Mike Marino Bringing Stand-Up Act to Toronto

(andPOP) - Read below for an interview Mike Marino did with andPOP. You can also watch another interview in the player on the right side of this page.


Mike Marino is dubbed as New Jersey's Bad Boy of Comedy. When he moved to California, his thick East coast accent and "edgy attitude" took people by surprise. As a stand-up comedian, he became known for his punchy and irresistible skits that often highlight the grittiness of growing up in New Jersey. And he swears he lives up to his nickname.

As an actor? As a comedian? Or as a person in general?

"All of the above," he says.

On May 24, the Italian-American comic will give Torontonians a glimpse of his American "bad boy" persona. He is scheduled to perform at the Toronto Centre for the Arts for his first ever show in the city. His overall program for the event still needs polishing, but Marino is not worried about it.

"We're all humans," he says, "If I joke about dating and relationships, everyone knows what I'm talking about."

Perhaps Marino's laid-back approach to his Toronto show comes from the fact that he's familiar with the city.

Aside from having relatives in Toronto, some of his commercials were also shot here. Marino has appeared in over 200 national television spots. When he was 19 years old, Marino's role as a marine in a United Airlines commercial earned him a nomination for Best Male Performer in the annual Clio awards (think: Oscars for commercials).

Since then, Marino has played a sports heckler, an insurance cheater, an inattentive husband, a stuffy-nosed employee and a seaman, just to name a few. He has also appeared in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Frasier and Becker.

Marino's resume is filled with all types of gigs, ranging from television to film to commercials and to theatre. But his career trajectory is unorthodox compared to many known comedians, like Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx, who transitioned from stand-up to television and film. Unlike them, it wasn't until Marino was 29 years old that he ventured into stand-up comedy.

"I did it because a lot of people started saying that I was funny," he recalls. His first experience as a stand-up comedian was during a comedy contest in New Jersey where he won $500.

Today, he headlines top Hollywood comedy clubs such as the Laugh Factory and the Comedy Store. He has also performed for the USO Comedy Tours and The Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.

"There's nothing better than standing in front of 20,000 people who are hanging on to your every word," he says.

It is no surprise however that Marino enjoys the watchful eyes of an audience. After all, he has been in the limelight since he was an infant.

In a New Jersey hospital delivery room in the late '60s, Marino was born. A nurse conducted a diaper session to teach new mothers how to put on a diaper. It was then that Marino booked his first modeling job. He was the handpicked baby used to demonstrate the craft of putting on a diaper amongst fellow newborns.

"I've been performing since I can remember," he says. And it's hard to believe otherwise.