Sam Croteau

On the evening of Saturday, October 22, American stand-up comedian and film and television actress Alice Wetterlund performed for Roger Williams students and their families in the Recreational Center during the 2016 Family Weekend. Wetterlund has starred in MTV’s series “Girl Code,” and popular movies such as “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” and “The Interview.” She is also starring in a new TBS series, “People of Earth,” which premiered on October 31.

Wetterlund was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota as an only child, which she believed played a role in her decision to shoot for a career in acting. Ever since she was a little girl Wetterlund knew she wanted to be an actor, but she didn’t acclimate to the theater scene in Minneapolis, deciding instead to attend art school and take up painting. However, Wetterlund still wished to act, so at the age of 18 she moved to New York City, where she attended the Cooper Union Art School in Brooklyn.

In an interview with Wetterlund, the comedian shared her “a-ha” moment regarding her career in stand-up. At the first open mic event she performed there were only four people in the audience.

“I realized it didn’t take much for me to do this job, it was easy for me, and since I was 28 years old at the time I was super ready to get serious about this career,” Wetterlund said.

Wetterlund knew that acting was something she wanted to continue for the rest of her life. Her first big break came when she landed a job in NYC on MTV’s “Girl Code,” where the show features female actresses and comedians who discuss the sisterhood women share. From there she went on to star in TV shows “Silicon Valley” and “Take My Wife” as well as two recent films.

Wetterlund admitted the favorite piece she has been involved in is the upcoming TBS series, “People of Earth,” which is about a support group of people who have been abducted by aliens. She revealed her role in the show to be one of the “realest” characters she has ever portrayed, and she exclaimed that the members of the cast were the best people she has worked with in her career thus far.

“Without me the cast is the best of all time,” Wetterlund joked.

As for her stand-up routines, Wetterlund tends to focus on current events such as political ideas due to her strong liberal upbringing. She doesn’t strive to change anyone’s views, but if the topic is funny to her she’s going to talk about it.

In the past, Wetterlund admitted she thought she pushed some of her political jokes too far, but these situations also helped her because she felt as if she was making a difference with her words. Her performance at RWU consisted of jokes pertaining to the current presidential election and humorous relatable stories that managed to get some good laughs out of the large audience.