Andy Assaf, an improviser, sketch comedian, and filmmaker from Montreal has made a significant mark in the comedy world. After extensive production work with The Montreal Improv Theatre, Andy moved to Toronto, joining the Second City Mainstage, where he recently concluded a successful two-year run. When not in Toronto, Andy tours with his improv duo, Frank Mythic, alongside his childhood best friend Dimitri Kyres, creating unique Stephen King-style novels in every show. You might also recognize him from Netflix’s *The Recruit*, *Workin’ Moms*, and that memorable Domino commercial.
How would you describe your comedy style?
I do a lot of characters, I like improv – A recent comment on one of my posts of me on vacation said I was giving “Dad’s first safari 1995” or something like that and I realized yeah… I guess I am going for that vibe whether in my day-to-day life or on stage.
Who are some of your influences?
I remember being obsessed with Mad TV growing up which hasn’t aged well unlike former cast member Ron Pederson who I got to do Second City Mainstage with and he’s aged very gracefully. I mean the man has incredible skin.
But I’d say what I do now is a lot of character-driven comedies and I feel most inspired by shows I watched growing up like Eastbound and Down or Always Sunny. I only recently for the first time watched The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow and I think it’s one of the greatest shows ever made.
Who was your favourite comedian growing up?
I loved and still love Norm Macdonald.
Other big ones for me were Colin Mocherie, Adam Sandler, and Bill Hader.
The extended Tim Heidecker universe also was a big part of my teenage years and it was a dream come true when I got to work with him earlier this year on something I can’t talk about yet but am excited for its release in October.
Who is your favourite comedian now?
Joe Pera is the best comedian currently doing standup and the best example of Michigan excellence.
What is your pre-show ritual?
Meandering aimlessly around the venue and the backstage area.
What is your favourite place you have performed? Why?
When I was in the Touring company at Second City they had us perform my first year at Yonge and Dundas Square as a marketing event free for the public. Picture 6 comedians trying to do open-air improv under the big billboards on microphones to 50 mostly empty fold-out chairs while you had teens doing tricks on BMX bikes right off stage next to us and we were competing sound with those preachers in front of H&M with badly executed improv games. It was so perfectly bad I think of that memory fondly.
What is your favourite bit you have written and why were you proud of it?
I have a really good impression of Jason Siegel. It’s basically 20 seconds of unsure grimacing. Text is probably not the best way to convey this but it’s a cross between this face 😏 and this face 😖 (if you can’t print emojis please just write an editor’s note that you saw it and it’s really really good)
What is your favourite medium for listening or finding new comics/comedians?
I wish I had a better answer but it’s mostly my TikTok/reels algorithm these days since Twitter is just filled with the worst things I’ve ever seen.
Tell us a joke about your city.
I have a landlord character that was originally inspired by a Montreal landlord I had, but I’ve had even more kooky landlords since moving to Toronto that have informed his essence and are kind of an amalgamation of all of them. So I feel like that’s my most Toronto-centric bit. You can watch it on my TikTok or Instagram.
Do you have anything to promote right now?
Shane McLane and I brought back our monthly show Films In Focus: an improvised movie review show.
My comedy/writing partner and I are also toying with bringing back a run of our improv duo Frank Mythic where we improvise a whole black mirror/Stephen King-inspired mystery movie so keep an eye out for that.
You can check out all my shows and sketch stuff on my Instagram/TikTok
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: Who is another local comic/comedian we should know about?
I think @samhancock is one of the funniest performers online and on stage. I love doing Catch-23 at Comedy Bar -which is a (friendly) competitive improv show – with her and we lost so badly last time we have to do it again to win back our pride.
