---
name: "Bo Burnham"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/bo-burnham"
fi1m_id: "bo-burnham"
imdb_id: "nm3102998"
tmdb_id: 115128
wikidata_id: "Q887347"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "21 August 1990"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_as: "director"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-10-22T02:52:35.345714+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Bo Burnham

## Identity

Bo Burnham

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/bo-burnham
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** bo-burnham
- **IMDb ID:** nm3102998
- **TMDB ID:** 115128
- **Wikidata ID:** Q887347
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Burnham, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q887347, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3102998/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/115128

Director. Born 21 August 1990 in Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 21 August 1990, Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA
- **Active:** 2018–present
- **Also known as:** Robert Burnham, Robert Pickering Burnham
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 3: 1 acting, 1 directing, 1 other
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 84 (1), 2020s 66 (2)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Burnham, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q887347, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3102998/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/115128

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Eighth Grade*](https://film.one/film/eighth-grade.md) (84)
- **Peacock:** [*Promising Young Woman*](https://film.one/film/promising-young-woman.md) (72)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Bo Burnham

> Bo Burnham makes teenage social anxiety funny and painful without dismissing it as a phase. His direction gives performers room to falter, and *Eighth Grade* is worth those awkward pauses, even when his writing presses too hard for sympathy.

Bo Burnham gives an awkward pause time to become uncomfortable. In *Eighth Grade* (2018), Elsie Fisher's Kayla Day talks online about the person she wants to be, then struggles to find that confidence around other people. He takes these small social difficulties seriously without treating them as something she will simply grow out of. We recommend the film warmly, with a reservation about how hard the writing sometimes works to secure our sympathy.

Burnham began posting comic song videos on YouTube in 2006. *what.* (2013) combined music with comedy and played with audience expectations; *Make Happy* (2016) turned further towards examining the performer himself. *Eighth Grade* was his feature debut as writer and director, but the concern with being watched was already there. Giving those worries to Kayla lets him look beyond his own act.

The important collaborator here is Fisher, whose hesitations make Burnham's writing sound like speech being worked out on the spot. We felt painfully self-conscious watching Kayla's videos, because Fisher makes us hear the strain of trying to seem casual. Burnham leaves her words untidy and lets the humour come from recognition rather than a wish to see her fail. There are scenes, though, where his affection becomes too insistent and the writing seems determined to establish that she deserves kindness. By then we know, and another reassurance only makes the scene less sharp.

His work directing specials for Jerrod Carmichael and Chris Rock also fits his stated interest in serving the performer. *Inside* (2021), which he made alone during the pandemic, brings that attention back to himself through music, sketches and an examination of performance. The practical ingenuity matters, but *Eighth Grade* remains our clearest reason to value him as a director. He can allow someone else to be uncertain on screen without treating uncertainty as a character defect. Start there, and forgive the occasional nudge towards a sympathy Fisher has already earned.

## Biography

Bo Burnham is an American comedian, actor, writer and director. Born on 21 August 1990 in Hamilton, Massachusetts, he began posting comedy videos on YouTube in 2006.

He released comedy albums and specials including *Words Words Words* (2010), *what.* (2013) and *Make Happy* (2016). Burnham wrote and directed the feature film *Eighth Grade* (2018), in which he also received writing and directing credit. He has acted in films including *The Big Sick* (2017) and *Promising Young Woman* (2020).

Burnham won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film for *Eighth Grade*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hollywoodreporter.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

### Performed in (1)

- *Promising Young Woman* (2020), Fi1m 72, as Ryan — [page](https://film.one/film/promising-young-woman.md)

### Directed (1) — the average rests on these

- *Eighth Grade* (2018), Fi1m 84, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/eighth-grade.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Primetime* (2026), Fi1m 61, Thanks — [page](https://film.one/film/primetime.md)

