Rodney Carrington

US-amerikanischer Komiker ; geboren 9. Oktober 1968 in Longview (Texas, USA)

Ursprünglich wollte Rodney Carrington Schauspieler werden. Sein komisches Talent entdeckte er während einer Produktion des Schauspiels Noises off in seinem dritten Studienjahr am College. Er erinnert sich: "It was then that I realized how great the feeling of laughter from an audience was. I started ad-libbing my lines during the play. The director was kind of irritated with me, but at the same time he was laughing." Carrington sprach daraufhin Ende der 1980er Jahre für eine Komikernacht im unbedeutenden Club "Sparky's Bar and Grill" in Longview (Texas, USA) vor. "I was scared shitless," lacht er. "I was an idiot. I was awful! I was only 20 and I had to lie about my age to get in, and I must have had seven or eight Jack and Cokes before I hit the stage. But even though it was all kind of a blur, and what I was doing then bears no resemblance to what I'm doing now, I left that night knowing that's where I belonged."

Die nächsten sechs oder acht Jahre verbrachte er eine harte und oft brutale Lehrzeit, während der er mit der Methode Versuch und Irrtum seine Kunst erlernte und sich nach oben arbeitete. "I'd drive for hours for a 75-buck gig," erinnert er sich. "Drive 12 hours, hop out, tell a few jokes and drive 12 hours more. I'd sleep in my camper truck at rest stops and eat Beanie Weenies out of a can. But looking back, I don't remember those as bad times. It was just something I had to do."