Adam Devine
Frantic, full-body storytelling powered by loud noises and weaponized confidence.
1 special · 2019
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Adam Devine bounds from one end of the stage to the other, pulling his face into exaggerated expressions and relying heavily on loud, strange vocalizations [5]. The rhythm of his act is less setup and punchline and more a steady escalation of volume and sweat [5]. He will act out a story about his childhood by throwing his entire torso into the pantomime, sprinting through the material with the urgent volume of a guy trying to hold the attention of a loud party.
Specials
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Frantic physical comedy and goofy Hollywood stories from Omaha.
Netflix · 58 min
On stage
His live audiences are largely drawn from his television and film work, and he gives them exactly what they expect. The persona he built on Workaholics and Pitch Perfect is a deeply confident, slightly delusional guy who is thrilled to be included [7, 8]. That character translates directly to his standup. He also co-hosts the This Is Important podcast with his old television castmates [10]. This keeps a direct line open to the fan base that grew up watching him get aggressively weird on cable.
The actual text of his jokes is mostly secondary to the performance. If you read a transcript of his 2019 special Best Time of Our Lives [1], the material about puberty or dealing with drunk friends might look thin on the page [2, 5]. The punchlines are often just him yelling a specific word. Devine relies on physical output rather than dense joke structure.
When a premise starts to lose steam, he simply gets louder, widening his eyes and contorting his body until his sheer commitment to looking ridiculous forces a laugh out of the room [5].
Turning points
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Severe Childhood Bicycle Accident and Recovery
At age 11, DeVine was struck by a 42-ton cement truck, suffering extensive injuries and enduring 26 surgeries over several years; his recovery and overcoming bullying through humor shaped his comedy and belief in connecting people.
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2006–2011
Formation of Mail Order Comedy and Workaholics
After forming sketch group Mail Order Comedy in 2006 with Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, online success on MySpace and YouTube led to co-creating and starring in the hit Comedy Central series Workaholics in 2011.
At a glance
- Born
- , Waterloo, Iowa
- On stage
- since 2006
- Style
- physical, storytelling, self deprecating
- Breakout
- Workaholics
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Wikipedia
Podcasts
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This Is Important · host
Adam Devine, Anders Holm, Blake Anderson, and Kyle Newacheck seriously discuss some very important topics.
Also on screen
- 2011–2017
- Workaholics
- Pitch Perfect
- Pitch Perfect 2
- Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
- Game Over, Man!
A clip to start with
Adam Devine - Dudes Night Out