Entertainment

Jeff Dye Goes From Comedian To Stunt Man

by Jodi Walker

When you're a kid, you look forward to summer for one reason: school's out. Bu when you're an adult, there are lots of things to get excited about: the warmer weather, rooftop parties, weekends at the beach, perhaps early release on Fridays. Of course, there's one more big advantage of summer: brand new, wacky reality shows. As a fan of the Jane Lynch-hosted Hollywood Game Night, which brings celebrities together to play various games, I'm pumped for NBC's latest summer venture. The network is taking celebrity participation to a whole new level in I Can Do That, which asks stars to learn a difficult-to-master craft in five days, then pits them against each other to see who's mastered their skill best.

Of course, because these celebrities will be learning dangerous stunts and embarrassing themselves on a weekly basis, they're more the type of celebrities you'd see on Dancing With the Stars than spinning around in red chairs on The Voice... which is to say, you might not know who all of them are. But if you've never heard of I Can Do That premiere guest Jeff Dye, prepare to be charmed. Dye is best known as a host and comedian, but he also spent a year as a designer on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

But those aren't the only experiences that show Dye will be a great addition to I Can Do That.

He's Gettin' Drunk On A Plane

The narrative development of Dierks Bentley's "Drunk On a Plane" music video is really something special. A man has been left by his fiancé just before their honeymoon, he goes anyway, gets everyone on the plane trashed — including the pilots — and has proposed to another woman with a cute haircut by the end. Also, Bentley steps in and lands the plane when the pilots pass out. But by far the best thing about the video is Dye, who plays the rejected (and then very much accepted) near-groom with perfectly all-American puppy dog sadness.

Last Comic Standing

But Dye didn't just start his career getting cast in big music videos. He placed third in the sixth season of Last Comic Standing, putting him in good company. Other Last Comic Standing losers include, Amy Schumer, Fortune Feimster, and Gabriel Iglesias. Like those very much working comedians, the NBC show gave Dye enough of a platform to score a Comedy Central Presents special and what every young comedian hopes for...

Those MTV Roots

I Can Do That won't be Dye's first time being stunt-show adjacent. In 2010, shortly after finishing as a finalist on Last Comic Standing, Dye landed the hosting gig for the Ashton Kutcher-produced Numbnuts on MTV, which took paired contestants against stunt masters to see who could best perform crazy high-octane stunts. Sound familiar? If only I Can Do That also incorporated the skills Dye learned on his other MTV show, Money From Strangers, where Dye and other comedians (the Lucas brothers!) convinced people off the street to play pranks on strangers for money.

But after a nice long stint on MTV that, of course, also included some stops by Girl Code, Dye is back to NBC to try his own hand at the kind of stunts he's been hosting.