interview with comedian & TV personality Joe Stapleton - Edinburgh Fringe Festival

interview with a funny human

*The following is an interview with a very funny and generous human. Please share freely with those who like a giggle and laugh at the absurdity of life.

A Funny Kind of Player

Joe Stapleton is an American stand-up comedian and poker commentator who has been entertaining global audiences for a decade.

Meat and Bone

If describing Joe’s comedy as a type of meat it would probably be choripan—a spicy sausage with several sensations. In his act, Joe delivers the type of self-deprecating humour that if a meal in a restaurant, it would arrive at your table with a disclaimer stating any issues with digestion was on you. Through stand-up, Joe generously explores the human experience with the kind of servile eagerness found on Pornhub. What you get from his act is an intimate and consensual experience, one that leaves you with a naughty sensation you’ll later question, as you consider your own online indiscretions.

Isn’t it fun to have a laugh? Especially when the comedian providing them is serving up jokes at their own expense. Joe adheres to the idea that comedy should not get comfortable. In his stand-up show, the American Apologist, he explores themes such as drunk white girls, and how not to freak out when your partner receives an invite to a swinger’s party deep in the Hollywood Hills—boyfriend excluded. And don’t underestimate the power of an apology. Joe has so many you’d be forgiven for thinking he’s British. Yes, in the nomadic working life of Joe Stapleton, one that took him from upstate New York to London and later landed him in Los Angeles, there’s a lot going on.

Hustle Is the Game

To know Joe is to recognise the distinctive voice behind popular poker shows such as PokerStars European Poker Tour, The Big Game and Poker Night in America. Joe’s teeth earned their Hollywood glisten in an industry full of hustlers looking for a fix. And one would imagine he’s good with his association to poker. After all, it’s a people game enjoyed by friends and family over a few drinks and full of personalities.

I remember getting in real trouble for showing my Latin teacher’s daughter how to play poker at the back of a school bus on the way to New York City—it was an interesting ride.