Paul W. Downs
Paul William Downs is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is the co-creator, co-showrunner and one of the stars of the HBO Max series Hacks, for which he has received two Golden Globes, a Peabody Award, and three Primetime Emmy Awards, among others. Downs first gained attention for his role in the Comedy Central series Broad City, which ran for five seasons and for which he was also a writer, director, and executive producer.
Early life
Downs was born in Morristown, New Jersey and raised in Sussex Borough, New Jersey. His middle name, William, is taken from his great-grandfather. He attended the Peck School for seventh and eighth grade where he performed in the Twelfth Night and won a drama award. For high school, he attended the Pingry School.Downs studied theater at Duke University where he did improv as a member of Duke University Improv.
Career
Downs has been creating digital shorts with Lucia Aniello under the moniker Paulilu since the pair met at the Upright Citizens Brigade. In 2012, they made a web series called Paulilu Mixtape for Above Average Productions, a division of Broadway Video.From 2014–2019, Downs played Trey Pucker on the Comedy Central sitcom Broad City. Trey is a fitness instructor and the boss turned romantic interest of Abbi Abrams at Soulstice.
On April 29, 2015, it was announced that Downs and Aniello would be writing a female spin-off of 21 Jump Street. On June 22, 2015, it was announced that the duo sold their script for Move That Body, a feature film acquired by Sony. Retitled Rough Night and released in 2017, Aniello directed, while Downs co-starred opposite Scarlett Johansson in the film.
In 2016 he wrote and starred in his own 30-minute episode of the sketch show Netflix Presents: The Characters. On April 20, 2016 Downs starred in the Comedy Central miniseries Time Traveling Bong alongside Broad City co-star Ilana Glazer.
In 2018, Downs co-starred in Netflix's summer comedy Like Father opposite Kristen Bell, Kelsey Grammer, and Seth Rogen.
Downs is showrunning and co-starring in the HBO Max show Hacks, starring Jean Smart.
In 2021, Downs and Aniello struck a deal with Warner Bros. Television.
On January 31, 2025, Downs appeared on season 17 of Rupaul's Drag Race as a guest judge.
Downs had a cameo role in the The [Golden Globes |eighth episode] of The Studio, which premiered on May 6, 2025.