Brit Pack Interviews
GINA YASHERE
Name: Gina Yashere
Profession: Comedian
Current Residence: Hollywood, LA
Previous Residence: Woodford Green, Essex
Left UK in: 2007
British comedian Gina Yashere is in the middle of a bank raid.
No, she hasn’t given up her stand-up career for a life of crime. It’s her unique way of describing her trips back home these days.
“I come in, do my shows, get my money and get back to the sun,” she tells me from her temporary London address.
It’s ironic that our interview is taking place during a week-long visit to the UK. She’s been going back periodically since she made the move to LA five years ago.
“When I get really skint I call my agent in London and say ‘ok, book out the calendar, I’m coming back for a few weeks to get some money.’ Then I’d go back to America with some rent money for the next three months.”
Gina made her comedy debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 1996. She’s since become one of Britain’s best known comedians, frequently touring the country and appearing in films and sitcoms.
But despite her growing success, she was beginning to feel stagnant, especially with her career.
“It was becoming like a job. I said to myself a stand-up comic is the best job in the world, it shouldn’t feel like a job, I should be enjoying this. In England I’d built up my name, made money and was living a certain lifestyle and I was willing to risk all of that to go to America where nobody knew me,” she says sincerely. “Americans don’t really care about what you’ve done outside America so it was like I was starting all over again, but it was exciting for me.”
It was a move she always knew she’d make. As a child she found herself drawn to all things American, from TV shows to toys.
Just as well then that the US TV show ‘Last Comic Standing’ came knocking. The producers of the comedic talent competition saw Gina on tour in Australia and asked her to audition. She got through to the semi-finals, which was a great achievement for a comedian relatively unknown to an American audience, but that wasn’t the best part. In order to film the semi-finals in LA the producers sorted out a two-year work visa for Gina.
“I literally came back from the semi-finals, put my house on the market in London, threw a huge party for all my family and friends and told them ‘this is it, I’m moving to America and I’m not coming back!’ They were like ‘you’ve only got a two-year visa’ and I was like ‘I don’t care, I’m gonna make it happen.’ I gave away everything I owned and turned up in America with two suitcases.”
Profession: Comedian
Current Residence: Hollywood, LA
Previous Residence: Woodford Green, Essex
Left UK in: 2007
British comedian Gina Yashere is in the middle of a bank raid.
No, she hasn’t given up her stand-up career for a life of crime. It’s her unique way of describing her trips back home these days.
“I come in, do my shows, get my money and get back to the sun,” she tells me from her temporary London address.
It’s ironic that our interview is taking place during a week-long visit to the UK. She’s been going back periodically since she made the move to LA five years ago.
“When I get really skint I call my agent in London and say ‘ok, book out the calendar, I’m coming back for a few weeks to get some money.’ Then I’d go back to America with some rent money for the next three months.”
Gina made her comedy debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 1996. She’s since become one of Britain’s best known comedians, frequently touring the country and appearing in films and sitcoms.
But despite her growing success, she was beginning to feel stagnant, especially with her career.
“It was becoming like a job. I said to myself a stand-up comic is the best job in the world, it shouldn’t feel like a job, I should be enjoying this. In England I’d built up my name, made money and was living a certain lifestyle and I was willing to risk all of that to go to America where nobody knew me,” she says sincerely. “Americans don’t really care about what you’ve done outside America so it was like I was starting all over again, but it was exciting for me.”
It was a move she always knew she’d make. As a child she found herself drawn to all things American, from TV shows to toys.
Just as well then that the US TV show ‘Last Comic Standing’ came knocking. The producers of the comedic talent competition saw Gina on tour in Australia and asked her to audition. She got through to the semi-finals, which was a great achievement for a comedian relatively unknown to an American audience, but that wasn’t the best part. In order to film the semi-finals in LA the producers sorted out a two-year work visa for Gina.
“I literally came back from the semi-finals, put my house on the market in London, threw a huge party for all my family and friends and told them ‘this is it, I’m moving to America and I’m not coming back!’ They were like ‘you’ve only got a two-year visa’ and I was like ‘I don’t care, I’m gonna make it happen.’ I gave away everything I owned and turned up in America with two suitcases.”
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Armed with no job prospects, few contacts and a bucket-load of determination Gina began her LA grind.
She admits to having no expectations about what might happen or preconceptions about becoming a millionaire in six months. But it’s been a lot harder than she anticipated. “For the first few months I use to sit at the local farmer’s market and buy lunch and people watch all day,” she confesses. “In the evening I’d go to comedy clubs and get to know comedians. After people saw me perform they’d come and talk to me. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, I was playing it by ear but it was a big adventure for me and I love an adventure.” It seems the mission has paid off. In just a few short years she’s performed at some of America’s biggest venues including The Apollo in Harlem and became the first ever British comedian to perform at Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam. “I went on there and did not change my style to suit any agenda. I said I’m gonna do me and you’re gonna love it,” she tells me. “I’ve seen a few young, black British comics come to America and try to imitate an American style of comedy. But I’m not interested in that, I’m different and you’re going to like it because it’s good. A lot of American comedians came out to see me, they were like ‘who is this English girl doing Def Comedy Jam?’ They wanted to see if I could hold my own amongst a sea of urban comics and I did more than hold my own, I got a standing ovation.” |
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The performance helped cement her respect within the American comedy circuit. But I suspect her feisty stage demeanour and noticeable confidence went a long way towards her acceptance.
