| Geek No More Dustin Diamond has come a long way from his days as Screech on teenie TV Velocity Weekly Lisa Hornung Dustin Diamond wants you to laugh with him, not at him. You know him as the loveable nerd on "Saved By The Bell" (and yes, you watched it. Don't deny it.) But Dustin Diamond has come a long way since his childhood on TV and later notoriety for beating the crap out of Ron "Horshack" Palillo on "Celebrity Boxing." If you're curious about what life is like for the actor formerly known as Screech, Diamond will be performing his stand-up comedy routine at Comedy Caravan through Sunday. "Let's put it this way," Diamond said in a phone interview. "Stand-up is one of those things where you don't do it because you like it, you don't really do it to become rich, to become famous — really, you do it because it's an addiction. You kind of have to do it." Diamond said he got started in stand-up soon after "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" ended in 1998 and he concluded his nine-year run as Samuel "Screech" Powers. He did it periodically at first, only to realize that success only comes to comics who work at it every day. In 2000, he started hitting the road, and has been working to perfect his routine since. "I started building my strength up and actually...building up my repertoire of attacks to get out there and hold my own against the real stand-up gladiators," he said. Diamond said he really enjoys being close to people onstage. "It's you, the crowd and a microphone," he said. "There's nothing that's more raw and honest than that." Day-to-day life generates most of his material, said Diamond, who, given his celebrity, has to contend with a different reality than most people. "My outside experiences are very different from most people," Diamond said. "If I go to eat dinner or go to a movie theater, it's a totally different experience." Diamond started acting when he was 8 and began working on "Saved by the Bell" at 11. He said he didn't set out to be an actor because, well, what child does at 8? He just fell into it. He had a natural comfort with being in front of people, so performing and comedic timing fell right into place. "As I got older, it was a weird thing because I was trying to hone my acting skills and my comedic skills, but yet also be a kid," Diamond said. "You know, being 11, 12, 13 years old playing Screech...I was able to goof off and get paid for it." Now 27, Diamond is eking out a career in TV and movies, a mix of genuine roles and cameos that trade on his Screech character. But his career path is certainly less than traditional. "Most people in my line of work start out in stand-up comedy and they hope to get a TV show," he said. "I had a TV show and now here I am doing stand-up. I gotta be careful. If I keep doing it backwards, I'll end up doing security work with Gary Coleman." While it will be his first show here, it won't be his first trip to the River City. In fact, traveling around the heart of the country is one of the things he likes best about this stand-up gig. "The people in the U.S. are great, outside of your big hubbub cities," he said. "Any place like L.A. or New York that are the heart of the business world you tend to have a lot of cut-throats....And so going out and getting a chance to perform for people who actually appreciate it and enjoy comedy and enjoy that I'm coming out to their town to entertain them, really is great feeling." |
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