Felipe Esparza is coming to Austin. And we’re here for it. Esparza will be live at ACL Live at The Moody Theater on April 26 as part of his At My Leisure World Tour. Before the show, we hit him with a few quick questions—about Austin, memes, Eddie Murphy and bolo ties.
10 Questions With Felipe Esparza
Welcome back, Felipe! First things first—what’s the very first thing you do when you land in Austin? (Tacos? Chill at the hotel? Hit up H-E-B?)
“Usually I chill at the hotel and maybe take a pre-show nap if there’s time.”
Netflix
Your new Netflix special is called Raging Fool—what’s one thing that makes you lose it… and one thing that always makes you laugh?
“I lose it when someone takes their shoes off on the plane. Scrolling through memes and reading the comments always makes me laugh.”
Glow Up
You went from selling snacks at Dodger games to selling out theaters. What’s one moment from the early days that stuck with you?
“Taking free hot dogs and concession food home after the games LOL”
Getting Personal
Your stories hit home for a lot of people. Do you think that’s just how you grew up—or do you write with that in mind?
“Both – I write from my point of view of how I grew up. I have a different perspective on a lot of things because of the way (and where) I grew up.”
You’ve shared some really personal stuff—like addiction and growing up around gangs. Is it hard to talk about on stage, or does it feel kinda good to let it out?
“It feels good to let it out. Standup is actually therapy for a lot of comedians. Talking through it helps you review sometimes traumatic things that happened in your life and see the comedy in it after all these years.”
Your shows in English and Spanish both go off—do the jokes feel different when you switch languages?
“Yes, the whole thing is different. The rhythm/cadence, timing, the plays on words that is possible in Spanish – it’s all different. It’s like starting comedy from scratch again.”
Celebrity Pals
You’ve worked with some big names—Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill… ever have a moment where you just stopped and went, “How is this real?”
“Yeah actually when I worked with Eddie on that movie (“You People” on Netflix), the first time I saw Eddie on set, it was a large group scene – a wedding scene. Eddie looked right at me, singled me out and said, “My man, you’re one funny moth** f***er.” I had no idea he had ever seen me before in my life. I was floored. Everyone was shocked as well because he hadn’t talked to anyone so far. That was pretty cool because I’ve always been a fan of Eddie and admired his entire career.”
Podcast
Your podcast’s been running strong for 8 years. What’s kept it fun after all this time?
“It’s actually been 11 years now. We changed it up from time to time – different co-hosts, we’ve moved sets several times. Now we’re pretty comfortable, but we’ve got long lasting relationships with so many of the listeners and viewers who have been with us since the beginning.”
Austin
You’ve been to Austin a lot. What’s the weirdest or funniest thing that’s happened to you at a show here? (We know something wild had to happen.)
“Not too long ago, I was doing a show at a club in Austin and there was a shooting somewhere outside down the street. People were running into the club to get off the street for safety and I was on stage being told to keep the show going and keep extending my time. The audience and I had no idea what was happening outside the showroom.”
Advice
If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice before your first open mic—what would you say?
“Don’t wear that bolo tie and denim jacket.”
Catch Felipe Esparza live at ACL Live at The Moody Theater on April 26.
Tickets are available now.
