Joe Pasquale, 49, is a comic famed for one-liners delivered in his trademark squeaky voice. He started his career as a holiday camp entertainer before getting his big break in 1987 when he came second in the New Faces variety competition.
In recent years, he has added acting to his CV, appearing in The Nerd; Tom, Dick And Harry; and The Producers, as well as in pantomime. In 2004, he emerged victorious from the jungle on ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here where he was the first celebrity to earn full stars in a bushtucker trial.
Pasquale brings new stand-up show Pull My Finger to Worthing Pavilion Theatre tomorrow (Sunday, August 14) and the Brighton Comedy Festival at the Corn Exchange, Church Street, in October.
Which film star/musician/artist/ writer do you admire?
Brian Cox, as he made the successful transition from being a popstar in the 1990s (he was keyboard player in D:Ream) to being the face of astrophysics for the BBC. In a business that likes to pigeonhole people, he is an amazing man, an absolute genius.
Which TV programme couldn’t you live without?
No particular programme, more a type of programme. I’m currently studying for a BSc in geoscience with the Open University and am in my second year, so I find the Discovery Channel is on all the time in my house.
Do you remember the first record you bought – what was it, and where did you buy it?
The first record I bought was My Ding-A-Ling by Chuck Berry, from a record shop in Grays, Essex.
Tell us about any guilty pleasures lurking in your CD or film collections…
The best of Adam And The Ants.
I was a huge fan of that era of music. I think I’m a closet New Romantic. He was the first to really make an impact with his music through a visual medium.
Favourite film?
My favourite film is The Lost Boys. I’m a huge fan of the vampire genre in general.
A couple of years ago I did Celebrity Mastermind on the subject of vampires in cinema. I got 19 out of 19 on my specialist subject but was complete pants on general knowledge.
Favourite book?
Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers.
Basically because it does what it says on the tin. It enabled me to take on so many challenges in life, such as studying with the Open University, running the London Marathon, learning to fly and boxing.
Is there a song or individual piece of music you always come back to?
I always come back to the album Welcome To The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance, due to the fact music can influence your moods and I find most of the tracks on that album extremely motivational in helping me get on with what I want to achieve that day.
What are you reading at the moment?
I’m currently reading a book called Volcanoes, Tsunamis and Earthquakes as this is the next module I am studying for my BSc.
Tell us about a live music/theatre/ cinema experience that sticks in your memory...
I think it was the first time I saw The Producers in Drury Lane, starring Nathan Lane.
I thought it was just amazing – the funniest Mel Brooks’ script he’d ever written, with brilliant songs. Little did I know that two years after seeing it I would be starring in it as Leo Bloom. It’s one of the best things I have ever done.
If you get a spare 30 minutes how are you most likely to spend it?
You’ll always find me with my head in a book and a scientific calculator in my hand, working through some kind of equation for the course.
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