# Langston Kerman

Langston Kerman (born April 23, 1987) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He has acted in shows including Insecure, High Maintenance, Bless This Mess, The Boys and English Teacher. Kerman is a writer and co-star on HBO Max's South Side. His first comedy album, Lightskinned Feelings, was named to Vulture's list of 10 Best Comedy Albums of 2018.

## Early life and education

Kerman was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. His mother is African-American and his father is white and Jewish. He received his bachelor's degree in English from University of Michigan in 2009. After college he taught poetry at his former high school for one year. Kerman later received an MFA in poetry at Boston University and then decided to pursue a full-time career in stand-up comedy.

## Career

Kerman has acted in shows such as on Adam DeVine's House Party, High Maintenance, Strangers, and Comedy Bang! Bang!. He was selected by host Chris Rock to write for the 2016 Academy Awards.
In 2016, he appeared in his first recurring acting role as Jered on the first season of Issa Rae's scripted comedy-drama series Insecure. The role led to wider recognition.
On September 28, 2018, Kerman was featured in his own Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents half-hour special, Lightskinned Feelings (later titled "White People Can Keep Secrets"). On the same day, he also released an hour-long comedy album of the same name, which was recorded at Punchline Comedy Club in San Francisco. It was named to Vulture's 10 Best Comedy Albums of 2018 list.
Kerman has a voice-over role in IMDb's 2019 animated series You're Not a Monster. He also appeared in the 2019 Comedy Central series The New Negroes, and is also a writer and recurring actor for the HBO Max series South Side.
He was a series regular on the second season of Bless This Mess, and appeared in a recurring role on the second season of The Boys.
In August 2020, Kerman created the comedy podcast My Momma Told Me on the iHeartRadio Network. He discusses various Black conspiracy theories that he and his guests learned from their mothers.
Kerman co-created and co-stars in the 2022 Peacock series Bust Down. In 2023, he was cast in the Hulu mystery thriller series The Other Black Girl, a television adaptation of the 2021 novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris.
In 2024, Kerman released his first standalone comedy special, Bad Poetry, on Netflix. It was directed by comedian John Mulaney. Critics gave it high marks. In a review in The New Yorker, Vinson Cunningham wrote that "work like Kerman’s is the way back to comedy on its own terms, as an art to be enjoyed in its purest form." Vulture called it "a stellar introduction to Kerman’s whimsical brand of comedy." Cracked said that, "story after story, bit after bit, Kerman nails it." The Daily Beast described Kerman as "one of the most exciting stand-up comedians working right now."
Kerman appeared in a recurring role in the FX comedy series English Teacher, which premiered in September 2024.

## Personal life

Kerman is married. He and his wife have two children, a daughter born in 2021 and a son born in 2024.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | Teen Saw | Student | Short |
| 2016 | 10 Crosby | Cute Guy | Short |
| 2024 | The Gutter | Half Life | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2012 | Just for Laughs: All Access | — | 1 episode; writer |
| 2013 | Clear History | Coffee Shop Patron | TV movie |
| 2014 | My Crazy Love | Freddy | 1 episode |
| 2015 | Storytime | Self | Short; also writer |
| 2015 | The Battery's Down | | 1 episode; web series |
| 2016 | Adam DeVine's House Party | — | 1 episode; writer |
| 2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Party Guy | 1 episode |
| 2016–2018 | Insecure | Jered | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | 88th Academy Awards | — | TV special; writer |
| 2017 | Strangers | Jake | 1 episode |
| 2018 | High Maintenance | | 1 episode |
| 2018 | Singularity | Ethan | Unsold pilot |
| 2018 | Straight Up, Stand Up | — | 1 episode; writer |
| 2018 | The New Negroes | — | 1 episode; writer |
| 2019 | Sherman's Showcase | | 1 episode |
| 2019 | You're Not a Monster | Dr. Edgar Martinez / Pazuzu / Headless Horseman | 3 episodes |
| 2019–2020 | Bless This Mess | Brandon | Series regular |
| 2019; 2021 | South Side | Adam Bethune | 3 episodes; also writer and story editor |
| 2020 | BET Awards 2020 | — | TV special; writer |
| 2020 | The Boys | Eagle the Archer | Recurring role |
| 2021–2023 | Solar Opposites | Various voices | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Bust Down | Langston | Main role; also co-creator, executive producer, and star |
| 2023 | Not Dead Yet | Jesse | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | How I Met Your Father | Eli | 1 episode |
| 2023 | The Other Black Girl | Jesse Watson | Recurring role |
| 2024 | English Teacher | Harry | Recurring role |
| 2024 | Abbott Elementary | Darnell | 1 episode |