Felipe Esparza

Rising to Fame

Felipe Esparza is an actor and standup comedian. He first rose to fame after winning NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2010. He then wrote and produced his first one hour special, They’re Not Gonna Laugh at You, for Showtime and Netflix. Felipe Esparza grew up in the Pico Aliso housing projects in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. There, he was involved in drugs and gang activity. He began pursuing a career as a comedian after a stint in rehab and struggling to make ends meet.

Shows & Features

In addition, Felipe appeared on numerous television shows. They include “The Eric Andre Show,” “Arsenio Hall,” “The Tonight Show,” “Lopez Tonight,” TruTV’s “World’s Dumbest,” Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and “Russell Simmons Presents Stand-Up at the El Rey.” Not to mention, “Comics Unleashed,” Showtime’s “Comics Without Borders,” BET’s “Comic View,” and Galavisión’s “Que Locos.” He appeared in his first two feature-length films in 2009. They are “The Deported”, with Nick Turturro, Talia Shire, and Paul Rodriguez and “I’m Not Like That No More”, a film based on his stand-up comedy where he stars as Paul Rodriguez’ son.

Ad Campaigns

Felipe also appeared in two major ad campaigns. First he was the Latino spokesman for the 2015 Honda Fit, a campaign that was highly praised by Adweek. The second was for Target Mobile services. It included three different, quirky, and fast-paced commercials co-starring Felipe and Lauren Lapkus (Orange Is the New Black). Felipe recently was featured on the popular Comedy Central storytelling series, “This Is Not Happening.”

Five Goals

Felipe Esparza got his start as a comedian all because someone asked him to list five goals in life. Felipe was asked what he wanted out of life, during a stint in rehab. it was a difficult question for an immigrant Mexican boy growing up in the projects and being a teenage father with a drug and alcohol problem. He never thought that far ahead. Among the items on that list, “to be happy”, and “be a stand-up comedian” – because of how he connected to an old Bill Cosby album when he was younger. Up until that time, Felipe was under the impression that life was over at 18.

Anything but Boring

However, if you told him that all that life experience would one day make people laugh, he wouldn’t have believed it. He went from growing up as a poor immigrant in a family of nine, to selling out live comedy shows all over the country and being able to act in TV shows and movies. Felipe’s life is anything but boring. He worked for years as a stand-up comedian, opening on the road for fellow comedians such as Gabriel Iglesias and Paul Rodriguez. Then he took a leap of faith and went out on his own – which led to very little income and opportunity at first.

Weekly Podcast

Today Felipe hosts a weekly podcast on the All Things Comedy Network called “What’s Up Fool?” that focuses on interesting stories from just about anybody. From renowned author Father Greg Boyle from Homeboy Industries, to actor Damian Chapa, to the lead detective on the Night Stalker serial killer case, to actor Emilio Rivera, to even the “Incredible Hulk” who takes photos with tourists on Hollywood Blvd. Felipe believes everyone has a story to tell about how they got where they are, no matter who they are.

Producing

Felipe filmed and self-produced his second hour-long stand-up special, “Translate This” which was released in 2017. He also developed a sitcom for ABC with fellow comedian Dustin Ybarra, and writers Bobby Bowman and Peter Murrietta. Felipe and Dustin will play brothers in a single-camera comedy to be produced by ABC Studios and 3Arts Entertainment.