GQ_South_Africa_2017

84 GQ.CO.ZA OCTOBER 2017

As an entertainer, Chris
Rock can pull off just about
anything: SNL, sitcoms,
documentaries, kids’ movies

• this guy even made the
  Oscars compelling. Now,
  after an eight-year hiatus,
  Rock’s returning to his
  stand-up roots (with
  a reported $40-million
  incentive from Netfl ix for
  two new specials). We caught
  up with the greatest living
  stand-up from the road.

GQ: Your grandfather
was a preacher. What
can preachers teach
stand-up comedians?
Chris Rock: It’s kind of the
same gig: a sermon and a set

Creator and star

of HBO’s Vice

Principals; nascent

action hero in

Alien: Covenant

Danny

McBride

Who’s your

comedy god?

The comedy god

I would serve would

be a multi-headed

beast composed of

Bill Murray, Eddie

Murphy, Lucille Ball,

Redd Foxx and

Steve Coogan.

What’s the best

joke you’ve ever

heard?

This joke sucks, but

it makes me smile:

Which came fi rst,

the chicken or the

egg? Neither. The

rooster came fi rst.

What’s the last

thing that made

you laugh?

A video of a man

exploding two

fi recrackers up

his nose.

are the same in front of an

audience, but they’re going

for an ‘Amen’ or a clap, and

we’re going for a laugh. I

think I watch more preachers

than comedians sometimes.

When I’m on tour, all the big

preachers come to see me.

Th ey usually come in the

back, and they don’t want to

take any pictures. But we talk

shop and talk about crowd

control and talk about

working an audience – I love

talking to a preacher about

working his audience.

Do you ever visit

touring preachers?

CR: I’ve seen Joel [Osteen],

and I’ve seen TD [Jakes]. Joel

Osteen plays Yankee

Stadium. Any person that

can play Yankee Stadium,

you have to go see them.

Who has a harder gig:

preachers or stand-ups?

CR: Comedians. It’s hard to

bomb as a preacher – people

defi nitely wait until the end

and go, ‘Th at guy was boring’.

And there’s a book. I wish

there was a book of comedy

I could refer to.

Is there anything from

your childhood that

you wanted to fi lm on

Everybody Hates Chris

but had to scrap?

CR: We got most of it. I think

I went easy on some people.

I went easy on some of the

bullying and racist crap that

would happen when I was in

school – [comments] by

teachers and maintenance

men and stuff. People would

say unbelievable things to you.

It’s like, ‘Wow, you said that to

a kid.’

Did you ever hear from

those people after you

became famous?

CR: Yeah, there was a teacher

• I won’t name her – who sent
  me a letter of apolog y about
  how horrible she feels that she
  let certain things happen.

How did it feel to get it?

Was it too little too late?

CR: I’m way over it. I’ve

channeled it into something

else, so I’m fi ne. But if you

contributed to a kid having

a bad experience, and you’re

the adult, that’s got to eat at

you a little bit.

What did your family

think of the way Chris’s

family was portrayed on

the show?

CR: My family is pretty cool

with it, because it’s loosely

based. I’ve got six brothers

and a sister; we’re like a team.

Th ere’s only three [kids on the

show], so all the characters

became combinations of

diff erent people.

Legend

One of comedy’s

greatest returns

with two new

specials. GQ’s

Caity Weaver

talked to him

about the

relationship

between stand-

up and sermons,

bombing on stage

and fast food

Words by Caity Weaver

Chris

Rock

promises

that he

can still

bomb