Carl Donnelly: Another Round is on tour until December, the next date is Leicester Square Theatre on 6th November. All details via: https://www.carldonnelly.info
What is the last thing you do before you go onstage (apart from check your flies and/or check your knickers aren't sticking out of your skirt and check for spinach between your teeth).
I normally have a two minute crisis of confidence where I feel like the guy from Quantum Leap and I’ve just woken up in the body of someone about to do stand up comedy but I have no idea how to do that. Then as my name is announced I remember I’ve been doing it for years and I relax.
What irritates you?
People who watch TikTok or insta reels on their phone with their volume up. I have a new technique to deal with it if I’m with my daughter. She’s five so very easily encouraged and I basically start playing a very loud game we improvise near the culprit where we’re shouting and making silly noises etc. We did this yesterday on a bus in Tooting where I could see the person was struggling to hear their phone and after a few minutes they gave up and turned the reels off.
What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?
I once scaled the side of a Spanish hotel while drunk. I think I was seven stories up and was climbing between multiple balconies. It gives me heart palpitations when I think of it now.
What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?
I once took LSD all night before appearing on a television show that was filmed in Amsterdam. I filmed the show having not slept for two days and I have no recollection of how it went. Luckily I’ve never watched it and it only aired on American television.
What has surprised you the most during your career in comedy?
That I can still write material. After every show/tour/festival I’ve done, I have a few months where I genuinely can’t think of a single funny idea and I convince myself that’s the end and I’ll never be able to do it again so might as well get a job. Luckily to date it has always kicked back into gear. One day though it won’t and I’ll disappear like Will Hunting.
What do your parents/children (delete as applicable) think of your job?
My parents never really understood it. They were working class Irish people that toiled away their whole lives in low paid jobs or often on benefits so I think the idea of getting paid to muck about was a stretch too far for them.
What’s the worst thing about being a comedian?
Being on a totally different time frame to everyone else I know who isn’t a comedian. Most people get to wind down after dinner but that’s when comedians have to get their main energy boost of the day to go and perform. It’s like being a shift worker.
I think you are very good at what you do (that’s why I’m asking these questions). What do you think of you?
I’ve settled into thinking I’m pretty good at comedy and being quite proud of my legacy. It only took me about 19 years to stop thinking I was shit.
It differs from year to year. I’ve had a couple of years in my career where I made too much money for my temperament at the time. I’ve also had a few where I seemed to forget I was self employed and took off travelling around India etc and remembered a few months later that I wasn’t earning any money and was flat broke. I’ve never really considered it a job though so just feel lucky to be able to pay the bills.
How important is luck in terms of career success – have you had lucky breaks?
I’m not sure there’s much luck in comedy. Ultimately you’ve got to be funny to whoever is watching. If they happen to be in a position to give you a break then you still had to put the work in to make them laugh. Luck would suggest the head of comedy was walking past while you were telling yourself jokes at a bus stop or something.
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 the third category?
I’m both. I’m very chilled about life and tend to float along enjoying myself but now and again the insecurity can kick in and comedy can become tortuous for a brief period.
Who is your favourite person ever and why – not including family or friends or other comedians?
Benjamin Zephaniah always seemed like a good guy. I did a tour show the other night and one of his old posters was up and it made me sad that he had passed away. His books are great and he turned down an MBE which I think is always a plus.
Do you keep your drawers tidy and if not why not? (please think long and hard about this question, it's to settle an argument with my girlfriend. The future of our relationship could depend on your response).
Nope. I’m a very tidy person in some terms. I hate mess or clothes lying around etc but when it comes to drawers they’re messy. It’s a case of out of sight out of mind innit.
