To say Mario Adrion’s career path has been unexpected is an understatement.

He grew up in rural Germany in a family of lumberjacks. Today, the stand-up comedian is about to perform half a dozen sold-out shows in Tel Aviv, with a set that dives headlong into every uncomfortable topic imaginable.

Slowly but surely, Adrion, 32, has built a comic career in large part poking fun at German stereotypes, including their discomfort with their World War II history, as well as mining his relationship with his Jewish wife for humor.

“First of all, comedy in general is a very unlikely career for a German,” Adrion told The Times of Israel in a video interview last week from his home in Los Angeles. “And then on top of that, doing shows in Israel is not something you’d ever expect to do.”

With more than 2 million followers on Instagram, and some of his YouTube videos garnering over 20 million views, it’s clear Adrion’s comedy has found its audience, including a major fan base of Israelis. Wrapping up an extensive stand-up tour through Europe, he has already sold out seven straight shows at the Zappa Club in Tel Aviv, and just added another seating – his most shows in any city. He also has a string of upcoming shows across the United States.

Adrion said that “in Germany, obviously, we have a lot of knowledge about Jewish people and Jewish culture, but not a lot of cultural overlap. So it’s a very strange dynamic – and especially there’s no humor around it really – because there’s so much guilt.”

But when he first moved to New York at 18 to pursue a modeling career, “I made a lot of Jewish friends and they would make these jokes to me… and that’s when I learned that humor is something we can use to cope........

© The Times of Israel