Emma Stone turns 38 today, Friday 6 November 2026, and the two-time Oscar winner is trending in the United States as fans mark her birthday and revisit Bugonia, her fourth film with director Yorgos Lanthimos. Standing beside her through that rise, almost entirely out of the spotlight, is her husband Dave McCary. McCary is not a fellow actor chasing red carpets. He is the former Saturday Night Live segment director who built a comedy career behind the camera, directed the cult favourite Brigsby Bear, and now runs the production company Fruit Tree with Stone.
Dave McCary — Quick Reference Profile
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Full name | David Lawrence McCary |
| Date of birth | 2 July 1985 (age 41) |
| Birthplace | San Diego, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Primary role | Comedian, writer, producer and director |
| Famous anchor | Wife Emma Stone (married September 2020) |
| Net worth | Not publicly verified |
| Height | Not publicly verified |
| Family | Wife Emma Stone; daughter Louise Jean McCary (born March 2021); parents Gary Lee and Diane Lee McCary |
| Social handles | Not publicly verified |
San Diego Beginnings and the Good Neighbor Comedy Crew
David Lawrence McCary was born on 2 July 1985 in San Diego, California, to Gary Lee and Diane Lee McCary. He grew up far from Hollywood and graduated from Monroe High School in Monroe, Wisconsin, in 2003. Details of his university education have not been publicly verified.
During his college years McCary formed the sketch comedy group Good Neighbor with Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett and Nick Rutherford. The group’s offbeat, deadpan style became its calling card. That same creative circle would later move with him into the biggest comedy institution on American television.
Five Seasons Directing Saturday Night Live’s Pre-Taped Sketches
McCary joined Saturday Night Live for its 39th season in 2013 as a segment director, the same year Mooney and Bennett joined the cast. He spent his five seasons at Saturday Night Live directing pre-taped sketches and digital shorts, the strange little films that often became the show’s most talked-about moments. He left the show at the end of season 43 in 2018.
His SNL work brought three consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series between 2016 and 2018, and a fourth nomination in 2024. He returned to Studio 8H that year to direct the pre-taped sketch “Papyrus 2” with Ryan Gosling. It was a one-off homecoming, not a return to staff.
Brigsby Bear and the Leap Into Feature Films
McCary made his feature film directorial debut with Brigsby Bear in 2017. The comedy-drama stars Kyle Mooney as a young man obsessed with a fictional children’s television show, alongside Mark Hamill and Greg Kinnear. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2017 and reached cinemas that July through Sony Pictures Classics.
Critics praised the film’s warmth and sincerity, a tone that has become McCary’s signature. Brigsby Bear proved he could carry a feature, not just a three-minute sketch. It remains the clearest statement of the filmmaker he is when the camera is his.
The SNL Sketch That Started a Marriage
McCary met Emma Stone in December 2016, when she hosted Saturday Night Live for the third time and he directed her in the sketch “Wells for Boys”. Their relationship was confirmed in October 2017. McCary announced their engagement on 4 December 2019 with an Instagram photograph of Stone’s pearl ring.
The couple married in September 2020 in a private ceremony, after postponing their original March 2020 plans because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as confirmed by People in September 2020. Their daughter, Louise Jean McCary, was born in March 2021. Their instinct for privacy is shared by other celebrity spouses we have profiled, including Luciana Damon, the wife of Matt Damon, and Laura Gallacher, the author married to Russell Brand.
Stone rarely discusses the marriage in public, but she opened her 2024 Golden Globes acceptance speech for Poor Things with a tribute to McCary. The couple still make very few joint public appearances. That distance from the spotlight looks deliberate, and it has held for almost a decade.
Fruit Tree, Bugonia and the Business Behind the Camera
In August 2020 McCary and Stone co-founded the production company Fruit Tree, signing a two-year first-look television deal with A24. Its productions include When You Finish Saving the World, Problemista, I Saw the TV Glow, The Curse and Bugonia, which Stone produced through Fruit Tree. The company backs the kind of original, off-centre storytelling both founders favour.
Bugonia, Stone’s fourth collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos, premiered at Venice in August 2025 and reached cinemas that October. It has since found a wide streaming audience through 2026, including a run on HBO Max’s global Top 10 in August 2026. McCary’s own income comes from directing, writing and producing rather than acting fees. His net worth is not publicly verified, and figures circulating online come from unverified sources, so they are not repeated here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Dave McCary? Dave McCary is an American comedian, writer, producer and director. He is Emma Stone’s husband, a former Saturday Night Live segment director, the director of Brigsby Bear and the co-founder of the production company Fruit Tree.
How did Dave McCary and Emma Stone meet? They met in December 2016 on Saturday Night Live, when Stone hosted the show and McCary directed her in the sketch “Wells for Boys”. They began dating in 2017.
When did Dave McCary and Emma Stone get married? They married in September 2020 in a private ceremony, after postponing their original March 2020 wedding plans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They had announced their engagement in December 2019.
Do Dave McCary and Emma Stone have children? Yes. Their daughter, Louise Jean McCary, was born in March 2021.
What is Dave McCary’s net worth? Not publicly verified. No authoritative source publishes a verified figure for McCary, so any number found online should be treated as unconfirmed.
Is Dave McCary still on Saturday Night Live? No. He left at the end of season 43 in 2018 and returned only once, in 2024, to direct the pre-taped sketch “Papyrus 2” with Ryan Gosling.
Myth-busting: McCary did not become known only through his marriage. His SNL run began in 2013 and Brigsby Bear premiered at Sundance in January 2017, months before his relationship with Stone was publicly confirmed in October 2017. He is also not still an SNL staffer, and no verified net worth figure exists for him despite the numbers repeated on celebrity-net-worth sites.
