 Turning fear into funny
Maz Jobrani: Iranian-born comic/actor
By Sanaz Khalaj
June 5, 2003
The Iranian
As an Iranian, here's yet another reason to
be proud, the name Maz Jobrani. A comedic genius on the rising
and
believe me, he's risen pretty high thus far. The modest, mellow,
yet intoxicatingly funny Maz (short for Mazyiar) is indeed an
addition
to our Iranian assets.
Laughter seems to be the best remedy for these
turbulent times when label-happy politicians and vulnerable
Middle
Easterners abroad feel singled out and profiled for acts and crimes
that they have not committed, nor have they come close to.
I was lucky enough to interview this ball of
positive energy, and have decided to share the laughter with
you. So,
grab a tissue or two, before you sit down to indulge in this piece
of eye candy. If you're looking to treat yourself to a good
show and
take a breather from life, Mazyiar is currently touring the East
Coast (and will head back to the West Coast to continue the
tour),
so please check the sites below to catch a glimpse at his schedule
(@ DCimprov.com @ StandupNY.com)
and secure your tickets before they sell out.
Where were you born?
Tehran, Iran.
Where did you grow up?
Marin County in the San Francisco Bay Area (tough
childhood, living in the suburbs.)
What's a good childhood memory?
The smell of grass at 8 in the morning when our
soccer team would travel to play another city's all-star team. That
was the only time I could wake up that early. Most other days, I
would wake up, go to school, and fall asleep in class.
Do you have any siblings?
Two older, wonderfully cool sisters, and two
younger, great brothers, who look like me, but are both bigger than
me, size wise -- I think it's something in the food.
Not to be too forward but, in true Iranian
fashion I will delicately ask, what are your academic credits?
B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Italian
from U.C. Berkeley. Dropped out of a Ph.D. program in Political
Science from U.C.L.A.
Why aren't you a Dr.?
Because I don't like sick people.
When is your Birthday?
February 26, 1972; I am a Pisces...don't know
what that means, but I'm pretty mellow.
When & why did you decide to go into comedy, trigger?
An epiphany of sorts?
When I was a kid, I was a huge fan of Eddie Murphy's.
He was on Saturday Night Live at 19, and I thought I'd try to beat
him there. I had done theater in school since I was 12, and I really
thought I had a shot..Well, as most of your readers know, Iranian
parents aren't down with that. So, when at 17, I went to my parents
and told them that I would like to be an actor, they looked at me,
smiled, and told me that I should be a lawyer... after all, they
reasoned, lawyers get to act, just in court - plus they make good
money.
So, as my parents saw it, I could be successful financially,
while fulfilling my dreams of performing in front of people - albeit
a 12 member jury. Well, that sounded good to me - after all, they
were paying for the education. So, while at Berkeley, I neglected
my instinct to perform for about 4 years. Then, one day I went to
the ATM and tried to withdraw $20 for the weekend. I was unpleasantly
surprised when I found out that I only had $17 left in my account.
What had happened was that my father had given me
a few hundred dollars some months before, and as a gesture of my
own maturity, I had decided to write him a check and pay him back.
He had taken the check, laughed at me, and told me that he would
keep it as a souvenior, but never cash it - after all, he was the
man and I was still the kid... well, I guess the man needed the
few hundred bucks at some point, because he cashed it - and whereas
I thought I had a few hundred and seventeen dollars in the bank
that day, it turned out I only had seventeen.
So, a bit distressed, but with credit card in hand,
I went to the local pub in Berkeley and had a beer as I laughed
about my situation. Just then they were having a standup comedy
competition. It was one of the most pitiful things I had ever seen.
There were only two people in the whole competition, and they were
both pretty bad. I thought to myself that if I were just to get
up and talk about my day, I would've been funnier than both of those
guys. But it was too late to enter the competition. And I promised
myself that the next time there was a standup comedy competition
that I would participate. As I like to say, I was inpired by mediocrity.
So, a few months later there was a huge stanup comedy
competition. And even though I didn't have any material, I got my
friend who had a camera to record me as I played 5 different characters
on a dating service. I submitted the tape and was chosen as one
of 16 finalists. They had me go down to the big radio station in
San Francisco to promote the competition, and once I got there I
realized that I would be a finalist in a "Dirty Dozen's Comedy
Comepetion" which is a mostly Black/Yo Mamma type show.
Anyway, once me and the other comics (who all happened
to be Black) went into the sound booth to promote the show, they
all started yelling yo mamma jokes at one another. Then they did
shout outs to there "peeps" - saying things like "Yo,
this is Big Easy sendin a shout out to Cool J, and Big Freeze on
the East Side." Well, when it came to me to send a shout out
I got caught up in the moment and found myself saying "Ay yo,
ay yo, wassup? Wassup? This is Mazzi Jay!" And from then on
my friends started calling me that to mess with me.
So, to make a long story not super long, that competition
fell through, because the guy promoting it didn't sell enough tickets,
but I ended up doing a couple of open mic shows in LA over that
summer. Then, I left standup again until about 5 years ago, when
I was working in an ad agency, and waiting to get back into acting.
I was in a play called "The Belind Date and The Vedding,"
which did really well in LA and New York. At that time I decided
to get serious again with my acting and got into an improv class.
Then, while in that class I met a lady who taught a standup class
- I got into her class and from there I just took off. It was as
if someone had opened the lid off of a shaken Coke can - it had
been building up in me all those years and finally I went for it...
and at the age of 26 (only 7 years behind Eddie, and not SNL yet,
but on my way.)
