James Perry

* General
* Physical
* Social

James Perry was one of the ten regular cast members from season 1 until season 9, first being featured as a featured cast member until season 4. He is probably most famous for his portrayal of recurring character Señor Lobster Bisque, who has appeared in nine sketches throughout the seasons. After he left Studio C, he created the sketch comedy group **JK! Studios** with the ten original cast members, with which he reached the semifinals in the comedy competition *Bring the Funny*. He has also done a lot of promotional and inspirational work, such as a TED Talk, similar to crew member Dave Vance.

## Additional information

**Home state:** California

**LDS mission:** Italy

## Interview with James Perry

James has a “nervous tick of doing voices backstage.

“Jason liked this particular voice I was doing, and when I said the word ‘bisque,’ he thought it was really funny.”

So James fleshed out the “Lobster Bisque” character and a potential setting, loosely patterned after the “Cheese Shop” scene from Monty Python.

Now four Lobster bisque sketches, a Christmas promo and a T-shirt line later, this sketch is one of the reasons the four original cast members are being marketed as a 10-member cast.

Comedy provided James with “refreshment” from his studies in math and science. His mechanical engineering degree led him to write software, and now he puts his prowess to work at BYUtv.

“I am really good at Google spreadsheets,” James says in a characteristic voice.

**Scott Sterling memory:** “Apparently the cleats the wardrobe staff gave to me were the original of some certain style. BYU soccer players who were in the sketch with us were geeking out over them and asked me to take them off. So I stood there on the grass in my socks watching them try on my shoes. I still have no idea what made them so cool.”

**Soccer resume:** “In elementary school, I played on a team but I would mostly sit on the grass and make beautiful piles. If my pile of grass got big enough, I was hesitant to leave the pile and go to the ball.”

**Basketball resume:** “My parents told me if I ever made a basket, they would take everyone out to dinner. That happened once my second year of basketball.”

**Life coaches:** “A Young Men’s leader in my LDS ward was with me for four years, and he was always encouraging my hobbies. Between him and my dad — who was a program manager for Microsoft — I got the complete picture of what you can be as a man. They gave me two sides of things.”

**Big wins:** “Going to Italy on my mission was big. I had started learning Italian on my own, so I felt like I had been in tune about what was coming.”

**Big loss:** “My brother was biking around the country promoting national forests, and his life was cut short by a drunk driver. Losing my brother still affects my day-to-day life and how I see things.”

**Favorite sketches:** “Dubstep DJ. The track sounds pretty cool, and it’s funny.”

**Favorite exercise:** “I run up Y mountain with my dog, and I’m trying to cut down my time. We’re all ‘getting ripped for Season 6,’ and we have goals to get in shape, be more productive, get better sleep and build our endurance.”

**Pre-game ritual:** “I get ready to perform like I get ready to hang out with friends. But backstage, things are pretty hectic. People are telling you where to sit down, you need this, put this on.”

**About Me:** "I enjoy life. I love people, all kinds. I like to cook, especially Italian food. I love hanging out with my wife Brenna, because she makes me happy! Sometimes I’m tired, but then I sleep and everything is ok again. My advice is: Never doubt your ability to live your life to the fullest. The only thing to do is realize life is always wonderful, and help others to realize the same."