Gareth Reynolds

Years active1997–presentWebsiteGarethReynolds.com

Gareth Patrick Reynolds (born November 27, 1979) is an American-British comedian, producer, writer, and podcaster. He is best known for co-hosting The Dollop, a comedy/history podcast in which his friend and fellow comedian Dave Anthony tells him a particularly shocking or notable story from American history.

Early life

Reynolds was born in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, on November 27, 1979,^[1] the son of English immigrants. He has an older brother.^[1] He holds dual British and American citizenship.^[2] His mother, Pam, is from Birmingham and has since moved back to England. Reynolds attended Emerson College in Boston, where he joined the improv group Swollen Monkeys.^[1] Another group member, Evan Mann, became Gareth's writing partner, and they've maintained that collaboration for over 20 years. Upon graduating in 2003,^[3] Reynolds moved to Los Angeles to continue his comedy career.^[1]

Career

Podcasting

Reynolds currently hosts three podcasts:

• The Dollop, a weekly comedy/American history podcast, with co-host Dave Anthony.
• The Past Times, a totally different weekly comedy/history podcast, with co-host Dave Anthony.
• We’re Here to Help, a bi-weekly advice podcast, with co-host Jake Johnson.

Gareth was co-hosting The Naughty Show with Sam Tripoli when Dave Anthony appeared on the show as a guest. The pair hit it off, and Anthony invited Reynolds to fill in for Greg Behrendt on the Walking the Room podcast a couple of times.^[4] In 2014, Reynolds was slated to be the first guest on Anthony’s history podcast, The Dollop. The two clicked so well that Gareth ended up being the show’s permanent co-host.^[5] On the show, Anthony tells Reynolds a story from American history that he’s researched. Reynolds comes into the recording with no idea what the topic is going to be about. He serves as an audience surrogate, reacting to the incredible details and using his improv skills to add levity to some of the darkest periods of American history. As a running joke on the show, Anthony often shortens Reynolds' first name from "Gareth" to "Gary" and has encouraged audiences to chant “Gary,” which Reynolds dislikes. Anthony has said that Reynolds is the funniest person he knows. The pair started The Past Times in 2022. This podcast involves Anthony reading stories from a historical newspaper to Reynolds and a guest.

In 2023, Reynolds convinced his friend of over 15 years, Jake Johnson, to start a comedy advice podcast.^[6] The pair, and sometimes a guest, speak to callers and offer “free advice that feels … free.”^[7] Jake enjoys calling Reynolds by the nickname his family gave him: “Garfie.”

From 2014 to 2021, Reynolds co-hosted Point vs. Point with Evan Mann.^[8]

Stand Up

Reynolds got into stand-up when he moved to New York City to work on a TV show. In 2019, he released his debut comedy album, Riddled with Disease, which went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts the week it was released.^[9][10]  His special, England, Weed, & The Rest, premiered in 2022.^[11]

He has performed across the United States, Australia, and Europe.

TV and Movies

Reynolds was a writer and producer for Arrested Development, Hoops, and You’re the Worst.

He has acted in Hoops, Maron, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, and, in a particularly notable role, he portrayed Brian the security guard on an episode of New Girl. One of Reynold’s first professional roles was on the NBC prank/hidden camera series The Real Wedding Crashers.^[9]

With his writing partner Evan Mann, Reynolds starred on the Travel Channel show Mancations. The pair developed and produced MTV's Failosophy.

Other

Gareth has performed sketch comedy with Evan Mann, and the two have a YouTube channel.^[12]

In 2017, Reynolds co-wrote a book based on The Dollop podcast with Dave Anthony entitled The United States of Absurdity: Untold Stories from American History. Screenwriter Josh Olson once described the book as "a great bathroom read."^[13]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Reynolds began featuring his mother Pam on a comedic YouTube series called Pamdemic. He also hosted a weekly show from his bedroom called Ga'riffs, where he riffed on topics submitted by viewers.

As a teenager, Gareth worked at Comedy Sportz in Milwaukee, where he was a ballet parker.^[1]

Personal life

Reynolds lives in Los Angeles with his cat, José, who is often featured or mentioned on his podcasts.^[10] José has his own Instagram account.^[14] Gareth is a fan of the Green Bay Packers and has a Packers tattoo on his right arm^[5] and a tattoo of José on his left arm.^[15]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Failosophy	—	Executive producer
2013	Stevie TV	—	Writer (6 episodes)
2014	Riot	—	Writer (5 episodes)
2016–2017	Idiotsitter	—	Executive story editor Writer (2 episodes)
2017	Flaked	—	Writer (Episode: "Day Five")
2018–2019	Arrested Development	—	Co-executive producer Writer (2 episodes)
2019	You're the Worst	—	Supervising producer Writer (2 episodes)
2023	Royal Crackers	Lars (voice)	Episode: "Stebe"
		Clark (voice)	Episode: "The 1%"

References