Wanda Sykes
Wanda Sykes is everywhere lately. Simon & Schuster just released her collection of short comic essays Yeah, I Said It. Comedy Central recently premièred Wanda Does It, a half-hour show combining scripted comedy, improv, and reality TV. And Sykes is currently taking her stand-up around the country on the "Cotton T-Shirt Tour." But, her current ubiquity aside, she began by working in the margins.
Sykes was a government employee by day and a comedian by night until she caught the attention of Chris Rock; she went on to open for him on tour and to write and perform for HBO's The Chris Rock Show. From there, one project followed another. Larry David put her deadly stare and take-no-prisoners voice to good use on Curb Your Enthusiasm. She had memorable supporting turns in Down To Earth and the Chris Rock Show spin-off Pootie Tang (which starred Sykes' friend and production-company partner Lance Crouther), and her enthusiasm for football earned her a slot on the HBO series Inside The NFL. Her first starring vehicle came in 2003 with Wanda At Large, a well-liked but low-rated sitcom that attempted to combine her comedic gifts and political interests. Even its cancellation only seems to have raised Sykes' profile. In a recent conversation with The Onion A.V. Club, Sykes discussed her stand-up, her evolution as a performer, and when it's best to leave her alone.
The Onion: When you're doing stand-up, how can you tell if a show is going well?
Wanda Sykes: Usually, there's nothing being thrown toward the stage or at me. Then I feel pretty good about it. Within the first five minutes, you can gauge where it's going to go. I noticed recently, in the last few shows I did, that I'm starting to get people—not a large group, but quite a few people—who come to see me because they love Curb Your Enthusiasm. But they don't know what my stand-up is about, so I guess they just expect me to stand there and yell at an imaginary Larry David. They go, "I'm Larry David, yell at Larry," and I'm like, "What the fuck?" They want me to stand onstage and yell at them.
O: You could hire someone to play Larry David.
WS: I should. You know what, I should do that. Or just get a cutout. 'Cause then I won't have to worry about traveling. I'll just fold his ass up and stick him onstage and yell at him.
O: You've been doing stand-up since 1987. What's the biggest difference between your shows back then and your shows now?
WS: I'm really funny now. In '87, I used to do this awful, awful James Brown impression. Oh my God. That should have made me quit right then. I'm more political now, I guess. Back then, I was doing more of my impression of what a comic is supposed to do. But it wasn't anything like me. Now, you really get to see me.
O: It seems like a lot of comedians start out imitating who they like best. Was that true of you back then?