Who has the funny bone in your family...
is it just an enhanced Iranian -given humor?
Actually my cousin in London cracks me up all
the time. He's a restauranteur, but whatever he says just comes
out funny to me. He's got a great sense of humor about life. My
mom's cousin is the old school Iranian joke teller - and he could
probably tell jokes for days - he cracks me up too.
What made you realize you were funny enough to pursue it?
I never realized I was funny enough to do anything.
I just liked to laugh at stuff. Some of my best friends growing
up were the funniest guys in my school. One of my closest friends,
Jason Saltzman, was on the baseball team with me, and we just had
a hard time taking anything too seriuosly - maybe that's why the
coach would bench us.
Describe high school in a sentence.
Just one BIG ASS Nose.
When was your first appearance on stage?
In kindergarten in Iran. I had the part of a
tree, but I kept talking to the tree next to me, so I ended up in
the chorus.
How comfortable were you on stage?
I guess too comfortable, because I wouldn't stop
talking. Then when I had to sing, I thought it was pretty cool,
because we sounded pretty good (or at least I thought we did), and
my relatives were out in the crowd where I could wave to them.
 Any major TV appearances?
This past year I was on "24" which is
a hot show on Fox. I played a terrorist, who changes his mind and
says that he doesn't want to kill anybody. I thought that was pretty
cool. I've stopped doing those parts because they're most often
written stupidly, but this one was written with a cool twist. I
also had a great scene on NYPD Blue where I played a Pakistani doctor
in New York who helped some mobsters and got interrogated by Dennis
Franz. I got to say "asshole" on that show, which I think
results in a fine for ABC from the Federal Communication Cmmission.
I've done a bunch of other things too, not all Middle
Eastern - I played a regular guy robbing Jane Kazmyric in "Malcolm
in the Middle". I played a scared dental patient in "Still
Standing", a security gaurd in "Chicago Hope" a janitor
in "ER" a Muslim clergyman in "Without a Trace"
a spy in "The Agency". If any of your readers are curious,
they can check out my reel on mazjobrani.com.
Major film appearance?
My biggest to date would have to be the part
of "Moly" in Ice Cube's "Friday After Next".
That was a lot of fun, and it's gotten me the most recognition.
I also just finished work on a Jennifer Garner movie that will be
out next year called "13 Going on 30" - again, a relatively
small part, but just a plain American guy. I was also Reza in the
movie "Maryam", which was my first movie, and one of the
most fun shoots because I got to work with some great people including
Ramin Serry, Shaun Toub, Shohreh Aghdashloo, David Ackert, and Mariam
Parris. Again, your readers can check out my credits on my website
- I've done a handful of other films.
How hard is it getting roles as an Iranian... or one
of Middle Eastern background?
You know, this past year there were a lot of roles
for Middle Easterners. I think we were just in the public eye because
of everything that's happening. And on a pleasant note, I found
myself going out for roles that had some integrity. For example,
in "Without A Trace" I played a Muslim clergyman, who
basically tells the FBI that their racial profiling goes against
everything America stands for. And my character was not a fanatic,
just someone who had principles. I was very happy with that role.
That said, there still are roles out there that are
just stupid. And there are some casting directors who only bring
you in for Middle Eastern roles, which is frustrating as well. I
tell them, 'look, I don't have an accent, I've grown up in this
country, I am a citizen, why can't I go out for the regular guy
in this bar scene?' and sometimes they just won't budge. But I guess
that's one of my goals in this business - to try and break down
those barriers, which I do see happening these days.
Turning fear into funny?
You know, I've always been a peaceful person.
When we were kids and my friends would fight I used to jump in the
middle and split it up. Then when I got older I realized that those
kid punches had turned into adult punches and they could hurt more,
so I don't necessarily get in the middle as much anymore. However,
I do feel that violence is just stupid. If you step back and look
at what we all want, it's some food, some love/sex, and a bit of
rest.
We all have that in common - whether we're lords in
Switzerland or tribesmen in Africa. So what happens? Somewhere along
the line we start accusing one another of wanting more. And somewhere
along the line some people get greedy. And somehow we forget to
step back and realize just because someone doesn't believe in my
beliefs I shouldn't hate that person. Hell, we could hang out together,
play some basketball, get a drink and then go worship whatever we
worship in our own way. Basically, live and let live. That's what
I believe. And I love to laugh, so if you laugh with me, great,
if not, then I feel sorry for you.
Next projects?
Well, I am trying to get the word out about my standup.
I've recorded a CD called "Maz Jobrani is American" with
a picture of me with flags coming out of my ears and a hot dog and
apple pie going into my mouth. I will be taking the cds on tour
with me, and selling them after the shows. I'm also trying to put
together a larger tour so that I can expand on my standup.
It's funny because a lot of club owners out there
don't know that there is a Middle Eastern community that is starved
for this kind of humor. And beyond that they don't know that regular
Americans have fun at our shows. So I'm trying to break that boundary
by coming out there and doing these shows. Aside from that I am
trying to write some screenplays and produce them out here in LA.
 How long will you be touring?
Again, this is a mini-tour. We are coming out
to DC to prove to the club owners that we have a draw. From there
we go to New York for one night. We had planned to go to Boston,
but those plans fell through. Once we come out this time and show
the clubs that we are legit I hope to put together a larger tour
and hit a few more major cities.
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