You might not know him by name, or at least by his real name, but Aaron Branch’s career in comedy has gotten a lot more stable lately. Thanks to his character “Malcolm” on the Netflix show “Unstable” starring Rob Lowe as eccentric biotech entrepreneur Ellis Dragon, Branch’s unique look and quirky, deadpan delivery beams into homes all over the country. On the show his role as Dragon’s assistant and best friend to Lowe’s co-star and real-life son John Owen Lowe (who plays Jackson Dragon) is a less funny version of a lot of real-life assistant gigs that helped him pay the bills. Now in its recently debuted second season, Branch says he’s in a spot in his career where his opportunities in Hollywood, both on screen and the comedy stage, have given him more drive to see where things can go pursuing his dream of being funny on stage and screen full time.
Having emerged from the Chicago comedy scene in 2019, the Kansas City native has been used to bouncing around and making crowds across the country laugh before landing in L.A. For every stop he’s made along the way he has a story to tell. He’ll be giving audiences a unique chance to hear his story on Tuesday night at 8 p.m., performing at the Roosevelt Hotel as part of Can’t Even Comedy’s Interview Series, which includes a live stand-up set and a Q&A with the audience. Recently Branch talked to us about what drew him to his role on “Unstable,” his journey through the Chicago comedy scene and how things are finally leveling up for him in L.A.
After building your career in stand-up comedy for years to now being on a big Netflix show like “Unstable,” do you find more people recognize you out in public or at your comedy shows?
It’s interesting because I kind of had the realization the other day that I think it happens a lot more, but a lot of people don’t say anything. A lot of times I catch people staring at me, sometimes that feels a little bit weird. The most significant moment was in San Diego, after a show I did at the Laugh Factory and I went across the street to get some tacos and this whole group of people all start yelling “Malcolm! Malcolm!” And I was like “Oh, this is different.”
Was there something about the role of Malcolm on “Unstable” that really felt like something you wanted to audition for?
I wanted to do it because I felt like I had kind of already lived that life before, like I’ve been like an assistant for a couple. The moment I read the pilot I was like, “Oh, this role, this role is fire, I want this so bad.” I don’t know, there’s just something about the comedic element of it, I knew I could make this really funny. And then obviously, the cast was superb.
I love that there’s a lot of comics on the show.
They did a good job with casting this season — they’ve added Iris Apatow, which I thought was a really good and Lamorne Morris who was on “New Girl,” and he is absolutely hysterical. I learned a lot from him on set, but the comedic talent just kind of goes crazy, especially with the addition of Lamorne, I feel like he kind of added a really funny piece to the show that wasn’t there before.
Part of balancing acting and comedy is also the ability to find mentors in your field. Are there people like that in your life that have kind of helped you navigate your path in comedy?
One of the first people was Dave [Coulier] from Full House. who is an actor and a comedian who was a crucial mentor for me when I was younger. And then as I got a little bit older, I had a very intelligent, kind and sweet Chicago legend; her name is Mary Lindsey. She gave me a lot of guidance when I was in my early 20s. And she’s been, you know, part of the careers of like, Bernie Mac and Deon Cole. She found me at this comedy venue on the South Side of Chicago, kind of near the University of Chicago campus, called Revival, and she took me under her wing. I got a lot of experience, connections and opportunities literally just being a part of, kind of her circle. There’s a lot of Chicago comedians in Los Angeles that are running around and we all call each other “Mary’s Kids,” but she just gave us a lot of opportunities.
Throughout my life my mom is incredibly supportive, and my cousin Kristen, she was in entertainment for a very long time, and since I was probably about 15, has kind of been like a mentor, but also just like a really good big sister.
What are the main differences between the Chicago comedy scene versus L.A. comedy?
I would say the main difference is more venues to perform at. I feel like nothing really beats Chicago, which is really, like a training ground. You can get up two to three to four times, if not more, a night in Chicago and have pretty decent crowds, and by the end of the week, you have a new three to five minutes. I feel like in Chicago, the emphasis is not so much about making it. Or so much about being seen. In Chicago, it’s more like, how can I tell a good story, or how can I really put on a good performance? And feels like a better training ground. Los Angeles feels more like, “all right, I did all the training, and let me show you guys what I got.”
What’s a typical week night for you in terms of sort of balancing acting and comedy?
I think it’s a balance that I’m still trying to find. Like, when we filmed Season 1 of “Unstable,” we were kind of still in the midst of the pandemic, just slowly, kind of coming out of it. So I wasn’t able to get up on stage at all. So it really wasn’t until this past season that I started kind of picking up a bit more of a routine. Our director also, Claire Scanlon, did a really good job of getting us out early every day. She was able to still be able to maintain quality, while also still being able to get both cast and the crew out at a pretty decent time, almost every day. So I was able to most of the time be done, like 5 or 6 p.m. even if I had to be there super early, and I could still go to the Laugh Factory and get in a quick set, and then right when I finished my set, go right back home, go to sleep, and then able to get up and do it again. It kind of didn’t really feel like it was like a challenge they kind of just fit, like perfectly.
Is there a group of comedians you hang out with that you feel represent where the L.A. comedy scene is right now?
Being part of the Kevin Langue show has been a really good foundation, kind of like a brotherhood that I have here in Los Angeles. I had it in Chicago, and that’s kind of how me and Denny [Love] became friends. I was in a group called the Martin Luther Kings of Comedy so that was kind of like a solid, like, like young dope Black men kind of sticking together and really trying to take the Chicago comedy scene by storm. So when I moved to L.A. I kind of still had like pieces of that, like I had my homie, Joel Boyd, and I had Denny and I kind of stuck with them almost this entire time, but now having this YouTube show in the mix, I have Kevin Langue, Herman Wrice, and then obviously my best friend, Denny, and we kind of just stick together.
Are there any highlights in your career that you feel like kind of help reinforce that you’re continuing to develop in the world of comedy and stand-up?
I moved to L.A. in 2019 and at the time I could barely get on one show a night. At the time I was working three jobs, seven days out of the week when I first moved here, and then the pandemic kind of screwed me up a little bit, and then I really wasn’t able to get a lot of stand-up. So shows in general were just so scarce. Cut from that 2019-2020 era to now, and I feel really lucky to be able to, most of the time treat L.A. a lot like New York, like there are times where I’m able to get in multiple sets a night, and there are a lot of comedians that don’t necessarily have that opportunity. So I feel really lucky in that sense, where I kind of have been able to grow and build to a place where I know enough people, they know my work ethic, and enough people really vibe with me and invite me to perform on their shows.
Do you get a lot of pointers from people on the show like Rob Lowe, where you guys have a chance to talk about your career or things you want to do in comedy?
Working in the Hollywood aspect, yeah, I would definitely say Lamorne, Rob, and Fred [Armisen] have given me a lot of great advice this past season. All the veterans on the show, I think that I was able to pull a lot from them. There’s like a humbleness there that I don’t think that you necessarily expect to see that is really refreshing, and to know that, like you’re around these people that you praise and they’re just so cool. So kind you feel like, you feel comfortable enough to be able to ask questions. Like, the amount of things that I’m able to ask Lamorne, like, hey, like, “what do you think about this? How did you handle this type of situation?” Fred is also so down to earth. He has a really cool show at the Largo and one time after we wrapped for the day, I was able to hit him up, and he got us tickets to his show, and I was able to go see that on top of acting, he can still get in a lot of live performances and he also does DJ sets. You just see what the economy of what entertainment is people literally just having fun and doing what they love on a consistent basis and that is absolutely my jam.
