Big Bird is a muppet character on the children's television show "Sesame Street". He is a big, yellow bird. Unlike most other muppets, he is a full-body muppet, meaning that the person controlling him is completely inside the costume. The person who played the role of Big Bird was Caroll Spinney from 1969 to 2018. In 2018, Caroll Spinney retired, and Matt Vogel started playing Big Bird full time. Matt Vogel was Caroll Spinney's understudy for many years before he got the role.