Stand-up comedian Ismo Leikola will be in Finland for almost two months this summer for his gigs, but his permanent home is in the United States, in Los Angeles.
Ismo Leikola, 43, a stand-up comedian who has paved his way to the world, is currently traveling around Finland on a new tour. This time, Ismo’s visit to his home country will last until mid-August, and the next time he will return to these landscapes already in October.
– It’s always nice to come, but this time it was somehow especially nice to be in Finland. Maybe I’ve somehow missed here in Finland, especially now that I’ve lived alone, Ismo tells Iltalehti about his news.
Ismo and his ex-wife Angelika Leikola decided to separate about a year ago. Ismo says that living on his own has taken some getting used to in many areas.
– If you run out of toilet paper, you can’t just shout and ask someone else to bring a new roll, Ismo laughs.
Ismo Leikola says that he misses Finland, for example berries, such as lingonberries. Pete Anikari
Ismo says that he experienced some loneliness due to his new life situation. Ismo currently lives alone in Los Angeles, USA.
– Of course, culture affects loneliness, even though I have friends there, and you can always call Finland. Yes, I see friends, but on the other hand, I also like to be alone.
– Angelika and I are still on good terms, we can always call and support each other. We didn’t become any enemies after the breakup. That has also made it a lot easier, Ismo continues.
Joint work projects
Ismo states that he still thinks of Angelika as his best friend, even though the divorce came after 13 years of marriage. The ex-couple has also worked together for more than 10 years. This culminated in a joint book Swamp, hoe and Hollywoodwhich was released in March 2021
The comedian reveals that the next joint book project is already on the way.
– While the first book dealt with the move to America and the country’s separation from Finland, the second book focuses not only on America, but also on the relationship and the separation. A really interesting reflection has come about with the book, Ismo says.
Ismo dreams of making music in the future as well. Pete Anikari
When visiting Finland, Ismo stays in hotels, although he also has permission to visit Angelika in the village. Angelika currently lives in the shared apartment of the ex-couple.
Ismo says that he was sad about the separation, but that he was able to handle his work in the normal way.
– It’s always good for me to be on stage. Things have been handled little by little, I haven’t been in the fetal position on the floor of the shower and then collected myself for the gig. There’s been a lot of talk about the breakup, singleness and this new life at gigs, and I’ve always been excited to go there, says Ismo.
New dating partners?
When asked about possible new relationships, Ismo is secretive.
– I am spending the single summer, but it may be that I have tried to join a dating service. Sometimes it’s possible that it’s even gone, Ismo says with a twinkle in his eye.
– I don’t think I’m going to propose to anyone right away, but I do miss that human touch sometimes, he continues.
Ismo will next arrive in Finland in October for a tour. Pete Anikari
Ismoak has also been targeted to some extent, but he thinks that people are a little scared by his great popularity both in Finland and abroad.
– Especially in the United States, culture is that a man takes an initiative and a woman. I think this is unfair, everyone should work the same amount for it, says Ismo playfully. In Finland, this is more equal, and even here women sometimes approach quite openly, says Ismo playfully.
Ismo has also talked about new partners with his ex-wife Angelika.
– Of course, it is understandable that new partners will come at some point and the only hope in this situation is that the new life partner will not be hindered by our close friendship with the ex-wife. We want to stay close for the rest of our lives, says Ismo.
If the ex-couple’s friendship doesn’t suit the new partner, then we’re in some kind of mess, Ismo thinks.
– We have such a good spiritual connection with Angelika and we understand each other really well. It doesn’t mean we have to live together or be a couple, but we can just be friends. It has to be suitable for our future partners as well.
Language book
Originally from Jyväskylä, Ismo considers Los Angeles to be his hometown and also says that he thinks he will live permanently in America.
– In America, the opportunities for success are so great that I didn’t think about leaving there, Ismo states.
– Sometimes you can see how you manage there as a Finnish stand-up comedian in another language. It’s really great, he continues.
Ismo has asked his friends to correct grammar mistakes when he speaks English. Pete Anikari
Ismo says that Americans often ask him how he is able to do stand-up shows in Finland. Ismo’s shows in America consist of dealing with the feeling of being outside and cultural differences, so it seems strange to them if Ismo also deals with the same topics at their concerts in Finland.
– Maybe I’ve always been an outsider everywhere, and not all of my stories deal with the fact that I’ve just moved to America.
Ismo states that you can’t get by in America with just the “Finnish dialect”, but that the stories also need proper content.
– It’s still easier for me to do stand-up gigs in Finnish, because it’s my mother tongue. However, gigging in America has become easier all the time and people come to my gigs incredibly well.
Ismo says that his worst mistake in the United States is the small language mistakes that he often gets into. Sometimes language also causes misunderstandings.
– Small, insignificant words, for example “and” and “but” often come in the wrong language in the middle of a sentence. Sometimes I notice that I have written “ja” instead of “and” in e-mails, Ismo laughs.
Ismo asks his friends to correct his linguistic mistakes, if there are any. He hopes to speak even better English in the future.
– It’s really important for me to learn to communicate well and correctly, because that’s where I live and work, he says.
“This is who I am”
In the future, Ismo wants to realize several different career dreams. Of course, the dream is to make a big breakthrough as a comedian in the United States, but there are also several individual ideas running through my mind. He says that sometimes there are so many ideas that he doesn’t know what to implement.
– TV shows, podcasts and streaming service specials are in mind. I also have a career as a writer in mind and I have a passion for writing. In addition, there is a film project underway, but I dare not talk more about it, Ismo reveals.
The number of followers on Ismo’s social media channels has grown greatly in a few years. He currently has more than 314,000 followers on his Instagram account. Ismo says that helpers have been hired for social media, who take care of, among other things, putting videos on different channels.
Comedian Ismo Leikola dreams of many kinds of work projects. Among other things, his dream is to have his own netflix special. Pete Anikari
Ismo thinks that future projects, be they movies, TV shows or comics, should be made in English so that they can be successful in the world. However, he does not reject the idea that, for example, filming could be done in Finland.
Whatever Ismo does, he wants to entertain people and still remain a stand-up comedian.
– This is who I am and I breathe. This is my way of life, Ismo concludes.