Danny McBride Books In Order

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Danny McBride is an American published writer, comedian, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.

He was born on December 29, 1976, in Statesboro, Georgia. His full name is Daniel Richard McBride and most people might already know him from the long range of media titles to his name, whether it’s the movie Tropic Thunder or his hit HBO television series Eastbound & Down, where he starred as the antihero and washed up baseball player Kenny Powers who was as known for his crass manners as he was his brief time playing ball and is now trying to put his life back together– personally, professionally, and romantically.

Throughout the course of his career he has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and four Satellite Awards. He first made his debut in film in 2003’s All the Real Girls, where he had a supporting role. He would land a starring role in 2006’s The Foot Fist Way and kept the momentum going with main roles in Hot Rod, Pineapple Express, and Tropic Thunder. These classic comedies first introduced him to a larger audience and solidified his presence in the entertainment industry.

Others may also know that Danny McBride not only played the role of Kenny Powers on Eastbound & Down from 2009-2013 but also starred in the movies Land of the Lost (with Will Ferrell) and Up in the Air in 2009. He would also star in comedy movies Your Highness, 30 Minutes or Less, This is the End, and Aloha, as well as appear in Vice Principals, a HBO comedy series he co-created, in a lead role.

He has had starring voice roles in a variety of animated feature films (Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Angry Birds Movie, The Angry Birds Movie 2, Sausage Party). He has also embraced some roles different from what he usually does and starred in 2013’s As I Lay Dying and Alien: Covenant. He was the voice of radio talk show host Duane Earl in Grand Theft Auto V and went on to play a character he created called Jesse Gemstone on HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones.

He also was a writer for the Halloween film trilogy by Blumhouse Productions, co-wrote the story for The Exorcist: Believer, and was an executive producer for Telemarketers, a HBO true crime documentary series that ended up getting him nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.

McBride has Irish, English, Scottish and Jewish ancestry and his mother and stepfather work as civilian support at Marine Corps Base Quantico. He states that his interest in telling stories comes from his mother, who would often perform sermons at church by way of puppets. He would attend Courtland High School and then attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

McBride has appeared in a music video, playing a roadie in the Tenacious D music video by the same name in 2012. In addition to co-writing the Halloween film trilogy, he also was an executive producer. He has also been in UK television commercials for bookmaker Coral and has voiced Rick Mitchell in the film The Mitchells vs. the Machines. He would also foray into the literary field, releasing his short story collection in 2026 exploring masculinity titled Thrilling Tales of Modern Men.

He is married to Gia Ruiz, an art director. They have two children together, a son and a daughter.

Thrilling Tales of Modern Men is a 2026 collection of short stories by Danny McBride. It is a New York Times Bestseller. This is a contemporary read that is guaranteed to entertain and have you flipping through the pages to read just one more story.

You may know him from The Righteous Gemstones or Eastbound & Down, and now McBride has brought his talents to writing. Collaborator Judd Apatow praised this book saying that it was just as ‘demented, hilarious, human, and as inspired as all of his work, but, somehow, even better’.

The New Yorker also liked the book, saying that it was ‘Inventive, taut, and very funny’ and says that there are ‘hints of George Saunders in McBride’s ability to turn the indignities of modern life into a gently devastating black comedy’.

Inside this collection, Danny McBride shows another side of himself: the side that writes short fiction. He has been iconic characters such as Kenny Powers, produced horror films, and been in science fiction movies like Alien: Covenant. But ever since he was younger, he has also been writing short fiction. Now McBride gets to share his stories with the world. If you grew up watching him in comedy, this is one of those books that you can’t afford to miss.

The stories vary wildly in what they feature. A washed up sitcom actor decides that he is going to get his revenge on the coyote that killed his dog, while in another story a young magician gets in over his head at the local mall. Two young kids who have runaway decide that it’s time to go their different ways but want to take one last adventure first.

This is an emotional and very funny collection that will have readers laughing and shaking their heads! Full of different twists and turns, each of them takes a closer look at the sense of fragile masculinity that has become a part of American culture. Danny McBride has successfully come out with an intriguing and thought provoking collection of short stories that is quintessentially him.

Thrilling Tales of Modern Men is an incredible collection that belongs on your shelf! If you’re a fan of Pineapple Express or The Righteous Gemstones, this is one book that you will not want to miss out on. Get a copy for yourself or to share with a friend and follow along with every word, or bring to your next book club to share with others! This is a fun debut and sets the standard for what we can come to expect from McBride in the future.