Michael William Day (born March 20, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He was hired as a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live before its 39th season in 2013. Shortly thereafter, he joined as an on-air featured player during the show's 42nd season in 2016, later being promoted to repertory status beginning with the 44th season in 2018. Day is also the host of the Netflix show Is It Cake? He previously was an on-air correspondent for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Jay Leno Show.

Early life and education

Michael William Day was born March 20, 1980, in Orange, California. He attended Panorama Elementary School and later graduated from El Modena High School. There, he was involved in the drama program and the student government. He wrote comedic sketches for monthly assemblies and made "Batman" the theme for his homecoming. Day graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in theater in 2002.

Career

Day began his career with the Groundlings, a Los Angeles–based improvisational theater group. With the Groundlings, Day and Michael Naughton wrote and co-starred in David Blaine Street Magic, a parody of magician David Blaine, portrayed by Mitch Silpa. The video, posted to YouTube, was once one of the most-viewed videos on the site.

Day was an original cast member on the improvisational comedy series Wild 'n Out on MTV. He played various characters in the Groundling stage show Groundlings, In The Study, With The Candlestick in early 2009 and directed Groundlings Space Camp. Day wrote for Showtime's The Underground in 2006.

Day starred in NBC's Kath & Kim remake (2009), wrote for and co-produced the Cartoon Network show Incredible Crew (2013), and wrote for Adult Swim's Robot Chicken in 2014. Day hosted a recurring segment parodying TMZ from 2010 to 2013 on The Jay Leno Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Day was a featured cast member of NBC variety show Maya & Marty, alongside Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, and Kenan Thompson. He also served as one of the show's co-head writers.

2013–present: Saturday Night Live

Day was hired as a writer for Saturday Night Live in 2013 for its 39th season. He was recommended for the job by Nasim Pedrad, who had worked with him before and was a cast member of SNL at the time, appearing in her fifth and final season on the show. On SNL he wrote many sketches featuring cast member & former Wild 'n Out co-star Taran Killam, with whom he wrote the screenplay to Brother Nature (2016).

He was promoted to featured player for season 42 and was promoted to a repertory player in the beginning of season 44. For his audition, he impersonated Donald Trump Jr. and SNL actor Kyle Mooney. His debut appearance was in season 42's first episode, October 1, 2016, hosted by Margot Robbie. Bobby Moynihan, Streeter Seidell, and Day wrote the sketch "Haunted Elevator" for the October 22, 2016 episode of SNL. Starring Tom Hanks as David S. Pumpkins, Day played one of two dancing skeletons in the sketch. The sketch went viral, and he reprised the role for The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special (2017).

On the April 13, 2024 episode of Saturday Night Live, Day and guest host Ryan Gosling appeared in a sketch as live-action versions of Beavis and Butt-Head. The sketch went viral and received large media coverage and critical acclaim. The pair reprised the roles on the red carpet at the premiere of the movie The Fall Guy, in which Gosling played the starring role.

1. Celebrity impressions on Saturday Night Live

2. Steve Bannon (dressed as the Grim Reaper)

3. Travis Barker

4. David Beckham

5. Joe Biden

6. Richard Blumenthal

7. Butt-Head

8. Brendan Carr

9. Bruce Castor

10. John Cornyn

11. Bill Cowher

12. Leonardo da Vinci

13. Steve Doocy

14. Jack Dorsey

15. Matt Duffer

16. Joseph Dunford

17. Rob Dyrdek

18. Sean Evans

19. Colin Farrell

20. Michael Flynn

21. Dan Frischman

22. Merrick Garland

23. Willie Geist

24. Jeffrey Goldberg

25. Matt Hall

26. Prince Harry

27. Pee-wee Herman

28. Rian Johnson

29. Jim Jordan

30. Tim Kaine

31. Brian Kilmeade

32. Steve King

33. Greg Lee

34. Adam Levine

35. Howie Long

36. Kevin Love

37. Joe Manchin III

38. Stephen Miller

39. Roy Moore

40. Elon Musk

41. John Oliver

42. Mehmet Oz

43. Pitbull

44. Jamie Raskin

45. David A. Ricks

46. Forrest Gump

47. Jim Risch

48. Franklin D. Roosevelt

49. Paul Ryan

50. Bruce Schroeder

51. Nate Silver

52. Phil Simms

53. Steve-O

54. Donald Trump Jr.

55. Sam Worthington (as Jake Sully from the Avatar film series)

56. Volodymyr Zelenskyy

57. Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live

58. Greg Duncan, one half of a couple whose forays into spicing up their sex life leave Greg seriously and comically injured by his shy, yet intimidating wife Shelley Duncan (Leslie Jones)

59. Mort Fellner, a supercentenarian who reports on the achievements and experiences of fellow supercentenarians; however, each report culminates in revealing that the achievement is due to the subject dying.

60. Nico Slobkin, one half a shallow couple always on the brink of an argument, who runs a relationship-themed Instagram account with his girlfriend Brie Bacardi (Heidi Gardner).

61. Matt Schatt, one half of a couple, who is so disproportionately unexceptional compared to his exceptionally attractive partner that others can't help but question how their relationship exists.

62. Josh, one of the two unintelligent kids (the other being Lonnie, played by Cecily Strong) in the Science Room sketches.

Disney

Day and his writing partner Streeter Seidell have completed one project and have two projects in development for Disney. The first of these, Home Sweet Home Alone, the sixth film in the Home Alone franchise, was released on Disney+ on November 12, 2021. A live-action Inspector Gadget film is in pre-production. Walt Disney Pictures is also planning to produce a remake of SpaceCamp.

Personal life

Day dated Selma Blair, whom he met on the set of Kath & Kim, from 2008 to 2010.

Day married his long-term partner, actress Paula Christensen, in 2024. Their son was born in August 2012.

Filmography

Film

Television

Podcast

References

External links