The Timeline of Jordan Peele’s Career

With “Nope” hitting theaters today and receiving an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, many are looking forward to seeing the horror and sci-fi mystery. 

Peele has had recent success in directing “Get Out” and “Us” but many do not know how vast his career in Hollywood is. 

So how did Jordan Peele go from being an actor to an award-winning director?

His Early Career

Peele went to college to study puppetry at Sarah Lawrence College before deciding that he wanted to pursue comedy.

Before he became a director he was a comedian and actor! The majority of his early career was him staring in comedy television shows and short videos. 

His most notable television show during this period was “MADtv” which was an extremely popular sketch comedy show inspired by the Mad Magazine. 

According to IMDb, “MADtv” received numerous Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations during the time period Peele was on the show. 

If it were not for this comedy show, Peele would not have grown as close with his iconic co-star, Keegan-Michael Key. 

The duo met while performing at Second City Theater in Chicago in 2003 before starring on “MADtv” together a year later according to Showbiz CheatSheet. 

They both stayed on the show from 2003 until 2008 before leaving to pursue their other options. 

Though “MADtv” was successful, his career was still far from its peak! 

Key and Peele

Peele starred in various notable television series and movies during the early 2010s, including “Fargo“ (TV series) and “Childrens Hospital.” 

But none of his work reached the success of “Key and Peele” which starred him and – you guessed it – Key. 

“Key and Peele” was also a comedy sketch series, combining on-stage dialogue with short-form comedy.

With an 8.3 out of 10 rating on IMBd, the show was a great success. 

The show has a large number of iconic sketches that will be passed down for generations to come (thanks to YouTube).

It ended up winning five awards and receiving 54 nominations! 

His Recent Work

From “Bob’s Burgers” to “Toy Story 4” to “Big Mouth,” Peele has continued to see success in the comedy industry since Key and Peele ended in 2015.

He eventually shifted directions in 2017, transitioning to directing horror and mystery films that will keep you on the edge of your seat. 

He released “Get Out” that same year which reached $255 million worldwide with a $4.5 million production budget according to The Wrap. 

According to IMBd, “Get Out” won one Oscar and 151 other awards. 

Fans were eagerly awaiting Peele’s next mind-bending masterpiece and he delivered almost two years later when “Us” was released in theaters.

Though the ratings were higher for “Get Out”, “Us” was still a large success with 85 wins and 132 nominations. 

He also narrates a modern-day version of “The Twilight Zone.” 

As mentioned earlier, “Nope” is currently in theaters and won an award before even being released. 

“Nope” won the HCA Award for Most Anticipated Film, further emphasizing the buildup around this film.