Unless you’re up on who Chris Lilley is then you might be wondering just why he’s important and what he’s done. The truth is he’s been around a while and has done a few things worthy of note that you might want to check out. His newest endeavor, Lunatics, which has been covered by Susannah Guthrie of Elle Australia and many others, has already come under heavy fire thanks to the content and the characters that he’s been said to introduce. In some ways it does sound as though Chris isn’t hesitant at all about pushing his comedy, though he has been apologetic about it when his timing has been off and people have become extremely offended. But that being the case it would seem that he’s still willing to push forward and is more than capable of taking the criticism when it comes his way as comedy is his thing and he happens to love what he does. The issue of hurting peoples’ feelings goes both ways unfortunately as it could easily be seen as Chris’ fault for taking on subject matter that is offensive to others and making light of it, and it could be the problem of the audience that finds it necessary to become offended at one thing or another. Whichever side you find yourself on however it’s bound to happen that he’ll continue on with his brand of comedy and perhaps adjust his timing instead of his content.
Here are a few things about Chris that you might not have known.
10. He’s been a vegetarian since he was five years old.
Some folks just know they don’t want to eat meat from a young age it would seem while others come to this later on in life. Some would argue that it’s a healthier lifestyle and others would counter that with a slew of arguments that are taken from fact as well as feelings and thereby become a rather confusing morass of opinions.
9. Chris is one of the many that takes the route that comedy means nothing is off limits.
This is one of the tenets of comedy that a lot of people argue over since it’s easy to see how making fun of some matters or some people might be seen as offensive, but in terms of comedy nothing really is off limits since comedy is in a way the denial of depression, of sadness, and a way to deny the real world the chance to break people down. But the timing that a comedian uses, as in knowing when to make a certain joke, is key with many people.
8. Apparently few people in Australia seem to think anything of him dressing up as an Asian woman.
Being that he’s a comedian you wouldn’t think that many people would care since this is part of his act. But we do live in a world where, at this time, dressing up as someone from another culture is seen as a major faux pas these days.
7. He’s extremely independent when it comes to his material.
Chris writes his own stuff and performs his own material on a regular basis as he doesn’t like the idea of bossing people around or having a boss over him that can tell him what to do. The only issue with being independent is that it’s all on you.
6. Chris is one of those that likes to provoke people.
Comedians do, on occasion, like to actively rile people up just to see what kind of reaction they’re going to get, and Chris is one of those people that will do this from time to time for his own curiosity and satisfaction.
5. He has an interest in youth culture.
There’s nothing sick about this or disturbing since he has interest in youth culture from a comedic standpoint and has obviously used this to gain the kind of material he needs for his bits.
4. When it came to academics he admits that he wasn’t always the best student.
It’s kind of amusing how those that have struck it so big in show business, or have at least had some success, weren’t always the best students in school and didn’t get stellar grades. It does go to show however that a person can be intelligent in more than one way.
3. He’s a very big deal in Australia.
In America there might be a lot of people that have to ask who he is and what he does, but since he’s bound for Netflix that might no longer be much of a question since people can access his material and see what he’s all about.
2. Ironically he doesn’t watch a lot of comedy shows.
This isn’t too hard to imagine since some comedians do watch each other’s shows just to see what methods work, what don’t, and how they might alter their own shows. Chris tends to watch a couple of comics but not in a habitual manner.
1. One of his newest shows has offended a few people in a very big way.
Nick Reilly from NME is just one of the many writers that’s been covering the buzz that Chris has created by introducing a character on his new show Lunatics that features him wearing an afro wig and blackface. As you can imagine this has drawn a serious amount of outrage among some groups.
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