No one came to our neighborhoods with stand-up jobs and showed us there's a different way. Maybe, had I seen different role models, maybe I'd've turned on to that.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Once I started doing stand-up, everything fell into place. That was when I started acting more; I felt like I'd found my place in the business.
I did stand-up for a good number of years while I was still living in New York, and those people primarily knew me as 'the kid stand-up.'
When I was young, I was looking for people to look up to - role models I could respect.
A stand-up's job is to hold the mirror up to society and to look at what we're afraid of. That's why we had shows like 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons.' We made fun of ourselves then.
I don't know why, but people tend to look at stand-ups and think they can act, which actually isn't the case. But never mind. I thought: if that's the area where they're looking, then that's the area where I'll put myself - even as a means to an end. And it was.
I've seen people, when they get into these bigger and bigger jobs, it goes to their heads. I've seen it. Some people in life change who they are, and some don't. I'm basically the same guy I've always been.
I never thought I'd be a role model but I think to some people I am or have been.
Most stand-ups, once they have done it, think of it as their default job. I'm pretty sure Jon Stewart still feels that way now. You are a stand-up first; other things come and go.
Like any director working today, I started out when somebody took a shot at hiring me. It's how we all start out - male, female, white or minority.
I'm proud to say that I've never had a normal job. I started doing stand-up when I was in high school, purely as a measure to never get a proper job.