Global Talent Directory

Comedians from Canada

The comedian directory for Canada: profiles, bios, photos and social links.

125 comedians

Jay Baruchel

Jay Baruchel, born Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel on April 9, 1982, in Ottawa, Ontario, is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. His father, Serge Baruchel, is an antiques dealer of French and Sephardic Jewish ancestry, while his mother, Robyne Ropell, is a freelance writer with Irish Catholic heritage. He grew up in Montreal, Quebec, until 2015, and has a younger sister named Taylor. In 1996, at the age of 12, Baruchel launched his acting career with a role on the television program *My Hometown*, which was broadcast locally. His film debut was in 1999 with Running Home , followed by a role in Almost Famous in 2000. He is known for his roles in comedies such as Fanboys (2009), She’s Out of My League (2010), and This Is the End (2013), as well as supporting roles in Knocked Up (2007) and Tropic Thunder (2008). During 2001 and 2002, Judd Apatow’s *Undeclared*, a comedy show, featured him as Steven Karp., Between 2010 and 2019, Baruchel provided the voice for Hiccup Haddock within the *How to Train Your Dragon* film series, receiving an Annie Award in 2010 for his performance. Additionally, he shared a leading role in *The Sorcerer’s Apprentice* in 2010 and portrayed Josh Greenberg in the FXX comedy series *Man Seeking Woman* from 2015 to 2017. Baruchel both directed and starred in *Goon: Last of the Enforcers* (2017) as well as *Random Acts of Violence* (2019). Films featuring Baruchel have grossed over $1.28 billion worldwide as of 2024. He recently portrayed Mike Lazaridis, a BlackBerry co-founder, in BlackBerry (2023), and starred in the Netflix series Fubar alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2022. He is a fan of the Montreal Canadiens and has a maple leaf tattoo.

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Canada

Mack Sennett

Mack Sennett, born Michael Sinnott on January 17, 1880, in Danville, Quebec, was a significant figure in the development of American comedy. His parents were John Sinnott and Catherine Foy. The Sinnott family emigrated to the United States in 1894 when he was fourteen years old. He initially pursued a career as an opera singer while living in Northampton, Massachusetts, after moving to Connecticut at age seventeen. Prior to entering film, he held various jobs including working in a steel factory and as a boxing trainer, demonstrating a varied early life. Sennett began his film career in 1908 with the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, initially acting, singing, and dancing. Griffith entrusted him with directing comedies at Biograph. He gained recognition for playing Sherlock Holmes in a series of eleven parodies between 1911 and 1913. In 1912, he co-founded Keystone Studios in Edendale, California, alongside Adam Kessel and Charles O. Bauman; the studio boasted the first fully enclosed film stage. This marked a pivotal moment as Keystone Studios became known for its slapstick routines, including pie-throwing and car chases, prominently featured in the popular “Keystone Cops” films. The studio also launched the careers of numerous actors, including Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Harry Langdon, Roscoe Arbuckle, Harold Lloyd, and Gloria Swanson. Sennett’s work at Keystone Studios, which became part of the Triangle Film Corporation in 1915, established him as the ‘King of Comedy’. He also made short films with his “Bathing Beauties.” He had big problems early in the 1930s, like losing all his money and trouble adjusting to sound films. Despite these setbacks, Sennett continued to create comedies, focusing on the Smith family and family-oriented stories after 1926. He received an honorary Academy Award in 1938 for his contributions to film comedy techniques, and later earned an Oscar for Wrestling Swordfish (1932) and a nomination for The Loud Mouth (1932). Mack Sennett became a U.S. citizen on March 24, 1932. His final film appearance was in 1949’s Down Memory Lane . He died on November 5, 1960, in Woodland Hills, California, and posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that same year.

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Canada

Martin Short

Martin Hayter Short, born on March 26, 1950, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is a Canadian comedian, actor, singer, writer, producer, director, screenwriter, and presenter. His parents, Charles Patrick Short and Olive Grace Hayter, had diverse backgrounds; his father worked at Stelco and his mother was a violinist who served as concertmistress of the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra. In 1971, McMaster University awarded him a Bachelor of Arts degree in social work. The family included three brothers, one of whom, David, died in 1962, and a sister, Nora. Short gained prominence through sketch comedy, initially working on television programs such as SCTV and Saturday Night Live. He is recognized for creating memorable characters like Jiminy Glick and Ed Grimley. His film career includes roles in Three Amigos! (1986) with Steve Martin and Chevy Chase, Innerspace (1987), The Adventure Inside (1987), and the Father of the Bride series, which he remade with Steve Martin. He also lent his voice to animated films such as The Pebble and the Penguin (1995) and Treasure Planet (2002). Short has demonstrated versatility by appearing in remakes of French films and in dramas like Mars Attacks! , Captain Ron , and Inherent Vice (2014), as well as playing Jack Frost in Super Santa 3 (2006). Throughout his career, Martin Short has achieved considerable recognition on stage and screen. He starred in Broadway productions including The Goodbye Girl (1993) and Little Me (1998–1999), earning Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical for both roles in 1993 and 1999, respectively. He also received an Outer Critics Circle Award in 1993 for The Goodbye Girl . Receiving two Primetime Emmy Awards and two SAG Best Actor Awards, he was also appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 2019. Since 2021, he stars in Only Murders in the Building alongside Selena Gomez and Steve Martin, earning multiple Golden Globe Award nominations for his performance. He tours nationally with Steve Martin, and they released a Netflix special, An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life , in 2018. He also appeared in the sitcom Mulaney (2014–2015) and the variety series Maya & Marty (2016), and has been featured in The Morning Show (2019).

