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Matthew Paul Walsh (born October 13, 1964)1 is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director, best known as a co-founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe1 and for his Emmy-nominated role as press secretary Mike McLintock on the HBO political satire Veep.2 In Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), Paul Feig's reboot of the franchise, Walsh played Agent Rorke, a Department of Homeland Security official assigned to monitor the new Ghostbusters team.
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Walsh was born in Chicago, Illinois, the fourth of seven children.1 He graduated from Hinsdale South High School in 1982, where he played football as a backup tight end, and went on to earn a psychology degree from Northern Illinois University.1 During college he studied abroad at Salzburg College in Austria.1 After graduating, he returned to Chicago and immersed himself in the city's improvisational comedy scene, training at the Annoyance Theater and ImprovOlympic under the influence of the legendary improv teacher Del Close.1
In 1991, Walsh began performing with Matt Besser, and in the mid-1990s the two joined with Amy Poehler and Ian Roberts to found the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), one of the most influential improv and sketch comedy collectives in modern American comedy.1 The troupe's self-titled sketch series ran on Comedy Central from 1998 to 2000,3 and the UCB went on to anchor training theaters in New York and Los Angeles that became proving grounds for a generation of comedians.
Walsh served as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in the early 2000s.1 He has since built a prolific film and television career, with credits including Road Trip (2000), Elf (2003), Bad Santa (2003), Old School (2003), Semi-Pro (2008), Step Brothers (2008), Role Models (2008), The Hangover (2009), Cyrus (2010), and Due Date (2010), among more than a hundred screen appearances.4 He is frequently cast in comedic supporting roles and is a fixture of the Chicago-rooted improv comedy world.
His most sustained and acclaimed work came on Veep (2012-2019), in which he played Mike McLintock, the well-meaning but perpetually hapless communications director and press secretary to Vice President (later President) Selina Meyer, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.1 The performance earned Walsh Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in both 2016 and 2017.2
Walsh also works behind the camera as a writer and director. He directed and co-wrote the largely improvised comedy film High Road (2011), which premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival and earned him a directing honor there,5 and co-wrote and directed A Better You (2014).1 His acting career has continued past Veep with roles in projects including the Apple TV+ historical drama series Manhunt (2024).1
In Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, Walsh played Agent Rorke, a Department of Homeland Security agent who, alongside Agent Hawkins (Michael Kenneth Williams), monitors a spike in paranormal activity across New York City in coordination with the Mayor's office. The two agents keep the Ghostbusters' work under close observation and serve as the link between the Mayor's office and the team, eventually escorting the Ghostbusters to a direct meeting with Mayor Bradley. Early casting reports incorrectly described Hawkins and Rorke as FBI agents; in the finished film they were established as Homeland Security personnel.
Walsh is married to Morgan Walsh, an actor, writer, and director who has herself appeared in Veep.1 The couple have three children.
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
"Matt Walsh (comedian)," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Walsh_(comedian). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12
Television Academy, "Matt Walsh," accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/matt-walsh. ↩ ↩2
"Upright Citizens Brigade (TV series)," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upright_Citizens_Brigade_(TV_series). ↩
IMDb, "Matt Walsh," accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0909768/. ↩
"High Road (film)," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Road_(film). ↩