Jeff Wright has a million-dollar smile. When the comedian flashes his pearly whites on a stage or on your screen, you feel like the phrase has been deployed a little too casually all these years. A million-dollar smile doesn’t just mean that you’re so handsome women regularly write things like “CEO of being fiiine” or “I love your smile and your yum yum chocolate,” on your Instagram (and trust, you can find these exact comments, along with plenty of heart eyes, on Wright’s IG page). It also radiates energy and opens a window into a person’s charismatic spirit.
The 27-year-old Wright’s viral online skits run the gamut of slick observational comedy, off-beat premises, and commentary on current events. But where Wright really shines is when personifying the unpersonifiable, like God and Jesus, streaming services, or the different COVID-19 vaccines arguing. At the start of the pandemic, Wright was making skits in his backyard in Orlando, Florida and after a few viral hits, he started catching late-night shows’ curiosity and attention. A couple of shows called, but eventually Wright chose Late Night with Seth Meyers, where he gets to do the same type of bits he made for Tik Tok with a much bigger budget. Sure, he may seem like an overnight success, but as is often the case, Wright’s actually got a bunch of skin in the game — he’s been a stand-up comedian since high school.
GQ caught up with Wright and talked about what it’s like working with Seth Meyers; veteran Late Night writer, Amber Ruffin; basketball; and what it’s been like for the Florida-raised stand-up to find himself in his artform’s world capital, New York City.
So, it’s been kind of eerie watching late-night shows without an audience. Did you find it off-putting?
I wouldn’t say that. When I first showed up and was behind the scenes just getting used to it, it felt cool, like what Fresh Prince had when he was the only person there. No family, no furniture. I And then when it was time to actually perform, for me, I like to feed off of people’s energy too. So it was just trying to drum it up. I like to make people laugh, but when there’s no audience, there’s no back. It was a different experience. I’m used to making sketches in front of my neighborhood because I just be outside with video cameras. It’s a step up from there. I’ll tell you that much.
When the pandemic began, you were a stand-up comic in Florida. Then all of a sudden you’re a late-night writer and viral comedian with over a million followers online, living in New York City. What was that change like?
It’s kind of cool, you get to perform at the places that you always wanted to. I remember visiting New York three or four years ago, and there were those spots that I wanted to do, like Caroline’s, and I didn’t know how or who to reach out to, but now, I have more of an in. But, also I feel this burden to remind people that, although I do sketches and I’m funny with all this on-camera stuff, there’s still a true stand-up comedian here. I feel like I still want to put in the same work that everyone else did, even though you can skip the line if you want to and use your name if you want to. I still want people to walk away thinking he’s not just a guy that made funny videos, this guy does stand-up.
What’s it like working with Seth Meyers?
Working for him is the coolest thing. He’s such a cool dude and he’s so nice that part of me didn’t think that was real. Who he is on TV is who he is as a person. He’s chill. I can sit next to Seth Meyers and not say anything and it wouldn’t be awkward. He made it super comfortable and easy for me. I was trying to conform to this show and he met me right in the middle.
Before you knew Seth Meyers was so down to earth, what was it that made you want to be on that show as opposed to any of the other shows that were thinking of hiring you?
So, Seth Meyers’ show felt like… how do I explain this? I relate it to basketball. It’s like the Miami Heat or Golden State Warriors, where Seth is Steph Curry and I’m not saying I’m Kevin Durant, but he throws the best alley-oop passes. I love writing for him, or for writing for the show I should say, but he also let me be me and exhibit all the things that I could do. That was the only show that I felt like doing that for. I don’t really think there’s any other format where I could do what I do. Like, you got Amber Ruffin who’s a GOAT and she gets to do segments within it and it’s really getting to her voice and all that. That’s why. I thought he’d let me be me.
When you’re a guest on The Amber Ruffin Show, it looks like you and Amber have a crazy good rapport. Are y’all just really good at acting and secretly hate each other?
I love Amber. [Late Night executive producer Mike] Shoemaker and Seth are my uncles, but Amber’s my auntie. She’s been a blessing in my life honestly. She’s just the nicest person. And it really didn’t take any time. She was candid with me and real. I feel like she’s like my actual aunt, in the sense of your cool aunt who comes and lets you listen to the cool music and shows you how to do things, and then they fall back and let you do your thing at the same time. I’m just forever grateful for her.
You seemed like a basketball fan, but immediately comparing your working relationship to being on championship Heat or Warriors teams confirms it. You’re from Orlando. Are you a Magic or a Heat guy?
You gonna make Orlando hate me! I’m a LeBron James fan. Once LeBron James retires, I don’t know what I’m doing. I guess I’m retiring too. My brother introduced me to LeBron mad early and he was like “this is the guy.” When he went to the Heat, I was a Heat fan, when he went to Cleveland I was a Cleveland fan. Now guess what? I am a Los Angeles Laker fan.
Just from a comedic standpoint, are you happy Donald Trump is out of office?
I think a lot of times we need to move on. But, you know, you come back, right? He’s gonna make his next run and then we’re gonna ask, were those jokes worth it? I didn’t really have Trump jokes, but it didn’t matter to me. I was never that guy. It’s only because I couldn’t impersonate him, or I would have done it. I can’t quite get that voice, I’m kind of jealous. Otherwise, you know how many Tik Toks I would’ve made if I could do the Trump voice?
I’ve seen you say that you want to be like a black Ryan Reynolds or an Eddie Murphy type. What does that mean for you?
My comedy is coming off of charisma and observations. I feel like when it came to Eddie and Ryan Reynolds, it was more so about what they said and how they said it as opposed to really big slapstick comedy. So for me, Ryan Reynolds was just the guy that pointed out things and he was just real smooth and Eddie Murphy was the same way. If I want to describe how I want my career to go I want it to be like them.