Fear fuels a good laugh.
“You have to look at the world and try to discover what people are thinking about or worried about or stressed about,” said comedian Tom Green. “Sometimes confronting fears is what makes people relate to it. They are able to laugh about their worries.”
He said creating comedy comes from taking a hard look at what is happening in the world, current events and trends. Green is bringing his stand-up routine to the Nanaimo Entertainment Centre Friday (March 8).
He performs with special guests Patrick Coppolino and Richard Harlow.
“It’s going to be hilarious. They are going to laugh really, really hard and have a great high,” said Green, adding that it incorporates a lot of the outrageous elements from his older work. “I have put together a wild show, people will have a good time.”
Green is currently travelling around the world on his stand-up comedy tour. He recently completed a 90-minute stand-up comedy special for Showtime.
He entered the limelight in 1994 when he starred in the Tom Green Show, which ran until 2003.
He also had roles in a number of films including Road Trip, Freddy Got Fingered and Stealing Harvard.
In 2000, Green was diagnosed with testicular cancer and starred in a one-hour special, The Tom Green Cancer Special, which received wide acclaim for revealing the comedian’s more vulnerable side, a departure from his usual juvenile television personality people were accustomed to seeing.
In 2006 he launched his internet podcast talk show, Tom Green’s House Tonight, which was filmed in his living room. Green said it became apparent while he was doing his web show that his comedy had a worldwide following. He was getting tons of feedback and responses from fans all over the globe about his work.
Making people laugh is a challenge for Green. It started when he was in school. His classmates were his captive audience. The students were bored and didn’t want to be there so Green would try and make people laugh.
“It’s a challenge for me. I enjoy the challenge of trying to get people to laugh and creating comedy,” he said. “It’s an adrenaline rush. You are physically addicted to those laughs.”
When he doesn’t perform for about a week or so he starts to have withdrawals almost like a drug addict, said Green.
If you are going to be addicted to something being addicted to laughs is probably one of the better addictions to have, he said.
Doors open for Green’s performance Friday at the Nanaimo Entertainment Centre at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $35 and are available at Lucid, Tranceformations, Harbour City Music, The Dog’s Ear and www.ticketzone.com.
For more information about Tom Green’s comedy tour, to watch videos of his act or listen to the podcasts please go to http://tomgreen.com.
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