Comedian and actor Atsuko Okatsuka has a knack for turning chaos into comedy. In a playful interview, she opens up about her unexpected favorite movie, the night a 7.1 magnitude earthquake interrupted her stand-up set, and the fan who adopted her name and hairstyle. She also explains why she never feels at home, even in her own house, and shares the surprising guest list for her fantasy dinner party.
When asked which film she returns to most, Okatsuka conceded that her answer would not earn her film school professors’ approval. “This would not be an answer that my film school would respect, or expect: White Chicks by the Wayans brothers. It’s about two brothers who are pretending to be rich white girls from the Hamptons. I love when something’s super stupid and silly, and there’s a scene where this group of [white] girls is in the car singing, and the two brothers have to pretend to know Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’ve been there!’ I think I was 16 when I watched it for the first time, and I finally knew enough English and also slang, and it also had physical humour, which I grew up watching a lot in Japan. So it was the perfect blend of ‘Oh, I’m an Asian American now’.”
Her most memorable odd job came from walking dogs in Los Angeles. She recalled a bad Yelp review that claimed she only walked Charlie the terrier mix for 10 minutes instead of the full 30. She admitted she did cut the walk short, but explained that the rainy weather made the dog reluctant and shivering, so she brought it back early. The owner, it turned out, had a friend spying on her and timing her from the moment the dog left the house to its return. “I guess it’s not a weird job, but it’s a memorable one,” she said.
Okatsuka also credits her friend Chelsea Handler with a valuable lesson about jealousy. “Just keep in mind that there is room for everyone. You may go, ‘I wanted first place, like that person’. But you have a role in life in whatever field you’re in. So never compare yourself to others – we’re all made so different.”
The most chaotic thing to happen to her on stage involved an earthquake. “I was doing a stand-up set in Pasadena [California] and a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit as I was walking on stage. You can see it on YouTube. I was freaked out because I have no skills to help in an earthquake. I went to art school! But I am quick on my feet, I’m funny, and I do care about people. I think having a mom with schizophrenia, and living in the US as an undocumented migrant for seven years – I was like, I can deal with anything. What’s a 7.1 earthquake? This is like the chillest heckler in my life.”
On arriving at a hotel, Okatsuka said she feels genuine relief. “Every time, I’m genuinely so stoked that I’m not in my house, in my mess. Thank goodness I’m away from my dishes, I’m away from my dirty underwear. I only have clean ones because that’s all I brought.”
She admitted, however, that she never truly feels at home anywhere. “Even in my own home, sometimes I feel like a stranger. Maybe it’s because I moved around a lot as a kid – I still don’t settle down easily. I’m always like, ‘Gotta be ready to leave at any point!’ Maybe it’s from being undocumented for so long? Or living in a garage for seven years. But I’m always like, we’re gonna get kicked out soon, somehow!”
Asked about a video that never fails to make her laugh, Okatsuka described a woman using a stick with a tiny hand and pointing index finger to point out all the messes her husband has made around the house, sometimes aggressively. “It makes me laugh so hard,” she said.
Her most memorable fan interaction involved a fan who wore a wig of Okatsuka’s signature bowl cut. “A couple of people have cut their hair to look like mine, which is a huge commitment. There was another fan who came to my show wearing a wig of my bowl cut. Her name was Atsuko too. She said, ‘People used to have a hard time pronouncing my name, and it was always an insecurity of mine – I even wanted to change my name at one point in my life. But because of you, people are able to say my name, and I feel less alone and more seen because of it.’ That was cool.”
Okatsuka also revealed a hidden talent: physical therapy, especially for older adults. “If my grandma’s knees are hurting or my mom’s knees are hurting, I know the right exercise to strengthen the muscles around there. I think it’s from my days teaching dance fitness. I got really into fitness in junior high, and studied it a lot on my own – and I was a cheerleader too. So I know how to rehabilitate if someone’s injured.”
When asked which reality TV show she would join, Okatsuka chose a love show, even though she is married. “Maybe me and my husband could do it. They’ve never had a married couple on Love Island, and they need antagonists, they need villains.” When it was suggested she seemed too wholesome for that role, she replied, “Well, thank you. I do tend to be positive. But there’s a surprising edge to me. I think people think I’m more wholesome than I am.”
For her fantasy dinner party, Okatsuka would invite Lucille Ball, Stitch from ‘Lilo and Stitch,’ Charlie Chaplin, Hachiko, the akita who loyally waited for his owner at a train station for years, Sia, and Paddington Bear. She explained that she wants to meet Hachiko because of his devotion, and that she chose Sia because they see each other occasionally through her friendship with Kathy Griffin, who is close to Sia, and she wanted to invite someone she doesn’t usually see. When the mix was called completely normal and natural, she responded, “I don’t know. I feel like fights will break out. Maybe put Mary, Jesus’s mother, in there too. I have questions.”
Atsuko Okatsuka’s The Big Bowl Tour includes stops in Brisbane on 16 August, Adelaide on 18 August, Perth on 19 August, Sydney on 21 August, and Melbourne on 22 and 23 August.