Bryan Christopher Callen (born January 26, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. Callen is notable for being one of the original cast of comedians on the sketch comedy series MADtv.
Callen was born in New York, New York. His father, Randy Callen, left his mother, Toni McBrier, when he found out she was pregnant. His mother raised him and his half-sister, Kelsey, in the South Bronx of New York City. Callen is of Scottish, Irish and Native American descent. When he was older, Callen began performing in plays to make extra money.
After graduating from Morris High School in 1989, Callen attended American University on a scholarship, majored in drama, and graduated with honors. In 1993, he moved to Los Angeles, where he was discovered in a comedy club by producers looking for talent for MADtv. As of March 2006, Callen lives in Venice, California.
Callen was one of eight original cast members when MADtv debuted in 1995. Callen's most popular characters included handsome but dim Pool Boy from Cabana Chat with Dixie Wetsworth, motivational speaker Al Casdy, and "relationship-challenged" death row inmate Jeremy Anderson. Callen also performed impersonations of Bill Clinton, Robert De Niro, Al Gore, Luke Perry, Steven Seagal, Sammy Hagar, Kevin Bacon, Robert Wuhl, Matt Damon, and Frank Gifford.
Callen's television credits include Entourage, NewsRadio, Oz, Frasier, Suddenly Susan, NYPD Blue, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI, Sex & the City, 7th Heaven, Rude Awakening, Less Than Perfect, King of Queens, Stacked, Las Vegas, and Reba. Most recently he starred in the Showtime series Fat Actress.
