Ed Byrne
RANTING and raving may seem like part of the act - but Ed Byrne's actually just a "miserable old git".
He's been that way since 23 - two decades later this clever comedian is embracing the catchcry, "I am in my forties - hear me roar".
Byrne is one of the most successful funnymen to come out of Ireland. He's climbed mountains - metaphorical and physical ones (he's quite the outdoorsman) to get where he is today, and is performing at the NZ International Comedy Festival in Auckland.
While in New Zealand he will be taking his show on the road, stopping off at Napier Municipal Theatre next Wednesday from 8pm.
His show Roaring Forties follows previous successful tours of Crowd Pleaser and Different Class and he is hoping for a lively crowd.
"Kiwis are a bit more reserved, they tend not to answer questions when asked, rather than a whoop and a cheer they just put their hands up - it's all very polite," he told VIBE.
"I ask in my current show if anyone has a hernia, one guy admitted he did but he wouldn't be pressed on how he did it - while they're a tougher nut to crack they laugh well."
Even hecklers here differ to their offshore counterparts - flinging shallow fodder at the stage - although this, too, is a rarity.
"It doesn't happen that much, but it does come with the territory. I did a show at The Classic on Queen St and there was one guy enjoying the show much more than everyone else, he was yelling 'yes' at everything and putting other people off - it was a bit of a weird one."
Now a father of two, everyday frustrations are only heightened and no one is safe from his curmudgeony.
It's all part of an "honesty is the best policy" mentality, which has been fine-tuned over the years. "I just try to be truthful, get up there and say something that will get a laugh."
Being funny is in Byrne's blood, though peers didn't always appreciate his heightened sense of humour.
"I used to watch Monty Python when I was 10-years-old so a bit ahead of my time - I made a lot of jokes they didn't understand, it wasn't the best start."
Going professional in 1993 , he appeared on Hey, Hey it's Saturday across the Ditch, even before people knew his name in Ireland.
"I just sort of pretended I was a lot more famous at home than I was to get on TV, then went home and pretended I was famous in Australia until I made it."
More recent stints on television include presenting Volcano Live and a drive through Siberia on a journey documented in the World's Most Dangerous Roads.
Byrne is a regular panelist on BBC 2s Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You as well as various new comedy shows Don't Sit in The Front Row and Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
Other highlights have been Celebrity Family Fortunes where he won the jackpot, Celebrity Mastermind and being a contestant on Celebrity Pointless.
Catch Ed Byrne on Wednesday, May 20 at Napier Municipal Theatre. Tickets through ticketek.co.nz