Ricky Velez

Ricky Velez is an American stand-up comedian, writer, and actor. He co-starred with Pete Davidson in The King of Staten Island (2021), which he also helped write and produce, and his first stand-up special, Ricky Velez: Here's Everything, was released on HBO in October 2021. Velez was born and raised in Queens, New York, in a blue-collar family with two brothers, and is half Puerto Rican and half Irish. He studied drama at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens.

After returning to Queens at age 19, Velez started working for the Broadway Comedy Club, where he would take tickets while performing stand-up each night, and it was during this time that he met Pete Davidson, who later became his roommate. In 2014, Velez won the New York's Funniest Stand-Up competition at the New York Comedy Festival, which helped him land a role as a contributor on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015-2016). He has also played guest roles in television shows including one episode of Crashing in 2018.

Velez collaborated with Davidson on The King of Staten Island, a semi-biographical film about Davidson directed by Judd Apatow, in which Velez co-starred and served as a writer and producer. Apatow also helped Velez release his HBO special Ricky Velez: Here's Everything, executive produced by Apatow and Davidson, which deals with topics such as mental health and family. It was filmed over two shows at Brooklyn Steel on August 28, 2021, and Jason Zinoman of The New York Times described it as a "solid introduction to his spiky, propulsive comedy." In 2023, Velez portrayed Alex in the comedy show Single Drunk Female.