Backstage with Richard Ridge: Keegan-Michael Key Talks Sketch Comedy, Shakespeare, Steve Martin and Beyond!

In just a year, he's gone from comedy icon, to Shakespearean player to bonafide Broadway star. And he's not done yet!

As an actor, writer, and creator, Keegan-Michael Key has become one of the most creative and in-demand faces in Hollywood. With his extraordinarily diverse skill set and wide-ranging talent in both comedy and drama, Key redefines what it means to be a chameleon and multi-hyphenate in the worlds of film, television, and theater. Currently, Key can be seen in Nick Stoller's comedy series "Friends from College," which follows a group of Harvard alumni and their adult successes - or lack thereof. He also recently made his New York stage debut in The Public Theater's production of Hamlet as Horatio, opposite Oscar Isaac. Sam Gold directs the production, which opened on July 13th.

Key is the co-creator and co-star of Comedy Central's "Key & Peele" with Jordan Peele. The show won the 2016 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series, with Key being individually nominated for acting and co-writing with Peele. Key was previously nominated for 5 Emmy Awards for his work on the show, as well as a 2016 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. "Key & Peele" won a 2014 Peabody Award and an American Comedy Award for Best Alternative Comedy Series. The show has become a TV and viral sensation, with 15 total Emmy nominations and approaching a billion cumulative online hits.

On the big screen, Key was last seen in Joe Swanberg's film Win It All, which premiered at the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival, in advance of its April launch on Netflix. Before that, he starred in John Hamburg's comedy Why Him?, in which he stars alongside James Franco, Bryan Cranston, and Megan Mullally. He also starred in Mike Birbiglia's critically acclaimed indie Don't Think Twice, which premiered at 2016's South by Southwest and Tribeca Film Festivals, and was widely regarded as one of the best films of the year.

watch as Key joins Richard Ridge for SAG-AFTRA Foundation and BroadwayWorld's Conversations Q&A series to look back at his diverse resume and explain how it brought him to his Broadway debut in Meteor Shower, which just concluded its Broadway run yesterday.

Don't forget to check back for the FULL conversation in just a few days!

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