When comedian Gad Elmaleh met his idol Jerry Seinfeld in Paris, there was a problem: Seinfeld wanted to see Elmaleh’s apartment.

“I didn’t want to seem creepy,” Elamleh told The CJN “I have a very nice black and white picture of Jerry in my apartment. People in France knew I was a big fan so they offered me posters. It was not like posters you take in a magazine like a crazy teenager or fan. But I have to say, I was so embarrassed that he would see these pictures all over my walls in my apartment.”

Elmaleh, dubbed the “Jerry Seinfeld of France” has been opening for his friend and mentor and the two will have a back-to-back show at The Bell Centre in Montreal on July 26 as part of the Just For Laughs Festival. Elmaleh said he was inspired by the hit show Seinfeld because he is also obsessed with observing small minutia and habits of people and making a big deal out of nothing.

What’s the most important comedic lesson he learned from Seinfeld?

“When you’re hard on yourself and you cut the fat and you go to the extreme,” he said. “This is what I learn with him when I go on tour with him. I see him evolving and tweaking and fine tuning his jokes. I learn a lot. Not every comedian has the motivation to work like this.”

And almost no comedians have the chutzpah to do what Elmaleh decided to do. Despite possessing fame and fortune performing in French, he came to New York to do comedy in English, even though he didn’t feel he had a great handle on the language. After 22 years of standup in France, he said he wanted to challenge himself. After two years of hard work, he’s making progress.

“I think I used to speak in English but now I’m slowly starting to speak English,” he said, adding that he doesn’t care that he has an accent.

Elmaleh said one of the funniest things about Canada is the way when Quebecois speak English.

“It’s very interesting,” he said. “They remove the “h” I don’t know why and they add the “h” when they’re not supposed to.”

If he could meet French President, Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, American President Donald Trump or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who would he pick?

“Right now, Trudeau, “Elmaleh said. “I want to meet this guy. I like everything (about him.)”

Elmaleh said he is optimistic about the youthful energy of the French and Canadian leaders.

“Macron is giving a lot hope to French people,” Elmaleh said. “We needed that in France. There was a lot of sadness and depression and fear with terrorism and the economy. Macron is bringing a new oxygen. I think Trudeau is in that area too with his spirit. I like the idea of being older than a president. They used to be older than me. Now I’m older.”

Elmaleh is 46. Macron is 39 and Trudeau is 45. Elmaleh has learned to adjust to new situations, though one took time. He didn’t realize that in New York comedy clubs, people eat during the show.

“Sometimes I’m surprised there’s no Starbucks in the funeral,” he said. “It’s crazy, the food is everywhere but it’s the culture and they are used to it. I felt really uncomfortable with this when I first started. It’s hard. You are competing with a burger.”

If any Canadian women are hoping to compete for Elmaleh’s affection while he’s in Montreal, in the hope he’ll ask them out for a burger, they better have one thing. Otherwise, it’s a deal-breaker.

“If she doesn’t have a sense of humour, it’s impossible,” Elmaleh said. “She could be like the most beautiful woman on the planet. I need a girl who understands humour, is able to talk about things and observe things. I don’t need notes on my set. I just want to be able to share it with her. Otherwise, it’s boring. It’s not sexy.”

Elamleh, who speaks Hebrew fluently, has performed in Israel in French, but said his next project is to perform in Israel in English.

“I’m looking forward to that,” he said.

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Asked if he ever encountered anti-Semitism, Elmaleh said he just sees infantile posts on social media. After posting pictures of him performing at venues in New York, he said he got some comments where people wrote something to the effect of “of course you’re doing that because you’re a Jew.” As to whether or not the posts, upset him, he said there’s only one way he can look at it.

“I wouldn’t say upset, but I’m sad to see the stupidity,” he said. “What can you do with social media? Are you gonna answer this stupid guy, who is depressed behind a computer I don’t know where and gonna make a big deal in the press? The only thing you can do is laugh.”

The comedian said he was happy to perform in Montreal a few weeks ago for Beth Chabad CSL. He said that he did the performance largely due to what he saw when he was a kid growing up in  Morocco.

“I respect Chabad a lot,” he said. “The fantastic thing is they had Muslim kids and Jewish kids for Purim they gave them mishloach manot (food platters or boxes of food given to neighbors and friends for Purim) to all the kids.”

He also said he was happy he had the chance to meet and get a customary dollar from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

While going from shows with thousands of people to clubs with a few hundred people might seem like a shot to the ego, Elamleh said it was not the case.

“No big arena,” he said. “No security. Nothing. Just me and my jokes. I feel like I have to earn these laughs. It’s a great satisfaction.”

He’s also said that the Bell Centre is one of his favourite places to perform, and judging by his appearances on late night shows and in clubs, getting big laughs while performing in English will not be a problem.

Elmaleh performs at the Bell Centre on July 26, part of the Just for Laughs Festival.