Career
Tosh started touring the comedy club circuit almost immediately after graduating from college. He appeared as one of the "New Faces" at the 1998 Just for Laughs in Montreal. His act was televised in 2000 in Montreal at the Théâtre Saint-Denis.
Tosh's career break came in 2001 with a performance on the Late Show with David Letterman. He made appearances on programs such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Comedy Central's Premium Blend. He hosted a local late-night comedy show in Florida called Tens, and served as a spokesman in Taco Bell commercials.
Tosh has been a regular guest on radio shows such as The Bob & Tom Show, Loveline, and Kevin and Bean. In 2003, he performed in his own 30-minute special on Comedy Central Presents. On June 17, 2007, Comedy Central aired his stand-up special: Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious. He hosted an episode of Comedy Central's Live at Gotham.
Tosh appeared in an episode of MTV's Punk'd as a criminal who broke into Mekhi Phifer's car. He played a fictional version of himself on "Elevator" produced by HBO's Runawaybox and had a small role as Cowboy Hat in the feature film The Love Guru starring Mike Myers. Of his own acting ability, Tosh says, "I'm not a good actor. I can play myself, and a much gayer version of myself. That's about my range."
Tosh said he planned to end his career on his 38th birthday, May 29, 2013, if he had not by that time succeeded as a comedian. He said he would do this by committing suicide or retiring to the beach. He kept a countdown clock on his website that gave the number of days, minutes, and seconds until his 38th birthday which is when "Daniel's Groundhog Day Ends," a reference to the Bill Murray film. Tosh has described a comic's routine life on the road as "Groundhog Day".
His special, Daniel Tosh: Happy Thoughts, premiered on Comedy Central on March 6, 2011, with 3.25 million viewers and a 1.9/5 share. It was later released on DVD.
Tosh was an executive producer of, and the voice of "Malloy" in, the Comedy Central animated sitcom Brickleberry. The show was cancelled after three seasons on January 7, 2015.
In 2012, Tosh was criticized for an interaction with a female audience member during a set at a Hollywood comedy club. After telling a series of jokes about rape, an audience member remarked that "rape jokes are never funny". Tosh responded by saying it would be funny if the audience member herself were raped by "five guys." The exchange prompted a lengthy debate over the appropriateness of jokes about rape.
In 2013, Forbes estimated Tosh's net worth at $11 million, tied for ninth place in its list of all top-earning comedians whose income is primarily from stage ticket sales.
