encouraged to just go pick up a camera and make something...I used this as an opportunity to start directing my own sketches and quickly found out that not only do I like directing more than writing, but also that I’m better at it." Appel would go on to extensively direct series television, with credits including Eagleheart, NTSF:SD:SUV, The Office, New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Son of Zorn, and Die Hart. In 2022, Appel made his feature directorial debut with Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, based on a Funny or Die short that he directed twelve years earlier. The film won a Critics Choice Award for Best Made for Television Movie. References External links 1980 births 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers American male comedians American film editors American television directors American television writers American male television writers Comedians from New York (state) Comedy film directors Film directors from New York (state) Film producers from New York (state) Living people People from Endicott, New York Screenwriters from New York (state) Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers