Bryan Callen

Early life

Callen was born on a military base in Manila, Philippines. He is the son of American parents, Victoria Callen (née Sclafani) and Michael A. Callen. Because of his father's career as an international banker, Callen lived overseas until he was fourteen years old, including in the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Lebanon, Greece and Saudi Arabia. He graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon High School in Gill, Massachusetts in 1985. He then attended American University in Washington, D.C., where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in History. He is of Italian and Irish descent.

Career

''MADtv'' (1995–1997) and other television projects

Callen was one of the eight original cast members when MADtv debuted in 1995. Callen also performed impressions of Bill Clinton, Robert De Niro, Al Gore, Luke Perry, Steven Seagal, Sammy Hagar, Kevin Bacon, Jim Carrey, Ted Knight and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others.

Callen has guest starred on television series such as Entourage, NewsRadio, Oz, Frasier, Suddenly Susan, NYPD Blue, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI, 7th Heaven, Rude Awakening, Less than Perfect, The King of Queens, Sex and the City, Kingdom, Stacked, Las Vegas, Reba, Fat Actress, Californication and How I Met Your Mother.

Callen played Ricky's sexually abusive father on The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family. He also made frequent appearances on Chelsea Lately. He hosted the E! show Bank of Hollywood, and currently appears as a commentator of The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest... on truTV.

Callen also played the role of Coach Mellor in The Goldbergs and its spinoff series Schooled. The pilot aired on January 24, 2018. The spinoff was picked up for a 13-episode order for the fall, 2018 television season.

Callen co-wrote and co-starred in Dream Crushers with Will Sasso, Sara Rue, and Scott Thompson. The series was shot in 2009 but unaired until 2011. He appeared with Melinda Hill in an episode of the 2012–13 web series Romantic Encounters.

''Ten Minute Podcast''

Beginning on February 20, 2012, Callen and fellow actors and comedians Will Sasso and Chris D'Elia began the Ten Minute Podcast. Tommy Blacha and Chad Kultgen later replaced Callen and D'Elia.

''The Fighter and the Kid''

Callen currently cohosts a podcast titled The Fighter and the Kid with Brendan Schaub, and producers Chin and Nick. The podcast formerly focused on the realm of mixed martial arts, but since their departure from Fox Sports, they regularly discuss pop culture and current events as well.

Schaub and Callen performed the podcast live on a national tour in 2016. The tour included such venues as The Vic Theatre (Chicago), Gramercy Theatre (New York City), and Wilbur Theatre (Boston); culminating at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles.

In 2016 Schaub and Callen released The Fighter and the Kid 3D. The twelve episode digital download series features sketch comedy pieces based on the duo's podcast personas.

Schaub and Callen regularly appear alongside Joe Rogan during live event broadcasts, such as the UFC and Glory Kickboxing, for what is called the Fight Companion. They also appeared on the MTV show Ridiculousness, hosted by Rob Dyrdek, in June 2016.

In September 2023, Schaub and Callen publicly stated that Kast Media and its CEO Colin Thomson owed their production company $1.5-1.6 million dollars. Similar claims were made by Jim Cornette followed by Theo Von, Jason Ellis, Whitney Cummings, and Alyx Weiss, who stated they were owed money by Kast Media, including several six-figure and seven-figure shortages. This was in the process of an acquisition of Kast Media by PodcastOne, where Thomson was offering creators partial reimbursement combined with stock options. Amid the news, LiveOne and PodcastOne stock dropped considerably and the company no longer planned to officially hire Thomson. LiveOne took out a high-interest loan to pay Schaub and Callen, but did not compensate other creators.

Other

In March 2023, Callen and fellow comedian Nick DiPaolo and Josh Firestine joined Steven Crowder on his network, Mug Club, to stream on Rumble.

Stand-up comedy

Callen headlines his solo stand up comedy act at venues across the United States. In early 2016 he released Never Grow Up which was recorded live at the Irvine Improv in April, 2015. Never Grow Up was released online in conjunction with The Fighter and the Kid 3D Web series. he released a special in 2019 called Complicated Apes. In 2022, he released his special “Man tears” on his YouTube channel. In October 2025, he released his special "FALSE GODS" on his YouTube channel.

Sexual misconduct allegations

On July 31, 2020, the Los Angeles Times reported that four women, including actress Kathryn Fiore, told the newspaper that Callen mistreated them and described incidents of sexual misconduct including rape, assault, and disturbing comments that date back to 1999. In a tweet, Callen denied the accusations. He also released a long form video on Instagram and YouTube vehemently denying all allegations.

Callen filed a lawsuit against Fiore and her husband, Gabriel Tigerman. In January 2021, Judge Monica Bachner ruled in the couple's favor, stating that Callen "did not meet his burden of demonstrating a probability of prevailing on his claim."

