Character comedy

Updated on Oct 19, 2023

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Character comedy is a method or genre in which a comedian performs as though he or she were a character created by himself or herself. A good deal of comedians have enjoyed fame from character comedy.

Famous comedians who use character comedy

Paul Reubens - Plays the manic man-child, Pee-wee Herman.

Jim Carrey – In many of his films he portrays a hyper-animated maniac.

Andy Kaufman – Various characters.

George Carlin – Played the character of Al Sleet the "hippy-dippy weatherman" in his stand-up routine.

Rowan Atkinson – Plays Mr. Bean.

María Elena Velasco – Played La India María

Tim Allen – Plays a "handyman" in Home Improvement and his stand up routines.

Sacha Baron Cohen - Plays Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, and Brüno in Da Ali G Show and the subsequent film follow-ups: Ali G Indahouse, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, and Brüno. He tends to avoid making public appearances or doing interviews out of character.

Andrew Dice Clay - Has played the 'Diceman' character for most of his stand-up career.

Stephen Colbert - performed a fictional version of himself when he was a correspondent on The Daily Show and when he hosted The Colbert Report

Steve Coogan famously created several characters in his act spinning one of them, Alan Partridge into TV shows

Sam Lloyd - Various Characters

Jerrod Guillory - Uncle Dutt, T-Blue, Skillet and various others

Sarah Silverman - Early stand-up performances showcase a dim-witted, naïve persona who treads insensitively through controversial topics.

Jane Turner and Gina Riley - various characters including Kath Day-Knight and Kim Craig from Kath & Kim. They rarely make public appearances out of character.

Maria Bamford

Dom Irrera

Leigh Francis - Most famous for the portrayal of Keith Lemon

Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson perform live stand-up as the characters on their Comedy Central series Broad City.

References

Character comedy Wikipedia

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