10 Famous Actors You Forgot Appeared On Key & Peele

After the incredible “Chappelle’s Show” unexpectedly went off the air and “Mind of Mencia” was … another show that was there, Comedy Central blessed our screens with the awesome sketch comedy series, “Key & Peele.” For five seasons, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele put featured both socially conscious, hilarious sketches and bits where a man is unreasonably excited over a hotel’s continental breakfast. 

“Key & Peele” has been off the air for over a decade now, but we haven’t forgotten the eponymous duo. Key is a comedy fixture who’s appeared in dozens of films and TV shows. Peele went in the other direction and is now an Academy Award-winning horror auteur. But even then, a lot of hilarious improv went into the making of his hit film “Get Out.”

They’re not the only ones who benefitted, as “Key & Peele” also introduced audiences to many talented actors before they got way more famous. We’re not talking about people like Allison Janney, who was already recognizable before playing around with Key and Peele. Some of these stars only had bit parts on “Key & Peele,” but when you go back to rewatch the show, it’s clear they were always destined for something more. 

The “Insult Comic” sketch from “Key & Peele” works so well because you have to imagine a stand-up comedian has had to contend with this uncomfortable interaction at some point. A stand-up (Keegan-Michael Key) is roasting everyone in a club until he comes across a man with severe burns (Jordan Peele), opting to avoid a potentially awkward situation. But before things take a turn, Key’s comedian character cracks jokes at the expense of Paul Walter Hauser sitting in the front row. 

Hauser would show up on the sketch comedy show again in the “People Park” sketch as a guy rolling around in the grass. These would be some of his earlier roles before blowing up in a big way with parts in “I, Tonya,” “Richard Jewell,” and “Cruella.” Hauser also gave an unhinged wrestling-inspired speech after winning an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for his work in “Black Bird.”

Hauser seems to pop up in almost anything, whether it’s as Mole Man in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and landing deadpan jokes with Liam Neeson in “The Naked Gun.” He’s a great comedic talent, so it’s no wonder “Key & Peele” recognized that early on. He doesn’t get compensated for his “Key & Peele” days any longer, as Hauser once relayed a story of how he once received a residual check for the show in the amount of $0.00. Hollywood isn’t all fame and riches. 

“Ted Lasso” may not have sketch comedy origins, but one of its creators, Brendan Hunt, got his start as something of a regular on “Key & Peele.” He appeared periodically throughout the show’s run with roles like “Creepy Van Guy” and “The Clown.” One of his more memorable roles comes in the “Sex Detective” sketch that makes fun of crime procedurals. 

Paget Brewster of “Criminal Minds” fame is there, but she was already well known by this point. Instead, the focus is on Jordan Peele’s sex detective, who has an unusual method of getting inside of the mind of a sex pest. As it turns out, the prime target is Brendan Hunt across the street, and he’s still, uh, pleasuring himself when Peele finds him. 

Hunt actually had an advantage getting cast on “Key & Peele,” as he and Peele studied improv and sketch at the Amsterdam-based outlet, Boom Chicago. If you’re going to do that together, you better trust your scene partner.

Hunt is far more grounded on “Ted Lasso” as Coach Beard, one of Ted’s (Jason Sudeikis) longtime friends. While “Ted Lasso” is definitely his bread and butter, you may have also heard his voice in the Pixar film “Elio” or in video games like “Fallout 4.” 

You’d be forgiven for not realizing Milana Vayntrub was in an episode of “Key & Peele.” She’s part of the “Sexy Vampires” sketch as one of the vampires who realizes that there’s no reason for all of the theatricality they have to go through to try to be seductive and mysterious. 

She’s decked out in a black wig and heavy eye makeup, which is a far cry from her most recognizable role as Lily in all of those AT&T commercials. She actually got cast in the first of those ads in 2013, the same year she appeared in “Key & Peele,” so it was a good year for her. 

Many commercial actors have a hard time breaking out of their mold and finding work elsewhere, but Vayntrub has a solid resume. She went back to dealing with supernatural monsters by starring in the supernatural video game adaptation “Werewolves Within,” and she was one of the brave “Project Hail Mary” astronauts who died on the Earth-saving mission. Plus, she’s voiced Squirrel Girl in several Marvel projects, including the podcast “Marvel’s Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show” and the video game “Marvel Rivals.”

One of the funniest moments from Jordan Peele’s career came from the “Clear History” sketch on “Key & Peele.” The best sketches tend to come from moments many in the audience can relate to, and for anyone who’s ever shared a computer, there’s a good chance they know all about clearing the search history after visiting some unsavory websites. When Peele’s wife, played by Michelle Buteau, confronts him over whether he’s watched some of this adult material, he sweats profusely (you’ve seen this as a GIF everywhere). The sweat grows in intensity as she asks for more information, escalating perfectly until the grand finale.

After starting doing stand-up comedy in the 2000s, Buteau began breaking into more mainstream fare in the 2010s. After her stint on “Key & Peele,” she showed up on “Broad City,” “The Eric Andre Show,” and “The Tick.” Esquire even named her one of its top comedians to watch in 2017.

The recommendation was well-earned, as she’s continued exploring other facets of the entertainment industry, like podcasting. She also co-created the Netflix series “Survival of the Thickest” where she also stars in the lead role as a woman rebuilding her life after her partner cheats on her. She can pretty much do whatever she wants, as she proved in that single sketch that her comedic timing is impeccable. 

If you grew up locked in your bedroom perpetually watching YouTube videos, then you were probably weren’t introduced to Bo Burnham on “Key & Peele.” He was already internet famous by that point for his assortment of comedic songs like “New Math” and “My Whole Family.” He parlayed this into his own MTV series, “Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous,” but all this just made him the perfect fit for a sketch about an a capella group where a Black singer gets threatened when a second Black guy gets added to the mix.

