Roy Wood Jr. Thinks Your Career Is a Joke

After years of making us laugh at our pain, the most likable man in comedy focuses on the most painful thing of all: our jobs

Shane Paul Neil
LEVEL

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Photo courtesy Roy Wood Jr.

Roy Wood Jr. is the kind of guy who makes everyone comfortable. He has a talent for making strangers feel as if they grew up with him on his street in Birmingham, Alabama. Even if you have dissimilar viewpoints and values, you’d still want to sit and have a beer with him. It’s part of how Wood has been able to spend his career tackling difficult topics. It’s also why the 42-year-old comedian has remained busy, even in the midst of a pandemic.

In addition to being a correspondent on The Daily Show, Wood recently launched Roy’s Job Fair, a new podcast that explores the pain and comedy in looking for, finding, and keeping a job. Wood has also gotten back to hitting the road to prepare for his third Comedy Central special; his previous, No One Loves You, is the channel’s highest-rated stand-up special since 2017.

Roy Wood Jr. got comfortable with LEVEL, opening up about how Covid-19 has affected the stand-up comedy scene, the inspiration behind his professional life–focused podcast, and how to find humor in touchy topics.

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Shane Paul Neil
LEVEL

Writer (duh) and photographer. Bylines @levelmag @complex @ebony @huffpo shanepaulneil.com