Rising Star Comedian & Actress Becky Robinson On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry
Be kind to people and look out for others. You never know what someone is going through, and any industry can be extremely rough. I’ve had so many experiences mid-panic when a fellow comic, actor, friend or family member has been there to make me realize that at the end of the day we are all just a little blip anyways. Best to enjoy the ride.
As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Becky Robinson.
Comedian, writer, actor and voice-over star Becky Robinson is one of the youngest headliners on the comedy circuit today. Robinson is best known for her wide range of physical characters on-stage and screen with viral videos including her most popular character “Entitled Housewife.”
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
HONORED TO BE IN THE SERIES! I grew up tap dancing for pennies in various cul-de-sacs around Oregon. I am the youngest of 3 and found out I was an accident pretty doggone young, which affected me in ways I’m still laughing about. There was always an audience around, or someone looking to be entertained, and I gladly stepped up to the plate as often as possible lookin’ for laughs. My parents used to call me the “Purple Faced Screamer,” as a chillun. They recognized I had an unusually high voltage of energy so very quickly they threw me into every sport, ultimately I found a home with Gymnastics. I competed until I was at level 9 at age 13 and decided to retire when my pecks and ninja turtle abs were in full force. My parents loved bringing out their giant video camera. This always excited me. They just recently found a video from when I was age 6 saying “I want to be a professional gymnast, then an actress, a funny actress, and a comedian, and then when I’m really old, like 30, I’ll do hair and have a farm!” Our family was constantly laughing through any struggles we experienced, or if we weren’t laughing about them right away, a few years later we’d be able to.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I had a vision from when I was a youth about exactly what I wanted for my life. My imagination ran wild. My parents thought I was kidding as always, but deep down I was dead serious. I knew I wanted to act, do stand-up, characters, voices, and from all the gymnastics training I knew from a young age it was going to take a lot of time, dedication and hard work to even be somewhat good. Some kids were Disney stars and grew massive followings honing their talent on television, I was at Westside Gymnastics in Tigard, Oregon flipping with my toes extra pointed for high scores. The external doubt and fear from family and friends only fueled my fire to work harder. But it really wasn’t until I came back home again that I was reminded where my real sense of humor came from, and after being on stage for 10 years, that’s when things really started to come together professionally.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I graduated college and moved to LA immediately to live on a friend's couch while I searched for big kid jobs. In my head I thought, okay if I can just get a 9 to 5, I can bounce out and do stand up at night and make a living while I figure out how to spread chuckles full time. I ended up landing an account coordinator job at a startup called Fullscreen, where I worked more of an 8 am to midnight schedule but had some flexibility to do stand-up in the evenings before logging back on to finish work at night. Our office was on the Culver Studios lot and Mel Brooks’ office was next to ours. I saw him come to work every day but was too nervous to talk to him. After a year and some change, Nikki Glaser offered me a job working on her TV Show NSFW on Comedy Central. I put in my two weeks, packed up my box of belongings (a full box of Jalapeño chips I stole from the office) and headed toward the parking lot. Just then, out walks Mel Brooks. Today was the day. I said, “MEL! I just quit my corporate job I’m gonna work in entertainment and be a comedian full time! You are such an inspiration! Etc. etc.” He grabbed my arm and said, “WELL EXCELLENT KID, YA GOT AN AGENT!? YA GOTTA HAVE A GOOD AGENT. MAKE EM WORK FOR YA. YOU’LL BE GREAT!” (I said yes even though I merely had a manager who was hip pocketing me at the time.)
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I “headlined” a show WAY TOO EARLY in my career and bombed horrifically in San Diego. I finished my set, got off stage and sprint/walked home (people probably thought I was holding back a case of diarrhea) and cried the whole way. The performance felt like one of those nightmares you have when you want to talk but you don’t have the words, or none come out, and then your teeth fall out. It was at that moment I realized I needed to start working a million times harder if I was going to be any good.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
My brand-new animated show Middlemost Post premiered on Nickelodeon on July 9th! I am so excited for the world to see this show. I play Parker J. Cloud, who represents the rainbow after the storm. The show is so full of joy, heart and humor and I really think people will gravitate toward the brightness of it all after such a difficult year.
I’m also getting ready to head out on tour for my Heavy Pour Tour where I’ll be performing an all-new variety hour of stand-up material, original music, sketches, improv and more! I’ll probably get overly excited performing live again and try to kiss people on the forehead.
