For Lolly Adefope, Comedy Is in the Details - The New York Times

What unites these disparate roles, Adefope said in a recent interview, is that the characters “really know themselves.” As, it seems, does Adefope, whose discerning approach to her career demonstrates natural self-confidence, a rigorous dedication to her craft and an unwillingness to be pigeonholed?

“I want to play all of the parts,” said Adefope, although she added she would draw the line at an action hero.

“You can hit the comedy,” said Adefope, “but a lot of ‘Shrill’ is also emotional.” It was “probably the most dramatic acting I’ve done,” she added.

In an interview, Bryant, who also wrote and cocreated “Shrill,” praised Adefope’s technical skill and her ability to make minute adjustments that transform the timbre of a scene.

After graduating, Adefope took a job handing out fliers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, before performing two well-reviewed solo stand-up shows there — “Lolly” and “Lolly 2” — in 2015 and 2016.

Mae Martin, a comedian who created the Netflix show “Feel Good,” said Adefope’s eye for comic detail was impressive.

“She’s an expert at observing the tiny embarrassing nuances of human nature,” Martin said in an interview, “and using them to imbue all her characters with this wonderful amount of detail.

“You can’t really say you’re a comedian until you’re gigging, and I don’t want to crossover fully into an actress,” Adefope said

Given Adefope’s exacting approach to her career, it was perhaps inevitable that she would end up behind the camera, writing her own projects: She said she was developing a show for an American production company, with a view to starring in it herself, and that she is also working on a narrative podcast

“I work very slowly at writing my own stuff,” Adefope said — partly because she’s filming a lot, but also because she’s “a perfectionist.”