Burnie Burns facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Burnie Burns
Burns at VidCon in 2014
Born	Michael Justin Burns (1973-01-18) January 18, 1973 (age 52) Rochester, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Texas, Austin (BA)
Occupation	Executive Producer at Rooster Teeth (Formerly)
Years active	1997–present
Spouse(s)	Jordan Burns ​ ​ (m. 2000; div. 2011)​ Ashley Jenkins ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	4

Michael Justin "Burnie" Burns (born January 18, 1973) is an American actor, writer, and producer. He is well-known for being a co-founder of Rooster Teeth, a popular online production company. Burnie is famous for his work in machinima, which is a way of making films using video game technology. He also works with animation and live-action videos.

In April 2003, Burnie and his friends created the machinima series Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles. This show was made using the video game Halo. Red vs. Blue became very popular because it was funny and original, making Burnie an Internet celebrity. His success helped him start Rooster Teeth. After Red vs. Blue became a hit, Burnie also created other shows like The Strangerhood and P.A.N.I.C.S.. In 2016, he starred in the science fiction comedy movie Lazer Team and its sequel, which he also helped write.

Burnie is seen as a leader in machinima. He has appeared at big events like Penny Arcade Expo, San Diego Comic-Con, and Sundance. He was even named one of the "Top 25 Digital Stars" by The Hollywood Reporter in 2015.

Early Life and First Steps in Video

Burnie Burns was born in Rochester, New York, and grew up in Houston, Texas. His father was a physics professor. Burnie got his nickname "Burnie" in high school to help tell him apart from other Michaels in his class.

After high school, Burnie went to The University of Texas at Austin. There, he earned a degree in Computer Science. While in college, he started making videos by volunteering at K29HW-D, a student TV station. He even created Sneak Peek, a show where he reviewed movies and interviewed stars like Adam Sandler.

Later, Burnie became the president of a tech support company. Eventually, he left to start his own company, Rooster Teeth.

First Film and Online Videos: 1997–2002

In his last year of college, Burnie wanted to make a movie. His friends Joel Heyman and Matt Hullum helped him. They filmed The Schedule (1997) over three months. It took a long time to edit, but the same system Burnie built was used for his first viral video.

Burnie found it hard to share his movie with many people. Later, he met Geoff Ramsey and Gus Sorola at a tech company. In 2002, they made their first super popular online video, a funny ad parody called "Mac Gamer Switch." This video helped them realize they could make great content together.

The Rise of Red vs. Blue: 2003–2024

Burnie Burns at RTX 2017 convention in Austin, Texas during a "Red vs Blue" discussion panel.

Burnie joined Geoff Ramsey and Gus Sorola on their website, drunkgamers.com. They made funny videos using gameplay footage. They loved the video game Halo: Combat Evolved. One day, they argued about whether a vehicle in the game looked like a "puma." Burnie said this discussion was the idea for their whole show.

He made a trailer for Red vs. Blue in September 2002. It didn't get much attention at first. But when a magazine wanted to feature another one of their videos, Burnie and Geoff decided to relaunch Red vs. Blue. Burnie then founded Rooster Teeth with Gus, Geoff, Matt Hullum, and Joel Heyman to make the show. The first episode came out on April 1, 2003. The series is made using machinima, which means they use video game footage and add their own voices and sounds.

Burnie first thought Red vs. Blue would be short. But it became much bigger than he expected. The show became very popular, getting thousands of views. Because of its success, Burnie and the team quit their jobs to work on the series full-time. They started selling T-shirts to make money.

After the first season, Burnie became famous in the machinima world. As the director, writer, and main voice actor, he was key to the show's success. Red vs. Blue won several awards, including Best Picture at the 2003 Machinima Film Festival.

The first five seasons, called The Blood Gulch Chronicles, finished in 2007. Later seasons continued the story. From season eleven (2013), Burnie let Miles Luna take over as director and head writer. Burnie still did voice work for characters like Church and Lopez. In 2023, it was announced that Burnie would return to write the show's final season, which is planned for 2024.

Other Machinima Shows: The Strangerhood and PANICS: 2004–2006

In 2004, Burnie and Matt Hullum created another comedy web series called The Strangerhood. It also used the machinima technique.

