Texan comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham returns to Sweden with a posse of his controversial puppets for a series of gigs during September. Accompanying him will be Walter the grumpy misogynist, and Achmed the Dead Terrorist – two infamous characters that have been watched by hundreds of millions of people online. Totally Stockholm’s Jonny Rothwell spoke with Dunham about his creations and the secret to getting more than 100 million hits on YouTube.
You started practicing ventriloquism when you were 8 years old after you received a dummy as a Christmas gift. What was it about ventriloquism that made you take it so seriously?
I think a part of it was maybe lack of anything else that I was good at. I was not one of the popular kids, I was not great at sports, girls didn’t pay attention to me — I was just pretty much an average kid, no stand-out abilities, nothing note-worthy. And, I saw this dummy and I think I saw ventriloquism on television, I can’t quite remember, but it appealed to me just sitting on the shelf of the toy store. It was just one of those things where you’re running through the store with your mom and you’re saying, ‘Mom can I have this? Mom can I have that?’ ‘No, no, no.’
A month later there it was under the Christmas tree. Something about it just fascinated me and I practiced for about a month and got up and did my first book report and got laughs and everybody thought it was great and I thought well, ‘Now I have something I can do.’ I got books and records and sat in front of the bathroom mirror, practicing. I did my first show in the third grade and just kept going; there was no reason to quit.
I did church and Cub Scout banquets, and birthday parties, and started getting paid at a very early age. And I just kept pursuing it and there was no reason to quit.
What attracted you to ventriloquism specifically? Why not straight stand-up?
I was a shy little kid and getting up in front of people and making them laugh and being able to carry on a dialogue rather than a monologue was something that was pretty interesting to me because you could set yourself up – you could ask a question and then answer it.
http://youtu.be/2Nvg3S4xn8A
Who was your first character?
Up until college age I was using the typical little-boy dummy that sits on the knee and makes woodpecker jokes. My first original character didn’t happen until later, and that was José the Jalapeño on a Stick. Then after that came Peanut and Walter, and then eventually years later Bubba J and Achmed.
How do you come up with such original characters? Are they all inspired by real people or experiences in your life?
The first step is settling on something that will make an audience laugh. And some of those characters, are extreme, maybe sometimes stereotypical. But, the bottom line is do I think this will make a general audience laugh. And, I don’t aim it at anybody specific, I don’t aim my characters to make old people laugh or young people or professionals or blue collar, just whatever I think is going to be funny and it just so happens that everybody has their favorite character. And, that’s the only way I pick, whatever is going on in society, whatever I think folks will laugh at that’s what I come up with.
Do you work with a puppet maker?
I’ll come up with an idea for a character and I’ll write some jokes, and make sure that that character is really going to work. If I can come up with jokes and material that I think will work, then I make a cheap version of the doll. Achmed started out just being this little plastic toy from the store. It was just a little plastic skeleton that I put a moving mouth on to practice with.
You had appearances on The Tonight Show in the 90’s but is it fair to say the internet and YouTube in particular have played a significant role in your international success?
The Tonight Show appearance in the 90’s was one big giant mark, but the really big thing that took it into the stratosphere was YouTube. That’s why there’s popularity on the other side of the Atlantic for me nowadays. To be going to Sweden to do shows – it’s like, how in the world did this happen?
The Disorderly Conduct tour is extensive and includes gigs in Stockholm, Gothenburg as well as other international cities throughout the world. Do you ever grow tired of touring or of interviews?
I love touring and consider myself one of those lucky people who enjoy what they do. I love doing the live show and just like a musician or artist, you just keep coming up with material and as long as you’re coming up with the material and as long as audiences like it, you just keep doing it. That’s my job and I love it.
Clips of Achmed the Dead Terrorist are some of the most-watched videos in YouTube history. Why do you think that character resonates so well with viewers?
Those characters can go further than the average human can. Maybe it’s because people know it’s not real. But I think with him in particular, I’m dealing with a subject matter that was kind of taboo… frightening. As humans we like to try to laugh at our fears. I’m not trying to make fun of anybody who’s religious and I do make it a point in every show that
Achmed is not Muslim, he’s nondescript. It’s just kind of, he’s from over there somewhere. But I have heard that even Iraqi businessmen sit around and say “I kill you” to each other and they laugh. And that’s some sort of strange compliment to me, I guess, that these guys find it funny as well which is really encouraging.
Some people feel he is controversial. Do you find that reaction absurd?
We make it very plain that Achmed is just this goofy character who doesn’t have his heart in blowing things up. He’s blown himself up however many times. So that’s the whole point, it’s just that he’s not good at what he does and he doesn’t have his heart in it, and he’s starting to like Western civilization and the things that we have. So I can understand somebody watching this ten-second clip out of context and becoming offended by it. But those people should watch the whole show before you make a complete judgment.
Words// Jonny Rothwell
Jeff Dunham plays Hovet on September 24. For more information visit Blixten.se
A variety of DVD’s are available for purchase on Dunham’s website including the recently released Minding the Monsters and an instructional called How to Talk to Yourself.
