Caleb Hearon
American comedian (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caleb Daniel Hearon (HERR-en;[1] born January 24, 1995)[2][3] is an American stand-up comedian.
- stand-up comedian
Caleb Hearon | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 24, 1995 Chillicothe, Missouri, U.S. |
| Education | Missouri State University (BA) |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Website | Official website |
Early life and education
Hearon was born on January 24, 1995[4] and grew up in the rural town of Chillicothe, Missouri.[5] He was raised in a Christian household by his young, single mother and was an active member of his church.[6] Hearon also has an older brother, and a distant relationship with his (now deceased) father.[7] He recognized he was gay from adolescence. He later said he struggled to reconcile his sexuality with the conservative religious environment in which he was raised.[6] Hearon came out as bisexual, via a Facebook post, during college and later came out as gay.[8]
Hearon attended Missouri State University as a sociopolitical communication major with plans to eventually attend law school or another graduate program.[9][10] He joined the improv team which catalyzed his decision to pursue a career in comedy.[6] After graduating in 2017, he moved to Chicago with other members of the team.[2][11]
Career
Comedy
Hearon moved to Chicago in 2017 shortly after his graduation, and started performing with his college improv group.[9] He later produced a weekly variety show at the iO Theater. He also cohosted a monthly stand-up showcase called At What Cost? with fellow comedian and collaborator Holmes at the Lincoln Lodge; the duo later toured with At What Cost? across New York and Los Angeles.[11]
In 2019, a Saturday Night Live (SNL) scout saw Hearon perform a character sketch of a "Southern mother warning her daughter's slumber party to not go near her haunted mirror." The show later invited him to audition in New York in front of Lorne Michaels. After SNL turned him down, he started posting his character videos on Twitter.[12] These videos gained wider prominence on the platform for their "ever-relatable premise" and Hearon's "funny but thought-provoking [...] commentary on everything from morality to model trains."[6][10]
In June 2025, Hearon inked a deal with HBO for his debut comedy special. Taped in Chicago and directed by Sandy Honig, Model Comedian premiered in September 2025.[13][14]
Television
Hearon had minor roles in The Megan Stalter Show (2019), Fargo (2020), Life of Harold (2020), Crank Yankers (2021) and Work in Progress (2019—2021).[11][15] In 2020, he joined the writing staff for Human Resources, a Big Mouth spin-off series that premiered in March 2022.[9][16][17]
In June 2021, Hearon was announced as a series regular in the TBS pilot Space.[18] He co-created and co-wrote Best Buds with Caitie Delaney, an animated series in development at Peacock and produced by Bandera Entertainment.[19]
In 2023, Hearon and Holmes sold a comedy pilot about two queer friends living in Kansas City, Missouri.[20] The sitcom is currently in production with Jax Media with Our Lady J as the showrunner.[20]
He had minor roles in Killing It (2023), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024) and Overcompensating (2025).[21][15]
Film
Hearon appeared in the 2023 film I Used to Be Funny.[22]
In February 2024, it was announced that Lilly Wachowski will be directing Trash Mountain, an upcoming queer dramedy starring Hearon. The script was co-written by Hearon and Ruby Caster. “Queer representation and stories are vital at this time as we are being shoved further into the margins. Our amazing writers, Caleb and Ruby, are a shining light in all this dang darkness," Wachowski told Collider.[23]
In November 2024, Hearon played Palmer in Sweethearts. The film starring Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga was released on Max.[24] In 2025, he was cast in The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Little Brother which are currently in post-production.[25] The same year, he joined the cast of Britanick's Pizza Movie that premiered on Hulu in April 2026.[26][27]
Podcast
Hearon co-hosted the Headgum podcast Keeping Records with comedian Shelby Wolstein until October 2022.[28] Hearon's solo podcast So True with Caleb Hearon debuted in February 2024. [29] So True became a Headgum podcast on October 17, 2024. In December 2025, So True “entered into exclusive distribution, marketing and advertising sales partnership” with Wave, a digital entertainment company. The podcast currently has more than four hundred thousand YouTube subscribers.[30][31][32]
Other ventures
Hearon appeared in the music video for MUNA's "Silk Chiffon" in 2021 and Kevin Morby's "Rock Bottom" in 2022.[33] He has been a voice actor in two podcast series—Hit Job (2021) and Past My Bedtime (2022), as well as a Netflix adult-animation show Long Story Short (2025).
Personal life
Hearon is gay.[9] He relocated to Los Angeles from Chicago in 2020, [6][34] and currently lives in New York City. He has a home in Kansas City, Missouri.[35][36]
Philanthropy
Hearon has hosted the annual benefit show to support the Kansas City Tenant’s Union for several years. The $36,000 raised through the 2024 show fuelled the rent strikes at Quality Hill and Independence Towers, for which tenants withheld over $60,000 in rent to move the needle on long-overdue repairs.[37][38] On the 2026 International Transgender Day of Visibility, Hearon announced that he will be matching upto $15,000 in fan donations to the Trans Justice Funding Project.[39]
Awards and recognition
Hearon was one of Variety's "10 Creators to Watch" in 2020.[17] He was nominated for the "Breakthrough Social Star" category at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in 2022.[40] In August 2025, Rolling Stone named him as one of the 25 most influential creators of the year.[41] [41]
In 2026, So True was nominated in the "Outstanding Podcast" category at the GLAAD Media Awards[42] Hearon won the "Comic" category at the 2026 Queerty Awards.[43] He also won the "Best Overall Host" at the 2026 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards[44]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Jurassic World Dominion | Jeremy Bernier | [45] | |
| 2023 | I Used to Be Funny | Philip | [22] | |
| 2024 | Sweethearts | Palmer | ||
| 2026 | Pizza Movie | Sidney | ||
| The Devil Wears Prada 2 | Charlie | [46] | ||
| Little Brother | TBA | Post-production | [47] | |
| TBA | Trash Mountain | Gavin | Post-production; also writer | [48] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Fargo | Cyrus | Episode: "The Pretend War" | [11] |
| 2021 | Crank Yankers | David / Gavin | 2 episodes | [49] |
| 2019–2021 | Work in Progress | Spencer / Dolly Superfan | 2 episodes | [11] |
| 2022–2023 | Human Resources | N/a | Writer | [17] |
| 2023 | Killing It | Lil Piggies Customer | Episode: "Timber" | |
| 2024 | Mr. and Mrs. Smith | Uber Driver | Episode: "First Date" | [50] |
| 2025 | Overcompensating | CJ | Episode: "Boom Clap" | |
| Model Comedian | Himself | Stand-up special | ||
| Long Story Short | Airspud Guy | Episode: "Yoshi and Baby" | ||