Sebastian Maniscalco

{{Infobox comedian

| name = Sebastian Maniscalco

| image = Sebastian Maniscalco 2018.jpg

| caption = Maniscalco in 2018

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1973|07|08}}

| birth_place = Arlington Heights, Illinois, U.S.

| medium = {{flatlist|

Stand-up comedy
television
film
radio
books

}}

|years_active = 1998–present

| genre = {{flatlist|

}}

| subject = {{flatlist|

}}

| alma_mater = Northern Illinois University

| spouse = {{marriage|Lana Gomez|2013}}

| children = 2

| website = {{URL|https://sebastianlive.com}}

}}

Sebastian Maniscalco ({{IPAc-en|m|æ|n|ɪ|ˈ|s|k|æ|l|k|oʊ}}; {{IPA|it|maniˈskalko|lang}}; born July 8, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Best known for his stand-up comedy, Maniscalco has released six comedy specials. He has also had supporting acting roles in the films Green Book (2018) and The Irishman (2019), playing mobster Joe Gallo in the latter. He also played Frank Russo in the 2022 film Somewhere in Queens, and later voice acted in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and IF (2024). Maniscalco co-wrote and co-starred in the 2023 film About My Father, with Robert De Niro playing the role of his father. Maniscalco starred in the TV series Bookie.

Early life

Maniscalco was born on July 8, 1973, in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois, to Italian immigrants; his father Salvatore Maniscalco, who worked as a hairstylist, immigrated to the United States with his family from Cefalù, Sicily, at the age of 15. His mother, Rose Maniscalco, was a secretary, and her family has origins in Naples, Campania and Sicily.{{Cite news |last=Hyman |first=Dan |date=November 21, 2016 |title=Sebastian Maniscalco works like a dog to crack you up |work=Chicago Tribune |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-sebastian-maniscalco-ott-1118-20161115-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415101940/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-sebastian-maniscalco-ott-1118-20161115-story.html |archive-date=April 15, 2018 |quote=...the 43-year-old...Italian-American...}} Photo caption: "Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, who was born in Arlington Heights...."{{Cite web |date=August 2017 |title=Sebastian Maniscalco: Comedy's Favorite Italian American |url=https://www.lagazzettaitaliana.com/entertainment/8533-sebastian-maniscalco-comedy-s-favorite-italian-american |publisher=lagazzettaitaliana |access-date=February 25, 2019 |archive-date=February 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225103139/https://www.lagazzettaitaliana.com/entertainment/8533-sebastian-maniscalco-comedy-s-favorite-italian-american |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=November 7, 2018 |title=Un comico di origini cefaludesi fra i più bravi d'America: Sebastian Maniscalco |url=https://cefalunews.org/2018/11/07/un-comico-di-origini-cefaludesi-fra-i-piu-bravi-damerica-sebastian-maniscalco/ |publisher=cefalunews.org |language=Italian |access-date=August 13, 2019 |archive-date=August 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813002334/https://cefalunews.org/2018/11/07/un-comico-di-origini-cefaludesi-fra-i-piu-bravi-damerica-sebastian-maniscalco/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=March 8, 2017 |title=Piacere! An Interview with Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco |url=https://osia.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/piacere-an-interview-with-comedian-sebastian-maniscalco/ |publisher=osia.wordpress.com |access-date=August 13, 2019 |archive-date=August 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813002859/https://osia.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/piacere-an-interview-with-comedian-sebastian-maniscalco/ |url-status=live}} Maniscalco is a Roman Catholic, and at eight years old, he was an altar boy at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in suburban Mount Prospect, Illinois.{{Cite web |last=Heffernan |first=Lisa |date=January 30, 2017 |title=Sebastian Maniscalco on Church, Clothes and Comedy |url=http://lipulse.com/2017/01/30/sebastian-maniscalco-church-clothes-comedy/ |publisher=lipulse.com |access-date=August 14, 2019 |archive-date=August 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814204343/http://lipulse.com/2017/01/30/sebastian-maniscalco-church-clothes-comedy/ |url-status=live}} He is an alum of Rolling Meadows High School. He graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1995, where he was the president of the Sigma Pi fraternity chapter, with a degree in communication studies.{{Cite web |last=Richards |first=Eva |title=Sebastian Maniscalco is Up for the Challenge |url=https://www.myniu.com/article.html?aid=944&fbclid=IwAR0G3zVzmYfmZuLzIxDdrYA3cydUq69vdpSAUnrqceIyp3_2k_gxc5yYixg |publisher=Northern Illinois University Alumni Association |access-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-date=June 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617205900/https://www.myniu.com/article.html?aid=944 |url-status=live}} After moving to Los Angeles in 1998, Maniscalco performed at open mics in bars and bowling alleys while working as a waiter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, where he worked from 1998 to 2005.{{Cite web |last=Barton |first=Chris |date=October 20, 2016 |title=Comic Sebastian Maniscalco recounts his road from the Four Seasons to the Comedy Store (and beyond) |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-ca-st-sebastian-maniscalco-mixes-it-up-20161023-snap-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=June 26, 2017 |archive-date=June 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617205902/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-ca-st-sebastian-maniscalco-mixes-it-up-20161023-snap-story.html |url-status=live}}

