Being a star in the league comes with its own set of responsibilities. Apart from performing at a high level on the court, players have to deal with the fans, the media and so much more. Not to mention their other commitments off the court. For instance, doing commercials with brands, and even roles in movies is not something new for athletes and Kyrie Irving is no stranger to it. Having played the iconic Uncle Drew, Irving broke down what it is like to play a ‘funny’ character.
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In a 2015 interview with GQ Sports, Kyrie Irving was asked about his work in commercials. He was credited with being ‘actually funny’ as opposed to being ‘athlete funny’ and was asked if he prided himself on that.
Kyrie Irving went on to talk about the different types of humor and how he’d get into all of it, regardless of whether the viewer found it funny or not. He even talked about going in the opposite direction especially when people did not find things to be hilarious.
This usually happens when people who are used to a specific type of comedy, go on to view something new. And whether they’d voice their opinion of how they did not like or enjoy it, that did not stop Irving from going in the ‘opposite direction.’
As an actor and an artist, Kyrie Irving looked to embrace all sorts of comedy, be it dry humor or broad humor. The now-Mavericks star did not care where it came from, as long as he was able to embrace all types of comedy.
“I want to embrace and get into all different types and facets of comedy. If it’s funny, it’s funny, no matter where it comes from. There’s something great about experiences we can all connect to even if we haven’t lived them. Being able to put ourselves in other people’s positions, and then being able to laugh about them? I think that’s what makes comedy so special to me.”
Being able to put himself in some other character’s situation may cause Irving to crack up but it helps him connect to the characters and others differently. Perhaps that side of him is the biggest reason why his performance in advertisements and in ‘Uncle Drew’ seemed cut above the rest. The star has never been afraid of putting himself in anyone else’s shoes.
Kyrie Irving talks about comedy
Initially, when Kyrie Irving started to watch Friends, he did not get the issues they addressed back in the day. It wasn’t until the show did re-runs on TBS that Irving fell in love with the sitcom and its characters. While talking about the show, Irving revealed how Joey from Friends was his favorite character while he used to watch the show. The following is what he said in the same GQ interview.
“As for favorite character, I’m going to have to go with Joey. He’s so funny. That performance is great. When you see Matt LeBlanc off screen, he’s well spoken and seems smart, but then Joey . . . He’s just a great actor.”
Irving even admitted that it was Matt LeBlanc’s character that inspired him to play Uncle Drew. It’s a good thing too, since Irving almost seemed like he was born to play the role given how amazing his performance in the movie was.
