Greek Stand-Up Comedian Katerina Vrana

“The Muppets and Eddie Murphy.” That’s the unlikely combination that Greek stand-up comedian Katerina Vrana comes up with when I ask about her influences growing up in Athens. And when she says it, it’s with a rather pronounced English accent. After all, Vrana moved to London back in 2000 to pursue an acting career. She soon grew tired of being typecast as “the Greek girl” who somehow just didn’t look “Greek enough.”

“They wanted Salma Hayek,” she tells me. “I had to tell them, ‘Yeah, but Salma Hayek is Mexican…’” Vrana soon started doing improv, and from there it wasn’t long before she was doing stand-up.

I caught up with Vrana in Athens, where I’m working on some stories ahead of the Greek elections on Sunday, June 17. Vrana’s back to vote, and to just maybe gather some new material for her act. I used a bit of our interview in a piece I filed, but the conversation was so good and wide-ranging that I wanted to give you a bit more of it. You can listen in as Vrana talks about the nascent stand-up scene in Greece, her hair, and the joys of tucking into breakfast at Denny’s. Stick around to the end. You won’t want to miss the story of the time she did her routine in front of a group of 80-year-old Greek grandmothers during a birthday party.

You can also follow Katerina Vrana on Twitter. Below you can find a little visual sample of some of Vrana’s work:

And you can see some videos (not all of them safe for work or kids…) here.