Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Adam DeVine
Episode Date: June 2, 2025Comedian and actor Adam DeVine feels exuberant about being Conan O’Brien’s friend. Adam sits down with Conan to discuss the childhood accident that led him to a career in comedy, befriending his ...fellow Workaholics while at college, mistaking Pitch Perfect for a baseball movie during his audition, and utterly embarrassing himself in front of Danny McBride. Plus, Conan’s memory is activated as he recalls one of his most notorious bits. For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com.Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: (669) 587-2847. Get access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using this show link: https://siriusxm.com/conan.
Transcript
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Hi, I'm Adam Devine.
And I feel exuberant about being Conan O'Brien's friend.
Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell, brand new shoes, walk in blues,
climb the fence, books and pens.
I can tell that we are gonna be friends.
Yes, I can tell that we are gonna be friends.
Bang, bang, bang.
Oh!
Okay, okay, I'm doing it hard, stay there.
I'm doing it hard.
I'm doing it hard. I'm gonna do it real hard. I'm doing it hard, stay there. Oh, I'm doing it hard. I'm doing it hard.
Stay there.
I'm gonna do it real hard.
I'm gonna start, I'm gonna start.
Hey, Conan O'Brien here.
Welcome to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend
and I'm watching, Sona has a bag of popcorn
and she's whipping it across the room.
Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
You know what's impressive?
Sona started whipping popcorn across the room,
Gorley trying to catch it in his mouth.
There were some failed attempts.
I decided to start the podcast on the action.
And what's interesting is Sona threw two.
Accidentally.
Accidentally.
And one went into your mouth and now you're choking.
Are you okay?
Never better.
One of them went in, which was very impressive.
You okay?
I am.
Okay.
Look, I never said we were a real podcast.
You know, it's funny.
It was reminding me of you were throwing popcorn
across from, I have two dogs, Loki's.
Wait a minute.
You'll see.
Loki and Odin.
Loki's a mature seven-year-old dog.
And one of his abilities is I can just drop a little treat
and he can snap it out of the air.
He's very good at it.
Odin is a one-year-old pup and a goof.
And so I'll drop it for Loki and he'll just snap it,
just as you did right now, just snap it out of the air.
And then I'll drop it for Odin,
and it bounces off of his head,
and then he snaps his mouth like two minutes later.
He's just, he's a total clown.
But he's slowly, he's slowly getting the hang of it.
And so I just had, when you were throwing the popcorn
across the room, I have this ritual every day
where I'm trying to teach Odin to be able to snap it.
And I realized that you're slightly smarter than my one-year-old daughter. across the room, I have this ritual every day where I'm trying to teach Odin to be able to snap it.
And I realized that you're slightly smarter
than my one-year-old dog.
Aw.
Thank you.
But you know what, it was on me.
It was hard to throw popcorn and I just couldn't get the
trajectory.
It's not aerodynamic.
I couldn't get the-
Long distance to get that popcorn there.
Yeah.
But we pulled it off.
We did it.
You're a good food catcher.
Hey, thanks.
You're welcome, pal.
See, there is a reason. That's what my wife calls me. You're just a food catcher. You're just a food catcher. Hey, thanks. You're welcome pal. See, there is a reason.
That's what my wife calls me.
You're just a food catcher.
That's all you are.
You're just a food catcher.
That was fun.
I think we've got a loose vibe today.
And I want people tuning in right now
to know that we're a bunch of fun, regular folk
that just toss popcorn around the house.
We lost all of it.
I know.
Whatever we set up, you just ruined it.
I just ruined it.
I just ruined it.
Yeah, it was a nice moment.
Yeah, it's okay.
And I had to get all of it.
Can I throw popcorn at you?
Nah, I don't think so.
And you didn't even mean in his mouth.
You just wanted to pummel him with popcorn.
You wanna use a different food.
Take a handful.
Yeah.
Super hot fried chicken right off the frying pan.
Ah!
Burning my face, scorching it.
Yeah, hot soup.
Really, really hot sweet and sour soup
that you throw at me with a hose.
I'm just, I'm glad that we're happy
and we're having a good time.
And I'm gonna just say it, I don't use the word vibe much,
but there's a good vibe today.
We're just a bunch of pals having fun, that's all.
Bunch of goofy pals throwing food.
Yeah, throwing food around.
That's nice.
And we clean up afterwards.
I'm not going to, because I didn't throw any.
Oh.
But, uh-oh. That means I have to.
Eduardo and I, by the way, are the people
who have to clean up the studio, so.
I don't think there's food allowed in here.
No, no, no, I'm gonna say that's on Matt and Sona. They should have to do that. I would by the way, are the people who have to clean up the studio. So I don't think there's food allowed in here.
I'm gonna say that's on Matt and Sona.
They should have to do that.
I would never.
I just ate all the pieces on my seat.
