COMEDIANS Chris O'Neill and Paul Valenti appeared on the NBC show Bring The Funny in 2019 and couldn't even speak when the producers asked them questions. Chris and Paul, known as the comedy duo, The Chris and Paul Show , spoke exclusively to The U.S.
Sun about their time on the competition series as they gear up for comedy shows nationwide. The duo made it to the finals of Bring the Funny but did not take home the win. Bring the Funny had 40 undiscovered stand-up, variety, and sketch comedy acts perform for a chance to win $250,000, and perform at the international comedy festival, Just For Laughs, in Montreal, Canada .
The show was only on for one season. It was hosted by Amanda Seales and judged by Kenan Thompson , Jeff Foxworthy, and Chrissy Teigen . READ MORE ON COMEDY 'THIS IS CRAZY!' Paul shared that he got an email from a friend who knew someone who worked for Bring the Funny and he wanted to throw their names out there.
He said that they heard nothing for months until finally receiving a call, as the show asked them to send in their clips. They got the audition and flew out to Los Angeles . "So we auditioned for a lot of the producers and that's when we got our first glimpse of all the other people auditioning.
And we were like, 'Oh my God, that person's here and they're here. Oh my God, this is crazy,'" Chris shared. Most read in Reality "Paul and I have been performing so well together for so many years, we know each other so well, and we were so comfortable with one another on stage that we didn't let the nerves get to us.
We were like, 'This is so cool that we have this opportunity. Let's just like go have fun.'" 'SO OUT OF BREATH' Chris shared that they went into a room with a bunch of performers and did a few bits for them.
"We were so out of breath because I guess the nerves, the adrenaline. Like we did our bits and we can tell it was going pretty well, which was great, and I think we got more excited," Paul shared. "So as we're performing, we're like, 'Oh my God, this is going great.
' And once we were done they started asking us questions. "We were so out of breath and out of shape. It was like the worst time to like to do an interview.
" Paul mimicked himself panting as they both laughed. "Like, it was just like, 'Now that you guys just did a lot of aerobics..
.' because, in our show, Paul and I, one thing we get told a lot from people is like, 'Wow, I didn't know you guys can do those kind of moves.' And we're like, 'Well, that's a backhanded compliment.
Thank you so much,'" Chris joked. But, they started asking us questions and we're trying to, like, not, as we're hyperventilating, just about our background. And I think they found that hilarious because we were so desperate for oxygen.
"But, they started asking us questions and we're trying to, like, not, as we're hyperventilating, just about our background. And I think they found that hilarious because we were so desperate for oxygen. "We walked out of the room and one of the producers came up and made sure we had everything signed, and then she kind of gave us a little bit of an idea that they wanted us for the show.
And that's kind of how that all started." Paul said it didn't sink in right away because everything happened so fast. "We were slowly blacking out also from the lack of oxygen," Chris laughed.
"It finally sunk in about half an hour later that we were on the show and it was pretty neat," Paul said. "It was such a great experience and from then on Chris and I just kind of got caught up in that Bring the Funny craziness and it was such a great experience." ABOUT CHRIS AND PAUL Chris and Paul met in high school and wanted to start an improv group.
They had a show at the end of the year and 700 people attended. "We thought maybe 20 people would show up," Chris said. Although the rest of the group fizzled out, Chris and Paul stuck by each other and continued to write skits.
They then moved to New York City and performed in comedy clubs there. "We've always had that excitement when it comes to this stuff, and that's the one thing that's been really cool is we've never lost that," Paul said. "So, when we get to do new things, I mean, and I think that comes across on our show like we are two big kids having fun on stage.
" WHAT NOW? Despite not winning Bring the Funny, Chris and Paul didn't give up. Their online presence was boosted greatly, and they had booked a tour, which had to be canceled, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But they continue to do comedy shows.
They had a show at the Asylum NYC on July 26 and have an upcoming show on August 2 at the Professional Youth Theatre of Michigan in Detroit. Read More on The US Sun Chris and Paul are also teaching at comedy camps and have been doing workshops. They are also starting a children's comedy show that will be a 30-minute interactive experience for all.
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