Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, musician, beatboxer, and actor. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. He refers to himself as a "disinformationist" who aims to disorient his audience in a comedic fashion. He was the regular house musician on the spoof IFC talk show Comedy Bang! Bang! and led the house band for The Late Late Show with James Corden from 2015 to 2023.
Early life
Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts was born in
Stuttgart (then in
West Germany) on March 23, 1972, the son of Christiane and Charles Alphonso Watts.
His mother is French and his father is African-American.
His parents were in Germany due to his father's role as a
master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, which also led the family to live in France, Italy, and Spain before returning to the U.S. They settled in Great Falls, Montana, where Watts graduated from Great Falls High School in 1990.
[ He began piano and violin lessons at the age of five,]
Career
Early career (1996–2009)
In 1996, Watts became the frontman of the band Maktub.
In 2004, after recording five albums over eight years in Seattle, Watts moved to the Lower East Side of New York City. In 2005, he recorded his first solo single "So Beautiful". Inspired by the comedy group Stella and the film Wet Hot American Summer, he began infusing spontaneous comedic material with the beatbox-driven musical compositions.
In 2007, Watts appeared on Plum TV's Scott Bateman Presents Scott Bateman Presents and starred in the CollegeHumor video What About Blowjobs? which became a viral hit. The same year, he also wrote and performed the theme song for Penelope Princess of Pets, a web comedy series featuring Kristen Schaal and H. Jon Benjamin. He additionally appeared on the 2007 album Turn My Teeth Up! by electro-funk group Baby Elephant (composed of Prince Paul and P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell).
In 2009, Watts recorded his first solo EP, Pot Cookies. He also began appearing on the PBS Kids' children's program The Electric Company. He performed in his first solo short film Watts Does London and made a small appearance on Comedy Central's Michael and Michael Have Issues. He then did voice work for an episode of Adult Swim's The Venture Bros., Australia's Good News Week, and appeared in the U.S. documentary The Yes Men Fix the World. He also toured in support of Devo in a fall 2009 tour.
Why Shit So Crazy? (2010–2011)
In 2010, Watts recorded a comedy special called Why Shit So Crazy? The special features Watts performing at the New York venues Galapagos, The Bell House, and (Le) Poisson Rouge, bookended with brief sketches and a music video of Watts' "Fuck Shit Stack". Comedy Central aired Why Shit So Crazy? and released the film as a dual DVD/CD package.
A Live at Central Park (2012)
Watts's second stand-up special, A Live at Central Park, premiered on Comedy Central in the "Secret Stash" on May 12, 2012. It received positive reviews.
Comedy Bang! Bang! (2012–2015)
In 2012, Watts began starring opposite Scott Aukerman on the IFC series Comedy Bang! Bang! based on the podcast of the same name.
In 2013, Watts recorded a new special entitled Transition, which played at various arts festivals including the Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater; it won the MAP Fund Award and Creative Capital Award. The same year, Watts was invited to perform at Yoko Ono's Meltdown festival in London's Southbank Centre, where he was supported by Mac Lethal.
In 2014, Watts contributed the outro vocal on "Holy City" and beatbox on the title track of the Joan As Police Woman album The Classic. He also appeared as the last act in the season 4 premiere of John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show where he told some jokes and performed a song. In December 2014, following CBS's announcement that Watts would lead The Late Late Show band, Aukerman announced that Watts would leave Comedy Bang! Bang! after the first half of 2015.
The Late Late Show with James Corden and Spatial (2015–2023)
Watts served as the bandleader and announcer for The Late Late Show with James Corden for its entire run from 2015 to 2023. He described his role on the show as "a mix of Paul Shaffer and Andy Richter".
On December 6, 2016, Watts' Netflix special Spatial was released. It features a guest appearance from dancer Chloe Arnold and a one-off musical performance from a band consisting of Watts on vocals with Josh Homme on guitar.
In 2023, Watts released his autobiography Great Falls, MT; Fast Times, Post-Punk Weirdos, and a Tale of Coming Home Again.
