Black Friday Sale! 50% Off All Access

Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco Is Turning Zoom Dread on Its Head The hilarious comedian, actor, writer and producer is killing it in a very unlikely place.

By Dan Bova

Entrepreneur+ Black Friday Sale

Our biggest sale — Get unlimited access to Entrepreneur.com at an unbeatable price. Use code SAVE50 at checkout.*

Claim Offer

*Offer only available to new subscribers

Martin Schoeller

Sebastian Maniscalco has released five wildly funny comedy specials and has acted in the Oscar-winning Green Book and Oscar-nominated The Irishman. He's a bestselling author and his tours sell out as fast as the dates get listed, including a four-night stint at New York City's Madison Square Garden that I was lucky enough to catch.

But, what do you do when you're a massively successful performer whose tour gets shut down by a global pandemic? You do what everyone else does — you go on Zoom.

If you've ever seen Maniscalco perform, you know the man has more energy than a nuclear power plant, so when the world shut down, he went to work. In lieu of touring, Maniscalco has been crashing corporate Zoom meetings to bring much-needed levity to anyone stuck on one of those soul-sucking affairs. The people laugh, Maniscalco generates revenue to keep his team gainfully employed — everybody wins.

I spoke with Maniscalco (over Zoom, of course) about his life as a Zoomedian, his hilarious and charitable Sunday Supper series and all the steps it has taken from performing on open mic nights to acting alongside Robert De Niro. Maniscalco was thoughtful, enlightening and, of course, ridiculously funny.

Thanks for listening!

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Money & Finance

Why Donald Trump's Business-First Policies Trump Harris' Consumer-Centric Approach

President Donald Trump's pro-business agenda is packed with policy moves encouraging investment to drive economic growth. The next Congress has a unique opportunity to support entrepreneurship and innovation, improving U.S. competitiveness with the rest of the world.

Business News

Barbara Corcoran Says This Is the Interest Rate Magic Number That Will Make the Market 'Go Ballistic'

Corcoran said she praying for lower interest rates and people are "tired of waiting."

Business News

The Two Richest People in the World Are Fighting on Social Media Again

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk had a new, contentious exchange on X.

Starting a Business

Why Are So Many Course Creators Struggling if It's 'Such an Easy Business'? Here's the Truth Behind the $800 Billion Industry

Creating an online course is so easy — at least, that's what many "gurus" would like you to believe. There's a lot of potential in the $800 billion industry, but here's why so many course creators are struggling.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Here's How Much Money You Need to Make in Order to Be 'Successful,' According to Each Generation

A new survey by Empower outlines how Americans of different ages define success.