ESCRIBING RAMY YOUSSEF’S WORK ISN’T EASY, BECAUSE HE REFUSES TO settle on just one thing. “I feel really inspired to connect in the way that it makes sense.” That started out with stand-up, but has since morphed into acting, writing, directing and producing. The New Jersey native’s, is the new HBO stand-up special (March 23). “I’m definitely living on a prayer, and that’s probably the magic piece in this special, where it kind of feels like everything’s just hanging by this really thin string.” A key to his material is “looking for what allows it to feel like almost a weird, linear thought, but going into a lot of different things ... somehow it’s kind of all one thought.” But for Youssef, no matter if it’s for stand-up, his Hulu series or Netflix’s , the process dictates creativity. “Some ideas are just so good for stand-up and some you want to put on TV. I’ve started to think of what would really be best fit for film. I’ve been dabbling in how to take my first swing at that.”
