Taran Killam's Real Name: Taran Killam

Quick answer: The comedian works under his own name, Taran Killam. UCLA's alumni association says he was born in Culver City, California, and NBC's cast biography gives his birthday as April 1. A Library of Congress record gives a longer name, Taran Hourie Killam, and a 1982 birth year, but that full form was not confirmed by a second source.

Real name and early life

UCLA's alumni association, in a 2023 class note, says Killam was "born in Culver City, California." Broadway.com's biography says he is "originally from Culver City and Big Bear Lake, California," while NBC's Saturday Night Live biography calls him "a native of Big Bear, California" and says, "His birthday is April 1." The Library of Congress authority file records Taran Hourie Killam, born April 1, 1982, in Culver City.

Broadway.com says he graduated from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and attended UCLA in 2000. NBC says he studied musical theater at UCLA for one year, and UCLA lists him as a member of the class of 2001.

Career highlights

NBC says he built his comedy career in Los Angeles as a main company member of the Groundlings and also appeared at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. It lists guest roles on How I Met Your Mother, Community, and Scrubs. The Library of Congress note adds earlier television work on The Amanda Show, Wild 'n Out, and MADtv.

UCLA says he was a Saturday Night Live cast member from 2010 to 2016, and Broadway.com describes six seasons on the show. NBC highlights impressions of Brad Pitt, Eminem, Piers Morgan, and Paul Ryan, and the "Les Jeunes de Paris" sketch. NBC also says he released The Illegitimates, a comic book miniseries, in 2013.

Broadway.com lists film credits including 12 Years a Slave, The Heat, Grown Ups 2, and Night School, and says he wrote, directed, and starred in the 2017 action comedy Why We're Killing Gunter, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. It says he led the ABC sitcom Single Parents, voiced the lead in PBS's Nature Cat, and played Steve Jones in American Crime Story: Impeachment.

On stage, Broadway.com says he made his Broadway debut as King George III in Hamilton and played Orin Scrivello in the 2015 City Center Encores! Little Shop of Horrors. UCLA says he played Sir Lancelot in the 2023 Broadway revival of Spamalot, through January 7, 2024.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Taran Killam or Taran Hourie Killam are looking for the same SNL comedian. The Library of Congress note says he is married to actress Cobie Smulders.