Paul Black on his new BBC pilot and finding comedy inspiration in real life

This was something I had actually written down in my notes for how to describe him when he first appeared on my laptop screen, wearing a hoodie, a framed Pedro Almodovar film poster behind him and a single curl which was indeed hanging down and resting gently on his forehead.

Black has had a meteoric rise to fame over the last few years, starting with some funny tweets then viral videos then his own sketch show pilot on the BBC and now selling out the Armadillo with his show Self Care Era.

A major factor in his success, I think, and something I also think he doesn’t get enough credit for, is his keen ear for dialogue and almost forensic understanding of people. I’ve always wondered where he got that from.

“I’ve just always been quite observant of people,” he says with a shrug. “Trying to pick up on their mannerisms and nuances and all that and it’s allowed me to create these characters.

“I think when you grow up in a scheme, you’ve got a whole community of characters just waiting to be immortalised … in a Paul Black sketch,” he laughs. “So much of the comedy I’ve made over the years is just based on someone who no-one else will really get apart from me and my siblings or me and my pals.

“But that doesn’t matter because people recognise someone in them as well and I suppose it shows we all live more similar lives than we realise. I noticed when I first put sketches up online, people would be commenting saying things like that’s my maw or that’s my da and I’m like we must aw live the same life! It’s quite a nice feeling actually.”

I ask Black if he always fancied a career as a writer and performer, if he always had his heart set on making people laugh for a living.

READ MORE: 10 things that changed my life: Paul Black, actor, writer and TikTok star

“I knew I always wanted to do something creative but I didn’t know what that was,” he says. “In school my favourite subjects were media studies, drama and English. They were the only subjects I liked and was actually good at.

“When I was in fifth year, I realised that I wanted to write and direct films. I told my careers adviser and he said, ‘That’s a bit unrealistic,’ which I now realise is a terrible thing to say to someone who’s just trying to share their ambitions with you."

He said to me: “Why don’t we meet in the middle? You apply for a course like media studies because that means you can do marketing and stuff and it’s not just film?”

And I was like: “Aye OK. But then I was thinking, ‘haud oan a minute … meet in the middle with MA life? It’s no your life, mate!’.”

Filming your own sketches and having the confidence to put them online for the world to critique is one thing but taking the leap from that to putting on a run of sell-out shows at the Armadillo is something else entirely. How has Black found that? “I love doing the live stuff. It’s not something I’d ever really considered before but it’s so good to have the reaction from an audience in real time.

“It feels good. I still get really nervous every time and I wonder if I should maybe have a drink before I go on stage but I’ve never done that because I think if I do that then I’ll always need to do it. I just kinda sit with the nerves instead and hope that it goes well. They’ve all gone really decent. Even when I think that a performance wasn’t as good as the last one or whatever, the audience don’t have anything to compare it to. Unless they’re my auntie who’s came to the same show five times!”

When you ask an up-and-coming Scottish comedy writer who has influenced them, they’ll normally mention the likes of Chewin’ the Fat and Limmy’s Show but Black’s answer takes me by surprise.

“Well, when I was younger, I discovered the likes of Xavier Dolan and Pedro Almodovar (below),” he points at the framed Almodovar film poster behind him and laughs. "That was when I was in my film wank era, going to the GFT three times a week.

"That’s the kind of stories I like. I want to represent working-class and queer communities in a way that isn’t depressing and bleak. I mean you get some amazing films, but every Ken Loach film, it’s just so depressing and I suppose it’s depressing because it’s real life.

“But I think it’s important that people remember there’s also a lot of joy in these communities and growing up in these environments. It’s not like we all lived the most miserable lives.

“There’s a lot of joy and fun in that and I want to showcase that kind of thing. I don’t want my stuff to be pure rooted in poverty porn or tragedy. There are definitely uplifting stories in these communities that I want to tell when it comes to film.”

So, what does Black have planned next having already mastered the art of comedy sketches and the stage?

“I’ve just had a pilot commissioned by BBC Three and BBC Scotland which we’ll hopefully be shooting this year,” he says.

READ MORE: Paul Black: The simple reason why I support Scottish independence

“It follows a character, based on myself, following the death of their father. It explores how complicated grief can be, especially when you don’t feel the way you’re maybe supposed to feel about it. It’s like therapy, exploring these themes through writing.

"If you can make people laugh while telling a story that might not be the most upbeat, it can be quite life-affirming. My da dying was probably one of the most major things that happened in my life, and it feels like a perspective that isn’t the cliché perspective.”

He pauses for a moment before smiling and adding: “It’s maybe not what people would expect from me.”

The couple of hours I spend chatting to Black fly by and I’ve barely stopped smiling and laughing the whole time. I realise I’ve kept him trapped in conversation with me for far too long but I have one last question.

“If you had an unlimited budget and could cast anybody you want in a film, what would you make and who would be in it?” I ask.

“I literally think about this every waking moment of my life,” he laughs. “I’ve got this obsession with … Well, I’ve got a saviour complex that extends all the way to, like, Z-list celebrities. I love the idea of getting someone who’s had a big impact on pop culture, someone iconic but who maybe hasn’t had the plaudits they deserve and putting them with a superstar actor.

“I want to make a critically acclaimed gritty drama that has Daniel Day-Lewis (above) alongside Sonia from EastEnders. I want Sonia to win a Bafta – that’s my goal.”