Few would argue that Trevor Noah has lived several lifetimes in his 34 years. As a biracial child whose very birth was an act of defiance during the apartheid in South Africa, the scars of his unconventional upbringing could have brought a stronger man to his knees. Yet, Noah seems determined to channel that angst towards a more noble goal: by giving voice to the little guy lost in the masses, be it in his home country of South Africa or his adopted one in the United States.
Speaking to Gulf News tabloid! in an exclusive chat, the talk show host and stand-up comedian spoke about finding that platform in humour.
“It is something I have done my whole life. I’ve always used humour as a tool to process the world,” said Noah over a call from Los Angeles.
“I grew up in a world where I was always looking at things happening around me and ways to find them funny. Humour allowed me to process information — the good, the bad or the ugly.”
After taking over from Jon Stewart as the host of The Daily Show in 2015 and using this podium to push the envelope for discussions on politics and world news, it didn’t come as a surprise that he made the cut on Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential list, sharing column space with names such as Hollywood’s Nicole Kidman, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and singer Rihanna.
In the magazine’s forward penned by Lupita Nyong’o, the Oscar-winning actress called Noah “a fantastic storyteller” who has “always been a defier of rules, which he broke simply by being born in his native country”.
She further added: “Trevor, who grew up biracial in apartheid South Africa, has the unique ability to tell truths that bring us together.”
Nyong’o’s words went beyond those of a kindred spirit. The actress is producing a film based on Noah’s 2015 memoir, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, which she incidentally came across while shooting for Black Panther. So moved by the book, the actress also signed on to star in the film portraying the role of Noah’s mother, Patricia.
The memoir itself weaves a poignant tale of Noah’s early years, born to a black Xhosa mother and a Swiss father during a time when such a union was punishable with a five-year prison sentence in the African country. Peppered with real-life incidents that can give a reader pause, the book sees Noah recount stories of a childhood where he was mostly hidden indoors from prying eyes, to incidents such as being flung from a moving vehicle by his mother in a bid to save his life, to dealing with the rage when his stepfather shot his mother in the head (which she miraculously survived).
Quiz Noah about his memoir and he still can’t believe Nyong’o recognised the potential his life story held. “That was amazing. Lupita was amazing,” recalled Noah. “She read the book and reached out to me saying ‘hey, I want to be a part of this story’. At the time I didn’t think this was even close to being an idea.
“She had the foresight to see something when I didn’t and that’s exactly what happened. When the conversations came around to actually turn my book into a film, Lupita’s was the first name that came up. I am honoured to work with her.”
Sharing stories
With South African-born director Liesl Tommy signed on as the film director, Noah talked about the relevance of Born a Crime in today’s tumultuous world. “I would never be the first to say that my own story deserves to be told, but I do see there’s a lot of scenes that are parallel with what’s happening in today’s world,” he explained. “I’m a firm believer in sharing amazing stories with people that are different to most. And that’s really the biggest reason I would take story and make it into film.”
The film also marks Noah’s first project with Viacom, the parent company of Comedy Central, and will be released through the Day Zero Productions. However, the partnership isn’t limited to movie making alone. “We are also working towards creating TV shows. We will be looking at creating content that works for Viacom as a whole.”
However, this doesn’t mean Noah has plans to move away from his first love — looking for comedy in an unbridled world.
“You don’t find the humour in the material necessarily. I like to think I have a process,” explained Noah, when asked about looking for the lighter side of life in mundane events. “I use the news to find ideas. I talk about things that I think are important and I use comedy as my filter.
“For many people, what we do on The Daily Show is help them process information through humour because everything happening in the world today is so much that you are left stressed by it all.”
Not one to hold back any punches, Noah has tackled burning issues plaguing the US today — from gun control in wake of the high school shooting in Florida this year to calling out Starbucks earlier this week after racial profiling at a Philadelphia branch resulted in the wrongful arrest of two black men.
Starting out as an actor on a South African soap opera in 2002 aged 18, Noah worked his way on the television circuit, along with taking on stand-up gigs in the country before he relocated to the US in 2011. After recurring gigs on the US talk show circuit, Noah finally landed a job on The Daily Show as a regular, before being handpicked by Stewart as his successor in 2015.
Now, nearly three years on, Noah is still looking for ways to keep The Daily Show more relevant, and yes, making it his own in many ways.
“It was more important to understand that you can’t create an entirely new show from the get go. I can’t just create something for the sake of creation,” he explained. “I have to understand that there are fans of the show who remember things the way they were. And there are new fans of the show who want something different. I have to find a way to meld those two worlds.”
Taking the show forward, Noah revealed plans of creating localised versions of The Daily Show in different markets.
“We have started in South Africa where we have a local correspondent and local stories that are more authentic to the region,” he said. “We want to explore ideas in different places and translate that into what people are watching.”
Noah isn’t new to criticism either, often drawing fire from US President Donald Trump’s camp for comments on his show.
“I seldom get into trouble for sharing things that I find funny,” he stated.
“People are looking to laugh. I just look at ways to connect with people. You want people to take [away] from what you are saying. A lot of times your intentions are in the message. You can always say things in a certain way that can offend people or make them feel like you are attacking what they stand for. That’s something I don’t try to do as a person.”
On his love for Dubai
Trevor Noah, who was in Dubai last month to host the $1 million (Dh3.67 million) Global Teacher Prize ceremony at Atlantis The Palm Jumeirah, spoke about returning to city for future stand-up comedy shows. “I will come to Dubai as long as Dubai will have me. I love doing comedy out there. I love how diverse it is. The city is always on my radar whenever the opportunity arises.”
Check it out!
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs on the OSN’s Comedy Central platform.
