Roy Wood Jr.

Roy Wood Jr (born December 11, 1978) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer who first became well known for his correspondent appearances on The Daily Show. Born Roy Norris Wood Jr. in Manhattan, New York City, he was raised in Birmingham, Alabama, and Memphis, Tennessee. His father, Roy Wood Sr., was a Birmingham radio broadcasting and journalism pioneer who covered the civil rights movement, and his mother, Joyce Dugan Wood, is a college administrator. He graduated from Ramsay High School in 1996 and received a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism from Florida A&M University in 2001.

Wood began his career in stand-up comedy as the opening act for Tommy Davidson in 1998, while still in college. After graduating, he returned to Birmingham and became the head writer and producer for the radio series Buckwilde Morning Show from 2001 to 2006, releasing three prank call CDs. In 2010 he finished third in the seventh season of NBC's Last Comic Standing, and from 2011 to 2014 he appeared on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son. From 2015 to 2023 he served as a correspondent for The Daily Show on Comedy Central, having moved to New York City for the job.

Wood has been hosting the American adaptation of Have I Got News for You on CNN since September 2024. He hosted the fourth season of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening from 2018 to 2019, and formerly hosted the podcasts Roy's Job Fair and Beyond the Scenes. He has starred in the stand-up specials Father Figure (2017), No One Loves You (2019), Imperfect Messenger (2021) and Lonely Flowers (2025). He was honored at Entertainment Weekly's "12 Rising Stars of Comedy" in 2008 and the 2010 Florida A&M University Young Alumni Awards.