Atsuko Okatsuka
BornTaipei, Taiwan
Medium
Stand-up
podcasts
Television
film
Years active2008–present
SpouseRyan Harper Gray
Websitehttps://atsukocomedy.com/

Atsuko Okatsuka /ˈɑːtsk ˈkɑːtskə/ is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer based in Los Angeles, California.[1][2] She was named one of Variety's "Top 10 Comics to Watch" in 2022 and was the second Asian American woman to have a standup special on HBO.[3][4] She started the viral #Dropchallenge with her grandmother.[5]

Early life and family

Atsuko was born in Taiwan to Japanese and Taiwanese parents,[6] and spent her childhood in Japan. At age eight, she moved to the United States with her mother and grandmother and lived undocumented for seven years.[7]

Career

In 2020, Atsuko released her debut album with Comedy Dynamics, But I Control Me.[8] She hosted and executive produced Let's Go Atsuko, for the now defunct Quibi.[9] Paste said that her comedy style "has a childlike quality to it, with stage persona informed by a complex and challenging upbringing."[10]

Okatsuka notably performed a stand-up set during an earthquake at The Ice House comedy club in Pasadena, California, in 2019 which went viral. She was commended for keeping the audience calm and serving quick-witted jokes while the earthquake went on.[11]

She made her late-night debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden on November 1, 2021 which was praised by Vulture which said it "won late night" the week that it aired.[12]

In September 2022, Atsuko alongside Joel Kim Booster and EDM DJ Freya Fox, hosted a comedy special at Life is Beautiful 2022. [13] [14] [15]

Atsuko taught Chelsea Handler and Guillermo Rodriguez how to do her Drop Challenge as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2022.[16] She made Stephen Colbert laugh with silly Bible puns when she was on The Late Show in January of 2023. She talks about how she discovered standup comedy through a Margaret Cho DVD, given to her by a friend during a boring sermon at church.[17]

On December 10, 2022 Atsuko's debut stand-up special The Intruder premiered on HBO and HBO Max, which The New York Times named Best Debut of 2022,[18] and Vulture listed as one of the Best Comedy Specials of 2022.[19] The show won best comedy special at the Gracie Awards and Variety listed her in their 2023 Comedy Impact Report.[20][21]

Atsuko's life story of being kidnapped by her Grandmother to come to the U.S. was told on This American Life in September of 2023 in an episode titled The One Place I Can't Go.[22] She was featured in Vanity Fair November 2023 issue photographed by Mark Seliger playing the quarterback of a made-up football team while wearing couture.[23] She was profiled in PBS Newshour where she called the interviewer Amna Nawaz a 'fellow weirdo' and said that performing for people means finding community.[24] She was on the cover of New York Times Magazine with Margaret Cho where Margaret crowned Atsuko as her heir to comedy.[25]

Filmography

As writer

Film

Albums

  • 2020 – But I Control Me[26]

Specials

  • 2022 – The Intruder - filmed at the Elsewhere Stage in Brooklyn, NY[27]

Podcasts

References

  1. "Quibi Sets "Woke" Japanese Game Show 'Let's Go Atsuko!' Hosted By Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka". deadline.com. March 2, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  2. "That Time Atsuko Okatsuka Did Stand-Up Through a Literal Earthquake". sfweekly.com. January 8, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  3. "Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka on her journey to the stage and connecting with audiences". pbs.org. August 18, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  4. "Variety Names 10 Comics to Watch for 2022". variety.com. June 3, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  5. "Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka talks about going viral, her beloved grandma ahead of Hawaii show". staradvertiser.com. June 12, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  6. "First Avenue: Atsuko Okatsuka". Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  7. "Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka on Challenges of Doing Comedy in the Trump Era". variety.com. March 3, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  8. "Episode #292: Atsuko Okatsuka". thecomicscomic.com. March 2, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  9. "Quibi slates docuseries from 'Undefeated' directors, game show with Atsuko Okatsuka". realscreen.com. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  10. "Atsuko Okatsuka on Joy, Trauma and Sticking Up for the Underdogs". Paste. February 7, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  11. "Watch This Comedian Do Stand-Up Through the July 5 Earthquake". lamag.com. July 16, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  12. "Atsuko Okatsuka's Rejection of Adulthood Won Late Night This Week". vulture.com. November 5, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  13. Messina, Lara; Orellana, Tian; Orellana, Lara Messina y Tian (December 28, 2022). "Atsuko Okatsuka, la comediante del momento". Reporte Asia (in Spanish). Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  14. Blistein, Jon (July 12, 2022). "Joel Kim Booster, 'Hacks' Star Hannah Einbinder Top Life Is Beautiful Comedy Lineup". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  15. ZABAT, GABRIELLE (August 26, 2022). "Life is Beautiful releases set times for upcoming festival". KSNV. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  16. "The Biggest and Quirkiest Personalities in Late Night This Week". vulture.com. July 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  17. "How Beyoncé's "Partition" Inspired Atsuko Okatsuka's Viral Drop Challenge". cbs.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  18. Zinoman, Jason (December 5, 2022). "Best Comedy of 2022". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  19. "The Best Comedy Specials of 2022". vulture.com. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  20. "48th Annual Gracie Awards List of Winners" (PDF). allwomeninmedia.org. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  21. "Natasha Lyonne, Hasan Minhaj, Jean Smart Among Honorees in Variety's 2023 Comedy Impact Report". variety.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  22. "The One Place I Can't Go". thisamericanlife.org. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  23. "Atsuko All the Way: The Rise of a Comedian Like Nobody Else". vanityfair.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  24. "Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka on her journey to the stage and connecting with audiences". pbs.org. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  25. "When a Margaret Cho DVD Was Like Precious Contraband to Atsuko Okatsuka". nytimes.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  26. "Atsuko Okatsuka: but I control me". comedydynamics.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  27. "The Intruder (2022)". hbo.com. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  28. Don't Ask Tig
  29. Busy Phillips Is Doing Her Best
  30. Everything is Alive
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