Andrew Dice Clay is one of America’s most controversial and outrageous stand-up comedians. Banned from MTV and many other television and radio stations, he has been a polarising force in comedy for more than 30 years.
He’s also one of only a small handful of comedians to have sold out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row, and has a considerable acting career under his belt.For the first time ever, Clay will appear on Australian stages for The Diceman Cometh Down Under tour on a round of theatre shows throughout October.
First of all, why has it taken so long for you to come to Australia?
The truth is, I really don’t go anywhere. I don’t leave the States. Australians have always been coming to see me here so I just figured, ‘Why not?’ They’re cool people. Let me tell you something, Australian people know how to have a good time.
When you were first starting out and throughout the ’80s and early ’90s, there seemed to be more comedians willing to take a chance and be ‘controversial’. Do you think fewer comedians are willing to take a risk now?
Yeah, you’ve got a lot of dirty comics out there but, you know, dirty and funny are two different things, so a lot of them just curse for the shock value of cursing, but it’s not shocking anybody anymore. You’ve got to paint pictures. I know how to paint those comedic pictures – those filthy, dirty, comedic pictures.
You’ve been known for making some pretty controversial statements about certain groups of people in the past. Have you ever regretted anything you’ve said in your shows, as time has passed?
You know what, not really. It’s all done in comedy’s sake. No – the stuff I talk about, it’s base. It’s relationships, it’s what goes on between people – you know, sexual, but it’s sexual cartoons.
Do you think you could have ever been as successful as you have if you hadn’t been seen as controversial?
I honestly didn’t set out in my career to be controversial. It just came with the territory. I never even thought that way. I’m an actor and a comic, so it’s all about acting for me, it’s all about performance and theatre, it wasn’t about being controversial. The media did that. I never even used to think of that stuff.
How was your experience working with Woody Allen and Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine?How did that come about for you?
Working with them was unbelievable, because from doing nothing, all of a sudden I’m working with what I call Hollywood royalty, from the Baldwins to Cate Blanchett, who was just – to me she was just a throwback to what movie stars used to be. She’s unreal and she’s deserved every award she’s won. I love her, that’s it. And I’ve loved her for a long time before I did the movie with her, but doing the movie, I got to see how cool a person she was – down-to-earth, grounded, family-orientated. Just a great girl.
What are you most looking forward to about coming to Australia?
You know what, to me it’s just going to be a whole experience. It’s just going to be fun. The shows are going to be great. I’m going to have some of my people with me and we’re just coming there to have a blast.
Catch Andrew Dice Clay at Enmore Theatre on Wednesday October 8 and Thursday October 9, tickets online.
