When Alec Flynn was in college, the comedian began using standup as a form of medicine to help with depression. “I needed some sort of creative outlet outside of getting blacked out every weekend and hanging out with the same five people that I’ve known since I was a kid in Boston,” reveals Flynn, who is set to host this year’s Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood event on Aug. 7.
After honing his comic chops in front of audiences in New Hampshire, Flynn went on to travel America doing stand-up shows and hosting “Big Al’s Grill ASMR,” where he interviews his closest friends and colleagues online. “Every time I would be on a podcast, I just felt like I had felt pressured to be funny. I just didn’t like it. I would go, ‘What do I like doing the most? I like grilling outside with my friends and having beers.’ Now comedians want to do the podcast because they want to sit outside and have me cook barbecue for them.”
Flynn says that the most rewarding thing about performing comedy live is the audience experience after the show, and learning about the people who engage with his videos. “In San Diego, there was a trans man who came up to me and said, ‘Yo, dude, you’re big bro!’ and I was like, ‘Yo, you’re little bro, exactly.’ Meeting people that are my age or younger, they come up and they say that the videos make them feel like they’re not going insane.”
As the host of Power of Young Hollywood’s event, Flynn has high hopes for the next generation of storytellers across multiple media. “I hope that we just start making more stuff in L.A. I hope that we see more normalcy and see more people out getting beers and stuff at bars. It’s about human connection and hoping for authenticity.”