Gay comedian Jerrod Carmichael co-stars in Emma Stone comedy Poor Things

Poor Things was released on January 12 and has quickly become popular with critics and audiences alike, with out gay actor and comedian Jerrod Carmichael among its stellar cast.

The acclaimed film stars Emma Stone stars as Bella Baxter, who is “brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Goodwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe)” and embarks on a journey of self-discovery in a steampunk Victorian London.

Carmichael plays Harry Astley in the film, which was directed by Yorgos Lanthimos’ and based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray.

Poor Things has been generating plenty of buzz heading into awards season: Stone has already won a Golden Globe for her performance and the film won in the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category.

Viewers might recognise Jerrod Carmichael for a number of his other projects in film, TV, comedy, and music.

Who is Jerrod Carmichael?

Jerrod Carmichael is a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker who had his own show on NBC called The Carmichael Show along with filmmaker Nicholas Stoller from 2015 to 2017.

The show was about Carmichael’s fictional family and was known for tackling big issues like transgender rights, Black Lives Matter, and obesity.

The Carmichael Show was also nominated for several awards and received very positive reviews.

Carmichael made his film debut in 2014’s Neighbours with Seth Rogen and Zac Efron before going on to appear in James Franco’s The Disaster Artist and Transformers: The Last Knight.

He also worked with Tyler the Creator and Jay-Z on a number of musical projects, such as directing the ‘Moonlight’, music video which reimagined an episode of the sitcom Friends with Black actors.

Jerrod Carmichael came out as gay in 2022

Jerrod Carmichael officially came out publicly as gay in 2022 during his stand-up special Rothaniel. Prior to that, Carmichael candidly discussed having relationships with both men and women in his 2019 documentary special Home Videos.

During the episode, Carmichael asked his mother if she’d ever been attracted to women and after she said no, he said: “I’ve hooked up with dudes before.”

In Rothaniel, Carmichael reflected on his father cheating on his mother before saying: “After that was out in the open, I was left alone feeling like a liar, because I had a secret. One that I kept from my father, my mother, my family, my friends, and you. Professionally, personally. And the secret is that I’m gay.”

Carmichael also hinted at being a relationship during Rothaniel but is generally very private about his personal life and there is currently no public indication that he is in a relationship.

Jerrod Carmichael is an Emmy winner

Though Jerrod Carmichael was previously nominated for several awards, he didn’t win one until 2022.

In 2018 and 2022, Carmichael was nominated for a Black Reel Award and for a Sundance Film Festival prize in 2021 for his film On The Count of Three, which he directed himself.

He won an Emmy for his HBO comedy special Rothaniel, in which he came out as gay. Carmichael was also nominated for a 2023 Critics’ Choice Award for Rothaniel and later won a Writers Guild of America Award for the special too.

Carmichael also won a Dorian Award for being a LGBTQIA+ Trailblazer in 2022 after coming out.

Poor Things is in cinemas now.