Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas
Michael Joseph Pennington, Sr., better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English actor and comedian, known for his angry rants, surreal humour, portly figure and high husky voice...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth11 September 1971
damage drawn found people popularity quite
I thought I could play the hellraiser and then put 'Johnny Vegas' back in his box. I found popularity through self-destruction. The more you damage yourself, the more people are drawn to you, and that can be quite addictive. It is not a lifestyle you can maintain.
acting behind camera coming feeling found front home jobs lovely stuff thrive work
I couldn't be 'Johnny' in front of a camera in acting jobs and behind the camera I like to be 'Michael.' With directing, you can't do it by halves. There's a lot of reflection, and I have found that I, as 'Michael,' thrive on it. It's lovely coming home and feeling that stuff from a day's work as myself.
behind camera confident found great till
Being behind the camera is where I feel comfortable. I've found something that I feel I, as 'Michael,' can be as confident in as 'Johnny' was on the stage. It's great being part of the creative process. You're right at the start of an idea, and you get to see it all the way through till the end.
known move people point
In credits, I'm 'Michael' sometimes now, but people know you as something, so there's no point fighting it. 'Squiggle,' you'll always be 'Prince,' and 'The Rock,' just accept it. I want to move on, but not that much. So I'm still known as 'Johnny Vegas.'
british-comedian comics drag
There's this idea that it has to be made in London. But we've got everything up here, and if you've got comics who are gifted because of where they're from, you shouldn't drag them away from that natural resource.
flights great possibly saw writer
There was always that thing with 'Johnny' - I always saw myself as his writer and PR. But when he got out there, I had no control. His whole thing was going off on those flights of fancy. Going, 'Let's see what we can possibly do that hasn't been done before up here.' And when it works, it's lovely; it's a great night.
genuine good staged tendency trace
I wanted to try and trace the genuine origins of 'Johnny' and how he so successfully staged this takeover of 'Michael Pennington.' 'Johnny' is a contradiction to who I am as a person. I'm not very good at confrontation, I have a tendency to internalise and to carry things around.
anybody buried
I want to be buried with Monkey. The thought of anybody else working with him would be too much.
fame genuine home horribly links love nobody people sad
You get people who come to London, sever links with where they come from, and then when they need people, there's nobody there. To feel like you can't go back home would be a horribly sad place to be, as is mistaking fame for genuine love and affection.
british-comedian obviously written
This autocue was obviously written for someone else and I've been brought in at the last minute.
Never try to be witty with U.S. airport officials. It's always lost on them and you'll find yourself being put back on the plane.
hard offered reluctant shows turned tv
I've been offered all the reality TV shows but have turned them down. If I did it as 'Johnny,' there'd be no jungle left! It was really hard regaining control of myself, so I am reluctant to let 'Johnny' back out of the box.
I found popularity through self-destruction, and that can be quite addictive.
came changed childhood chunk continue everybody fear felt great happy home letting life loving pressure realised seminary tremendous
I came from a very loving home, had a happy life with no great aspirations, but going to the seminary changed me. There was a chunk of my childhood missing. Once I'd realised it wasn't for me, I still felt a tremendous pressure to continue for fear of letting everybody down.