A lot of people may be familiar with comedian Nate Jackson for his role on NBC’s comedy series “Young Rock,” based on the life of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who also starred as himself. Jackson had a recurring role as Junkyard Dog on the award-winning show. But for locals in the Pacific Northwest, the Lacey, Thurston County-raised Jackson is most known for his years hosting and performing stand-up comedy.
For the last five years, Jackson’s Super Funny Comedy Club in Tacoma has been among the premier venues for stand-up comedy in the region. The club is known for attracting top-tier comedians like D.L. Hughley, Donnell Rawlings, George Lopez and more. The club, which opened its doors in 2020, was born from “The Super Funny Show,” which Jackson hosted at various local venues for over a decade. The full-service venue is purportedly the only Black-owned comedy club in the Pacific Northwest.
Jackson has been a stand-up comedian for 21 years, going back to his days as a student at Eastern Washington University in the early 2000s. And he’s stayed busy. While hosting comedy shows that brought famous headliners to the region, he’s also managed to hit the road and build an impressive résumé of his own. In addition to “Young Rock,” his career includes appearances on BET’s “ComicView,” VH1’s “Wild ‘n Out,” HBO’s “All Def Comedy” and an appearance in the Christmas film “Spirited,” starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.
After half a decade of the Super Funny Comedy Club bringing big names and huge laughs to Tacoma, Jackson closed his club after a final show on New Year’s Eve.
But it’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s the opposite.
2025 is already shaping up to be a huge year for Jackson. Earlier this month, he filmed his first Netflix comedy special across four sold-out shows at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle’s University District. He’s also landed a role in the upcoming reboot of NBC’s hit comedy series “The Office,” which hasn’t yet announced an official release date but is expected to premiere in late 2025, and is currently on the road for his Super Funny World Tour with stops across the U.S. and Europe. He’s also been cast in “Good Fortune,” a feature film written and directed by Aziz Ansari that’s scheduled to release in October.
We caught up with Jackson days before filming his Netflix special and talked about his comedy roots, his upcoming role in the “The Office” revamp, the significance of his first Netflix special and saying goodbye to his beloved comedy club. This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.
How did you originally get into comedy?
I was at Eastern Washington University, and we used to sit in the Union building every day after classes and just chill. And my homeboy, John Fowler, dared me to do stand-up (comedy) against people at the school. I said, “Yeah, I’ll do it.” And he told me to turn around, and there was a big banner on the wall that said “Student-only comedy competition Wednesday.”
So we went to Spokane and found a little comedy club that would let underagers in, and we went in there with our little 3-by-5 cards and told our jokes, and then got (kicked) out. And that was our practice run. Then we did the real show the following Wednesday, and there was probably like 15 people in it, and I beat everybody but my friend that dared me.
How does it feel to be filming a Netflix special?
Feels due and overdue at the same time. I’ve been doing comedy for 21 years. I’ve had two, arguably three, bad sets in my entire career, and I perform 400 to 500 times a year. That’s a lot of shows. That’s a lot of performing and that’s a lot of leaving (audiences) a good mark and not stinking up the joint.
But I (didn’t) do Netflix programming. I (wasn’t) on that side of the game. All I (could do was) be the talent, and answer when I finally get the call. And this is a good year. I mean, last year is the year I did it all, but this is the year people will see what I did.
When stuff starts rolling out, and people see me on “The Office” and see me in a feature film and see me with a Netflix special that’s out, people will think I flourished since the club closed, but this has already been in the works. It took 21 years to get a Netflix special. So now, here we go. We’re going to do it in Seattle and take the roof off.
How did “The Office” role come about?
Honestly, I auditioned for it and got it. I can’t say much because I signed an NDA, but I’m excited. It’s the biggest comedy show in TV history in like three countries. The Japanese version was popping, the European version was popping, our version was popping, and now it’s back.
Your comedy club is closing after five years. How are you feeling?
Everything’s taking off. It feels good. I got Netflix specials, TV shows, movies — like unless I can clone myself and leave one of us in Tacoma, I got to go.
I understand that people may think the closure is because it failed or because of lack of support, but that’s not what’s going on here. People loved us all the way until we closed our doors. It was sold out until the last night. There was no dip in finances. I’m just blowing up. The door’s getting knocked on. I got to answer, man.