It was a great opportunity and a fun project for me. I really enjoyed spending that time on the phone with him and learning a little more about him, as a person and about his shows. He was a very down to earth guy and just very genuine. The conversation wasn't full of self promotion as you might think since he has a new movie coming to theaters in three days.
It was a small group phone conversation with a few other mom bloggers and we were able to ask him some questions to get to know him a little better.
Here is a recap of the interview:
Q: Describe yourself in three words.
A: Approachable, happy guy.
Q: Who are your favorite comedians?
A: Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Bill Maher, Jim Jeffries, Chris Rock, Dennis Miller (although Iglesias isn't considered an edgy comedian, he does enjoy those that are.)
Q: Why should everyone go see your new movie, Fluffy?
A: It is a non rated R comedy show that centers around family and relationships, it is very relatable and you can even take the kids.
Q: What is your best parenting advice?
A: Embarrass your kids, it can be more effective than hitting or abusing your child. No child wants to be embarrassed in front of their friends!
Q: How has parenthood changed you?
A: I have grown up a lot and I've learned to appreciate things more.
Q: Do you find it hard to balance family and your career with this huge tour going on?*
A: My family almost fell apart. The tour is so involved and it takes a lot of work. We were arguing and I finally had to say, "just give me until the movie is out and then I will be home and I am all yours again."
Q: Is it important to you that your movie be non R-rated?
A: I am generally a clean comedian so I just had to eliminate two swear words to make it PG-13. Those cuss words weren't necessary.
Q: Are you now gearing toward more family friendly roles?Q: Are your shows scripted or do you just get up there and go?*
A: I would like to do more work relating to families and parents. I enjoy the voice over work a lot, it's fun and a lot easier.
A: They are not scripted, I do free flow and I don't write anything down. I record all my shows so that I can sit down and see which things worked and which ones didn't. If something worked, I will use it again. If it doesn't work, I will toss it from my show. The movie, Fluffy, is a longer more involved show so that one I worked on for almost a year.
Q: What advice would you give to someone thinking about breaking into the comedy world?*
A: Go for it but you must sacrifice, don't cuss, the less you cuss, the less there is a chance of upsetting people and try to keep it relatable to the audience.
Q: If you were not a comedian, what would you be?
A: A teacher.
Q: What is your favorite venue to perform?
A: The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach. It is smaller and a great place to try out material.
Q: How do you deal with pressure to make people laugh?
A: Now I walk out to cheers and applause, there's less pressure now. In the beginning, I was so nervous and they laughed. Now it is very surreal, I feel like sometimes they are just so excited that they would laugh at anything I say.
Q: What does your mom think of your shows?*
A: His mom was the one that told him he wasn't fat, he was fluffy so that is how the whole name came about, he told this in his shows and people started calling him Fluffy. She didn't really like that people were calling him Fluffy as a name. She would laugh but maybe because she felt she needed to be laughing when everyone else was laughing. Of course she loved his shows, she's mom!
Q: What do you like to do during your time off?
A: I love going to the movies with my family, bowling, Dave and Busters and staying in at home with my 3 dogs. I have three chihuahuas.
Q: What is one thing that people will take away from your new film, Fluffy?
A: It is more emotional and full of inspiration than you would think. People go in thinking it is just a comedy but they come out and are moved by the story.
* These are questions that I asked him.
As you can see, he really allowed us to get to know him and about him a lot. He did crack some jokes in there and had us laughing, but it felt really genuine and natural, not a forced conversation.
I can't wait to see his movie, Fluffy. I'm sure I will be laughing a lot and I can't wait to take away some inspiration.
He did tell us a story about a special toilet but the details are secret, let's just say that we were all laughing and I will be hitting up Google to look up this toilet to check out the features! ;)
A huge thanks to Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias for his time and entertainment. I really enjoyed this opportunity and it is definitely going in my book of "awesome things I've done in my life!"
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