Funny Guy
Malik Elassal strikes comedy gold with the FX show Adults
Growing up in northeast Calgary, Malik Elassal didn’t know that he could do comedy as a job. “I was disruptive as a kid,” admits the 29-year-old stand-up comedian/actor. “Comedy always felt like something I wanted to do, but I didn’t know if it could be a career and neither did my parents.”
He’s since figured it out, making appearances at the renowned Just for Laughs festival and landing the role of Samir on the popular new FX series, Adults. Even with his recent success, he remains a regular, down-to-earth guy. As he ambles around his New York apartment, last-minute packing for a trip home to Calgary during this interview, he is equal parts witty, authentic and charming.
Photos left and middle by Shela Shiloni, right by Emily Soto
STORYTELLING FOR UNDERSTANDING
Elassal started out performing small standup shows around Alberta, which could be an unsympathetic training ground, particularly for his brand of humour. “I was talking a lot about being Muslim — you can imagine trying to make that work for a small-town Alberta crowd, but you gotta figure out how to do that,” he recalls. “It made it so I knew how to get people to understand me a little bit more.”
And with that understanding has come laughs — lots of them. Audiences are resonating with Elassal’s comedy, which he describes as “very personal.” Though he’s playing on larger stages now, his comedy continues to be an extension of what he’s always tried to do. “It’s about trying to tell stories about my life that I want to share, and I’m just learning how to tell them better.”
Though he moved to New York to pursue acting, stand-up remains what Elassal always goes back to. “Stand-up feels like the thing I’m always doing, quietly in the background, while I’m trying to do other things. It’s always a tab that’s open, you know? Nothing compares to being with the crowd. [Adults] is a really different thing where I had to wait six months to get a laugh.”
Still, the rush of performing remains the same for Elassal, whether on stage or on a TV set. “That feeling on set is the same thing that I would feel before going up at Broken City,” he affirms.
Fellow Calgary comedian Austin Lonneberg is excited to see Elassal’s success grow, whether it’s acting or stand-up comedy. “He was an actor first, so it’s cool to see him use his comedy to get towards that,” he says. “Because he’s so talented, I feel like it’s up to him — if he wants to focus on continuing to act, the sky’s the limit in that direction. But as someone who knows him as a comic and is a fan of his comedy, it’d be amazing to see him continue to focus on that, and become a Hasan Minhaj-level, Ramy Youssef-level comedian.”
CALGARY AS TRAINING GROUND
Learning the comedy ropes in Calgary served Elassal well. He sees it as a great place for emerging comedians to do the same. “There were a lot of great shows when I was starting out; they were so fun getting to learn and figure out what I would say. The comedy community was really welcoming. And Calgary is great for having a lot of different kinds of audiences. That’s the best part of the city. I want to see more of that. I want to see shows in the northeast — not just downtown. But Calgary has all the pieces to build comedic success. You don’t have to go anywhere else.”
In fact, Elassal performs at local haunts whenever he’s in town. Though he comes here to get grounded and unplug, he always finds himself back on one of his former stages, like the Ratboy Comedy Show at Vern’s, which he sold out on a Wednesday night this past June. “If I’m home in Calgary, I’m like, ‘Well, I have to do it.’ Big shoutout to Ratboy! I love the city so much.”
And the city’s comedy audiences love him. As Zac Wiggins, a local comedian and one of the hosts of Ratboy says, “Every time I see him, it seems like he’s getting better, which is nuts ’cause he’s always been very, very good.”
This article was originally published in the 2025 edition of Create Calgary, an annual magazine launched by Calgary Arts Development to celebrate the work of artists who call Mohkinsstsis/Calgary home.
You can pick up a free copy at public libraries, community recreation centres and other places where you find your favourite magazines. You can also read the digital version online here.
