TV INTERVIEW: MATT KIRSHEN
Fresh-Faced Witty Brit Is Bookable for Anything…Except an American Accent
Transatlantic comic Matt Kirshen was born and raised in North London, impressively educated at Cambridge University, and has been a gigging comedian ever since. Over the past decade, he has been a regular favorite at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a popular contestant on Last Comic Standing, recorded his debut special for Paramount comedy, and co-wrote and starred in the BBC Radio sketch show Bigipedia. Buzzine’s Nicole Rayburn caught up with Matt at The Vanguard in Hollywood, California before his appearance on The Green Room with Paul Provenza to talk about comic camaraderie, shower stall inspirations, and whipping boys. And to wonder how a 30-year-old man can still look like a teenager…
Nicole Rayburn: How many of these comics here tonight do you know already?
Matt Kirshen: On the first show, I know Kathleen [Madigan] because she was a judge on the season of Last Comic Standing that I was on. And Jamie [Kilstein] I’ve known for years…
NR: Why was it that you didn’t win – I thought you were great…?
MK: It’s my fault. I just didn’t bring it.
NR: You can’t get down on yourself. There’s always some politics in that.
MK: No, it’s all my fault.
NR: OK: I guess you just were not funny enough.
MK: No. I was literally not funny enough.
NR: So you know Kathleen because she was a judge: When did you meet Jamie?
MK: I’ve known him since he came to the UK and we did the Edinburgh Festival together, and I’ve crashed at his in New York and he’s crashed at mine in London. So that should be cool. And [Paul] Provenza I obviously know.
NR: How often do you really get to schmooze and hang out with other comics?
MK: A lot more in the UK than I do over here because there’s this weird thing: In America, when you’re on the road, they don’t ever have comics of equal status together. So I’m either headlining with someone quite new, or I’m featuring with someone who’s been there for a while and is a much higher status, whereas in England, you tend to gig with a lot more peers, so I see them a lot more. In America, it’s only really festivals where you get to hang out with the people you know and your peers, and the people a bit above and the people a bit below and so on.
NR: Because there’s kind of this myth that everybody in comedy knows everybody. Automatically. True?
MK: It is, though, to an extent. It’s surprisingly a small world. It’s amazing how soon after I started that I was gigging with people that I used to watch on TV and really idolize. I’m like, “Holy s***, I’m the open spot on a bill with…”
NR: Do you ever get that instant camaraderie with guys that have been doing it forever?
MK: To an extent... I’ve been doing standup for almost a decade now, and once you’ve clearly done your fair share of s***ty gigs and your fair share of driving miles and your fair share of everything – you’ve done the good gigs and the bad gigs and you’ve got those shared experiences, yeah, so there is that kind of camaraderie. I’m sure it’s the same, though, if a couple of doctors meet in a bar and they’re like, “Hey, you’ve also had your hand inside a man? Let’s chat about that.” Because comedians also have all had their hands inside a man. It’s just one of the rules. It’s the initiation. It’s like a fraternity – you have to do it.
NR: I heard you say that you simply cannot do an American accent. Is that right?
MK: No, I cannot.
NR: How many times have you tried?
MK: I’ve tried over two times. Every time with no success.
NR: What happens if you try?
MK: Bad things happen.
NR: Bad things in the universe, or bad things happen to you?
MK: No, bad things like floods. Natural disasters.
NR: So if you try an American accent, across the nation somewhere…
MK: Forest fire. I can’t prove it, but last time I tried it, half of California burned down, and I think I owe it to the homeowners not to give it a go. It’s funny, but on the other hand…destructive.
NR: Some comics I’ve been talking to today take their material from topical issues that are going on in the news and others draw from household experiences, family, stuff like that. Where does it come from for you?
MK: The shower. Anything and everything that occurs to me in the shower. The smellier I am, the less likely I am to have written new material. If you come across me and you’re like, “You smell minty clean,” with almost like a shine coming off me, you know I’ve got a new stuff to be telling an audience.
NR: You’re not on the panel, but you are still a part of the show: How does that work?
MK: I am being thrown into at some point in the first show that is taping today, to tell a story that Provenza wants me to tell that relates to another panelist, and then just bounce off…
NR: Do you know when that’s gonna happen, or is it a surprise?
MK: I don’t know when that’s going to happen specifically, but I just trust Paul to chuck to me at the right time. He’s good at that kind of stuff.
NR: Because it’s that whole cool conversational feel to it…
MK: Exactly. Like the rest of the show, Paul has an idea of where he wants the conversation to go, and then he’ll happily sit back and let things flow organically, and at some point prod it in a different direction again, and I know he’s got these points that he wants to hit throughout the show, and I’m one of them. I am a thing that he wants to hit. I’m there to be hit. I’m being paid to be hit.
NR: That’s special: Can’t be too mad about that…
MK: Well, you can’t be proud about that either. I’m not sure that’s something to tell the parents. I’m a whipping boy. I’m Paul Provenza’s whipping boy for hire. I’m taking money.
NR: That’s so being edited in.
MK: Perfect. Because I want him to know. Paul Provenza, I want you to know what you’re doing to me. That’s my family’s name and my children’s children, which I kind of keep on the low-down because it’s kind of weird, but they were hired to be specifically children’s children for that purpose, but Paul, this is what you’re doing.
NR: Children’s children, really? Seriously, how old are you?
MK: Thirty.
NR: Because I know that you’ve been joking about being a kid forever…
MK: I’m starting to look too old to have to do that, but that was when I first started – I looked really young.
NR: From here, I can tell you: You’re still pulling off 16.
MK: I had this face ten years ago, when I first started doing standup, so I kind of needed to explain to an audience that you’re allowed to laugh at this, and I’m allowed to have the views that I’m having.
The second season of ‘The Green Room with Paul Provenza’ premieres new episodes on Showtime every Thursday night at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT beginning July 14, 2011.
Featured content
You may also like
Recent comments
