Joe Lo Truglio
About
Biography
Biography
Joe Lo Truglio may not have been the flashiest member of the '90s sketch comedy troupe The State, but his amiable goofiness and try-anything approach has served him well. After joining the NYU-based group in the late 1980s, Lo Truglio made the jump from stage to screen, appearing in all three seasons of the group's groundbreaking show "The State" (MTV, 1992-95). Lo Truglio's dry, sarcastic nature found him work as a character actor on such shows as the Comedy Central sketch series "Upright Citizen's Brigade" (1998-2000) before he reunited with many of his former State cast members in the cult summer comedy "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001). After a string of appearances on "Wainy Days" (My Damn Channel, 2007- ), Lo Truglio turned in a memorable role in the blockbuster hit "Superbad" (2007), and produced and starred in the soap opera parody "Horrible People" (My Damn Channel, 2008). With later roles in high-profile comedies like "Role Models" (2008), "Pineapple Express" (2008) and "Wanderlust" (2012), Lo Truglio proved himself a solid supporting player in the midst of comedic heavyweights such as Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd.
Born in Queens but raised in suburban Florida, Lo Truglio filled his early years with horror movies, shaky Super-8 backyard masterpieces and MAD magazine. An active member of his high school's drama program, he decided to major in filmmaking at New York University, where he quickly joined The New Group, Todd Holoubek's free-form sketch comedy group that eventually became The State. The 11-member group attracted enough attention that, in 1992, MTV offered them a deal to write and star in "You Wrote It, You Watch It" (1992-93), a sketch series hosted by future "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart that sourced material from viewers. After the show's ignominious cancellation, the group rebounded with "The State," which ran for three seasons before low ratings, a lack of executive support and a failed attempt to relocate to CBS with "The State's 43rd Annual All-Star Halloween Special" caused the tight-knit group to call it quits.
Like many of his castmates, Lo Truglio soldiered on. He appeared in numerous shorts created by Stella, a comedy group formed by State comedians Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain; and landed cameo roles on the similarly-minded comedy series "Upright Citizen's Brigade" and "TV Funhouse" (Comedy Central, 2000-01). In 2001, Lo Truglio reunited with Showalter, Black, and other future comedy stars when he portrayed an obnoxious camp counselor in "Wet Hot American Summer," Wain's '80s camp movie satire that went from box-office dud to modern cult classic. The following years cemented Lo Truglio as the funny guy in the background: he landed a supporting role in the surprise indie hit "The Station Agent" (2003), and branched out into voice acting with his work on the "San Andreas" (2004) edition of the popular "Grand Theft Auto" video game series. After portraying a hapless deputy in several episodes of "Reno 911!" (Comedy Central, 2005-09), created by State alum Thomas Lennon, Lo Truglio joined the cast of "The Ten" (2007), a satirical look at the Ten Commandments directed by (who else?) Wain, and also starred in several episodes of his semi-autobiographical web series "Wainy Days."
The late 2000s saw Lo Truglio expand even farther. He portrayed a manic driver in the breakout hit "Superbad," and was cast opposite Paul Rudd as an enthusiastic role-playing knight in "Role Models" before playing a nosy teacher in "Pineapple Express." That same year he teamed up with "The Ten" actor A.D. Miles to produce and star in "Horrible People," a web series that parodied soap opera excess. He returned to the big screen with a supporting role as an inept police officer in the alien buddy comedy "Paul" (2011) and bared all as a commune member in the underwhelming "Wanderlust" (2012) before joining Ken Marino's dating parody series "Burning Love" (E! 2013-14) and voicing a drunken toy soldier in the animated hit "Wreck-It Ralph" (2012). In 2013, Lo Truglio scored his highest profile television role yet as hapless New York police detective Charles Boyle in the squadroom comedy "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (Fox 2013- ), starring Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Cast (Special)
Writer (Special)
Special Thanks (Special)
Life Events
1993
Served as a main writer and actor on the MTV sketch series "The State"
2001
Played a camp counselor in "Wet Hot American Summer"
2005
Portrayed numerous characters in Comedy Central's "Reno 911!"
2007
Landed a cameo role as a bad driver in "Superbad"
2008
Featured in a cameo role in "Pineapple Express"
