Comedian and musician Owen Benjamin will be performing at Tempe Improv Comedy Club Friday and Saturday as part of his spring comedy tour.
Both shows will be held at 8 p.m. and will feature special guest performances.
Originally from Oswego, N.Y., Benjamin began his career as a musician.
"I pretty much started doing stand-up comedy through music," he said. "My dad was an opera singer and I played piano growing up. We would play at weddings and eventually I started doing funny stuff that would make people laugh."
It was then that Benjamin realized that doing stand-up comedy was something he had an interest in. This will be Benjamin's seventh year in the comedy business.
Benjamin has also been a cast member of the MTV show "Punk'd," which centers on the pranks of various celebrities. In 2006, Benjamin was cast a small role in the hit comedy "I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry," starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James.
Benjamin also plays in the comedy band "That's My Daughter." He describes his work with the band as an opportunity to make fun of the bullies from the town that he grew up in.
"We created these characters that were stuck in the '80s: small-town, red-neck types," he said.
With these characters, Benjamin shot a series of music videos that have been aired on Comedy Central.
Benjamin has done stand-up comedy at places like the Aspen Comedy Festival and several other clubs and colleges across the country.
His ultimate career goal is to write and star in his own movie.
"I really like acting because a lot more comedy can come out of dialogue, versus one person talking on stage," said Benjamin.
Several of his short films have appeared on popular Web sites like YouTube and Myspace. He's signed an Internet deal with Sony and was promised his own original show that is slated to launch in March.
He plays a butler at the Playboy mansion in his new movie "I know what Boys Like," produced by Adam Sandler's production company Happy Madison. Being a comedian requires a thick skin.
"The failure rate for a comedian is about 99 percent because everyone wants to do it," he said. "Comedy is the type of business where you need to be able to take rejection and learn from it."
Benjamin's advice to aspiring comedians is to create as much exposure as possible.
"Just create as much as you can. A lot of people sit around and wait to be discovered, and that is never going to happen," he said. "Make funny stuff and also make sure you love it. Comedy is a calling. If you don't love it, it's not going to work."
Check out upcoming shows and films starring Owen Benjamin at: myspace.com/owenbenjamin.
Reach the reporter at: allison.carlin@asu.edu.
