Jo Koy went through rejection after rejection before finally getting his live act shown on Netflix.

“They turned me down, like, eight times,” the sprightly Filipino-American standup comic told Philippine media on 30 August, a few hours before his debut movie, Easter Sunday, held an invitational screening at Mall of Asia.

He decided to use his own money to shoot one of his shows in 2017, Live from Seattle. This time Netflix picked it up.

The second show, Comin’ in Hot (2019), caught the attention of Steven Spielberg, who told Jo Koy he should do a movie. And that’s how Easter Sunday was made.

Jo Koy is also in Manila for a show at MoA Arena on 31 August.