Kevin James began his career as a stand-up on the Long Island comedy scene. After being discovered at the 1996 Montreal Comedy Festival, he signed a network development deal to create his own sitcom.
The King of Queens, which premiered in 1998, ran for nine seasons on CBS with James starring and executive producing, and it garnered him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The show concluded its run in 2007 but continues to air daily in syndication across the country and around the world. James also starred in, and executive produced The Crew, a Netflix sitcom set in the world of NASCAR.
James brought his stand-up act to TV with Sweat the Small Stuff, a one-hour special for Comedy Central. Kevin James and Ray Romano executive produced and starred in the HBO Sports Special Making the Cut: The Road to Pebble Beach; a documentary about the Pebble Beach Pro Am Golf Tournament that was nominated for a Sports Emmy. His second comedy special Never Don’t Give Up premiered on Netflix to critical acclaim.
James made his feature film debut in Columbia Pictures’ Hitch starring opposite Will Smith, and starred in, produced and co-wrote the hit comedies Paul Blart: Mall Cop 1 & 2, Zookeeper, and Here Comes The Boom. James has starred alongside Adam Sandler in Pixels, Grown Ups, Grown Ups 2, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and Hubie Halloween. He starred in the features True Memoirs of an International Assassin and Home Team for Netflix, as well as the independent action thriller Becky.
James can currently be seen in his one hour stand-up comedy special Kevin James: Irregardless on Prime Video, which was nominated for 2024's Best Comedy Special by the Critics Choice Awards. James will also be starring in the upcoming feature film Playdate, alongside Alan Ritchson.