Kumail / Taskmaster S21

Why did you say ‘yes’ to Taskmaster?

My wife and I have been fans of Taskmaster for years. We started watching back in season seven. It started because of James Acaster – who has become a very good friend of ours. I heard his name through Edinburgh Festival, then we watched all his stand-up and became huge fans, then we looked up what else he’d done and found clips of him on Would I Lie to You? and then we found Taskmaster. His was the first season we watched, then we went back and watched all the previous seasons.

Emily and I are big Anglophiles. We watch a lot of British comedy—The Mighty Boosh, Peep Show, The Thick of It, Gavin and Stacey. We still say, ‘What’s occurring?’  to each other. I watched the Christmas special on the way here before I knew Joanna Page was on the show!

We’ve recommended Taskmaster to so many people in the States, it’s our favourite show. It’s joyful and silly. American comedy is in a different place, it’s become very political because of the times we’re in. I think that’s why Taskmaster is so successful. It’s a respite from the real world, which can be stressful. We’re not in kind times, but this show is joyful and kind, and there’s real value in that. 

What I love about the comedy here is that it’s smart and silly and joyful. We’ve become friends with Nish Kumar and Ed Gamble and Aisling Bea, and I’ve worked here quite a bit in the last few years. I love it. The guys on Taskmaster have been telling me I need to get into Reeves and Mortimer. I know Bob from Taskmaster, but not the rest of his stuff, so that’s next on the list. 

You became a fan of James Acaster and now you’re friends. How did that happen?
My wife and I reached out to him, we messaged to say we were fans. I was coming to London for work in 2018, and he was doing a show at the Soho Theatre so I went and saw him. I ended up sitting next to Nish – that’s how I met Nish. We became friends immediately. Then I met Ed because I did Off Menu. Whenever we’re here, we see them.

Have you told them you’re doing this? Did they give advice?

Of course. I like to prepare. I asked all three of them for advice about the tasks and the studio days. I talked to Jason Mantzoukas too. Everyone just said, ‘Have fun’ because you really can’t prepare for it.

Jason was the first American to do Taskmaster, and he caused quite the stir.

Right? The first American comes and smashes everything up and gets booed! But I think his approach is so joyful. I was worried I’d be too competitive too, but halfway through the first day of tasks, I realised that wouldn’t be a problem.

Why?
I felt like I was in over my head with a lot of the tasks. Then I realised there’s no way to try and win – I just had to have fun. The only time I felt competitive was during the live tasks in the studio because the audience are there and it’s frenetic.

You did challenge Greg over the scoring system, though, which would imply you were quite competitive.

I did challenge Greg, just because it was fun. I’d challenge him, have an argument, and then drop it. He’d get really wound up, which was hysterical, but when any of the others won a task or an episode, I was genuinely thrilled. It felt like any victory was a victory for all of us.

What did you learn about yourself?

I thought I’d be good at the logic tasks and puzzles and not as good at the creative ones, but I found I wasn’t as good at the logic ones as I expected and I was better at the creative ones. There was one where I made time move backwards which I thought was really good.

Let’s talk about your fellow contestants.

I love Joel. We’ve become very close. He looks traditionally handsome, and he’s in great shape, but he’s very goofy and weird. Greg was always charmed by his childlike glee, and that’s real. I loved sitting next to him. We’d talk about work-outs and diets and stuff. We’re definitely going to hang out in the future. 

I’d love to work with any of them. I’ve worked with Armando once in a small capacity, and I’m a huge fan of his work. I wasn’t familiar with Amy’s work before, but she’s so funny and quick. It’s fun discovering someone new. I knew Gavin and Stacey so I knew Joanna and I’m a huge fan of her work. I’d work with any of them in a heartbeat.

When I did the first round of tasks I was like, I want to work here. I want to do more British comedy. It’s becoming very hard in America to do comedy that hasn’t been done before, whereas British comedy can span different genres and do different things and have different tones. That’s the stuff that excites me, so I’ve been telling my American agents to get me work here.

You’d be swapping all the trappings of Marvel movies – big winnebagoes and great catering – for something a bit more modest. Are you okay with that?

I’m fine with that. It’s nice to get the model star treatment but I genuinely don’t care about how much money I make or what the surroundings are like. I do it for the love of it. I did a low budget movie last summer, and I did a show called Portlandia for years which was just a few granola bars on the table and you don’t have a dressing room, you hang around outside. 

I’ve done some big movies, but you don’t get to control how those come out – you do your best as an actor but it’s not up to you, so there are different things to consider. That’s why I went back to stand-up. During the writers’ and actors’ strike, I started again and I love stand-up because I can control it. I recorded a special last year and I’m one hundred per cent proud of it. That reset my priorities. Like Taskmaster, it’s about trust. This show is edited so well and all they care about is making the show the best it can be.

Who would be great at Taskmaster in future?

That’s a good question. I wonder if Seth Rogen would be good. The Studio is such a wonderful show. He’s very busy but it would be wonderful if he’d do it. 

ends