Quotes from Jo Koy

I got a big Filipino family. That's what I love about being Pinoy: we all gotta surround ourselves with family; we all gotta laugh and do things together. I love it! It's family first.

New York is always claiming East, and Los Angeles is always claiming West. It's in everything: acting, hip-hop, sports. But I love it. That rivalry makes you work harder.

Tacoma is actually my hometown, but if you live within 40 minutes of Seattle, you say Seattle.

I didn't realize how many people watched 'The Tonight Show.'

I get the worst compliments all the time. 'Oh you're Asian? I love orange chicken.'

There's a lot of open mics, a lot of comedy clubs. Whatever money I could make was OK with me. As long as I could pay the rent, eat food, and tell jokes, doing it was good enough for me.

Whether it was a shoe store or working the front desk of a hotel, I was always interacting with people. I'd get that look because I'm half-white and half-Filipino. They could tell I was something, but they really couldn't tell what I was.

I was working at Nordstrom Rack, Borders Books, and I was cleaning yachts on the weekends for private parties and being a busboy. I had to break down the tables and roll the forks up in napkins. And I was still doing standup.

My real name is Joseph Herbert. My dad is white; my mom's Asian, Filipino. And when I started stand-up 22 years ago, I used to go up as Joseph Herbert, and I would just have to defend my name. Every time I went onstage, it was so annoying. People would heckle.

I always wanted to let people know I was Filipino, but I didn't want to go up on stage and make it so you wouldn't understand my jokes because you're white or black. I always wanted to let people know I was Filipino through my mom. That was always my goal. That way, everyone got it. You don't have to be Filipino to understand my mom.

Everything I put on stage is real; that's what my life is. My emotions - I wear them on my sleeve. I'm definitely putting my heart out there when I'm on stage.

The appearance on 'The Tonight Show' was one thing, but the YouTube afterlife was incredible.

I do enjoy Dennis Miller, I do enjoy Chris Rock when they do their political humor, but it's never been my goal... I love relatable humor.

Me and my son's mother, we've been divorced for a while,but we've been really great parents. We're good friends. We're very relaxed when it comes to our son's time with one another. We have an open door.

I always think about when I was a kid, and I didn't have anything, and now I get to see my son live a good life.

I feel like in the old days, it was once it's a divorce, it's a constant fight until they die. That's how my mom and dad lived. They didn't talk to each other. They hated each other. They only spoke through lawyers. It's just a horrible way to live.

It's neat seeing people that aren't necessarily part of my demographic who really get the jokes. I love it.

There's nothing more fun than seeing the things that you dreamed about when you were a kid come true. I'm headlining an iconic theater in New York City during the New York Comedy Festival. When you're starting off as a comedian, you don't think that's ever going to happen.

Comedy is just an unspoken language. Everybody understands it. Funny is funny. When it's not funny, they'll let you know.

I love storytellers. When I was growing up, my inspirations were watching Eddie Murphy, Dennis Wolfberg, and Louie Anderson. These guys were great at telling stories, and I made that my own style, talking about things that happened to me and trying to make them funny.

It's been really stressful being on the road a lot, especially when you're a dad. You miss your son a lot. But you gotta make it work because you get to live a good life. I have to sacrifice.

Whatever I talk about onstage is just my story. My fan base is broad... We all have the same mom; it's just that ours has an accent.

Las Vegas gave me my career.

Comedy is not the first choice in Vegas for entertainment.