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Billy Eichner in Conversation with MTV’s Josh Horowitz

Billy Eichner and Josh Horowitz

Join Emmy Award-winning comedian and actor Billy Eichner with MTV’s Josh Horowitz on his life in comedy and returning as the voice of Timon in Mufasa: The Lion King, plus clips from the film which is in theaters on December 20.

Billy Eichner burst onto the scene in 2011 with Billy on the Street, a comedy trivia show featuring Eichner walking the streets of NYC asking people to compete in trivia games. He’s been delighting audiences ever since in shows ranging from Parks and Recreation to American Horror Story to The Lion King. In a live taping of Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, hear Eichner on his remarkable career and his latest turn as Timon in Mufasa — how he found his comedy chops, inhabiting the role of the world’s most famous meerkat, stories from the set, and more.

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Billy Eichner

Billy Eichner is a four time Emmy nominated actor, writer, comedian and producer …

Billy Eichner

Billy Eichner is a four time Emmy nominated actor, writer, comedian and producer.

In a cover story about Billy in Variety in 2022, Conan O’Brien said, “Billy forged his career completely himself. It’s not like someone saw him and said ‘You, kid, you’re coming with me. We’re going to fix your teeth and make you a star.’ He is completely self-directed, and he relied on gobs of talent and tremendous drive.” And Seth Meyers adds, “Billy always felt one step ahead of the zeitgeist, never behind it. His comedy is not reactive; it’s proactive.”

Billy’s upcoming films include Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King in 2024, directed by Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins, and Honey, Don’t! in 2025, directed by Academy Award winner Ethan Coen.

In Mufasa, Billy will reprise his role as the voice of Timon, opposite Seth Rogen as Pumbaa. In 2019, Eichner was heard as Timon in Disney’s blockbuster reimagining of The Lion King, alongside Donald Glover, Beyoncè Knowles and James Earl Jones, directed by Jon Favreau. Billy’s voice performance delighted both critics and audiences. The Lion King earned over 1.5 billion dollars at the global box office.

Billy is perhaps best known for creating and hosting the iconic series, Billy on the Street. Billy received four Emmy nominations for the Billy on the Street TV series and the show remains a social media phenomenon with segments from the show garnering hundreds of millions of views across Tik Tok, YouTube and all social media platforms. The show has not only become a dominant force on social media but one of the most beloved and respected comedy acts in the industry, leading to guest appearances from a countless number of A-list stars joining Billy on the Street including icons and luminaries such as former First Lady Michelle Obama, Chris Evans, David Letterman, Mariah Carey, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell, Madonna, John Oliver, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Stephen Colbert, Lin Manuel Miranda, the Jonas Brothers, the Muppets from Sesame Street and many more.

In 2022, Billy co-wrote, starred in and produced Bros for Universal Pictures, co-written and directed by Neighbors director Nicholas Stoller and produced by comedy powerhouse Judd Apatow. Bros made Billy the first openly gay man to star in, write and produce his own major studio film in any genre. It was also the first major studio film where all major roles were played by openly LGBTQ+ actors. Bros was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Comedy of 2022, was named “One of the Best Films of 2022” by Variety, The London Times and The Guardian among others, and was named “One of the Greatest Comedies” of the 2000s by Rolling Stone.

Billy is also well known for his first major scripted role, the delightfully unhinged Craig Middlebrooks on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. Initially invited for a two-episode appearance, Billy was asked to stay and ultimately became a series regular on the hit series, acting alongside a beloved ensemble including Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt.

Never one to “stay in his lane,” Eichner then shifted gears, showing off his versatility as an actor playing multiple characters on two seasons of Ryan Murphy’s hit anthology series, American Horror Story opposite Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Kathy Bates. Ryan Murphy then cast Eichner to play the infamous Matt Drudge on Impeachment: American Crime Story, for which Eichner received rave reviews.

Eichner’s other voiceover work includes the distinct honor of being animated by two iconic shows, appearing as an animated 8 year old version of himself on The Simpsons and an animated version of Billy on the Street on Family Guy. He’s also the voice of Mr. Ambrose, the librarian who hates books, on the long running Fox hit, Bob’s Burgers.

For his leadership and his work promoting diversity and inclusion, particularly for the LGBTQ+ community, Eichner has received many accolades including the GLAAD Award, the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award, the Leadership Award from the National LGBTQ+ Task Force, Variety’s Power of Pride Award and the Creative Coalition’s LGBTQ Humanitarian Award, among others. Beyond the LGBTQ+ space, he also sits on the Creative Council of Everytown for Gun Safety, has worked as a senior advisor for Swing Left and, with his friends at Funny or Die, began the non-partisan “Glam Up the Midterms'' initiative in 2018 to help register young voters and turn out the youth vote in midterm elections. This voter registration campaign found Billy making appearances on CNN, MSNBC, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Today Show, Pod Save America and The View among others.

Billy’s other film/TV credits include Hulu’s critical darling Difficult People, produced by Amy Poehler, Netflix’s Friends From College, opposite Keegan Michael-Key, the Disney+ holiday film Noelle, opposite Anna Kendrick, Bill Hader and Shirley MacLaine, and his role as Walt Whitman on Apple TV’s acclaimed series Dickinson.

A perennial talk show guest, Eichner has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Conan, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Good Morning America, The Today Show and many more. As an actor, writer and producer, he is currently developing a variety of new projects for Amazon and Audible among others.

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