Who Is The Comedian In The Choice Hotels Commercial?

Around the start of 2024, Choice Hotels — which operates a range of brands like Radisson and Quality Inn — debuted a commercial revolving around a famous comedian running through some of the leisure and work activities in which hotel customers can participate. This comedian, seeming to play himself based on a quick mention of his real name, is none other than Keegan-Michael Key.

While his career dates back to the '90s, the Comedy Central sketch comedy series "Key & Peele" gave him his breakout role. Before its premiere in 2012, some comedy fans were already familiar with both Key and his co-host, Jordan Peele, for their respective parts in the main cast of "Mad TV." In fact, Key was prolific on "Mad TV," appearing in just over 100 episodes. In "Key & Peele," however, Key had the chance to break away from an ensemble cast and spotlight his own creative vision. Some of his biggest sketches from that time include "East/West College Bowl" — which is pretty much just a series of made-up college football player names — and "Obama's Anger Translator." He even ended up playing his character from the latter sketch alongside the real Barack Obama at the 2015 White House Correspondents' Dinner.

After making a name for himself on "Key & Peele," Key became a mainstream comedy star. He remains prolific in both film and TV to this day.

"Key & Peele" ran on Comedy Central for five seasons, between 2012 and 2015. During that time, Keegan-Michael Key guested on a number of popular TV shows, including "How I Met Your Mother," "Fargo," "Parks & Recreation," and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." He also worked on films like "The Lego Movie" and "Pitch Perfect 2" during this era.

Following the conclusion of "Key & Peele," Key ramped up his film and TV work. Some of his marquee roles since 2015 include major parts in the "Hotel Transylvania" franchise, "Toy Story 4," "Dolemite Is My Name," "Schmigadoon!," "Reboot," "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and "Wonka."

Since some of his most popular work is voice acting in animated movies, it's entirely possible that there are plenty of people who might not recognize Key in the Choice Hotels commercial, but know one of his major movie characters nevertheless. That said, from "Key & Peele" to "Wonka," Key is arguably just as well-known for his work in live-action, hence featuring so prominently in this Choice Hotels ad campaign.