At only 11 years old, J.J Totah has been making waves in the world of comedy and television! With performances at Hollywood Improv, a guest starring role on JESSIE and the ABC show BACK IN THE GAME under his belt, J.J has already proven himself to be quite the entertainer! We got to have a chat with him about stand-up comedy work, BACK IN THE GAME and more!
How did you first become interested in stand-up comedy?
A lady who had an acting class directed me to a friend who has a stand-up comedy group for kids. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I really like this, this is so cool!” So I just started doing it from then on.
How do you come up with your comedy routines?
I get inspiration from my whole family because they are crazy, and so you know, I just thought I’d share my family with everybody else.
Who is your favourite comedian?
I really enjoy Robin Williams. When I shot the first season of BACK IN THE GAME, his show was right next to ours. On the very last day of season one, I actually saw him when I was walking out and it was so cool to see him! Another one of my favourites is Ellen DeGeneres. She is amazing. She is like…oh my god, I have no words! She’s great!
What’s been your favourite stand-up gig that you’ve done so far?
I’ve really liked all of them. I just really like making everybody laugh and smile. That’s what I’m here for! I just like making you happy!
Tell us about your character on BACK IN THE GAME.
My character loves his mom, he loves fashion, he’s really unique and he loves baseball!
What was the best experience you had while filming BACK IN THE GAME?
Probably when we went paintballing. it was so much fun! We went to the coolest place and it was freezing cold, but really fun.
Is there any advice you would give to anyone your age who wants to get into comedy or acting?
Basically, if you really love doing what you’re doing, just let it come to you, you know? There’s no possible answer that I can give you, no key I can give you to get to that. Let it come to you if you really like it.
If you couldn’t be doing comedy or acting, what other job would you want to have?
Probably nothing! I love it now and you know, I’m going to see what life brings me. I just love the whole aspect of film!
What projects do you have coming up in the future?
I have a couple more episodes of JESSIE coming up and I’m also working on auditioning for new projects and also some YouTube shows.
Thanks, J.J! Be sure to check out J.J on and YouTube and upcoming episodes of JESSIE on Family Channel!