Steve Sweeney is a comedian and actor from Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood who has performed on big stages and bigger screens for more than four decades. His newest project is Townie, a documentary-style stand-up film making its North American premiere at the New York Comedy Film Festival which runs from Feb. 15-22, 2026, at Asylum NYC.
Townie is executive-produced by Peter Farrelly, one of the Farrelly Brothers who previously have employed Sweeney in memorable supporting roles in films such as Me, Myself and Irene and There’s Something About Mary, where he played a cop confronting Ben Stiller’s zipper scene. Sweeney, who has his own intimate comedy club in Quincy, shared stories with me reminiscing about his performance on the HBO Young Comedians Special hosted by John Candy, attending USC with Judd Apatow, what he learned working with and befriending legends such as George Carlin and Rodney Dangerfield, how Colin Quinn pushed him to become more vulnerable onstage for Townie. There’s a lot to get to, so let’s get to it!
Get tickets for Townie, screening on Feb. 18, 2026, at the New York Comedy Film Festival
Sweeney got his first huge break as part of HBO’s Young Comedian Special, appearing the year John Candy hosted, with fellow performers Paula Poundstone, Bill Maher, Carol Leifer, The Amazing Johnathan, and Joel Hodgson. Sweeney goes up second, after Maher, with Candy introducing him just past the 9-minute mark:
And here he was playing the cop who busts in on Ben Stiller’s character to solve his zipper problem in the iconic scene from There’s Something About Mary:
You also can find Sweeney at his own 70-seat comedy club, Steve Sweeney’s Comedy Den in Quincy, Mass.
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