Darcy Michael sits down in a downtown Vancouver coffee shop, wraps himself in a shawl, and promptly begins knitting with needles he keeps in his gym bag.
It’s exactly this kind of juxtaposition that makes Michael so appealing to audiences; the oft-bearded, stoned-slacker type comic is sincerely quirky, and his unlikely appearance creates the inherent contradictions of which comedy gold is made.
Michael may not be a household name yet, but numerous appearances in TV shows and comedy clubs across Canada with the biggest names in the business have afforded him a “pretty awesome life,” he says. He jokes in conversation endlessly, but his easy, warm demeanour never begs for laughs. Humility, Michael says, is fairly easy to come by in his line of work.
“I tell d— jokes for 20 minutes a week for a living,” Michael grins. “There’s no delusions of grandeur here.”
With only six years of experience under his belt, Michael has already played Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival and filmed his own Comedy Now! special. The former interior decorator says he is still surprised how instantaneously audiences embraced him.
“It was weird, I started to get feedback from people instantly. It went from doing it once or twice a month, to three months later it was five days a week, and a year later I was filming TV shows and specials.”
On the other hand, Michael says he has always been able to do just about anything.
“It’s been bizarre, but it’s just the way my life has gone,” he says. “It’s like if I decide to do something I just do it for a while. My dad says it best, I’m just a really good bull—-ter, and now I just get paid to bull—-.”
The 31-year-old Michael’s act typically revolves around standard comedy fare: sex, relationships, and marijuana. Part of his success has likely stemmed from the unsuspecting audience’s surprise when he reveals he’s a gay, married father with a trilling “Surprise! We’re everywheeeere!”
Michael has begun to tire of the reliability of that joke. He lost more than 50 pounds in the last year and shaved his trademark beard to shed his “Undercover Gay” image. His fans likely won’t mind.
“I write whatever makes me laugh,” he says. “I never think of what the audience would react to. Poll 200 people and they all have a different opinion about humour. You just hope they either like it, or they get their coats and leave without making a fuss. I couldn’t imagine being that conscious of the audience. I’ve done shows for 70-year-olds, 18-year-olds, it’s the same kind of reaction. I think I’m just great in front of everybody.”
If anything, Michael says his opportunities have increased. He’s going on tour next year to Canada’s major cities, promoting a new DVD, and appearing in several films.
If Michael has it his way, we’ll be seeing even more of him.
“I want my own show. I want a sitcom or a talk show,” he says. “Everything, why not? I love talking to people, especially people I don’t know.”
But just so nobody gets the idea he’s too serious about his ambitions, Michael adds, “I’d love to have a show where I get to sit in a hot tub and interview and smoke bongs. I think that would be the ideal life.”
