Today we’d like to introduce you to Chili Davidson.
Hi Chili, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My comedy journey started very young.
Born in Toronto, Canada and obsessed with 70s and 80s comedy, I knew making people laugh was my number 1 goal. I started doing improv and community theatre at around 9 years old. I also did my first standup comedy set in my 4th grade class. The only standup I’d seen to that point was on the tv show Seinfeld, so it went about as well as you can imagine. I wrote a bunch of topics on piece of paper, riffed on them and had a classmate play the Seinfeld theme in between jokes to cover the silence.
After high school I went to Humber college just outside of Toronto to study their Comedy Writing & Performance program. Following the completion of the program with my all important “comedy diploma”, I continued performing Standup, Improv and Sketch in and around Toronto, refining my craft, studying at Second City amongst other schools, performing alongside various sketch comedy troupes, and at various comedy festivals.
After 7 years, and being fortunate to hold dual citizenship, I decided to take my talents to Hollywood, where I had to essentially restart my career. Over the past 2 plus years I’ve made connections, run my own comedy shows, done auditions and taken various acting and comedy classes. It’s been a struggle but opportunities have arose along with a slew of rejections.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a massive struggle.
From bombing on open mics, to getting rejected from jobs it’s a roller coaster for sure.
One day you feel like you’re the funniest guy in all of Los Angeles and the next day you question all your talent.
I distinctly remember a comedy booker in Toronto saying the following “you have a funny face and a funny name but other than that there is nothing funny about you.”
But when you’re onstage making people laugh there is nothing better and nobody can take that away from you.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a comedian, actor and writer!
I’ve spent nearly a decade doing standup, improv and sketch comedy.
I really love doing all of them. But just between you and me, improv is my favorite. I credit an improv school in Toronto called Bad Dog for making me fall in love with Improv.
There’s something freeing about improv. You’re just in the moment, listening and having fun with another person. There’s nothing else in life where the more fun you have, the more fun the audience has.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
The greatest book about standup comedy ever written is Born Standing Up by Steve Martin. It highlights the struggles, the loneliness, the ups and downs, and the grind of it all.
Outside of that I mean I love listen to Conan’s podcast, Marc Maron’s podcast, Fly on the Wall, or any sports and Survivor podcasts just to keep me distracted.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chilidawg44/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063744005496
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chili-davidson-he-him-885b06b5
- Twitter: https://x.com/ChiliDawg44
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BoyGirlParty
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-198113110
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-not-ready-for-featured-players-podcast/id1589294495
