Ari Shaffir Quotes

I started doing standup when I was in college, and I would incorporate a lot of characters into my act.

I definitely enjoyed being in front of an audience, making people laugh, and telling stories, so when I realized I could do all three at the same time, that was it.

I never used to tell jokes on stage. Now I'm cutting up jokes all night long.

I still do standup.

If you do a sketch, that's a very short narrative. Stand-up, it's bit-to-bit, minute-long narratives.

You know, stand-up comedy is where I pretty much started out.

I've done comedy on stage, in fact it is one of my strong points.

I think anybody in front of a crowd is a comedian.

I might've been witty, but I didn't have a shtick. So, I never considered myself a comedian.

It takes both courage and talent to stand up in front of fellow human beings and make them crack a smile, and at the same time keep it clean.

I love telling stories, telling jokes, making people laugh. I've got no plans to stop doing it.

I was a standup comedian, which is kind of like writing and directing yourself.

I guess telling stories is an art. I never looked at it that way. I just started talking, and everyone started laughing. So I kept talking, and they kept laughing.

I don't get on stage and give a social diatribe. I am a performer and an entertainer.

I prefer to tell stories. If it's funny, then I want to do it on stage.

I started by doing a little funny story, and then I started going to open mics. I realized I had a lot of work to do - you have to get over the stage fright and get your stage presence up. It took me some time, but I finally feel that I'm at a point where I feel comfortable on stage and giving my point of view.

I started standup at age nineteen. I decided that the only way I was going to try show business as a career was if I could make total strangers laugh.

I've been entertaining men with my comedy for many, many years, and I don't plan on stopping.

Stand-up comedy is not a man's job. It's an alpha job: To be the only person in a room with a microphone who's allowed to talk.

I don't care about how I look; I'm dedicated to the laughs. You know, I used to be a clown, so - my name was Smoothie the Clown. All the training I had, all my training is geared toward making people laugh, and I didn't care about being cool.

I'm really not an actor of any kind. I've always seen myself as an entertainer, someone who makes people laugh. That's all I've ever wanted to do. 'Doctor Who' has always just been me, really.

Billy Crystal knows how to make people laugh. He's got 30 years on stage... there's no telling him what's funny.

Being a stand-up is my mission in life; it's my passion. My ongoing goal is to simply be funny, on my own, in front of a roomful of strangers.

For me, the way I stay consistent is through stand-up comedy.

I was always the lead role in plays. I like entertaining people. I like when you're on stage doing crazy stuff and the audience gets it.