If you are not yet familiar with Lisa Gilroy, it is almost certain you have already crossed paths with her work. The actress and comedian has quietly—and then very loudly—become an inescapable presence across the modern entertainment landscape. From high-profile television series like The Studio, Shrinking, the latest season of The Paper, and Brothers, to viral podcast appearances, comedy talk shows such as Very Important People, and even a memorable interview with Tom Cruise, Gilroy has established herself as a master of delightful, unhinged comedy.
Whether she is portraying an overly sexual human resources professional, Matthew McConaughey’s no-nonsense political campaign manager, or a towering furry yellow demon from the netherworld, Gilroy commits entirely to the bit. Her fearless embrace of eccentricity has quickly cemented her reputation as one of the funniest and most unpredictable performers working in television today.
Hailing originally from Alberta, Canada, the 37-year-old performer first began building her distinct comedic voice through traditional channels, putting in rigorous live improv hours with renowned institutions like The Groundlings and the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles. However, like many rising comedians of her generation, her breakthrough arrived during the pandemic. Armed with a smartphone and a relentless imagination, her sketch videos focusing on high school archetypes and menstruation quickly went viral. The digital acclaim built a dedicated, passionate following that soon translated into major television and streaming roles.
Like her own comedic idols—performers like Kristen Wiig, Jim Carrey, and Molly Shannon—Gilroy’s creative sweet spot lies firmly in the realm of the absurd. It is precisely this fearlessness that makes her work so magnetic, transforming nearly every project she touches into comedy gold.
From Child Maniac to Critical Acclaim
Looking back at her origins, Gilroy recalls a childhood defined by high energy and constant performance. "I was a classic child maniac, and I did the things I think most child maniacs probably do," she reflects. "I did a lot of making up musicals and flopping around on the carpet, quoting Austin Powers and Oliver Twist, stuff like that. Maybe it was just the pure exertion of energy that would make people laugh."
Her early theatrical experiences offered a glimpse into a future career, even if she did not fully understand the mechanics of comedy at the time. In seventh-grade drama class, she played an innkeeper in a production titled The Godmother, a children’s parody of the classic mafia film. While she recalls no horse heads or car bombs, the role featured a scene where she was vaguely threatened by mafia members, drawing loud laughs from the adults in the audience.
"I didn’t understand any of the jokes in the script or why they were funny, but I was like, ‘Uh-oh, this feels amazing,’" Gilroy says. Along with winning a drama award that year—a shocking accolade given that her teacher frequently sent her into the hallway to reflect on her listening problems—she discovered the simple thrill of slamming free-standing prop doors and capturing an audience’s attention.
That early appreciation for uninhibited performance was heavily shaped by boundary-pushing comedic figures. The unapologetically weird and abrasive tone of Sarah Silverman in The Sarah Silverman Program, Kristen Wiig aggressively stuffing chips into her mouth on Saturday Night Live, Jim Carrey’s absolute courtroom breakdown in Liar Liar, and Molly Shannon in Superstar all left an indelible mark. Witnessing adults being celebrated for behaving frantically provided validation during a childhood when Gilroy frequently found herself in trouble for bringing that same chaotic energy to the family dinner table.
Navigating an Incredible Television Run
Gilroy’s current career trajectory reads like an embarrassment of riches, marked by a rapid-fire succession of television appearances in critically acclaimed projects like The Studio, Shrinking, The Paper, and Brothers. When asked about her philosophy for selecting projects, she admits that the process feels less like calculated curation and more like a continuous series of fortunate events.
"Picking?! I feel less like I’ve been picking and more like I’m winning little lotteries all the time," she explains. "I’ve been very, very lucky. I’m trying to develop a sense of ‘picking’ and not just say yes to everything and chase everything because I feel like I’m a dog in a butterfly sanctuary. I’m overstimulated. There are so many cool things to try to jump for."
She notes a piece of industry advice regarding the three traditional pillars of career decision-making: profit, prestige, and personal gain. According to this framework, any project a performer chooses should ideally satisfy at least two of those criteria. Reflecting on her first decade in the industry, Gilroy notes that the profit motive was virtually non-existent, leaving her choices entirely dependent on prestige and personal fulfillment—every improv show, every commercial audition, and every podcast appearance served as a labor of love. While she acknowledges the risk of burnout from overcommitting, her enthusiasm for the work remains unabated.
Stepping Into Brothers and Facing Off Against Matthew McConaughey
In the Apple TV series Brothers, Gilroy steps into a decidedly professional arena, playing a campaign manager hired by Matthew McConaughey’s character, who is running for governor. Translating her natural penchant for chaos into a structured political role presented a unique creative challenge.
"I’s famously not that professional of a person, so sometimes, it’s hard for me to play a woman in a professional way because I’ve never really had a job that wasn’t in the service industry or doing improv for free," she notes.
To anchor the character, she drew inspiration from high-status comedic performances like Jane Lynch’s work in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Glee. Lynch’s ability to portray authoritative figures who are entirely detached from reality—delivering inappropriate remarks with absolute, unwavering confidence—served as a guiding light. Furthermore, working alongside showrunner Lee Eisenberg, with whom she previously collaborated on Jury Duty, allowed her the creative freedom to lean into her improvisational instincts.
Sharing screen space with an Oscar-winning heavyweight like Matthew McConaughey proved to be a surreal experience. Gilroy humorously compares the sensation to waking up from a coma after seeing roadside existential clues. Yet, working opposite McConaughey revealed a masterclass in grounded acting.
"I was shocked by how he could process and respond to anything I said in a way that made it seem normal and real and grounded," she says. "He turns everything into the truth; it’s so cool."
Beyond the scripted scenes, the two actors bonded during downtime by trading riddles. Gilroy challenged McConaughey with a historical trivia riddle regarding why Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did not high-five on the moon—a milestone precluded simply by the fact that the high-five was not invented until the 1970s. Despite his cosmic credentials from starring in Interstellar, McConaughey took a standard amount of time to arrive at the correct answer.
A Fresh Perspective on Fashion and Character
As her profile in Hollywood rises, Gilroy has also expanded her relationship with fashion, both on and off the screen. While her earlier commercial work required her to blend into the background wearing generic neutral cardigans, her current television roles offer a sandbox of distinct style choices. Whether playing an awkward, hyper-sexualized HR worker or a sharp political operative, she views wardrobe as an essential tool for character development.
Historically, however, her personal relationship with fashion was defined by a desire for invisibility. For years, attending weddings or award shows meant searching for garments that would allow her to simply pass as an attendee without drawing attention. The fear of standing out—of being perceived as someone trying too hard to make a fashion statement—kept her sartorial choices rigidly conservative. It was only recently, after piercing her ears for the first time just two years ago, that she truly began to embrace the playful, expressive side of clothing in her thirties.
Looking Ahead
With a clear fondness for disposable, high-impact character work—such as her portrayal of Spencer, the horned yellow demon on Very Important People, where she enjoyed keeping the creative stakes low and the fun exceptionally high—Gilroy continues to seek out fresh challenges. Whether drawing inspiration from British comedies like Such Brave Girls and Taskmaster or appreciating the physical commitment of the Jackass cast, her comedic compass remains steadfastly pointed toward the bold and the bizarre.
As she looks toward the next chapter of her career, her ambitions remain delightfully eccentric. "I want to do some weird unscripted stuff and play some strange characters—turn into a puppet, go insane, make a sketch show," she says.
Audiences can currently catch Lisa Gilroy in new episodes of Brothers, streaming now on Apple TV.