To be a successful stand up comedian today, you not only have to be funny, you also need to be smart.

Smart and funny is what has made Canadian comic Jeremy Hotz a success. With another stellar performance at this year’s Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, Hotz continues to grab audiences with his confused yet very astute observational comedy. Although Hotz is your typical single guy being both challenged in the grocery store and in his fashion choices, he still finds humor in all of it and allows the audience to laugh at his everyday mishaps and adventures. How does one become a stand up? According to Hotz, you fail at everything else. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, Hotz performed at the local Yuk Yuk's comedy club on amateur night and the club owner loved him. So began the stand up comedy career of Hotz.

In 1994, a childhood buddy of Hotz's was writing for the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in New York City and invited him down to the show. Hotz was introduced to the executive producer and was hired to join the writing staff. That same executive producer became Hotz's manager, taking his career to the next level.

Although Hotz believes he hasn’t gotten his big break, in 1997 he performed at the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. He received a standing ovation at his debut performance at the festival’s prestigious gala. Recognition came quickly as studios and networks showed interest, and Hotz was offered his first of many development deals. Another highlight for Hotz was his first appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, followed by an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Hotz is a favorite in stand up comedy clubs across Canada and the United States, including the Laugh Factory and the Improv in both Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He returned to the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2005. In 2003, Hotz was voted Best Performer at the festival by The Globe and Mail, and Bill Brownstein of the Montreal Gazette gave him the title Best in Fest. Hotz recently headlined Canada’s Just for Laughs Comedy Tour and HBO’s prestigious Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival in Colorado.

Hotz is no stranger to television success, both in the United States and Canada. In 1996, Hotz starred in the offbeat comedy series for CBC, The Newsroom. He headlined the Roy Thomson Hall with Jon Stewart and Mike Bullard for CTV’s fifth anniversary celebration earlier this year, CBC for its 50th anniversary special, and its half-hour sitcom Made in Canada. He was recently seen in Comedy Central’s The Jeremy Hotz Special, and he guest starred in MTV’s 1/2 Hour Comedy Hour. Hotz is also a talented actor who has appeared in the feature films My Favorite Martian with Elizabeth Hurley and Speed 2: Cruise Control with Sandra Bullock and Jason Patrick. He starred in the four-part miniseries Married Life on Comedy Central and was nominated for a Gemini Award for the CBC’s "Jeremy Hotz: Only in Cana-Duh!" He was the recipient of a Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Show or Series for his work in the celebrated series The Newsroom on the CBC and PBS in America.

In addition to his stand up career, Hotz was a staff writer on the critically acclaimed The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central, and received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series for his comedy special, Whatever Happened to Jeremy Hotz? He is currently working on a show he has written, created, and starring in for CBC television called My Life and a Movie.

Hotz now calls Los Angeles home and is staying true to his Canadian upbringing, he still loves hockey!