Interview: Lil Rel Howery is all about the positivity

Lil Rel Howery might just be the nicest guy in comedy. The Chicago-born comic has seen his star rise exponentially in the past two years, from starring in The Carmichael Show on NBC to his scene-stealing role in Jordan Peele’s blockbuster Get Out. Howery is currently starring in the basketball comedy Uncle Drew, where he plays the manager of a street basketball team who recruits a legendary lineup of “senior” players to combat his nemesis (played by Nick Kroll). Featuring real-life NBA legends like Shaq and Chris Webber in old-man prosthetics, Uncle Drew is Howery’s first major starring role, and he has already wrapped production on a wide variety of projects that will see the light of day throughout the year.

Given all his success, Howery has somehow remained down-to-earth, happy to root for this current generation of comedians and writers as they earn their success in the industry. From calling out Tracey Morgan for his treatment of his Uncle Drew co-star Tiffany Haddish, to constantly tweeting out well-wishes to fellow comics online, Howery is happy to use his newfound fame to boost up those around him, a rare trait in the often petty and cut-throat world of comedy.

We caught up with Howery to discuss how his positive outlook stems from being a “confident tough nerd” growing up in Chicago, what it was like shooting with his favourite NBA stars, and what to expect from his Lil Rel and Friends show at Just for Laughs this week.

Lil Rel and Friends takes place Saturday, July 28th at 5ieme Salle at Place des Arts. Tickets are $33.40, available here. Lil Rel Howery will also appear on Tiffany Haddish’s Gala later that night at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts. For the complete Just for Laughs schedule, visit the festival’s official site.

Bad Feeling Mag: You’re hosting Lil Rel and Friends at Just for Laughs again this year. How do these lineups come together?

Lil Rel Howery: I don’t know what the lineup is going to be yet, it drives them crazy. I started doing it because — I’ve been coming to the festival for years, like I was a New Face Unrepped, you know what I mean? I want to use my popularity or whatever I can to bring our industry to see people who they didn’t even know they was going to see that week or that weekend. And that’s why I created it, I created it for the comedians who aren’t on anything [laughs]. And I think that’s what I love about the festival, like last year was very successful, and I met all these comics from all over the world who I just put up, who I met in the lobby, you know what I mean? “Oh man, you want to go up, cool.”

And it did drive them a little crazy to be doing it again this year, but at the same time, it’s fun, and I saw people I never saw before and they was killing, I saw some really great comics last year that I never met before that did the show, it was great.

Do you think that spontaneity helps the sets? That people didn’t know a few days before that they would be performing with you?

Yeah, a lot of them I just met [laughs]. They were just really nice, they were networking. It’s such a weird idea that I’ve always had from coming to the festival, because a lot of us are broke that come, we spend our last just to be around this. And I thought it’d be cool to show some love to cats who take comedy serious enough to sacrifice, to learn and network.

Last time you had Hannibal Buress come do a little surprise set at the show, do you have any surprises this time?

Oh, I think it’s going to be … because I’m already getting a few calls, I’m not going to tell you, you know what I mean? It’s me balancing out a lot of cool stuff, where in comedy my star has changed a little bit, so now I know certain people, and they’re all like, “Rel, we’re coming.” And I’m like, “Alright, I want you to come and see some of these young guys too, before you become this huge surprise guest that shows up.”

You’re also going to be appearing at your good friend Tiffany Haddish’s show, who you’ve gone to bat defending recently — is it important for you to support your friends in the industry?

Oh, 100%, not even just my friends, just to support anybody who I feel like is not being treated right. And that can be a black woman, black man, white woman, somebody handicapped. I just don’t like seeing people bullied. And that’s just not cool. I was a nerd growing up, but I was like a really confident, tough nerd [laughs].

That’s a weird mix.

