Roy Wood Jr.

Roy Norris Wood Jr. (born December 11, 1978) is an American stand-up comedian and actor best known for his correspondent appearances on The Daily Show. A resident of Manhattan, Wood was raised in Birmingham, Alabama, and Memphis, Tennessee. After graduating from Ramsay High School in 1996, Wood began his career in stand-up comedy as the opening act for Tommy Davidson. He had a position as head writer on the WBHJ radio series Buckwilde Morning Show from 2001 to 2006. Wood has been featured on NBC's reality television series Last Comic Standing in 2010 and the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son from 2011 to 2014. He formerly hosted two podcasts for Comedy Central: Roy's Job Fair and Beyond the Scenes. Wood was honored at Entertainment Weekly'''s "12 Rising Stars of Comedy" in 2008 and the 2010 Florida A&M University Young Alumni Awards. From 2015 to 2023, Wood served as a correspondent for The Daily Show on Comedy Central. He hosted the fourth season of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening from 2018 to 2019. In addition to his Daily Show appearances, Wood has starred in the stand-up comedy specials Father Figure (2017), No One Loves You (2019), and Imperfect Messenger (2021). He has also been featured in television series and movies. Early life and education Wood was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York. His father, Roy Wood Sr., was a Birmingham, Alabama, radio broadcasting and journalism pioneer who covered the civil rights movement; the racism encountered by African-American soldiers in the Vietnam War; the Soweto uprising; and the Rhodesian Bush War, among other topics. His mother is Joyce Dugan Wood, a college administrator. His paternal three times great-grandfather, Sam Wood, was born c. 1790 in Africa. His parents separated for a time, and Wood lived with his mother in Memphis, Tennessee. When Wood was in the second grade, his parents reconciled, so the family moved to Birmingham; they lived on South Park Road in Birmingham's West End neighborhood. His half-brother is Roy L. Wood, a news anchor. Wood attended Central Park Elementary and Center Street Middle School. He graduated from Ramsay High School in 1996. In 2001, Wood received a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism from Florida A&M University.