Mathieu Dufour is a born storyteller, an outstanding improviser, a talkative comedian who never stops turning his dreams into reality. Graduated from the National School of Humor in 2017, the young man saw his career take on an unusual momentum in March 2020. By creating the Show-rona virusa daily program of the type talk show broadcast live on Instagram, he has built up a large community of loyal admirers (40,000 new subscribers in one month), people who call him familiarly Math Duff and thanks to whom he received the Olivier de l’artiste COVID of the year in 2021.
On the wave offered to him by the pandemic, the comedian surfed spectacularly well. “It’s true,” he admits. I knew how to seize the opportunity, but it must also be said that I was ready for it. I mastered the codes specific to social networks, it was natural for me as an environment and I really had a lot of fun doing it. That’s what people perceived, I think, the great pleasure I had in being there every evening at 9:00 p.m. I realize today how precious it is, a unique moment, an experience that I will never experience again. ” Thanks to Show-rona virusthe comedian has developed friendships – with Véronique Cloutier, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Charlotte Cardin, Loonie, Chloée Deblois… – which have already had a significant impact on his career.
Alone on stage
Standing on stage, a microphone in hand, Mathieu Dufour considers that this represents around 5% of his professional activity. “My first little tour, remembers the one who now has more than 203,000 subscribers on Instagram, I did it because people were asking for it on social networks. It was in 2019, there were six dates, in small venues. Within an hour, everything was sold. Since then, the comedian has performed at Club Soda, at the Capitole, at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts (on June 25), and soon it will be at the Bell Center to welcome his unusual energy.
“When I saw how well Wilfrid-Pelletier’s 3,000 tickets had sold,” explains Dufour, “I started talking about doing the Bell Centre. It was a inside joke. Then, one day, it became a reality. Without my fans, I could never do this kind of madness. I have the feeling that we bother each other, that we create business together. Mathieu Dufour is therefore about to add his name to the short list of Quebec comedians who have performed solo at the Bell Centre. He will notably join Jean-Marc Parent, Louis-Josée Houde, Philippe Bond and Jay Du Temple.
Going to the Bell Center at 27, even if some episodes of Show-rona virus reached peaks of 12,000 viewers, that must have some butterflies in your stomach, right? “I don’t see it at all as an endangerment,” says the comedian. I tell myself that I’m going to spend an hour and a half with 12,000 friends, people who like what I do and who have chosen to be there. It’s a real privilege. I would be a lot more stressed doing a show in front of 200 people who don’t know me. »
About the content of the evening, Mathieu Dufour remains stingy with details. “We can plan the staging, he explains, the lighting, the projections, but what I’m going to say, the subjects I’m going to tackle, I’m going to decide that the same day, because I want it to be connected to my current state of mind. All I can tell you is that there will be references to the Bell Center itself. I saw many concerts there and I fully intend to play with these codes. My arrival, it will be that of a rockstar. I’m going to take myself at least for Ariana Grande. It is also quite possible that I will be accompanied by dancers. So that people, some of whom come from Saguenay, Baie-Comeau and the Magdalen Islands, have a great evening, I intend to go all out. »
The ransom of success
Because he was successful through social networks, gossips continue to qualify Mathieu Dufour as an influencer: “Someone who doesn’t do things like everyone else, that sure bothers. Fortunately, I did not choose this profession to obtain the approval of the milieu. I do it for the public. Rest that it is challenging to do things his way. For a while, I felt misunderstood, dismissed, judged. If I got through it, it’s because I always knew it was going to work out, that I was going to do this job one day. »
From the School of Humor, the young man understood that he was not going to write a show and present it as is across the province for months. “I find myself funnier when I tell an anecdote in real life than when I deliver a frozen text,” he explains. I can’t do the same thing over again, I hate feeling stuck in a frame, I constantly have new ideas and I need each project to be different. »
When I saw how well Wilfrid-Pelletier’s 3,000 tickets had sold, I started talking about doing the Bell Centre. It was an “Inside joke”. Then, one day, it became a reality. Without my fans, I could never do this kind of madness.
This freedom of tone, this spontaneity, this iconoclastic character, all this is reminiscent of the approaches of certain comedians who preceded Mathieu Dufour, such as Jean-Marc Parent. “My parents were really fans of him, specifies the young comedian. I had the chance to meet him a few times over the past few years and it’s amazing how we connect. We take the words out of each other’s mouths, we understand each other immediately, we have the same working methods. Unconsciously, he probably gave me permission to do humor in my own way. »
Bold and with varied talents, Mathieu Dufour naturally moves from the Web to the stage and from television to radio. This summer, for a second year, he is hosting Noon Duff, his own show, on WKND, at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday. “They gave me carte blanche, explains the comedian who gave us an appointment in the Montreal offices of the station, in the Ville-Marie district. Such freedom is an opportunity and a sign of confidence, especially since the show, which I co-host with Pascale Caron-Vézina, is now broadcast throughout Quebec. »
Diversity at Zoofest
Personal life
While his personal life blithely serves him as raw material, Mathieu Dufour discusses his homosexuality relatively little. “I’m not making a secret of it,” he says. It’s part of my personality to be an open book, I’m definitely not going to start hiding my sexual orientation, but I still consider it doesn’t define me. »
The comedian has participated in several podcasts which was the subject. He never stopped talking about it. He never said “she” instead of “he”: “However, I don’t feel the need to put that forward. My way of advancing the LGBTQIA2S+ cause is to be myself and not make a case of it. I’m a gay man who achieves success, who breaks down doors and achieves his dreams. All I can hope for is that it opens up possibilities for young queer people. »
Dufour admits that the theme of life as a couple, so dear to other comedians, inspires him very little: “It must be said that I have never been in a relationship before very recently, so that could change in the future. I will eventually have anecdotes that will be related to my boyfriend and I will especially not hesitate to tell them. »
At the time of leaving, he affirms, a bit solemn: “My mission on Earth, my guideline, is to put a smile in the face of as many people as possible. To achieve this, I am ready to take on several challenges. Breaking into the United States or Europe doesn’t seem impossible to me. »