Career

In 2005, he began performing regularly at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California. Maniscalco cites Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, Brian Regan, John Ritter, Johnny Carson, Andrew Dice Clay, Bill Burr, and Don Rickles as comedic influences.{{Cite interview |last=Maniscalco |first=Sebastian |interviewer=Dennis Miller |title=The Dennis Miller Show |url=http://sebastianlive.com/interviews/dennismiller/ |access-date=May 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211233621/http://sebastianlive.com/interviews/dennismiller/ |archive-date=February 11, 2015 |date=March 27, 2012 |url-status=dead}} Since then, he has done a half-hour for Comedy Central Presents and five hour-long specials. His first special, Sebastian Live, was released on June 2, 2009. His next three specials were aired on Showtime, with What's Wrong with People? released on January 5, 2012, Aren't You Embarrassed?, taped in Chicago, released on November 14, 2014, and Why Would You Do That?, taped in New York City and released in 2016.{{Cite news |last=Shuttee |first=Vic |date=April 11, 2017 |title=Sebastian Maniscalco Laughs at the Serious Stuff |work=Houston Press |location=Texas |url=http://www.houstonpress.com/arts/sebastian-maniscalco-laughs-at-the-serious-stuff-9341337 |url-status=live |access-date=June 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20181220211039/https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/sebastian-maniscalco-laughs-at-the-serious-stuff-9341337 |archive-date=December 20, 2018 |quote=...the 43-year-old comedian...}}

Maniscalco was one of four comedians featured in Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights – Hollywood to the Heartland, along with Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, and Bret Ernst. Maniscalco has been on Russell Peters' Best Night Ever, Comedy Central Presents, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Jay Leno Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Conan, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Additionally, he appeared in several films, such as The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, The House, Tag, and Cruise, and he co-hosts a podcast titled The Pete and Sebastian Show with fellow comedian Pete Correale. As of January 2017, they have a show on Sirius XM satellite radio's Raw Dog Comedy channel 99. In 2016, Maniscalco appeared on the seventh season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. He published his memoir Stay Hungry on February 27, 2018. A Netflix special also titled Stay Hungry was released on January 15, 2019.{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Megh |date=January 7, 2019 |title=Sebastian Maniscalco's Debut Netflix Stand-up Special Premieres Next Week |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/sebastian-maniscalco-stay-hungry-netflix-stand-up-trailer.html |publisher=vulture.com |access-date=February 25, 2019 |archive-date=February 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225162100/https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/sebastian-maniscalco-stay-hungry-netflix-stand-up-trailer.html |url-status=live}}

In 2017, Maniscalco made his feature film debut in The House, and the following year he appeared as Johnny Venere in the Academy Award-winning film Green Book.{{Citation |title=Green Book (2018) |url=https://oscar.go.com/nominees |access-date=January 31, 2019 |archive-date=February 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219195852/http://oscar.go.com/nominees |url-status=live}} Maniscalco hosted the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards on August 26.{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Anne Victoria |date=June 26, 2019 |title=Sebastian Maniscalco Is Hosting the 2019 MTV VMAs |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/06/sebastian-maniscalco-is-hosting-the-2019-mtv-vmas.html |website=vulture.com |publisher=New York |quote=Yes, on Tuesday night's episode of The Tonight Show, it was announced that Maniscalco has been selected to host the 2019 MTV VMAs. |access-date=August 12, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626103302/https://www.vulture.com/2019/06/sebastian-maniscalco-is-hosting-the-2019-mtv-vmas.html |archive-date=June 26, 2019}} In November 2019, Maniscalco appeared in Martin Scorsese's The Irishman playing "Crazy" Joe Gallo alongside Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino. He also hosted the three-part companion podcast for the film, first published on December 2, 2019, titled Behind the Irishman.[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-the-irishman/id1488385970 Behind The Irishman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210000415/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-the-irishman/id1488385970 |date=December 10, 2019}} – The official companion podcast from Netflix.

