I don't do anything for press.
Jermaine Fowler
I grew up watching people and companies commercialize Black History Month. I watched old McDonald's commercials, and they'd blacken up the commercials for 28 days then go back to normal in March. It got annoying to me.
Humor was how I got through everything in my life. I used to find a funny way to get out of situations. That's who I was. That's who I am!
I probably wouldn't have pursued comedy further if my friends didn't tell me that my getting kicked off the stage was the funniest thing they'd ever seen.
I could never lie to someone to benefit myself, so telemarketing was something I was terrible at!
In entertainment, if you have a message in a film, no one wants to be spoon-fed the message. No one wants to be told how to feel. At least, I don't.
I was raised watching sitcoms, and I love long-form comedy.
I used to record 'Futurama' episodes on my cassette player and play it to help me go to sleep.
I have a lot of energy, and as you get to know me, you will quickly learn that! I channel my energy into my acting, my writing, everything.
You don't expect to be touched by comedy. But when it happens, it's beautiful.
My dad kicked me out of the house when I was 18. I was supposed to go to community college. I wasn't really into going because I wanted to do stand-up, and he felt I was wasting my time.
I've never been the guy to sit back and wait until someone approved something I was passionate about.
I speak from experience, and I speak from the heart, and I speak only what I know and what I understand; and on what I don't know and what I don't understand, I'm a good listener.
I grew up watching shows like 'Martin' and 'Fresh Prince' and 'Moesha,' and I was inspired by all these shows. When I was growing up, there were so many black people in TV. That's just the world I was around.
Growing up, I've always made a point to not be placed in a box.
I felt so contained at home. I always really felt like I couldn't be myself at home, so I was always quiet. I remember I used to sit in my room and listen to Bone Thugs and close the door.
The millennial generation is very vocal.
I like glazed donuts.
I'm a comic; we get hecklers every night! It's really just part of the job.
I grew up in a very, very diverse neighborhood back home in Maryland. And when I see that on TV shows, it makes me want to watch it, personally. I just gravitate towards that.
'Crashing' was my first scripted TV gig.
I'm a movie fanatic. I watch probably four movies a day - not because I'm a lunatic, but because I just love movies.
Flying is just such a hassle. If I had a million dollars, I would teleport.
CBS garners a predominately older white audience, and by having a show like 'Superior Donuts' on their weekly programming, it distorts what people are used to seeing in a positive way. It's a show I think was necessary.
I want to star in an action-comedy, like 'The Rock' or 'Con Air.' Those are the movies I wanted to star in since I was a kid.
I sat down with CBS, and we talked about me developing a show for them. At the time, I was meeting with a lot of networks. And I told them, 'I don't want to be acting on your show as the token black guy. I want to do something that will change a network and will change the way people view African-Americans on TV.'
I do everything with a purpose, and I don't really pay attention to the negativity.
I grew up around a mix of a lot of people, so I got a lot of different perspectives. As a kid, I appreciated that.
You can't teach standup comedy. You can teach someone how to formulate a joke, but making it funny is different.
Black Panther is a cool superhero and all, but let's be honest: He doesn't quite have the legs to prop up a blockbuster on his own.
I did my first set at a talent show, and I couldn't finish because the judges didn't like my jokes. They were 'offensive.'
I just love pranks, man. They're great. I don't understand why people don't do 'em more often.
We can all agree that the best part of 'Black Panther' was his female army, the Dora Milaje. They made the movie.
In Hollywood, it's not what you know but who you know.
Spider-Man is supposed to be 'neighborhood friendly,' but I've never seen that dude at a Black Lives Matter march.
Nick Cage is so underrated.
Knowing what jokes will work is second nature; you just feel it.
When you chase a dream, and no one understand or has your back except seven friends from high school and your grandma, it's not going to be easy.
I wanted people to know that my grandmother was the reason why I did comedy in the first place. She pushed me to really get out there and pursue my dreams.
I'm a '90s kid. I can't wait until the day when more people start appreciating the '90s.
When comics are in the room, people have a tendency to try to make them laugh. That doesn't really make you funnier. It makes you a comic's comic, but you aren't going to get a fan base doing that.
I was influenced by a lot of comedy growing up, I had good parents. They were funny, too. My mom was hilarious; my dad was hilarious. I guess being at home around the environment was just a good stage to get started.
I started pursuing stand-up comedy in 12th grade.
My friend gave me a VHS tape of Eddie Murphy's 'Raw.' I watched it so many times, I fell in love with it. I would watch it every day, just picking it apart. And then I started doing open mics around Maryland and D.C.: that's where I'm from. And I haven't stopped since.
Comedians play off of social commentary.
'V for Vendetta' is an amazing movie, and it had an obvious message, but it was done so perfectly. I got out of the movie, and I wanted to march so hard. I wanted to be an activist.
When I got nominated class clown in school, I remember my mom said, 'Don't be no clown.' So I went to my vice principal in my school and said, 'Can we change this to just the funniest?'
My parents argued a lot. It was pretty tumultuous at times.
I got into standup because I wanted to be an actor, and then I ended up loving standup for the next eleven years.
Dave Chappelle - he's one of my favorite icons. I can't think of anyone who's funnier.
