Josh Ruben

Template:Infobox person Joshua Benjamin Ruben (born June 30, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, director, and producer. He formerly worked for CollegeHumor and continues to appear in Dropout original shows.

Early life and education

Ruben was born in Washington, D.C. He grew up in Woodstock, New York, with two half-siblings, one of whom is the singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata. He acted in youth theatre and aspired to become a comic actor. He graduated from Onteora High School in 2001. He worked at a gas station before being accepted into the New Actors Workshop in New York City at age 19.

Career

Unable to get an agent in his first years in New York City, Ruben worked as a film extra and at Best Buy. With childhood friend Sam Reich and others, he formed the comedy group Dutch West, which made sketch comedy videos for the internet. Thanks to his work with the group, CollegeHumor hired him as a staffer, and he wrote and directed hundreds of its "Originals" short videos. He has appeared on the Dropout game show Game Changer and its spinoff Make Some Noise, both hosted by Reich, and is credited as an executive producer on the latter series.

Ruben moved to Los Angeles in 2016. He drew from his CollegeHumor 401(k) to write, produce, and direct Scare Me, a comedy horror film shot at Cooper Lake outside of Woodstock. Starring Ruben as an aspiring writer staying in a cabin in the woods, it premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. His next film, Werewolves Within, based on the video game, was also shot in the area in the Hudson Valley. It premiered to critical acclaim at the Tribeca Festival in June 2021. He directed Heart Eyes, a romantic comedy slasher film. He is set to direct the sci-fi horror film Green Bank as well as the horror film Wilderness Reform.

Filmography

Short film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Executive Producer	Notes
2015	Zoolander Returns to the Runway	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Co-directed with Vincent Peone
2016	Tond	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
2017	Freddy Derryl	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
	Cabin	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes

Feature film

• Scare Me (2020) (Also writer and producer)
• Werewolves Within (2021)
• Heart Eyes (2025)

Television

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Notes
2009–2013	CollegeHumor	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Directed 48 episodes; Wrote 22 episodes
2012–2013	Hardly Working	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Directed episode "Fire Warden"; Wrote 4 episodes
2013	Remix the Movies	Template:Yes	Template:No	7 episodes
2014	That Couple You Know	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Step 9	Template:Yes	Template:No	3 episodes
	CQ Originals	Template:Yes	Template:No	Episode "Adam Drive Meets His Man Crush"
2015	Adam Ruins Everything	Template:Yes	Template:No	3 episodes
2016	Boondoggle	Template:Yes	Template:No	Episodes "Pilot Error" and "The Course"
2021	Death to 2021	Template:Yes	Template:No	Co-directed with Jack Clough
2024	Die Hart	Template:Yes	Template:No	7 episodes

External links

• Template:Official website
• Template:IMDb name