It's been a good year," says Peter Kelamis.
The Vancouver actor and standup comedian modestly understates the situation. Prior to 1995, Kelamis divided his time between stand-up comedy tours, commercial work and the odd television role.

But in 1995, acting moved to the top of his
agenda, marking a definite shift in his career. In less than 12 months Kelamis counted 14 television and film roles culminating in a guest-star appearance on Strange Luck, which will be shot in early January.
Kelamis snagged this spot thanks to a character he played on the series earlier in the season. Producers liked the character enough to write an entire episode around him.

"We had fun last time around," Kelamis says of working with series star D.B. Sweeney. "We went to a hockey game in that first episode and I get nailed in the head with a hockey puck. That was the first scene that established us [the characters] as buddies. It's understood that they're friends from the newspaper but haven't been on-screen together before."

Kelamis laughingly describes his character Dave Benton as "a bit of geek. He's a failed womanizer, kind of person." '

With acting work building momentum, Kelamis has limited his time on the comedy circuit to weekend gigs across the country.

"I just love performing in clubs. I want to keep playing clubs to keep my skills up. And I'll continue to pursue it even with acting."

This comedian appears to lack any performance anxiety attached to standing alone on a stage and trying to make a roomful of people laugh. He doesn't understand people's preoccupation with the fear of standup comedy. The whole process is a thrill and Kelamis accepts that there are nights when a comic bombs.

"You learn that sometimes they're not going to find you funny. Even if it's a joke that has worked 100 times before- some nights it won't. You just have to learn that that is part of it."