Arnold Samba, popularly known by his professional stage name Arnold Saviour is a comedian who stages performances on Churchill Show. He is also an actor and an MC.
Among the little-known details that have propelled Saviour’s comedy career was his resolve to land on the Churchill Show stage after he had auditioned for six years in a row.
He has also pursued a law degree from the Mount Kenya University. In a past interview, Saviour shared that his passion dwells in comedy rather than the law career. It was a decision that raised many people’s eyebrows including his parents.
“Initially they frowned about it, thinking it would derail me from the main goal but, as time goes by, they are getting used to it. When I get little money and share it with them, it opens up their hearts to the fact that comedy is not bad,” he shared in the past.
Saviour started comedy through film after realizing he could do comical skits. He would be given a sad script to act on, and during performances, the audience would be laughing. This led him to start auditioning for comedy.
He shared that he has no specific style of humor, and is always careful to avoid the tribal bias.
“Besides, I don’t want to be branded a Luhya or Kikuyu comedian. And if a comedian is creative enough, they do not have to be tied to one style of humor or character, a comedian should be able to create content on any subject.”
His comedy career tells very little about the upbringing he had as a child. He hardly has a social life, had no friends; it was just him and his brother. He was sent to boarding school early in Class 3, further confining his little world to just boarding friends, his parents and brother.
When he joined campus is where he learned to go out, socialize and have fun with friends. He noted that he would have landed in better places had he been more social in his childhood. He also revealed that he draws his comedic inspiration from his parents.
“My parents are very religious and like most African parents, being an artist sums up to everything bad – alcoholism, drugs and all vices. My parents are comedians, they just don’t know it. Most of the skits inspiration comes from my father, he is very funny,” he said.
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Speaking about landing on Churchill show, Arnold Saviour recalled auditioning for six years in a row before the first opportunity came through. This was from 2012 to August 2018.
“For over six years I was behind the curtains auditioning, and every time I would be told to come on Tuesday. This meant you didn’t meet the cut so you come for more auditions as you grew,” he reminisced.
“So, in 2018, I went for the audition knowing I was going to be told ‘come Tuesday’, surprisingly, I auditioned with one of my old skits and I was told to come on Saturday in white outfits, which meant I had met the cut. That’s how I got my first performance.”
He shared that the comedy industry is full of cartels and is somewhat difficult to experience a breakthrough unless you’re popular. He noted that there are many creatives in Kenya, but their work will never see the light of day, since the top people have failed to release their work.
He advised young men looking to get into comedy to study hard at school and get a formal job.
“In Kenya, unless you are super popular, comedy does not pay. It is the gigs that pay, corporate events want popular people, so they are not calling an upcoming artist to host an event, and that means you won’t make money unless you make a breakthrough on stage. I have started earning a little bit, I hope for more,” he said.
Had he not pursued law in university, Arnold Saviour says that he would have taken a career in filmmaking.
“I would have been better off right now with a degree in filmmaking. I have very little hope in law. I’m planning to go back to school and pursue a degree in film,” he said.
