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Georgia Off My Mind
Mary Fitzgerald talks to fellow Dixie native Reginald D Hunter about religion, the American paradox, and getting your balls out
"There was just nothing beyond basic conversation where I grew up", recalls Reg of his hometown, Albany, Georgia. "No one really asked many questions beyond God." Frustrated, he packed his bags and headed to London to find "people like [him]". Did he find what he was looking for? "I found a lot of people who were better than me."
The soft-spoken Southerner may have acquired a British propensity for self-deprecation, but he's a lot sharper than he'll admit. He trained at RADA and intended to become a serious actor, only changing horses after performing his first comedy set as a dare. "I guess you could say comedy picked me," he reflects. "It's an arranged marriage, but over time we've really grown to love each other."
Evidently. In addition to sell-out shows, Reg has racked up TV appearances in The 11 O'Clock Show, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Does Doug Know, Daisy Donovan, Boozy Britain, and Comedy Store Stand-up amongst others. He's been nominated for the Perrier three times, and his show Pride And Prejudice And Niggas won the 2006 Writers' Guild Award for Comedy.
A Citizen of the World
Although he's lived in Britain for nearly ten years now, Reg still exudes Deep South charm, and has clung to some Georgia affectations, like his middle initial - 'D'. His first impression of Britain was "everything looked old and dirty", yet he obviously found an affinity with the place. But call this "citizen of the world" a native at your peril: "To say you are British or American implies you think in a certain, rigid direction, regardless of what's right or wrong," he philosophises. "And that makes you a fool."
With so many accolades, he could be forgiven for feeling relaxed about performing, yet he confesses he still gets "stage discomfort". Remembering a particularly bad night at Jongleurs, he says: "My preview had gone really badly and I was upset, I was hateful, I didn't have any rhythm. I made the audience uncomfortable, and I made myself uncomfortable. It was the first time I smoked on stage." This nervous habit is now a staple of his act.
Weighing in on this month's SSP debate, (click 'Bile vs Smile' above to read more), Reg doesn't think that all comedy has to come from a dark and angry place. Nor does he think it has to follow a script. If he's distracted about something on a particular day, he'll bring it into his act. ("You have to talk about what's fucking with you," he insists.) On the particular night when I went to see him, Bridget Jones was fucking with him in a big way. This led him onto a more general point about how so many he knows women hate themselves, and later there was everything from Lewinsky-gate wise-cracks to genocide.
British and American Comedy
Reg has only ever done a few sets in the US, to which the reaction was "lukewarm". "I think some people were confused, and others were just bored," he shrugs. Does he think British and American humour is irreconcilably different? "I can only speak for stand-up, but in the States, it's not really an art form, it's a business. A lot of people don't like art, even though they pretend they do."
When pressed, he admits British comedy in general is pushing the envelope a lot more, and this seems to be part of the reason he has stayed here for so long. "I'm making some gross generalisations here, but America is younger. I can say that, it actually is. America is only 200 years old, so everything - humour, politics, religion, is younger, and less mature." He thinks about this, then adds: "But actually, because of our older African and European heritage, it's really an odd mix of great wisdom and immaturity." He's back on the philosophy. "Every place has its own paradox, and this is the American one."
Reg is not planning to return to the US any time soon, although he doesn't rule it out in the future. He says he lives like a fugitive, and he's "open to life". For now, his Pride and Prejudice and Niggas starts touring on April 12th. He'll be accompanied by up-and-coming comedienne Sarah Milligan. "She's going to teach me about metaphors, and I'm going to teach her how to get her balls out," he explains. Is he excited? "That's not a word I use. But I'm ready. Let's do it."
Check Reg out in The Banana Cabaret at the Bedford Globe, Balham on 25th March
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