Well, Eduardo is the head of the studio.
Is there food allowed in here?
Typically we try not to allow food here,
but for you guys, for you guys.
These are props.
I had no idea.
Wait a minute.
I have never heard this rule.
Excuse me, just a second.
Eduardo has the floor.
Now I also want to preface again,
Eduardo is the genius who designed this beautiful studio
that everyone compliments us on.
And so again, props to Eduardo.
I knew that we weren't supposed to have liquid.
It's just good studio etiquette
to not have food or drinks in the studio, but this isn't your typical studio anyways.
It's a podcast studio.
So we kind of built for some food.
No, hold on a second.
So that's really a recording thing
that you're not supposed to have food around?
Cause we've had a ton of food in here all the time.
Again, you have never said a word.
You have never said a word.
No, because it's a good vibe.
So I try to just, you know.
He's cool, dad.
But like, for example, if I were to bring in a goulash,
would you have said something?
A big hot steaming goulash in a big ceramic bowl
and then just been like, goulash for all!
I like to eat- I'm slopping it around.
Coca-Cola and Mentos, is that cool?
Yeah, no, that would not work. Like I said, it's a podcast studio.
It's whatever you guys want it to be.
Well, no, I respect your...
both as a technician and a craftsman.
I respect the work you've done and I want to honor it.
And maybe we should honor Eduardo
by not having food anymore.
I'm cool with snacks. Like, anything that's contained.
That's why I prefer...
She was throwing the food across the room.
But you say, okay, let me list some foods.
Goulash, no.
Probably no.
Okay.
Just a big, boiling, meaty stew.
Definitely no.
Okay.
Tacos?
Tacos.
Oh, a lot.
Chowder.
Ah!
Tacos you allow, but what about my beloved Boston chowder?
Yeah, get out of here.
No.
Mascarpalomas?
Yes.
All right, there we go.
Oh, I see a trend here.
Wait a minute. That's allowed.
This doesn't feel fair.
What about a lot of corned beef and potatoes?
Never.
Out of here.
Oh, man.
What about some quesadillas?
Oh, yes, more, please, please.
I see what's going on.
Have some Armenian grabadagoo.
Grabadagoo.
Depends on the day of the week.
Okay, grabadagoo?
What is it?
What would be an Armenian dish that I should have yelled out?
And don't say,
cause I know there's a lot of dried fruit.
Khush.
Khush.
Khush.
Khush.
What's that?
Khush, it's hoof soup.
Soups.
What? Don't, come on. Lamajoon. Lamajoon, that? Khash, it's hoof soup. What?
Come on.
Lamajun.
Lamajun, let's just go, that's the Armenian pizza.
Khash, we've talked about this.
It's like a peasant dish, kind of.
They take all the parts of the animal that they didn't eat
and they throw it all in a soup.
But hoof, you wouldn't eat the hoof.
You can eat the hoof.
It's hot garlic soup.
You can?
But hoof is what?
Hoof is hardened collagen.
It just melts down.
I think, I don't know enough about it.
I know there's gonna be so many Armenians mad at me,
but I always grew up thinking it's hoof soup.
Maybe there are no hooves.
Okay.
All right, maybe it just got a bad name.
Eduardo is busily searching for it on the internet.
Won't come up.
I don't even know how you spell it.
Yeah, it's on the dark, you have to go on the dark web.
I don't know how you.
Hey, if you want some hoof soup,
you don't just go on,
you don't just type that into Google.
You gotta know a guy.
You gotta know a guy who knows a guy who knows a horse.
Okay, and I also don't know how you,
in English, how you do the ch sound.
Yeah, I tried K-H.
I think you do an X.
Oh, I see.
X-A-S-H.
Khush.
Khush.
Khush.
Khush. Khush. Khash. Khash.
Khash.
Khash.
Khash.
Khash.
Yeah.
That's a good excuse I'll use if, you know,
I tell my wife, I'm like, khash.
And she's like, don't you tell me to be quiet.
I'll say, just wanted some hoof soup.
That's worse.
So I did find it actually.
How?
K-H-A-S-H, or the way you spelled it.
So it says,
hosh is a traditional Armenian soup often made
with cow feet or other beef bones.
Cow feet. Wow.
They can't mean the hoof though.
Well, there's no other real part of the foot.
Yeah.
It's gotta be.
You gotta use the whole part of the whole cow.
So is there a saddle in there?
I mean, what's going on?
Okay.
There's no saddle.
It also says it's often consumed as a hangover remedy.
Yeah, I'm bad.
You have a little of that,
and you're like, I'll never drink again.
Anything, nothing's going in my mouth again.
Once you got a hoof in your throat,
the idea of consuming anything again.
All right, I'm gonna get this show going.
Gotta get this show going. Gonna get this show going.
My guest today has started such TV shows and movies
as Workaholics, Pitch Perfect, and The Righteous Gemstones.
