Rob Riggle

Rob Riggle
Born	Robert Allen Riggle Jr. 4/21/1970
Birthplace	Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actor, comedian
Known for	The Hangover, The Other Guys
Education	University of Kansas (BA), Webster University (MPA)
Children	2

Robert Allen Riggle Jr. (born April 21, 1970) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and retired United States Marine Corps officer. After serving more than two decades in the Marines, including active and reserve duty that ended with his retirement at the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2013, Riggle built a parallel career in comedy that brought him to Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and a string of studio comedies in the late 2000s and 2010s.

Riggle is best known to film audiences for supporting comedic roles in The Hangover (2009), Step Brothers (2008), The Other Guys (2010), The Internship (2013), Let's Be Cops (2014), My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016), and How to Be a Latin Lover (2017). On television he served as a correspondent on The Daily Show from 2006 to 2008, appeared as a cast member on Saturday Night Live during the 2004–2005 season, and played the recurring character Gil Thorpe on Modern Family from 2013 to 2019. In 2012 he succeeded Frank Caliendo in the comedy segments of Fox NFL Sunday, and from 2019 to 2022 he co-hosted the ABC competition series Holey Moley alongside Joe Tessitore.

Early life

Riggle was born on April 21, 1970, in Louisville, Kentucky, and grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. He attended Shawnee Mission South High School before enrolling at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

As a young man, Riggle initially intended to pursue a career in aviation and federal law enforcement. He has recounted that during a conversation with an FBI agent he was told the bureau frequently recruited from the ranks of Marine officers, a comment that prompted him to enlist in the Marine Corps at the age of 19. Riggle entered the Marine Corps in 1990, beginning a military career that would run in parallel with, and eventually overlap with, his work in entertainment.

Education

Riggle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kansas, where he studied theater and film alongside his Marine Corps training commitments. He later completed a Master of Public Administration at Webster University, a graduate program he pursued in connection with his continued military service.

While at the University of Kansas, Riggle has said that his interest in performing developed gradually; he originally planned to become a Marine aviator, but a medical issue prevented him from completing flight training. He instead transitioned to public affairs duties within the Marine Corps and began exploring stand-up comedy and improvisational theater on the side, training with improv troupes in New York and Chicago after his initial active-duty obligations.

Career

Military service

Riggle was commissioned in the United States Marine Corps in 1990 and served on active and reserve duty for 23 years before retiring in 2013 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Although he was unable to complete naval aviator training, he served in a number of capacities including as a public affairs officer. He participated in deployments and assignments connected to operations in Liberia, Kosovo, Albania, and Afghanistan during his career, and he has spoken publicly about the influence of his Marine Corps service on his comedic persona and work ethic.

In 2007, while still serving in the Marine Corps Reserve, Riggle traveled to Iraq with The Daily Show to film a series of segments titled "Operation Silent Thunder," reporting on the experience of American troops in the country. Riggle has continued to appear at events tied to the military community since his retirement, including a 2025 visit to Camp Pendleton.

Stand-up, improv, and Saturday Night Live

Riggle began performing stand-up comedy and improv in the late 1990s, working with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and with the Improv Olympic and the Groundlings on the West Coast. He joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live for the 2004–2005 season, appearing in sketches alongside Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and other cast members before departing after a single season.

The Daily Show

From 2006 to 2008, Riggle was a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where he contributed satirical field pieces, often drawing on his Marine Corps background. His on-air segments included parodies of cable-news punditry, including pieces tied to political coverage during the George W. Bush administration. The "Operation Silent Thunder" segments filmed in Iraq, broadcast in August 2007, drew particular attention because Riggle was an active reservist reporting from a combat zone in a comedic format. He returned to the show as a guest in subsequent years, including a 2010 appearance alongside Will Ferrell.

