Janelle James Does Not Go to Trader Joe’s Anymore — She’s Famous

Janelle James has been performing comedy on stage for 15 years, but she’s not sure how much of her Abbott Elementary audience realizes that.

It’s one of the reasons why the stand-up and actress took her time in crafting her first hour-long special. How Romantic, a sprawling set that tackles politics, fame, and domestic violence, debuted on Netflix, Nov. 11. “I’m trying to introduce myself as a comedian to a whole new audience,” says James. “I’m trying to give a little bit about myself because I know people are curious about me because I’m pretty private.”

Speaking during a recent episode of The Hollywood Reporter podcast I’m Having an Episode (listen to the complete interview on episode on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple), James discussed the long road to her special, what her Abbott Elementary character has in common with Steve Urkel and two reasons why you won’t be catching her at Trader Joe’s.

This is your first hour, and you chose to start with political material before moving onto many other topics. Was that strategic? How much do you think about your approach to discussing politics on stage?

Even in the beginning of my comedy career, I had to make a decision early on about what type of comedy I’d be doing. And when I started, that was the all the rage. Everyone was doing political comedy. I to make the decision of, “No, I won’t focus on that.” But, just like I did in the special, I’m gonna at least touch on it. Because I’m living in the world. But I never wanted to be stuck doing that because then people want you to do that forever. And that’s for everything. I never want to be put in a box for any reason because. I have a wide array of interests and opinions, you know. So, yeah, it is strategic how I approach it in this special. A lot of people haven’t seen me do stand-up before. I want to give them a sense of my sensibilities and who I am prime them for what type of performance I do. I’m pretty laid back.

You do appear very comfortable on stage. Was it always like that?

I always say my confidence is earned. I don’t have false confidence. I’ve been doing this for 15 years. And so this special where, I’m trying to do a lot. I’m trying to introduce myself as a comedian to a whole new audience. I’m trying to show people the breath of topics that I’m into. I’m trying to give a little bit about myself because I know people are curious about me because I’m pretty private. I’m also trying to tackle something that I am concerned about and has affected me, which is domestic violence. That’s what I end on. So I’m going a lot of places and the skill, after doing it for 15 years, is to be able to do that smoothly.

At one point you were based out of Champaign, Illinois, and you were going out into rural areas to perform. You performed in sundown towns. I’m assuming you saw some real some real interesting crowds. In hindsight, what’s the most dangerous situation you put yourself in?

All of them. (Laughs) Frequently, I was the only Black person for miles. I had people who’d come to those shows tell me stories about how the first Black person they saw was when they were 13 when they went to Chicago or something like that. They remember it like an event. Those are the places that I was performing. These places aren’t just like that racially, it was also very man-focused. Women would come to comedy shows as a bachelorette party or as a date with a man. But the groups were men who presumed they’d see other men perform. And then I would be here. I’m always a surprise, so that whole time was dangerous. But I was so into it and so obsessed, I think [training] that muscle with bombing, silence, being nervous, being dangerous, and grinding is what makes me look so comfortable now.

Did you always want to be a performer? I read that you lined up for MTV’s Wanna Be a VJ casting call when you were in high school.

I never wanted to be a performer. I did that with my friend. I just want experiences. Some people are very locked into what they do, you know? Like, “I’ve worked at this job for 30 years!” I always knew that wasn’t the path for me where, to lock into a gig or profession and that’s all I do. I am adaptable. Everything I do, I do it well, and it leads me to the next thing. I’ll do [Abbott Elementary] and who knows what I’ll do next. My joke on red carpets is that I’ll probably start a band. And I might not be joking. What would it be like to be a touring musician? I don’t know. I’m gonna find out. I think that upsets people who are fearful of change.

Abbott Elementary is in its sixth season, so it’s fair to assume the show doesn’t have that many years left. How much do you think about the realities of of what awaits you on the other side?

I think about being known as this character maybe for my whole life, which can be good and bad. The good is that I’ve done such a great job with this fictional character that people will never forget her. But there have been many sitcom characters, where you would say the actor’s name. Like, hey, that’s Jim Parsons. I am Ava, like an Urkel or a Screech.

Come on. We are not invoking Screech in this comparison.

I used to open for him.

Rest in peace.

Yes. But this is not in a bad way. It’s an iconic character. This character is in the lexicon forever. I think about that, but I don’t stress about it. Part of what I’m doing right now is showing people that Janelle also exists and that character comes from me. Hopefully that allows some separation. But I’m also in a different situation than most actors in that I have other skills. I don’t really stress about anything. One of the pluses of having started this later on in life is that I’m not a fucking idiot. I’ve spent my money wisely. I’ve already started planning for retirement. I take care of my mom. Starting later saved me from drinking alcohol and partying and sleeping with other comedians.

You say people think of you as Ava, but plenty of actors have more than one iconic character. Tracee Ellis Ross did it on Girlfriends and Black-ish. Julia Louis-Dreyfus had Seinfeld and Veep.

But people don’t go up to Julia Louis-Dreyfus and say “Elaine!” They say, “I love your work.” People come up to me as if I am Ava. That’s the difference. I know it sounds nuts.

Why do you think that is? Is it because of the mockumentary format?

I think so. One very creepy guy told me long ago in a Trader Joe’s: “When you look in the camera, it’s like you’re looking at me.” Sir, I am not. Could you please back up off me? The reason I bring up Urkel is because Jaleel White has talked about this, people being like, “You’re Urkel.” Unfortunately, his character is not as cool as mine.