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Canada

Rick Moranis

Rick Moranis is a Canadian comedian and actor born Frederick Allan Moranis on April 18, 1953, in Toronto, Canada. He comes from a Jewish family with Hungarian roots. From his early years, he demonstrated an interest in performance; he attended elementary school alongside Geddy Lee of the band Rush. His career began with local radio work, working as a DJ for Chum FM in Toronto under the pseudonym Rick Allen in the 1970s. Moranis’s comedic journey involved performing with Rob Cowan on CBC-TV, including spoofs of "Hockey Night in Canada." He also collaborated with Ken Finkleman from 1977 to 1979, creating live performances and television pilots. He gained fame appearing in a Canadian television comedy show, notably as Bob in the duo Bob & Doug McKenzie, alongside Dave Thomas. These characters were created to meet Canadian content requirements, and their popularity led to the album The Agoraphobic Cowboy (2005) and the film Strange Brew (1983). He joined the cast of Second City Television (SCTV) in 1980, where he became known for impressions of celebrities like Woody Allen, Merv Griffin, David Brinkley, George Carlin, Michael McDonald, and Teri Shields. He won an Emmy award for his work on SCTV. Moranis achieved wider recognition through roles in several films, including Ghostbusters (1984) as Louis Tully and its sequel Ghostbusters II (1989). Other film credits include Streets of Fire (1984), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Spaceballs (1987) where he played a parody of Darth Vader, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) as Wayne Szalinski, and its sequels (1992, 1997). He also appeared in Parenthood (1989), My Blue Heaven (1990), The Flintstones (1994), and voiced characters in the Brother Bear films (2003 & 2006). After 1991, he reduced his entertainment work due to the death of his wife, Ann Belsky, and focused on raising his two children. He released comedy albums, My Mother's Brisket (2013), and in 2020 appeared in a Mint Mobile commercial at the request of Ryan Reynolds. Moranis is set to reprise his role as Dark Helmet in Spaceballs: The New One (2025) and will return as Wayne Szalinski in Shrunk (2027).

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Canada

Tom Green

Michael Thomas Green, born on July 30, 1971, in Pembroke, is a Canadian-American entertainer with diverse talents. He grew up in Petawawa and Gloucester, now part of Ottawa, attending Henry Munro Middle School, Colonel By Secondary School, and Cairine Wilson Secondary School. Mary Jane, who works as a communications consultant, and Richard Green, a retired army captain and computer systems analyst, are Tom Green’s parents. He pursued television broadcasting studies at Algonquin College and began performing stand-up comedy at age 15 at local clubs like Yuk Yuk's. While attending college, he also hosted an overnight call-in show on CHUO. Green’s early career involved musical endeavors. In the early 1990s, he was part of a rap group called Organized Rhyme as ‘MC Bones’. Their single 'Check The O.R.' earned a Juno Award nomination in 1993 and a MuchVibe award in 1992. He later released an album, Not the Green Tom Show , as MC Face in 1998. Perhaps best known for his television work, Green created and hosted The Tom Green Show , which ran from 1994 to 2000 on Rogers TV and MTV. The show gained recognition due to its shock comedy elements, unconventional pranks, and Green’s unique style. This period also saw him appearing in films like Road Trip (2000), Charlie's Angels (2000), Stealing Harvard (2002), and Shred (2008), as well as directing, co-writing, and starring in Freddy Got Fingered (2001), for which he received five Razzie Awards in 2001. Following The Tom Green Show , Green continued to work in various media. He hosted The New Tom Green Show on MTV in 2003 and Tom Green Live on AXS TV from 2013 to 2014. He also experimented with internet talk shows, hosting Tom Green's House Tonight from 2006 to 2011. His humor is often described as 'trash' and he has appeared in a wide range of roles including a bus driver in The Chicken Tree (1998), a computer gimp in Clutch (1998), and Barry Manilow in Road Trip (2000). In 2022, he participated in and won season 1 of Last One Laughing - Canada . Currently, Green is working on several projects, including three Prime Video releases slated for 2025: This Is the Tom Green Documentary , Tom Green: I Got a Mule! , and Tom Green Country . He also hosts The Tom Green Farm talk series and its podcast, The Tom Green Farmcast , launched in 2026.

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