Film career

Riggle made his feature-film breakthrough with supporting roles in studio comedies of the late 2000s. He appeared in Step Brothers (2008) as a corporate antagonist to the characters played by Ferrell and John C. Reilly, and in The Hangover (2009) as a Las Vegas police officer who allows the film's protagonists to be shocked with a taser during a "junior officer training" sequence. He followed those parts with a role in The Other Guys (2010), again opposite Ferrell, and supporting performances in Killers (2010), The Internship (2013), Let's Be Cops (2014), My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016), and How to Be a Latin Lover (2017).

Riggle has continued to take supporting roles in studio and independent comedies through the 2010s and 2020s, often cast as authority figures, military men, or aggressive corporate characters, drawing on a screen persona that combines bluster with deadpan precision.

Television

In addition to Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show, Riggle has built an extensive television resume. He played the recurring character Gil Thorpe, a real-estate rival to Ty Burrell's Phil Dunphy, on ABC's Modern Family from 2013 to 2019. He co-starred in the Adult Swim action-comedy series NTSF:SD:SUV::, a parody of police procedurals, and appeared in a 2010 guest arc on NBC's Chuck as a CIA operative who clashed with the title character.

From 2019 to 2022, Riggle co-hosted the miniature-golf competition series Holey Moley on ABC with sportscaster Joe Tessitore, providing comedic commentary on contestants navigating outsized putt-putt courses. He has also made repeated late-night appearances on Conan and other talk shows promoting his projects.

Football and sports broadcasting

In 2012, Fox Sports hired Riggle to take over the comedic prognostication segments on Fox NFL Sunday, replacing impressionist Frank Caliendo. Riggle's weekly contributions to the pregame show have included on-location pieces from NFL host cities and recurring comedic bits tied to the league's storylines, and the role has become a long-running part of his portfolio.

Riggle, a longtime Kansas City Chiefs fan, has appeared in promotional content for the franchise. In 2026 he co-starred with Lisa Gilroy in an original comedy concept used to unveil the Chiefs' 2026 regular-season schedule, which the team released as a parody home-shopping broadcast. Around the same time, he hosted what was billed as the World's Largest Tailgate outside GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Commercial and endorsement work

Riggle has been a frequent presence in national advertising campaigns. In 2016 he was featured as a spokesman for KFC, portraying a version of company founder Colonel Harland Sanders in commercials produced as part of the chain's rotating-actor campaign. Ahead of the 2026 NFL postseason, he appeared in a Super Bowl–oriented advertising campaign for Avocados From Mexico, playing a "guac guru" who delivered comedic game predictions in spots produced for the brand.

He has also contributed to digital comedy outlets, including a Funny or Die sketch in which he played a parody version of the Navy SEAL involved in the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Personal life

Riggle lives in the Los Angeles area and is the father of two children. He has remained closely tied to the Kansas City area, where he was raised, and has spoken in interviews about his fandom of the Kansas City Chiefs and his ongoing involvement with the local community.

Riggle has been active in causes connected to the U.S. military and veterans. In February 2026 he was named the official race starter for Pat's Run in Tempe, Arizona, an annual event honoring former NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman, with organizers citing Riggle's background as a retired Marine officer. He has continued to appear at events for Marine Corps units and military charities since retiring from service in 2013.

Recognition

Riggle's combined career in entertainment and military service has been the subject of regular profile coverage, with publications including Marines Magazine, The Kansas City Star, and USA Today highlighting his transition from active-duty Marine officer to comic actor. His tour of Iraq with The Daily Show in 2007 received attention as an unusual instance of an active reservist participating in satirical news coverage from a combat zone.

Within the Marine Corps, Riggle was recognized through promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel before his retirement in 2013, and he has been the subject of official Marine Corps publications and photography documenting his service and continued public engagement with the branch. His casting as the on-air comedian on Fox NFL Sunday in 2012, succeeding Caliendo, was treated by sports media as a notable change in the program's long-running format.

Riggle's commercial work has likewise drawn industry coverage, including his selection as a rotating portrayer of the KFC mascot in 2016 and his appearance in nationally distributed Super Bowl advertising in 2026.