Pete Novosel is a writer/director who makes comedy that looks great and stays grounded in truth — no matter how insane the premise. (It’s confusing for everyone.)

He’s more interested in behavior than punchlines: people making an unexpected choice, then committing to it like it’s completely normal. He’s known for pulling lived-in, specific performances out of actors without sanding off the weird edges — the little quirks and contradictions that make characters feel like real people. He’s also weirdly effective with athletes and non-actors, especially the ones who arrive convinced they can’t do this.

He’s worked with some of the biggest names (and loveliest humans) across sport and film — including Patrick Mahomes, Simone Biles, Dak Prescott, Matthew McConaughey, and Seth Rogen, to name a few. His collaboration with Seth and creative partner Evan Goldberg started through a shared comedic sensibility, escalated into helping launch Houseplant, then crossed into film — with Seth narrating Pete’s short-film debut Teller Number Four, a dark comedy that had a weirdly great festival run. Their collaboration has continued ever since, including Pete shadowing Seth and Evan on their Apple TV+ series The Studio, among other projects.

Before directing, Pete spent a long time as a creative director at 72andSunny (they had great snacks), where his writing and ideas won at fancy award shows like Cannes Lions, The One Show, Clio Awards, and Effies. He could list the years and categories, but he’s Australian and allergic to self-praise.

He also played in a rock band in the early 2000s (pre-social media, when failure was still private), peaking when he got a song on Guitar Hero — still a top five life achievement, and the closest he’s come to being cool on purpose.

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YNWA.