BREAKING
JOHN
GEMBERLING
BY JESSICA JARDINE
New York City. The original performance
space had been recently converted from
a burlesque theater and, according to
Gemberling,
“Apparently there were
always Hasidic men coming to the
theater
expecting
burlesque,
being
disappointed.” He stuck with improv and
PHOTO BY ROBYN VON SWANK
eventually went on to perform on several
BACKSTORY: Gifted UCB-trained improviser who was once the lead singer of a
ska/punk band, before becoming a powerhouse comedian and actor
FROM: New York City
YOU MIGHT KNOW HIM FROM: His recurring role on Broad City as Abbi’s
roommate’s boyfriend, Bevers
NOW: Appearing as John Belushi in the upcoming feature film A Futile & Stupid
Gesture, about the National Lampoon writer Doug Kenney and the burgeoning
alternative comedy scene of the late ’70s and early ’80s
8
FLOOD
CLOSE YOUR EYES AND THINK
OF ONE OF THE HUMANS YOU’VE
ADMIRED MOST IN YOUR CHOSEN
FIELD. Now imagine finding out you are
of the theater’s most influential teams
playing that person in a major motion
in A Futile & Stupid Gesture meant
picture for the whole world to see. That’s
approaching the role in a particularly
exactly what comedian and actor John
thoughtful way. “He was somebody who
Gemberling had to process when he
was such an energetic performer and
found out that he had booked the role of
had that wildness,” he says. “It’s weird
John Belushi in the upcoming film A Futile
to take a performance that he did, [and]
& Stupid Gesture.
try to map it and be like, ‘Oh, he moved
That inherent anxiety was not lost
his arm like that t