Roy Wood Jr. reveals how an arrest in college led him to comedy

Roy Wood Jr. he began doing stand-up comedy because he got arrested – not likely. He was 19 and a student at Florida A&M University when he stole several bank cards. He bought several hundred dollars price of garments.

“It was a lot of money. A lot of money. I was the brightest brother on campus with a 2.3 grade point average,” he said. Of course, he was arrested and suspended for the semester, but at the moment he didn’t know whether he would get probation. “I thought I was still going to go to jail,” he said. “So if I have to go to jail, let me try everything I’ve always wanted.”

He was 19 and facing prison time, so let’s try to cross a number of things off the bucket list. Comedy was on the bucket list.

“I went to an open mic in Birmingham,” he said. He grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, so it was a homegrown gig. “I liked it enough. So I started driving the Greyhound to Atlanta.” It’s over two hours. “Then I took MARTA to the Uptown Comedy Club in Buckhead. I might be booed. I’m taking MARTA to the Uptown Comedy Club in Buckhead. I’ll get booed.” But he was already addicted. They booed him and he kept coming back. Of course he succeeded – he began without fear and commenced with a burning desire to try. When the audience told him he had failed, he tried time and again.

It took a few years from the start of Wood’s profession to his success as a comic book, but because he began with the proper energy, he was well on his way to success. To hear Wood’s full story as a comedian, watch him on “Masters of the Game,” now streaming on theGrio.