Who’s the mustached host of Utopia? Illustrator and comics artist Dan Piraro

Not only is the premise of Utopia out-there, but so is Dan Piraro, who sports a big mustache, zany glasses, and a bowler hat. His style conjures those toy disguise masks. Does he always dress like this? Where did he come from?

Piraro has never been a host before, but before getting asked to try out for this gig by his producer buddy, he had made a pretty big name for himself as a cartoonist with his strip Bizarro. The style seen on the show is just a slightly tweaked version of his regular look.

The illustrator had no designs vaunting into the world of hosting, but when the opportunity arose, he took his crack at it. He wrote about the whole experience on his blog:

“Think about it. I’m at home in my sweatpants working on my cartoon career like I’ve been doing for the past 30 years, a friend asks me if I’d like to do some voiceover work for a TV show and I’m thinking, “Sure. If I can make a few extra bucks talking into a microphone for a few hours a week, I’m game.” A few weeks later I’m on national TV, posing for publicity shots, and going on press junkets. I didn’t even have an agent or a headshot when this started. People who’ve been working for this kind of break in showbiz for years must hate me, and I can’t blame them. To them, I can only say I’m sorry.”

CLICK HERE to find out behind-the-scenes secrets about Utopia.