Nate Bargatze

Nathanael Bargatze (/bɑːrˈɡɛtsi/ bar-GET-see; born March 25, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has been called a clean comedian, and has been noted for his deadpan, monotone delivery. Bargatze was the highest-grossing stand-up comic in 2024, with over a million tickets sold across his shows.

Bargatze was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Carol and Stephen Bargatze, on March 25, 1979. Stephen was a clown, member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, and motivational speaker, while Carol worked in the ticket office for the Vanderbilt Commodores. After a troubled childhood, Stephen had initially studied to become a preacher, but ultimately graduated from Trevecca Nazarene College with a bachelor's degree in education, 10 years after leaving high school.

Raised in a devoutly religious Christian household, Bargatze is one of three children. His father practiced magic tricks with him while growing up, and Bargatze stated he performed in skits with his church group, beginning when he "was around 11". He attended DuPont Elementary in Old Hickory, Tennessee until fourth grade, when he transferred to Donelson Christian Academy (DCA) in Nashville, where his father had a day job as a history teacher. He competed in track and field at DCA and tried out for the basketball and golf teams, but was cut from both. He graduated in 1997.

Bargatze then attended Volunteer State Community College in nearby Gallatin for a year. During this time, he had various jobs, such as working in construction, manning a cellphone kiosk at Walmart, and delivering furniture. He enrolled in Western Kentucky University, but flunked each of his courses and dropped out. He also had a stint working at Applebee's and later landed a job as a meter-reader for a water company in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. He was a fan of The Bob & Tom Show, a radio program which often hosted comedians, and it inspired him to become a comedian himself. One of his fellow meter-readers, Michael Clay, also had an ambition to become a comedian, and together they decided to quit their jobs and both pursue a comedy career. Bargatze's parents were supportive of his decision and attended his first open mic event.

Bargatze began his comedy career in 2002, and moved to Chicago to attend The Second City, an improvisational comedy troupe. He soon decided against improv and instead enrolled in Jim Rauth's Comedy College, which focused on stand-up comedy. At this time, Bargatze rented a basement apartment with his former co-worker Michael Clay and worked as a waiter at a nearby bar. He performed fill-in spots at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago, and also performed at Zanies Nashville.

In 2004, Bargatze moved to New York City, where he became a barker for the renowned Boston Comedy Club, handing out flyers in Greenwich Village in exchange for stage time at night in the club. Bargatze also worked as a dogwalker and a FedEx delivery driver during the day to support his comedy career. He has called the Jerry Seinfeld documentary Comedian (2002) "life-changing" and a "big reason" why he moved to New York. While at the Boston Comedy Club, he saw comedians such as Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Patrice O'Neal, and Bill Burr perform live. Bargatze stated that it took "about a year" before he received a paying gig in New York. He spent most of his early years performing for single-digit crowds.

Bargatze had a turning-point year in 2008, featuring on Comedy Central's stand-up show Live at Gotham, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. He toured extensively with the USO, performing for American troops stationed in countries such as the Bahamas, Greenland, Honduras, Iraq, and Kuwait. He co-hosted a podcast, It Could Be Better, with Chris Laker and Yannis Pappas from 2009 to 2013. He won both New York's Comedy Festival and the Boston Comedy Festival in 2010, and released his first 30-minute special in 2011, as part of an episode of Comedy Central Presents.

Bargatze decided to move to Los Angeles in 2012, taking inspiration from Jerry Weintraub's quote "as soon as you feel comfortable that's when it's time to start over". He released his first comedy album, Yelled At By A Clown, in 2012 on Aspecialthing Records. It was on the Billboard Top Ten Comedy Charts for two weeks, peaking at No. 2. Bargatze received effusive praise from Marc Maron, and appeared on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast in 2012. He was booked on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2013. He also was part of Jimmy Fallon's Clean Cut Comedy Tour that year. Speaking of his participation in the tour and his choice to be a clean comedian, Bargatze said: "I grew up watching clean comedy. Starting out, I wanted my parents to come watch me. I still think that way, even though I'm a parent now. I'm a clean comic, but I don't really want people to notice it. ... A good compliment for me would be, 'I didn't even notice that you were clean.' That's my goal."