Taran Killam facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Taran Killam
Killam in 2024
Born	Taran Hourie Killam (1982-04-01) April 1, 1982 (age 43) Culver City, California, U.S.
Education	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Actor comedian
Years active	1994–present
Spouse(s)	Cobie Smulders ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	2

Taran Hourie Killam (born April 1, 1982) is an American actor and comedian. He became well-known for his time on the TV show Saturday Night Live from 2010 to 2016. Before that, he was on MADtv from 2001 to 2002.

Taran Killam has also appeared in many other TV shows. These include Wild 'n Out, The Amanda Show, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, and Single Parents. Kids might also know him as the teen pop star in the 2004 Disney Channel movie Stuck in the Suburbs. He also voices the main character, Nature Cat, in the PBS children's cartoon series Nature Cat.

Besides TV and movies, Killam has performed on Broadway theatre. He played King George III in the musical Hamilton in 2017. He also played Lancelot in Spamalot from late 2023 to early 2024.

Early life and education

Taran Killam was born on April 1, 1982, in Culver City, California. He grew up in Big Bear Lake, California, until he was 15 years old. His mother was a singer and songwriter. His father was an actor with a theater group.

Killam went to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. He later studied musical theater at the UCLA. However, he left college to start his acting career.

Acting career highlights

Starting out in TV and film

Taran Killam's first movie role was in 1994 in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. He also appeared on Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show, a comedy show starring Amanda Bynes. On that show, he played Spaulding, a boy who liked the character Moody.

From 2001 to 2002, Killam was a cast member on MADtv. He was the youngest person to join the show at age 19. He also appeared on Wild 'n Out for two seasons. In 2004, he starred in the Disney Channel movie Stuck in the Suburbs. After MADtv, he had roles on shows like Drake & Josh and Scrubs.

Time on Saturday Night Live

On September 25, 2010, Taran Killam joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL). He was on the show for six seasons, until August 2016. He was the second person to be on both MADtv and SNL.

One famous moment from his time on SNL was a music video called "The Legend of Mokiki and the Sloppy Swish." In this video, Killam played a character who did a funny, shuffling dance. This dance became very popular online.

Other projects and voice acting

In 2011, Killam made a viral video on YouTube where he copied the dance from Robyn's music video "Call Your Girlfriend". This video was watched over a million times.

He also appeared in episodes of Community and iCarly. In 2013, he was in the comedy movie The Heat. He also voiced Zip "Frantic" Danger in the animated series The Awesomes.

Killam played a small role in the serious film 12 Years a Slave in 2013. He is a big fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and got a role in the 2014 movie.

From 2006 to 2014, he made six guest appearances on How I Met Your Mother. His wife, Cobie Smulders, was one of the main stars of that show.

Since 2015, Killam has been the voice of the main character in the PBS Kids show Nature Cat. He works alongside other famous comedians on the show.

In 2017, Killam joined the Broadway cast of Hamilton as King George III. He also wrote, directed, and starred in the movie Killing Gunther in 2017, which featured Arnold Schwarzenegger.

From 2018 to 2020, Killam played a main role as Will Cooper in the TV comedy Single Parents. More recently, he has a recurring role in the series High Potential, which started in 2024.

Personal life

Taran Killam is married to actress Cobie Smulders. They got engaged in 2009 and married on September 8, 2012. They have two daughters, born in 2009 and 2015. In January 2025, their home in Los Angeles was sadly destroyed by a wildfire.

Killam is a big fan of the Los Angeles Rams football team. He often attends their games.

Filmography

Film roles

Television roles

Theatre roles

See also

In Spanish: Taran Killam para niños