1992–2009: Stand-up comedian and podcast Burr first performed stand-up comedy at the age of 23 on March 2, 1992. He moved to New York City in 1994. He started to appear in numerous shows performing standup such as
Showtime at the Apollo in 2000,
Comedy Central Presents in 2003,
Just for Laughs in 2004,
One Night Stand in 2005, and
Live at Gotham in 2006. Also during this time, he co-starred in the TV series
Townies in 1996, appeared in
Two Guys and a Girl in 1998 and
Law & Order: Criminal Intent in 2002. He gained prominence as a regular on
Dave Chappelle's popular
sketch comedy series ''
Chappelle's Show'' in 2004 on
Comedy Central. On September 9, 2006, Burr performed at the
Tweeter Center in
Camden, New Jersey, across the
Delaware River from
Philadelphia, as part of
Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour. After the crowd booed several comedians before him, Burr took the stage, also receiving boos. Forgoing the rest of his planned material, Burr unleashed a 12-minute expletive-laden rant in which he repeatedly attacked the crowd and the city of Philadelphia, especially its sports teams. "I was just annoyed because I was sitting there going like, this is one of the greatest comedy line-ups, as far as up-and-coming guys, that I've been around," Burr said. "And these fucking people are treating everyone like shit. And, you know, I'm a defensive, fucking angry dude anyways, so it was just the perfect storm." By the rant's end, Burr managed to win over the majority of the crowd and received a standing ovation. In 2017, Burr expressed some regret over the incident, saying, "I wasn't a professional. What I should have done was I should have kept my head in the game to survive it."
The Joe Rogan Experience,
WTF with Marc Maron,
The Nerdist Podcast,
The Adam Buxton Podcast, and
Nobody Likes Onions. Burr was also the first guest on
Tom Green's podcast. Burr's first hour-long special,
Why Do I Do This? (2008), was filmed in New York.
2010–2019: Acting roles and comedy specials 's ''
Vince Gilligan,
Aaron Paul and
Bryan Cranston at
ComicCon in 2018. Burr's special
Let it Go was recorded at
The Fillmore in San Francisco and premiered on
Comedy Central on September 18, 2010. That same year Burr appeared in the comedy film
Date Night as Detective Walsh. On April 18, 2011, he guest hosted the
Hollywood Babble-On podcast alongside
Ralph Garman. He also appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of
AMC's
Breaking Bad as
Patrick Kuby from 2011 to 2013. A later special,
You People Are All the Same, premiered in 2012 as a
Netflix exclusive. Burr's stand-up special
You People Are All the Same (2012) was the first to premiere exclusively on Netflix. He played Mark Mullins in the 2013
buddy cop film The Heat. In 2014, Burr filmed his fourth hour-long special ''
I'm Sorry You Feel That Way'' at the
Tabernacle Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Unusual for modern comedy specials, the film was shot in
black and white. All Things Comedy was officially launched on October 1, 2012, with a roster of 11 podcasts including Burr's own
Monday Morning Podcast,
The Long Shot Podcast by
Eddie Pepitone, and
Skeptic Tank by
Ari Shaffir. By 2014, the network had six dozen members and over 50 podcasts. The network was started by comedians
Al Madrigal and Bill Burr with
The Daily Show on the All Things Comedy website. The network was established as an
artist owned cooperative, which Madrigal and Burr emphasize as an important aspect of the collective.
All Things Records was started in March 2014 and released three albums in the months following its creation including
Believe in Yourself by Sam Tripoli,
Live at the Comedy Castle by
Brian Scolaro, and
This Will Make an Excellent Horcrux by
Jackie Kashian. For instance, the network hosts Spanish-language podcasts such as
Leyendas Legendarias and
El Dollop.
All Things Comedy also partnered with
Comedy Central to produce a documentary about
Patrice O'Neal in addition to three comedy specials. Burr voiced lead character Frank Murphy in
F Is for Family, which premiered on
Netflix on December 18, 2015. The show, an
animated sitcom he created and co-wrote, drew on Burr's stand-up and the absurdity of
political correctness. Season 4 of the series debuted on Netflix on June 12, 2020. Burr writes and
executive produces the series along with
Michael Price. Burr's fifth hour-long special,
Bill Burr: Walk Your Way Out, debuted on Netflix on January 31, 2017. He appeared in the third episode (titled "Bill Burr") of the second season of the HBO series
Crashing. Burr's sixth hour-long special,
Paper Tiger, debuted on Netflix on September 10, 2019. He premiered a new podcast co-hosted with fellow comedian
Bert Kreischer, called the
Bill Bert Podcast, in October. In December, he played
Migs Mayfeld in two episodes of the
Disney+ series
The Mandalorian.
