Nathan Lee Bargatze is an American stand-up comedian known for his clean style of comedy, which generally avoids profanity, sexual humor, and any potentially controversial or politically incorrect material. His success among adult audiences marks a departure from the provocative and surreal humor that characterized much of the 2010s.
Bargatze was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Carole and Stephen Bargatze. His father is a motivational speaker and magician. He attended Donelson Christian Academy in Nashville and later studied at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin.
Bargatze began his stand-up comedy career in Chicago and later performed at the Boston Comedy Club in New York City. He has described the Jerry Seinfeld documentary “Comedian” (2002) as “life-changing” and a significant reason for his move to New York. He has made appearances on shows such as “Conan” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” In 2013, he participated in Fallon’s Clean Cut Comedy Tour and won the New York Comedy Festival and the Boston Comedy Festival that same year. Additionally, he wrote for the Spike TV Video Game Awards and has performed for American armed forces in Iraq and Kuwait. Prominent comedians such as Marc Maron and Jim Gaffigan have highlighted him as one of the top up-and-coming comics.
Bargatze’s first stand-up album, “Yelled at by a Clown” (2014), reached the Billboard Top Ten Comedy Charts, peaking at No. 2. He released his second album, “Full Time Magic,” in conjunction with his Comedy Central special in 2015. In 2017, Netflix launched a half-hour special featuring Bargatze as part of “The Standups.”
In 2019, Netflix released an hour-long special titled “The Tennessee Kid,” filmed outside Atlanta, Georgia. In 2020, Bargatze started a podcast called “The Nateland Podcast,” alongside Brian “Breakfast” Bates and Aaron Weber, with Dusty Slay joining as a fourth host in 2022. Netflix released his next stand-up special, “The Greatest Average American,” in 2021, which was filmed outdoors at Universal Studios Hollywood and was nominated for the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. That year, Bargatze was featured in an article in “The Atlantic,” which referred to him as “The Nicest Man in Stand-Up.” In 2022, he voiced the character Grady in the short Portal spinoff game “Aperture Desk Job.”
Bargatze’s stand-up special “Hello World,” filmed at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, was released in 2023 on Amazon Prime Video. On April 15, 2023, he performed at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, drawing 19,365 attendees and breaking the venue’s all-time attendance record.
He made his hosting debut on “Saturday Night Live” on October 28, 2023, and returned to host again on October 5, 2024. During these appearances, he gained attention for his portrayal of George Washington in viral sketches that humorously critique American language and measurement systems.
In 2024, Bargatze performed at the Netflix Is a Joke Festival alongside Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, and Sebastian Maniscalco at the Hollywood Bowl.
He cites Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Martin, Brian Regan, Bob Newhart, and Bill Cosby as his comedic influences.
Bargatze married Laura Blair on October 13, 2006. They met in their 20s while both were working at Applebee’s. They have a daughter and currently reside in Nashville.