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Paul W. Downs

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul W. Downs
Downs in 2018
Born
Paul William Downs

(1982-11-21) November 21, 1982 (age 43)[1]
New Jersey, U.S.[2]
Alma materDuke University
Occupations
  • Writer
  • actor
  • director
Years active2007–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2021)​
Children1[3]

Paul William Downs (born November 21, 1982) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is the co-creator, co-showrunner and one of the stars of the HBO Max series Hacks, for which he has received two Golden Globes, a Peabody Award, and three Primetime Emmy Awards, among others. Downs first gained attention for his role in the Comedy Central series Broad City, which ran for five seasons and for which he was also a writer, director, and executive producer.

Early life, family and education

[edit]

Downs was born in Morristown, New Jersey[4] and raised in Sussex Borough, New Jersey. [5] His middle name, William, is taken from his great-grandfather.[6] He attended The Peck School for seventh and eighth grade where he performed in the Twelfth Night and won a drama award.[7] For high school, he attended the Pingry School.[5]

Downs studied theater at Duke University[5] where he performed improv comedy as a member of Duke University Improv (DUI).[8]

Career

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Downs has been creating digital shorts with Lucia Aniello under the moniker Paulilu since the pair met at the Upright Citizens Brigade. In 2012, they made a web series called Paulilu Mixtape for Above Average Productions, a division of Broadway Video.

From 2014–2019, Downs played Trey Pucker on the Comedy Central sitcom Broad City. Trey is a fitness instructor and the boss turned romantic interest of Abbi Abrams (played by Abbi Jacobson) at Soulstice.

On April 29, 2015, it was announced that Downs and Aniello would be writing a female spin-off of 21 Jump Street.[9] On June 22, 2015, it was announced that the duo sold their script for Move That Body, a feature film acquired by Sony. Retitled Rough Night and released in 2017, Aniello directed, while Downs co-starred opposite Scarlett Johansson in the film.[10]

In 2016 he wrote and starred in his own 30-minute episode of the sketch show Netflix Presents: The Characters.[11] On April 20, 2016 Downs starred in the Comedy Central miniseries Time Traveling Bong alongside Broad City co-star Ilana Glazer.[12]

In 2018, Downs co-starred in Netflix's summer comedy Like Father opposite Kristen Bell, Kelsey Grammer, and Seth Rogen.[13]

Downs was a showrunner and co-star in the HBO Max show Hacks.

In 2021, Downs and Aniello struck a deal with Warner Bros. Television.[14]

On January 31, 2025, Downs appeared on season 17 of RuPaul's Drag Race as a guest judge.

Downs had a cameo role in the eighth episode of The Studio, which premiered on May 6, 2025.[15]

Personal life

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He lives in Los Angeles with Lucia Aniello, his wife and comedy partner.[16][17] After having their wedding delayed for 16 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Downs and Aniello got married in September 2021 in an intimate ceremony in Italy. A week later, they publicly announced their wedding at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards during Aniello's acceptance speech after winning the award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.[18] They have a son, born in 2022.[19]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2021
 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Hacks (as Executive Producer) Nominated [20]
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Hacks – (Episode: "There Is No Line (Pilot)")
(Shared with Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky)		 Won [20]
Writers Guild of America Awards Comedy Series Hacks Won [21]
New Series Hacks Won
Golden Globe Awards Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy Hacks (as Executive Producer) Won [22]
AFI Awards Outstanding Television Program of the Year Hacks Won [23]
Peabody Awards Peabody Award, Entertainment Honoree Hacks Won [24]
2022
 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Hacks (as Executive Producer) Nominated [20]
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Hacks – (Episode: "The One, The Only")
(Shared with Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky)		 Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards Episodic Comedy Hacks – (Episode: "The One, The Only")
(Shared with Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky)		 Won [25]
Comedy Series Hacks Nominated
SAG Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Hacks – (Shared with Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Mark Indelicato, and Megan Stalter) Nominated [26]
Producers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television Hacks (as Executive Producer) Nominated [27]
AFI Awards Outstanding Television Program of the Year Hacks Won [28]
2024
 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Hacks (as Executive Producer) Won [29]
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Hacks – (Episode: "Bulletproof")
(Shared with Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky)		 Won
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Hacks Nominated
2025
 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Hacks (as Executive Producer) Nominated [30]
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Hacks – (Episode: "A Slippery Slope")
(Shared with Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky)		 Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Hacks Nominated [31]
Producers Guild of America Awards Best Episodic Comedy Hacks Won [32]
Writers Guild of America Awards Comedy Series Hacks Won [33]
Episodic Comedy Hacks – (Episode: "Bulletproof")
(Shared with Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky)		 Won
2026
 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Hacks Nominated [34]
Producers Guild of America Awards Best Episodic Comedy Hacks Nominated [35]
Writers Guild of America Awards Comedy Series Hacks Nominated [36]