He also has a podcast called This Is Important.
Hey, that's a great title.
Yeah.
Which releases new episodes every Tuesday.
I'm excited he's here today.
["This Is Important. Adam Devine.
Hey, you did the pause.
Welcome, I did the pause.
I did the pause, yes.
Our long national nightmare is over.
Yes.
There's a slight pause there.
Yeah.
Because I think you were exuberant about being someone else's friend and then remembered it was me.
And I could see the life leave your body.
Well, I am bad at reading.
Not much of a reader.
No, no, no.
You put me on the spot reading.
I'm gonna make my own.
Actually, when I was a kid, they thought I couldn't read
because I would like kind of read ahead a little bit
and then make my own story up.
And then they're like, he's an idiot, he can't read.
And then they put me into class, like a remedial reading.
And they're like, we think he can,
he just is making his own shit up.
And like, yeah.
He's highly creative is what he is.
In third grade, I had heard that there was this
Evelyn Wood speed reading course where people,
there was advertised on television
where you could read really fast.
I thought that was so cool.
And I just went to school and told people I could do it.
And they're like, prove it.
So I picked up a book and I flipped through the pages
really fast and I wasn't reading,
but I was flipping through it really fast.
Cause I was trying to, I was embarrassed.
So I was covering for the fact that I had said
I could do this.
And then I did it with another book and another book.
And then they asked me what the books were about
and I was just saying stuff that kind of sounded
like it would be the book.
You're like, George Washington saved the day.
Yeah, you know, it was a bit, yeah.
And so, and they were like, wow.
And they told the teacher, Mrs. Solit,
and they said, Conan's a speed reader.
He can, he just read three books in like two minutes.
And she came over and saw what I was doing
and basically said, you're an idiot.
This is bullshit, knock it off.
And I remember being so embarrassed.
I turned beat red and I said,
I'll never do a stupid thing again.
More red. More red.
More red. Wow.
Yeah. And I was drinking that day.
Yeah.
Adam, it's a thrill to have you here.
Good to be here.
I remember you first came onto my radar
because my assistant who's with me today,
Sonam Avsesian, and joins me often,
I remember she was my assistant,
and from the day you started working for me,
every day you would come in,
and you were constantly talking about this show,
Workaholics, and you were obsessed with it.
Wow, cool.
I was, I loved that show.
Yeah, thanks.
And when I hear that someone,
that something else is really funny, I'm furious.
Yeah.
Furious. I get it, I understand that.
You know, like, what?
This can't be funny, how am I involved?
And she said, it has nothing to do with you.
Yeah.
And I said, am I in it?
And you know, it's at that level of pathology.
Did I write for this?
Yeah.
Or did they steal my journal and create a TV show? There must be some way, you know, and, but you know, set that level of pathology. Did I write for this? Yeah. Did they steal my journal and create a TV show?
There must be some way, you know,
and, but you know, and then she started showing me
clips of the show, which was hilarious.
And then I started having you guys on
and it was a perfect mix of my audience,
what you guys were doing, which was so inventive.
And again, my favorite kind of television and entertainment that you guys were doing, which was so inventive.
And again, my favorite kind of television and entertainment
is when good friends are entertaining themselves.
And almost defying people to say,
look, you can like this or not, but this is what we like.
And I thought that was pretty cool.
And I thought we'd start there because Sona.
I love it.
You were, I mean, you had made like pictures
and posters and it was crazy.
Jesus, okay, all right, relax.
It was sick.
Okay, I liked it, I watched it.
You went to Adam's house.
You were outside my house.
You were smelling my underwear.
Yeah, is that weird?
I was a fan of your show, so I thought I'd just drive by
and say hi.
I remember how excited we were
because you were our favorite and now not so much,
but back then, with the intro when I walked in,
that's when it diminished.
Exactly. And I was like, oh, I'm walked in that's when it diminished and I'm like
Kimmel you're number one!
Adam Devine!
So we were super excited when we came and I was just tell I had a Hollywood
meeting a few minutes ago right before I came. And I was just telling, I had a Hollywood meeting a few minutes ago,
right before I came here.
And I was telling the story,
they were talking about Danny on this show.
And I was like, oh, I'm about to go do that.
And talking about you and how we used to do-
Danny McBride, yeah.
McBride, yeah.
And we used to come and do the show
and how one time we were scheduled to perform,
but then a portal to another realm opened up
and instead of us performing or coming on and being guests,
a portal to another realm opened up
and the wizards actually performed.
You remember that?
Yes, I do remember that very well.
Gangster rapping wizards from another realm
and they look kind of like us,
but I wouldn't say identical, they had beards.
So yeah, that was pretty cool
that you had them on in our steads.
I've had this theory for a while
that oftentimes in show business and in life,
in general for anybody,
you think that your destiny is one thing
and it's your failure to get that
and you pivot and you get something
that feels lesser to you.
