Yassir Lester, who spent his formative years in Atlanta, has become a multi-hyphenate, as they say in Hollywood. He’s a stand-up comic, podcaster, writer (”Girls,” “The Carmichael Show”), animated voice-over man (Fox’s ‘Duncanville”) and actor (Showtime’s “Black Monday” and shows “Making History” on Fox and “Champions” on NBC.).
He recently was named head writer for Marvel’s “Armor Wars” starring Don Cheadle, who he works with on “Black Monday.”
Here is a quick profile of Lester, who now lives in Los Angeles:
Age: 37
Schools attended: Oakcliff Elementary School (Doraville), Pinckneyville Middle School (Peachtree Corners), Pope High School (Marietta)
Nationality: half Black, half Palestinian.
How he grew up: “Poor, poor, poor. Off-brand named cereal. A lot of Hamburger Helper, beef stroganoff. Boiled noodles with chunks of chicken. I also worked at Wal-Mart for a little bit and got an employee discount. I bought a truckload of Hot Pockets at a discount. And so much Top Ramen.”
Before finding a place in Hollywood: “I’ve done every job outside of being a prostitute or drug dealer. But I was never into the 9-to-5. I finally decided I could be a phenomenal comedian and writer so I put myself out there with this blind confidence. It still took 13 years before anybody started to take notice in me.”
Breaking in stand-up: “I got a steady job as a doorman at the Improv Comedy Club [in Los Angeles.]. To get on stage, you had to be good enough and at first, I definitely was not. As I got better, I’d wear a normal-looking shirt under my work shirt so in case I got on stage, I could take off my work shirt, then put it back on when I got back to the door.” He got to hang out with folks like Wanda Sykes, Bill Burr, Craig Robinson, Deon Cole.
Getting a new gig via Adam DeVine (”Pitch Perfect”): “He was roommates with friends of mine. When he got ‘Workaholics,’ he asked if I wanted to be a production assistant for the writers. I was responsible for getting their lunch. I was pretty bad at it.”
Twitter break: Lester began writing funny lines on Twitter and a Comedy Central exec who moved to Adult Swim noticed and helped him get hired as a writer for “Black Dynamite.” This led to writing for “Mr. Pickles” and judging stoners in food competition show “Snack Off.” After helping pen HBO pilot “Brothers in Atlanta” that didn’t get picked up, he landed writing gigs for HBO’s “Girls” and NBC’s “The Carmichael Show.”
Credit: Nicole Wilder/SHOWTIME
Credit: Nicole Wilder/SHOWTIME
Off to ‘Black Monday’: He originally signed on to “punch up” early scripts for the Don Cheadle drama but was asked to join the show as a stockbroker character. “I didn’t come to L.A. to be an actor. But okay, sure. I know I’m not the best actor but I’m not going to say no!”
Picking the right projects: ‘The Carmichael Show’ was societally smart. “Girls’ was culturally smart. ‘Black Monday’ is just smart. I know nothing about finances. I could put a dollar in a stock and lose $7,000. The creators did their research and at the end of the day, the show is funny and interesting and has depth.”
In the family: His brother Isaiah is a writer and producer for “black-ish.” His sister Brittany is a barber on TV show sets.
About being mildly famous: “Comedy fans usually know me. But I don’t expect people to stop me on the street. There is so much out there, I don’t need the fame of it. As long as I can make some cool stuff that is from me, by me. The goal is to be able to buy a house in Los Angeles.”
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