## Complete filmography (31)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Eddington* (2025), Thanks — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/eddington.md)
- *Past Lives* (2023), Thanks — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/past-lives.md)
- *Beau Is Afraid* (2023), Thanks — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/beau-is-afraid.md)
- *Kate Berlant: Cinnamon in the Wind* (2022), Director, Executive Producer
- *Bo Burnham: The Inside Outtakes* (2022), Director, Writer, Original Music Composer, Director of Photography, Producer, Editor, Sound Editor
- *Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel* (2022), Director, Executive Producer, Editor
- *Bo Burnham: Inside* (2021), Writer, Director, Original Music Composer, Director of Photography, Editor, Sound Editor, Executive Producer
- *Promising Young Woman* (2020), as Ryan — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/promising-young-woman.md)
- *Whitmer Thomas: The Golden One* (2020), Executive Producer
- *Lil Rel Howery: Live in Crenshaw* (2019), Executive Producer
- *Sermon on the Mount* (2019), Executive Producer
- *Home Videos* (2019), Executive Producer
- *Chris Rock: Tamborine* (2018), Director
- *Eighth Grade* (2018), Director, Writer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/eighth-grade.md)
- *Rough Night* (2017), as Tobey
- *The Big Sick* (2017), as CJ
- *Jerrod Carmichael: 8* (2017), Director, Executive Producer
- *Bo Burnham: Make Happy* (2016), Director, Writer, Original Music Composer
- *We Bare Bears* (2015), series, as Andy Bangs / Additional Voices (voice)
- *Bo Burnham: What.* (2013), Writer, Director, Executive Producer
- *Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous* (2013), series, as Zach Stone · Executive Producer, Creator
- *Adventures in the Sin Bin* (2012), as Tony
- *Key & Peele* (2012), series, as Lyle — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/key-and-peele.md)
- *Hall Pass* (2011), as Bartender
- *Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words* (2010), Writer, Executive Producer
- *American Virgin* (2009), as Rudy
- *Funny People* (2009), as Yo Teach Cast Member
- *Yo Teach...!* (2009), series, as Bo
- *Parks and Recreation* (2009), series, as Chipp McCapp — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/parks-and-recreation.md)
- *Gay Kid and Fat Chick*, Writer, Producer
- *Outside*, Director

## Gallery

- ![Bo Burnham](https://film.one/media/person/128614/gallery-4425587c6a11.jpg) Bo Burnham — Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Bo_Burnham_at_the_Montclair_Film_Festival_2018_12.jpg/1280px-Bo_Burnham_at_the_Montclair_Film_Festival_2018_12.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Comic Bo Burnham performs at The Improv in Tempe, Arizona, USA on 20 September 2008.](https://film.one/media/person/128614/gallery-d57a14481f00.jpg) Comic Bo Burnham performs at The Improv in Tempe, Arizona, USA on 20 September 2008. — Phil Provencio, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/BoBurnham.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![photo by "Heather Martino / Montclair Film" (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/128614/gallery-ec4398cccf43.jpg) photo by "Heather Martino / Montclair Film" (2018) — Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Bo_Burnham_Montaclair_Film_Festival.jpg/1280px-Bo_Burnham_Montaclair_Film_Festival.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![photo by "Heather Martino / Montclair Film" (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/128614/gallery-3084fcd88ee5.jpg) photo by "Heather Martino / Montclair Film" (2018) — Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Bo_Burnham_Montaclair_Film_Festival_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Bo Burnham](https://film.one/media/person/128614/gallery-f49a18fc32f2.jpg) Bo Burnham — Image via TMDB
- ![Bo Burnham](https://film.one/media/person/128614/gallery-61f19b70d7ed.jpg) Bo Burnham — Image via TMDB
- ![Bo Burnham](https://film.one/media/person/128614/gallery-8d23ad67834f.jpg) Bo Burnham — Image via TMDB
- ![photo by "Heather Martino / Montclair Film" (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/128614/gallery-003102f7cfa6.jpg) photo by "Heather Martino / Montclair Film" (2018) — Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Bo_Burnham_Montclair_Film_Festival_2.jpg/1280px-Bo_Burnham_Montclair_Film_Festival_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Comedian Bo Burnham at The Spot at CWRU in Cleveland, Ohio, March 19, 2009.](https://film.one/media/person/128614/gallery-55c3f16c80c9.jpg) Comedian Bo Burnham at The Spot at CWRU in Cleveland, Ohio, March 19, 2009. — Jeffrey Mann, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Bo_Burnham_at_CWRU%2C_2009-03-19.jpg/1280px-Bo_Burnham_at_CWRU%2C_2009-03-19.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Bo Burnham](https://film.one/media/person/128614/gallery-7dcde8d9f7ba.jpg) Bo Burnham — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 4 won

- Emmy Award 2021: Emmy Award (won)
- Writers Guild of America Award 2019: Writers Guild of America Award (won)
- Directors Guild of America Award 2018: Directors Guild of America Award (won)
- Film Independent Spirit Awards 2018: Film Independent Spirit Awards (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/bo-burnham