Like many of his relatives, Marlon Wayans is a man of many talents. He’s acted in a bunch of films and television shows while being both a co-writer and producer for a few of them. He also has a knack for making people laugh through these creative mediums, and the same can be said for his flair for stand-up comedy. For the past few years, Wayans has released a few specials and he’s coming up to New Hampshire to exhibit this craft at one of the most historic venues in the state. It’s happening on June 27 at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, and it starts at 8 p.m.
We had a talk ahead of the show about his unique experience growing up, the numerous films and TV shows he’s been a part of, hosting The Daily Show a couple years ago and what people can expect from his performance.
Rob Duguay: You come from a family of entertainers with your brothers Keenan Ivory, Damon and Shawn being actors, comedians, writers, directors and producers, your sister Kimberly being an actress, your sister Elvira being a screenwriter and your sisters Nadia and Devonne spending some time in the entertainment business with the former being an actress and the latter being a screenwriter, and I haven’t even gotten into the younger generation who are also in the industry. Growing up in New York City, what was your upbringing like? Was there a lot of skits being acted out in the living room?
Marlon Wayans: It’s just in our DNA. Shawn and I, I would say, we just always liked to laugh and we’ve always found joy in making each other laugh. There were sketches, Keenan would come home from college or he’d come home from California and Shawn always had a sketch or some characters for him. It could be something funny about our mom or our dad, we always had some inside jokes, so I think that’s how it started, but I don’t think it was us wanting to be this big family in showbiz, it was none of that. It just organically happened.
RD: You were part of the television show “The Wayans Bros.” with your brother Shawn, and you’ve also been part of other TV shows and films that include the “Scary Movie” film series, “White Chicks”, “Don’t Be A Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood”, and “In Living Colour”. What would you say is the most fun experience you’ve had on either a film or television set and what do you feel is the project that you’re the most proud of being a part of?
MW: That’s like asking me to choose my children, I love them all. I look fondly on all of those journeys, they’ve all been wonderful and I’ve gotten to work with and meet some great people. It’s hard, but I’m always going to be proudest of the first thing, which was getting “Don’t Be A Menace” done. That was a very hard project to do and we had to go through several rewrites and reshoots, so to look at the whole thing and how it came together, how funny it is and how over 30 years later people are still laughing at that movie is something that I’ve always been proud of. I also think “White Chicks” was a lot of fun despite how hard it was in terms of the hours Shawn and I had to work with the makeup, hair and shoot for the hours after the seven hours we spent in the chair.
We also had to make sure that we spent time with our wonderful cast and we laughed a lot, we had a great time. I’ve just been blessed with my career and I’ve had a wonderful life while making people laugh.
RD: That’s a great perspective to have. A couple years ago, you got to take part in being a recurring host on The Daily Show when the show was in between Trevor Noah’s departure and Jon Stewart returning to host on Mondays with Jordan Klepper hosting the rest of the week. How were you initially approached about this opportunity and what was the experience like hosting the show where you weren’t acting, you were more like a news anchor?
MW: It was great, it felt like family during the week I was there. We just laughed, it was a fun week and I really learned a lot from working with a wonderful staff of writers and producers. There’s all these different minds in that room, they’re great collaborators and I always tried to make every joke that they had land while being able to bring my own flavor and my own character. It was a great experience and it was a sad departure when it was time to go because I really enjoyed my time there, it felt like home and I can see why Trevor Noah stayed so long.
RD: I watched the week you were on, I thought you were hilarious.
MW: I said,”Trevor Noah made too much damn money! Why would he leave this?!!!” (laughs)
RD: For this upcoming show you have at The Music Hall, I’m willing to bet that there are going to be people attending who are more familiar with your work in film and television than with stand-up comedy, so what can those people expect? Will you be doing a mix of joke telling and storytelling?
MW: It’s different because it’s me doing stand-up comedy and it’s a mixture of everything. There is some storytelling along with me saying some crazy stuff up there. I’m fearless, irreverent, silly and sometimes I can get a little motivational and spiritual. It’s a little bit of everything and it’s a wonderful show. I try to bring all of me to the stage and I look at stand-up as a blank canvas and what I’m going to paint in front of an audience.
RD: What are some projects you currently have in the works that you’d like to mention? I read that you have a new installment of the “Scary Movie” franchise coming out.
MW: We’re working on “Scary Movie 6” right now. We’ve been putting that together, it’s going to be a lot of fun and it’s going to be good seeing everybody back in theaters laughing on June 12, 2026. I also have a psychological horror thriller called “Him” that’s coming out through Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions.