You might remember Marlon Wayans from co-writing and starring in the slasher spoof “Scary Movie” or from his role in the cult classic comedy “White Chicks,” but the actor’s repertoire has expanded to include stand-up comedy in recent years.
"Over the years, I've been able to grow, and now I can do comedy," Wayans said. "You can put me on a stage somewhere with any set of comedians.
"I could go on that stage, and I could rock."
Now, Wayans is bringing his show “Wild Child” to the Spokane Comedy Club July 11-13.
"I'm an equal opportunity offender. I just make sure I spread it around the right way," he told SPR News. "Look, everybody gets it, including myself. And that's why I throw myself under a bus, because I feel like if I throw myself under a bus and I could laugh at me, then we can all laugh together."
The actor and comedian has several other projects in the works as well. More than a decade after its last installment, Wayans and his brothers Shawn and Keenen Ivory Wayans will return to the "Scary Movie" franchise to create the sixth movie in the parody series.
"I was like, 'Well, I can't do it without my brothers,'" he said.
"I'm grateful that I've been doing the work because now I feel confident because my older brother, me and Shawn are kind of delivering this, and Ivory, he's always been the guy shepherding," Wayans said.
In addition to the comedies, Wayans will also star in the upcoming horror movie "HIM" from Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions. The film follows an up-and-coming young football player as he trains with a successful quarterback (played by Wayans) and the price of greatness, fame and power.
"It's a little old school, but the telling of the story is just so different. It has so much energy," he said. "His visuals and the effects of the cinematography, the way they put it together, the music. It's it definitely speaks to this new age audience."
He spoke with SPR’s Owen Henderson about his upcoming shows, approach to comedy and more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
OWEN HENDERSON: I'm curious to hear from actors who also do comedy how that particular pairing came to be. Did you develop an interesting acting first? Were you a wise cracking kid? How did you know these skills were in your particular toolbox?
MARLON WAYANS: I didn't know. I just worked them. I think it's out of sheer necessity and desperation to be the best that I could be and give myself as many opportunities as I possibly can to just work as a working actor and one day a megastar. That's what I'm working toward.
People always ask, ‘Why are you working so hard?’ And they don’t understand: to be in the top 20, top 20 people that get the best scripts with the best directors, with the best budgets, with the best crew, and the best producers, with the best budgets to go make the best films.
Basically using all my skill set. My brothers taught me to be an unstoppable force of nature. And that's what I try to do.
I try to make them proud because they're so damn hard on me sometimes and make myself proud in the process. So this way is no mistakes when you win and if you make it to the place that you've been striving toward. The only thing that really gets you there is work, guts, determination, and consistency.
OH: You mentioned working with your brothers and how hard they are on you sometimes, and you come from a pretty large family. And I'm curious how that has kind of shaped your approach to your career over time.
MW: Well, when you're talking about a group of excellent people, the only thing that they're going to respect is if you do the work. If you're going to gain their respect, it's because you did the work and that you know something that maybe they don't, or you can contribute in a way that makes them listen.
When you're dealing with trailblazers, you have to trailblaze so you can go, oh, this is the pattern I carved out. And then they'll look and go, ‘Oh, that's pretty dope. I didn't see that.’
You got to do something different. You got to bring something different to the table. I never rested on my brother's laurels, and I didn't know what they were creating in me.
I just did the work and they always tell me, ‘Do standup, do standup and standup.’
But I was like, ‘Nah, I don't want to do standup. I want to act. Why don't y'all act? Why don't you act?’
‘Because you should learn to do standup.’
‘That's not how I want to come up. That's how you guys came up.’
And then one day the actor in me brought me to the stage because I got the role of Richard Pryor. And I was like, ‘All right, if I'm going to play the greatest comedian ever, then I better get my black ass on the stage.’ And that's exactly what I did.
OH: Your last special dealt with grief. You delve into a very personal topic about the loss of your parents. But the special you're bringing to Spokane is called ‘Wild Child.’
What were some of the things shaping the show that eventually became ‘Wild Child’?
MW: You know, it's funny. My source of comedy is pain, right? Because it's healing. What hurts me? What can I go through? What am I trying to resolve in my own life? And those are the things I try to use in my show.
I look at not just myself, but myself in the world as like a prism of connectivity because I look and I go, we're so disjointed. We've all forgot how to laugh. So let me teach y'all how to laugh in crisis.
And that's pretty much what my show is: laughing in spite of crisis and tragedy. And it's healing, and it feels good because the show is not about punching down on any sect of people. The show is basically about finding ways to continue to smile, even though there's things in your life that may get in the way of that.
OH: In a couple of months, you have the movie HIM. You are someone who's particularly known for your comedic abilities. What made this horror movie something that you thought was worth your time?
MW: You know, Jordan Peele offered me a film. And when Jordan Peele offers you a film—you know, I didn't have to audition. I didn't have to go in. It was just like, ‘You're the guy to do this part.’
And then I read the script and I seen what he saw, which is, ‘Oh, OK, I could bring all of me to this.’
This is going to require somebody that's a funny person, but somebody has great dramatic skills and somebody that can, you know, ground and make this character believable and different and multifaceted. And so, you know, he was like, ‘You're the guy to do it.’
It's something that Jim Carrey or Robin Williams would do or Eddie Murphy. And he was like, ‘You're the guy.’
And I was like, ‘OK, let's get it.’
I just did the work. And it's a lot of fun. I was able to bring some humor to it. It's—to me, my—I think it's my best work. But that's to me. Who knows? Maybe the audience hates it.
But I just—I felt good every day leaving the set. And I finally saw the movie. And it's amazing. It's a great movie. I thought Jordan Peele and Justin Tipping, who's the director, did a sensational job. And this is something different.
I don't think we've ever seen kind of a movie like this. It's a little bit of everything. It's a different kind of horror.
OH: Actor and comedian Marlon Wayans will be at the Spokane Comedy Club July 11th through the 13th. Thank you so much for your time.
MW: Thanks for having me, brother.
