Interview: Rarely Asked Questions – Tiernan Douieb: Page 2 of 2

Tiernan Douieb

6. What do your parents think of your job?

 
They are pretty supportive of it and quite often come to see shows, especially if there's another act on the bill they like. There was a while where my dad would regularly say 'I told you you should've got a PGCE teaching qualification just in case' to the extent that I used it as a quote for a while. Luckily that's since passed now they've realised I'm not responsible enough to teach children.  
 

 

 

7. What’s the worst thing about being a comedian?

 
Being in a service station by yourself at 2am knowing you still have several hours of driving to do, you've run out of podcasts, the radio is playing crap and they've closed part of the motorway so you have to drive down creepy country roads where werewolves probably live. Oh and when your car goes on fire. 
 

 

 

8. I think you are very good at what you do (that’s why I’m asking these questions). What do you think of you?

 
Thanks. That's very nice of you to say so. I think I'm ok. I think I'm getting better all the time. I was definitely rubbish for several years, and I don't think I'm rubbish anymore, but I've still got a way to go before I'm really good. I think I've got a much better idea of who I am in general which means I can be more me onstage which is nice. Especially as I'm not really sure who else I'd be onstage without letting someone down with my poor impression of them. 
 

 

9. How much do you earn and how much would you like to earn?

 
Last tax year I earned about £33k I think. Which I'm pretty pleased with. I'm quite happy with earning that amount but the only reason I'd like to earn more is because I've always lived in London my entire life, born and bred, and it seems that unless your'e fairly rich, we'll all be priced out of here soon. I'd really like to stay. So if I can keep paying my rent and bills I won't complain. Or y'know, if we ever get a government that properly tackles the insane housing market and tenants rights then that'd be fine too. But I think it's probably more likely that I'll just have to work harder. 

 

 

10. How important is luck in terms of career success – have you had lucky breaks?

 
Not really. I wish I had. I've often been in the wrong place at the wrong time in terms of shows. But the longer you've been doing comedy the more people recognise that you're good at what you do and pretty much every good opportunity I've had has been down to work I've previously done somewhere. I read Amy Poehler's book recently and she frequently says that nothing is down to luck, it's about all the connections you make and working hard. I agree entirely.  Though I suppose I am lucky with finding people that I like to work with so often. 

 

 

11. Alan Davies has said that comedians fall into two categories - golfers and self-harmers. The former just get on with life, the latter are tortured artists. Which are you – or do you think you fit into a third category?

 
 I think it'd be dramatic of me to say I'm a tortured artist. I'm quite happy with my own life, I just feel more and more angry with the way other people are treated and the political situation of the UK and most of the world. I'm often frustrated that I can't always say what I want to onstage. That's not due to boundaries or audience judgement or anything like that. Just that I'm not good enough to put it into words yet. So mildly self tortured and I really don't like golf. A self-golfer? A harming putter? I'm really not sure. 
 

 

12. Who is your favourite person ever and why - not including family or friends or other comedians?

 
This changes frequently, but at the moment it's Commander Chris Hadfield. He was the astronaut who lived on the International Space Station for 6 months in early 2013. I've read both his books and listened to a ton of interviews with him. Despite having lived in space, he just seems like such a wise, thoughtful and grounded human being. Hadfield has a great awareness of how we are all one planet and one people, being that he spent time away from Earth looking down on it which makes him completely qualified to be an authority on it. Oh and he was scared of heights, so he became a jet pilot. That blows my mind. I'm scared of spiders. That doesn't mean I want to work in the Arachnid zone at London Zoo. It just means I run away from them and shout things. 

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