Who Plays Captain Obvious In The Hotels.com Commercials?
Considering how ubiquitous streaming services are, you would think TV commercial spokespeople would have become as extinct as beepers by now. But even if people are buying fewer television sets (via Vox), the internet is riddled with numerous ads, often playing before a YouTube video or in between a Hulu series, increasing the popularity of spokespeople like Flo from Progressive, Lily from AT&T, and of course, Captain Obvious.
You've likely seen the Captain Obvious commercials from Hotels.com at some point. The premise of the ads, if it's not already obvious, centers around a bearded, military-looking man stating facts that should be self-explanatory, ("The hotel lounge is where you want to do your lounging"), hence his name, Captain Obvious. And after defining what's already known, he points out what else he thinks should be obvious — Hotels.com (which he lets us know is on the internet) is the only place for booking hotels.
But what may not be obvious to everyone is who the actor playing Captain Obvious is. So who is this mysterious bearded military man?
Brandon Moynihan will never forget when an NBA legend quoted his commercial to him
According to his IMDb credits, Brandon Moynihan has been a working actor for at least a decade, landing credited roles in various short films over the years. And before he became Captain Obvious, you might have seen him on his YouTube channel or playing Larry the Pilgrim in the Stovetop Stuffing ads.
But Moynihan says he's never been as recognized as he is now from his plethora of Captain Obvious commercials. He attributes his recognizability to his beard. In an interview on LinkedIn, Moynihan said, "I get recognized more and more, especially in airports. I think it's the beard. I'm also very popular at my kids' elementary school. Picking them up and dropping them off are definitely my red carpet moments."
He said even NBA legends know who he is. After he made an appearance on TNT's "Shaqtin' A Fool," Shaquille O'Neal invited the actor to the TNT Studios. Not only did he meet some famous NBA players, but they also knew him. "I walked in and was in total awe of these basketball legends," Moynihan said. "It blew my mind that they were genuinely excited to meet me as well. Isiah Thomas was actually quoting the 'Obvious Eyes' commercial. It's a moment I'll never forget."