The Character Comedian
Every comedian has a unique personality. To some extent, all comedians play a character, a version of themselves, every time they take the stage. But some comedians invent a whole new persona for their comedy.
Emo Phillips, Judy Tenuta, Andy Kaufman, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Larry the Cable Guy are all comics who made a name for themselves by not being themselves. The ultimate stand-up character was Paul Reubens as Pee-Wee Herman.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Reubens created the character of Pee-Wee Herman as part of a show put on by the Groundlings in Los Angeles. His manic man-child creation was a staple of late-night talk show, host of his own award-winning children's television show Pee-Wee's Playhouse, and star of Tim Burton's Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, one of the funniest movies ever made.
If you want to see one of the best character comedians at his roots, you must watch the DVD of 1982's The Pee-Wee Heman Show: Live at the Roxy Theater. This DVD shows the ultimate man-child long before his playhouse or his big adventure and offers a hilarious take on every kid show of the 1950s.
Playing a character can be a lot of fun. It gives you the opportunity to create a whole new world of material to work with, but it can be limiting as well. If you are associated only with your character, it can be difficult for the industry and your audience to see you as something else when you feel it's time to move on and try different things.
