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Quote by Simon Amstell

“I'm not interested in being gratuitously relatable and broadening out what I do in order to reach more people. When I'm going into specific details of the trauma, I think it's the details that connect with people. I'm accidentally relatable - I didn't mean to be, and I didn't think I would be. It feels like what I'm saying on stage is quite shameful and possibly perverted; so for other people to be laughing and go, "Oh, yes, we understand that. We are like that too," is very lovely.”

Author

Simon Amstell

Simon Amstell (born November 29, 1979) is a British comedian, television presenter, and writer known for his awkward, self-deprecating comedy style. He gained fame as the host of Channel 4's music show Popworld from 2001 to 2006 and later became a co-host of the comedy series The Last Leg. Amstell has released several successful stand-up specials including "Numb" and "To Be or Not to Be," establishing himself as one of Britain's most distinctive comedic voices. more

“I'm not playing a character. What I'm doing though is taking the worst, most shameful, peculiar, or troubling aspects of my personality. So there are elements of me that are not there. The happy version of me is not really in the show, because there's nothing funny about being happy. So it's more like I'm poaching on the funniest parts of me rather than actually creating some other character.”

Character Worst Personality Shameful

Author:Simon Amstell

“If there's anything to be said in a broad way about different audiences it's that I live in a major city, and those themes of isolation, protectiveness, loneliness tend to resonate with other people in major cities. In a sleepier village, where people are married with their children, me standing up and saying, "This marriage idea is a funny old convention that we invented" - various things that are deconstructions of the norms of a culture - if people have already made decisions like that, they're more inclined to say "Please, stop talking about our marriages, 'cause we're here now."”

People Children Different Culture Decision Audience Loneliness Married Various Isolation Norm Protectiveness

Author:Simon Amstell

“I'll just talk and talk for an hour, an hour and half, until funny things come out of my mouth - often things that I don't think will be funny, often things that I just thought were sentences, turn out to be funny, because they're the sentences of an idiot. There's level of self-awareness that develops, and I write down things that were funny, usually when I'm on stage, and that becomes the show.”

Thinking Writing Hours Idiot

Author:Simon Amstell

“At first I was very anxious about starting Twitter, because I didn't really know what was expected of me. I now feel fairly relaxed, in that's it a way of telling people things that you are doing, without any attempt to be entertaining. To me, even funny people who are tweeting, it just gives a glib impression. You know that it's been constructed, that it's not a thing that's just happened in that moment. So whatever you read, the best you get is, "Eh."”

People Giving Moments Impression Anxious Funny People

Author:Simon Amstell