Getting to Know Shaun Majumder.

As a comedian, Shaun Majumder has worked on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Just For Laughs, Cedric the Entertainer Presents and Hatching, Matching and Dispatching. Recently, he played a terrorist on the hit TV drama 24, starring Kiefer Sutherland. Shaun talked to Saltscapes about his Newfoundland roots, why he wants to be like Peter Sellers and surfing.

Q When you went to the US to work in comedy, an immigration official called you "an alien of extraordinary ability." Where do you feel most alien?
A If you come from earth and you go to the moon, the people on the moon know about the moon and that's kind of it. All they talk about is the stuff happening right on the moon. And that's what it feels like going to the States sometimes.

Q Where do you feel most at home?
A Well, I just bought a house in Los Angeles. And I'm beginning to feel very comfortable there. But I feel most at home in Canada, without a doubt, and Newfoundland specifically. Newfoundland is always home. If you talk to any Newfoundlander no matter where they are in the world, they'll be, "Did you go home for Christmas? Did you go home? Are you getting home?"

Q You grew up in rural Newfoundland. Your mother is white, your father East Indian. What was your childhood like?
A Incredibly free. I was an independent kid. It was me, my mother, my sister. My dad was living in Mississauga, Ont, because they split up, so I didn't have the dad there to help me out; fix stuff, working on cars, any of that stuff. It was mom. She was a pretty strong, independent woman. The only times we had to be home were 12 o'clock and 5 o'clock for what they called "dinner" and "supper." Lots of running through the woods, lots of Ski-Dooing, lots of going out in boats, lots of playing down by the beach, throwing rocks. A lot of nature stuff. Not a lot of technology stuff.

Q You speak highly of your grandfather. What did he teach you?
A My grandfather was really hard working. He had a wry sense of humour. He was good with his hands. He could build anything, do anything. But his sense of humour was what I loved about him. I think I was influenced by that growing up.

Q Are you funny because you grew up in a place famous for its humour?
A I wonder if there's a funny gene. I wonder if there's a DNA connection.

Q Do you think you have it?
A I don't know. It's nature versus nurture.

Q You've said that early in your career, it was failure that drove you. What did you mean?
A The very first time I got on stage doing stand up, I thought I was hilarious and I bombed. The worst bomb ever. I went up there with this cocky, confident attitude and nobody laughed. And I was like, I'm not doing this ever again. Then I was like, no, I didn't do it right. It might not be me. It might have been my approach.

Q You've said you're still doing what you did when you were five, except you're now getting paid for it.
A There's a freedom to it. It's always rooted in the freedom of play.

Q Peter Sellers is among your heroes. Does he have anything in common with Shaun Majumder?
A He's got a dark side. You've seen Being There. It's such a great movie. So underplayed and the character was so misunderstood. It was so internal. I like the way that he's so committed. I've been conditioning myself to try to underplay things because I find less is more.

Q On 24, you played a terrorist. Any worries about becoming typecast?
A I don't want to be limited in any way because I don't see myself as just basic Johnny-ethnic-guy. But it could happen. I mean, it is a fact that I am beige.

Q I understand you surf in the North Atlantic. Are you nuts?
A I have surfed the North Atlantic. It has some of the best waves for surfing.

Q You're a true Newfoundlander?
A No Newfoundlander would go in the water, I'll tell you that.