Comedian Josh Johnson on Creativity and Authenticity

Emmy-nominated writer and stand-up comedian Josh Johnson said he writes his jokes to make himself laugh just as much as anyone else. And he advised a room full of aspiring Emerson comedians to do the same.

“Make the art that feels good to make,” said Johnson.

Johnson spoke at Emerson on March 30, in conversation with School of Film, Television and Media Arts Associate Professor Ed Lee, presented by the Jane and Terry Semel Endowed Chair. Named “the funniest guy on the Internet” by WIRED, Johnson is currently a rotating host and correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy & Peabody Award-winning program The Daily Show, where he was previously a writer for seven years. He is also a former writer and performer on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he made his late-night debut in 2017.

During the recent conversation in the Semel Theatre, Johnson directed much of his comments to students in the form of advice on the topics of support, feedback, performing, and authentic storytelling.

On support, he said it’s important to make and take care of friends in the industry, because while connections and networks are nice to have, friends are the ones who will consistently advocate for you, and doing the same in return can be mutually beneficial. “Support never hurts,” he said, adding that building community with peers is incredibly valuable in a competitive industry.

Regarding feedback, Johnson encourages students to be as open as possible. “People can teach you something, even inadvertently,” he said, “and I think that’s a gift. You never want to quit before you pull away a lesson from something.”

Johnson told the audience that he thinks of himself more of a communicator, rather than a performer. When he writes a joke for a show or gets onstage to do stand-up, his job is to convey his ideas in the clearest way possible, he said. If a joke doesn’t land, it’s because he hasn’t communicated effectively with his audience. This skill is something that he’s developed over time, by learning to read a room and assess how he may be perceived by it. He did this through talking to strangers and by practicing his comedy as much as possible, learning through trial and error. “Skills develop the same way muscles develop,” he said. “You don’t notice at first because you’re in it, but eventually you realize that there has been a change.” 

He also talked about the importance of authentic storytelling. Some people are willing to “say whatever” in order to get a laugh, but Johnson isn’t one of them, he said. He would much rather make jokes that feel authentic to his own personality than misrepresent a story, even just for a punchline. He encouraged students to find their own authentic voice and focus on their own value instead of trying to compare themselves to other artists.

“Figure things out as you need to,” he said. “Be comfortable with where things land.”