Joel Kim Booster has been blowing up as a stand-up and on screen for the better part of the past decade. Adopted as an infant by a white evangelical Christian family and raised in Plainfield, Illinois, Booster’s background comes alive in his work, often exploring themes of identity, sexuality, and cultural expectations.
He wrote, produced and starred in the Hulu film Fire Island, a queer twist on “Pride and Prejudice” that was met with rave reviews, and released his 2022 special “Joel Kim Booster: Psychosexual” on Netflix, showcasing how he cuts through the fluff with sharp, unapologetic comedy.
As an actor, he’s been on Shrill, Search Party, Sunnyside, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Loot, and he’s written on The Other Two, Billy on the Street, and Big Mouth, where he also voiced the character Charles Lu.
He’ll be performing at the Belly Laughs comedy festival this coming weekend, July 12 and 13, at L.A. Live. The festival’s lineup is a who’s who of Asian American comedians, and will feature over 20 of your favorite LA Asian restaurants to try.
Read ahead to find out how Joel Kim Booster became a multi-hyphenate in high school — both gay and the class clown:
LA Weekly: What was your childhood like?
Joel: Brief.
Where’d you grow up?
Suburbs of Chicago.
What was your favorite job?
I worked at the library when I was 14 and it’s still my favorite job.
What kind of person were you in high school?
I was the gay one mostly, which overlapped with being the class clown in many ways.
Why did you start doing comedy?
I was an actor and writer first, and quite honestly, stand-up started as a casual creative outlet for me while I looked for acting gigs, and ultimately became more interesting to me. I was able to be myself in a way I never had a chance to when getting called in to audition for a Chinese food delivery boy.
Who are your comedy role models?
Margaret Cho, Tig Notaro, Kumail, John Mulaney, Ms. Pat, Jacqueline Novak.
You’re on a stacked lineup of Asian comedians at Belly Laughs — what does it mean to you to share the stage with so many diverse Asian voices?
It’s incredibly meaningful to me — for the majority of my career, I’ve been the only Asian on the lineup, we were seldom booked together because the assumption was that all of our material would be the same. Opportunities like this give us a chance to prove that notion completely wrong, but even more so, it gives us a chance to hang and be a community. It’s all very exciting.
We’ve seen you perform all around town in comedy rooms and clubs. How do those gigs compare to performing in a big theater?
It’s a completely different experience, set of challenges, and requires a different skill set. I love smaller rooms because I like the intimacy and the connection you can make with an audience. Big theaters, you have to be a little bigger, maybe less granular, but still find a way to form a relationship with 1000+ people as opposed to 350. But the different challenges they present make it all way more fun, keep you on your toes, and make sure it never feels stale.
Who’s your doppelganger?
Well people think it’s Bowen Yang but that’s obviously racist. I don’t think I’ve ever been told I look like someone I actually look like.
FAVORITES
Comedy movie: My Best Friend’s Wedding
Drama movie: Rachel Getting Married
TV comedy: 30 Rock
TV drama: The Leftovers
Video game: The Last of Us 2
Video game system: PlayStation 5
City: Mexico City
City to do comedy? New York or San Francisco
Food: Pasta