Yeah, it’s a weird mix! But I’m from the West Side of Chicago, so you kind of have that weird balance, you know what I mean? But it’s one of those things, as an adult, we just need to cut all that out. I’m in this cool, supportive place. I’m so happy about so many comedians, so many writers out here. Like I love showing up to things, even on the Fox lot or an awards show, and you see friends you met at JFL that was a New Face Unrepped this year, and they’re doing all this amazing stuff. This is just a cool time, and I think we should celebrate each other more, more than just overtly compete.

You have a positive outlook that really comes through in your comedy and your films, is that something that came naturally when you were growing up in Chicago? Or did you have to work on that?

No, that’s just who I am, I’m actually fascinated by like, how far being myself has taken me. Because, you look at some of the people that came before you and some of these people are mean, like, do we gotta be like that? It’s comedy, right? We’re making people laugh, why you so dark? [laughs] That’s what I think is fun about this beautiful new group of rising comedians, is just that we all like each other. Like, “Man, you did great!”

You’ve compared yourself to Larry David, how does that present itself?

You know, it’s interesting, because … I’m almost more like Larry David Curb Your Enthusiasm Larry David, you know what I mean? Like the stuff that irritates him…even though it’s weird watching an older white man, and I’m like, “Oh, I relate to that.” [laughs] I get this man, he is me! And I think that’s what’s brilliant about Larry David’s show, and that’s one of the things I want to do with my show, is where you don’t even look at it as a colour thing, it’s just a person. This is what I love about television, which is what I love about comedy. Comedy will always have this place where we’re one of the only things that relate to everybody. Everybody wants to laugh, everybody needs to laugh, people need it, especially in this climate. That’s why I like to have good energy, even my audience, I want my audience to be happy when they finish watching me. Like, “That was fun!”

Speaking of leaving happy, what appealed to you about Uncle Drew being your first starring role?

I’m a big basketball fan, and I love basketball stories, and that was intriguing, because that was like my first meeting after Get Out, was with the producer of Uncle Drew. Right after Get Out, the offers were coming, and I took this on first because I’m a basketball fan, like, “How many time you gonna get a chance to do this?” Shaq, Chris Webber, like, this is insane. If I told 12-year-old me playing Coach K or NBA Live 95 that I’d be doing a movie with these dudes, I’d be like, “You’re crazy.” But it was one of the funnest experiences of my life, I’m glad I did it.

You know what’s wild? I took my kids to Knott’s Berry Farm in LA, and it’s weird watching your fanbase change, you know what I mean? [laughs] There were so many foreign and white kids asking to take a picture with me. I was like, “Oh damn, this is new.” It was new for me! People show me love all the time for standup stuff and Get Out and Carmichael Show and all that stuff, but those are adults. But to have these excited teenagers and stuff, that’s a whole other breed. Basketball is one of those great, awesome sports that everybody likes. It’s such a diverse sport of fans. I hope I can keep, even with these next four movies you see me in coming up soon, I want to do what Tom Hanks and Denzel do, and just keep making good stuff. Some stuff can be fun, some stuff can be like, these very great scripts that get you nominated for an Oscar, I just want to do what I enjoy, you know what I mean? I’ve got dramas coming out, I’m just diversifying myself as much as I can.

What was working with those NBA players like? Did they come in with the confidence that they could so this, or was it nerve-wracking for them?

I’ll tell you something funny. So the first table read, I see Chris Webber right — Chris Webber is one of my favourite power forwards of all time — so I walk up to him, and before I can say two words to him, he’s like, “Hey man, I’m a little nervous ’cause I’m a huge fan, I love all your comedy, I saw your special on Netflix.” And I’m like, “What?!” ‘Cause I came over to do that to him. Now I’m  all frozen. But I thought it was dope that they came with such great energy, and that’s one of the things I learned about starring in a movie is the energy you exude is what everybody is going to feel, and I wanted to make everybody comfortable. And I remember telling them when I saw the script, I was like, “There’s no way I should be funnier than them.” Because they’ve got on prosthetics, like, that’s insane that we don’t take advantage of whatever this is. This is why I did my best to kind of like, just like basketball, I passed the ball. I was the point guard, I wanted everybody to get their shots off. And Chris Webber, that dude was hysterical. Man, that Church scene, when I tell you in-between takes I could not stop laughing. And we forget too, these dudes are legends, so what they did is just shifted their legendary energy into acting, and they ended up doing a really good job, I’m really proud of those guys.

