French comedy superstar Gad Elmaleh conquering North America

After becoming a comedy and film superstar in France, 46-year-old Morocco-born Gad Elmaleh has spent the last couple years based out of New York, starting comedy in a brand new language and paying his dues again in rooms like the Comedy Cellar and Joe's Pub in NYC, and other smaller clubs across the United States. Of course, being an established performer -- even in another language -- meant Elmaleh's anglophone rise has been a bit quicker than for most comics. Building off of appearances on Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and late night shows like CONAN and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the one-time Quebeccer is now playing theatres around Canada and the U.S., and is on the verge of recording his first English-language comedy special. In advance of some Canadian stops on his "Oh My Gad" tour, Paul Little got the chance to speak to Elmaleh about his original interest in performing and comedy after he moved from Morocco to Quebec, his discovery of Seinfeld, his recent adjustments to both the English language and North American audiences, and his desire to be seen as funny beyond the gimmick of "starting over".