Comedian Matt Rife says he ditched Hollywood's old playbook for success after hitting 'rock bottom'
Steve Doocy catches up with viral comedian Matt Rife on tour
Fox News' Steve Doocy catches up with viral comedian Matt Rife on his latest tour stop to discuss his comedy career. Rife discusses how viral TikTok clips transformed his career, the role of faith in his life and his experience performing for massive crowds.
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Matt Rife said Monday on "Fox & Friends" that social media has fundamentally changed how comedians break into the entertainment industry, explaining that posting viral crowd work clips on TikTok accomplished what years of chasing Hollywood's traditional stand-up pipeline could not.
Inside the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion ahead of his show, Rife told Fox News that when he moved from his hometown in Ohio to Los Angeles, he expected to follow the long-established path of becoming a regular at famous comedy clubs in hopes of landing television appearances and sitcom roles.
Instead, after early success on MTV's "Wild 'N Out" faded, he found himself back at professional "rock bottom" before social media unexpectedly transformed his career.
Matt Rife attends the 2026 U.S. Open men's tennis final blue carpet at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sept. 13, 2026, in New York, N.Y. (Variety via Getty Images)
"That's why I moved to LA, was to maybe become a regular at, like, the Laugh Factory, Comedy Store or the Improv, where these talent scouts would come out and they'd find you. You'd do a late-night set and then maybe you'd get a small part on a sitcom. Maybe you get your own show based on your material. That's what I was striving for," he said.
Rife previously told Dave Portnoy during a podcast appearance that he was averaging between $40-60 thousand a year in Los Angeles before finding social media fame. According to the Los Angeles County Development Authority, Rife's prior annual salary meant he was dubbed "very low income" by the city's cost of living standards at the time.
Matt Rife attends the 52nd American Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., on May 25, 2026. (Gilbert Flores/Dick Clark Productions)
Then, Rife discovered TikTok, and the rest is history.
With a current reported net worth of $40-50 million, the comedian emphasized that he "hated" TikTok and "never wanted to be a part of it" — but that didn't stop him from accruing the 20.3 million followers he has today on that platform alone.
"It's insane. The reach on there is incomparable," he told Fox News.
His viral success has afforded him "another dream come true" in the form of his starring role alongside Owen Wilson in the upcoming "Rolling Loud: The Movie," slated for release on October 2.
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"Owen Wilson is one of the people that made me want to be an actor. Like, he's a comedic genius. He's a phenomenal actor," said Rife.
"There's absolutely nobody I would have rather had an opportunity to learn from and work with at this point in my career. It's another dream come true."
Max Bacall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital covering media, culture and comedy.
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