Wayne Brady has always struck me as one of those guys who’s hard to hate. It’s true that he always seems like he’s trying just a bit too hard, and his slick comedy appeal is more in line with my grandmother’s taste than my own (except for Whose Line Is It Anyways), but, I don’t hold it against him, the same way I do, say, Stay-Puft Marshmallow Manny on Modern Family. Brady seems just aware enough of what the public thinks of him that every so often, he’ll subvert our expectations, like his famous Chappelle’s Show sketch or 30 Rock appearance.
Earlier today, Brady, who’s apparently rocking the Six Flags Creepy Old Man look for his day job hosting Let’s Make a Deal, participated in an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit, in which he answered questions about Whose Line, Chappelle, and animals, but didn’t respond to someone’s query on “F*ck/Marry/Kill: Ryan, Colin, Drew.” (The correct answer is Colin. His shiny head is like a mirror.) Here are some of the most interesting answers.
During the Whose Line days, it seemed like you, Ryan and Colin all had really great chemistry, that didn’t quite translate to all of the various “fourth members.” Were you three friends outside of the show, or was there just some natural chemistry that was there?
I met everyone once I started doing the show. The other guys knew each other and worked together a lot but I was the new kid. The thing about being on Whose Line was that it was always fresh because we didn’t hang out, so the taping was a cool party. I think some people love the notion that we worked together and then went home to our four tier bunk bed to have improvised pillow fights.
Wayne, who was your favorite guest to improv with on Whose Line?
It was def Robin Williams. It was my dream to work with that guy. And to be able to improvise with him was amazing. I almost had a comedy stroke right on stage.
Any stories you can share from your appearance on Chappelle’s show? How did he pitch the idea? What was the shoot like, etc?
The Chapelle Show idea came from Dave calling me up at my show and saying that he was a fan and wanted to do a sketch for his last show. I’d run into a couple of his writers and maybe I said that i thought that the Paul Mooney joke was stupid. So, I get this call and the next thing I know we’re shooting this classic sketch. He and his writing partner came up with the training day thing and I did the part where the cop gets it.
Which comedians do you most admire…and have been been inspired by in your own career?
I like people who are more than just what they appear to be. Whoopie, Robin Williams, Steve Carell, John Leguizamo…all make you laugh but can take you on a ride emotionally as actors. That’s what I like.
If you could ride one animal into battle what would it be?
A unicorn with an undersized horn so it had to compensate for it in battle.
