Comedian Anjelah Johnson’s rise in the stand-up world

Comedian Anjelah Johnson burst onto the national stage when her video “Nail Salon” went viral. That caught Hollywood’s attention and led to her appearance on the sketch comedy series MADtv as a series regular during the 2007-2008 season.

But Johnson never intended to be a comedian. She wanted to be an actress, “but the comedy doors were the ones that were opening and the acting doors weren’t really moving too much,” says the San Jose, Calif., native by phone. “I remember the first time I got paid for doing a stand-up gig. It was $600. At that time, that was the most money I was ever paid in my life for one day. I was like, ‘Whoa, $600 in one day! That’s insane. Maybe I’ll be a comedian.’ That’s when I kind of changed my tune. I’m a comedian. ‘Sure, we can do this.’ The material just came naturally.”

Even though Johnson was on MADtv for half a season (that year’s writer’s strike cut it short) she was able to develop and hone her comedic skills. She describes her time on the series as being “a great experience” but also invaluable. “It was an honor, one, but I got to learn about writing sketches. I got to learn how to act in sketch comedy because I had never done a sketch comedy before. That was a new thing. I got to write my own sketch, which was the Bon Qui Qui sketch,” she recalls. Her character Bon Qui Qui, an over-the-top King Burger employee with no filter, was inspired by Johnson’s gay brother. Her brother, about whom she shares stories in her stand-up, and who also styles her hair, “loves that he’s my inspiration for Bon Qui Qui,” says Johnson. “He knows that he’s my inspiration for all things ghetto in my life.”

Multiple venues

Johnson, who brings her stand-up act to The Wilbur on Friday, also has been able to pursue her acting dream, both on television and in film. She’s appeared in the comedies “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Ugly Betty”, as well as in 2010 film “Our Family Wedding” where she played opposite America Ferrera, and in 2013’s “Enough Said”, starring the late James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Johnson also has voiced characters in the animated films “The Book of Life” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.”

Johnson recalls being “very star struck” when working with Gandolfini, who passed away that same year. “I don’t typically get star struck by people. I don’t clam up and get all weird, but for some reason he did it to me. It’s not even like I’m a big ‘Sopranos’ fan, and now he’s here in real life. I think I saw two episodes of ‘The Sopranos’ before I even saw him in person. He had this presence about him that was so powerful, like he could shift the energy of the room as soon as he walked in,” Johnson recalls.

In addition to sharing stories about her family through her stand-up, Johnson is co-developing a show for the ABC Family channel while working on a new hour of stand-up comedy. We’ll be seeing a lot more of Anjela Johnson when her one-hour special “Not Fancy” premieres on October 2 on Netflix.