New star of Republic of Telly, Edwin Sammon has revealed beating cancer has pushed him to follow his comedy dream.
The 38-year-old, who was announced as the latest comic to join the RTE sketch show, was working part-time until 2013 until he bit the bullet to go into comedy full-time after his battle with the disease.
“In 2013 I was diagnosed with two cancers – bowel and secondary liver cancer – so that put things in perspective,” he said.
Dream: Edwin opened up about his battle with cancer and how it pushed him to follow his dream | YOUTUBE
“Going through the cancer treatment gave me a lot of time to think and when I got through it, I thought I’d give it a go.”
After winning his battle against cancer, the Offaly man landed the part of Fr Gabriel in the original Republic Of Telly sketch.
“I moved back up to Dublin and was lucky enough to get a nice apartment and got a phone call from Jason Butler, who was the producer on Republic Of Telly, to ask me to play the priest on the original Bridget & Eamon, which was a segment on Republic Of Telly before the series happened,” he to TV Now Magazine.
Comedy: Edwin admitted he worked part-time while gigging before he went into comedy full-time | RTE
Although his career is going from strength to strength, the comedian gave sound advise to aspiring comedians – insisting they should have a back-up plan to pay the bills.
“It’s possible to make a living [from comedy] if you don’t desire things or if you don’t want a mortgage, or a car or children – all of which I don’t have – but beyond that I don’t know,” he explained.
“It does help when you are recognisable from TV and you get more established. If you can get good gigs at festivals, or if you can get support gigs for established comedians, then you can build up a following.
“But I do think comedians doing stand-up should have other skills they make money from. I worked in Woodies in Glasnevin for years before I left to pursue this fulltime. There’s a lot to be said for a steady pay cheque,” he added.
