Jim Gaffigan: Self-Awareness Is Essential in Comedy and in Life| Big Think

I think self-awareness is really important. I mean, I think it was know thyself. Socrates, right? I think the specific to my experience in life, being this pale kid with white-blonde hair, when the teacher would turn around, her eye or his eye would focus on me. So I feel like – and again my victimization complex, I feel like I was blamed for things even if I wasn’t participating.

But that being said, what I’ve learned in the acting world is you’re forced to embrace self-awareness. We all have moments of self-awareness and maybe it’s looking at a photo of how good we looked five years ago versus today. Like, oh my gosh, I didn’t realize there’s – but with actors, they’re forced to face the reality of who they are and how they come across.

So I played football and wrestled in high school. I played football in college, but I’m mostly cast as nerdy people. And so now that’s not to say a football player can be nerdy, but it’s like there’s this – I remember this realization like why am I being cast as this? That’s just how I come across.

And I’ll often meet people and they’ll say, “I thought – you’re much taller than I thought.” Because I think there is – and it’s fascinating in a narcissistic way that people think that I’m shorter than I am. But think with acting, being a character actor, which is code for not attractive in the entertainment industry, you’re forced to, you know, actors are forced to embrace the idea of auditioning for a certain type so you embrace that.

So it’s like the schlubby friend. Okay, I guess I’m a little schlubby if I’m considered for this role. But with standup, going on stage, this conversation that you have with the audience where you have a microphone, and they communicate mostly through laughter and silence. You have to become immediately aware of how you come across. And that communication is, I think, vital for particularly my type of comedy.

So if I didn’t learn that when I would go on stage at this comedy club called Pip’s in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, if I didn’t realize that I was this white bread guy and everyone in the audience was like Italian and Jewish, and they looked at me like John Tesh, if I didn’t address that, they would think I didn’t have a self-awareness.

So that self-awareness, I think, disarms the audience that you’re attempting to engage. So like, it’s not undifferent from someone talking about the weather and they say, or like – so I think self-awareness is really – it’s a great icebreaker. Self-awareness, particularly on appearance and how you might come across, it disarms. It gets rid of barriers of communication.

So if you’re underdressed and you bring it up and you’re like, “I’m sorry, you know, I’m sorry I’m overdressed for this,” people can sit back and go, “All right, this guy does know he’s not dressed properly.” And it’s bringing some equality to the relationship you have with somebody.