2020–present: Career expansion and Broadway debut In 2020, he appeared in
Judd Apatow's comedy film
The King of Staten Island, and promoted the film on October 10 by hosting
NBC's
Saturday Night Live for the first time with musical guest
Jack White. In March 2022, it was announced that Burr would co-write, direct, and star in the comedy film
Old Dads, his feature-length directorial debut; it was released on Netflix in 2023 to mixed reviews. A few months later, he received a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series nomination for the dark comedy series
Immoral Compass (2021–present). His seventh stand-up special,
Live at Red Rocks, was released on July 12. (and replied to fans that he did not count them himself to confirm). It was also the largest comedy show in the history of Boston. He has had sold-out shows at
Madison Square Garden on November 14, 2015, and then again on November 11, 2023, the
Royal Albert Hall on June 6, 2018, and consecutive shows on March 4 and 5, 2019. He holds the record for the most consecutive sold-out shows at Boston's
Wilbur Theatre, where he performed 19 sold-out shows in a row, almost doubling the record of 10 set by
Aziz Ansari. Burr sold out 20,000 seats at the
Los Angeles Forum on September 28, 2018. In September 2021, he sold out
Red Rocks Amphitheatre. In 2023, he performed at the 5,000-seat ancient Roman amphitheater, the
Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, Greece. In 2024, Bill performed in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 60,000 at
Gillette Stadium where he followed
Jay-Z for the
Tom Brady 's Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony. 's
Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway In 2023, Burr had a cameo role as the voice of pastor Nick Saint Angelo in the episode "
the wizard" of
HBO series
Barry. In 2024 he was cast in a supporting
cameo role as
John F. Kennedy in the
Jerry Seinfeld directed satirical comedy
Unfrosted which debuted on
Netflix. Chris Evangelista of
SlashFilm wrote that among the film's numerous cameos, Burr's performance was "particularly memorable". In 2024 he returned for the second time to host
Saturday Night Live with musical guest
Mk.gee. Burr hosted the first episode since the
2024 United States presidential election results with Jesse Hassenberger of
The A.V. Club writing, "Burr seemed to have been booked as the
Dave Chappelle Emeritus, a blunt-spoken comic willing to speak some possibly-uncomfortable truths, regardless of election results". In 2025, he released his eighth comedy special,
Drop Dead Years on
Hulu. Sean McCarthy of
Decider wrote, "Burr may continue to rub some people the wrong way, but that's always been a part of his comedic ethos, and if you can listen to what he's actually saying, there's a lot not only worth considering, but also worth laughing about." It was announced that Burr would make his
Broadway debut in the 2025 revival of the
David Mamet play
Glengarry Glen Ross acting opposite
Kieran Culkin and
Bob Odenkirk. Burr was recommended to director
Patrick Marber for the production by
Nathan Lane, who was originally approached for the role but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Lane stated, the revival had to have an "all star cast and the first person you should cast is Bill Burr," adding: "he's the leading comedian in America, a wonderful actor and sounds like a
David Mamet-character". Burr received positive reviews for his Broadway debut with David Rooney of
The Hollywood Reporter describing his performance as "a knockout", adding: "It’s no surprise that the seasoned comic has flawless timing." Mark Kennedy of
The Associated Press declared that he "almost steals the show" citing his casting as "perfect", while adding that Burr "turns out to be the most comfortable with Mamet’s tricky dialogue." Upon not receiving a nomination for the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, Helen Shaw of
Vulture stated, "How did Burr not get nominated? He's actually giving a performance where this show makes sense again", adding: "The sound of the play, the energy of the play makes sense in him and he moved the play from being an antique piece into something that feels present". Burr and his North Hill Productions will bring original scripted and unscripted comedic content to Fox. In September 2025, Burr joined the cast of
The Social Reckoning,
Aaron Sorkin’s sequel to
The Social Network (2010). Burr defended his appearance in the Festival, calling it a "mind-blowing experience" and stated that "it felt right afterwards." He stated that the Saudis were "just like" Americans, though he did state that jokes about the Saudi royals and religion were banned. Noting Burr's previous criticism of billionaires, Ben Schwartz of
The Nation asked, "How can Burr ever get mad about billionaires here after insisting that the Saudi royal family over there is 'just like us'?". He also mentioned that Burr had previously criticized singer
Beyoncé for performing for
Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi. == Style and influences ==