Aside from a successful run as a correspondent for “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart and a regular supporting role in Dan Harmon’s sitcom “Community,” English comedian John Oliver is now embarking on his second season of “John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show” on Comedy Central, where well-known and up-and- coming New York comedians come together to perform for large crowds. In a conference call interview with Oliver, Broadside had the opportunity to discuss his career and passion for stand-up comedy.
You have a very distinct, British brand of humor, so how do you think that influence benefits you with the landscape of American comedy?
JO: I think comedians are naturally considered outsiders, anyway. Wherever you’re from or whatever country you’re in, you’re really supposed to be taking an outsider’s view of society, and I think if you sound different, then it just makes that distinction even clearer. So the moment I open my mouth on stage, it’s clear that I’m not from around these parts, as I believe your 1930’s Westerns put it, so it does probably help that straight away, I’m audibly different from you.
How do you choose the stand-up comedians for your show?
JO: Some of them are ones that I’ve admired for a long time, like Maria Bamford. She is probably my favorite comedian in the world. Others are very new acts, relatively speaking, who I’ve just seen doing stand-up at clubs, and I thought, “Oh it’d be great to have them on the show.”
What is it about stand-up comedy that keeps you coming back instead of pursuing roles on various TV shows?
JO: Well, I’ve always done stand-up. So, I feel that if I don’t do it for a certain amount of time, I get jittery, so I love to do it, and doing a series each year means I can just burn that hour of material I’ve worked up over the year and can then start again. It keeps me refreshing material. Also, I do love the idea of doing stand-up with people that I admire.
What has been the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you on stage during a stand-up show?
JO: When you do stand-up, basically, it’s just a sequence of unremitting embarrassment. Especially when you start, it’s just pure emotional pain. All you want to do is leave the stage to, ideally, not the sound of your own footsteps or the sound of glass in the background.
After the success certain members of “The Daily Show” have had, such as Demetri Martin, Ed Helms and more obviously Stephen Colbert, where do you see your career going from here?
JO: I don’t really know. I mean I guess in the relatively long term, I want to stay, which puts me in a position where I don’t really need to think about that at the moment. I’m going to be at “The Daily Show,” according to my contract, for the next couple years. And I’ll do “Community” on the side and stand-up as well, but I won’t be leaving for the foreseeable future. I really love it here, so I won’t leave unless they fire me.
How many ballpoint pens have you used since August of 1997?
JO: Let me think. I believe, since 1997, we’re looking at 14 years now. August of ’97. OK, so I guess 13 and a half years. I mean let’s say 20 a year, so I would imagine around 273, more or less. Maybe 274.
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