In June 2021, it was announced that Maniscalco will host a reality television show titled Well Done With Sebastian Maniscalco that premiered on August 12, 2021, on Discovery+ where he will be joined by friends and family to explore food culture and etiquette.{{cite web|last=Beresford|first=Trilby|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/comedian-sebastian-maniscalco-premiere-new-series-discovery-1234969493/|title=Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco to Premiere New Series on Discovery+|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|date=June 17, 2021|access-date=June 17, 2021|archive-date=June 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617205900/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/comedian-sebastian-maniscalco-premiere-new-series-discovery-1234969493/|url-status=live}} Four days after the premiere, the show was renewed for a six-episode second season that premiered on November 16, 2021.{{cite web |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/WELL-DONE-WITH-SEBASTIAN-MANISCALCO-Sets-Season-Two-discovery-Premiere-Date-20210816 |title=WELL DONE WITH SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO Sets Season Two discovery+ Premiere Date |last=Leiber |first=Sarah Jae |date=August 16, 2021 |website=BroadwayWorld |access-date=August 16, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816192113/https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/WELL-DONE-WITH-SEBASTIAN-MANISCALCO-Sets-Season-Two-discovery-Premiere-Date-20210816 |archive-date=August 16, 2021}} In August 2021, during a podcast, he announced that he was a part of the cast of Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, playing the role of Spike from the game Wrecking Crew as Mario and Luigi's boss.{{cite web |url=https://www.nintendoenthusiast.com/sebastian-maniscalco-will-voice-spike-in-illumination-super-mario-movie/ |title=Sebastian Maniscalco will voice 'Spike' in Illumination Super Mario movie |last=Ditchfield |first=Jaime |date=August 9, 2021 |website=Nintendo Enthusiast |access-date=August 9, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809193308/https://www.nintendoenthusiast.com/sebastian-maniscalco-will-voice-spike-in-illumination-super-mario-movie/ |archive-date=August 9, 2021}}

Maniscalco's 5th comedy special, Is It Me?, was released on December 6, 2022, on Netflix. On May 26, 2023, About My Father was released in theaters, a comedy film Maniscalco co-wrote loosely based on his life and in which he co-starred with Robert De Niro, who played the role of his father.{{Cite web |last= |date=May 23, 2023 |title="About My Father Classification details" |url=https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/motion-picture-ratings/classification-details/ |access-date= |website=British Columbia Film Classification Office}} Maniscalco starred for two seasons in the television series Bookie, which debuted on November 30, 2023.{{cite web |last1=Andreeva |first1=Nellie |title=Bookie Trailer: First Look At Charlie Sheen's TV Return In Chuck Lorre's Sebastian Maniscalco Max Comedy |url=https://deadline.com/2023/11/bookie-trailer-charlie-sheens-tv-return-chuck-lorre-sebastian-maniscalco-max-comedy-1235596827/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=December 21, 2023 |date=November 8, 2023}}

Comedic style

He is known for his "nostalgia" type of humor grounded in personal family experiences and delivered utilizing heavy physical and verbal variations.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-17 |title=Sebastian Maniscalco: Nobody does this… {{!}} Dolce Luxury Magazine |url=https://dolcemag.com/general-interest/specialfeatures/sebastian-maniscalco-nobody-does-this/43393 |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=dolcemag.com |language=en-US}} Most of his material riffs on being raised in an old-school environment with an immigrant father, or just expressing his amazement at people's outlandish behavior.{{Cite web |title=Sebastian Maniscalco's unique comedic style poised to make him next big comedy star |url=https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/sebastian-maniscalco-s-unique-comedic-style-poised-to-make-him-next-big-comedy-star-u77026 |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=Newsday |date=April 26, 2016 |language=en}} Maniscalco says that comedy cannot be learned, it must be earned. It took him nearly 20 years to develop his "Can you believe this?" style of humor. He explained, "you don't become a bodybuilder the first day you start lifting weights. Same thing with comedy. You gotta flesh out your joke, your bit. You add and subtract. You see what works."

Personal life

Maniscalco married Lana Gomez in August 2013. The couple have two children together: a daughter born in 2017,{{Cite web |last=Juneau |first=Jen |date=May 15, 2017 |title=Sebastian Maniscalco Welcomes Daughter Serafina Simone |url=https://people.com/parents/sebastian-maniscalco-welcomes-daughter-serafina-simone/ |publisher=People |access-date=September 18, 2018 |archive-date=September 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918123600/https://people.com/parents/sebastian-maniscalco-welcomes-daughter-serafina-simone/ |url-status=live}} and a son born in 2019.{{Cite web |last1=Juneau |first1=Jen |last2=Leon |first2=Anya |date=June 25, 2019 |title=It's a Boy! Sebastian Maniscalco Welcomes Son Caruso Jack |url=https://people.com/parents/sebastian-maniscalco-welcomes-son-caruso-jack/ |publisher=People |access-date=August 13, 2019 |archive-date=August 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808090708/https://people.com/parents/sebastian-maniscalco-welcomes-son-caruso-jack/ |url-status=live}}

Filmography

class="wikitable"

|+ Key

|style="background:#FFFFCC;" | {{dagger|alt=Films that have not yet been released}}

| Denotes films that have not yet been released

=Comedy specials=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Formats ! Studio
2009 \| Sebastian Live \| \|
2012 \| What's Wrong with People? \| DVD/Streaming \| Entertainment One
2014 \| Aren't You Embarrassed? \| rowspan="4" \| Streaming \| rowspan="2" \| Levity Productions
2016 \| Why Would You Do That?
2019 \| Stay Hungry \| rowspan="2" \| Netflix
2022 \| Is It Me?

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Formats

! Studio

2009

| Sebastian Live

2012

| What's Wrong with People?

| DVD/Streaming

| Entertainment One

2014