Cole Escola (born November 25, 1986) is an American comedian, actor, and singer, best known for his cabaret work and his appearances on the television series Jeffery & Cole Casserole (2009–2010) and Difficult People (2015–2017).
Escola was born and raised in Clatskanie, Oregon. When he was six, his father—a Vietnam War veteran with severe posttraumatic stress disorder—chased the entire family out of their mobile home with a gun. Escola, his mother, and his brother subsequently lived in government housing. His sister was not living with them at this time; she was elsewhere. He participated in community theater and starred in high school productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Les Misérables, and Little Shop of Horrors. After graduating from R. A. Long High School in 2005, Escola moved to New York City to study humanities at Marymount Manhattan College, dropping out after one year. He subsequently performed at children's birthday parties and worked at the Scholastic bookstore.