Lewis Niles Black [ 1 ] born August 30, [ 2 ] is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion and cultural trends. In , he appeared as the voice of Anger in the Pixar film Inside Out , a role he reprises in the sequel. Lewis Black is also a spokesman for the Aruba Tourism Authority, appearing in television ads that first aired in late and He has served as an "ambassador for voting rights" for the American Civil Liberties Union since He had been an honorary member of the board for about 10 years before that.
When not on the road performing, Black resides in Manhattan but also maintains a residence in Chapel Hill , North Carolina. Lewis Black was born on August 30, , in Washington, D. Every college he applied to except Georgetown rejected him, but by that point he had decided he did not want to go there, so he attended the University of Maryland, College Park for one year before transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, he studied playwriting and was a brother of Pi Lambda Phi International fraternity and a member of Student Congress.
Calling themselves the Homestead Arts Theatre, the group performed regionally at parks, schools, and prisons, but were unable to open the theater due to code violations. Black's career began in theater as a playwright; however, he has stated that he was always doing stand-up "on the side. Black's stand-up comedy began as an opening act for the plays; he was also the master of ceremonies.
After a management change at the theater, Black left and began working as a comedian, as well as finding bit parts in television and films.
In , Black starred in his first comedy special on the series Comedy Central Presents. He starred in two additional episodes of the series in and He starred in another special for the network in , titled Taxed Beyond Belief.