And that is actually the real path
to where you should be going.
And I know for you, you were convinced
when you went to college that you wanted to,
was it UCLA?
Yeah.
You thought this is where I have to go,
but it was too expensive.
He couldn't afford it.
So you went to a different school.
Where'd you go?
Orange Coast College,
which is a community college in Orange County.
Yeah, so you feel like, oh, you know,
my path to my real future has been blocked
because I don't have the money, I'll go here instead,
and that's where you meet Kyle and Blake.
So again, this proves this idea I have
that that wasn't where you were supposed to go.
You went where you were supposed to go.
Yeah, I mean, are you and my mother are the same person
because she says this all the time.
But I do-
I thought I had a new idea.
Yeah.
I do listen to your mom's podcast a lot.
Yes, it's good.
It's good.
Called Skank Talk.
Uh...
Uh...
Uh...
Skank Talk with Penny D.
Uh...
Uh... Hi, Penny D. with Penny D. Uh, hi, Penny D.
Hi, Penny.
Uh, yes, I, so, so, yeah, we, we met there,
and it was like a, a kismet thing.
I just thought Blake was so funny and so different,
and he had a cute, tight little afro at the time.
He didn't have those, not always like kind of girls
like think he's sexy, but that was not the case in community college.
And he was very funny.
And then Kyle, who ended up directing a lot of our stuff
and is now a big director and he, we were like,
oh, you guys make videos?
I make videos.
I'll show you my videos from high school
and you guys show me yours.
And then as they were showing me theirs,
I like was sinking down in my seat and like,
there's just are so much better than mine.
Like the quality of their video,
because Kyle's just a talented director.
And it was just me going like,
I think if the frame just holds on me the whole time,
that's a good shot.
Hey man, I think your way is my way also. I don't understand why I'm not in frame.
So if the camera's here, that's all we need,
and you can be off camera.
Deliver your lines off camera.
So their stuff was so much better,
and then it was kind of off to the races from there,
and then we just sort of clicked.
And it also was the type of thing that when you spend,
when you're in your, like, I mean, we are teenagers,
we're 18 years old at that time, when you're that age,
you spend 100% of your time with those people.
And so we just had so many inside,
like the way that we talk and the way that we communicate
with each other and is so familiar that I think
when we finally got our shot, people were like,
oh, I can tell that they're great friends.
I wanna be part of that.
The chemistry was all there.
You had done your 10,
what Malcolm Gladwell would call the 10,000 hours
of we've done all our stuff.
What's, I'm gonna go back a little before that,
which is something I wasn't aware of,
which is you went through a pretty shamanic experience
when you were a kid.
Two, first of all, you were Catholic.
I'm still reeling from that.
And, you know, that's, and David,
you went through Catholicism as well.
Yeah, I have a one-year-old now and my wife was like,
we have to get him baptized.
And I know no other way. So I'm like, yeah, he's Catholic. And my wife was like, we have to get him baptized. And I know no other way.
So I'm like, yeah, he's Catholic.
And my wife was like, no, he's not.
And I'm like, might as well just make him Catholic.
I don't know.
Like that's what I know how to do.
You kneel, you stand, you do this thing.
Yeah, that's the thing.
And no, that is not how we're raising our son.
No.
Yeah.
My wife is Episcopalian and was not raised
in the Catholic Church, but when we had our kids,
I was the same way.
I was like, you know,
they will be Christian in the Catholic Church.
Yeah.
And it just came out of me and she was like,
well, we can all be Christian in the Catholic Church.
Yeah, all of a sudden you're like.
Because I was going to, yeah,
like something took over my body.
On the third day, Jesus rose again.
I rose in the air, I spun, my arms went out,
and they were.
And thank you, Liza, for going along with me on that one.
It made my folks really happy.
That's cool.
But it's funny because you do this show
about mega churches now,
and it's just hilarious show,
which we will talk about,
cause I love it.
And Danny was on talking about it as well,
but it is the polar opposite of the Catholic experience.
Yeah.
Did you know when you were going to Catholic masses,
did you know that there was such a thing
as mega churches out there?
I think they were just sort of starting
by the time I was like, when I was a kid,
I don't think they really existed.
In like the eighties, early nineties, I don't think.
Or if they existed, they weren't quite what they've become.
Yeah, and then I remember in high school
when I'd have to go to church
and then my friends would go to church
and they were just Christian.
They didn't even like, there wasn't like another thing that you said.
Wasn't like, I'm Christian, but I'm Catholic or I'm a Christian.
Yeah, they're like, we're just Christian. And I'm like, what?
And they're like, and we have rock climbing walls.
What? And they're like, yeah, and there's a cotton candy machine.
Yeah, yeah.
Huh?
Did you eat a wafer?
