Nate Bargatze shared his secret to comedy success.
“I make fun of me,” he told Fox News. “I make fun of myself, and I think that — you know, comedy is — I just try not to go outwards. I always say you can laugh with me, or you can laugh at me. Either one’s a laugh. So you can either relate to me, or you can just think I’m dumb, and it doesn’t matter.”
Bargatze continued, “When you keep it that simple…I think that’s why it works because no one feels like, when they come to the show, that it’s going to be about them, or I’m going to be making fun of something they like, don’t like, whatever it is. I’m just talking about me and my family, stuff that we go through and everyday kind of things. So I think that’s why people can relate to it now.”
It looks like this approach is working out for the comedian. He recently set a Guinness World Record for the most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour, and starred in his first movie, THE BREADWINNER — all while maintaining his commitment to be a clean comedian.
Related: 5 Times Nate Bargatze Kept His Faith Front and Center
“When I was starting to come up in 2008, everything was going that edgier route,” he shared in a recent interview with Us Weekly. “I thought if I was a comedian in the ’80s, ’90s, I would have probably had a quicker [ascent] because I fit in that era with being clean. I’d audition for an R-rated comedy [and think,] I’m not gonna feel comfortable doing this.”
Bargatze acknowledged that “was hard, because you want to do those movies,” adding, “I did struggle with it. [I was] very tempted, but then [I just thought], Let me stay in my lane, and if it comes, it comes. I’ve definitely got some lines I wouldn’t cross: cursing, anything sexual… In my stand-up, even though it’s clean, it’s adult topics. I can ride this line.”
When asked what helps him maintain his values, the comedian said, “My faith.”
“I had such a clear vision of what I wanted to do. Trust the process. I had to believe in it. I do visualizing. Anytime I felt I was getting pulled off track, I would try to visualize it more, see it more, and then that kind of puts you back onto the road you’re on,” he explained.
Bargatze made similar comments in an interview with The New York Times, saying that, while his work as a comedian isn’t necessarily “faith-based,” those values shape how he approaches comedy and other projects.
“I am second — second to God, second to family,” he explained, saying that, as a comedian, “You kind of live to serve. So it’s very much a calling in that aspect that I feel.”
Bargatze’s commitment to clean comedy, as well as his faith-based value system, have led to massive success with audiences all over the world.
Read Next: Here’s What Inspired Nate Bargatze’s First Movie, THE BREADWINNER
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
