*Steering clear of “all the bullshit” that folks through at you on any given day is how comedian Deon Cole says he’s been able to maintain a scandal-free Hollywood career.
We chopped it up recently with the comedy writer, and fan-favorite “Black-ish” star about his first hour-long Netflix comedy special “Cole Hearted,” which the streaming giant describes as “unrestrained and engaging.”
“I took out a lot of stuff that I should’ve left in because it was material that I had been doing for a while. I ended up putting a lot of newer stuff in and taking out a lot of the other stuff,” Cole shared with EUR/Electronic Urban Report about how he approached crafting his new comedy show.
“I focused on a different angle. I wanted a different vibe, more like… back in the 90s type of shit, when mu’fuckas were busting the fuck up laughing, and everybody is rolling in the audience. I look at comedy like magic and I also look at the uniqueness of comedy. Sometimes a joke that’s not working is just as hilarious as one that does. I’ll do a joke on purpose that really doesn’t work just to show that that’s funny,” he explained.
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For the long-time comedian, no topic is off-limits but for his first Netflix special, Cole had to be very mindful of the PC culture he’s currently navigating.
“It’s messed up how audiences are. We can’t mess up and everybody is waiting for you to mess up. It’s like, ‘How can you get though this without fucking up?’ That’s the rule now, and it’s horrible because you can’t be who you are,” he explained.
“If you don’t like it then you don’t have to watch it but my thing is, why do you have to criticize it and try to get rid of me because you don’t like something that I’m saying? You have to be aware of that type of stuff. Especially a guy like me, that’s trying to expand his brand and expand his audience — I have to watch that. As an artist, I want what I want, and Netflix was so gracious to give me what I turned in.”
Cole handed Netflix 74 minutes of what was supposed to be an hour stand-up act. However, concerned about raising controversy, he “took out four minutes” then told the Netflix team, “I don’t know what else to take out, ‘cause I love it.” — and they did too.
“We all agreed that we had some great pieces in there that we just couldn’t figure out how to take out, so the great people at Netflix ran with it,” Cole said.
The Chicago native made a name for himself as a writer and contributor for “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” and “Conan” before landing the role of Charlie Telphy on “Black-ish,” a character that became a regular on the spinoff series “Grown-ish.”
“I’m always nervous. I don’t care if it’s 20 people or twenty thousand people, I’m always nervous,” he admitted when asked about his pre-performance warms-up or rituals. BTW, he doesn’t have any, but Cole noted that he go goes over his jokes before he hits the stage and tries to remember the order of them, as his ultimate goal is to serve up vibes that “feel good when you’re watching and laughing.”
“I was told that when I’m nervous that means I care, and once you stop being nervous, that means you really don’t care how people feel, if you make them laugh, if you’re gonna help their day. I want this special to be that. I want those in hospital beds to those that are locked up to feel good when they’re watching this.”
Cole tells us that his new special “definitely reflects” the growth he’s experienced as a comic since he first hit the stand-up circuit.
“But it also shows that there’s more to come,” he added. “That was my whole approach with this special. My approach wasn’t to get people who love me already to love me more. If you love me, you love me, and I truly appreciate that from the bottom of my heart — but the goal for me was to expand and make everyone want to see my vision and see if they really want to fuck with me or not.”
And what exactly is Deon’s vision?
You’ll have to tune in to “Cole Hearted” to find out. Trust us, you won’t be disappointed. The special is HIGHlarious!!
“I could’ve gone into politics with this special but I felt like it’s so much more to talk about. I felt like I would be a little bit more refreshing if I didn’t do what everybody else is doing.”
So what are the ingredients that make his new show so special?
“Funny, thought-provoking, from the heart, real, love on top of some more love, open-mindedness, super-vibe and fun. That’s what they’re getting,” Cole said.
He also wants y ‘all to know that he’s not here to save the world through comedy, but he will show you how to take a “whole ‘nother route” along your journey to success.
Cole said “Going a different route to show how passionate I am,” is one of the toughest lessons he’s had to learn while coming up in the comedy game.
“What I think doesn’t matter,” he added, “It does, but it doesn’t. Me trying to save the world isn’t really what I’m here for. I’m going to try to do it on the sneak tip, but I’m not going to present myself in that way. I’m going to underhandedly try to save the world. Unfortunately, we live in a world where no mistakes can be made, and it’s sad because you learn from your mistakes. If we can’t make mistakes, how the hell are we going to learn?”
Another important lesson he has learned? Enjoying those surreal moments that come with having a successful Hollywood career.
“I’ll do something and then it’ll be over with and I’ll go, ‘I was just at the Emmys… Can I go back? I didn’t enjoy that the way that I should have.’ I have to enjoy these moments when they happen and think about it later,” he said.
Stream “Cole Hearted” on Netflix here.
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