Arlington resident Eric Patrick, 24, is a State Department employee by day and a standup comedian by night. He also stars on the latest season of MTV’s” The Real World,” which premieres June 30 at 10 p.m. Why did you want to be on “The Real World”? To be honest with you, I didn’t. My brother sent an e-mail explaining who I am. It actually started like nothing I would have ever written — like, “Yo, my name is Eric, but people call me E-money. I’m a comedian, but I work for the State Department. Holla!” And they sent me an e-mail telling me to come the casting call in Adams Morgan. … I just figured I had nothing to do that morning. And it snowballed into this huge thing, and now I’m looking at myself on television. What’s life like as a standup comedian in D.C.? The comedy scene in D.C. is really good in that there’s a lot of rooms and venues to get onstage. Seven nights a week there’s an open mic to get on, and there’s a lot of talent in D.C. What are your goals for your comedy career? I actually don’t want to be some just extremely recognizable guy. My goal isn’t to be the next Chris Rock. My goal is just to do comedy full-time. If I can do comedy and pay my rent, that’s like a dream come true. Is “The Real World” as real as it says it is? Yeah, it really is. There are no scripts … nothing is suggested, everything is kinda just on you. Only thing that is unreal is just living in a house provided by someone else. What was it like to have cameras in your face 24-7? You know what you’re signing up for. It was pretty easy. … The realization that it’s there is overwhelming at first, but you get over it.
– Liz Essley
