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Amy Schumer: Seriously Funny

Amy Schumer: Seriously Funny

Amy Schumer

It takes a lot of grit, gumption, and guts to get to the upper echelon of comedy. Amy Schumer tells her gay fans how she's done it.

Amy Schumer is, without a doubt, the current reigning queen of TV comedy. From placing fourth on Last Comic Standing back in 2007, Schumer's star has risen meteorically: Her TV show has become one of the most buzzed about in the cultural zeitgeist, her upcoming film Trainwreck easily makes the shortlist for most anticipated film of Summer 2015, and she's picked up gigs like hosting the MTV Movie Awards being named one of the 100 most influential people of the year in Time.

If you ask the comedian how she did it, she's got an answer at the ready: hard work, plain and simple.

"I've been working so fuckin' hard," the unexpected star tells Out. "Everybody works really hard. But my friends are all, like, doing stuff on the weekend. I've never done that. Since college I've been just working my ass off, and it just feels like right now it's paying off and people are paying attention so it feels really good."

It's been a long slog for the 33-year-old New York native, who began acting at a young age. With that kind of determination, you'd think Schumer would have it all mapped out, but that's far from the case.

"I never had any specific goals. It was never like, 'One day I'll be in movies.' I just always liked performing and creating. Even as a little kid, a young as possible, making up characters and making my family watch me tell stories," she explains. "I always thought it would be in the cards for me to perform, but having it be something that people are responding to and connecting with, no, I did not know that was going to happen or see that for myself. It's totally just happening right now. Things are so weird right now, and it's fuckin' awesome."

Awesome indeed. Not only is Schumer set to star inTrainwreck this summer with Bill Hader, but she's got another another feature in the works: a mother-daughter action comedy directed by Paul Feig. Schumer will star in the film, which is major when you consider that Amy didn't even think she'd star in Trainwreck.

"I thought there was a great chance [the actress who'd star in Trainwreck] would be sort of a model-y actress," says Schumer. "There was a part of me that hoped [I'd get the role], but I wouldn't have been surprised and I wouldn't have been that upset. I was prepared for it."

Even now, when's Schumer's reaping the fruits of her labor, America's first funny-woman has not made any concrete plans. In fact, Schumer's sticking to the formula that has always brought her success:

"I still have zero goals," says Amy. "I don't know what's next and that's really exciting. I just want people to trust me and come with me, because I'm not going to start doing dumb shit and I really have the best intentions.

Now having paid her dues, the future is wide open to comedy-super star. Having conquering stand-up, television, and film, Schumer is poised to win the world over. In fact, she may have already done so more than she knows. When we informed Schumer about her massive gay following, she was astonished.

"That is awesome! That is great news. I think like any other comedian and actress, I want gay men to like me more than anyone else. I think gay men and black people, that's what you want, gay men and black people. Those are the two communities I personally feel closest to. That's awesome news."

Ready to take the world by storm, Schumer is prepared to overcome any challenge, with or without preparation. "I'm just going to keep doing work that I'm really proud of and that I stand by and I hope that people keep liking it and I will always represent myself. Imma be me."

That's all we ever wanted and all we could hope for.

30 Years of Out100Out / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff and Wayne Brady

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