Rise to Fame
He spent years making white America laugh at itself before making it genuinely uncomfortable. After five seasons on MADtv and five on Key & Peele (which won two Emmys and a Peabody), the industry had him filed under "comedian." Then Get Out hit in 2017. Made on $4.5 million, it grossed over $255 million worldwide. He won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, becoming the first Black screenwriter to take that category, and got nominated for Best Director and Best Picture on the same debut. Comedy guys don't do that.
In the Spotlight
His Monkeypaw Productions label has become a genuine platform. He produced BlacKkKlansman (which won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay), Candyman, and Monkey Man. His own fourth directorial film has been scheduled, rescheduled, and ultimately pulled from Universal's release calendar. Monkeypaw also laid off several development executives. The producer role is quietly doing more work than the director one.
Side Notes
He grew up on the Upper West Side, literally down the street from the Dakota building, the one from Rosemary's Baby. That childhood anxiety feeding directly into his career is almost too neat. The Emoji Movie offered him the voice of the Poop emoji. He called his manager to ask about the pay rate, was told Patrick Stewart had already been offered the role, and hung up. He's said that exchange finalized his decision to quit acting. His college improv duo was called "Two White Guys." Marketing materials clarified they were "a Black guy and a white Jewish lesbian."