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‘ACTING
OUT’ HIS
DREAMS:
LIL REL
Just try to turn on your TV without seeing
comedian and actor Lil Rel these days;
it’s pretty though. He’s starring on NBC’s
The Carmichael Show, he’ll be featured in
two major motion picture films set to be
released sometime next year and he’s the
host of a brand new show airing on MTV.
If you ask Lil Rel himself, though, he’ll tell
you he’s just a guy from the West Side of
Chicago who wants to make the city he
loves proud. We sat down with Lil Rel to
learn all about his rise to fame and talk
about his return to his comedic roots with
his role on MTV’s groundbreaking new
comedy series “Acting Out.”
MADE By Sylvia Snowden
MADE: Take me back, all the way back to the West Side
of Chicago. When and how did you discover you were
funny?
LR: That’s a good question. I mean, I thought I was
funny for a long time; because most of us are funny.
And that’s not to say black people are funny, but, we’re
funny. Humor is a part of our culture and our lives. Now,
the first time I thought I might actually be able to become
a comedian and an actor was when I started doing the
plays at my uncle’s church. I always did well and this
was as a kid. But, it wasn’t until I went to Providence St.
Mel on the West Side of Chicago (that I really believed
in my talent). I was cast in the school play. It was a high
scho ol play and I was only in 6th grade, but I auditioned
anyway; I got casted for it! That’s when I knew. I
thought “if I can beat out a bunch of 15 and 16-yearolds for a part in a play and I’m 12, then I might be onto
something (laughs)!”
made-magazine.com | 26
PHOTO CREDIT:
The Carmichael Show
MADE: How did you go from
that realization of “Hey, I’m
talented” to actually pursuing
standup comedy? I heard a rumor
that you used to hang around
a little comedy spot called the
Lyon’s Den. Is that true?
LR: I used to work at a
telemarketing company and I
had Mondays off, the Lyon’s
Den had a Monday night open
mic. And the only way I knew
about these spots is because
when I was in high school, the
Chicago Sun-Times newspaper
put out a “Weekend Plus”
newspaper every Friday where
they’d list the weekend theater