"I would recommend that anyone who wants to do comedy on TV to do radio first"
About this Quote
Walliams is smuggling a hard-earned craft lesson inside what sounds like career advice: strip comedy down to voice, timing, and nerve before you add the crutch of a face. Coming from an actor who built a public persona on broad characters and big visual choices, the recommendation lands like a paradox. That is the point. Radio is the boot camp where you find out if a joke lives on its own, without the safety net of eyebrow work, costumes, or cutaway gags.
The subtext is slightly merciless: television can reward charisma and production value even when the writing is soft. Radio can’t. If you’re funny there, you’re funny; if you’re not, there’s nowhere to hide. For a generation raised on panel shows, quick-turnaround sketch, and algorithm-fed clips, Walliams is gesturing at an older apprenticeship model, one where failure is cheaper, repetition is constant, and you learn to build a relationship with an audience using only sound.
There’s also a quiet note about control. Radio often gives comedians longer runways, fewer notes from executives worried about “likeability,” and more room to experiment with character and darkness. TV, especially mainstream TV, tends to sand down edges into something broadly marketable. Walliams isn’t romanticizing obscurity; he’s pointing to a proving ground. Master the invisible medium first, then let the camera amplify what’s already working, rather than invent it for you.
The subtext is slightly merciless: television can reward charisma and production value even when the writing is soft. Radio can’t. If you’re funny there, you’re funny; if you’re not, there’s nowhere to hide. For a generation raised on panel shows, quick-turnaround sketch, and algorithm-fed clips, Walliams is gesturing at an older apprenticeship model, one where failure is cheaper, repetition is constant, and you learn to build a relationship with an audience using only sound.
There’s also a quiet note about control. Radio often gives comedians longer runways, fewer notes from executives worried about “likeability,” and more room to experiment with character and darkness. TV, especially mainstream TV, tends to sand down edges into something broadly marketable. Walliams isn’t romanticizing obscurity; he’s pointing to a proving ground. Master the invisible medium first, then let the camera amplify what’s already working, rather than invent it for you.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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