No, gummy fish. Swedish gummy fish. Yeah. And they're like, yeah, and there's a cotton candy machine. Huh? Do you eat a wafer? No.
Gummy fish.
Yeah.
Swedish gummy fish.
Gummy fish, yeah.
No, and it's also like there's music.
Uh-huh.
And who's playing?
Fish.
Fish is playing, and there's a light show.
And loaves.
Yeah.
Where does this happen?
At the Sphere in Las Vegas. I want this religion.
Hard benches and parables.
It seemed very cool.
You went through something very intense
that I didn't know about, which is you were on your bike
and you were seriously injured.
Yep, kablamo'd.
What happened?
Kablamo'd is the medical term.
You could just dumb it down for the rest of us.
I was kablamo'd.
We got a kablamo here.
I saw that there's an episode of The Pit
where they go, we got a kablamo.
We got one kablamo coming in.
We fully kablamed.
When you treat these things, it feel better quick.
So what happened?
Because it's pretty heavy.
I was hit by a cement truck as a little boy.
You were on your bike.
I was on my bike.
Are you guys squeamish?
Nope.
Squeamish.
Holy sh-
Oh my god. Yeah. So it looks like uncooked chicken Holy sh... Oh my god.
Yeah. So it looks like uncooked chicken, but it is my leg.
Is that with skin grafts then over it?
Yeah, yeah, that's skin grafts.
So the skin was ripped off,
and the other leg's a little better,
but it was half the leg.
And I broke everything from the knees down
that I had to reconstruct my legs,
and then my left femur, and then some ribs,
and I punctured a lung, and was bleeding out femur and then some ribs and a punctured lung
and was bleeding out of my ears.
But then they're like, no brain damage.
I think.
I beg to differ.
I think.
Just based on your work.
Yeah, totally.
The doctors are looking at workaholics.
We might've gotten it wrong 25 years ago.
We've said, pitch perfect workaholics.
Wait, are you looking at cat scans?
No, no, just the work.
No, his filmography.
So, I mean, we're laughing a lot, but horrifying.
And were you unconscious for a long time?
Yeah, it was a couple weeks.
It was a medical induced coma.
And then, yeah, so essentially I lived in the suburbs
and three cement trucks were going up the hill
as two were coming down or some version of that
because new houses were being built everywhere.
And my friend was across the street
and he yells, come on, as in let's go.
And I took that as coast is clear.
And he goes, come on.
And I'm like, okay.
And I walk out after the third symmetric passed.
And so I couldn't see the other side of the street and was hit.
And I flung, I said 500 feet because that's what my mom told me.
And that's what's in my Wikipedia page.
But then I did another podcast and I think Theo Von was like 500 feet, because that's what my mom told me, and that's what's in my Wikipedia page. But then I did another podcast,
and I think Theo Von was like,
500 feet?
That's so far.
And I'm like...
It's really far.
Yeah, I guess it is.
He goes, how far is the longest field goal ever kicked?
And it was like 162 feet.
And I'm like, I wasn't kicked.
My mom's a liar.
I don't know if I was even hit by...
It's me saying I'm a speed reader.
Yeah. I don't know if I was even hit by- It's me saying I'm a speed reader. Yeah.
I went a hundred miles.
Yeah, it was my mom trying to zhuzh up the numbers
of me getting hit by a cement truck.
She's like, it was 500 feet too.
It wasn't even a small distance.
It was 500 feet.
Oh, Penny.
And it wasn't 30 tons.
It was 80 tons.
It was an 80 ton cement truck.
So one of the heaviest in the world.
When you're hit by a cement truck as a kid
and you get that kind of damage,
you don't need to zhuzh it up.
Yeah, I know, I know, I know.
It was also carrying dynamite.
And it blew up.
Yeah, and then he had a gun on him.
He shot him. He shot him in the leg.
So he couldn't tell. So he couldn't tell.
He was in the leg, so he couldn't tell.
Uh, and then the funny...
I mean, funny, but I was hit in one county
and landed in another because
the road was the dividing line between the counties.
So that was a fun thing that we got to talk about.
Oh my god.
So the recovery process, because you're in a wheelchair for a chunk of time.
Yeah, for about two years.
Middle school was really cool for me.
And it was kind of a cool, cool experience
to be the crippled kid.
Yeah, so I was in a wheelchair and I would get on crutches
and then have another surgery.
I had something like 26 or 28 surgeries during that time.
And yeah, and then my eighth grade year,
so that was the summer going into sixth grade.
And by eighth grade, I played football.
Wow.
And by the way, the worst guy on the team,
it was the coaches being like, he can play.
And then they're like, you're a defensive lineman.
Yeah.
So it's just me just like going, ah!
And then our quarterback getting sacked.
Your entire body is made of recently healed bones.
Yes.
This is sounding like a good idea.
Who would let you play?
Penny, who would let you play football?
My doctor, actually.
