Wayan's World

Mention the surname 'Wayans' and you'll get a polarising reaction: the Wayans brothers are the geniuses behind groundbreaking iconic '90s sketch comedy series In Living Color, which also launched Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx. They collaborated on the genius 1988 blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.

But in recent years they've copped a bit of flak for spoofing other movie genres in films such as Dance Flick and four Scary Movie outings, and cross-dressing as Paris-and-Nicole-a-likes in White Chicks. Eldest brother Keenen Ivory and his cohorts Damon, Marlon, Shawn and the rest may not be the darlings of the critics but judging by the box office, the fans love them.

“That's who we make the movies for – the fans,” says Shawn Wayans. “A critic is a person who's paid to have an opinion on absolutely everything. As long as we're making movies we'll be making them for the people.”

Wayans is smack in the middle of the ten-sibling family born to Howell and Elvira Wayans, who all grew up in the projects in New York. “We grew up in a big household and we grew up poor, so we spent a lot of time just trying to make each other laugh. All we had were laughs,” says Wayans. “When I was a baby, Keenen was already 15. There was a generation gap between some of my other siblings and my parents, and Keenen helped bridge that gap.”

Keenen Ivory Wayans seems to be the general of the army; when the brothers collaborate on creative projects, Wayans says they often defer to Keenen on the final say. But if he's the general, then Shawn Wayans and brother Marlon are the dashing young captains, on the front line. They write together, quite often act together and now they're coming to Australia to do stand-up comedy together. Wayans says stand-up has been in his blood ever since he was 17, when he challenged himself to get on stage around the same time brother Keenen was shooting I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (in which Shawn Wayans had a small part).

“Marlon and I are in the same show but we do different [solo] sets,” Wayans explains. “In my comedy I like to talk about my life, growing up, being part of a big family – not too many stories from backstage and whatnot, I like to keep it all universal and relatable. We're really excited to be able to come out on tour and connect with our fanbases around the world. I'd say come out and see us, check your brain at the door and have a really great time.”

Beyond doing stand-up, Wayans says he's currently hip-deep in a new spoof movie script. “I can't tell you what it's spoofing in case you steal my movie [idea],” he laughs, “but when it comes out, you'll know that's what we were talking about. But Keenen has a movie coming out next year, A Haunted House, which is kind of like Paranormal Activity if it happened to a black couple.”