A lot of work goes into getting you to Google, “Who’s that guy?”
Lil Rel Howery, the breakout star and comic relief of 2017’s Get Out, is making good on the years of hustle that led to him being cast as TSA agent Rod Williams in Jordan Peele’s zeitgeist-seizing film. With his first leading role in the studio comedy Uncle Drew, a cameo in a Jay Z music video, and a new self-titled sitcom premiering Sunday night on Fox, the 38-year-old has ensured that, after nearly two decades of work as a stand-up comedian and supporting actor, there’s no need to ask anymore. He’s Rel.
Rel’s work in Get Out didn’t necessarily put the comedian on the map. After years headlining Chicago’s comedy clubs and three seasons on Jerrod Carmichael’s boundary-pushing The Carmichael Show (an underrated sitcom that also served as an alley-oop to Tiffany Haddish’s soaring career), Rel was already there. His presence on that proverbial map, however, has certainly grown considerably.