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Houston native makes dream come true as emmy-nominated writer for Trevor Noah
Ashton Womack is an Emmy-nominated writer for The Daily Show on Comedy Central, a stand-up comedian and Houston native who recently co-wrote for Trevor Noah while hosting the Grammys for the third year in a row.
HOUSTON - When most people think about stand-up comedy, Houston’s scene may not be one of the first things that come to mind, but for Ashton Womack, it was the hidden gem that helped him realize his dream.
The 32-year-old Emmy-nominated writer for The Daily Show on Comedy Central, recently was one of Trevor Noah’s writers as he hosted the Grammys for the third year in a row.
(Photo courtesy of Ashton Womack)
Despite being in a familiar space, Womack tells me in an interview, he was able to overcome the nervousness but remained in a state of surreality.
"Each time has been different. Each time has been awesome," he said. "The first time was like, brand new, 'oh my god, I can't believe this is happening' this time, it was so much fun. Doesn't feel like work. It felt like 'oh, we really know what we're doing, let's knock it out.'"
Womack credits much of how far he's come as a writer from the lessons he learned during open mics performing stand-up comedy in Houston in 2013. Additionally, continuous support from fellow comics and getting a chance to hone his skills at different venues like Fitzgerald's, and The Secret Group were lessons he never took for granted.
"Houston has been super important in my journey, like The Secret Group since its inception," he explained.
However, while most people may not consider Houston to be a hub for comedy, Womack noted how seriously his fellow comics took the art form, so there was constantly a push to perform and write better.
"We expect good comedy, even though nobody's getting paid, so I appreciate that pressure that Houston just put on me when I was a younger comic, because it's like, it made me want to be a better writer," he continued. "And everybody around me was a better writer. And just the Houston environment is just like, I just love it."
Even at a young age, Womack remembered he always wanted to be a stand-up comedian, and even his own father, who happened to also be a comic, helped him learn the craft.
"I told him,' I want to do stand up,' and he was like, I'm gonna put you on stage,'" he said. "One day, he was like, ‘what are you doing?’ And I was like, ‘homework,’ and he was like, 'put that down. We're going to do comedy, and then he took me on tour for like, three months, and I got to do comedy when I was 16 for three months.'"
The support Womack got from his family and other loved ones encouraging him to pursue his dream soon led him to try his hand at New York and moved in July 2017. Of course, his first couple of years were a struggle, but it was all worth it.
"I was out here struggling and that support system kept me alive for two years," he said. "Even though I was like, down and out, I was still making little wins that were like, ‘oh, I think I should still do this,' and at no point, did anybody ever say, ‘hey, stop doing this.’"
"And then July 3, 2018, I got this thing called Just For Laughs' New Face," Womack continued. "And I got managers, all the stuff you get whenever that type of stuff happened. So if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't last that long."
Despite how far he's come, even being nominated in 2022 as a writer for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, the feeling still comes as a surprise to him.
"I still don't believe it," he said. "It doesn't sound like a sentence in my mind. Sometimes I just like, ‘oh, nominated for it. What does that mean? What does that mean? Can I go and take this to like a Cracker Barrel and get seated first?’"
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He also recently made his on-camera appearance in a sketch, which came as an even bigger surprise.
And while he couldn't go into more detail about future projects the hope is that there will be more to come!
"I've been wanting to get on the camera more, and now this year, they've liked from between TikToks to the sketches," Womack said. "I got my fingers crossed. I'm working hard just trying to, you know, I don't know what the future holds, but if I keep working hard, and God says the same, maybe you'll see me more on camera."
In a field as competitive as the entertainment industry is, and where labor burnout is commonplace, Womack took a moment to also explain how blessed and fortunate he feels to express himself creatively and make a living out of it.
"I'm truly blessed," he said. "It's a creative lifestyle, and like, what keeps me going…I hope it keeps going, I'm gonna work to keep it going. But my life is like, I get to have a lot of fun involved with work, which is something I've always dreamed of being."
You can learn more about Ashton Womack by following him on Instagram.