Dwayne Perkins (born March 21, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian from Brooklyn, New York, currently residing in Los Angeles. He is best known for his appearances on Conan, Comedy Central, and as a regular correspondent on The Jay Leno Show. In August 2012, he was selected by Rolling Stone magazine as one of their "Five Comics to Watch".^[1] In October 2015, he was the artist-in-residence at the Rotterdam International Comedy Festival.^[2][3]

After emceeing events in college, Perkins began performing at the Uptown Comedy Club^[1] in Harlem.^[4] After graduation, he moved to Boston in 1994.^[5] While performing at The Comedy Studio in Boston in 1999, he was scouted by Late Night with Conan O'Brien,^[6] and he made his television stand-up comedy debut on that show in July of the same year.^[7] During this period, he also appeared in the New Faces of Comedy showcase at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.^[8][9]

In 2003, Perkins moved to Los Angeles.^[10] He has indicated that his primary clubs in the area are The Comedy & Magic Club and the Laugh Factory.^[11] Other notable area clubs where he has performed include the Hollywood Improv,^[12][13] The Comedy Store,^[14][15] and The Ice House.^[16][17] Notable clubs outside Los Angeles where he has headlined include Gotham City Comedy Club^[18] in New York City and the Punch Line^[19][20] in San Francisco.

In addition to performing in the United States and Canada,^[21] Perkins has also performed in Europe,^[2][3] the United Kingdom,^[22] South Africa,^[23] India,^[24] the United Arab Emirates,^[25] Hong Kong,^[4] Singapore,^[26] and China.^[27][28]

Perkins has indicated that he prefers to appeal to broad audiences rather than to narrowly defined audience segments.^[4][29][30] His earliest stage time was in front of predominantly black audiences in Harlem, followed by a period in which he played to predominantly white audiences in Boston, and he credits both experiences with influencing his style.^[4] He has also indicated that he prefers subtler material over more confrontational approaches.^[27][31] While he includes material about race in his act, he has indicated that it is not the central focus of his material.^[4] His delivery style has been characterized as "likeable" and "matter-of-fact."^[32][33]