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Character comics are a bigger phenomenon in the UK, where folks like Catherine Tate and Steve Coogan are household names. But Canada has its share of outrageous characters, too, beginning with Don Harron’s Charlie Farquharson and continuing with these more recent hilarious homegrown acts.
GAVIN CRAWFORD
This Hour Has 22 Minutes mainstay Crawford is funniest when he slips into someone else’s skin. Maybe that’s why when he’s playing himself – witness his painful-to-watch intros for current reality show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? – the laughs aren’t there.
JESSICA HOLMES
Don’t write the Air Farce force off as a mere impressionist, although her Celine, Wacko Jacko and Liza are spot on. It’s her non-famous characters – among them a right-wing mom and a glum Russian rapper – who make Holmes’s wit hit home.
TERESA PAVLINEK
The clever Pavlinek parlayed her Jane Black character into the protagonist of The Jane Show, but let’s not forget her other unforgettable personae, including a pre-Top Model Gigi Supermodel.
BRIAN BARLOW
Loner Show host Barlow sends up the whole idea of character comics, as in his Poppa Proppa act – where he plays the world’s oldest Prop Comic – and his Blow Job Mime.
SUSAN FISCHER
Fischer doesn’t do a lot of characters, but her Evalyn Reese is so brash, ballsy and talkative, you’ll swear she’s got a split personality.
