Comedian Trevor Noah will make his debut as host of The Daily Show this Monday night on Comedy Central, and he has a whole new team of correspondents along for the ride. Noah himself is a former correspondent from the Jon Stewart days of the show, so he probably knows more than anyone that being a correspondent can be a breakout role. So who is new Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood, Jr. and why does he look so familiar? Well, this 36-year-old comedian has been on your TV a lot — you may recognize him from the TBS comedy series Sullivan & Son, NBC's Last Comic Standing, late night talk show Conan, Comedy Central's @Midnight, E!'s The Soup, or even SportsNation on ESPN.
Or maybe it's his voice that sounds familiar. According to his official site, Wood got his start in talk radio, starting out as a reporter and then getting his own morning show in his native Alabama. In 2006, he made his TV debut with an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman and has been all over TV since. But don't worry, his voice work lives on — Wood has released a bunch of prank call albums, as well as a comedy album called Things I Think, I Think in 2013. Not to mention he's done numerous stand-up comedy tours.
Get better acquainted with Wood's pre-Daily Show work below.
His TV Debut On The Late Show
In his very first TV appearance in 2006, Wood makes 'em laugh with some timeless relationship humor about ex-girlfriends and texting, along with some very aughts jokes about post-9/11 airport security and Al-Qaeda.
Discussing Captain America & Needy Customer Service Reps On Conan
In this set from June 2014, Wood hilariously riffs on the fact that superhero Captain America "wakes up from a 40-year nap ... and has no questions about desegregation." Then, he segues into jokes about dealing with needy customer service people who won't let you get off the phone — and it is just too accurate.
As A Correspondent For The Soup
Back in 2010, Wood riffed on Dr. Laura's racial rant and her hair, as compared to Rev. Al Sharpton's look in this online extra. "The only victim here is the lady who called the show," Wood concludes in the video above. "She never got any advice [from Dr. Laura]. She didn't get the question answered."
Talking About Tom Brady On His YouTube Channel
Wood has his own YouTube channel, because it's 2015 and why not? There, he posts his routines and weighs in on current events, like NFL football player Tom Brady's neverending "Deflategate" saga. In an episode of Wood's Guaranteed Ass Whoopins series of YouTube videos, he points out that Brady isn't the true victim in that whole mess. "You threw a rally to free Tom Brady?" he says in the video above. "Only in NFL can you throw a rally to free a millionaire."
As Roy On TBS' Sullivan & Son
For three seasons, Wood played the grumpy Roy Williams on the comedy series Sullivan & Son starring fellow comedian Steve Byrne, which was canceled last year.
Prank Calls
Wood has gained some fame on the radio for his hilarious prank phone calls. In this one, he pranks a woman named Barbara who won't give up her social security check without a fight — literally, because she is ready to kick his butt.
But what will Wood be up to on The Daily Show? I guess we'll have to stay tuned.
Image: Mykeon Smith/Comedy Central
