The live comedy circuit produces many more of our movie stars than you would think, with a large portion of today’s top actors having cut their teeth as relative unknowns in a comedy club or two before reaching the dizzy heights of Hollywood fame and fortune. Here are a few notable figures in film that spent their formative years sweating it out on stage-
10. Russell Brand
Although achieving worldwide notoriety from recent escapades including but not limited to his two year tenure as the host of the VMA awards, Russell has been a permanent fixture on the British comedy circuit for around a decade now. From humble beginnings in a working class Essex town, the long haired lothario attended the famous ‘Italia Conti’ drama school in London, before branching out into the sordid world of stand-up comedy. He endured several years of obscurity on the circuit, before undergoing treatment for his drug + alcohol problems, soon becoming a star of British TV- and releasing one or two live DVD’s in the process. Of course, it wasn’t long before transatlantic stardom came-a-knocking in the form of his part in 2008’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
9. Eddie Izzard
Still known as a prominent figure in stand-up, Englishman Eddie Izzard has made several successful journeys into the world of film, both independent and Hollywood. Achieving success in his early days on both sides of the Atlantic as a result of his unique ‘stream of consciousness’ style and quirky cross dressing tendencies- Izzard has gone on to appear in the likes of Oceans Twelve, The Avengers and Valkyrie over the course of his still very much active career.
8. Steve Martin
As he retired from the format all the way back in 1981, it’s often easy to forget that Steve Martin made his name as an outrageous stand-up comic. Maintaining a huge amount of popularity throughout the 1970’s with his absurd style and clownish delivery, Martin was set to become a huge star of the stage. To older generations he may have remained the dude he was back then, however I know I’ll always remember him as the guy from the likes of Cheaper By The Dozen. Whilst I realize that movie was far from being his finest hour, looking back at his stand-up days- you are however able to appreciate where the humour comes from.
7. Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg’s first foray into the world of acting came as a surprise even to her, up until the point she was offered a part in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 period drama ‘The Color Purple’, she had been primarily a stage performer- experiencing success with her improvisational stand-up routines. Although she would go on to delight in semi-comical roles (Sister Act, for example), Goldberg never really strayed too far from the dramatic roles in which she seemed to flourish- even winning an academy award for her part in 1990’s ‘Ghost’.
6. Jim Carrey
Rising to fame in the mid-1990’s for his goofy yet outright hilarious brand of physical comedy in the likes of ‘Dumb and Dumber’ and ‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’, few were aware that Jim Carrey had been plucked fresh from the live circuit for these roles. The Canadian underwent several years in the clubs, creasing sell-out crowds with his routines which combined plain observation with his now as good as patented facial and body contorts. Securing a regular spot on sketch show ‘In Living Color’ in the early 90’s, it wasn’t long before the world would know his name.
5. Ricky Gervais
One of the most successful all-rounders ever, Ricky Gervais has risen from the rank of unknown stand-up to international movie-star via integrative screenwriter, all in the space of little more than a decade. Announcing himself to his native UK in 2001 with now seminal sit-com ‘The Office’, Gervais has gone from strength to strength ever since- creating several successful TV series and Hollywood movies over the course of the last decade- all the while still managing to produce a series of world-class stand-up shows.
4. Eddie Murphy
When watching ‘Daddy Day Care’ it’s pretty hard to process, at least for me, that the Eddie Murphy cavorting around in his now all too familiar family friendly way, is the same one from his 1980’s stand-up heyday. In these formative years, a young Eddie enjoyed success as one of the world’s most controversial comics, releasing legendary show ‘Delirious’ in 1983 to much acclaim. The Eddie of the 80’s was a different creature altogether, opting towards outrageous routines tackling the likes of drugs and sex over the, perhaps more turgid roles he’s known for nowadays.
3. Robin Williams
The first time I watched a Robin Williams stand-up show, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Growing up with the likes of ‘Flubber’ and ‘Jumanjii’, I never could have fathomed that this institute of child-friendly comedy actually honed his craft as a cocaine and alcohol fuelled stage performer. Although often promiscuous and sleazy in nature, Williams’ material secured his place amongst the world’s finest- and even when Hollywood did beckon, he continued to tour as a stand-up- rarely holding back. What a guy.
2. Billy Connolly
The ‘big yin’ was already a celebrated stand-up and general TV personality on his native side of the Atlantic before making his way to Hollywood. The charismatic Scotsman has enjoyed several decades of international acclaim as a result of his continual exploits in the world of stand-up- mixing perfectly the conventional with the sordid. Having starred in largely dramatic roles alongside the likes of Tom Cruise in ‘The Last Samurai’ and Dame Judy Dench in 1997 drama ‘Mrs Brown’, Connolly remains a prolific figure in the industry.
1. Woody Allen
Arguably more notable for his work behind the camera than in front of it, Woody Allen is a legend of comedy non-the-less. Starting his career in the 1960’s as a gag writer, it wasn’t too long before he was performing the material himself- gaining a constant influx of popularity in the process. His fondness of writing eventually took prominence once again, with the young New Yorker penning plays for Broadway whilst barely out of his 20’s. In more recent decades, Woody has continued to enjoy success as a writer/director winning a total of 4 Academy Awards as well as several other prestigious industry distinctions over his lengthy career.
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