The comedic style of Pablo Francisco is an ever-evolving
cavalcade of celebrity impressions, incisive observations and absurd
juxtapositions that has entertained incredible amounts of people all over the
planet. Francisco’s recent tour across Europe resulted in sold out shows from
the famous Troxy in London to Amsterdam’s legendary Milky Way. Before that the
star toured Australia and performed at the South African Comedy Festival. While
some comics are going places, Francisco has already been there.
In spite of his talent, genius and continuing fame and
fortune, the comedian known as Pablo Francisco still stays humble. “This is
just a hobby that became a career,” he says.
“Performing over in Europe is just
like performing everywhere else, it’s just that they speak several languages.”
More than a decade after making his mark with pitch-perfect renditions of Al
Pacino, Arnold Schwarzenegger and even Danny Glover, Francisco admits his
success still surprises him. “I still feel like I’m just some YouTube karaoke
star that got famous.”
Despite all the success Francisco admits that for a
stand-up comic the fear of going up on stage alone with nothing but a mic stand
to protect you from a mob of screaming fans demanding nothing but something to
laugh at never goes away. “The fear is a good thing. It’s an adrenaline rush,”
he says. “I’ve realized that at this point it is always going to feel like I’m
going up for the first time, except now I’m eager to go up on stage. I can’t
wait to show the audience something new I’ve been working on to impress them.”
Francisco made a name for himself early on by doing
pitch-perfect impersonations of famous stars and celebrities. Part of his
success is the fact that when someone big does something stupid, he’s there to
capitalize because of his ability to sound like the target, whereas other
comics are stuck with observational humor. “Believe me; Arnold Schwarzenegger
knows how to stay in the news, so I have to keep doing a lot of those voices,”
Francisco says.
“Like Justin Bieber. He’s marinating himself like he’s
some sort of stud. I love him, he’s a good kid, but when you put something as
obviously funny as that in my face I have to make fun of you,” he says. Any
good stand-up comic will tell you that the joke usually isn’t funny unless
there is a body lying on the floor because it was a target. “I’m a millionaire
too, but I’ll make fun of you whether you are Angelina Jolie or Jon Bon Jovi,
he says, his voice morphing into an impression of the rock singer. “It doesn’t
matter if you make it or not,” he sings.
Francisco is a veteran of television, including his
Comedy Central specials “They Put It Out There,” “Bits and Pieces,” and “Ouch,”
and has also performed on “Mind of Mencia,” “Mad TV” and “The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno,” but chances are that very soon he’s going to be the star of his own
television show. “I’ve been working on a show with Steve Kramer. It’s a cartoon
show. We even met with the producers of ‘The Family Guy.’” For a natural impersonator
like Francisco, an animated series that’s as funny as it is controversial would
be the logical choice.
Like any comedian, Francisco has thousands of Twitter
followers and stays current on Facebook and YouTube. “I make sure there is
always some good advice to take home from it. Like, if you want to be a popular
at a bar, just pretend to be a little gay,” he says. “Joe Rogan is like that,
his podcasts have good information.”
I just don’t understand how some people get way too
personal with their own tweets. “There are some people who will follow anyone,
like Gary Busey, he says, slipping into another dead-on impersonation. “Hi
everyone, here’s a picture of a sandwich. I’m going to eat it. Now I’m eating
French Fries,” he says. “It’s like thousands of people across America are going
out on a date with him.”
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