Gad Elmaleh is a big French star. He is very famous in France and all over Europe. He is mostly known for his stand up comedy but has made a couple appearances in movies and TV shows. For the past 20 years he has been all over French media. He has been very successful and always seems to be on the run from the paparazzi, yet in America he is completely unknown. In 2006 he had a couple shows in the US, but never seemed to make it big. This year he has decided to come back and give another shot at being successful in the US. His previous shows in the US have all been in French. This time around, his 17 show tours going from New York to LA, is entirely in English. The cute French accent will make any language errors acceptable, but considering that English is his third language (after French and Arabic) he speaks very well.
In his first couple weeks here, it was hard for him to adapt to this new life style. For the first time in a long time he was not a celebrity. He tells the story of going to a bar and trying to hit on a girl. He kept trying to talk to her to buy her a drink, but she would not even look his way. A couple minutes later a group of French tourists walked into the bar and ran up to him asking to take pictures and for him to sign whatever junk they could find in their purse. After this interaction the woman gladly accepted a drink.
In the past couple week though he has made a couple big breaks and is on the right road to becoming an American super star. His show entitles “Oh my Gad” got it’s name from one of his best skits in French. He talks about a one night stand with an American and all throughout the night she screamed “Oh my god, oh my god” and he just couldn’t figure out how she knew his name. This show has been a huge success. Such a big success that Gad got to meet his idol Seth Meyers. He was on Late night with Seth Meyers last week. Here is a link of the show, where you can see just how funny he is (even in English), but also figure out how to pronounce his name.
Here is another great interview with him (in English of course) if you want to learn more about his journey to becoming such a huge star.
Gad Elmaleh did an interview before leaving France where he said that if he made it big in America he could make it big anywhere.
After his recent show in DC, here are just a couple reviews posted online:"The best stand up comedian ever. I didn't stop laughing. I would see his show again even if he is going to deliver the same material. I absolutely adored him. He should have more shows in DC. Please bring him back again, many of my friends couldn't find seats. Please bring him back again. Thank you."
"Gad is a very talented guy no matter what language he use to make his audience laugh and have a good time. We enjoyed his show in English. The jokes were fantastic!! We are committed to come to his shows every time his in DC. In addition, I love the fact that he is one of the first Moroccan comedian who made it to a night show. He is simply amazing.... Go see the show it's one of the best in town. I wish it was a little bit longer :) Thank you so much Gad for make it to my town and looking forward to see you next year again."
If you are interested in following Gad Elmaleh on his journey in America. Follow him on instagram and look for his shows near you!
