‘The Breadwinner’ star Nate Bargatze talks stand-up comedy plans
Nate Bargatze tells USA TODAY’s Brian Truitt all about his future stand-up comedy plans while discussing his newest film, “The Breadwinner.”
Nate Bargatze’s latest stand-up tour is anything but average.
The comedian and “Greatest Average American” host, 47, has made history with his Big Dumb Eyes comedy tour. According to Guinness World Records, he set a new record on Sunday, Aug. 16, for the most tickets ever sold for a stand-up comedy tour: 2,045,040 over the course of 16 months.
Guinness says this beats the previous record set by comedian Jeff Dunham, who sold 1,981,720 tickets over 35 months. Bargatze was recognized for the accomplishment at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and presented with an official Guinness World Records certificate. A listing for the record has also been updated on the reference book’s website.
Bargatze, known for his clean comedy act, embarked on his Big Dumb Eyes World Tour in April 2025, going on to perform at 129 venues over 16 months.
The “Breadwinner” star has been working in comedy for more than 20 years and has broken numerous records, including in 2023, when he set an attendance record at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, he joked on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” that he stole a chair from the arena “because I have the record, so if I take one of the chairs home, no one can break that record!”
Bargatze has hosted “Saturday Night Live” twice and the Primetime Emmy Awards once. This year is proving to be one of his best so far: In February, his game show, “The Greatest Average American,” debuted on ABC, and he led his first comedy movie, “The Breadwinner,” in May.
In an interview for the film, Bargatze told USA TODAY he planned to take some time off, and “hopefully make a couple more movies,” after the end of his current comedy tour.
“And then I’m going to have to see where I’m at right then,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll ever quit stand-up. Touring at the level that we’re touring, I don’t imagine myself doing that as much. I definitely know one [more] tour for sure. And then I want to see where this movie thing goes.”
In February, Bargatze’s “Your Friend, Nate Bargatze” special won him his first Grammy for best comedy album.
Contributing: Brian Truitt, USA TODAY