What Is Duncan Trussell's Real Name? Reportedly Charles Duncan Trussell

Quick facts

Quick answer: What is Duncan Trussell's real name?

Duncan Trussell's full name is reportedly Charles Duncan Trussell, and he is reported to have been born on April 20, 1974, in Asheville, North Carolina. If that is right, he works under his middle name. He is a stand-up comedian, actor and host of The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, and he co-created Netflix's animated series The Midnight Gospel (2020). (Netflix)

Real name: Why "Duncan"?

Reference listings give his full name as Charles Duncan Trussell, which would mean he goes by his middle name. We haven't found an independent primary source for the first name, such as an interview in which he confirms it, so we report it as "reportedly." Either way, "Duncan Trussell" is not an invented stage name. Trussell is his family name.

Stand-up and TV career

Trussell has toured as a stand-up for years. (duncantrussell.com)

He also appeared with Rogan on Syfy's Joe Rogan Questions Everything (2013), a series on Bigfoot, UFOs and other mysteries.

Voice work

Trussell voices Hippocampus, a fish-like genius, on Fox's animated Krapopolis from Dan Harmon. (Krapopolis official site; IMDb cast list)

The Duncan Trussell Family Hour

Trussell's long-running podcast, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour (DTFH), is known for mixing jokes with Buddhism, psychedelics, meditation, mortality and the occult. Guests have included spiritual teachers, scientists and many comedians. (duncantrussell.com)

The Midnight Gospel (Netflix, 2020)

The Midnight Gospel turned real DTFH interviews into a psychedelic animated series. Trussell co-created it with Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward, and Trussell voices the lead, Clancy, a "space caster" who travels to dying worlds to interview their residents. The show premiered on Netflix in April 2020. Its season finale, "Mouse of Silver," animates a podcast conversation Trussell recorded with his mother, Deneen Fendig, weeks before she died of cancer. (Netflix; Polygon, Apr. 28, 2020; NPR, Oct. 29, 2023; Deadline, June 2020)

Mystery Boys and Joe Rogan

Trussell is a longtime friend of Joe Rogan's and a recurring JRE guest. He now co-hosts the Mystery Boys podcast with comedian Kurt Metzger for YMH Studios. (YMH Studios)

In October 2026 both appeared on JRE #2570, "Mystery Boys," covering screen time, AI, UFOs, Hunter S. Thompson's Muskie hoax and more. (PowerfulJRE) Read: News about Duncan Trussell: JRE #2570 Mystery Boys.

Criticism (as reported)

In 2025 the YouTube video-essay channel The Elephant Graveyard included Trussell in a critique of the comedy and media world around Joe Rogan, arguing that its countercultural image clashed with its closeness to wealthy tech figures and politicians. The A.V. Club covered the essay, and Trussell answered it on his own podcast in an episode titled "Responding to Elephant Graveyard." This was commentary by critics, not an accusation of wrongdoing. (The A.V. Club; Duncan Trussell Family Hour, Aug. 31, 2025)

Personal life

In December 2012, Trussell announced on his podcast that he had testicular cancer; he later reported it was successfully treated. His mother died in 2013. (Polygon)