These days Gina frequently tours the US taking her unique brand of humor with her. She subscribes to the ‘if you’re funny, you’re funny’ school of thought and so has changed very little about her material for US audiences, apart from dropping in a few Americanisms here and there. Oh, and having to clarify who she is.
“I’d have to explain there are black people in England and I’m not an Aborigine! They immediately think dark skin, funny accent - must be Aborigine. Americans can’t tell the difference between a British and Australian accent. I’ve actually had to write material about the fact that black people are everywhere.”
Her talents have landed her one of her biggest achievements in the US to date, a regular slot on 'The Tonight Show' with Jay Leno as Madame Yashere, the surly physic. The character, which was Gina’s creation, dishes out dodgy predictions to innocent members of the public.
These days Gina frequently tours the US taking her unique brand of humor with her. She subscribes to the ‘if you’re funny, you’re funny’ school of thought and so has changed very little about her material for US audiences, apart from dropping in a few Americanisms here and there. Oh, and having to clarify who she is.
“I’d have to explain there are black people in England and I’m not an Aborigine! They immediately think dark skin, funny accent - must be Aborigine. Americans can’t tell the difference between a British and Australian accent. I’ve actually had to write material about the fact that black people are everywhere.”
Her talents have landed her one of her biggest achievements in the US to date, a regular slot on 'The Tonight Show' with Jay Leno as Madame Yashere, the surly physic. The character, which was Gina’s creation, dishes out dodgy predictions to innocent members of the public.
The rest of the year is already jam-packed. Gina will be shooting her second comedy DVD in San Francisco in September and she’s pitching a raw food TV show idea to networks.
It’ll mean more recognition in the States without being confused for someone else.
“At one point people kept mistaking me for the singer Estelle. They kept saying, ‘you sound just like her’. I’d say, ‘that’s because we’re both black and British, but you really don’t want to hear me sing."
Or speak with an American accent it seems. She accepts that her twang needs some work.
“My manager keeps sending me for auditions where I have to have an accent and mine is sh*t. I reckon it’ll take me another five years to master it. I’m not really bothered about being a famous actor in a big movie; I just want to be Gina the comedian. I just want to do a talk show like Ellen and then sell out arenas at the weekend. I’m not that ambitious.”
There’s not much the comic misses about London, apart from the obvious - family and friends. But surprisingly she sees her mates more now than when they lived down the street from her in London.
When she’s not touring (or conducting transatlantic bank raids) she resides in her Hollywood apartment, equipped with a rooftop pool. I suspect that’s part of the reason why she gets so many visits.
Her US accomplishments aside, Gina seems more than content with her life these days. Although she may not stay in LA forever, right now it’s the perfect place for a hard-working, self-confessed sun-worshipper.
“When I wake up in the morning and the sun comes streaming in and I’m seeing palm trees and from my apartment I’ve got the views of the Hollywood sign, I love that. The quality of life for me is better than earning loads of money and being drizzled on in the rain or fighting with people on the tube. I don’t want to do that anymore.”
For details on Gina’s upcoming shows check out: http://www.ginayashere.com or follow Gina on Twitter @ginayashere
It’ll mean more recognition in the States without being confused for someone else.
“At one point people kept mistaking me for the singer Estelle. They kept saying, ‘you sound just like her’. I’d say, ‘that’s because we’re both black and British, but you really don’t want to hear me sing."
Or speak with an American accent it seems. She accepts that her twang needs some work.
“My manager keeps sending me for auditions where I have to have an accent and mine is sh*t. I reckon it’ll take me another five years to master it. I’m not really bothered about being a famous actor in a big movie; I just want to be Gina the comedian. I just want to do a talk show like Ellen and then sell out arenas at the weekend. I’m not that ambitious.”
There’s not much the comic misses about London, apart from the obvious - family and friends. But surprisingly she sees her mates more now than when they lived down the street from her in London.
When she’s not touring (or conducting transatlantic bank raids) she resides in her Hollywood apartment, equipped with a rooftop pool. I suspect that’s part of the reason why she gets so many visits.
Her US accomplishments aside, Gina seems more than content with her life these days. Although she may not stay in LA forever, right now it’s the perfect place for a hard-working, self-confessed sun-worshipper.
“When I wake up in the morning and the sun comes streaming in and I’m seeing palm trees and from my apartment I’ve got the views of the Hollywood sign, I love that. The quality of life for me is better than earning loads of money and being drizzled on in the rain or fighting with people on the tube. I don’t want to do that anymore.”
For details on Gina’s upcoming shows check out: http://www.ginayashere.com or follow Gina on Twitter @ginayashere
