Heath Franklin first burst onto NZ TV screens in C4’s Aussie sketch comedy show, The Ronnie Johns Half Hour, with his parody of the real life underworld figure, Mark ‘Chopper’ Read. Since 2007, as Chopper, Franklin has gone on to sell over 110,000 tickets, released two live DVDs, and has toured the world, playing to sold out audiences in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

In 2010, Franklin will be seen in the NZ black comedy feature film, Predicament, as Mervyn Toebeck, alongside Jemaine Clement (of Flight of the Conchords). 

Describe your festival show in 6 words.

Putting idiots back in the way of natural selection.  (Ok that’s 9 but I’ll use fewer words on my next response)

Why are you doing a festival show?

NZ good

What would be your dream comedy line-up?

Richard Pryor, the Young Ones, the Fast Show, Conan O Brian and a bottle of that gas the dentists use. 

What kind of comedy do you most like to watch?

The stuff I find the funniest is when a comedian sets a mine field of inappropriateness around themselves and then somehow tiptoes out while everyone holds their breath,  when the laugh is part relief that no one got hurt. I think I’m developing a more sadistic sense of humour. 

What kind of comedy do you least like to watch?

Unsurprising material delivered like its genius. I don’t like it when something looks like comedy and sounds like comedy but just isn’t funny. 

What made you get into comedy and was the road difficult?

I started doing comedy as a hobby, just kept plugging away in my spare time until it got to the point that I could do it for a living. It was tough, but not as hard as say, having a real job. 

What’s the highlight of your career to date?

I worked on a film last year for 2 months in Hawera, Taranaki. Everyone working on the film was amazing. I still haven’t seen the finished product but I think it’s going to be pretty cool. I’ve also got a real kick out of playing in the same venues that I’ve seen my favourite bands play in since I was a kid. 

And the lowlight?

I played to a group of drunk miners once and had to have about half the audience removed. I had been onstage for 45 mins and hadn’t started any material. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given as a comedian?

Just to be really hard on yourself. I saw a comedian once who said ‘No one ever laughs at this, but it’s one of my favourite pieces of material’ and I just remember being outraged that this guy had it the wrong way around. If the audience doesn’t ever laugh at something its not their fault, its yours, so fix it or drop it.  

What ís the one piece of advice you would give to someone doing their first ever gig?

An audience can smell fear and are immediately put at ease by someone who is confidant. You learn more from your worst gigs than you do from your best. 

Who are your favourite NZ comedians?

Ben Hurley, Dai Henwood, Cori Gonzalez Maceur and John Clarke. Everyone likes the Conchords too.

Where is your favourite comedy venue?

There is a theatre in Newcastle in NSW that is awesome when it’s full. It holds a lot of people but everyone is quite close to the stage. 

Where ís the oddest place you’ve performed?

On a boat filled with strippers. Worst. Gig. Ever. No one wants to see a comedian when they have an erection (The audience has the erection that is, not the comedian). Seeing Felicity Ward with an erection is actually very funny (Flick has the erection, not me)

What would you say to someone who tells you they ‘don’t like stand up comedy’?

Keep it to yourself, Scrooge. I don’t like your face.  

What song do you walk onstage to?

I’ve been coming on to the Midnight Oil song Blue Sky Mine for a while, but its time for a change I reckon. Maybe ‘Damn it feels good to be a gangsta’ by Geto Boys or ‘Afro Phone’ by the Black Seeds...

What is the one thing that would best help the future of NZ comedy?

Ban American sit coms from TV. 

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview?

‘Describe your festival show in 9 words.’