Browner and Friendlier? Q&A with Maz Jobrani
Is Maz Jobrani browner and friendlier?
Apparently so: “Feels like just yesterday I was Brown and Friendly. Now, I’ve got more tour dates and suddenly I’m Browner and Friendlier.” Quips the hilariously funny Jobrani.
So how exactly did he get “browner”?
“Hung out with some black friends,” he says. “It rubbed off on me.”
Booked until next spring, the popular comedian’s new tour dates are taking him across the globe. (And on Nov. 5th, 2010, you can catch your favorite Persian multifaceted artist on the Joy Behar Show at 9pm EST.)
But for now…Enjoy our quick Q&A with the man whose original lines you probably use (and reuse), regularly….
PEM: How excited are for your upcoming tour dates?
MJ: Always excited about new tour dates. In this economy I’d be excited about janitor work much less work where I get to go on stage and goof around for an hour.
Any new locations added to your itinerary?
Portland. I’ve been trying to get out there for a while and I’m finally making it. Still, some of the places I’ve been like DC, Boston and San Diego are great to revisit as well.
When you tour, do you get to hang out and visit the places you travel to, or are you busy doing interviews and TV spots?
Busy doing interviews and TV spots. I usually end up waking up at 5am to do morning radio…Do press till 10am, then go home and sleep. If I’m lucky I get to the gym for a little bit and then it’s showtime followed by an afterparty. Not a bad life, but I don’t get a chance to see the world that I’m traveling in. (Except when I go to places like Egypt, where I skip the workout and go to the pyramids.)
Any news on Funny in Farsi? Is it still happening?
Done and done. We shot the pilot, but ABC didn’t pick it up. Oh well, that’s just how the business goes. People don’t realize how hard it is to get a show on air, much less a successful one. It was a good show, but the powers that be decided not to pick it up. On to the next one!
What are you working on right now and how do you balance work/travel and family?
I’m actually pitching a show based on my life to the networks. We’ll see if they pick it up. Hopefully someone will and hopefully it will make it to air. As for movies, still working on Jimmy Vestvood. If I were to shoot that it would keep me in LA for a bit. If I can get work on TV and film projects in LA then I’m around my family all the time. However, when I’m on the road I’m away from the fam. The way I balance it is by just going on for the weekends. I’m lucky, because some comedians who don’t have a big fanbase have to do clubs from Tues-Sun. That would be really hard. (Thank you fanbase!)
Do you get recognized a lot?
I get recognized from time to time. Depends on where I am. At a Persian party or in Beirut a lot more than in Indiana. It’s at a point now where I still enjoy it. It’s really flattering and I get to meet some cool people. Once in a while I meet a nutjob, but what’s life without nutjobs?
We recently featured Jimmy Vestvood as the Sexiest Persian Alive, and he’s got a very odd resemblance to you…Do you know him?
I like the guy. He’s stolen some of my thunder with the bald head and the facial hair, but other than that we’re very different. He’s a vegetarian, I’m a hardcore chelo kabob fan. He lives with his mother, I live with my dad. He likes tomatoes I like toe-mah-toes.
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Maz’s Tour Schedule:
New York Comedy Festival Town Hall – Nov. 6 – with Ian Edwards TICKETS HERE
RECOMMENDED FOR 13 AND OLDER
Gothenburg – Lorensbergs Teatern – Nov. 10th TICKETS HERE
RECOMMENDED FOR 13 AND OLDER
Malmo – Konserthuset – Nov. 12th TICKETS HERE
RECOMMENDED FOR 13 AND OLDER
London – Cadogan Hall – Nov. 13th TICKETS HERE
RECOMMENDED FOR 13 AND OLDER
Rotterdam – Zuidplein Theatre – Nov. 18th TICKETS HERE
RECOMMENDED FOR 13 AND OLDER
Amsterdam – Comedy Theater – Nov. 19th TICKETS HERE
RECOMMENDED FOR 13 AND OLDER
Oslo – Sentrum Scene – Nov. 20th TICKETS HERE
RECOMMENDED FOR 13 AND OLDER
Stockholm – China Theatre – Nov. 21st TICKETS HERE
RECOMMENDED FOR 13 AND OLDER
Addison – Addison Improv – Dec. 30th – Jan. 2nd TICKETS HERE
Miami – Miami Improv – Jan. 21st – 23rd – TICKETS HERE
Cleveland – Cleveland Hilarities 4th Street Theatre – Jan. 27th – TICKETS HERE
Chicago – The Vic Theatre – Jan. 29th – TICKETS HERE
Ann Arbor – Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase – Jan. 30th – TICKETS HERE
Sacramento – Punchline Comedy Club – Feb. 4th – TICKETS HERE and Feb. 5th – TICKETS HERE
San Diego – House of Blues – Feb. 24th – TICKETS HERE
Hermosa Beach – Comedy & Magic Club – February 26th – TICKETS HERE
Houston – Houston Improv – Mar. 4th – Mar. 6th – TICKETS HERE
Boston – Wilbur Theatre – Mar. 11th – TICKETS HERE
Washington DC – Warner Theatre – Mar. 19th – TICKETS HERE
Kansas City – Kansas City Improv – Apr. 1st – Apr. 3rd – TICKETS HERE
Vancouver – Vogue Theatre – Apr. 8th – TICKETS HERE
Seattle – Benaroya Hall – Apr. 9th – TICKETS HERE
Portland – Aladdin Theatre – Apr. 10th – TICKETS HERE
Philadelphia – Helium Comedy Club – Apr. 28th – Apr. 30th – TICKETS HERE
