I-95 Exclusive: Aries Spears Says The Era of the 15th Place Trophy is Outrageous

Comedian and actor Aries Spears, known from Mad TV and Jerry Maguire, will bring his stand-up routine to the Hartford Funny Bone in Manchester, Connecticut, on September 13th and 14th.

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We had the opportunity to speak with the comedy veteran ahead of his upcoming performance in the Nutmeg State. Spears expressed his admiration for his Mad TV cast members and shared that his experiences on the comedy circuit have thoroughly prepared him for the challenges of the industry.

Lou: Two of your first big gigs in stand-up were Def Comedy Jam and Showtime at the Apollo. Those are not places that you can fool around, especially when you were coming up in the early 90s. If you bombed you would get shredded, that had to be nerve-wracking? 

Aries: "Yeah it was but you know I came from that era, I was born in '75 so I grew up in the 80s where you were made core-tough. So, it was a good training ground to put me where I am at today comedically and mentally. You know, this era of 15th place trophies is outrageous so I'm thankful for it."

Lou: You have tons of film and TV credits, Mad TV, Family Guy, Jerry Maguire, A Different World, is there one that sticks out to you that you are particularly proud of? 

Aries: "You know I had a really good time on Mad TV because you know being with the ensemble that I was with. Those were such great sketch comedy performers and comedians that, you know steel sharpens steel so it kind of felt as good as I may have been I couldn't have been that without working with some of the people that I worked with."

The absolute best moment of the interview came when we asked Aries to do one of his famous celebrity impressions.

Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/AriesHartford2024 or (860) 432-8600

Hartford Funny Bone Show: Friday @ 7pm & 9pm; Saturday @ 6:45pm & 9:45pm

Listen to our full interview with Aries Spears below. 

Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple and Spotify

Go see Aries Spears at the Hartford Funny Bone and subscribe to his podcast "Spears & Steinberg."