Hunter Collins, a Montréal comedian known for his absurd and offbeat sense of humour, brings a distinct flavour to the comedy scene. With a style that’s as unpredictable as it is irreverent, Hunter blends surreal observations with wild, often nonsensical scenarios. From joking about lucid dreams with the Pillsbury Doughboy to referencing obscure historical figures like Casimir IV Jagiellon, Hunter’s comedy is a chaotic mix of intellectual wit and absurdity. Drawing inspiration from childhood favourites and the wild extremes of his imagination, he thrives on creating moments that leave audiences questioning what just happened.
How would you describe your comedy style?
Imagine the taste you get in your mouth when you drink orange juice right after brushing your teeth. Like that, but mega horny. In his memoir, Richard Dawkins refers to my material as “pipi-poopoo stuff for brainiacs.”
Who are some of your influences?
Casimir IV Jagiellon the Grand Duke of Lithuania (especially his later stuff), anybody who says “ex-squeeze me” and the end scene in “Requiem for a Dream”.
Who was your favourite comedian growing up?
It’s a four-way tie between all my most cherished childhood entertainers:
1. That bearded Canadian guy who sang songs about how the bus sucks
2. Pedro Leibowitz the Ethnically Confused Imam
3. Dinky the Narcoleptic Dinosaur
4. Pol Pot.
Who is your favourite comedian now?
I think all the comedians insisting that you’re only allowed to make jokes about your own culture, essentially stigmatizing imagination, are really funny and brave. I also love any comic who claims they can laugh about anything until a joke is about them and then they get mega pissy – they’re hilarious. Other than that, they’re all scum.
What is your pre-show ritual?
First I force a lucid dream about sleeping with the Pillsbury Doughboy until he hoo-hoos all over the place. Upon waking, I dust the flour off my loins and swiftly plagiarize an entire anthology’s-worth of Garfield comics into an act, just replacing the word “lasagna” with “ass”, and “Mondays” with “the deep state is trying to take guns away from our unvaccinated babies”. Finally, I do some breathing exercises, rub some Drano on my gums and pray to the fallen angels that everyone gets my “Lawnmower Man” references.
What is your favourite place you have performed? Why?
Umm, a little place called the “theatre of life” – heard of it? Because life imitates art. And art imitates life. And then life does a bad Walken impression of art.
What is your favourite bit you have written and why were you proud of it?
I’ve got this one about a virtuoso mandolinist in the produce section and then he picks up a tangerine, but he wants a mandarin and it’s… like, he goes, “No, Mando-LIN” and you know when you have to yawn but then you don’t? Where does it go? So then a tornado – anyway, you had to be there. I like that one because you just wasted your time reading it.
What is your favourite medium for listening or finding new comics/comedians?
I enjoy the medium who tells fortunes above the Thai massage joint on Sherbrooke Street -I think her name is Madame Calypso- because she told me where I could find this new local amateur comedian named Rob Bebenek who owes me 30 bucks (I gave Rob a Thai massage and he tug and dashed). She also said something about how I was going to get hit by a bus, but I stopped listening after she told me there was zero chance I was gonna marry Claudia Schiffer.
Tell us a joke about your city.
Hi, this is Hunter’s mum typing now. Tragically, Hunter was hit by a bus (the 24 Sherbrooke – when is THAT thing ever on time?!) and we ask for your privacy in this time of mourning. In lieu of sending flowers, please fart in a flower shop – an irony he loved so much.
Do you have anything to promote right now?
Hunter’s mum again. I don’t know why I’m choosing this outlet to grieve, but I’m just so torn up that I’ll never hear the little pitter-patter of Hunter moisturizing his nipples in the bathroom again. Oh god, they got so DRY in the wintertime! *sobbing* You can find my sweet, thoughtful, flattened boy’s posthumous sketch comedy album “Monster Orgy” on every streaming platform. I also left a few physical copies behind every Belle Province bathroom toilet tank, as his last will & testament demanded. *blows nose*
Where can we follow you?
Still Hunter’s mum here. Pictures of Hunter’s open casket will be posted on his Instagram. But maybe take a Gravel before logging on, ‘cause he looks like a stomped-on box of French fries.
PAY IT FORWARD: Who is another local comic/comedian we should know about?
*quiet crying* Why have you forsaken me, Lord? My first born… I will find this bus driver and exact my revenge. Yes, an eye for an eye… What’s that? Another comic? I dunno, Leny the Butcher?
