Keegan-Michael Key facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Keegan-Michael Key
Key in 2024
Born	(1971-03-22) March 22, 1971 (age 54) Southfield, Michigan, U.S.
Other names	Keegan Key
Alma mater	University of Detroit Mercy (BFA) Pennsylvania State University (MFA)
Occupation	Actor comedian producer writer
Years active	1999–present
Spouse(s)	Cynthia Blaise ​ ​ (m. 1998; div. 2017)​ Elisa Pugliese ​ (m. 2018)​
Relatives	Dwayne McDuffie (half-brother)

Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is a well-known American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He is famous for his amazing comedy skills. He co-created and starred in the popular sketch comedy show Key & Peele with Jordan Peele. This show earned him many awards and nominations.

Key also appeared in the sketch comedy series Mad TV and the musical comedy series Schmigadoon!. You might also recognize his voice from many animated movies. He has voiced characters in films like The Lego Movie, the Hotel Transylvania series, Toy Story 4, The Lion King, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Wonka.

Early Life and Education

Keegan-Michael Key was born in Southfield, Michigan, on March 22, 1971. He was adopted when he was young by Michael Key and Patricia Walsh. His birth father was African-American, and his birth mother had Polish and Flemish roots. His adoptive parents were also a Black man and a White woman. Key later found out he had two half-brothers through his biological father. One of them was the comic book writer Dwayne McDuffie.

Key grew up Catholic. He studied theater at the University of Detroit Mercy, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1993. He then earned a Master of Fine Arts in theater from Pennsylvania State University in 1996.

Comedy Career Highlights

Key in 2012

Keegan-Michael Key has had a fantastic career in comedy and acting. He is known for his ability to create memorable characters and make people laugh.

Starting on Mad TV

In 2004, Key joined the cast of Mad TV, a popular sketch comedy show. He and Jordan Peele both auditioned and were chosen because they had great comedic chemistry together. Key played many different characters on the show.

One of his most famous characters was "Coach Hines." This high school sports coach often interrupted and threatened students and teachers. Key also played "Dr. Funkenstein" in funny parodies of old movies. He also impersonated many famous people, including Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Bill Cosby, Al Roker, Barack Obama, and Stevie Wonder.

Success with Key & Peele

Key and his Mad TV co-star Jordan Peele created their own sketch comedy series called Key & Peele. It started airing on Comedy Central in 2012 and ran for five seasons until 2015. The show was very popular and won many awards.

In 2015, Key even appeared at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. He played Luther, President Barack Obama's "anger translator," a funny character from the Key & Peele show. Key and Peele also produced and starred in the 2016 action-comedy film Keanu.

Other Notable Roles

Barack Obama and Keegan-Michael Key at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2015

Key has been involved in many other projects. He was one of the founders of Hamtramck, Michigan,'s Planet Ant Theatre. He also helped start the Detroit Creativity Project. This project teaches improvisation to students in Detroit to help them improve their communication skills.

He appeared in "Weird Al" Yankovic's music video "White & Nerdy" with Jordan Peele. Key also hosted The Planet's Funniest Animals on Animal Planet. He was a panelist on the NPR comedy quiz show Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me.... Key also had a recurring role as an FBI agent in the TV series Fargo.

Key and Peele also appeared in Epic Rap Battles of History. Key played Mahatma Gandhi in one episode and Michael Jordan in another.

Key at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con

Key has portrayed and rapped as Indian civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi (left) and American basketball player Michael Jordan (right) for Epic Rap Battles of History.

Voice Acting Work

Keegan-Michael Key is a very talented voice actor. He has lent his voice to many popular animated characters.

