It’s a good thing Eddie Della Siepe doesn’t get discouraged easily.

The first time the Toronto-born comedian tried his hand at standup – at the age of 17 – he was booed off the stage.

Della Siepe came home in tears, and remembers his mom, who hails from South America and who he says doesn’t fully understand how comedy works, thinking it had gone well.

“She thought it was like going for a job so I came home crying and I put my head on the kitchen table and my mom put her hand on my back and said, ‘Did they hire you?’ because she thought all it took was for me to go out there and say, ‘Hey I’m funny!’ and be hired,” he says.

It took Della Siepe a couple years to work up the courage to get on stage again but once he did, he never looked back.

He’s now a mainstay on the Canadian comedy scene, and as well as regularly criss-crossing the country doing tours and festivals, Della Siepe will star in a 'Comedy Now!' special airing Saturday, Aug. 20 at 10 p.m. ET on CTV.

“This is going to be my jokes that I’ve honed and my act (being shown) across the country. It’s pretty cool.”

Some of the things Della Siepe delves into during the set are his real name and general observations about everything from dating and social media to public bathrooms.

“I find myself trying to relate to everyone as much as possible and try to be a little personal, like using my name ‘Edmondo,’ and talk about people in bars and people on Facebook and stuff like that. I think I’ve done enough shows across the country where I got a grasp of what works everywhere.”

Della Siepe has been interested in comedy from an early age and recalls how he used to try out his material with his classmates at school. 

“I was the class clown and I was the kind of guy that if I could make a teacher laugh, I felt it was a big accomplishment because they were a grown-up and it was like an audience in a way.”

Della Siepe says he does his best work “impulsively” and looks up to other comedians like Louis C.K. and Daniel Tosh.

“You can just sense that that’s really them, that’s their voice and it inspires you in a way to keep pushing yourself.

“Some people think standup, it’s like building an act – you build and build and build – but I think it’s more like you’re tearing away, almost like a piece of fruit or an onion. You keep taking off a layer until you really get to the core of what you really are.”

As well as comedy, Della Siepe is a regular on MuchMusic’s “Video on Trial” and has acted in both television series and feature films, including the lead role in Sidney Furie’s “American Soldiers.”

He says he would be interested in doing more acting, as well as pursuing comedy opportunities south of the border.

But in the meantime, he plans to take time to enjoy watching his “Comedy Now!” special this weekend.

“I’m going to sit down with my mom and my dad and say to them, ‘Look, they hired me!’”

About Sheri Block

Sheri Block has been covering entertainment for CTV.ca since 2008. In addition to covering Will and Kate’s Royal Wedding in London, Sheri’s highlights have included going on tour with “Canadian Idol,” being a stand-in on “Canada’s Next Top Model” and meeting Colin Farrell at the Toronto International Film Festival.Follow her on Twitter!