The host of Very Important People, Vic Michaelis, is very famous and has many places he has to be

Vic Michaelis has to go somewhere else.

Last but not least, right next door in the aquarium – the host of the internet talk show Very important people has a two-year-old child with him and has not been to Toronto to present the city in over three years.

This long absence makes sense in a way: The improvisational comedian and actor is on track to win an Emmy later this year, while simultaneously becoming one of the more famous Canadians (to be fair, Canadian-American) that virtually no Canadian has ever heard of.

But they made it happen by crossing the border south to find sudden internet fame as hosts of an internet talk show series that now has millions of views on YouTube and TikTok.

Coincidentally, during the filming of the second season of Very important people starts next month and is the next place they need to get to.

Control the conversation

A sort of improved reboot of an older CollegeHumor sketch, Very important people tasks improvisational comedians with giving impromptu interviews after they have endured some truly unbelievable transformations: costumes and even prosthetics are thrown at blindfolded guests, transforming them into aliens, deformed bodybuilders and the occasional screaming caveman.

That leaves Michaelis as host: a character also named Vic Michaelis, although here they play a journalist who, they point out, is in no way the same person as themselves. This unflappable, cable-TV-esque character is inspired by Michaelis’ love of television personalities from Carol Burnett to Mary Tyler Moore to Lucille Ball: all the “very physical femme comedians.”

It has also helped them to become masters not only of comedy but also of conversation. I try to find out where they are coming from and am immediately and skillfully distracted by their suggestion to leave and Twistersin theaters on July 19. It is the beginning of an apparent obsession with disaster movies that runs through our chat. (“I’m not connected,” they quickly explain. “But I’m really trying to Twister3.“)

I later learn that they were born in New Jersey before moving around the Illinois area for years, ending up in Kleinberg, Ontario, at 15—and then, briefly, at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus. It was there that Michaelis developed the “Canadian comedy” that is still alive in her work today: an unwavering commitment to “any absurd premise that’s happening.”

But when I ask them what their pronouns are, I’m politely fobbed off (“they/them, they/them, that’s not actually a wrong answer”) before Michaelis congratulates me on getting the necessary things done before the interview. When I ask them what roles they’d like to play, they quickly turn the question around. I can only utter the first answer that comes to mind: “stunt actor.”

“So I asked you what kind of actor you wanted to be,” they interrupted, staring at me with mock – but piercing – intensity, “and you said, ‘One where I don’t have lines and my face isn’t on camera.'”

Then there is silence. I blink.

It’s this full embodiment of the character that has made the fictional Vic Michaelis something of a legend: one in which fans create their own detective pages to unravel the character’s mysterious backstory, which they glean from clues dropped throughout the show. Does Vic really have a twin sister named Katie who’s a vlogger? Does Vic really not know what “pleasure” is? Is their 95th birthday really coming up? Are they secretly a bird?

It’s an intentional element of their show – finding unconventional ways to appeal to an audience that’s watching less and less traditional TV. In this case, the odd mannerisms and strange details thrown in during the chaotic show were intentionally designed as part of a large and complete secret character biography shared between Michaelis and the production team.

WATCH | Meet Vic Michaelis:

Meet Vic Michaelis: True, False or Challenging

Vic Michaelis, comedian, improviser and host of Very Important People, is known for challenging his guests with completely improvised interviews. This time, CBC’s Jackson Weaver turns the tables and puts Vic to the test in a game of True, False or Challenge.

Although Michaelis doesn’t want to show me the biography, he reveals one aspect of the character: “Bird, confirmed.”

They also point out that because of the deliberate insanity of the show, which pits them against their equally insane guests, they often find themselves desperate for an answer — or desperately trying to get away when guests throw heavy props or pressure Michaelis to do things like take fake but unlabeled medications or eat very real dry protein powder.

Their response to these situations is the result of the guidance they received years ago from an acting coach, which ultimately led them to the strategy they still use today.

Michaelis says her role in that acting class was that of a victim. “They said, ‘We think you’d be really good at playing someone who gets killed in a crime show.’

“It’s like the physicality – the death scene, the drama of it. And that’s always in the back of my mind. Like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s fun. Maybe I can ask myself – what would a victim do in that situation?'”

It’s, to be honest, a really crazy character choice to base your career on – especially for a second-degree taekwondo black belt who lists his dad as his best friend and whose other major acting role is in the time-traveling Hallmark movie “Hanukkah.” All around.

Emmy ambitions

But that instinct has led Michaelis to a top spot, and to where they’re headed next: On the Emmys stage in September, with a few trophies in hand that honor not only their journey, but the changing landscape of network television, talk shows and the entertainment industry.

“It’s so cool and crazy,” Michaelis said, “to see this niche internet company venturing into the awards space with some of these big streamers.”

They are referring to Dropout, the 25-year-old production company known as CollegeHumor until its rebranding in September 2023. The new name represents a move toward more award-worthy content, as opposed to the silly Jake and Amir Skits and videos featuring messages from panicked CEOs of companies like Skype, Oreos and Tide, for which the brand was once known.

Michaelis first became involved with the company as a member of the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, a sketch and improvisational comedy group based in Los Angeles – and worked on some of the lesser-known and lesser-seen content.

But after the recent renaming and the launch of a standalone streaming service called Dropout.TV, the company’s perspective changed, and with it Michaelis’s.

Michaelis’ work shifted from smaller CollegeHumor videos to increasingly larger dropout roles – as the service positioned itself to take on prestige television – aiming directly at a younger online audience and the respect that comes from traditional awards shows.

Very important people now aims (and is Variety predicts) a coveted Emmy nomination for short form comedy – along with other qualified online shows such as Name is the the sober and weak talk show format.

And the sister show, Game changer — where Michaelis got her start — aims to break into the game show category and Danger And Wheel of Fortune, which together cover more than a century of broadcasting time.

The success or failure of this invasion attempt will depend on several factors. First, whether abandoning traditional cable models in favor of standalone entertainment centers can pay off. And also whether the response to a Lack of young people watching television is to bring the television to them – as Michaelis did with Very important people.

“A lot of media meets people where they are, doesn’t it? And challenges them to try new things and look at new things in a way that also feels comfortable,” Michaelis said.

“I think instead of fighting against online culture and TikTok and Instagram Reels and things like that, why not use those to get people to support what you’re doing.”

But outside of the internet – the last place they want to go?

“People always ask me, ‘So what do you want to do after this? What’s your dream?’ And I say, ‘That’s my dream. That’s what I want to do,'” they said.

“I really don’t know what else I could wish for – except to star in a disaster movie someday.”