Matt Vogel Matt Vogel ( b . October 6 , 1970 ) is an accomplished puppeteer who joined the " Sesame Street " troupe in 1996 . He later joined The Muppets family of characters , inheriting several roles while working with Jerry Nelson , and was cast as Kermit the Frog in July 2017 . Vogel first auditioned for The Jim Henson Company in his final year of college ( c . 1993 ) , but didn ' t begin performing with the company until a year later when he became John Henson ' s understudy for the Coca - Cola Polar Bear . On " Sesame Street " , Vogel became Caroll Spinney ' s understudy for Big Bird whenever Spinney was unavailable . Beginning in 2002 , he exclusively performed Big Bird for " Journey to Ernie " , a regular " Sesame Street " segment . He also played Big Bird ' s infant self Baby Big Bird in the " Sesame Beginnings " DVD series . Over time , he has accumulated his own recurring characters , including Herb the dinosaur and Hansel . He is currently " Sesame Street " ’ s Muppet Captain and serves as a director on the show since Season 39 . Vogel has also assumed some of Jerry Nelson ' s roles , by the recommendation of Nelson himself . In addition to performing classic Muppet characters such as Floyd Pepper and Lew Zealand in Muppet productions , Vogel has puppeteered Count von Count and other " Sesame Street " Muppets originated by Nelson , who continued to voice the characters for several years . After Nelson ' s death , Vogel fully inherited the Count , now providing both the voice and puppetry . His early Muppet credits include assisting or supporting roles on " Big Bag " , " Bear in the Big Blue House " , and " Sesame English " . Works outside the Henson fold include the video series " MATHmatazz " , " Jack ' s Big Music Show " , " The Puzzle Place " , the HBO drama " Oz " , " Oobi " , " Blue ' s Room " , and " Between the Lions " . On the big screen , Vogel has appeared in " The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland " , " The Muppets " , " Muppets Most Wanted " ( where he took on the major role of Constantine ) , the Creature Shop film " The Producers " ( as various pigeons ) , one of the " Muppet " characters in " Old Dogs " , and the voice of Wilkins in " Alice Through the Looking Glass " for director James Bobin . In theater , Vogel has acted in regional productions of various plays , including " The Foreigner " and " Six Degrees of Sparation " , and was involved in the 2003 - 2004 Broadway run of " Little Shop of Horrors " , manipulating Audrey II and playing various bums and Skid Row residents ( alongside Martin P . Robinson and Anthony Asbury ) . In addition to puppeteering , Vogel ' s interest in music is evident as front man for the The Mighty Weaklings . The band released a CD of songs " for kids - - and grown - ups " called " You Can ' t Rock Sittin ' Down " in June of 2008 after appearing in the video for their song " Rocket Ship " on " Jack ' s Big Music Show " . With Joey Mazzarino , Vogel co - owns Pratfall Productions , which produced the film - noir puppet short film " Murder , He Squeaked " as well as various videos and inserts for " Sesame Street " , and Nick Jr . ' s " Curious Buddies " . On July 10 , 2017 , it was announced that Vogel would be taking over the role of Kermit the Frog , following Steve Whitmire ' s departure from The Muppets . Vogel ' s first public performance as Kermit was a Muppet Thought of the Week video ; originally planned to debut on YouTube during the week of July 17 , 2017 , but was delayed until August 28 , 2017 . Performances as Big Bird . Vogel holds the distinction of being one of very few Muppeteers who perform a character in conjunction with another performer . Beginning as an understudy for Caroll Spinney , and becoming Big Bird ' s primary performer in " Journey to Ernie " segments , the following episodes , sketches , and appearances comprise instances in which Vogel has performed Big Bird despite Spinney also continuing with the character : External links . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _