![]() ![]() There’s going to be a lot of knock backs but it will work out eventually. Keep going! No matter what keep writing keep writing, keep performing. As long as you have good coffee I will feel right at home įinal question for you, what advice would you give someone who wants to take up a career in performing or comedy? I have! I believe I did a tour here a couple of years ago but the Bangor date is one of the few I am doing in Wales. Have you ever been to North Wales before? I think performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London, that was amazing but having the opportunity to travel is the best part. I’ve even had a couple of proposals on stage which is pretty amazing as everyone can share in the experience. I had this one guy in Glasgow which I dressed up as a stripper for part of the routine and he started taking the clothes off and then he just carried on and took off his own clothes. Oh things always go wrong but in a good way that’s why I love the audience participation. What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened when you’ve been performing? I knew people would like the act from experience but now I think we are up to 40 million views on my audition. But for me I was so lucky because it did give me great exposure. But at the same time it was a chance for the dreaded word: exposure. I am normally so sceptical of other people judging you for your comedy but I just remember standing in the wings as a Whitney Houston tribute act was getting buzzed off and thinking this is the worst mistake of my life. With something like that it was completely out of my control. What was the experience of being on America’s Got Talent like? Usually it’s just me on stage but this time it’s like a proper almost west end show. Expect this show to have a bigger production factor than before. I think people know what to expect from my shows now, so audience interaction but in the nicest possible way. It’s been a challenge but a reward for me. It’s a 2 hour show so the longest I’ve done before and it’s a lot more theatrical. You are halfway through your tour now, how is it going so far?Īhhh it’s incredible! Last night’s show was one of the top 5 shows I’ve done in my life. Oh yeah I still get nervous, I mean I don’t get nervous in front of people cause I think of everyone as the same, like I don’t really look up to famous people as I have more respect for the guy that works 15 hour shift in a building site, you know? But for TV I always get nervous as it’s recorded so is permanent, say if something goes wrong and it’s uploaded to YouTube it’s there forever, which is frustrating for me as I am a perfectionist. So you’ve performed in front of a lot of people and a lot of places, do you ever still get nervous? So I taped my mouth shut and the character took off. So in 2005 I won a top comedy award in New Zealand for that show, so when I won everyone expected the next show to be the same with me talking a lot, so I decided to surprise everyone and do a silent character. I started off with my first act where I talked a lot and it was a very rapid show. You are most known for Tape Face so how did this character come about? I had done all the work all the shows and wanted to broaden my horizons. Don’t get me wrong I miss New Zealand like crazy but I had reached my peak there. ![]() There is also more work opportunities over here. From New Zealand I went to Australia to fine tune my act and get a bit more of a reputation, then travelled over to the UK to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I actually wanted to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. You started your career off in New Zealand, what made you make the move over the pond? A comedy act cancelled last minute and I was asked to fill in for them, so I went down with some props and from then on became New Zealand’s only prop comedian. I started way back in New Zealand in 1999, early 2000’s and from there got into stand-up comedy through a friend. There was a time where it was hard to get gigs so you would just start busking. I then went on to study at circus school and started street performing. I hunted down the clown in my town and forced my way into his show. You know every kid gets that kick and performs for their parents over and over again and then just naturally I gravitated towards performing for people. I was given a magic set at the age of twelve and since then been hooked. He kindly took the time out of his busy schedule to talk to us. You may recognise him from America’s Got Talent where he went all the way to the live shows, John Bishop’s show on BBC 1 and The Royal Variety Performance on ITV. The tour consists of 50 shows and he is making a stop in Bangor at Pontio on the 3rd November. Sam Wills, a.k.a Tape Face, is an experienced stand-up comedian who is currently travelling the UK on his tour. ![]()
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