Fear is not a shtick for Howie Mandel, it is a way of life.
Mandel recently spoke with Esquire and elaborated on his long list of phobias and anxieties. Fear is not something the Canadian comedian shies away from. In fact, he embraces it.
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“There is nothing I’m not afraid of. How I’m being perceived, how I look, what’s going to happen tomorrow, how yesterday went,” Mandel told the publication. “Fear is my fuel, and also my poison. I like fear. I’m a product of fear.”
Speaking of fears, the notorious germophobe opened up about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted him.
“I have grandkids who I can’t go inside and hug, so I go over there and I climb a tree and I look in the window,” he explained. “It’s kind of this weird zoo, where they see their Poppy outside in a tree. I don’t know if I’m helping or harming.”
Mandel also dished on his time as host of “Deal or No Deal”. The comedian said he was always looking out for the best interest of the participants, even if it rubbed producers the wrong way.
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“When I was cognizant of somebody making ridiculous choices, that was heartbreaking inside,” Mandel said. “Did I give them this air that it’s a fantasyland? Was it because of me? It changed my cadence. I would say to people: ‘The banker is offering you [deep look]: Twenty. [pause] Thousand. [pause] Dollars.’ And I talked like that because I wanted them to hear it.”
“Then in the teleprompter, they would say, ‘Stop prompting, let her make a decision.’ But my whole goal for everybody who came on — I threw all the comedy by the wayside,” he expressed. “It was the first time I didn’t play Dr. Wayne Fiscus, I didn’t play the Howie Mandel comedian, I didn’t do the Bobby voice. The only emotion I had was empathy: I just want you to do good.”