My mom was like, if the doctor says you could play,
you could play.
And the doctor was like, I don't see what's wrong with it.
If he wants to play.
And my mom's like, you son of a bitch.
Oh my God.
How dare you?
You killed him.
And then I played, but I was really, really bad.
And then, so I thought I was gonna be like
this athlete as a kid.
I was like, that was my whole, you know, I'm like,
I'm gonna be a professional baseball player.
No one in my family is athletic.
So this was a pipe dream.
But that was my goal.
And then after I was hit, I always,
I have a very, very funny family
and I always liked making people laugh.
And then I started to call into radio stations
and I would call into the radio station in Omaha,
106.7 The Edge or 101.9, the edge.
And I would do different voices and different characters.
And then that became like a little thing on the radio.
Because you're confined.
You're like, this is you at home,
wheelchair, maybe not going to school.
You can't be having fun, so this is what you do.
Exactly, and this was sixth and seventh grade.
And then they were like, come on down,
we want you to be part of the drive time hour.
And so my mom loads me into the minivan,
takes me down there, my legs can't bend,
so they're fully just extended in front of me.
She picks me up, she puts me in the wheelchair,
wheels me into the radio station, and they're like,
oh, we didn't realize you were a crippled child.
We thought you were an adult man.
Oh, no.
By the way, a sad, weird adult man who only talks to us in character voices.
But we didn't know you were a...
So we can't pay you and have you be part...
You know, we can't have you on staff,
but we can pay you in, like, cranberry CDs.
I have all the cranberry...
Which is an accepted currency and still in parts of the year.
Cranberry, wallflowers.
Oh my God.
Yeah, all the good, all the hits.
And then, and then like free concert tickets.
And so then that was sort of my segue into comedy where I was like, oh, it's, you can, being funny, you can do cool things and get cool things. Yeah, that is the crucial moment, I think,
for a lot of people in our industry is the moment you,
and some people realize it or know it really early,
but the moment when you realize, wait a minute,
there's a use for this thing I do?
Yeah.
I just thought I was entertaining slash annoying
my brothers and friends to no end all the time.
And then someone links it to, that's great.
Here's a cookie.
Here's a free t-shirt.
Wait a minute.
Here's a job here.
Here's a job there.
And it's, you can't believe it.
You can't believe it.
I could not believe, I was so excited.
And the fact that my mom was getting her hair done,
she has this beautiful poof, Penny.
And so she was poofing this thing up at the salon
and I came on the radio and someone in the salon said,
"'Oh my God, I love this guy.'
He calls in all the time.
And my mom was like,
"'Oooh.'"
And I remember once that happened, I was like, "'Oh, I can, my mom, like, oh. And I remember once that happened, I was like, oh, I can, my mom, like,
I'll put some shine on the family by doing this thing
because I'm not gonna be the professional athlete
that we all thought I was gonna be.
There's still time.
Yeah, there's still time.
You're a young man.
Yeah, cornhole is getting,
that's in the alert.
Do you have any residual pain from what you went through
in your life or is that all behind you that physically no up until
Maybe three years ago. I would say yeah, it's basically behind me like I have a creek in the knee or whatever
But in the last three years, it was crazy
I I suddenly start to have spasms and my muscles will get super tight and the doctors couldn't explain it
And they told me at one point
that I have this autoimmune disease
called stiff person syndrome.
Which is essentially like a death sentence
for the most part.
And people die within like six years, usually.
And so they told me that I had it.
And they told me I had it a month before
Bo was born, my son.
And I'm like, this isn't a cool thing to say to me.
So I'm on the toilet at 4 a.m.
looking at videos of people with stiff person syndrome.
I'm like, I don't want this to be my life.
And then six months goes by, or then they tell me,
well, maybe you don't have it,
because I had one of the markers,
but not the other marker in my blood.
And they're like, maybe you don't have it.
And then six months goes by and I'm shooting gemstones. And they're like, maybe you don't have it. And then six months goes by and I'm shooting gemstones
and they're like, we do think you have it.
So then I went to Philadelphia and I met with
the oldest man alive who coined the phrase
stiff person syndrome, he's like the guy.
And he told me I absolutely don't have it
and it's all residual from my accident.
But it is a weird thing where like,
that I can't, I. But it is a weird thing where like- That's harrowing.
Yeah.
That I can't, I mean, you know, it's a weird thing because I still want to act and want
to do all this stuff, but I have a hard time standing for more than like 15 or 20 minutes
at a time.
And I can't run and move in the same ways that I could just a couple years ago.
So I'm doing a wild amount of physical therapy and that kind of stuff.
Like now that I'm in between, you know, jobs,
I'm still writing and doing all kinds of other stuff,
but as far as being on set goes,
I'm just like physical therapy, body work, acupuncture,
chiro, chiro therapy, like every, everything.
So I'm in the midst of it now.
