Taran Killam

Taran Killam was born on April 1, 1982, in Culver City, California. He spent his early years in Big Bear Lake, California, until the age of 15. His mother was a singer-songwriter who toured with The Charlie Daniels Band, and his father was involved with the City Garage Theatre Group, indicating early exposure to the performing arts. Killam attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and later studied musical theater at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, where he focused on the university’s Theater Festival. He left UCLA to fully pursue his acting career.

Killam began his career in entertainment at an early age, making his film debut in ‘Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult’ in 1994. He gained attention as a cast member on Nickelodeon’s ‘The Amanda Show’ (2000–2002) and later joined the cast of ‘MADtv’ (2001–2002) as its youngest ever cast member at 19. His television work expanded to include roles in ‘Wild ‘n Out’ (2006–2007) and the Disney Channel original film ‘Stuck in the Suburbs’ (2004). These early experiences in sketch comedy and television provided a foundation for his subsequent success. He also co-starred in the 2005 television pilot ‘Nobody’s Watching’, which garnered popularity online after being leaked, leading to the creation of webisodes.

His career significantly advanced when he joined ‘Saturday Night Live’ (2010–2016) for six seasons, showcasing his skills in various roles and impressions. During his time on ‘SNL’, he also made a viral video replicating Robyn’s ‘Call Your Girlfriend’ dance (2011) and introduced the internet phenomenon ‘Mokiki and the Sloppy Swish’ (2012). Beyond comedy, Killam demonstrated his dramatic range in the critically acclaimed film ’12 Years a Slave’ (2013) and has held recurring roles in television series such as ‘How I Met Your Mother’ (2006–2014) and ‘Nature Cat’ (2015–2025), where he voices the titular character. He also made his Broadway debut as King George III in ‘Hamilton’ (2017) and later appeared in ‘Spamalot’ (2023–2024). Killam has also directed and written, exemplified by his work on the film ‘Killing Gunther’ (2017), which he also starred in.