Marlon Wayans doesn’t take stand-up sitting down

With groundbreaking shows like the sketch comedy series “In Loving Color” and popular movie franchises like the “Scary Movie” films, the Wayans family has cut a wide swath path through American entertainment over the last 30 years or so.

It’s only made Marlon Wayans, the youngest of the 10 children, hungry for more.

“I want to be one of the biggest comedic stars in the world,” Wayans said in a phone call from San Diego. “I don’t want to be average. I don’t want to be normal. I’m trying to be as great as I can be in every moment that I can be it.”

Wayans comes to Blue Note Hawaii for two shows (one per night Friday and Saturday) of stand-up comedy.

Though “biggest” or “great” is a subjective term when it comes to things like entertainment, it’s clear that Wayans is well on his way to a significant career in comedy. His first stand-up special, “Woke-ish” (the title refers to being somewhat hazy about the day’s problems — “I’m up, but not quite”), is out on Netflix, and his acclaimed sitcom “Marlon” just finished its second season, a project viewed as a major accomplishment for having landed on a major network, NBC.

Although he’s had a long career in the funny business — he’s 45 but was just 18 and a year into college when he started on “In Loving Color” — Wayans started doing stand-up seriously only seven years ago. He had avoided it because he wanted to make it as an actor, and in his own way.

It didn’t help that his brothers Keenen Ivory, Damon and Shawn all did stand-up while building their careers — in doing so, taking some of the best material.

“In stand-up, you talk about all the stories that happened in your household, and you develop your point of view,” Wayans said, “and I’m like, ‘Well, they went and stepped all over that.’ And ultimately, I was quite scared.”

His venture into stand-up was the result of an acting opportunity that didn’t pan out. Wayans was chosen to play Richard Pryor in a biopic about the great comedian, whetting an appetite for stand-up that continued after the film project was canceled. But while his brothers had always thought he was funny, it wasn’t easy for him to learn the ropes.

“Every night, I used to do something totally different, but they said ‘That’s crazy. You gotta repeat the same material,’” he said. “I had to learn the discipline of stand-up.”

That meant taking some risks. While Wayans’ political inclinations seem clear — he jokes not only about President Trump but also takes shots at Ben Carson, Trump’s embattled secretary of Housing and Urban Development — he wanted to make sure his jokes would play well all over the country. So he took his show to the South, playing in clubs full of “people in red MAGA hats” and getting laughs from them.

“If you can tell a joke about some people, and they’re the ones that are laughing the hardest, then I know it’s a good joke,” he said.

“I feel like I’m funnier, I’m smarter, I’m more articulate, I listen better. It makes me a better actor. I’m less desperate in terms of performance because I know the joke’s going to be there, and when it is, I can attack it. I didn’t know how to attack it before.”

Just watching his show is enough to understand what that “attack” involves. Wayans plays a divorcee named Marlon, a Youtube sensation, who is trying to stay connected with his ex-wife and their two children. The character is loaded with energy, a kinetic force at times reminiscent of Robin Williams jumping from character to character, riffing on things like Samuel L. Jackson in “Snakes on a Plane,” or mimicking a black preacher presiding over his own funeral.

Many of these bits are improvised, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy. “If you watch the show, you can see I’m sweating, and that’s because I’m working, I’m thinking, I’m giving 150 percent,” Wayans said. “I’m trying to make history. I’m trying to make something that will make people laugh 100 years from now.”

The show also has moments of reflection, where his character realizes that he’s torn the family fabric a little and has to work to mend it. It’s a message of family togetherness that has been a constant in Wayans’ life, from the gatherings where he and his siblings sit around and “laugh all day” to his current family situation, which parallels that depicted on the show — divorced, but close to his ex and kids.

He brings that sense of family to his comedy special as well, discussing things like his daughter’s sexual preference. It’s a touching moment of truth, but one where he can find humor.

“My daughter’s on a date with a girl right now,” he said during the call. “It’s her first date, and I’m sitting there giving her advice, like ‘Just be you,’ and ‘Make sure you chew gum.’ …

“But that’s her, that’s her life and who am I to make any kind of judgment about my child, except to nurture her to be the best her she can be?”

With all that’s happened to him in recent years, Wayans feels like he’s coming into his own as an entertainer, with stand-up representing the culmination of all his efforts so far.

“I feel like I was raised as a Jedi,” he said. “My first 25 years in this industry were all about learning, and now I’m executing. I feel like Keanu (Reeves) in ‘The Matrix.’ It’s all making sense to me now.”