Liam Sullivan: The Man Behind "Shoes"

There are few videos as hot on YouTube and Myspace as "Shoes," featuring the foul mouthed fashionista Kelly expressing her love for shoes. The person behind the shoe fetish is Liam Sullivan, a comedic actor who has appeared in commercials, television shows, and movies. He is better known for his stage act, the Liam Show, which runs regularly at the ACME Comedy Theater in Los Angeles. I spoke with Liam by email about the success of "Shoes," the method behind his madness, and what it was like to go on tour with Margaret Cho.

Nicholas Katers: Thank you for agreeing to do this interview. You have been getting a lot of attention on You Tube and in the media for your short films, particularly "Shoes." Do you worry that something like "Shoes" will keep you from doing other short films that gain attention, because people will compare every other short film to the first one they saw? Or are you happy that it allows people a foot in the door so that they are exposed to your other work?

Liam Sullivan: I'm happy for the success of "Shoes", and it is fueling more attention to my website with my other videos. "Muffins" and "Love Letters" get a lot of responses. I have no real plan other than to make people laugh a lot, and if I can make a living selling Kelly CDs, my DVD and T-shirts, I'll keep making videos. I'll probably keep making videos regardless, with new characters and new material.

NK: How long does it take to produce on of your short films? What is the process of creating one of these shorts and how does it compare to your other comedic work?

LS: It depends on how many people i want to be in the video. "Text Message Breakup" took like six months, because I wanted a ton of people in it and everyone's doing it for free and I have to schedule shoots way in advance. If it's just me, like "Muffins" was, it takes a couple days.

NK: How do you think hitting it big on the Internet influences your craft?

LS: It definitely gives me more confidence to do more stuff.

NK: Have you seen more people attending your stage shows or more job offers coming your way?

LS: Yes.

NK: Is the Internet success of pieces like "Shoes" the chicken or the egg of commercial success?

LS: I just try to keep being creative and funny and a little business smart if i can and let commercial success come along if it does.

NK: On your web site, you say that you have been called a "white Dave Chappelle." I think that is partially true though I think you would more accurately be described as a one man Kids in the Hall, with equal love for the ridiculous, the sophisticated, and cross dressing. Is this a fair assessment? What are your influences in comedy?

LS: Yeah, we'll probably change it to your description. my influences in comedy are definitely Saturday Night Live, Eddie Murphy, Dana Carvey, Kids in the Hall, Will Ferrell, Mike Myers, Rowan Atkinson, Sasha Baron Cohen, the list goes on forever. I watch a lot of TV.

NK: Judging by your resume, you have done quite a bit of work in theater, television, and film to go along with your comedy work. How have these different venues helped you craft your stage act and short films? If you had to choose between theater, television, and film to replace your comedy work, which one would you choose and why?

LS: Everything helps, but learning how to write has been the biggest help. I always tried to come up with unique characters and fit them into roles in plays and TV and stuff. Now I can write something for a character, and that's a lot more rewarding. If I couldn't do that, I wouldn't really know what to do with myself.

NK: A lot of comedians and comedic actors talk about an editorial process, whereby they cut material from their repertoire based on certain filters. Do you have a certain editorial process for your stage show and short films? Or do you work ideas out on stage and see how it works, regardless of how timely the material may be?

LS: My live material is pretty autobiographical, just stories about myself, so I just talk and if people laugh, great, but it's more about telling a story. I like to keep it kind of loose, not too rehearsed. I try to go with what's going on that night, cutting or adding on the fly.

NK: I saw in one of your press clippings on your web site that you had a slot on Margaret Cho's comedy tour this past summer. What was that experience like? How did the crowds respond to seeing your entire repertoire instead of the few minutes they happened to catch on You Tube or MySpace? What did you take out of that experience?

LS: I played Kelly, I did a few songs, and it was amazing. I loved that people got her and were excited to see her live. I loved taking pictures with people and hearing their stories about the first time they saw "Shoes" with their friends or whatever and how much they enjoyed it. This whole year has been crazy. I just started shooting a TV show for VH1 called "I Hate My 30s" that my sketch group, A.S.S., is producing. That came about before any of this internet attention happened. It was the result of our directors, Brice Beckham and David Fickas, working like crazy to get a deal. It should start airing in March. You can read more about me if you want at www.liamshow.com and that has links to my Myspace, Kelly's Myspace, Kelly on iTunes, and all my videos.

NK: Thank you again for agreeing to do this, Liam. Best of luck to you in the future.