Wiseguys Comedy: Doug Benson

As a young comedian trying to find a style, you have to be careful what kind of persona you develop onstage. Comedian Doug Benson might not have been thinking all too clearly when his heavy marijuana use became the focus of his act. Now, for better or worse, he’s the stoner, and the stoner’s comedian. But by any measure whatsoever, Benson has wholeheartedly embraced the role.

For instance, his credits read like any other successful comic’s, with appearances on Last Comic Standing, spots on late-night staples like Jimmy Kimmel Live and specials on Comedy Central. Benson’s fans, however, are particular to him not because of those television appearances, but rather for the Morgan Spurlock documentary riff Super High Me and his Off-Broadway hit The Marijuana-Logues (not to mention the requisite book that followed, The Marijuana-Logues: Everything About Pot That We Could Remember). As proof of his deeply entrenched endearment within the pro-pot community, High Times magazine even named him 2006’s “Stoner of the Year.”

That, in short, gives Benson a rather green résumé aimed at drawing in a very certain sort of comedy nerd. He even has his own beloved podcast that draws in the faithful—Doug Loves Movies is a show where he can ramble on about his love of film, free to follow the many tangents that inevitably arise. But most importantly, Benson is a comic with a laid-back style who simply takes a stage and talks about the things in his life that he finds funny. Often, that just happens to include smoking herb. (Jacob Stringer)