last night on late night

Daniel Simonsen’s 5-Minute Stand-up Set Is an Awkward Delight

Norwegian stand-up comedian Daniel Simonsen showed up during last night’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and his five-minute set is a real treat. First, he wastes no time addressing his strange accent to the American crowd: “I often make the audience nervous. I don’t do it on purpose, I’m here to spread joy. But then I open my mouth, and it creates huge discomfort.” After that’s out of the way, Simonsen tells the audience about what it’s like being a very, very shy person (“Did you know you can ruin a dinner by not saying anything?”), and how bringing his “weird and nervous” energy to social situations is much easier to get away with at barbecues than dinners. “At a barbecue you’re out in the open. People are standing in groups, so you can walk over to this group and be quiet over there, and then just when they get suspicious of you, you change location, and you can ruin this conversation instead.” If this leaves you with a craving for more Simonsen material, this Late Night With Seth Meyers set from late last year about living in New York, what the deal is with human tears, and reading comments under his own YouTube videos should do the trick.

Daniel Simonsen 5-Minute Stand-up Set Is an Awkward Delight