It's, I mean, clearly you've been through,
you went through this massive injury, but it is just true.
The best analogy I've ever heard is that when you're born,
you're dropped into a current that's taking you
in the right direction and very powerfully,
and you just get bigger and stronger
doing absolutely nothing.
And then as you get older, the current starts to slow,
and then it comes to a standstill,
and then it starts to go the other way.
And so you actively have to work
at staying just where you are.
And I thought, yeah, I think that's the best description
of the aging process, which is I do a lot
just to stay where I am.
You know, it's not-
I used to work out a lot to like look strong
and get muscles.
And now I'm like, it's just like holding,
like holding weights, like just isometric holds
and just all this stuff that I was like,
I'm never gonna do this.
Now I work out like I'm an 88 year old grandmother.
Like who's just like doesn't want both of her hips to snap
if she misses a stair.
You have pool noodles.
You have a bunch of other old ladies. Absolutely. I just have pool noodles. Yes, totally.
With a bunch of other old ladies.
Absolutely.
I just have my hair in a hair net.
There's nothing to do with it.
Enid's yelling at you, your noodles hitting her noodle.
You go to the salon with Penny now.
Totally, I gotta work on my foot.
Can we get Penny in here?
Yeah.
Well, I have to say, I wouldn't know any of this
cause I mean, in all your work,
but in your latest work in Gemstones,
you're just always so physically present
and funny and great.
Yeah, thanks, thank you.
You, you know, we've covered, you do,
you meet the fellas, you guys do workaholics,
you start to get traction.
Pitch perfect, when Pitch Perfect comes along
and you are up for this role,
you didn't even really know what the role was.
Is that true?
Yeah, that is true.
We were shooting Workaholics and it was,
they were like, the producers really like you
for this Pitch Perfect movie, you should go audition.
And I'm like, I don't have time.
I have my own TV show, I don't have time. Like I have my own TV show.
I don't have time.
And they were like, make time.
This is a real movie.
It's universal, go.
And so we made it so I wasn't shooting the scene
after lunch.
So I could go during lunch.
I could drive my ass down to Santa Monica
or I think it was Santa Monica, audition,
and then get back before I had to do the scene
later in the day.
So I'm like, all right.
And I go and I'm looking at the sides as I get there
And I think it's a baseball movie. I swear to you. I think it's pitch perfect. I think it's a baseball movie
I would like that would be my first assumption. I'm like stretching out in the parking lot
And then I see all these guys singing,
and I'm like, that's not gonna help you
with the baseball movie, pussy.
Look at these losers.
Oh boy.
I feel sorry.
Someone didn't play baseball in the fifth grade.
Oh my God.
And so, and then I actually take a look at the sides,
and I'm like, this isn't baseball at all.
There's a lot of singing in this baseball movie.
And so I go and I do the scenes and it went well
and they were like, what song did you prepare?
And I'm like, I had not prepared anything.
And they're just like, well, it's whatever song
that you know a lot of the words to.
We just wanna know you can carry a tune.
So the weirdly, the first song that popped into my head was,
whatever happened to predictability,
the milkman, the paper boy, the evening TV,
which is the Full House theme song.
And then somehow I got, I have no idea.
I walked out of there, I'm like,
they all laughed really hard,
but I'm like, I didn't prove I could sing.
I don't think they wanted like a 80-year-old jazz singer
to be the lead of one of the leads.
I love that there are actors out there listening right now
who are furious.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Who do everything. They've gone to Juilliard.
They find out, they research the role,
and then they hear you.
I don't know. I thought I hear you, I don't know,
I thought I was saying, I don't know,
I guess I'm doing the full house theme.
Predictability, you're hired.
Yeah, okay, thanks.
Well, I'm learning the more, yeah,
I feel like I'm definitely way more prepared
in the things I do now, but I think there is a special,
if you could care less about most things, it goes better.
I think when you care too much and you're too wrapped up,
you get emotionally tied to a thing
and you like, you want it too much.
And it comes off as like a weird manic energy
when you come in the room, you're like,
hey, how's it all?
Pleasure, pleasure to meet you.
And you're talking to the casting director, the producers,
and I'm gonna hang out with this guy on set.
No, they can smell it.
There's a pheromone you put out when you,
I had, when I auditioned,
when they had a test for me for the late night show
to replace Letterman, I was a writer on The Simpsons.
Yeah.
You know, had no business even auditioning for this thing,
but Lorne knew me, da-da-da, he said, you know,
maybe whatever, a bunch of sort of things came together.
I thought there's no way this is happening.
So I went into it thinking, well, this is fun.
I'm gonna pretend to be a talk show host.
Yeah.
And that was the spirit that I did it in.
And then a couple of weeks later, ring, ring,
you're replacing David Letterman at 12.30.
And I was completely unrelaxed for the next two years.
Yeah, once you have the job.