References

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  1. ↑ "Heart and high jinks mix in the raucous summer comedy 'Rough Night'". Los Angeles Times. April 21, 2017. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  2. ↑ "'Rough Night's' Comedy Couple on Tackling "Men-Only" Genre". The Hollywood Reporter. June 14, 2017. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Jean Smart Dedicates Critics Choice Award to Showrunner Who Directed 'Between Contractions'". March 14, 2022. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  4. ↑ Downs, Paul W. (August 21, 2024). "Episode 1567 - Paul W. Downs" (Podcast). WTF with Marc Maron. Interviewed by Marc Maron. Archived from the original on September 5, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Horowitz, Steven J. (June 19, 2017). "Paul W. Downs' Feminist Ideals Are in His Work, Not on a T-Shirt". Esquire. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022. Comedy and acting have always been Downs' calling. Native to Sussex, New Jersey, he attended the private institution The Pingry School for his high school years, participating in its acting program and swimming, the latter of which he continued at Duke University for a short spell.
  6. ↑ Kuperinsky, Amy (May 11, 2022). "Meet 'Hacks' star Paul W. Downs. Emmy winner talks season 2 and his N.J. comedy awakening". NJ.com. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Paul Downs '96". peckschool.org. The Peck School. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Paul W. Downs". ucbcomedy.com. Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  9. ↑ Kit, Borys (April 29, 2015). "Female '21 Jump Street' in the Works With 'Broad City' Writers". TheHollywoodReporter.com. THR. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  10. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 22, 2015). "Sony Wins R-Rated Spec Comedy Auction With 'Broad City' & '21 Jump Street' Spinoff Scribes Aniello & Downs". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 21, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  11. ↑ Rose, Lacey (February 1, 2016). "Netflix Orders Innovative Sketch Series 'The Characters' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  12. ↑ Hibberd, James (January 6, 2016). "Time-traveling bong TV series finally ordered". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 21, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  13. ↑ "In Like Father, a Sweet and Summer-Perfect Arrival on Netflix, It's All Smooth Sailing". Vogue. August 3, 2018. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  14. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 30, 2021). "'Hacks' Co-Creators Lucia Aniello & Paul W. Downs Ink Overall Deal With Warner Bros. Television Group". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  15. ↑ The Studio (TV Series 2025– ) - Paul W. Downs as Paul - IMDb. Retrieved June 14, 2025 – via www.imdb.com.
  16. ↑ Marotta, Jenna (March 4, 2015). "Broad City's Paul W. Downs on His Character's Big Reveal, Voicing Abbi's Stuffed Animal, and Writing the Pegging Episode". vulture.com. Vulture. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Lucia Aniello". imdb.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  18. ↑ Wally, Maxine (December 2, 2021). "Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello's Holiday Gift Guide: Pillowy Socks and Plenty of Humor". W Magazine. Archived from the original on June 1, 2025. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  19. ↑ Holmes, Marie (March 14, 2022). "Jean Smart Dedicates Critics Choice Award To In-Labor 'Hacks' Director". Scary Mommy. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  20. 1 2 3 "Hacks: Awards & Nominations". Television Academy. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  21. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (March 20, 2022). "'CODA,' 'Don't Look Up,' 'Hacks' and 'Succession' Win Top Prizes at 2022 Writers Guild Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Hacks, Golden Globes". Golden Globes. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  23. ↑ "HACKS – AFI Movie Club". AFI. April 1, 2022. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Peabody Awards Announces 30 Winners". June 21, 2022. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  25. ↑ "2023 Writers Guild Awards Winners & Nominees". Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ Davis, Clayton (January 11, 2023). "SAG Awards 2023 Nominations: 'Banshees' and 'Everything Everywhere' Tie for Most Nods in History". Variety. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Nominations in Motion Picture and Television Program categories announced". January 12, 2023. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  28. ↑ "AFI Awards 2022". Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Paul W. Downs". Television Academy. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  30. ↑ Nordyke, Hilary Lewis,Kimberly (July 15, 2025). "Emmys 2025: List of Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 15, 2025. Retrieved June 24, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  31. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (December 5, 2024). "'Shōgun' Leads With Six Critics Choice Awards TV Nominations – Full List". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 5, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  32. ↑ Petski, Denise (January 16, 2025). "PGA Awards Nominations Include 'Dune: Part Two', 'The Brutalist', 'Wicked' Vying For Top Film Prize". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 16, 2025. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  33. ↑ Lewis, Hilary (January 15, 2025). "2025 Writers Guild Awards Nominations: 'Challengers,' 'My Old Ass,' 'A Complete Unknown,' 'Dune: Part Two' Among Films Nominated". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 16, 2025. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  34. ↑ Lang, Brent (January 4, 2026). "Critics Choice Awards 2026: 'One Battle After Another' Wins Best Film, 'The Pitt,' 'Adolescence' and 'The Studio' Dominate TV Prizes". Variety. Archived from the original on February 19, 2026. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  35. ↑ Lewis, Hilary (January 9, 2026). "Producers Guild Awards Movie Nominations Include 'F1,' 'One Battle After Another,' 'Sentimental Value,' 'Sinners,' 'Weapons'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 9, 2026. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  36. ↑ Zee, Michaela (January 27, 2026). "Writers Guild Awards Nominations: 'Sinners,' 'Marty Supreme' and 'One Battle After Another' Among the Nominees". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
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