Arj Barker: Get in My Head (2015)

Beat spoke to one of Australian comedy’s favourite blokes, Californian Arj Barker, who claims he’s better known and more popular here than in the States. “It used to worry me a lot. But now I tell the truth – I’m not going to pretend!” When Beat chats to him he’s in Adelaide polishing up Get In My Head, the show he’s bringing to MICF. “The show feels pretty solid. It’s a wonderful chance to work on it.” Arj Barker has been a successful comic for a long time. Does he sit back in every situation and think about how to extract jokes from what’s going on? “It’s not the first thing on my mind. I don’t think of that ‘til later. I look at it with that perspective later.” Does he get fed up with people approaching him wanting to chat? “Nearly everyone here is friendly and positive. Thank God I’m not well-known in a controversial way. Not like someone who’s on reality TV or something where they might not be liked. Not everybody out there likes me but the people who come up to me are fans. No-one forced me to go on TV or do what I do. If I want to be anonymous I can go back to California! I just try to do a great show. I’m not a massive self-promoter. I do the minimal amount of promotion necessary to put on a show.