Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco is hosting the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, airing Monday on MTV at 8 p.m.
And he knows what some of us may be thinking.
“As soon as they announce the VMAs, 3 million teenagers are going to search ‘Who the hell is Sebastian Maniscalco,’ ” the funnyman says in a promo for the awards show.
In a recent appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” the acerbic comedian prone to deadpan says he follows today’s music scene from “afar.”
“I don’t know who’s feuding with who, who’s throwing shade,” Maniscalco tells the talk show host. “I’m excited, this is going to be a challenge for me, a new audience for me, and I’m coming prepared.”
Here are six things to know about the host before tonight’s show.
Don’t call him Fredo
Maniscalco, 46, is the son of an Italian-American immigrant. The comic grew up outside of Chicago in Arlington Heights, Ill., but moved to LA in 1998. He still lives there with his wife, Lana Gomez, their daughter Serafina, 2, and son Caruso, who was born in June. His Italian-American culture — and beloved carby food — is a major theme in his comedy, so expect him to hit on it tonight.
“Italians — we don’t play basketball,” he joked during a 2014 stand-up special. “When’s the last time you put an NBA game and said ‘Take a shot, Nunzio!’ It doesn’t happen! Italians — what do we do? Nice cement driveways, meatball sandwiches, gives us a church, we’ll paint the whole ceiling. Certain cultures do certain things well.”
His career is ever-evolving
Maniscalco has worn a lot of hats in his 21-year-long career.
He earned his stripes doing sets at the famous Comedy Store in LA when he was 24 years old. Then, he captured the heart of Tinseltown. In 2006, he was featured on Vince Vaughn’s “Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days and 30 Nights – Hollywood to the Heartland.”
He also hosts a weekly SiriusXM Radio show, called “The Pete and Sebastian Show,” with fellow funnyman Pete Correale.
And in 2008, he was featured on Comedy Central — it’s there you can see how far he’s come in his material. In the special, he jokes about dating in his 30s. Flash forward to 2017, when Forbes listed him on their “highest-paid comedians” list (they estimated his worth at $15 million). And now, you’ll find him mostly joking about life as a new parent.
Netflix and chill with him
If you’re looking to binge Maniscalco’s work to prep for the big event, the streaming service has you covered. Two of his five hourlong stand-up specials are offered on the website: “Why Would You Do That?” from 2016, and his most recent, “Stay Hungry,” which aired this year.
He’s also featured on the “Late Night Espresso” season of Jerry Seinfeld’s show “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” — a cameo he called his “Johnny Carson moment” for its significance in the world of comedy.
“(It was) kind of getting the seal of approval from one of today’s well-known comedians,” Maniscalco tells the Courier Post.
He’s one of the guys
Maniscalco played the role of Johnny Venere in the 2018 Academy Award winner for Best Picture, “Green Book,” alongside Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali and Linda Cardellini.
He also has a role in the upcoming Martin Scorsese Netflix movie “The Irishman,” which stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino.
He told Kimmel he got a few chuckles from Pacino during his audition: “I’m thinking somebody probably told him, ‘Would you laugh?’ There’s no one that nice.”
He’s got stories
In 2018, Maniscalco published a memoir, “Stay Hungry,” about the trials and tribulations of his life in comedy, from his early days arriving to LA with a single suitcase and surviving on tips and stolen food, to his thriving comedy career selling out arenas and hanging out with the big dogs of comedy.
The book got high praise from fellow Italian funnyman Tony Danza, who wrote in a review, “Even though Sebastian says that ‘comedy can’t be learned, it is an experience you must endure,’ there’s an awful lot to learn in this book. Not only for comics but for all performers. A really good read from beginning to end and some laughs along the way.”
He’s on tour
Maniscalco is currently on a stadium tour of North America. From now until November, he’ll be making stops in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Nevada, Illinois, Florida and Montreal, Quebec.
The name of his tour says everything you need to know about his cranky sense of humor: “The You Bother Me” tour.
“That’s what I’m constantly saying throughout my entire life,” he tells Kimmel. “I’m calling my sister saying, ‘You know what bothers me?’ ”
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