Answers with Dan Nainan

Answer 1

What is your favorite impression to perform, and why?

I love doing the Bill Clinton impression the most. People are shocked when they hear me doing it live. I've had audience members come up to me afterwards and tell me that they were shocked to hear an almost perfect Bill Clinton impression coming out of this Indian Japanese guy. I've also done the Clinton voice on prank calls on a lot of radio stations; here's a clip.

In my spare time, I've been calling up famous people and pretending to be Bill Clinton. I start the call by saying in a very deep voice "This is the office of President Bill Clinton - I have Mr. Clinton on the line for (name of person)". I've gotten through to some amazing people, including Donald Trump, former New York Governor David Paterson, Larry King, as well as a few senators and representatives. I've been recording the calls and will be releasing them soon.

Answer 2

What literary works do you already have in publication?

I have a book called "The Best Book of How to Become a Full-Time Stand up Comedian". To be truthful, it was written by someone else, and it's horrible. But a friend of mine once told me, "Done is better than perfect." So I agreed to let them release it, and it has sold surprisingly well, and I get a small check every month. The books also sell like hotcakes at my shows. Go figure.

Answer 3

Who is your favorite comedian and why?

Jerry Seinfeld is definitely my favorite comedian. I actually model myself after him. I like him because he does totally clean comedy, and again he's the one who advised me to do the same when I met him by chance. I also like the fact that he doesn't destroy himself with drugs and alcohol like so many comedians. I was reading his biography, and it was interesting to read help Seinfeld would show up at the club at noon, and the staff would be shocked, because most comedians are fast asleep at that hour.

Answer 4

Which performance do you feel was your favorite, was there a stand out experience?

I would have to say performing in Times Square for 50,000 people last year was my all-time favorite performance. It was a Diwali event, and of course everybody wasn't there to see me but some huge Bollywood star. I was one of the warm-up acts, but it was amazing. An incredible feeling and of course something I'd love to do again.

Answer 5

Of all the notable figures you have met, which encounter stands out the most?

As a nerd, I'd have to say that meeting Steve Wozniak has definitely been the highlight. He saw me perform, and then afterwards I went back to the room that was being used as a green room for the event. I stood in front of the closed door, wondering what to do next. I took a deep breath and thought well, it's now or never, and I opened the door. Steve saw me and his face lit up, and he gave me the most amazing and heartfelt testimonial - it's on the same video with Obama's comments. He said something that really touched me: he said that when you're a nerd and an outcast in school and you aren't invited to socialize and hang out with the popular crowd, you have a lot of time on your hands. He said he used that time to build circuits, and of course he went on to invent the Apple computer and start Apple with Steve Jobs. We have stayed in touch, and I took him to dinner when I was in the Bay Area for a show last year. In late September I'm performing at an event with him in Silicon Valley, then he's coming to another event at which I'm performing that same evening.

Answer 6

Any interesting memories from Last Comic standing?

Indeed, it was absolutely insane. It was the first season, and it was highly disorganized. I had to wait all night in the freezing cold to try out, sleeping on a piece of cardboard in the rain. They could've made the audition process so much easier, but a mob scene at the tryouts makes for great television. Of course I was disappointed that I didn't progress further, but I was happy to see Dat Phan win, because it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Answer 7

You performed on a Jet in flight, what was that like?

Indeed, performing on a jet in flight was far more exciting than if the jet had been sitting on the ground. :-) Intel chartered a jet to take all of the press back from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to San Jose. (It was a regular-sized jet and not a corporate jet.) They had me hold the microphone at the front of the plane and do comedy over the intercom. The only problem was, I couldn't really hear the laughter from where I was, so I thought it wasn't going well. Afterwards, however, the reporters came up and said it was hilarious.

Answer 8

Where can we go to find your performance schedule for upcoming events?

My schedule can be found on my website.

Answer 9

You have a book deal in the works, What will it be about, can you share anything from it?

I have an agent who read about me in the New York Times. She's convinced that my story would appeal to a lot of people. To be honest, I can't imagine why anybody would want to read about a relatively unknown comedian like myself, but hey, I'm writing the book anyway. Besides, who wants to argue with a literary agent who thinks your book can sell? It's a story about how I went from being an Intel engineer to a professional comedian. I think it will appeal to people who are thinking about leaving a job to pursue their true calling.

Answer 10

You used to have a very technical job, what made you decide to become a comedian?

My technical job involved speaking on stage with the CEO and other senior executives at Intel. These events would happen all over the world. The executive would bring me on stage to demonstrate the latest technology. The technical part was easy for me, since I'm Indian and Japanese. However, it was terrifying to speak on stage in front of thousands of people. I had to do something to get over the fear, so I took a comedy class. I figured if I could do comedy, that presenting on stage at corporate events would become easier, and that turned out to be the case.