Burnham continued his signature stand-up style for a while before going on a hiatus in the late 2010s. However, he came back with a vengeance by releasing “Inside” on Netflix in 2021. “Bo Burnham: Inside” is a masterpiece, as it came out when many people were still cooped up inside as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The songs weren’t just funny, which we had come to expect that from Burnham at this point. Many of them were also poignant, like “That Funny Feeling,” which doesn’t so much go for laughs as try to capture the inexplicable feeling that the world as we know it could end at any second. But if you want to hear something more upbeat, the opening tune to the “A Capella” sketch is always there to watch. 

Kate Micucci is one half of the comedy duo “Garfunkel and Oates,” who had a short-lived show where she and Riki Lindholme would sing songs and get into misadventures. However, even if you don’t recognize her, you’ve undoubtedly heard her, as she’s a prolific voice actress with roles in “Be Cool, Scooby-Doo,” “Steven Universe,” and “DuckTales.”

But before any of that, she played Scout in the “Key & Peele” sketch, “When Mr. T Won’t Leave You Alone.” Her and another boy (Keegan-Michael Key) just want to play in a park, but they consistently find themselves part of a PSA hosted by Mr. T (Jordan Peele). 

It wouldn’t be the last time she collaborated with one of the titular “Key & Peele” stars. Micucci and Key appeared in Mike Birbiglia’s film “Don’t Think Twice.” It’s a movie that plays to both of their strengths, as it’s about an improv troupe dealing with one of their members getting a huge career break in a “Saturday Night Live”-esque sketch show. 

Kumail Nanjiani’s career was on the rise when he landed a spot in “The Worst Drug Ever” sketch on “Key & Peele.” He’s a college student just trying to get a little high when a weird guy (Jordan Peele) offers him and his friends the God drug, which sounds absolutely awful. 

Nanjiani would land the role to launch him to greater heights shortly after his “Key & Peele” appearance, playing Dinesh on “Silicon Valley.” During his stint on that show, he’d also write the script for and star in “The Big Sick,” a slightly more dramatic romantic comedy trying to keep a relationship going when his partner, Emily (Zoe Kazan), gets very sick. He was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at that year’s Oscars. Funnily enough, he lost out to his “Key & Peele” co-star Jordan Peele for “Get Out.”

Nanjiani probably isn’t hurting too bad though. He’s joined some major franchises, playing Kingo in Marvel’s “Eternals” and Haja Estree on the Disney+ series, “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Chelsea Peretti is married to Jordan Peele, so it’s reasonable to assume she’d show up on the show. But what’s kind of amazing is that she only appears in one sketch in a fairly minimal role. She’s the art show presenter in “D***nanigans,” where she simply repeats “D***nanigans” over and over while Peele and Keegan-Michael Key perform mundane tasks onstage while wearing morphsuits. It’s a pointed critique of the art world where any stupid, silly thing will be seen as a revelation by snobby art types.

Peretti probably doesn’t appear much on “Key & Peele” because she had her own hit show going on at the same time. In 2013, she first starred as Gina Linetti on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She was a main character for the first six seasons, although she’d come back in a guest capacity later. All these years later, and it’s still a mystery why Peretti left “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” 

She’s never really gotten into the specifics but has hinted that the departure wasn’t entirely her choice. Peretti and Peele had a child in 2017, so it’s possible she wanted to focus more on raising a kid and working on other projects, but it feels like fans will forever remain in the dark about what went on behind the scenes.

Many of the actors on this list appeared on “Key & Peele” and then went on to spearhead their own shows and movies. Tyler James Williams was actually already a lead before his guest spot, as he had the titular role on “Everybody Hates Chris” for four seasons. The series ended in 2009, and Williams was never short on work, even having time for a darkly hilarious “Family Matters” sketch on “Key & Peele.”

Reginald VelJohnson (Jordan Peele) is irate that his character is getting sidelined on “Family Matters” in favor of Steve Urkel. The sketch is hilarity for anyone who watched the show, but it takes a haunting turn when Jaleel White (Williams) enters and insists that he’s the star now, and VelJohnson should simply show up and say his lines. Williams is a great comedic actor, but for this sketch, the humor comes from him being dressed like Urkel while making haunting threats toward VelJohnson.

Williams would have a small arc on “The Walking Dead,” but he’d land another prime sitcom spot as Gregory Eddie on “Abbott Elementary,” one of the few shows that’s must-watch TV right now. While Gregory certainly has his hilarious moments, it’s also a role that allows Williams to display a softer, more sensitive side, something that a lot of sitcoms could use more of. 

One of the best sketches “Key & Peele” came up with was Barack Obama’s anger translator. Barack (Jordan Peele) would speak calmly to his audience while Luther (Keegan-Michael Key) would express his true, angrier feelings. Luther became so well-known that the actual Barack Obama brought him out for the 2015 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. 

It’s the ultimate escalation in real life, and the show had fun exploring other ways to utilize Luther. In one episode, Michelle Obama (Mekia Cox) gets her own anger translator, and to cap things off, their daughter Malia (Saba McGee) had one too to threaten getting a tattoo. That final translator is played by Keke Palmer, who, like Tyler James Williams, was already used to being a lead in Nickelodeon’s “True Jackson, VP.”

But Palmer is the rare case of a child actor making the successful transition into an adult star with poise. While comedies like “One of Them Days” remains her primary genre, she can truly do it all. She showed this by reuniting with her old pal Jordan Peele when he directed her in “Nope,” one of the best sci-fi horror films of all time. It’s truly astonishing that a sketch comedy show led to one of the greatest movie monsters and explorations of how trauma and spectacle are intertwined, but here we are.