TALL, affable, slightly robust and extremely charismatic with a contagious smile, Ahmed Ahmed is one celebrity that never loses interest in what you say. Remembering names with ease, and displaying a grounded humility which indicates that his meteoric rise to stardom - with an ever-increasing list of fans - has not changed his personality in any way, this Egyptian-born American comedian is on top of his game. Ahmed is essentially a storyteller. It so happens that his stories induce rib-cracking laughter. Narrating his personal experiences, mimicking accents and engaging the audience in question and answer sessions, Ahmed faces down and wins over the hecklers in such creative ways that it evokes spontaneous laughter from every member of the audience. The interview took place after the Ahmed Ahmed and Friends show in Riyadh in February this year, and Ahmed was positively beaming after having given a fantastic performance. He stayed to answer questions from fans, gave autographs, posed for photographs with his admirers and even poked fun at his own jokes. He remarked that he was ‘pleasantly surprised' at the effusive and warm reception he received in the Kingdom and noted that he was respectful about social norms in Saudi society and steered clear of jokes of a sensitive nature. “Stand up comedy is always like work in progress,” explained Ahmed during the interview. “When you think you have it all figured out, the next thing you know, you're on stage.” Part owner of and performer in the Axis Of Evil comedy tour - one he founded alongside Maz Jobrani and Aron Kader, featuring special guests like Dean Obeidallah and Won Ho Chung - Ahmed has set his sights on ‘rocking' the Arab world. His ongoing project Comedy Arabia is offering a platform to comedians from the region as well as those from the US. “The Middle East needs to laugh,” he remarked with a smile. “We are about to launch a Middle East - and eventually world - tour and produce shows; we are developing content for films, television and live events.” Ahmed's parents moved from Egypt to the US when he was just a month old, and he is so heavily influenced by his parents and family life, that much of his memories form the content of his jokes. “I derive my inspiration from traveling, my father, watching other comedians and things that bring me sorrow,” he remarked. “These are not necessarily funny at the time, but (become so) later, including accidents and awkward moments.” Ahmed currently resides in Los Angeles and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts for a year, studying with various acting coaches like Cliff Osmond, Ivana Chubbock and Sandy Marshall. He moved to Hollywood at the age of 19 and professes to a lifelong desire to work in the entertainment business. “I always had a feeling that I would be in the entertainment industry, but I wasn't sure at what level. I got into stand up comedy 12 years ago by accident,” he laughs. Ahmed has already become a Hollywood star, starring in films and TV shows like “Iron Man”, “You Don't Mess With The Zohan”, “Executive Decision”, “Swingers”, “Tracey Takes On”, “Roseanne”, “JAG”, “Tough Crowd” with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central and MTV's “PUNK'D”. He has also made appearances on CNN, “The View”, NPR and “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. This enterprising comedian is a regular performer at The World Famous Comedy Store in Hollywood, touring across the US and Europe, and has starred alongside Vince Vaughn in the Wild West Comedy Show. Ahmed has also written a screenplay titled “The Pilgrimage”, based on his experience of performing the Hajj and co-written the script for “Google Me” with comedian Erik Griffin. Ahmed is optimistic about the prospects of comedy in the Middle East. “It is growing faster than we could have imagined and it is goo,” he commented. Contrary to the widespread belief in the West that the people of the Middle East rarely find a reason to laugh, most of the stand up comedy shows that Ahmed has performed in the region are usually sold out. As Ahmed and his contemporaries from the Arab world such as Maz Jobrani, Aron Kader and Dean Obeidallah take the comedy industry to great heights in the Middle East, a new generation of comedians are emerging from the Gulf, many of which have shown the stuff they are made of with great prospects of stardom. Ahmed offers some words of advice for them. “Always write, always try to get up on stage as much as you can, try your jokes on your friends and if they laugh, you can do the same thing on stage,” he explained. “It is all about personalizing the material from your point of view, and timing is everything.” Ahmed confesses that he has had low points too. “Of course I have been booed on stage several times”, he said as he answered questions from upcoming comedians. He added that when he encounters an audience that does not laugh at a joke, he moves on to the next joke or simply makes fun of the fact that they did not laugh at his joke. Ahmed concludes that his greatest challenge is breaking the stereotype about the Middle East and Muslims in the post-9/11 world we live in, and will be seen in the upcoming Onion movie for Fox Searchlight. He hopes to create television programs and films that will star Middle Eastern people in a positive way.
