Comedian Rachid Badouri was 'ready to do anything' to achieve his dream of being on camera
In a Q interview, Badouri reflects on his path to becoming one of Quebec's biggest comedy stars
When Rachid Badouri told his father he was quitting his job to pursue stand-up comedy, he wasn't expecting a positive response.
Badouri's parents moved to Laval, Que., from a small village in Morocco with a dream for their kids to become doctors. But that wasn't what Badouri wanted — he was being pulled toward Hollywood, with dreams of being on-screen.
Badouri started working at Future Shop, but he still held onto his childhood dream of being an actor. While hosting weddings with his brother-in-law as a side gig, the two of them put together a demo tape of Badouri joking around at events.
"I drove to every TV company, like CBC and all these radio stations, even the Weather Network," he tells guest host Garvia Bailey in an interview for Q. "I said if I could do a joke there while giving the weather, I'd be fine. I was ready to do anything to be in front of a camera — except for porn."
A rift formed between Badouri and his father because of his choice to not go to medical school, and for months the two of them barely spoke. But then he told his father about his plan to submit his demo tape for auditions.
"He was in the kitchen having a banana, and he said, 'Good.' And he left," Badouri recalls. "You have to read between the lines. That 'good' meant, 'Oh my God, I am so, so proud of you' … That's what it meant in his language, in his generation's language, it meant 'good.' Because he knew."
Badouri got his big break in comedy when he landed an audition for the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal. Today, he's one of Quebec's biggest comedy stars with sold-out shows, a Netflix stand-up special, and a steady gig as a judge on Quel talent! (Quebec's version of Canada's Got Talent). After conquering francophone comedy, he's now ready to make a name for himself in the English-speaking comedy world.
Because he grew up more immersed in Moroccan culture, Badouri was initially concerned that his jokes wouldn't land with a French-Canadian audience. To his surprise, stories about his upbringing were what audiences loved most, and his complicated dynamic with his father is the source of some of his most successful material.
"When I started talking about my family on stage, especially my dad, [audiences] were asking for more," he says. "My dad and my mom used to come to every show. I would introduce them on stage and they would have standing ovations. I didn't even have one for myself."
I was ready to do anything to be in front of a camera — except for porn.- Rachid Badouri
At first, Badouri's father was worried about how people from his own life would perceive the stories, but he quickly learned to accept his fate once he saw the paycheque that came out of it.
Comedy offers the perfect opportunity to dig into more personal stories. Badouri recalls meeting comedian Ronnie Chang in 2015, one of the people who largely shaped Badouri's approach to his work — Chang told him that physical comedy and making faces is easy, but the best way to connect with audiences is to look into your own experiences and not be afraid to share them.
"That's the beauty of stand-up comedy. It's just you, your mic and your [people]," he says. "Talk to them.… There's always a funny way to talk about drama. There's always some comic relief in there."
The full interview with Rachid Badouri is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Rachid Badouri produced by Glory Omotayo.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
