Jake Steinfeld is taking his talents to the stage with his one-man Las Vegas Show, “No Expectations,” airing exclusively on RadarOnline.com on Sunday night, Dec. 8 at 7pm.
“It was one of the greatest things I ever done,” the Brooklyn-born strongman told Radar in an exclusive interview. “I have been very fortunate in my life, from growing up as a fat kid with a stutter in Brooklyn, to being able to live out my dream. It was never in my cards to do what I am doing today. I am grateful. It has been a fantastic ride.”
The Body by Jake star said the idea for his Sin City revue came while he was chatting with passengers on a private jet waiting to take off from Las Vegas — among them, How I Met Your Mother director, Pamela Fryman, and her husband, Alan Grossbard — and many picked up on his preternatural knack for storytelling.
“One of them asked, ‘Have you ever thought about doing a one-man show?’ I said, ‘I’d love to take a shot at it.’ So, we put this together.”
After a successful test run at “a little, 99-seat theater in Beverly Hills,” jake said he was empowered to continue honing his onstage skills after receiving plenty of positive feedback. “It was so invigorating,” the strongman said. “People were coming up to me and saying, ‘You have to do this again.'”
From there, greener pastures awaited in Sin City, with the strongest interest coming from MGM Grand, a venue, Jake noted, has hosted legends, such as Frank Sinatra, Rodney Dangerfield and David Copperfield.
Jake admits that he had butterflies preparing for the MGM gig, saying, “On the day of hte show, I was inside the suite I had been given at the casino, overlooking the strip. There it was. My name, in lights, on a billboard. I started losing my mind. ‘This s*** is not funny,’ I thought. ‘Oh my God, what happens now? I have lost my mind,’ I was thinking. ‘What am I doing? I am never going to sell out a theater of 763 people.’ Security came and escorted me to the backstage area and I remember thinking to myself, ‘I am a dead man walking.’ I was in makeup and my attorney came running in and said, ‘You will never believe it, Jake! The line to get into the theater is from one end of the casino to the other.’ 763 people. Sold out. It was one of the greatest nights of my life.”
Despite his early success in the field, the humble Jake did anything but declare himself the new king of comedy. “I am not a joke teller,” he said. “I am a storyteller. I am, for example, more like a muscular Billy Crystal! In the show, I talk about my childhood, overcoming adversity — all very relatable stories.”
Catch “No Expectations” on RadarOnline.com, Sunday night December 8th at 7pm.