Born in Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand, as an only child ("very un-Samoan") to Samoan parents who migrated in the 1960's, Tofiga Fepulea'i says his only performance training was at church in Sunday School plays, playing piano and singing in the choirs.
He credits his humour and comedic talent to his mother and uncles who loved to tell funny stories and enjoyed a good laugh.
("E iai kaimi e le lava mea'ai, leai se kupe, ae a maua lava le 'aka ua leai se fa'alekogu").
"There are times when there's not enough food, no money, but if we can still laugh, there are no problems".
Tofiga Fepulea'i started his career as part of the very successful and popular duo 'The Laughing Samoans' with his cousin Eteuati Ete.
Eteuati Ete had been performing as a solo stand-up with a show called 'Laughing with Samoans' and Tofiga begged him to give him a spot "just 5 minutes" on the show.
"The first moment I heard people laughing at my jokes, I felt that time had frozen", he says.
Tofiga Fepulea'i and Eteuati Ete as The 'Laughing Samoans' toured to sell-out venues in Australia, the USA and the Pacific.
Tofiga has been performing solo for some years now, and he tells me that he draws all his material from his life expriences as a Samoan.
Tofiga Fepulea'i is very passionate about his Samoan heritage, as you will hear in this interview.
He tells me that the language he uses in his comedy is always fa'aaloalo (polite) because a Samoan always conducts himself/herself with dignity and pride. One doesn't have to be crude to be funny.
Tofiga Fepulea'i is touring Australia from February next year, and you can hear in this interview what to expect from this very funny and proud Samoan comedian.
Mo nisi talafou ma ripoti, fa'afofoga i le SBS Samoan i le 'upega tafa'ilagi poo le SBS Radio app, pe asiasi i le Facebook SBS Samoan
