Nate Bargatze is stretching beyond stand-up to fill a gap Hollywood left behind.
Known for his clean comedy, Bargatze makes his film debut this weekend in “The Breadwinner,” which he co-wrote and stars in. And producer Jeremy Latcham is betting on the comedian to help revive family comedies — a genre he says Hollywood has largely walked away from.
“I was a part of (’The Breadwinner’) very, very early on and I was dying to make a PG family comedy,” Latcham said. “Some of my favorite movies growing up were these kinds of films. And I was looking at the marketplace and realizing they just didn’t exist anymore.”
Latcham built his career at Marvel Studios, rising to senior vice president of production and development. He started as an associate producer on “Iron Man” and went on to co-produce “Iron Man 2.″ He later served as an executive producer on films, including “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Marvel’s The Avengers” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
After leaving Marvel in 2017 to launch Latcham Pictures, he produced “Bad Times at the El Royale” and “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.”
While producing spectacle-driven superhero films, Latcham said he was drawn more toward the characters than the action, a perspective that pushed him to focus on reviving comedian-fronted family films, which dominated the 1980s and ’90s box office.
“I was at a moment where I felt like I could be helpful in getting one of these types of movies made again,” Latcham said. “I have a 10-year-old daughter and I just really wanted to make a movie that she could go see and have a great time at and enjoy.”
“(’The Breadwinner’) was really born out of that idea of — let’s bring back this type of film,” he said. “Let’s make a throwback to the great family comedies that we used to have that were comedian-driven, in the vein of Robin Williams and Steve Martin and Chevy Chase — all these guys were comics. And let’s go back to that kind of comic-led family comedy again.”
“The Breadwinner” stars Bargatze as a successful car salesman thrust into life as a stay-at-home dad after his wife, played by Mandy Moore, leaves on a monthlong business trip that could transform her career.
Caring for their three young daughters with little experience running a household, he quickly learns that family life is more demanding than he expected.
“The idea that dads do things differently than moms do is true,” Latcham said. “We just do things differently, naturally. And the movie’s just a lot about that ... it’s about realizing how hard the work is.”
“Family is always about balancing and figuring out who’s in charge and how we’re going to do it and how we’re going to split the duties,” he continued. “Being a parent is messy. It’s hard. It’s really hard. ... That’s a universal theme. And I think that just because Hollywood hasn’t wanted to make these kind of movies for a long time doesn’t mean that people aren’t going through the same struggles we’ve been going through forever as parents.”
Putting Bargatze in theaters
Living outside Hollywood, Latcham said he has a clearer view of trends gaining traction beyond the film industry’s bubble. Hollywood, he said, can be an insular place — but from his home in Austin, Texas, he sees what audiences outside Los Angeles are responding to.
In his neighborhood, Bargatze’s relatable comedy draws hordes of fans, many of whom drive hours to watch him perform multiple nights.
Watching Bargatze mania unfold, Latcham became convinced the comedian could carry a feature-length family film. Helping Bargatze make that transition, Latcham said, had been “rewarding.”
“The goal from the outset was to make a Nate Bargatze film,” Latcham said. “I wanted to make Nate Bargatze’s first theatrical movie. I wanted to be the one to introduce him to the world as an actor. And so I really sought him out ... and wanted to collaborate with him because I felt like his comedy is so relatable.”
By 2025, Bargatze had become one of comedy’s most commercially successful acts, with his tours grossing $77.5 million and ticket sales nearly 50% higher than those of Sebastian Maniscalco, the country’s second-highest-selling comedian.
In 2024, he staged the year’s highest-grossing comedy show, outperforming comedy juggernauts like Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler, per Billboard. He has since hosted “Saturday Night Live” twice and led the Emmy Awards ceremony in 2025.
Bargatze and Dan Lagana co-wrote “The Breadwinner.” The film is directed by Eric Appel, whose television credits include “The Office,” “Brooklyn 99” and “Happy Endings.” Bargatze and Latcham also serve as co-producers.
“If you’ve liked my stand-up and talk about my family, I think this (’The Breadwinner’) will relate very well,” Bargatze said in a statement. “I was able to use little things that I’m comfortable with — it works and it’s funny, so we sprinkled it in.”
“With movies, you need big moments,” he added. “I didn’t really think of it that way. In stand-up, I would have to describe it all, but in a movie, you can see it. It’s very fun to get to do this stuff.”
Latcham said Bargatze’s transition from stand-up to film came naturally. “There’s a reason he’s the biggest comedian in the world,” he added. “He’s super smart.”
“There’s something about this kind of movie that I think just sticks with people that they love and that they watch over and over again because they’re funny and they’re warm and they’re comforting and they’re relatable and they feel like your life,” Latcham concluded. “My hope is to make a lot more movies like this. It’s really fun to make.”
When does ‘The Breadwinner’ come out?
“The Breadwinner” debuts in theaters on May 29. It is rated PG for some mild suggestive references.