There are so many insults and one-liners thrown around in the movie, did that translate on set? Were you burning each other during filming?

Yeah, we were just having fun. Nick Kroll is one of my favourite people to work with. We ended up doing a show in LA and I only did the show so I could convince him to do Uncle Drew [laughs]. He’s so funny man. That scene where we mimic each other, that was just us playin’ around. The director was like, “That was great, do it again!” Me and Nick Kroll, I feel like we’ve got some more movies to do. I think that’s my Gene Wilder, if I could say that.

Did the overwhelming reaction to Get Out surprise you? Did you have any inkling when you were filming the movie that it would resonate so strongly with people?

No, I don’t think none of us did at first, because the budget wasn’t huge, so you wasn’t sure if they were going to market it [laughs]. And you just don’t know. It wasn’t until — I knew we was doing something special, but I was like, “Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s just us that decided to do this that think it’s a really dope movie, you know what I mean?” But it turned out it wasn’t!

When the trailer came out is when we knew, “OK, maybe this might be a thing.” Because it got like a billion hits in one day, on a trailer, I’m like, “Damn!” My family started calling me, “What’s this movie I saw you in the trailer?” I didn’t even really tell anybody I did it. I literally did it on a hiatus week of The Carmichael Show. I shot everything on my week off [laughs].

I just re-watched the original ending of Get Out, do you ever think how the film would have been received without your cathartic, comedic beat at the end?

I remember, Jordan showed me the first cut, and it was with the original ending, and I was upset afterwards. I couldn’t sleep, ’cause it was a harsh reality. He didn’t even do anything but defend himself, and he’s going to jail. So it was tough at first, that’s why I think Jordan is a brilliant man, by recognizing we see this everyday on the news all the time, we just need a hero. And he didn’t make me a superhero, all I did was pick up my friend. That’s all I did, I was just a good friend, which I thought was even more smart, to make the hero just a good friend, you know what I mean? It’s very rare, It was just such a genuine thing, and I’m thankful I was the friend.

What can you tell us about the upcoming Rel show? How closely is this mirrored on your life?

Oh yeah, it’s close to it, it’s loosely based on my life, on my material. It’s such an interesting thing showing a long-distance dad in a situation where he’s just going through a divorce and watching him rebuild his life and own up to his BS, and still trying his hardest to be a loving father. I don’t think we see that enough, you know? That’s my life now, but it’s interesting to watch a man rebuild his life from that. And not from the perspective of “Yeah, I’m back out here everybody,” but from a perspective of like, “Yo, I’ve got to heal myself, I’m hurt. And I’ve got to own my BS.” A lot of the time we play a victim where somebody cheated on you and all this stuff, but nobody ever asks, “Why did they do it? What did you do?” And you’ve got to own that. And as the season goes on we’re going to reveal things. Maybe I’m the bad guy at the end, I don’t know [laughs]. We’ll see.

Apart from Rel and the upcoming Just for Laughs shows, what else can you let us in on?

I’m in the new Bobby Brown Story, which is fun to do because I’m a huge Bobby Brown fan, that comes out in September. I did a movie called Bird Box with Sandra Bullock that comes out I believe in December, very excited about that. Brittany Runs A Marathon I did with Jillian Bell, that’s another great film. And Angry Birds 2. I’m just having fun.

Lil Rel and Friends takes place Saturday, July 28th at 5ieme Salle at Place des Arts. Tickets are $33.40, available here. Lil Rel Howery will also appear on Tiffany Haddish’s Gala later that night at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts. For the complete Just for Laughs schedule, visit the festival’s official site.