Bobby Lee is Bringing Sexy Back

Unabashedly chunky comedian Bobby Lee is splashing in a pool, squeezed into a pair of black speedos as he hams it up during a photo shoot with Thirteen Minutes Magazine.

A few moments later Lee is sitting poolside, fully clothed in a curious pink and white striped long-sleeved sweater.

“I’m the gay Freddy Krueger,” Lee jokes as he paws flamboyantly at the camera.  There is never a serious moment during Lee’s ADD-fueled interview. Every answer is turned into a raunchy or irreverent punch line – but then again, you would expect nothing less from this comedian.

For the past six seasons on MadTV, this hyperactive jester can be seen channeling Connie Chung in a dead-on impersonation or creating characters such as Hideki, the frustrated Asian American who speaks to everyone speaks in haikus.

Lee has taken his knack for sketch comedy to the big screen in bit parts in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (2004), Kickin’ It Old Skool (2007), and Pineapple Express (2008).

In Kickin’ It Old Skool, the rhythmically challenged and admittedly out-of-shape Lee said a dancing double was needed for his scenes.

“They couldn’t find a guy who danced and had my body – potato-shaped and yellow,” Lee laughs. “So they found a girl with my body. Man, I felt so bad for her!”

Born in 1976 to South Korean immigrant parents in San Diego, Lee has called himself the quintessential Asian underachiever. Instead of taking over the family business, Lee joined a local rock band. His outrageous stage persona caught the eye of Frank Burns, manager of La Jolla’s Comedy Store.

The gigs lead to other notable spots including opening for comedian Pauly Shore and touring with Carlos Mencia. The exposure catapulted him to his recurring role with MadTV, the only place Lee says could put up with his outrageous stunts.

“I pooped in someone’s office once and I didn’t get fired,” Lee swears.

Aside from allowing him to defecate where he pleases, Lee says MadTV has also given him a forum to expand his repertoire than the usual Jackie Chan impersonations. He’s taken stabs at movies such as Memoirs of a Geisha, played a wannabe rice-rocket racer named Tank and showed off some serious slapstick skills as the Blind Kung Fu Master.

Lee’s characters may be taken from long-standing Asian stereotypes, but Lee never feels like he’s the butt of the joke – audiences are laughing right along with him. And although he supports his fellow Asian American actors, Lee says he never over-analyzes his role as one of the few visible Asian faces in TV and film.

He just wants to make people laugh – even if it requires stripping for the occasion. The 31-year-old doesn’t mind showing off his jelly, regardless if audiences can handle it.

“If you’re weird looking, make that sexy…if your were born without hands, show off your nubs,” Lee says. “I don’t know, man, be yourself.”

Words to live by.

To see the images from our photoshoot with Bobby, please click here.