Ismo Leikola

(born 22 January 1979), sometimes known professionally as ISMO, is a Finnish comedian, musician, author, screenwriter, and YouTuber. Leikola made his United States debut in 2014, when he won the "Funniest Person in the World" competition organized by the comedy club Laugh Factory.

Early life and education Leikola was born in Jyväskylä, Finland on 22 January 1979 and lived his childhood in Kuohu, a village from Jyväskylä. Prior to a career in stand-up comedy, Leikola studied at the University of Jyväskylä with physics as his main subject and Philosophy as secondary.

Comedic career

2002–2013

While studying physics and chemistry at the University of Jyväskylä, Leikola was first introduced to stand-up comedy at the campus bar Ilokivi where he debuted in 2002. A year and a half later, he was already performing around Finland. In the fall of 2014, he gave a performance at the International Comedy Showcase in London. Steve Bennett, the editor-in-chief of the comedy website Chortle, referred to Leikola's performance as No. 1 of the evening. In October 2014, Leikola won the first "Funniest Person In The World" competition organized by the Laugh Factory. Leikola received almost 160,000 online votes. The runner-up, Saad Haroon from Pakistan, received over 59,000 votes. The winner of the competition was awarded US$10,000 and a tour across the United States.

2015–present In 2015, Leikola traveled across the United States with his "Funniest Person In The World" tour In October 2016, he performed on the Last Call with Carson Daly show on NBC. In January 2018, Leikola appeared on Conan O'Brien's talk show Conan. He was the first Finnish comedian to appear on an American talk show. A video clip of the interpretations of the English word ass became the most-watched stand-up comedy clip in the history of the Conan O'Brien's show. By August 2019, it had 70 million Facebook views. In 2019, Leikola started to collaborate with Merriam-Webster's dictionary, creating a series of videos for them about the quirks of the English language. In October 2019, he made his appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Just for Laughs 2017, and Melbourne International Comedy festival. Leikola has also toured New Zealand twice and performed at New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

In 2022, Leikola performed for 45,000 people in Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles as an opening act for Gabriel Iglesias.

Comedic style Leikola uses his outsider's point of view to find humor in ordinary things. His humor often has philosophical and science-based subtext or analyzes the Finnish and English languages. He wrote the lyrics for the third part of the revue.

Together with his ex-wife Angelika Leikola, Leikola has written a book Suo, Kuokka ja Hollywood about their life in the United States. The book was published in March 2021 in Finnish. In February 2021, Leikola announced that the couple is writing a new English-language version of the book.

Leikola performs comedic songs with his band Muusikot. In 2015, the band members included professional musicians Richard Murto, Jussi Turunen, and Marko Jansson.

Personal life At the end of 2015, Leikola moved to Los Angeles together with his wife Angelika, who also doubles as his co-writer.

Works

DVDs Leikola filmed three DVD specials from 2008 to 2016.

Hyvä keikka ja helvetisti extroja ("Good Gig and a Hell of a Lot of Extras", 2008), sold platinum. Ismo Leikola: Kasvaa ihmisenä ("Ismo Leikola: Growing as a Person", 2013), sold gold right after its release.

Singles (comedy songs) "Pendolino" (2013) "Mitä jos me silti voitetaan" (2013), featuring Pirjo Heikkilä "Moottoritie on kesken" (2015)

TV appearances in the United States Leikola has appeared on: Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC, 2016) Conan (2018), Conan O'Brien's talk show Bring the Funny (2019), comedy competition series Komiikkatehdas ("Comic Factory", 2006, TV2), stand up-comic Suomi myytävänä ("Finland for Sale", 2009, TV1), co-host, writer, actor Kansallisaarre ("National Treasure", 2010–2011, TV2), host Elixir (2011, Nelonen), losing weight and hosting Naurun tasapaino ("Show Me the Funny Finland", 2013–2014, TV2), stand up-competition for beginners; guest star judge in 2013 and 2014 and special performance in the final 2013 Rakkauden FAQ ("Love FAQ", 2014, Liv TV), panelist Ismo (2015, Elisa Viihde), comedy series about Leikola's fictional life

Movies in Finland Bolt (2008), voice actor Veljeni vartija (My Brother's Keeper, 2018), as himself

Recognitions The Best Stand-Up Comedy Newcomer in Finland in 2003 Six-time winner of the Audience Favourite Comedian Award ("Vegetable of the Year") at "Tomaatteja!Tomaatteja!" (Tomatoes!Tomatoes!) stand-up festival held in Hämeenlinna, Finland. In October 2014, Leikola won the "Funniest Person in The World" contest hosted by Laugh Factory. In 2015, Leikola was invited to the Finnish Independence Day Reception at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland.