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Robby Collins on comedy, acting and working with Trevor Noah

Johannesburg – The South African comedy scene is filled with up-and-comers, ready to take the world by storm. One comic who is well on his way to reaching superstar status is Durban-born Robby Collins. Having recently opened for Trevor Noah during his tour of South Africa, Robby is fast becoming a house-hold name. 

The local funny man stopped by for a cup of tea and a quick chat with The Juice, sharing what his been working on. 

Knowing from a young age that he wanted to venture into comedy, Robby says many South Africans only really started taking comedy seriously when they witnessed Trevor Noah’s success. “Before Trevor comedy was like a hobby. Telling people you wanted to do comedy seemed outlandish. And then after Trevor’s success, now people take it seriously because they know how much money you can make from it.” 

Speaking about the time he spent working with the Daily Show host, the star says Trevor is a hard worker. “Trevor is probably the hardest working person I’ve seen. I was in New York with him, we were working on The Dome show. That guy works non-stop,” he explains, adding that Trevor gave him some great advice at the beginning of his career. “The advice Trevor gave me when I started is to be as consistant as possible. Everytine you on stage let people walk away going, ‘that dude is funny’.” 

Besides taking over the comedy scene, Robby has also gained fans as an actor on local drama Rockville. Gushing about the Fergusons, who produce the show, the comediam says they were amazing to work with. Given the choice of any acting role in the world, the he says he’d be a Bond villain. “I’d love to be a James Bond villain. I like villains. The good guy is cool, but a villain is exciting.” 

And while he may not be suiting up to take his place alongside James Bond just yet, Robby is still working hard on growing in comedy, with his latest venture being the nationwide tour Trending Comics. “As big as comedy is, not many people go into the comedy clubs to experience it. We’re just trying to educate the audience and let people feel comfortable to come out for comedy,” the star says about the show. He also plans on making a few trips to the US in the new year to build his name in the industry. 


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