Filmography

Comedy specials

Film

Television

References

References

1. (2018). "TV in the USA: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas [3 volumes]". ABC-CLIO.
2. "Twitter".
3. Rose, Mike. (January 26, 2023). "Today's famous birthdays list for January 26, 2023 includes celebrities Sasha Banks, Ellen DeGeneres". The Plain Dealer.
4. "Bryan Callen on the Beverly Hills Playhouse Acting School".
5. Leitereg, Neal J.. (November 10, 2016). "'MADtv's' Bryan Callen snaps up a newly built contemporary in Santa Monica". [[Los Angeles Times]].
6. (December 11, 2014). "Brendan Schaub reflects on Joe Rogan intervention: 'I was trying not to cry'".
7. "The Fighter & The Kid".
8. David, Mark. (July 7, 2014). "Comedian Bryan Callen Snags Snoozy Calabasas Crib".
9. (June 16, 2019). "EP35 Riffin With Bryan Callen".
10. (April 2, 2014). "MADtv's Bryan Callen looks back on a life on the move".
11. (October 7, 2015). "Bryan Callen: Comic abroad (Interview)".
12. Gadino, Dylan P.. (June 16, 2011). "Interview: Bryan Callen– comedian, actor, zombie killer".
13. (2017-12-14). "I'm Italian. To my core. I burn with... – Bryan Callen Fan Page".
14. "Bryan Callen on Instagram: "I'm an Italian soccer player. Please recognize."".
15. "Align Podcast".
16. Fitzpatrick, Molly. (January 12, 2016). "Here's what happened to every single 'MADtv' cast member".
17. (December 4, 2014). "The Fighter and the Kid hug it out with 'Entourage' star Jeremy Piven". Fox Sports.
18. "The Joe Rogan Experience Episode 1045 with Bryan Callen – JREfan.com".
19. "PopEntertainment.com: Bryan Callen interview about 'The Bryan Callen Show.'".
20. Bonner, Mehera. (December 22, 2010). "20 Things You Didn't Know About Secret Life".
21. Meetinghouse Web. (July 23, 2013). "Bryan Callen Has A Message!".
22. David, Mark. (July 7, 2014). "Comedian Bryan Callen Snags Snoozy Calabasas Crib".
23. Gray, Ellen. (January 9, 2018). "'Goldbergs' spinoff pilot to air on ABC – could this be a second chance?". Philadelphia Media Network.
24. Goldberg, Lesley. (January 8, 2018). "'The Goldbergs' 1990s-Set Pilot to Air on ABC". The Hollywood Reporter.
25. Andreeva, Nellie. (2018-04-16). "'The Goldbergs' Spinoff Picked Up To Series By ABC With Tim Meadows, Bryan Callen & AJ Michalka Set To Star". Deadline Hollywood.
26. Sasso, Will. "Dream Crushers".
27. Gutelle, Sam. (June 26, 2013). "Melinda Hill Seeking 'Romantic Encounters' On My Damn Channel Network".
28. Will Sasso. (2012-02-20). "The 10 Minute Podcast".
29. Will Sasso. (2016-11-22). "The 10 Minute Podcast".
30. "Onnit Labs – Total Human Optimization".
31. "The Fighter & The Kid announce national tour".
32. ""The Fighter and the Kid" 3D". iTunes Store.
33. "Ridiculousness – Bryan Callen & Brendan Schaub". MTV.
34. (2023-07-24). "Kast Media accused of "not paying creators"".
35. Brooks, Dave. (2023-09-09). "PodcastOne Public Listing Collides With Viral Takedown Video From Comedian Theo Von".
36. Carman, Ashley. (2023-09-14). "A Fight Over Missing Ad Money Roils the Podcast Industry". Bloomberg.com.
37. Khalid, Amrita. (2023-09-14). "Why everyone in the podcast world is mad at Kast Media's Colin Thomson".
38. Brooks, Dave. (2023-09-28). "PodcastOne Paid Brendan Schaub $1.6M, While Other Kast Podcasters Were Asked to Accept Pay Cuts".
39. "Steven Crowder Signs Bryan Callen, Nick DiPaolo, MrGunsNGear, and Josh Firestine to Mug Club".
40. "Bryan Callen Events".
41. (March 23, 2016). "Bryan Callen's New Special Now Available".
42. "Bryan Callen: Never Grow Up".
43. (31 July 2020). "Actor Bryan Callen accused of sexual assault, misconduct". [[Los Angeles Times]].
44. Petski, Denise. (July 31, 2020). "Comedian Bryan Callen Denies Rape & Sexual Misconduct Allegations; Amy Schumer Sends Message Of Support To Accusers".
45. Wright, Megh. (August 3, 2020). "4 Women Accuse Comedian Bryan Callen of Sexual Assault and Misconduct".
46. (1 April 2021). "Bryan Callen gives up effort to sue husband of woman who claims comedian raped her". [[Los Angeles Times]].
47. Bryan Callen. (2025-10-15). "Bryan Callen – FALSE GODS (Full Comedy Special) {{!}} Live at Joe Rogan’s Comedy Mothership".
48. (September 20, 2018). "Joker Origin Movie Set Photos Show Male Stripper".
49. Schultz, Marisa. (January 29, 2018). "Tim Allen joins docudrama taking down PC culture".