For Real, One Of The New Kids On The Block Is An Exceptionally Underrated Comedic Actor

Say what you will about the New Kids on the Block (but also, don’t you dare because they are fantastic), but one of their members deserves buckets of respect for being a comedic actor. And if you haven’t been granting him that already, now is the time to start.

Joey McIntyre is best known for being the youngest member of the Boston boy band, but in the last few years, he has slowly but surely staked his claim in the comedy world. He’s been in big budget movies, CBS sitcoms, and Funny or Die sketches, a resume that rivals that of any of the top UCB performers. And they must be infuriated that he’s this good without having to ever zip zap zop. Who knows, maybe he has though — he’s a dedicated performer.

Spending almost 20 years in one of the world’s biggest boy bands is just about the best acting training you can get. You’re spending half your day on a stage, hamming it up to an audience that will only respond in shrieks, and that’s not too shabby. During a hiatus from the group from the mid 90’s to 2008, McIntyre went for a solo career that didn’t just include music. Sure, he made some appearances in the bottom half of MTV’s TRL countdown, but he also took the opportunity to return to the stage: the Broadway stage. If you don’t have timing, well, the theater will sure change that.

But the most important use of McIntyre’s time away from NKOTB was when he went in the direction of TV and movies. He starred with Mila Kunis in the film version of the Off-Broadway play Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding and did 17 episodes of Boston Public. Okay, Broadway and Boston, places he’s familiar with. But then he dove even deeper into the world of comedy, and that’s when things got interesting. He appeared in two “MA Men” sketches on Funny or Die, their foul-mouthed, funny version of Mad Men, alongside Nate Corddry, Nat Faxon, Jessica Chaffin, Jamie Denbo and Rob Delaney. He’s in the company of comedy heavyweights already. Yet that experience only proved to be practice for when he would re-team with Corddry, Chaffin, and Denbo, as one of Melissa McCarthy’s crazy family members in The Heat. The group, plus Bill Burr, sat around, sizing Sandra Bullock up, with McIntyre proving he literally belonged right at the table.

From there, McIntyre found himself in the first season of The Hotwives of Orlando as Heath, hot trainer and sidepiece to Casey Wilson’s Tawny, in the Real Housewives spoof series on Hulu. He was also a cast member in CBS’ family sitcom, The McCarthys, all while hitting the road with NKOTB almost every summer since 2008. Come fall, his bandmate Donnie Wahlberg returns to the set of Blue Bloods and now Joey will return to the set of…his own show!

It was recently announced that Joey will be executive producing and starring in a scripted comedy series for Pop, The Joey Mac Project, where he will play a guy who wants to be taken seriously as an actor, but is instead offered a gig hosting a late-night show. You hear that, world? Both the real and TV versions of Joe Mac want to be taken seriously as an actor! And you have no excuse not to. Look, maybe he’s not Justin Timberlake on SNL, because no one is, but he’s also not Justin Timberlake in The Love Guru (shiver).

The list of McIntyre’s respectable acting credits is as long as NKOTB’s Billboard chart history — it’s nothing to snuff at. Just as the group continues on sold out tours each year, McIntyre is sought out by reputable influencers in the comedy community. He’s proved he’s got the right stuff when it comes to comedy. Oh come on, I saved it for the last paragraph! Please don’t hold that against McIntyre, he’s actually really funny and this new show sounds like a lot of fun. He’s legit, and there’s no shame in admitting he’s a great comedic actor because it’s the truth, and it will come as no surprise when his acting career continues to be hangin’ tough.