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Not only did I get to do the comedy bit in my native tongue, but I was also called up by my actual name. Not a fictional side character, but me, Lu Louis.

By now we’ve all heard about Trump’s racist comments about Haiti that had everybody talking about our country again. I hate to give that man and that comment anymore attention, but a few good things were able to come from the reactions it caused. Conan O’Brien announced that he would be visiting Haiti to check out the country for himself. His introduction comedy bit to the Haitian people had us all intrigued for what this trip might bring. Featured in this skit, a hilarious “interpreter” mocking Conan’s message to the Haitian people with lines like fenmen pòt nou paske nèg sa s on gwo vòlè !  

Who is this hilarious interpreter? Lu Louis, Haitian-American comedian, raised in Haiti, and now living in L.A. as a full time actor and comedian. He is one of the pioneers of the web series game with his hit series “My Roommate the”. We asked Lu a few questions about his career thus far, and his experience working with Conan O’Brien.

When did you figure out that comedy and acting was something you wanted to pursue professionally?

Growing up, I was a class clown and was always getting kicked out of classes for talking out of turn or making my friends laugh. Luckily, my principal didn’t see my actions as just “bad behavior”, but recognized that I was just a talented student in need of a creative outlet. So one day she asked me to help her with a little “skit” that she was going to be presenting to the entire school. That’s right, she asked me, a 4th grader! After the assembly, I was blown away by all the accolades I got from everyone, even the high school students! It was the first time I had performed for anyone other than my friends and classmates.

From that day on, I knew that I had a knack for performing. But it wasn’t until I got to high school and met my Theatre teacher Mr. Webb, did I know that you could make a career out of performing. So when I graduated high school I decided to go to the University of San Diego and major in Theatre Arts. After 4 years of that, I graduated with a B.A. in Theatre Arts in 2006, and then moved to Los Angeles where I’ve been ever since, living the dream!

Does Haiti/your Haitian upbringing influence your work at all? How?

Sometimes my Haitian upbringing does influence my work, especially when it comes to my writing. Since I was an American being raised in Haiti by Haitian parents, I developed a unique outlook on life. This outlook has served me greatly when coming up with new ideas or developing stories, characters, and their objectives.

You are one of the first people I remember in the web series game. How did you get into it?

I got into the webseries game back in early 2008. After my first year out in L.A. I quickly realized that if you wait around for things to happen, you’ll be waiting a very long time. So my roommate and I decided to take our fate into our own hands. We weren’t getting many auditions, nor were we auditioning for the roles we wanted. So we decided to write, edit, and produce our own content and create the opportunities we weren’t getting. Our webseries became too much to handle financially, so for the moment it is on hiatus. But I am still passionately looking forward to the day when we can bring it back to its former glory!

What was your reaction when you got the call to appear as Conan’s interpreter?

When I got the call to be Conan’s interpreter, my first reaction was joy at the thought of getting a check. Lol! Everything happened so fast that that was the only thought I had time for. The timeline for the Conan gig was as follows: I got a call at about 10:30 AM from a local number and when I answered it was a guy named Ric and he told me he was calling from the Conan O’Brien show. He told me that he had heard that I was Haitian and could speak fluent Haitian Creole and wanted to know if those two points were true. When I confirmed them, he told me that there was a comedy bit that they were filming that morning that they wanted to bring me in on.

When I said I was available, he made the decision to book me right then and there. Typically something like that would go through my agent and I’d have to audition or send in a self-tape. So I was pleasantly surprised to book a gig off of one conversation. They asked me if I could be on set in 45 minutes. I made it to set in 45 minutes on the dot. Immediately upon arrival they took me to set and I met Conan. We did a quick rehearsal and I was then sent to my dressing room. And then one hour later we taped the live show. One. Hour. Later. So it had barely settled in by the time it was over. I thought that only my friends would see it, but the clip was posted on their YouTube and Facebook that same day and went viral. Which made it all the more sweeter.

What has been your proudest accomplishment in your career thus far?

Honestly, my YouTube webseries, “My Roommate The” is my proudest accomplishment to date, because it was 100% my creation and is near and dear to my heart. But my recent appearances on the Conan O’Brien show are a close second. Mainly because they are the most validating moments of my career thus far. Not only did I get to do the comedy bit in my native tongue, but I was also called up by my actual name. Not a fictional side character, but me, Lu Louis. And my friends and family got to see me on TV as myself.. A lot of people who didn’t know or believe what I was doing out here in L.A. finally got to see me do my thing on national TV. Needless to say I got A LOT of calls and messages from people. And the support from the community was very satisfying.

Any new moves or projects from you we should be looking forward to?

Currently I’m working with 2 Social Media Influencers to create content for Instagram that can also be shared to YouTube and Facebook. I love the challenge of telling a connected story in 60 seconds. Having that kind of parameter forces me to push my creativity to the max to work within those confines. My IG is: @LuontheLoo. And I’m still constantly writing new feature scripts and pilots, so hopefully I’ll get a TV show produced soon and then ultimately a feature film.