• He voiced Frank the Foreman in The Lego Movie (2014).
• He is the voice of Murray the Mummy in the Hotel Transylvania film series (2015–2022).
• He voiced Alpha Wolf in Storks and Judge Peckinpah in The Angry Birds Movie (both 2016).
• He was Dave in The Star (2017).
• In 2019, he voiced Ducky in Toy Story 4 and Kamari in the live-action remake of The Lion King.
• He voiced Bjornson the Cheesemonger in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022).
• He was Honest John in the live-action Pinocchio (2022).
• He voiced Wendell in Wendell & Wild (2022).
• In 2023, he voiced Toad in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Delroy in Migration.
• In 2024, he voiced Slime in IF and B-127 / Bumblebee in Transformers One.

Broadway and Hosting

In 2017, Key made his debut on Broadway in the comedy play Meteor Shower. He also hosted the popular science show Brain Games on National Geographic. In 2020, he hosted the game show Game On!.

Personal Life and Interests

Keegan-Michael Key was married to actress Cynthia Blaise from 1998 to 2017. He married producer and director Elisa "Elle" Pugliese in 2018.

Key is a Christian and has explored other faiths like Buddhism and Catholicism. He has often used his biracial background as inspiration for his comedy. He is a big fan of soccer, especially the English Premier League club Liverpool. He also supports the NFL's Detroit Lions.

Helping Others

Key has worked with the Young Storytellers Foundation. This organization helps young people develop their writing skills. He has acted in their annual fundraising events alongside other famous actors.

Filmography

Movies

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Get the Hell Out of Hamtown	J
2000	Garage: A Rock Saga	TV Studio Manager
2003	Uncle Nino	Airport Stranger
2004	Mr. 3000	Reporter
2006	Alleyball	Curt Braunschweib
	Grounds Zero	Arch	Short film
2007	Sucker For Shelley	Michael
2008	Yoga Matt	Matt
	Role Models	Duane
	Land of Arabia	Dwayne	Short film
2010	Welcome to the Jungle Gym	Mike McKenzie
	Due Date	New Father
2011	Just Go with It	Ernesto
	Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star	Guinness Man
2012	Wanderlust	Marcys Flunkie
2013	Hell Baby	F'Resnel
	Afternoon Delight	Bo
2014	The Lego Movie	Frank the Foreman (voice)
	Teacher of the Year	Ronald Douche
	Let's Be Cops	Pupa
	Horrible Bosses 2	Mike
2015	Pitch Perfect 2	Sammy
	Welcome to Happiness	Proctor
	Tomorrowland	Hugo Gernsback
	Vacation	Jack Peterson
	Hotel Transylvania 2	Murray the Mummy (voice)
	Freaks of Nature	Mr. Keller
2016	Keanu	Clarence, Smoke Dresden	Also producer
	The Angry Birds Movie	Judge Peckinpah (voice)
	Don't Think Twice	Jack
	Storks	Alpha Wolf (voice)
	Why Him?	Gustav
2017	Get Out	NCAA Prospect	Uncredited cameo
	Win It All	Gene
	The Disaster Artist	Himself	Cameo
	The Star	Dave (voice)
2018	Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation	Murray (voice)
	The Predator	Coyle
2019	Toy Story 4	Ducky (voice)
	The Lion King	Kamari (voice)
	Dolemite Is My Name	Jerry Jones
	Playing with Fire	Mark Rogers
2020	All the Bright Places	Embry
	Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey	Gustafson
	The Prom	Tom Hawkins
2022	Hotel Transylvania: Transformania	Murray (voice)
	The Bubble	Sean Knox/Colt Rockwell
	Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers	Bjornson the Cheesemonger / Frog co-worker (voice)
	Pinocchio	Honest John (voice)
	Wendell & Wild	Wendell (voice)
2023	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Toad (voice)
	Wonka	Police Chief
	Migration	Delroy (voice)
2024	IF	Slime (voice)
	Transformers One	B-127 (voice)
	Dear Santa	Dr. Finklman
2026	The Super Mario World Movie	Toad (voice)	Voice; in production
TBA	Play Dirty		Post-production

Television Shows

Stage Performances

Video Games

Music Videos

Podcasts

Books

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Keegan-Michael Key para niños