“I always knew I wanted to do comedy. I like making people laugh. I started out young just making my family laugh and trying to make kids laugh in school and getting into plays. I think it's the only thing I know how to do so hopefully it works out.” PeopleThinkingKnowsTryingPlayKidsWantedSchoolYoungLaughingKnow HowComedyMy FamilyWork OutHopefullyMaking People Laugh Author:Jillian Bell
“A Murphy [Eddie Murphy] movie is like a Sidney Poitier comedy - he's that intensely good... He revolutionized acting. He's literally black Brando. Before Eddie Murphy, there were two schools of acting for a black actor: Either you played it LIKE THIS or youplayeditlahkdis. He was the first black guy in a movie to talk like I am talking right now. That did not exist for black actors before him.” FirstsTwoSchoolGuyActorsBlackActingTalkingComedyRight NowMurphyBrandoBlack Guys Author:Scott Raab
“I did a lot of theater in school. I thought maybe I wanted to go to law school or be a judge or a politician. And then I just kind of got smitten by the process of rehearsal and working with other actors and those kinds of challenges. And then comedy.” KindWantedSchoolLawActorsProcessChallengesComedyJudgingPoliticianTheaterRehearsalLaw SchoolSmittenWorking With Others Author:Rashida Jones
“There wasn't a big tradition of comedy at Dartmouth. More than that, there wasn't really anything artsy going on in Hanover, or even in New Hampshire. The cool thing about the school is that there's nothing for people to watch, so if you were to do a play or a sketch or an improv troupe, it was always packed. There's nowhere else for anyone to go. But there was no comedy.” PeopleIfsPlayBigsSchoolWatchesComedyTraditionCool ThingsHampshireNew HampshireDartmouthTroupe Author:Mindy Kaling
“When I dropped out [from a law school], everybody was disappointed... But I found that disappointing people is a good thing, because disapproval is freedom. Before that, I never realized how much I sought other people's approval. Once I figured that out, I was free to move on and seek the approval of other people, in comedy clubs and showbiz meetings.” PeopleSchoolMovingLawFoundComedyGood ThingsMeetingsClubsDisappointedApprovalDisappointingLaw SchoolDisapprovalShowbizComedy ClubsApproval Of Others Author:Demetri Martin
“I knew at a young age that I wanted to do comedy, and maybe part of that was trying to fit in at school because I had a weird name, and my parents had these accents, and I was definitely a late bloomer.” TryingAgeWantedSchoolYoungNamesParentComedyFitLateAccentsYoung AgeTrying To Fit In Author:Nasim Pedrad
“I was fifteen, or sixteen. I was in high school. I was spending a summer in California with my second cousins. And I wanted to be a director really bad. I was making a lot of 8mm home movies, since I was twelve, making little dramas and comedies with the neighborhood kids.” LittlesHomeKidsWantedSchoolComedyDramaDirectorsSummerHigh SchoolSpendingCaliforniaNeighborhoodTwelveFifteenCousinSixteen Author:Steven Spielberg
“I'd say I've gone to grad school for comedy being on "Community."” SchoolCommunityGoneComedyGradGrad School Author:Gillian Jacobs
“I feel like a lot of my past career was going to film school, making a lot of different kinds of movies. I made a bunch of comedies, I made one drama and I made a couple musicals.” FeelsKindMadeDifferentSchoolPastFilmCareersComedyCoupleDramaBunchDifferent KindsMy PastFilm School Author:Adam Shankman
“I was named Class Clown in the high school yearbook, so I was always turning to comedy and laughter to heal and to get me through things.” SchoolClassComedyLaughterHigh SchoolHealClownYearbookHigh School Yearbook Author:Guillermo Diaz
“My tutors at drama school commended and criticised my use of comedy in my acting for a long time at drama school. They said I had a tendency to somehow perform the most tragic of scenes in a slightly flippant way.” WayLongSaidUseSchoolActingComedyDramaSceneLong TimeTendenciesTragicThey SaidTutorFlippant Author:John Bradley-West
“I would like to get back to making people laugh. Before drama school, I did nothing but comedy.” PeopleSchoolLaughingComedyDramaGet BackMaking People Laugh Author:Andrew Buchan
“I went to a public high school and most of the comedy was coming from the black kids and the Asian kids and the Hispanic kids. And, the coolest kids to me where always the black kids. They were always fashion forward and they always dressed the coolest. They were always the best dancers, and just the coolest people.” PeopleKidsSchoolBlackComedyFashionHigh SchoolDancerAsianHispanic Author:Brett Ratner
“So are all the kids on the East Coast repeating school next year? Get ready to see a lot of hairy eighth graders. Storm brain drain.” YearsKidsSchoolNextCommunityBrainEducationComedyGenerationsReadySocial MediaStormEastCoastNext YearDrainsEast CoastBrain Drain Author:Olivia Wilde
“Six Secrets to Being a Successful Humorist 1. Be scared, unhappy, and an outcast as a kid. 2. Drop out of high school. 3. Spend time alone. 4. Don't take a comedy course. 5. Read other humorists but don't worship them. 6. Don't get your hopes up.” HumorKidsSchoolFunnyCoursesSecretSuccessfulComedySixWorshipHigh SchoolScaredUnhappyEnd TimesSpend TimeMe AloneOutcastHumoristsAlone TimeHopes Up Author:Bruce McCall
“I was sort of trained in drama. I went to theater school. I started on the stage. Comedy is absolutely an essential part of what we do as actors. But I think in the grand scheme of things, comedy was born from tragedy. First there was tragedy and then there were the comedies.” ThinkingFirstsSchoolActorsBornComedyStageDramaEssentialsTragedyTheaterSchemes Author:Alex O'Loughlin
