Acting and filmmaking Samberg majored in
experimental film. He became an online star and made his own comedy videos with his friends
Akiva Schaffer and
Jorma Taccone. When
YouTube was created in 2005, the streaming of their videos became much more widespread. Samberg became a featured player on
Saturday Night Live in part because of the work he had done on his sketch comedy website TheLonelyIsland.com, which helped him land an agent and eventually get hired at
Saturday Night Live. Prior to joining its cast, Samberg was (and remains) a member of the comedy troupe
the Lonely Island, along with Taccone and Schaffer. The trio began writing for
Saturday Night Live in 2005 and released their debut album
Incredibad in 2009. Samberg appeared in numerous theatrical films, commercials, music videos, and hosted special events, including the
2009 MTV Movie Awards. In 2012, Samberg delivered the Class Day speech at
Harvard University, and he starred with
Adam Sandler in ''
That's My Boy. The same year, he starred with Adam Sandler again in Hotel Transylvania as Jonathan, a role he reprised for its sequels Hotel Transylvania 2, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation and Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. In September 2012, Samberg played Cuckoo in the BAFTA nominated BBC Three series Cuckoo''; and, in 2013, he landed the role of Detective Jake Peralta in
Fox's (later
NBC's) police sitcom
Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which first aired on September 17 of the same year. Samberg won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2014 for his role as Peralta. Samberg hosted the
67th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20, 2015. Years later, he co-hosted the 76th Golden Globe Awards with
Sandra Oh on January 6, 2019. in 2010 Samberg starred in
Sleater-Kinney's "No Cities to Love" video along with other actors such as
Fred Armisen,
Elliot Page, and
Norman Reedus. On May 16, 2016, Samberg and the Lonely Island performed their 2009 hit "I'm on a Boat" with classroom instruments on
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, as part of a recurring segment on the show.
Saturday Night Live In September 2005, Samberg joined
Saturday Night Live as a featured player and writer. Though his live sketch roles were limited in his first year, he appeared in many prerecorded sketches including commercial parodies and various other filmed segments. On December 17, 2005, he co-starred with castmate
Chris Parnell in the
Digital Short show "
Lazy Sunday," a
hip hop song about a quest to see the film
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The short became an
Internet phenomenon and garnered Samberg significant media and public attention. Acclaim continued, especially for "
Dick in a Box," a duet with
Justin Timberlake that won a
Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. On June 1, 2012, Samberg's spokesperson announced that Samberg had left the show. He returned to the show to host the Season 39 finale in 2014 and to star in the 40th anniversary special's Digital Short. He later returned in Season 50 to portray
Doug Emhoff in the run up to the
2024 election, as well as providing some additional
Digital Shorts.
Other pursuits In November 2023, the first issue of
Holy Roller, a comic written by Samberg,
Rick Remender,
Joe Trohman and illustrated by Roland Boschi, was released and published by
Image Comics. It is about a pro bowler who is forced to quit his dream job and return to his hometown, which he soon discovers has been overrun by
Neo-Nazis, leading him to become a trick bowling ball-wielding Jewish superhero. Samberg co-hosts
The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast alongside Schaffer, Taccone and
Seth Meyers, which discusses the Lonely Island's
SNL Digital Shorts. ==Personal life==