I was a stand-up comedian for 10 years, if you can believe it. And I gave it up at age 22.
I tell people I'm a stand-up comedian two hours a week. The rest of the time, I'm somebody's husband, I'm somebody's father. I'm a man. I take great pride in that.
When you live the life of a comedian, it's such a state of arrested development. I can't deal with anything very maturely. I'm still really bad at paying bills or doing anything that would be considered semi-adult. I'm really bad at it. It's weird I can create and run a TV show, but I can't pay my phone bill.
It takes many years to be a great comedian.
You say you're a comedian, you always have to be on guard.
I tell people all the time, as I was going through my process of being a comedian or being an actor and a writer at 'SNL,' I tell people that everything you do is all a piece of your puzzle to determine where you're going to end up at.
I'm probably more of a stand-up comedian than an actor.
When you see a crowd of people jumping up and down at a pop concert, all gloriously in the moment, I don't think you'll ever see a comedian there. They'll all be standing at the sides, looking at how it all fits together.
John was the smartest and most amazing comedian I've ever worked with. I think more than teaching me about acting or comedy, he taught me about life and the love of people and respect of people.
The test of a real comedian is whether you laugh at him before he opens his mouth.
I don't consider myself a comedian because I don't really concern myself too much with jokes.
Comedian sort of enjoys the darkness because, essentially, he's a thug. He's just not a nice guy.
Whatever you want to do in the industry, do it on the smallest level at first. If you want to be a writer, write a screenplay in your house. If you want to be an actor, put on a one-man show. If you want to be a stand-up comedian, go to an open mic.
I believe that any type of education can be great, but an education about ourselves can create something wonderful. I am a comedian, but people have called me a motivational speaker. I don't really consider myself that at all.
I think my speeches are hilarious. I think I'm a natural comedian, but I like denying people the chance to laugh. I want to deny you the relief of the punchline.
A comedian needs to have his own filters, needs to know his audience, how far he can push things.
I do think that character types trend. As a female comedian, the parts that come my way are often terrible women.
Whether you do stand-up comedy or write a story, you have a duty to deliver. As a comedian, you walk out on stage, and you have a minute to hook them, or they'll start booing. As a writer, it's very similar. A reader doesn't have time to say, 'I'll give him 50 pages, as it's not very good yet, but I hope it'll get better.'
Every black comedian in the country knew what I could do. But that doesn't mean everyone else is paying attention.
I wouldn't say I have comedy chops. I guess you get lucky with good writing because I don't think I'm a comedian by any stretch of the imagination.
When I was younger I always thought, 'If I were ever a comedian I'd make it like a rock concert.' I wanted to generate that type of enthusiasm and excitement.
If you're billed as a comedian, people will accept anything you say as light-hearted and not with intent behind it.
I've been doing comedies but I'm not a comedian.
The more you work in this business as a comedian, the closer you get to just being yourself onstage, on camera, the more well received you are.
I'm funny. I'm a comedian. I'm not a clown.
I took an acting class. After the first day, the teacher quit, so they said take another. When I saw 'How to be a Stand-up Comedian,' it resonated. I realized I'd rather make 200 people laugh than make one person cry.
The violence or the vaudeville style of comedy is a technique all by itself. You get up there, and you are a comedian, and you're doing one thing. That is, you're going to make the audience laugh.
Even though my father was a radio comedian, it wasn't cool to say, at a young age, 'I want to be a comedian.'
Richard Pryor is, in my mind, the most honest comedian. He bared his soul to people. I think that's why everybody loved him so much.
I'm not a comedian. I'm an actor who just happens to be funny on occasion.
When you ask people who their favorite comedian is or favorite African-American comedian, people generally say Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, or Richard Pryor. Redd Foxx gets left out a lot.
I'd love to be a comedian. I've done a lot, but always in the confines of plays.
The pressure to being a comedian is being funny, but I've given that up, so there is no pressure whatsoever.
I'm not a comedian. And I'm not sick. The world is sick, and I'm the doctor. I'm a surgeon with a scalpel for false values.
I've never set out to write a funny movie or be a funny comedian as a woman. I am a woman. I don't really have a choice in the matter. My goal is just to be funny.
I know who Dick Gregory is; I knew what his accomplishments are. I certainly knew him as a comedian and an activist.
