Ten years after having tasted humor for the first time, after several months of running in and two painful postponements due to the pandemic, Guillaume Pineault is about to unveil his first solo show: Detour.
“Everything happens in its own time,” the 38-year-old Montrealer wisely admits. If I had started doing comedy at 16 or 17, without taking so many detours, I don’t think I would have been good. You have to have lived a little to have experiences to tell. »
Showing strong resemblances to its creator, the “character” developed by Guillaume Pineault, who does not hesitate to call himself silly or even thick, often shines with his naivety. “I give a lot in self-mockery”, explains the one whose very preliminary version of the show was called Candid. “I also have qualities, he insists. I have a naturally human, empathetic approach. I love chatting with people, listening to them, knowing what drives them. In fact, I like to do good to others. This is probably what connects my life before, in occupational therapy and osteopathy, to my current life as a comedian. »
Offstage
Radio, TV, video capsules and podcast episodes… out of the question for Guillaume Pineault to sit back while waiting for the theaters to reopen. Since 2020, the comedian has served “well done” to the guests of The week of the 4 Julies in Novovo.
“I have a lot of fun on radio and television, but I have to admit that it’s to let people know that I exist, it’s to encourage them to come and see me on stage that I do all this. Nothing makes me as happy as the stand-up. »
In his own podcast, Pivot with Pineault, which will soon have 60 episodes (!), it has been interviewing the most diverse personalities since last year, from Simon Boulerice to Patrick Groulx, via Judith Lussier and Laurence Nerbonne. “I get so many good comments, explains the comedian. There’s even a guy who approached me two weeks ago to tell me that he didn’t know my work as stand-up, but that he loved my podcast. It touches me because this project, which I didn’t think I would like that much before starting, is 100% mine. »
From hobbyist to professional
After many years of studies devoted to occupational therapy and osteopathy, Pineault took his first steps as a comedian in 2011, without having gone through any other school than that of the stage. “At that time, it was a hobby,” explains the native of Saint-Hyacinthe. It was fine in bars, I knew I was not bad, I had a base, but I had to do it full time to get really good. »
Today, Guillaume has stopped resenting the guidance counselor who warmly advised him not to take the path of humor. “I no longer have any hatred for him,” he says, laughing. I was just in a secondary school a short time ago to meet young people. There were two friendly guidance counselors on site. I couldn’t help but play a little joke on them: “It’s still funny that you, when you know all the trades, you chose this one.” »
In 2017, Pineault ceased his practice as an osteopath, signed a contract with the prestigious Groupe Phaneuf and undertook to test his jokes full-time, in particular by opening for Phil Roy: “Touring with Phil was an amazing school. It allowed me to get out of my small network of bars to discover the rooms, meet the different audiences across the province. I still struggle with impostor syndrome, but I feel like I’m about to accept that I belong in this world. »
Who am I ?
Of the show that he had time to run before the pandemic, and also a little during, Guillaume Pineault specifies that there is almost nothing left: “We are really elsewhere. We put several numbers aside to add new ones. My collaborators made me realize that before talking about my breakup, I had to introduce myself, explain who I am, where I come from. They allowed me to understand that some parts of my journey are not trivial, they allowed me to descend into my emotions. »
Thus, thanks to Yan Bilodeau, co-author, Simon Delisle, script-editor, and Mickaël Gouin, director, the comedian tackles his childhood and adolescence without skipping a beat, his relationship with his parents and his teachers, his adventures friendly and loving, without forgetting the very special relationship that unites him to his deaf brother. “I’m talking about everything that made me the human being, everything that got me here,” he sums up. It sounds really cheesy, I know, but this show is the story of a double quest, a pursuit of love at the same time as a pursuit of humor. »