Born and raised in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York, Breuer decided to pursue a career in standup by the time he was in high school. He toured the U.S. for several years on the club circuit before deciding to focus on the New York City comedy scene. Within a matter of months after settling there, he landed a role on the nationally syndicated Uptown Comedy Club TV series, which ran from 1992-1994. His big break arrived in 1995, when he was invited to join the cast of Saturday Night Live, where he remained for four seasons. Film roles followed, including one in the Dave Chappelle- and Neal Brennan-scripted comedy Half Baked from 1998, and 1999's Dick, which starred Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams.

 

In 2002, he appeared in his first one-hour standup special for Comedy Central. Titled Hardcore, it was released on DVD by Comedy Central Records that September. The same month, the label also released his comedy album Smoke 'n' Breu, which had Breuer impersonating AC/DC and Metallica alongside a full band. He continued to earn occasional film credits, such as 2003's Crooked Lines, and in 2004 began a long stint hosting his own weekly satellite radio show, first called Breuer Unleashed and later reworked as Fridays with Breuer. He brought his 84-year-old father along on his 2008 Breuniversity Tour of U.S. colleges, and videos from the trip were used to make his documentary More Than Me, which premiered at the 2009 Montreal Film Festival. That year also saw his Comedy Central special Let's Clear the Air.

 

His memoir I'm Not High (But I've Got a Lot of Crazy Stories About Life as a Goat Boy, a Dad, and a Spiritual Warrior) was published in October 2010. The following year, he joined the Anti-Social Network tour with Dave Attell, Bill Burr, and Jim Norton. Another one-hour special, this time for Epix, And Laughter for All was recorded at Manhattan's Gramercy Theatre and premiered in 2013. A music-comedy album marking his return to heavy metal was released by Metal Blade in 2016. Titled Songs from the Garage and credited to Jim Breuer and the Loud & Rowdy, it featured Anthrax's Rob Caggiano on guitar (and producing), Joe Vigliotti on bass, and Mike Tichy on drums, as well as appearances by AC/DC's Brian Johnson.