Cedric Yarbrough (CEE-Drik) thinks outside the box. It’s why he’s had so much success in Hollywood. Who needs a script? Yarbrough has made his career out of being unscripted. The graduate of Minnesota State University, where he studied theater and drama, tried his luck after college and moved to Los Angeles in 2000. Having sketch comedy and improv skills in his wheelhouse is his claim to fame, literally.
“I have been working here ever since,” Yarbrough says during a recent telephone interview. “I got on a really funny show called ‘Reno 911’ on Comedy Central with Niecy Nash where we played these awful police officers for six seasons and a movie. It was an all improvised show. I had that background in me. A lot of times, most projects call for actors that aren’t just vessels.”
This month, Yarbrough’s working with comedic actors whom he calls “top-of-the-line funny” in The House.
Based on the film’s synopsis, we learn after Scott and Kate Johansen (Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler) lose their daughter Alex’s college fund, they become desperate to earn it back so she can pursue her dream of attending a university. With the help of their neighbor Frank (Jason Mantzoukas), they decide to start an illegal casino in his house.
Yarbrough informs, “Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler are professional and are always ready, funny all the time. They can improvise with the best. I was very lucky to be able to work with those guys but I was ready.”
The Burnsville, Minnesota, native continues, “[Directors] want you to be able to write on the spot, be able to come up with some ideas on the spot. I was able to do a movie a year prior called The Boss with Melissa McCarthy and we did a lot of improvisation, along with Christine Bell. That company is also producing The House. A wonderful casting director Allison Williams cast me in that film and she also cast me in The House movie, ‘Arrested Development,’ ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm;’ she casts a lot of very funny comedies. I went in, auditioned and landed the role.
“A lot of actors especially younger ones coming up, just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean anything, you’ve got to be able to distinguish yourself in some kind of way. I am not that pretty. I have to be able to come up with things that distinguish me from every other comedic actor, yes I am funny, but how am I funny. How quick am I?
“I have been very fortunate to be able to use that part of the acting aspect, being able to improvise, being able to contribute has helped me with ‘Reno 911,’ write on ‘Boondocks’ and do voice-over work for my characters Tom Dubois and Colonel H. Stinkmeaner.”
Here’s more of our interview.
How do you stay ready, fresh, inventive and creative? What gets you there?
“I read a lot. I watch a lot of television as well. I find it informative. It’s good to know a little bit about everything … for me especially as an improviser. I also have a show that I do in Los Angeles. It’s a live show called ‘The Black Version;’ we’re six African American [entertainers] and we get a movie title from the audience. We ask them to name a classic film, like Titanic, Silence of the Lambs, Sixteen Candles and then we improvise the Black version of that movie. We have really had a great run of that show. It’s a live show that we do at Largo. People absolutely love it. It is one of the best shows in town. It keeps me fresh. It keeps me really prepared and ready.
“I do a show now on television called ‘Speechless’ with Minnie Driver, an amazing actress who is also a wonderful improviser. We have to improvise on that show. I stay ready so I don’t have to get ready.”
How do you spend your downtime? What’s zen for you?
“I haven’t had much of that. We have been going from project to project. I am very happy about it. I am not complaining about it at all. As an actor, it’s what you want. You want to work so you strike while the iron is hot.
“I have been able to work closely with the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. They work very closely with our show ‘Speechless.’ I have been able to work off camera as well.”
Are you a dad?
“I’ve learned that being in a relationship is hard work. And I am not that good at multitasking right now. I am hoping that Miss Adorable, Miss Wonderful will come into my life one of these days.”
Name your hobbies.
“I like to write. I am big on that. I am really into dramas and I love musical theater. I am into music. I love jazz. I have a lot of friends around Los Angeles who are musicians. I will go to their shows and either sing with them or watch them.”
What is your favorite place to travel and why?
“For the last couple of years, I’ve spent Christmas and the New Year doing the USO Tour with the Brownings, an Improv Theater. We have been to Kuwait, Honduras, Ethiopia and my favorite place is Guantanamo Bay. It’s really cool. That was very interesting. It’s not as cool as Havana, Cuba but Guantanamo was really interesting. When you visit [the soldiers] during Christmas and New Year, they are so happy to see that people really care for them during the holiday. They’re so appreciative and you’re happy to see them.”
