Life lessons: Stewart Lee on what life so far has taught him

Standup comedian, writer and director Stewart Lee was born in Wellington, Shropshire, in 1968. His forthcoming standup show, Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf, will feature him sharing a stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of North America.

My morning ritual is …

I make a black coffee and start work at my laptop. I look at the news headlines and then listen to James O’Brien’s LBC radio show. I wish my morning ritual included some form of exercise, and I hope it will do soon.

I feel optimistic about …

… a change of government putting an end to corruption in British politics, and to a fairer distribution of wealth and services.

What makes me angry

The failure of the media to hold the far-right to account. Also, the inability of humanity collectively to take effective steps to mitigate against the worst possible effects of climate change.

If I wasn’t a comedian, I’d have liked to become …

… an archaeologist or a free jazz saxophonist. When I was on Orkney once, there was a massive dig going on with student volunteers at the Ness of Brodgar, and it looked idyllic. Until recently, my plan for when I’m 61 – when my daughter finishes school, is that I wanted to go to the University of the Highlands and Islands to do a two-year archaeology course and to try to become a guide to ancient sites in Orkney. But it was pointed out to me that this is sort of me giving up on life.

The habit that has served me best in life

Being a workaholic that doesn’t like to not be busy, someone who has to begin one project as soon as another is finished and to make sure everything is extremely thoroughly done. I think that’s annoying for other people.

The habit I’ve successfully kicked is …

… smoking. And, in the last three years, interrupting people. Two people helped me stop that. One was a doctor who pointed out I had a condition whereby I didn’t really understand social norms and I appeared rude just because my brain was getting ahead of me. The other was the actor Kevin Eldon, who, whenever I interrupted him, just talked over me in a louder voice. I try to raise my hand before I speak now, or I just wait.

My sources of joy are …

… my kids, when they’re being funny and clever and enthusiastic about the world. My two cats. Music. And being outside in the mountains, where there are burial chambers, hill forts and stone circles.

When things get tough I …

… drink and eat, and that’s something I need to not do. What I need to do is go and sit quietly somewhere for a long time.

The book I wish everyone would read

The funniest book I’ve ever read is Lint by Steve Aylett, which is a sort of surrealist biography of an American writer called Jeff Lint. I buy it for a lot of people who either love it or think it’s the worst thing they’ve ever read.

The big thing I’ve changed my mind about in life

I can remember having moments in the mid-90s where I stopped finding conceptual art and performance art ridiculous and thought they were brilliant, and going from thinking jazz was idiotically annoying to thinking really good jazz is just the best music.

Also, when I was a teenager and we were doing protest marches about human rights, it always seemed like it was religious people who were the problem, so I was a very active atheist and humanist. But in the last five or 10 years, I’ve come to think there are worse things than being religious. I don’t mind if people have religious views, as long as they don’t make the world a worse place.

What keeps me awake at night

Worrying about the future of the planet and about my kids’ future. And worrying about admin, things like filling in forms and managing your bank account.

Don’t ignore the great things that are happening in front of you simply because everyone else is enjoying them

The thing that motivates me most of all

In comedy, the thing that motivates me is wanting to get better at it and trying to find new ways of doing it. I’m endlessly curious about what a versatile artform standup is.

My parents taught me

My mum was extremely hardworking. She did a day job as a medical practice manager, and she taught at night school. She split up with my dad when I was young, and she wanted to pay off her debts and look after me. I always feel guilty that I don’t work as hard as her. My mum called me a ‘plodder’. She said that’s what she was. She said that we plod along but we get there in the end.

I have this theory that …

… the point at which we understand how to laugh is the point at which we understand the rules of the world and how to see the world differently.

I’d like to tell my younger self …

… to try to enjoy the rave era and the Britpop era, which I lived through with a sense of disdain because both those things were popular. I think the lesson is: don’t ignore the great things that are happening in front of you simply because everyone else is enjoying them.

Photography: Jody Hartley 

Stewart Lee’s latest show Basic Lee is on Sky/Now TV. His new show, Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf, is on at the Leicester Square Theatre in London from Dec 3- January 17, and then touring across the UK throughout 2025. Visit stewartlee.co.uk to find out more