Finding the Funny
Laurel Coppock '99 is an accomplished comedy actress—and she’s best known as Toyota’s receptionist, Jan
In Los Angeles, Laurel Coppock ’99 rarely gets recognized. But anytime she leaves Tinseltown, Toyota fans stop her on the street.
“It’s always surprising, because you never know with commercials,” said Coppock, who has played Toyota’s upbeat receptionist Jan for over a decade. “I originally booked this campaign that was supposed to be a year long, and 13 years later, it’s still going. We shoot commercials four or five times a year, and I often do personal appearances as Jan for the Toyota team.”
Before landing her role as Jan, Coppock graced Mayflower Hill’s stage as a performing arts major. “All of the foundational learning from Colby shows up all the time when I’m performing,” said Coppock. “To be a performing arts major, I had to take dance, I had to spend time building sets, I had to create costume proposals and really think about what people are wearing and how to design it.”
Coppock now writes and acts in the Groundlings, an improvisational sketch troupe known for turning out famous faces like Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig. The format is similar to Saturday Night Live, where actors write and perform a series of sketches with only a few days to prepare.
“[Colby] was such fabulous training, because at Groundlings, you have to do everything. I’m writing, I’m directing, I’m costuming my own characters.”
While she’s best known as Jan, you’ll find Coppock as a guest star in popular television shows like The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Modern Family, and 2 Broke Girls. But her favorite kind of acting isn’t on a small screen—it’s the kind of bold, messy comedy that can only take place in front of a live audience. “I love long-form improv, where you inhabit a character,” she said. “My favorite thing in comedy, whether it’s scripted or improv, is to get into the body and mind of someone else. That’s where things get really funny.”
All the world’s a stage
Coppock knew she was meant for the stage after starring in a production of The Shaggy Dog Murder Trial in sixth grade. “I was a lawyer, and I made big character choices,” laughed Coppock. “I was the most character lawyer you’ve ever seen. I even walked in right angles. [Since then], I’ve always wanted to do comedy. I like to find the funny.”
She got a crash course in theater and acting during her global entry semester in London, England. “I was over the moon to go to London. We had to see a play every week, and I took acting classes, art history, and theater history. I loved it so much I returned to London for my study abroad junior year. It was just amazing.”
On campus, she performed with Colby Improv and the Colbyettes in addition to department performances like The Last Days of Don Juan and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “I received such great foundational acting training at Colby, and I got to pursue other interests at the same time,” she said. “I took logic and loved it, taking philosophy and math classes in addition to performance.”
It’s this kind of educational depth that allows Coppock to write creatively. A recent sketch she wrote and performed in the Groundlings involved sorority sisters forced to do increasingly complex math problems instead of more traditional hazing rituals. Said Coppock, “I like to laugh and to be silly. I think I’m just programmed that way.”
Finding the funny
After graduation, Coppock doubled down on acting, moving to New York City and studying at the Circle in the Square Theater School. She quickly realized that comedy was a lot more fun.
“It took all that dramatic training to realize I only cared about comedy,” she said. She moved to Chicago to perform at iconic improv stages like Improv Olympics and Second City, which turn out famous comedians like Tina Fey, Keegan Michael-Key, and Bill Murray. “I moved to Chicago and started doing improv every night, which really developed those comic instincts. It was a great learning experience, taking a lot of creative risks and getting on stage constantly.”
‘The risk feels so high when you’re young, but when I look back at Colby, I can see all of the opportunities I had to try something new. There are so many artists who are extraordinarily talented around you, and it was such a nurturing, safe space. I’ve been on this acting journey since sixth grade, and Colby was such an important building block on my journey.’
Laurel Coppock ’99
From there, she spent a year in Amsterdam, performing a mix of improv and scripted comedy for a Dutch audience. “It’s a great way to cut your teeth comedically, because the audiences there were brutal. They would come up after the show and tell you that you weren’t funny,” said Coppock. “But I loved living in Amsterdam, biking everywhere, and entrenching myself in a totally different culture.”
Coppock finally landed in L.A., where she’s been pursuing comedy acting alongside her commercial work.
Coppock credits her Colby education with giving her a chance to try everything. “The risk feels so high when you’re young, but when I look back at Colby, I can see all of the opportunities I had to try something new,” she said. “There are so many artists who are extraordinarily talented around you, and it was such a nurturing, safe space. I’ve been on this acting journey since sixth grade, and Colby was such an important building block on my journey.”
