-First night, first night. -I know.
First time being on this great show, also.
-I know. This is so exciting.
How are you feeling going into your first evening?
-I want to throw up. -Yeah.
-Yeah. Absolutely want to throw up.
-It's a good show that we're going to see tonight, right?
You're feeling good? -I'm very confident
and proud of our first episode.
I mean, of all the episodes we've shot thus far.
But the first episode is like my little baby.
I'm so proud of it. I can't wait for you to see it.
I can't wait. -Well, we're very excited.
We last saw each other in March.
You announced that you were doing this show
on "The Tonight Show." -Yep.
-And then I came down. And I was a surprise.
And we all had some champagne together.
-Absolutely.
-Yet you did not know I was coming.
-See, here's what happened,
was we had this segment planned out with Jimmy,
and then super last minute, my publicist was like,
"hey, none of that's happening.
We're going to change it." And I was immediately stressed.
Because I thought, "Why is this happening?"
Now I know in hindsight
it was because a surprise was being planned.
But if I'm really honest, there's a moment on the show,
if you zoom in on my face,
when Jimmy says, "We have a surprise."
My eyes are absolutely saying, "Oh, my God.
The Rock is going to come out right now."
And so I'm -- I mean, I'm thrilled it was you.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. -I'm thrilled.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that's coming across.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. -Yeah, I know.
But there's definitely a moment where I'm like,
"Dwayne Johnson is going to come out!"
And then it was you. And I was like, "Also fun!"
-Yeah. -"Also fun."
-I think the face was more like, "Also fine."
-Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean --
-It is like -- I would never --
If I was backstage, I would never want someone to say,
"The audience is so excited.
We told them it was either The Rock or you.
Now get out there and show 'em you're not The Rock!"
-But even though you're not The Rock, I got to say,
this was one of the most special moments of my entire life,
and you made that possible. -Oh, thank you.
Well, that's so sweet of you to say. And --
[ Cheers and applause ]
You certainly made a major career --
made a name for yourself on YouTube.
-Yeah.
-15 million subscribers to your channel.
For those who are not familiar with you,
how do you describe yourself to people?
-You know, I've gone through phases.
I used to say aspiring actress. I used to say aspiring comedian.
I said entertainer for a while. -Uh-huh.
-But the thing is, every time I'd crossed customs
and I would tell the customs officer "entertainer,"
I could tell he was like, "Stripper."
-Right, yeah.
-And then I was like, "Why, thank you."
But I think what I -- I think the label, if you will,
that I really enjoy now is just storyteller.
-That's a good one. -I enjoy telling stories.
I think stories connect humans.
Stories make the world go 'round.
People feel represented in stories.
And stories are what make people feel empowered.
So I'm a storyteller.
-You have built this audience over the years.
[ Cheers and applause ] Give it up for telling stories.
-What a supportive audience! Oh, my goodness!
I love you. I love you all.
-You have -- You have very supportive fans.
You have built your career in front of them, in real time.
Those who have been early adopters
have really seen this rise.
What was it like when you first started having fan reactions
of people who knew you from YouTube
and were seeing you in person?
-You know, I think the first couple people that approached me
were taken aback by how nerdy I was.
Because the first couple people came up to me, and I was like,
"Can I get a picture with you?
Can I get your autograph? This is so cool for me."
It's just surreal because I'm, like, a weird nerd, you know?
And so when people look at me and say things like,
"You're so cool, and I want to follow your footsteps,"
I'm like, "You're sure? Are you sure?"
I'm just a weirdo.
And I'm glad they find inspiration from me.
-You are a Canadian hero. Is it safe to say that?
-Oh, yeah. A hero? A Canadian, yes.
-Well, you -- Here you are with the Toronto Raptor.
-Yes. Yes, yes, yes. -That's very exciting.
[ Cheers and applause ] -I personally -- Yep.
I like to feel like I personally won the NBA championship.
-As you should. -Yes.
-You grew up in Ontario. -Yes.
-And were you -- Was this something --
Would your parents have guessed at a young age
that you wanted to be someone who was in the public eye?
Who liked to perform? -I think so.
You know, I was a very rebellious,
annoying child growing up.
Everything from wanting to paint my room a certain color
to wanting to make weird videos on the Internet.
I think my parents know if I want to do something,
I'm going to do it.
I used to be a dancer, as well.
Which they did not like.
And I had to convince them about that, too.
My life has always been about I want to do something.
Mom and dad aren't going to like it.
How do we still do it?
-And did they -- Was it easy to sell them on,
"Hey, I'm going to make videos on the Internet"?
Was that something that they immediately said,
"Great. This is what we hoped."
-Was it easy to sell my Indian immigrant parents
on the idea of making videos for the Internet?
No.
-No, it wasn't. -No, it was not.
I mean, I think to my benefit,
they didn't really know what that meant.
So they were just like, "Okay, do it for a year,
and then when you fail, you can go back to grad school."
But, you know, they did the best thing they could.
They said, "You have a year. Try as hard as you can.
If it goes somewhere, great. If not, we'll talk about it."
And that year I hustled so hard. I taught myself how to edit.
I saved up to buy my first camera. It was $699.
I almost threw up when I bought it.
And I just taught myself how to play the YouTube game.
And, thankfully, it went somewhere.
-And here you are with your show on tonight.