Also, very excited to continue growing the entertainment business I founded in July 2020 called She Gone, Inc. where we will be releasing all kinds of content, hosting events and more! And I just booked a Netflix show but I can’t say anything about it but I think it’s going to be educational and funny and I hope at some point they put me in a bald cap because I idolize Dr. Evil.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
First things first, have the most fun you possibly can. Lead with love and joy and always remember to help people when you can. Go big, trust your gut. No one else can be you, so lean into that instead of trying to fit into any box. Don’t be afraid of your crazy ideas, chase that spark!!!!!
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Representation matters so that THE FULL STORY can be told. The media needs to represent the entire society it serves, not just one POV.
Every single person has a story to tell. It’s important that people in positions of power start listening carefully to the amazing stories people are beginning to pour out via their own personal channels because it is through stories that we can all get to know where we came from and what each and every person has been through.
I think the power of film and television has the ability to educate and inspire change a lot more than a history book or school class can. Bringing those diverse stories to life will change the world.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- Be careful which pants you wear on stage. For instance, if they are pleather and from Forever21, it is likely they will rip down the butt crack mid-performance. This happened in 2019 at the Improv. Luckily, I was wearing a long t-shirt to cover my buns.
- There is no right or wrong way to learn your craft. Find a process that works for you and get crackin’!
- No does not mean no. Learn from the no’s and use them as motivation. Keep trying. I didn’t pass level one of Groundlings. I made a pilot with a network 3 times and all 3 times they passed and said it wasn’t good enough or funny enough. Ya keep on workin’ at it and trust that everything is meant to be.
- Videos and media jiblets, billboards and more are constantly being blasted at us through our phones and other devices. Spend some time closing your eyes and imagining what you want your life to look like. The power of imagination can help manifest incredible things. I practice this daily and it has been extremely helpful.
- Be kind to people and look out for others. You never know what someone is going through, and any industry can be extremely rough. I’ve had so many experiences mid-panic when a fellow comic, actor, friend or family member has been there to make me realize that at the end of the day we are all just a little blip anyways. Best to enjoy the ride.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Surround yourself with people who challenge, inspire, educate and love you for you. Drink less, exercise, find a balance, take time to breathe, step away from the city when you can roll around on a grassy knoll, and then eat a cookie.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
We were all put on this earth to help each other. We should ask ourselves every single day how we can be better and do more for one another.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Family #1, Friends, fellow comics and my manager Joe Meloche. We met in Aspen when I was performing Suzie Chapstick and instantly clicked. He has always been my guiding light and is as close as family, so we can be 100% honest with each other.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I’m gonna give you 5 because I’m a maniac.
“I do not take no as an answer. I take it as a green light and put the pedal to the metal.”
“Dare to dream, bitch!”
“Being gay is like glitter, it never goes away.” — Lady Gaga
“Visualize the person you want to be and the life you want to live.”
“We were all put on this earth to help each other.”
In gymnastics, we used to sing this song during warm-ups that went, “Dare to dream, dare to fly, etc., etc.” every day we’d warm up listening to it and singing to it, filled with excitement and fear. You never know what will happen in a day, but you know the work you’ve put in leading up to today, you warm-up, you get to work and your GO.FOR.IT as hard as you possibly can. Ya might break a bone, or you might just fucking nail something you’ve never tried before. That’s life, baby!
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
Lady Gaga. I am in love with the way she works to normalize that humans have an inner psycho, a unique creature. I love the Robin Williams quote, “You’re only given one little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”
I feel purely manic time and time again, it’s part of how my comedy and ideas are birthed, and it’s O-KAY. It’s not something that we should feel ashamed about, I think society sometimes wants us to feel bad about it, or brush it under a rug. If I didn’t turn my utmost darkest, humiliating moments into art I am fairly certain I might be stuck in a state of fear-induced paralysis. I feel lucky that I have friends who acknowledge my mania and instead of try to make me feel better or less crazy, they help me harness the power.
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram: @beckyrobinson4
Instagram: @entitledhousewife
Tiktok: thebeckyrobinsonshow
YouTube: theBeckychannel
Website: BeckyRobinsonTheGreat.com
Website: entitledhousewife.com
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Thank YOU for such a thorough, thoughtful interview. Somebody recently asked me what emoji I’d be if I could choose 😂 Your questions made me think. And it took 9 hours to answer all of them, but I want to thank you.
