CHILD ACTOR
Live from Atlanta, it’s Neal Genys Why the 14-year-old stand-up comedian is ready to take on the world By Mi cha e l J . Pa l l e r i no
T he first time Neal Genys stood in front of a room full of people and tried to make them laugh was at The Punchline Comedy Club in Atlanta. The jokes were good, if not a little corny. He was 9 years old. We know what you’re thinking. Show me a kid who doesn’t crave being the center of attention. But jumping on stage at a comedy club? It’s okay. Neal Genys isn’t your average kid. At 14, Neal performs regularly at various theaters in and around Atlanta, runs his own YouTube channel focusing on comedy and science, and has even co-hosted a show at the iconic Carolines on Broadway comedy club in New York City. And if that’s not enough, after winning an East Coast comedy contest, Kenan Thompson invited him to spend an evening backstage with the “ Saturday Night Live (SNL )” crew, where he was able to meet two of his heroes, Jimmy Fallon and Ben Stiller.
His confident approach to his craft came early on after his mother, Aiva, had him help out as a model for some photography jobs. Aiva runs AGpicture, an Atlanta- based photography firm that specializes in actors’ headshots, modeling portfolios, and commercial product brand photography. Ask Aiva and she will tell you that the entertainment industry is fun as long as you don’t mind 10- plus hours of filming, waiting around the set for the cast and crew to roll again, and the continual casting call for more parts. “Until the Georgia entertain- ment industry got big, we had lived for several months at a time in Los Angeles, which is where Neal first started his acting training classes,” Aiva says. “For a parent, it becomes a nearly full-time job — driving to auditions on short notice, taping auditions at home, driving to the acting classes and workshops, private coaches, getting updated headshots often, and always sitting on set while your son is filming. It’s a huge commitment.” In between the quest to make a name for himself in the entertainment world, Neal is just
Neal with Jimmy Fallon
Neal Genys
His takeaway from the experience? “They told me that comedy is fun and that I should never think of it as a job, but more of a long-lasting hobby,” Genys recalls. To date, Genys’s hobby has been pure gold. During his first professional audition, his performance cracked the casting directors up. Needless to say, he landed the job. His first summer in Los Angeles resulted in six different acting projects in six weeks. In 2013, he landed a role in the short film Magic Matty, the story of a brash birthday magician who attempts to save a child’s party with a mischievous trick. From there, his career path was set. “When the cameras start rolling, I get into character and the lines just come out of my mouth,” Genys says. “I don’t think about what I (will) say and I hope to say something funny. You have to keep pushing yourself and always believe in yourself. Yours’s is the only opinion that matters.” It is the kind of advice you would expect from a young man whose sights are set on bigger things. Along with dreams of becoming a full-time comedian traveling
Photos courtesy Aiva Genys
your average teenager, playing rugby, skateboarding, running, doing bike riding stunts and mixed martial arts. No matter the pursuit, he is steadied by knowing that home is where the first act begins. “It is very important to have the support of my mom because she is the one who cares for me, loves me and prioritizes everything for my brother and me,” Neal says. “She works way too hard for me not to be great. That drives me to push myself and to know that she will always be proud of me.”
Neal with Ben Stiller
the world (and being named SNL’s youngest cast member ever), Genys wants to help inspire other young people with dreams of comedic pursuits. “I want to teach classes for kids from all types of backgrounds and show them how to do comedy and improv. It is about being confident in yourself in whatever it is you choose to do and to have fun.”
@neal_genys
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