Claim: Louis C.K. is a stand-up comedian.

Louis Székely -LRB- born September 12 , 1967 -RRB- , known professionally as Louis C.K. -LRB- -LSB- ˈluːi_siːˈkeɪ -RSB- -RRB- , is an American comedian , actor , writer , producer , director , and editor . He began his career writing for several comedy shows in the 1990s and early 2000s for comedians including David Letterman , Conan O'Brien , Dana Carvey and Chris Rock . Also in this period , he was directing surreal short films and went on to direct two features -- Tomorrow Night -LRB- 1998 -RRB- and Pootie Tang -LRB- 2001 -RRB- -- before he starred in the short-lived HBO television sitcom Lucky Louie in 2006 .   Louie , an acclaimed semi-autobiographical comedy-drama series that C.K. created , stars in , writes , directs , executive produces , and is the primary editor of , began airing in 2010 on FX . He had supporting acting roles in the films The Invention of Lying -LRB- 2009 -RRB- , American Hustle , Blue Jasmine -LRB- both 2013 -RRB- , and Trumbo -LRB- 2015 -RRB- . During an extended Louie hiatus , C.K. created and starred in his web series Horace and Pete in 2016 , and voiced the lead role in the animated film The Secret Life of Pets the same year .   He released his debut comedy album , Live in Houston , in 2001 directly through his website and became among the first performers to offer direct-to-fan sales of tickets to his stand-up shows , as well as DRM-free video concert downloads , via his website . C.K. has released nine comedy albums in his career , often directing and editing his specials as well . He is known for his use of observational , self-deprecating , dark and vulgar humor .   C.K. won a 2012 Peabody Award , and has received six Emmy awards , as well as numerous awards for The Chris Rock Show , Louie , and his stand-up specials Live at the Beacon Theater -LRB- 2011 -RRB- and Oh My God -LRB- 2013 -RRB- . He has won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album twice . Rolling Stone ranked C.K. 's stand-up special Shameless number three on their `` Divine Comedy : 25 Best Stand-Up Specials and Movies of All Time '' list and , in 2017 , ranked him fourth on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time .