I Want to Be a Comedy Actor Where Do I Start?

1. Find your funny In what way are you funny? What’s funny about you? Being aware of what makes up your personal “funny”—finding the comedy in yourself and your everyday life—is the first step to becoming a successful comedy actor. Your sense of humor is your innate ability to be funny, what I call your funny gene. It has a number of influences, especially your upbringing. So, who tickled your funny bone growing up—a relative, a teacher, a best friend? Or did you learn how to be funny by watching great comedic actors? Also remember that comedy comes from drama, and drama comes from pain. Thus, comedy comes from pain. Are you able to draw humor from your pain? Once you’ve found your funny, you need to identify where your comedic strengths lie.

Disclaimer: When performing comedy, you have to enjoy what you’re doing. You need to do your homework, find your character, perfect your technique, commit to the text, then go into class, an audition, or a job and have fun. Take some risks. Be confident and bring on the funny! If you’re having fun, you’ll feel a surge of energy inside you that will bring out your best, most positive, most energized performance. It will get you to the “louder, faster, funnier” that defines comedy. And if you’re having fun, the casting director, the writer, the producer, and ultimately the audience will have fun with you, and that will help you become a successful comedy actor.

April 6, 2025 | 5:29 am