Nathan Fielder

2006–2012: Early work

After receiving the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award in 2006,^[14] Fielder worked as a writer on Canadian Idol, where he was noticed by Michael Donovan, an executive producer for the CBC comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Donovan hired Fielder as a field correspondent and developed his popular recurring segment, "Nathan on Your Side".^[15] In 2010, Fielder wrote and directed a number of sketches for Season 2 of Important Things with Demetri Martin on Comedy Central.^[16] He was also featured as a guest voice actor on the Season 2 finale of Bob's Burgers, "Beefsquatch", as well as the Season 6 episode, "The Land Ship".^[16] He played Jon Benjamin's boom operator in the 2011 television series Jon Benjamin Has a Van,^[16] and Bob Woodward in the "Washington, D.C." episode of Comedy Central's Drunk History.^[17] Fielder's YouTube channel, mainly comprising short sketches involving him and his friends, was active during this period.^[18]

2013–2017: Nathan for You

In 2013, Fielder co-created his own show on Comedy Central, Nathan for You.^[10] He wrote, directed, and starred in the show which is based on the "Nathan On Your Side" segments he did for This Hour Has 22 Minutes.^[10] The show's premise features Fielder, playing a persona loosely based on himself, providing advice for local small businesses.^[7][19] The show finished its fourth and final season in November 2017.^[20]

On the morning of February 7, 2014, a coffee shop called Dumb Starbucks Coffee opened in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.^[21] The shop said it was operating as a parody of the coffee chain Starbucks and used Starbuck's siren logo in its signage, cups, and other materials.^[22] In the episode, Fielder says his understanding of parody law is "based off what I read on Wikipedia".^[23] The shop sold items standard to Starbucks locations, such as Norah Jones CDs and drinks, by using the term "Dumb" in the names, such as "Dumb Norah Jones Duets" and "Dumb Iced Vanilla Latte".^[22] Beverages and pastries were distributed free of charge.^[21] A few days later, Starbucks announced that it was not affiliated and that it was "evaluating [its] next steps".^[24]

The identity of the person behind the shop was not released initially, and various artists and comedians including Banksy^[25] and Tim & Eric were theorized to be involved with the prank.^[26] (The latter's production company Abso Lutely Productions had applied for a filming permit at the Dumb Starbucks Coffee location.^[27]) On February 10, 2014, the shop was closed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for not having the permits required to operate a coffee shop.^[28] Shortly thereafter, Fielder announced he was behind the parody and the Los Angeles Times noted the prank's similarity to other skits performed on his show Nathan for You.^[29]

In 2015, Fielder guest-starred on the Adult Swim show Rick and Morty and appeared in the film The Night Before. In 2017 he co-starred in the biopic The Disaster Artist.^[30]

2018–present: Career expansion

Fielder worked as a consulting producer, writer, and co-director of the Sacha Baron Cohen-created political mockumentary series Who is America? (2018). In 2019, it was announced that Fielder had signed an overall deal with HBO under which he would serve as executive producer for the John Wilson-created documentary series How To with John Wilson and star in, write, and direct a separate comedy series.^[31] In 2021, HBO announced the name of another new comedy series, The Rehearsal, starring Fielder, who also served as writer, executive producer, and director. The first season of The Rehearsal was released in 2022 to a generally positive reception and it was renewed by HBO for a second season.^[32][33] For the series, Fielder won the Independent Spirit Award for Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series.^[34]

In Season 2 of The Rehearsal, Fielder argued that commercial aviation disasters could be significantly reduced by improving the communication between pilots and co-pilots in the cockpit before and during flight.^[35] Fielder became an FAA-certified Boeing 737 commercial pilot while filming the show.^[36][37] In response to the FAA's denial of the show's central claim that pilot communication is to blame for airline disasters, Fielder criticized them on CNN, stating, "That's dumb. They're dumb."^[35]. Fielder employed John Goglia, an American aviation safety consultant and former member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in a role as his advisor on The Rehearsal.^[38]

In 2022, Showtime picked up the comedy series The Curse, created and written by Fielder and filmmaker Benny Safdie, and starring Fielder, Safdie, and Emma Stone.^[39][40] The first three episodes premiered at the 2023 New York Film Festival in Manhattan.^[41] The rest of the episodes aired on Paramount+ and were shown at Lincoln Center.^[42] Stone added Fielder to Time's "100 Most Influential People in 2023", calling his ability to "move fluidly between directing, writing, acting, and producing, all while editing The Rehearsal" a "staggering feat".^[43] In 2025, Season 2 of The Rehearsal aired on HBO, and received generally positive reviews.^[44] The show's central idea of rehearsing and performing social interactions resonated with many autistic viewers, who viewed it as an analogy for autistic masking.^[45][46] As part of his comedy bit for The Rehearsal, he worked briefly in 2025 as a ferry pilot for Nomadic Aviation Group.^[47][35]

On September 6, 2026, Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's A24 documentary You Can See Everything premiered in a surprise screening at the Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado.^[48] The film, which depicts Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in the weeks before she began serving her 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors, was released on October 16, 2026.^[49]

Holocaust awareness

As a student, Fielder attended a speech hosted by the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) featuring a Holocaust survivor. The experience led to his longstanding relationship with the VHEC.^[8]

In 2015, Fielder founded the not-for-profit company Summit Ice Apparel. It produces softshell jackets and raises awareness of the Holocaust. It had close to $500,000 in sales in the first three months,^[56] with all profits going to VHEC.^[57] As of 2025, Summit Ice Apparel said it had earned millions in support of youth education surrounding "intolerance, racial bias, and genocide".^[58]

Fielder was inspired to start Summit Ice Apparel after learning that Taiga in Vancouver, an organization he previously supported, published a tribute to the Holocaust denier Doug Collins. In 2017, Fielder hosted a one-day pop-up shop in Vancouver where customers could trade in their Taiga clothing for Summit Ice Apparel products.^[8]

The second episode of Nathan for You's third season, which featured Summit Ice Apparel, was removed by Paramount+ worldwide as the German division of Paramount expressed concerns of antisemitism in the wake of the Gaza war. Fielder expressed disappointment in the second episode of The Rehearsal's second season, calling Summit Ice Apparel his "proudest achievement".^[59]

Film

Television