Zac Oyama is a comedian and improvisor.

Zac Oyama
EducationB.A., U. of Alabama (2010)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • writer
Notable workDon't Eat the Laundry Pods.
 (Seriously. They're Poison.)
FamilyErica Oyama (sister)

Personal life

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Born to a father who emigrated to Alabama from Japan, Zac Oyama and his sister—Erica Oyama—grew up in the state. He competed in lacrosse and track and field for his Birmingham, Alabama high school. He attended Auburn University for his freshman year before transferring to the University of Alabama's department of Telecommunications and Film and graduating in December 2010. After college, he moved to Los Angeles.[1]

Career

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At university, Oyama was already performing in comedy skits and improv. His Bachelor of Arts program required an internship, and so he interned on the film Wanderlust, being produced by his brother-in-law in Atlanta. Having met Jordan Peele while working on Wanderlust, he parleyed that that into working on Key & Peele for three or four years, first as a production assistant, and later associate producer.[1]

He has performed in Adam Ruins Everything, CollegeHumor videos—earning renown for writing and performing in their Tide Pod challenge video, and Comedy Bang! Bang!.[1] With the Upright Citizens Brigade, Oyama has worked on the shows Asian AF: Voltron, ASSSSCAT, and Yeti.[2] He has also performed in Dropout shows including the improv show Very Important People,[3] the tabletop role-playing game show Dimension 20,[4] and the improvisational game shows Game Changer[5] and Make Some Noise.[6]

Along with Jasper William Cartwright, Oyama hosts the actual play podcast, Rotating Heroes.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Oyama, Zac (July 27, 2020). "Zac Oyama on CollegeHumor, Key & Peele and finding decent Southern food in LA". The Reckon Interview (podcast). Interviewed by Hammontree, John. Archived from the original on September 18, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "Zac Oyama". Upright Citizens Brigade. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Fleming, Ryan (June 13, 2024). "'Very Important People's Vic Michaelis on Their Host Persona & Some Truly Wild Characters: 'Tommy Shriggly Really Came In And Hit Me Like A Wrecking Ball'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  4. ^ Polo, Susana (May 6, 2024). "I'm dying to play D&D's biggest idiot, but my parties keep putting me in charge". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024. Free me
  5. ^ Edwards, Belen. "Inside 'Game Changer,' the internet's favorite game show". Mashable. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024. Host and Dropout CEO Sam Reich takes us behind the curtain of the game show whose rules change every episode.
  6. ^ Polo, Susana (May 20, 2024). "Ben Schwartz and other comedy greats join Make Some Noise season 3". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024. Dropout TV's improvisational spinoff series returns with a murderer's row of improvisational guests
  7. ^ Oyama, Zac; Cartwright, Jasper William. "Rotating Heroes". Headgum. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.

Further reading

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