Meet Neema Naz | Comedian & Actor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Neema Naz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Neema, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
It can get pretty lonely. There are many sacrifices that are made just to continue working on your craft. There have been many birthdays, weddings, family events that I’ve missed just to do a 5 minute standup set on a show with 10 people in the audience because I know that will help me improve my skills for the future. To others, it may just be a 5 minute set on stage that I could do another time, but if I really want to be great one day, this is what it takes. The more and more you sacrifice, the more you separate yourself from the normal people. The thing is, if you want to be great, you have to do things regular people aren’t willing to do everyday. and because not many people are willing to do that, it’s the reason why it can get lonely. But with the right team around you, you can set yourself up for a bright future having fun and being successful with people you can trust and who will make you better.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I love comedy and acting and making content with a passion. There is nothing in this world id rather be doing than that. Nothing makes me happier doing what I love everyday with the people I love. What sets me apart from others is having my core team around me to help me make better decisions and improve my craft daily. We make sure I’m working on not just my career stuff but also attending to the human part of me. This means creating effective habits like consistently writing jokes, reading, researching, outreach, working out, eating well, stretching and doing anything to take care of my body mentally and physically. If I am not thriving 100% as a human, there’s no way I can thrive 100% as a performer. We take our health seriously.

I am most proud of how far I have come in the 8 years of doing comedy. From dropping out of university to pursue my dream to now doing my own headline tours across the nation and other countries is amazing to me. This all has happened because I believed in myself from the very beginning even when no one else did. I am excited to continue doing standup shows and acting/producing my own movies/tv shows in the future and just continuing to do what I love.

I got to where I am today professionally by inserting myself into the comedy world as a student of comedy. I live and breathe entertainment because I know deep down inside it is my calling in life. I feel like I’ve been put on this earth to make people laugh and forget about their problems for short period of time by watching me do my thing. I take what I do seriously and treat it as a business but I also understand how to work with others. Just by being kind and being fun to be around, you’d be surprised at how far you can go. Nothing worth doing is going to be easy so the main thing to remember is to just stay consistent and never forget why you are doing this in the first place. Remember where you came from and be grateful that you are alive and breathing enough to do something only 5% of the world is capable of doing. Take advantage of what’s in front of you and just run!!!

There will always be obstacles along the way, but if you just keep pushing through, I believe that the right things will come your way and you will succeed eventually. Just never give up!

I want the world to know that all I want to do in this world is to make people happy and bring joy to their days by any means. That’s what makes me happy. I always have good intentions and if I happen to make a mistake along the way or “cross a line” or boundary, it’s all apart of my process to become excellent. Without failing and making mistakes, you will never grow and improve who you are. By spreading laughter, I want to be that guy people go to when they really need it. I want to one day be the greatest entertainer this world has seen and leave behind a legacy that the younger generation can learn from and be inspired by to follow their dreams.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take them to go workout and play basketball because thats something I love to do everyday. go for a walk near the lake, in the city, wherever there is outdoors. Then get a coffee and talk about life. Take them to a sports game in my hometown, eat some good food either at home by cooking together or going to a nice lounge with lots of options. I would definitely take them to one of my comedy shows selfishly too 😉

Either way, I am al for being in good company and letting things flow the way the universe wants it to go 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to a few different people who make/have made my life better.

I’ll start with my brother and manager Omid. Without him standing in my corner making the business decisions to move our company forward in the right direction, we’d be nowhere near where we are right now. On top of that, just having someone you can trust who will be straight up with you and never sugar coat anything makes for a strong bond that will benefit everyone. Whether I’m feeling down or have a a problem, he is there to help solve it and do whatever it takes to make sure everyone is on the same page and feeling optimal to succeed at a high level.

Someone who deserves more credit and recognition is my team member Cyrus. He is my producer/editor and team strategist. He worked pro-bono with us for over a year before we could afford to start paying him through the partnership that we got after a while. He believed in us from the start and wanted to help us with our video production, content and strategy to help move the team forward and in a position to make a lot of money just so we can continue doing what we love everyday. Without him working with us and being there to support, I wouldn’t be able to make as much quality content as we have in the past few years which have ultimately led to many great opportunities in my comedy career.

Some special honourable mentions are my mom and dad who support us unconditionally no matter what happens, Clayton Peters who believed in us and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to open for my comedy idol Russell Peters in my hometown Toronto in front of 16k people and is now a mentor to all of us in this industry.

Website: neema@neemanaz.com

Instagram: neemanaz

Twitter: neemanaztv

Facebook: neemanaz

Youtube: neemanaz

Other: I love interacting with my fans as much as possible. If they want more access to me I have a number they can text me at. +12123801169

Image Credits
@shotalive @thejaykapadia @3018collective