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W. Kamau Bell

W. Kamau Bell

Actor, director, producer and writer · Born January 26, 1973 (53) · Palo Alto, California, USA

3 Primetime Emmys · 1 other major award body

W. Kamau Bell was born on 26 January 1973 in Palo Alto, California, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for United Shades of America (2016), Sorry to Bother You (2018) and We Need to Talk About Cosby (2022). He has been married to Dr. Melissa Hudson Bell, Ph.D. since 2009. They have two children.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
January 26, 1973 (53)
From
Palo Alto, California, USA
Works as
Actor, director, producer and writer
Titles
9 on MovieCove · 11 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 15% in 30 days

What are W. Kamau Bell's films like?

Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
55%
Self
18%
Morality
14%
Ideas
9%
Power
2%
Bonds
1%
Community7 titles, browse their movies with this themePrejudice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFame4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 2 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 6 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 1 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 2

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
9
Warm
5
Hopeful
6
Joyful
4
Tense
2
Other
2

How their films linger

Thought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet3
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous4
  • Cyclical1

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 W. Kamau Bell's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for W. Kamau Bell'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

11 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 30 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Somewhere To Be (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed(2023)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • We Need to Talk About Cosby(2022)

    Show 4 episodes · Director · Creator · Executive Producer · as Self - Narrator (voice)

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows

  • Inside Pixar(2020)

    Show 20 episodes · as Narrator (voice)

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows

  • Sorry to Bother You(2018)

    as Other Man in Crowd

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • W. Kamau Bell: Private School Negro(2018)

    Writer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Cultureshock(2018)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all shows

  • United Shades of America(2016)

    Show 54 episodes · Producer · Writer · as Self - Host

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all shows

  • SXSW Comedy with W. Kamau Bell: Part 2(2015)

    Writer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • SXSW Comedy With W. Kamau Bell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Writer · as Self

  • What Would You Do?(2009)

    Show 7 episodes · as Host

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows

Career shape

A full career of 10 titles from 2008 to 2025.

Highest rated

The One and Only Dick Gregory (2021)

Midcredits 93rd

Most popular right now

Celebrity Jeopardy! (2022)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting3 of 10: 3 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting3 of 10: 1 only directing, 2 with another roleWriting3 of 10: 3 only writing, 0 with another roleProducing3 of 10: 1 only producing, 2 with another roleOther crew1 of 10: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

2000s1 · acting2010s5 · 1 acting · 4 crew2020s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

Awards

3 Primetime Emmys from 12 major nominations, 2016–2023.

WinNomination
  1. 2023
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
  2. 2022
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Narrator
  3. 2021
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
  4. 2019
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program
  5. 2018
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program
  6. 2017
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program
  7. 2016
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do W. Kamau Bell's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 61st percentile, the median of all 4; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 61st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

61stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

58thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

44thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 9 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th3

Shape of the crowd

3 of their 9 titles are Divisive.

  • Divisive3
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · actor, writer, producer

United Shades of America (2016)

93rd percentile spread · 30% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Midcredits 80th · 67% liked

Reviewers score the acting 45/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 65, detractors 25. 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 W. Kamau Bell work with?

People who share at least 2 of W. Kamau Bell's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Geraldine L. Porras shares the most, 3.

Actors

Editors

Producers

Mixed roles