Actor/Comedian Reveals Surprising Reason He Joined the Marines

Published: April 6, 2026

By Mallory Mattingly

Actor and comedian Rob Riggle admitted the real reason he joined the Marines.

Riggle joined the military when he was just 19 years old. While it was something he desired, it was not a “top priority.”

“I had dreams of maybe being an FBI agent. And I called the FBI—this is back when you had to call people, there was no internet—and I called the local office and said, ‘What do you guys look for?’ he said. Some nice special agent had some time to kill, I guess, and he said, ‘Well, we like lawyers. We like accountants.’ And then he goes, ‘Oh, by the way, we also like Marine officers. We tend to hire a lot of those guys,’” Riggle said on the “Club Random with Bill Maher” podcast.

Riggle immediately knew he had no desire to become a lawyer or accountant, but he did think, “Well, maybe I could do the Marine thing.”

Riggle served 23 years in the Marines and reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. Riggle served in Afghanistan, Albania, Liberia, and Kosovo.

Riggle went on to discuss that throughout his time in the Marines, his confidence began to soar.

“What was interesting was that as I went through the Marines, I got more confidence. I got more confidence, I got more confidence,” he revealed. “This is what I thought my limits were. Then they showed me my new limits, right? I said, ‘You know what? Maybe I could be an actor. Maybe I could be a comedian.'”

Riggle has done some dangerous things while in the Marines, but none of those really scared him. But when he took the stage for the first time as a comedian, he felt the nerves.

“It wasn’t until the first time that I stepped on stage at The Comic Strip Live on the Upper East Side to do my first five minutes that I really had been vulnerable and completely terrified. It was a different kind of terror. That kind of terror is a very emotional terror,” he said on The View in November.

In November, Riggle had the incredible honor of being the host for the annual Veterans’ Day TV special AMERICAN VALOR: A SALUTE TO OUR HEROES.

“As a Marine, it’s the greatest honor to stand alongside those who’ve served and to help tell the stories of the true heroes who’ve shaped our country,” Riggle said in a statement, per Variety. “Their courage, their sacrifice, and their legacy deserve to be celebrated and remembered, not just on Veterans Day, but every day.”

From an unexpected decision to join the Marines to a successful career in comedy and acting, Riggle’s journey highlights how stepping outside his comfort zone built the confidence that shaped his life.

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