Lance Barber

Comedian Lance Barber, whose hilarious turn as belligerent reality show producer Paulie G became a fan favorite on "The Comeback" (HBO 2005 / 2014), grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan. In high school, he became interested in theater, playing Jethro in his school's production of "The Beverly Hillbillies." After earning his associate degree in performing arts at a community college, he moved to Chicago in 2005, studying at The Second City and Improv Olympic. He later moved to LA to pursue television acting. His first TV role was a small part in medical drama "ER" (NBC 1994-2009), the first of many small appearances in popular television shows. He starred in a couple short-lived comedies, including playing Billy the Fake Director in the short-lived "Faking the Video" (MTV 2004), a comedy about creating music videos. In 2005, he was cast in "The Comeback" alongside Lisa Kudrow; the series was not a ratings success but it quickly gained a devoted cult following. Along with an appearance as a reformed high school bully in an episode of the hugely popular sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS 2007-), Barber appeared a few times on the dark comedy "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" (FX 2005) as unlikely heartthrob Bill Ponderosa. Due to its continued popularity, HBO revived "The Comeback" in 2014 with Barber set to reprise his popular role.