Early life
Matt Rife was born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in the village of North Lewisburg, Ohio. He also lived in New Albany and Mount Vernon. Rife first took an interest in comedy at 14 years old, when a teacher mentioned a talent show at his high school. After encouragement from a friend, he performed in the show. The next year, he began performing professionally. He has four siblings: three older stepsisters and one younger half-sister.
Career
In 2015 he began working as a cast member on Wild 'n Out and in 2017, Matt Rife was a host on the short-lived reboot of TRL and appeared on MTV's The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars. In 2018 he played a role in the B-movie slasher film Black Pumpkin. Rife is also a paranormal investigator featured on the YouTube channel "Overnight". He was further featured on the television series Bring the Funny in 2019, where he advanced to the Semi-final Showcase but was eliminated in week 8, and the Netflix special Natural Selection. Rife in 2021 Rife has self-produced the comedy specials Only Fans (2021), Matthew Steven Rife (2023), and Walking Red Flag (2023). He also had guest roles on the sketch comedy and improv game show series Wild 'n Out, as Brandon Bliss on the comedy television series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and as Logan on the sitcom television series Fresh Off the Boat. The New York Times described him in 2022 as "just another struggling road comedian" who then became more popular from TikTok over the following year. In December 2022, Rife signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA). In April 2023, he released a self-titled special Matthew Steven Rife on Valentine's Day. He then released another special in June 2023 titled Walking Red Flag, focusing on crowd-work. Rife states that he created an entire special surrounding the topic of audience "red flags" to stop audiences from interrupting his future sets with the bit. On November 15, 2023, Rife released his Netflix standup special Natural Selection, which Vulture reviewed as "half uninspiring dick jokes ... and entirely underwhelming." Cracked stated of the special that the main take aways were "There are lots of women that Rife doesn't care for. He's got it in for waitresses with black eyes (why can't they stay hidden in the ki
Influences
Rife has said his biggest influences in comedy are Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais, and Dane Cook. Rife performed at Dave Chappelle's 50th birthday show at Madison Square Garden and has called Chappelle a mentor. He has also said Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey, Jim Varney, David Spade, Pauly Shore, and Robin Williams are people he found influence from.
Personal life
Rife resides in Rhode Island near Burrillville. He identifies as a Christian but is not religious, stating in an Instagram post that "I wear a Jesus cross around my neck for the same reason regular dudes wear NBA player basketball jerseys — I've never met the guy, but I tell people I can dunk like him at LA Fitness." In his 2021 special Only Fans, Rife discussed his clinical depression and anxiety disorder diagnoses. Rife and Elton Castee acquired Ed and Lorraine Warren's former home with The Warrens' Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, in late July 2025. They will be legal guardians of the property's haunted artifacts for the next five years. Rife also mentioned that he plans to host tours as well as allow overnight stays at the property.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes Refs. 2015 Room 236 Matt / Premier Poker Club Orlando 2017 Sophomore Year Jake Riker 2018 Black Pumpkin Flash The Debt Matt Short film 2019 American Typecast Robber No. 2 Short film 2021 After Masks Wolf Segment: "Winners" The Elevator Michael Juniper Death Link Darrin Just Swipe Colin 2022 North of the 10 Matt Downes The Curse of Wolf Mountain James 2023 Karma's a Bitch Kyle Candy Flip Nathan Trapped Inn Connor Also executive producer The Private Eye Mort Madison Don't Suck Ethan 2025 I Live Here Now Travis 2026 Rolling Loud TBA Filming Television Year Title Role Notes Refs. 2014 Average Joe Danny 3 episodes 2015–2017; 2020–2021, 2023 Wild 'n Out Himself 16 episodes 2015–2016 Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything Doyle O'Doyle 2 episodes 2016 Wild 'N on Tour HimHimself 10 episodes WTH: Welcome to Howler Jesse 7 episodes 2017–2018 The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars Himself 8 episodes 2019 Brooklyn Nine-Nine Brandon Bliss Episode: "The Tattler" Stalked by My Doctor: A Sleepwalker's Nightmare Leo Television film Bring the Funny Himself Episode: "The Open Mic 1" 2020 Fresh Off the Boat Logan Episode: "Mommy and Me" 2021 Burb Patrol Alex 10 episodes 2024 That '90s Show Travis Episode: "Friends in Low Places" 2025 Mo Jeff Episode: "Oso Palestino (the Palestinian Bear)" Ghost Adventures Himself Episode: "Abandoned at Whiskey Pete's" Stand-up Year Title Notes Ref(s) 2020 ATL Comedy Arts Fest, Volume 2 Also writer 2021 Matt Rife: Only Fans Also writer and executive