Michael O'Brien is an American comedian who was a writer and short filmmaker on Saturday Night Live. He is the creator of the 2018 NBC comedy series A.P. Bio. O'Brien was born in Blissfield, Michigan to Connie and James O’Brien. He attended the University of Michigan, where he majored in film-video and was the founder and editor of a monthly comedy newspaper named The Anti-Daily. O'Brien moved to Chicago and began taking improv and sketch classes. At iO Chicago he performed with a group called The Reckoning (2001–present). He trained at the Second City in Chicago, eventually joining the company's mainstage, where he performed for one year as a part of "America: All Better".
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- Actor and writer
- 10 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
What are Michael Patrick O'Brien's films like?
Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 2
Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 3 · Charged 0 · Intense 0
A split, not a type: Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 3
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 0
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Shadowas Chuck in Staten Island Summer (2015)
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Michael Patrick O'Brien's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Michael Patrick O'Brien's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
12 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
An SNL Thanksgiving (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Sword of Trust(2019)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Booksmart(2019)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
A.P. Bio(2018)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all shows
Brother Nature(2016)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Documentary Now!(2015)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows
Staten Island Summer(2015)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Man Seeking Woman(2015)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
Chicago Rats (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Portlandia(2011)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows
Saturday Night Live(1975)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Career shape
Star power in the 75th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 12 titles from 1975 to 2024; peak year 2019.
Biggest box office
Sword of Trust (2019)
Highest rated
Sword of Trust (2019)
Most popular right now
Brother Nature (2016)
Film career
Peak 2019 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2015Screen debut· Staten Island Summer
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Michael Patrick O'Brien's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 41st percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 30th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 10 titles divides audiences: 6 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the acting 66/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 76, detractors 42. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Michael Patrick O'Brien work with?
People who share at least 2 of Michael Patrick O'Brien's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bobby Moynihan shares the most, 2.
Actors
- Bobby MoynihanShared titles: Brother Nature (2016), Staten Island Summer (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Bobby Moynihan
Producers
- Erin DoyleShared titles: Brother Nature (2016), Staten Island Summer (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Erin Doyle
- Lorne MichaelsShared titles: Brother Nature (2016), Staten Island Summer (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Lorne Michaels
- Michelle StockwellShared titles: Brother Nature (2016), Staten Island Summer (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Michelle Stockwell
- Sam GreyShared titles: Brother Nature (2016), Staten Island Summer (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Sam Grey