HAL SPARKS

Hal Sparks is coming to Rhode Island to perform a show of standup Friday night at the Comedy Connection in East Providence.

This is the comedian/actor/musician’s first visit to the state. “I think Rhode Island is in my GPS,” Sparks said from Philadelphia, one stop on the Eastern leg of a national tour. “I really like people and I really like traveling. So I don’t mind it that much.”

Sparks is probably best known for hosting the TV show Talk Soup on E! Entertainment, for which he won an Emmy Award, and for hosting Queer As Folk on Showtime. He has appeared on numerous other shows and provided voice-over work for animated shows. He sings and plays in a band, Zero 1. And, notably, he does standup comedy, which he has been doing for decades.

Sparks, 39, began his standup career at 15, growing up in Kentucky, something that often factors into his humor. “I will occasionally take aim at the South. A lot of people suspect that when I go to the South I’ll tone it down a bit. No, I actually do the opposite. I double down.”

He says his job as a comedian is to talk about topics people need to talk about but might avoid. “I guess I’m analytical, sociopolitical with a pop-culture gauge thrown in.”

When Sparks performs in person, he’s intentionally physical with his comedy. “I have to think about what would make my show worth it for people to see. I don’t want them to feel they could have heard me on the radio and been satisfied.” So occasionally he creates scenes on stage, which is not something he plans on ever giving up to work in TV or movies or concert halls.

“I’ll keep doing them all. There’s no reason to make a single choice. Most people don’t know this, but America is probably the only country where you can do only one type of performance. That wouldn’t go over in Europe or China. If you don’t sing, dance and act, you’re just a one-trick pony. You have to do everything.”

Sparks has performed in Europe and in China. He is fluent in Mandarin, having studied martial arts for 20 years and learned the language of his instructor out of respect. “They don’t have standup as we know it in China. But I joke around in Chinese. It usually involves me making fun of the fact that I’m not a fat American. They’re stunned that I’m an American and speak Chinese and that I’m an American and I’m not fat.”

In France, Sparks say, there’s also no standup, to speak of. “If you find standup in France, it’s probably spoken in English. Remember this is the country that gave us mime. I guess it’s hard to be funny in French.”

Hal Sparks performs Friday at 8 and 10:15 p.m. at the Comedy Connection, 39 Warren Ave., East Providence. For tickets, $22, call (401) 438-8383 or visit ricomedyconnection.com.

brourke@projo.com