The timeline for a stand-up comic’s road to fame and fortune is often told as this stress-free, easy-going adventure. Write some jokes, perform them in comedy clubs throughout a big city and boom: You’re asked to appear on “The Tonight Show” or to join a new fall sitcom on NBC.
I laugh when the gritty details are omitted and the “good times” are all that are highlighted. And I chuckle even harder when media outlets only highlight comedians when they’ve hit the big time. The up-and-comers? Meh. Maybe one day.
For now, “Let’s get that big sexy name who draws clickbait like the Rapala Original Floating minnow!” (Yes, I typed “best types of bait” into Google for that. No shame.) As you probably guessed, I’m not into that whole mentality.
Enter stand-up comedian Tone Bell, who co-stars alongside Mark-Paul Gosselaar in NBC’s “Truth Be Told,” which debuts at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“I remember early on when I started Googling myself to see what would come up, and it was all images of just bells,” Bell said. “Like, actual bells. And now? No more bells.”
The comic remembers acting as Savannah State University’s mascot during football games while attending college. And teaching first grade for extra cash after graduation. And doing promotional work for a beer brand in Dallas.
Steady acting roles on TV? They don’t normally happen accidentally. And Bell is no exception. He didn’t stumble into being a regular on three shows—”Whitney,” “Bad Judge” and “Truth Be Told”—since 2012. The 33-year-old entertainer has always been humble, setting his sights on a career path he created and earned for himself.
Bell won the NBC Stand Up For Diversity talent search in 2011, awarding him an NBC talent holding deal moving forward. Past winners include Hannibal Buress (“30 Rock,” “Neighbors,” “Saturday Night Live”) and Brandon T. Jackson (“Tropic Thunder,” “Mr. Robinson”).
The following year, Bell was asked to appear on “Key and Peele” in the iconic sketch “Pussy on the Chainwax,” in which the characters unsuccessfully try to create and inject new hip sayings into mainstream culture.
Bell’s charisma and down-to-earth identity make his presence—whether on stage or in a sketch—feel extremely natural and fun. He’s just the type of guy who looks and feels built for comedy. And sometimes, networks just really want to give viewers the opportunity to see you half-naked.
“This is my third series, and I’ve had to take my clothes off in every one of them,” Bell said, joking about one of the upcoming “Truth Be Told” episodes in which a neighbor’s child walks into the bathroom while he’s showering. “And I’m sure it’s coming again … but whatever, I’ve embraced it.”
I sat down with Bell in the RedEye studio to discuss everything from nudity to re-enacting “Saved By The Bell” promo images to his newest project, “Truth Be Told” on NBC.
So have you had a situation in your life where somebody walked in on something you were doing that was more embarrassing than a kid neighbor walking in when you’re showering?
I don’t know if we can talk about the one that’s more …
No, you can. It’s RedEye.
Oh, OK. Yeah. I think we’ve all been almost caught, ya know?
With the more intense thing?
Solo sex. You know what I mean?
[Laughs.]
[Laughs.] I think we’ve all been, like … they didn’t know what they were walking into.
The thing that I’ve heard so much about this show [“Truth Be Told”] already is that it’s about the conversations we all have but nobody’s really put it into a sitcom yet. Like, really raw.
You know what’s cool about it, I think it’s groundbreaking in the way of how comfortable we are with [the topics we’re discussing]. It’s not HBO, it’s not cable. It is a network TV show that takes the risk to make it a grounded comedy where people live in reality. It’s not zany and wacky … we don’t just pull B.S. from the stratosphere; it could happen to me or you. It’s like, how do we explain this to where nobody is going to get crazy offended, and even if you do … why? And if so, let’s talk about it.
If someone is trying to convince their friend to start watching, what is that pitch for somebody? What is this show going to have as an identity?
It’s not a “Breaking Bad” moment where they’re like, “Man, they’re making the best meth of all time.”
“[Tone’s character] started doing crazy amounts of meth! Wait, what, this show’s on what network?”
[Laughs.] I don’t think it has that kind of buzz. But something at lunch will happen, or something happens Saturday, and you start telling me about it, and then it’s like, “Oh, that happened on ‘Truth Be Told’ last Friday!” It’s those very parallel congruent conversations that I think people will identify with.
You told me you got cast in this show in January. Were producers a little upset that you look so similar to a Screech, that with you and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, it was going to look too similar to “Saved By The Bell”?
I had what has been commonly referred to on Instagram, and maybe the Internet, as a “Jew fro.” I had the Jonah Hill [hair] and no facial hair. But then I was like, “Maybe I’ll grow a beard and go low [with my hair] …”
So you’ve actually had this thought.
You know what’s funny is I actually worked with Dustin Diamond when I first started doing comedy. I opened for him like five years ago. Yesterday I met Mario Lopez. And now I see Mark-Paul [Gosselaar] every day. We’ve been calling me “Blater.”
[Laughs.]
For “Black Slater.”
Ya know, that sounds like one of the Purple Cobras from “DodgeBall.” They had Phaser, Blazer…
[Laughs.] We were shooting one day and the set was really hot. They had to turn the air conditioning off for sound and everything. And after every take, we’d unbutton our shirts to get some air, so we didn’t keep sweating. And [Gosselaar] was like, “This feels familiar.” He looked up this picture and it’s of him and Mario [Lopez] when they were like 16. With shirts [unbuttoned], abs out, standing with thumbs in the pockets. So he’s like, “We gotta take this picture.” So we took one.
And you’re in this show with Vanessa Lachey, married to Nick Lachey. Any mutterings of a 98 Degrees reunion?
[Laughs.] No, Nick has not brought that up. But we go hang out with him all the time, too. I don’t know any pop stars but to know him, he’s just a dude that loves football and that you can have a beer with. He has Lachey’s Bar in Cincinnati, and he’s just a dude you would run into and be like, “Hey, do you wanna, like, grab a beer?” And he’s like, “Yeah, I wanna do that right now.” Vanessa is silly, I call her “nutcase” all the time, she’s a ball of energy and he’s a little reserved. She’s amazing, man. The whole cast, Bresha Webb plays my wife. Her and I have been friends for years before the show got started.
What is it with couples always living next to each other? It’s very convenient on television.
No, no, no. It’s not across the hall. We have our own driveways!
It would be great if you guys had to take 20 minute Uber rides to each other’s houses. Like, that’s half the episode. “Damn, there’s a surge!”
[Laughs.] We actually have an episode [with Uber drivers]. My character gets invited to the porn awards, which I have been to, by the way.
What?
It is a trip. [At one point] they actually told us, “Hey, you can’t be in this section anymore. We’re about to film.” They were about to do a scene in this section. So we were like, “Were scenes here earlier? You should tell us. Rope this off with caution tape. Sanitize. Spray it down.” They were like, “Yeah, we need this from 9 [p.m.] on …”
9 [p.m.] to “question mark”? Like a good party!
It could be super quick or could be long depending on the … stamina, I guess?
[Laughs.]
Oh man, I’m excited for “Truth Be Told” to air. I hope some of this gets worked in.
You’ll see.
