Matt Iseman

Matt Iseman was an American comedian, actor and TV host who broke out in early 2017 when he won "The New Celebrity Apprentice" (NBC, 2004-2017) hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Iseman grew up wanting to become a doctor like his father. He went on to attend broth Princeton University and then medical school at Columbia University, where he earned his M.D. After graduating from medical school Iseman briefly returned to Denver to do his residency at University of Colorado Hospital before relocating to sunny Los Angeles. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Iseman decided to purse a career as a standup comedian. He attended open mic nights in the evenings and slowly began building his act, which he modeled around his day job as a physician. It was also during this time that Iseman began taking improv classes at the Groundlings Theater in Hollywood. By 2002 Iseman was able to quit his job as a physician and become a full-time standup comedian in 2002. Shortly after becoming a full-time comedian, Iseman also began landing acting and TV hosting work. He appeared in guest spots on shows like "The Drew Carey Show" (ABC, 1995-2004) and "NCIS" (CBS, 2003- ), and also appeared in the cast on the home makeover shows "Clean House" (Style Network, 2003-2011) and it's spin-off "Clean House Comes Clean" (2007-2010). In 2010 Iseman began hosting the sports competition series "American Ninja Warrior" (G4/NBC, 2009- ). The competition series premiered on the G4 game show network in 2009, but then moved to NBC in 2012, with Iseman remaining as host. By the late 2010s Iseman continued to maintain a furious work schedule with his various hosting and acting jobs, yet found the time to appear on the 2017 re-launch of "The Apprentice." The newly reimagined series, which was originally hosted by Donald J. Trump, who had to leave the show after he was inaugurated as President of the United States in January of 2017, was hosted by film action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger. Iseman appeared on the reality show in early 2017 and made it all the way to the final round where he won.