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Sixteen Academy Award nominations with 2 wins. Twenty five Golden Globe nominations with 7 wins and numerous other awards... wait, that's Meryl Streep.

Hugh Callaly was born in Cleveland, Ohio and made his way to Chicago in his early twenties. Starting in the Food business he moved on to other stints in Real Estate and working in the trucking industry until he found his true passion, performing. A late bloomer, he began taking Improv training at “Players Workshop of Second City” where he soon found his calling. One of the founding members of the comedy group “All You Can Eat,” he, along with other members Robert Smigel, Dave Reynolds, Jill Talley, Doug Dale, Todd Lambert and Debby Jennings began performing in the comedy revue,“All You Can Eat and the Temple of Dooom” which would carry through 1984 & 1985. One of the perks of the show was being seen by the producers of “Saturday Night Live,” being flown to New York and interviewed for a job as a writer. The results weren't what he hoped for but the road he was about to travel became much clearer.

After the comedy group disbanded, Callaly began performing with local theatre groups, honing his craft and truly becoming a student of the art. Acquiring an agent, he began to “make the rounds” and some commercial work followed. In 1988 good fortune again tapped on his shoulder. In the midst of an ongoing Writers Strike, then Saturday Night Live writer and former All You Can Eat Member, Robert Smigel, approached Callaly with the opportunity to do a sketch comedy show that was comprised of sketches that had been written for SNL but had not yet been broadcast. The show, “Happy Happy Good Show,” would reunite Callaly with Smigel, Reynolds and Jennings and introduce him to Conan O'Brien, Rose Abdoo and Bob Odenkirk (who had worked on AYCE and the Temple of Dooom on occasion). The show met with mixed reviews but at the end of the run with the strike still on, a decision was made to take the show to LA and test the waters. A four week run at “The Beverly Hills Playhouse” met with more success and as the Writers Strike ended during the run, reunited Callaly with Doug Dale before the show closed.

Back in Chicago, Callaly continued to pursue other theatre opportunities as well as the commercial end of the industry. He began to perform with “Buffalo Theatre Ensemble” and was able to work on a fairly regular basis through the nineties appearing in such shows as, “House of Blue Leaves,” “The Philanthropist,” “The Real Thing,” “The Mousetrap,” “Our Country's Good,” “The Recruiting Officer,” and “Twelfth Night.” By the mid nineties, Callaly was now a card carrying member of both Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).The trifecta was just around the corner. Working with guest directors at BTE, Callaly had the opportunity to work with Gary Griffin, who at the time was the Artistic Director at Drury Lane Theatre. Called in by Griffin to perform as an ensemble member and understudy, he was able to accrue enough points as an Equity candidate. After being cast in the production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” the hat trick was complete and Callaly became a member of Actors Equity Association(AEA).

Most recently Callaly teamed up again with Robert Smigel and Bob Odenkirk for a staged reading of a screenplay that was penned by Smigel and Odenkirk titled “Da Bear's Movie That Wasn't.” It also featured the performances of Horatio Sanz, George Wendt, Joe Mantegna, Richard Roeper and David Koechner. Also included was a special appearance by “Da Coach,” Mike Ditka.The event was put together by Smigel to benefit the organization, “Have Dreams:Helping Autistic Voices Emerge.”  Filmography on IMDB.