The idea came from a gaming event where they saw the game The Sims 2. They thought it would be perfect for a show that made fun of reality television. The game's creators, Electronic Arts, allowed them to use the game. The Strangerhood is about eight strangers who wake up in a strange place, not knowing how they got there.

In 2005, they made a spin-off called Strangerhood Studios for the Independent Film Channel. This was the first machinima series made for TV and won an award.

The next year, Burnie and Rooster Teeth made a mini-series called P.A.N.I.C.S.. It was based on the video game F.E.A.R.. The game's creators asked them to make the series. P.A.N.I.C.S. is a funny story about a military team fighting strange enemies.

Live-Action Comedy: Captain Dynamic and RT Shorts: 2009

Burnie started making live-action videos again with Captain Dynamic. This mini-series promoted the online game City of Heroes. It was about a team of writers trying to promote a "bad superhero."

Fans liked it, so Burnie and Rooster Teeth started a new live-action series called Rooster Teeth Shorts (or RT Shorts). These are short, funny skits about life at their office. The Rooster Teeth staff, including Burnie, play funny versions of themselves.

Hosting and Producing Work: 2008–2015

Burns in the Rooster Teeth office in Austin, Texas in 2008

Burnie started hosting The Rooster Teeth Podcast in 2008. The podcast is a funny talk show about popular culture, video games, news, and upcoming projects. It became very popular, even reaching #1 on iTunes. New episodes come out every Wednesday. The show is now available as a video too.

In 2010, Burnie began co-hosting Immersion. This show tests video game ideas in real life. For example, they might see if yelling at real soldiers affects their performance, like it might in a multiplayer game.

In 2012, Rooster Teeth launched The Gauntlet, a reality game show. It featured gamers competing in challenges inspired by video games. Burnie co-hosted the first two seasons.

In 2015, Burnie started co-hosting Million Dollars, But.... In this show, people come up with funny and difficult situations. For example, they might ask if you would date a famous historical figure for a year for a million dollars. The cast then acts out these funny scenarios.

Burnie also worked as an executive producer on several projects. He helped make the 2012 documentary Minecraft: The Story of Mojang, about the creators of Minecraft. In 2013, he became an executive producer for RWBY, a popular animated web series. He also produced X-Ray and Vav, another cartoon web series.

Film Projects: Lazer Team and More: 2015–2019

Burns with director Matt Hullum and co-star Alan Ritchson at the premiere of Lazer Team

In 2014, Rooster Teeth started a crowdfunding campaign for their movie Lazer Team. They asked fans to donate money to help make the film. The campaign quickly raised over $650,000 in less than 10 hours! It even broke a record for the fastest film campaign to reach $700,000. Lazer Team eventually raised over $2.4 million, becoming one of the most funded film campaigns on Indiegogo.

Burnie explained that the more money they raised, the bigger and better the movie could be. He co-wrote, co-produced, and co-starred in the film as a character named Hagan. Lazer Team was released in January 2016.

Burnie also appeared in other films, including the short film Hit (2015) and the sports comedy The Outfield (2015).

After Rooster Teeth: Morning Somewhere: 2019–Present

In September 2019, Burnie changed his role at Rooster Teeth to focus more on big projects behind the scenes. In June 2020, Burnie officially left Rooster Teeth. He announced that he wanted to focus on his family and move to another country.

After taking some time away from the public eye, Burnie launched a new daily podcast called Morning Somewhere on December 26, 2023. He hosts it with his wife, Ashley Burns, from their home in Scotland.

Other Appearances

Burnie has appeared on the comedy game show @midnight. In 2015, Burnie and his then-fiancée, Ashley Jenkins, competed on the TV show The Amazing Race. They finished in fourth place. In 2017, Burnie had a small cameo in the TV show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Personal Life

Burnie married Ashley Jenkins in June 2019. He has three sons and one daughter.

He used to live mainly in Austin, Texas. When he left Rooster Teeth in 2020, he announced he was moving out of the United States. He kept his family's new location private for a while. In December 2023, he shared on his podcast that they had moved to Scotland.

Filmography

Web Series

Film

Television

Video Games