My mom is from Ghana, and my dad is from the States, so even in my family when I was growing up, my mom said I was the American one, and my dad said I was the weird African one.

Performing in Detroit or performing in Chicago, you're on your own turf, but when you tour a show, the audiences change. You're in a completely different space; sensibilities change. I think I learned a lot from doing that - how written material works in different places, learning to have confidence, learning the idea of how to be adaptable.

At Second City and improvising at iO, you're creating a character in an instant. All of a sudden, you're creating this history and this past for your character, and you're discovering it while you're doing it, and that's part of the fun of it.

On 'Veep,' people are connecting with each other, even if they're making backhanded comments about somebody behind someone else's back.

I've used my sense of humor as a coping tool. It's gotten me through a lot of challenging times.

I started when Chris Rock did 'Bigger & Blacker.' I used to watch that before I went onstage as inspiration to get hype, but I noticed I started taking on his cadence and talking like him. I was also doing the New York-style comedy thing, which was angry and annoyed. I was creating a persona instead of trying to embrace my own.

Indonesian people don't get satire; that's the thing. There's no thought in our humor.

My philosophy is, it's always very rewarding when you can make an audience laugh. I don't mind making fun of myself. I like self-deprecating comedy. But I'd like you to laugh with me occasionally, too.