“I was voted Most Humorous in my senior class in high school, and I was a fan of comedy, my whole life. I never got into the horror genre, and action was fine, but I just loved comedy. Any comedy I could get my hands on, I would. I watched Saturday Night Live religiously. I've just been a fan of comedy, my whole life.” WholeHandsActionSchoolNightClassComedyFansFineHorrorHumorousHigh SchoolWhole LifeGenreSeniorSaturdaySaturday NightHorror GenreSaturday Night LiveSenior Class Author:Rob Riggle
“Comedies are very hard to do. They are difficult. Unless there's the Judd Apatow school, where they're like okay, we know that, we're going to do those. Or unless it's something that's far to the other side.” KnowsHardSchoolDifficultSidesComedyOkay Author:Don Cheadle
“It never seemed like that much of a mystery why shows I was acted in failed. When you're doing a show called Freaks And Geeks about young people in high school, and it's on Saturday nights at 8 and there's no promotion for it, it's not really hard to guess why no one's watching it. And when you're doing a college goofball comedy that premières three weeks after Sept. 11, it's not that hard to piece together why that's not the most important thing on the radar.” PeopleImportantHardShowsSchoolTogetherYoungNightThreeComedyPiecesMysteryWeekCollegeHigh SchoolImportant ThingsFreakSaturdayGeekPromotionSaturday NightRadarSept 11 Author:Seth Rogen
“Growing up, I was the weird, theatrical kid who always tried to make people be in my plays. I've always loved comedy, but when it came time to figure out what I was going to go to school for, my parents were like, "Acting?! I don't think so. No." It took me a while to get the courage to pursue it. I had to do it in secret for a little bit, and then when I got married and was out on my own, I went for it.” PeopleThinkingLittlesPlayKidsSchoolBitsParentMy OwnActingSecretGrowing UpComedyGrowingFiguresMarriedLittle BitPursueTheatrical Author:Wendi McLendon-Covey
“I knew I wanted to be in show business so I took the path of least resistance. I loved comedy. But you never know you are funny until people laugh. It's just what I was interested in. I could make people laugh, I guess, but doing it at school and doing it onstage are very different things.” PeopleKnowsDifferentShowsWantedSchoolLaughingPathComedyResistanceDifferent ThingsShow BusinessMaking People LaughPath Of Least Resistance Author:Steve Martin
“If i wouldn't have done comedy, I would have been a teacher. I was really good when I took an exploratory teaching class in high school, at getting kids' attention, and delivering lesson plans. Though my principal even told me that this was what I was meant to do. And that being a big-mouth comedian was a waste of time.” IfsHas BeensDoneBigsKidsSchoolAttentionClassComedyTeacherPlansTeachingLessonsWasteMouthsHigh SchoolComedianWasting TimePrincipalDelivering Author:Gabriel Iglesias
“You ever buy a book and not read it? You feel almost guilty having it up on a bookshelf. People are like, "Hey, how's that book?" "I haven't read it." "Oh, did you just buy it?" "I've had it since high school." "Well, can I borrow it?" "No."” PeopleFeelsWellsBookSchoolFunnyComedyHavensHigh SchoolGuiltyHeyBookshelves Author:Jim Gaffigan
“Well I was about to be expelled from school, I had been arrested and a teacher said: "Why don't you try acting, instead of distracting the class? Why don't you use your comic talent for something more productive?" My maths teacher suggested I do comedy and I decided to have a go. I pursued it after that. I was about 17.” TryingWellsSaidUseSchoolActingClassComedyTeacherTalentDecidedMathComicProductivePursuedArrestedMath Teacher Author:John Leguizamo
“When I was 14, I told my mother I was going to drop out of high school and go do stand-up comedy. All she said was 'Oh maybe it's better if you just die,' because it was killing her that I was doing this.” IfsSaidSchoolMotherDiesComedyHigh SchoolKillingStand Up Comedy Author:Margaret Cho
“I remember reading Dave Barry for the first time and being like oh my God I can't believe you can do this. Watching Mel Brooks and Monty Python and SNL and all that stuff really informed me as a writer and then at high school I started a satire magazine and the college like The Lampoon really introduced me to like you know a lot of very like-minded people who really wanted to like comedy was the center of their lives.” PeopleKnowsFirstsBelieveI CanWantedSchoolRememberReadingStuffCan DoComedyCollegeLike YouHigh SchoolFirst TimeMagazinesSatireBrooksDaveBelieve You CanPythonSnlMonty Author:Nicholas Stoller
“I listened to my first comedy album in 6th grade. It was Bill Cosby. My brother and I would play it over and over on a Fisher Price record player. A friend in high school also introduced me to Richard Pryor. I wasn't writing material back then, but I would say funny stuff. I was good at making fun of people's moms. If I knew something personal about you, it would be used against you.” PeopleIfsWritingFirstsPlayWould BeSchoolUsedFunStuffRecordsComedyPlayerBrotherMaterialsMomHigh SchoolBillsAlbumsMy BrotherGradesFunny StuffRecord Players Author:Felipe Esparza
“When I was probably in middle school I saw the mini series Angels in America for the first time and I think Mary Louise Parker's performance in that first of all sparked a deep obsession with Mary Louise Parker, but I also really love Amy Adams because she gets to do comedy and drama so consistently.” ThinkingFirstsSchoolAmericaSawsComedyMiddleDramaAngelFirst TimePerformancesSeriesObsessionMaryConsistentlyAmyMiddle SchoolAngels In America Author:Grace Phipps