‘The Talk’ star Aisha Tyler lets loose on her career

Aisha Tyler

One of the busiest actors working in Hollywood today is the super smart, funny, and multi-talented Aisha Tyler. She’s seen daily around the country as a co-host on CBS’ Emmy nominated “The Talk,” voices the sexy superspy Lana on FX’s hit animated show “Archer,” and is the new host of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” filling the role previously held by Drew Carey.

Tyler began acting in high school at the San Francisco School of the Arts before going on to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire where she graduated with a dual degree in government and environmental policy. After graduation, Tyler headed to Los Angeles to pursue a career in stand-up comedy.

One of Tyler’s first major gigs there was as host of E! Entertainment’s pop culture show “Talk Soup,” where she was the first woman and African-American to host. Since that time, Tyler has demonstrated her acting chops on a range of television shows from the dramas “Ghost Whisperer,” “CSI” and “24” to the comedies “Friends,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Reno 911.” She has also made the leap to film with roles in “Bedtime Stories” opposite Adam Sandler; with Christopher Walken in “Balls of Fury” and with Tim Allen in “Santa Clause III.”

Never one to rest on her laurels, Tyler is the creator, producer and host of the hit podcast, “Girl on Guy,” which she describes as “a show about stuff guys love brought to you by the ultimate guy’s girl.” Her podcast, which has over 7 million downloads, was chosen as a “Best New Comedy” podcast in 2011 by iTunes. “Girl on Guy” has also been nominated for Stitcher and Webby awards, and has featured a “who’s who” of guests from comedians Chris Rock and Margaret Cho to actors John Cho and Harold Perrineau to chef Marcus Samuelsson and rapper Talib Kweli.

In between her TV and film gigs, Aisha has also written two books. Her first book was called “Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl,” and her second book “Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation” was published in July 2013. It quickly hit the New York Times best-sellers list. “Self-Inflicted Wounds” is a series of comic essays about times in her life where she found herself in spectacularly humiliating incidents, entirely of her own making. Just earlier this month, it was announced that the book was optioned by CBS Television Studios to adapt the writing into a comedy series.

Tyler also recently appeared on an episode of Modern Family and is currently taping a new Ryan Murphy (“Glee,” “American Horror Story”) pilot for HBO called “Open” about non-monogamous relationships. Even with all of her projects, stand-up comedy still remains very close to her heart. In 2009, she starred in her own one-hour Comedy Central special called “Aisha Tyler is Lit: Live at the Fillmore,” and continues to tour around the country performing stand-up.

The Banner recently spoke with Aisha Tyler about her many projects, her dream guest on “The Talk,” and her love for stand-up comedy.

One of the things I admire about you and your career is that you don’t seem to get stereotyped. You’re always doing the unexpected. Is that a conscience decision?

Well, I don’t really know that actors have much control over what they’re offered. As an actor you don’t have the power to say “yes,” to play an assassin. You don’t have those choices. I think the main thing was that I said no. I didn’t take those parts that would have typecast me.

You’re an actor, comedian, talk-show host, author, and that’s just a partial list of what you do. How do you manage it all?

I’m a workaholic. I really enjoy being busy and I’m most effective when I’m about to have a panic attack. I’m really disciplined. I get up really early, and go to bed really early. I work seven days a week. I get up in the morning and I really work hard. There’s no secret.

If there’s any downtime, what do you do?

My work is integrated. I take breaks. I’m known for being a gamer. On a rare full day, I’ll game. I’m a voracious reader. I watch an hour of TV a day usually at dinner. I love to write. I’m a scuba diver. I’m hoping to carve out bigger periods of time in my life.

Was there a plan for how you wanted your career to unfold or it is just how these opportunities presented themselves?

I’m sure I had a plan but nothing has gone accordingly to plan. You have to set goals; realizable goals and personal goals (like writing a book, writing a screenplay). You can say “I’d like to get on ‘Friends,’” when the opportunity presented itself to me, I knew it intimately. One of my life mottos is to be ready and take advantage of the opportunities when you can. I’m incredibly happy with how my life has turned out. I wanted to write a book and I wrote a book. A lot of opportunities are about being open and making yourself available. There’s no plan. “Holy s*” is like my favorite mental state.