Performance style
Watts utilizes improvisation in his solo shows,
Filmography
Film
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Steel of Fire Warriors 2010 A.D. (2008) as Mutantzoid Underling in Bar
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The Yes Men Fix the World (2009) as himself
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Reggie Watts Does London (2009)
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Why Shit So Crazy? (2010) as himself
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Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011) as himself (cameo)
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Tell Your Friends! The Concert Film (2012) as himself
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Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012) as himself
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A Live at Central Park (2012) as himself
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(composer)
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Transition (2013) as himself
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Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) as Tone Hanger Singer and Beatboxer
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Creative Control (2015) as himself
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My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea (2016) as Assaf (voice)
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Spatial (2016) as himself
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Keep in Touch (2016) as Dr. Harry Clark
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Duck Duck Goose (2018) as Carl (voice)
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(2019) as Additional voices
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(2020) as Chancellor (voice)
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Extinct (2021) as Hoss (voice)
Television
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Scott Batemen Presents Scott Batemen Presents (2007) as himself
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Saving Steve Agee (2007) as himself
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Superjail! (2008) as Time-Police Member #1 (voice)
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Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009) as himself
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Made Here (2009) as himself
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The Ha!ifax Comedy Fest (2009) as himself
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The Venture Bros. (2009) as The Delivery Guy (voice)
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The Electric Company (2009–2011) as Music Man
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The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2010) as himself
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Good News Week (2010) as himself
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Team Coco Presents the Conan Writers Live (2010) as himself
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Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011)
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Cracker Night (2011) as himself
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Mash Up (2011) as himself
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Talk Stoop (2011) as himself
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Funny as Hell (2011) as himself
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Doctor Who: The Best-of Specials (2011) as Host
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The Green Room with Paul Provenza (2011) as himself
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Delocated (2012) as himself
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Russell Howard's Good News (2012) as himself
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The Top 100 Video Games of All Time (2012) as himself
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7 Minutes in Heaven (2012) as himself
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Stand Down: True Tales from Stand-Up Comedy (2012) as himself
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Mash Up (2012) as himself
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The Secret Policeman's Ball (2012) as himself
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Comedy Bang! Bang! (2012–2016) as himself
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Reggie Makes Music (2012–2013) as himself
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Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell (2013) as himself
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Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2013) as himself
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2013 YouTube Music Awards (2013) as Host
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America's Next Top Model (2013) as himself
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Inside Amy Schumer (2014) as Neighbor
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The Late Late Show with James Corden (2015–2023) as himself
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Adventure Time (2016–2017) as various voices
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The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show (2017) as Rejgie (voice)
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Baroness von Sketch Show (2017) as himself
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Taskmaster (2018) as Taskmaster
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Tuca & Bertie (2019–2022) as Pastry Pete (voice)
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Ask the StoryBots (2019) as Bernard the Nurse (voice)
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HarmonQuest (2019) as Graildokt
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One Day at a Time (2020) as Mr. Mann
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Wild Life (2020) as Darby (voice)
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The Great North (2021–2023) as Quay (voice)
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History of the World, Part II (2023) as Hans
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Yo Gabba Gabbaland (2024) as Himself
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The Horne Section TV Show (2025) as himself
Internet videos
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CollegeHumor – "What About Blowjobs?" (2007)
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Jake Lodwick – "It's Over" (2007)
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Jake Lodwick – "The Beginning is Near" (2008)
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Disinformation (2008)
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bd – "I Just Want To" (2009)
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"Fuck Shit Stack" (2010)
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Pop!Tech – "Reggie Watts: Humor In Music" (2011)
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Pop!Tech – "Reggie Watts: A Send-Off In Style" (2011)
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Funny or Die – "Reggie Watts Live" (2012)
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TED – "Reggie Watts Disorients You in the Most Entertaining Way" (2012)
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"Reggie Watts Is Skrillex" (2012)
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Jash – Various Videos (2013–present)
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"Ian Up For Whatever" – Bud Light Super Bowl XLVIII ad (2014)
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"Brasilia: City of the Future" – Hispanglosaxon (Carolina Ravassa)
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Good Mythical Morning – "Which Musician Am I?" (2018)
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RIGHT NOW – "RIGHT NOW w/ John Goblikon S4 E2 (Reggie Watts)"
[Archived at Ghostarchive and the
]
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Wayback Machine:
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Marti Fischer – "Impro mit REGGIE WATTS | Ein Loop zwischendurch"
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Reggie Watts @ The Lot Radio (June 26, 2017)
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CHILLING WITH ERYKAH AND REGGIE
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REGGIE WATTS AND FLYING LOTUS – Livestream with Marc Rebillet
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Actual play charity specials to support Extra Life:
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Lost Odyssey: Last Light as Bronwyn (2021)
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Lost Odyssey: Promised Gold as Bronwyn (2021)
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Lost Odyssey: The Red Scribe as Bronwyn (2023)
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Lost Odyssey: Godfall as Bronwyn (2025)
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The Try Guys – "I Smoke With Reggie Watts" (2024)
Music videos
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"Fuck Shit Stack" by Duncan & Ben (2010)
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"Night and Day" by Hot Chip (2012)
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"Stop Desire" by Tegan and Sara (2016)
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"Move" by Saint Motel (2017)
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"Ask Yourself" by Panther Modern (2019)
Video games
Discography
Solo albums
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Simplified (2003)
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Why Shit So Crazy? (2010)
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Live at Third Man – 12" Vinyl (2011)
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A Live at Central Park (2012)
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Spatial (2016)
Solo singles
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"So Beautiful" (2005)
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"Get Ready" (2014)
Collaborative albums
Maktub
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Subtle Ways (1999)
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Khronos (2002/2003)
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Say What You Mean (2005)
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Start It Over (2007)
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Five (2009)
4 + 1 Ensemble
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4+1 Ensemble (Intuition, 1996)
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From a Window (Avant, 2000)
Wajatta
, and the 2006 Seattle Mayor's Arts Award.
He was also awarded the 2008 MAP Fund and the 2009 Creative Capitol Grant for the performing arts, and won the 2009 ECNY Award for Best Musical Comedy Act.
