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, and Ian Roberts.

Two years after making their move to New York, the four founders landed a television show with Comedy Central, also called The Upright Citizens Brigade. The show ran for three seasons. The next year Poehler landed at Saturday Night Live. Numerous film roles and Parks and Recreation followed, cementing Poehler as one of the biggest names in comedy worldwide.

Like long-time friend and collaborator, Tina Fey, Poehler's influence has transcended comedy; she's become an icon for women breaking into industries dominated by men. Time recognized this, naming her to their list of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2011.