Writer: Chris Ahrens | Photos: Michael Chevas | Stylist/Wardrobe: Candice Jatib | Grooming by Alfred Mercado
I can’t believe that I called a member of America’s funniest family by the wrong name. But there I am, guilty as charged, caught on tape, referring to Damien Wayans as Damien Williams. Although he politely dismissed the offense, I know better, since, like most of America, I had tuned into In Living Color every Friday night for years, watching whatever new outrage the Wayans family would throw up for grabs. Keenen, Damon, Kim, Marlon, and Shawn all went on to movie fame along with a then unknown white guy (we used to actually refer to him as the white guy) Jim Carrey, who launched as Fire Marshal Bill.
    Directing the legendary Wayans family in a comedy is equivalent to coaching Kobe, LeBron, and Amare in basketball. Now imagine you’re two decades younger than those men, and you begin to sense the scope of the challenge. Damien (not to be confused with Damon) knows all about that sort of challenge. In his recently released feature film Dance Flick, he has the privilege and the burden of instructing family members, who just happen to be some of the world’s funniest people, in getting laughs.
    As it turns out, directing a family by becoming “the man of the house” six years before he was old enough to drive a car may have given Damien the discipline, confidence, and drive for this cinematic venture. Regardless, the newest funny man in the family is here with a message. A funny message, sure, but with serious consequences, and one that shouldn’t be ignored by those who want to climb up the family tree and make a big and original mark.

Risen Magazine: Okay, I’m speaking with Damien Williams, not to be confused with Damon Williams.
Damien Wayans: [Emphatically] Damien Dante Wayans, Wayans.
RM: Oh yeah, I knew that. I heard there was actually a Wayans born without a sense of humor, and they took him to a mountaintop and left him there to die. Is that true?
DW: Yes, that is true. [Laughs] I tell people all the time that there are a lot of unfunny Wayans; you just don’t see them.
RM: It’s hard to imagine a Wayans & Wayans law firm.
DW: No, actually there are Wayans with normal jobs, but we’re blessed to have a family where a lot of us do the same thing. Yeah, there are definitely Wayans who aren’t born with humor, so to speak.

RM: Do you think that a “funny gene” will ever be discovered?
DW: It’s very tough to get everyone in one family doing the same thing and being successful at it. You can have improv classes and work on your art and whatnot, but to have this many? I mean, that’s a God gift. That’s like who could teach Michael Jordan to be Michael Jordan? Who could teach LeBron to come out of the womb looking 14 years old? [Laughter]
RM: You say it’s a God gift—do you mean that literally?
DW: I do. For my grandmother to have ten kids, where half of them go on to do amazing things and for the offspring of the second generation . . . I definitely think there’s a higher power lookin’ over that.

RM: You were in Malibu’s Most Wanted where this guy, Jamie Kennedy, tries to act like he’s from the ’hood. How do you react to the gangsta poser type?
DW: I laugh, but you take that same kid and put ’em in Compton, he might not make it out safely. [Laughter]

RM: Did you feel a pressure to be funny?
DW: I never took on that pressure; all I could do [is] what I do. It’s the same as this movie [Dance Flick]. Everybody’s like, Wow, Keenen’s directed this, this, this, and this, you know. In order for you to direct this, you have to be as funny. Keenen is a gift that God has put here, and he blessed us all with knowledge. And I can just take from him and do what I do, and hopefully the world appreciates me as much as they appreciate him.

RM: Did you have any doubts that Dance Flick was going to work?
DW: Never doubt. You never know what a movie’s going to do. What I do know is that the Wayans are funny. When you put five Wayans minds to a script, you’re going to get some laughs out of that, for sure.
RM: When was the last time anyone called you Damon?
DW: Every day. You called me Damon. Nah, just kidding. [Laughs] That’s why I use the Damien Dante Wayans, so people don’t confuse us. It’s worse when we’re in the same hotel. That’s a problem. [Laughs]

RM: Are you the same person at three in the morning as you are when you’re out with friends?
DW: I don’t change too much, maybe at three in the morning when I’m trying to think of another idea. Other than that, I like to pride myself on being a social guy. I like to think that even when I make it to that ultimate level of success, whatever that may be, I won’t need a thousand security guards. I like to keep a humble approach.

RM: Are a workaholic?
DW: Yes, very much so. My mind’s constantly thinking. You are actually going to be a character in my next movie.
RM: What? [Laughing uncomfortably, thinking I will be portrayed as the ignorant jerk who got the family name wrong.]
DW: No. [Laughs] My mind is constantly racing, though, walking down the street, seeing somebody do something funny that I’ll apply later.

RM: Where does comedy come from?
DW: I always think that comedy comes from a dark place. The comedians I respect the most have a dark sensibility—Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, even my uncle Damon. You listen to some of their standup and it’s like, whoa . . . It’s because you need that therapy. When we grew up in the Projects, if you didn’t have laughter, those days would be gloomy. I think that’s where comedy sprouts from.

RM: So you feel it’s a tonic, like a drug?
DW: Laughter is H2O, it’s a water that we drink. You need it, you can’t go without it, especially now, in a recession. That’s the beauty of Dance Flick coming out May 22, leave your recession thoughts to the side and come laugh.

RM: Who