Denis Leary Harbors Hope For Next Generation Of Comedians: “You Think You’ve Seen Everything & Then You See Someone Else Coming Who Makes You Laugh Your Ass Off”

deadline.com:

In the early 1990s, Denis Leary hit the comedy circuit with a bang with his No Cure for Cancer routine, which touched on themes around smoking, drug use and political correctness.

Leary might be tempted to jump aboard a bandwagon that finds today’s comedians to be less brave and risky than when he first came up, but he eschews that temptation. “Comedy is not everybody’s cup of tea but god damn you think you’ve seen everything and then you see someone else coming who makes you laugh your ass off,” he told Deadline. “Generationally, there are always [new] people.” Leary points to the way in which “edgy” comedy greats one generation below him like Bill Burr and Dave Chappelle smashed barriers, but he is also enthused by younger comedians such as Daily Show performer Ronny Chieng. “He came over to America at a young age and cut his bones on The Daily Show and it’s just great, it’s very edgy stuff,” he said of Chieng.

Stand-up remains Leary’s favorite medium and he still performs at least twice a year for charity in Boston, always trying to bring “fresh young comedians” with him.

He is on the fence over whether today’s new comics have it easier than when the 67-year-old Rescue Me star was starting out in the early 1990s. “I’m an old guy so no one wants to hear this but I think in some ways they have a harder job and in some ways they have an easier job of being exposed because they came through social media to sell themselves,” he said. “But [social media] doesn’t replace being on the boards, in theaters, or joining clubs to get better.