ISMO

Ismo Mikael Leikola, sometimes known professionally as ISMO, is a Finnish stand-up comedian, musician, author, screenwriter, and YouTuber.

Leikola made his United States debut in 2014, when he was awarded the title of "The Funniest Person in the World" in a contest organized by the comedy club Laugh Factory.

Ismo, 40, wields that outsider perspective onstage with an endearing sense of bemusement. In his “Conan” set, for example, he playfully posited that “ass” is the most complicated word in the English language.

“Sometimes, if you add ‘ass’ to something, it can actually reverse the meaning of the original word,” he joked. “Like, ‘bad’ is bad, but ‘badass’ is good. But not always. Like, ‘dumbass’ is still dumb. How could you know?”