Jim Jeffries: Interview

Jim Jeffries: Interview

26 November, 2009
by: Emma

Popular Aussie stand-up Jim Jeffries is back in London over the next two weeks performing all new material in Leicester Square Theatre. 'A perfect opportunity to speak to the hilarious foul-mouthed one!' I muse. Sensing he might not feel quite as excited as me after getting his answer machine several times, I eventually get through to Jim, who, (unsurprisingly given his reputation for smashing it, combined with a gruelling tour schedule) admits to feeling knackered but indulges me in some answers.

'Controversial' is a label often bandied around when describing confrontational comics and while it does give a very succinct brief on what to expect, it must get wearing for the comedian in question. Not Jim: "It sells as many tickets as it doesn't sell. At least if I say something controversial or offensive on stage and someone complains we can say we had it all over the posters."

Originally from Sydney and a previous UK resident, the forthright stand-up relocated to Venice Beach, LA, two years ago and has gone down a storm across the pond. After an appearance last year on HBO's Down and Dirty with Jim Norton, HBO signed him up for his own comedy special, making him one of only four non-Americans to do so, including Ricky Gervais, Omid Djalili and Eddie Izzard. One might imagine HBO insisting he, ahem, 'tone it down a little' but Jim assures me (almost) nothing has changed in his act:

"All they said to me was I couldn't use the c word for the first 15 minutes. The 15 minute mark is the most important as that means people are still watching. Most comedians have a timeline at the back of the room which says you've got 15 minutes left. I had a timeline which told me when I could say cunt after 15 minutes."

So his material works fine with US audiences but has he encountered any major differences to other stand-ups on the circuit, like more racist routines for example? "American stand-up seems more racist because the comedy culture is more diverse. The stand-up in Britain is still a white guy's gig really. There aren't that many black comics that are big although there's plenty around. You've got Lenny Henry and Stephen K Amos is coming through but there's still not the population that you could have at the Comedy Store. In LA you go to 'Urban Night' on Monday, 'Latino' on Tuesday and 'Asian' on Wednesday. The Asian community just want to see Asian comics and you can sell more tickets that way. When it's just black people or Mexicans the comics will say: 'What is it with black people? What is it with white people?' so it seems racist, especially when you watch something like Def Jam but it's not really.

Indeed, one thing you won't be hearing Jim say is: "What is it with black people?" Recently he was cited in a Guardian piece entitled 'The New Offenders of Stand-Up Comedy' as saying: "You can't do a joke these days about black or Asian people – and rightly so – (but) you can do rape jokes on stage and that's not a problem." A statement Jim says was a misquote: "What I actually said was the reason that jokes about paedophilia/rape etc are more acceptable is because the audience inherently knows you don't mean it, the same as if you told a joke about killing someone the audience knows you're not a murderer. You can't do a lot of racist jokes because there are a lot of fucking racists out there. There's a good chance that the guy telling the joke probably is one. It's a different playing field."

Although described as 'Britain's most offensive stand-up' by Q Magazine, Jeffries rarely does get audiences' backs up: "There are comics that are gratuitously offensive but the reason I get away with it and others don't is because I am funny. I do gags and proper stories." Although it's hard to forget the famous YouTube clip of him getting lamped in the face by a disgruntled Manchester Comedy Store punter, now the most downloaded clip of him online. "It doesn't surprise me - I know how much people like violence! It would be the same if Ricky Gervais got punched in the head. It's not like people don't like my stand-up."

So comedy aside, is there anything we don't know about Jim, apart from the fact he likes a party and drives a Mustang? Is he an avid chess player or a demon in the kitchen? "My ideal weekend is spent at home on the couch watching TV. I do love chess actually and I cook for myself. I can't think of anything worse than travelling. I've been everywhere, I've seen enough cities."

See all Jim's Leciester Square dates
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Emma