Once I had the job, you know.
I have to actually do it.
Hi everybody, welcome.
I hope you like the show.
We're gonna try our really hardest.
I hope you like it.
It's gonna be good, I hope.
Oh my God, this guy's awful.
And then, you know, the sheer volume of it,
knock that out of me.
But I know what you're talking about.
Yeah.
You just are, it's better you didn't know.
I think so.
And I mean, now as my career has grown and gone on,
I'm definitely more prepared with things,
but I still try to bring that energy of like,
I've been around long enough that if this thing doesn't go,
I'll find something else or I'll put another thing.
So like, don't put too much pressure on one thing.
And I think it helps.
I have this weird ghost memory
of hosting the MTV Movie Awards,
and I did something with you,
but I don't remember what we did. I'm sure there's a, do you?
I have no memory.
You came and like, you were slaying on the guitar
and then I came and helped you sing this like.
I don't remember.
I don't even remember.
It was such a fever dream.
You know what was so crazy is all I remember about that
is I said, yeah, I like to try things.
And they said, hey, do you want to host
the MTV movie awards?
And I thought, that's funny. Even then I was old, but I was like, no, but like to try things. And they said, hey, do you want to host the MTV Movie Awards? And I thought, that's funny.
Even then I was old, but I was like,
no, but you know what I mean?
I was just like, okay, sure.
And all I remember is they put me in something
that hides you and it lifts up and reveals you
as like rock music plays, rock arpeggios play.
And I remember just a voice going,
gentlemen, MTV, Conan O'Brien I remember just a voice going, gentlemen, here's MTV, yeah, yeah,
calling it open.
And just before they said my name,
smoke started to fill the chamber.
And I'm like, what the fuck?
Cause they didn't do that at rehearsal,
cause they wanted smoke to billow out.
And I'm, I just, yeah.
I just knew then that this is insane.
I shouldn't be on one of these shows where there's smoke.
But you weren't, but thank you for helping me.
Of course, I hosted the MTV Movie Awards
in like 2017 or 18 or something like that.
And I'm dressed as the, I didn't have,
I was shooting a movie,
The Game Over Man with the working hard guys.
And I didn't have time to do a lot of rehearsals.
So I flew down the day before the, or the day of the event.
And we just rehearsed the big opening sequence
in the morning, just that morning.
We only ran through it twice.
And I'm dressed as the beast in full beast makeup.
And I'm like supposed to walk down the stairs
and then I hook me up to a rig and fly through the audience and I tip over
Someone into like he's dressed as a cantaloupe, or I think is Blake Anderson and he falls in and the stage starts on fire
It's like a whole thing and and everything has to be pretty perfect and it's a whole song and dance number and I remember
The crowd is behind is in the back of the stage
But I'm facing them and then I turn around once the stage, but I'm facing them. And then I turn around once the curtains open
and I'm facing them and I'm like trying to think
of the lyrics.
Like, so I'm like sort of mouthing them.
And I think the audience thought I was really nervous,
which I was moderately nervous,
but they're like, you can do it.
You can do it Adam.
Like girls being like, it's okay, you got this.
You got this.
And I'm like, that's making it worse.
It's making it worse.
But it's a weird event.
Sounds like you've had plenty of these.
I've had so many moments where I'd be suddenly become aware
that my life is very strange.
Oh yeah.
One was shooting a thing in a open-topped convertible Bentley
with Mr. T out and there was a scene that required us
to be driving in the country in upstate New York.
And he's driving and we're driving for a while
and I fall asleep next to him.
Really fall asleep, because I'm tired
and I put my head back and I fell asleep hard
for like maybe two minutes and I woke up
and I'm looking straight up
and it's fall, upstate New York,
beautiful leaves are passing over my head
and I turn my head slightly and Mr. T is driving in a car
and I don't understand what's happening.
And I thought that's what show business is.
If you, that's, I mean, that's what I love about it
is when you have moments of, I'm just,
I'm looking out at this sea of people.
I just knocked over a human candelabra.
I'm dressed as a beast.
What's happening?
What's going on?
It's so surreal.
I had a surreal moment with you
when you called me to do that bit on the movie awards
or whatever you were hosting,
I was in a hot air balloon.
What?
Yeah, I was literally flying in a hot air balloon
with my ex-girlfriend at the time,
and we're soaring in the sky, and I get a call.
My agents told me, hey, expect a call.
And I'm like, I'm getting on a hot air balloon.
And they're like, someone's gonna be calling you.
You have to pick up.
They're gonna be calling you. Pick up if you can. I'm like, I'm currently getting on a hot air balloon and they're like, someone's gonna be calling you, you have to pick up, they're gonna be calling you, pick up if you can.
I'm like, I'm currently getting on a hot air balloon,
can they call in a couple hours when they're done?
They're like, no, he's gonna be calling you.
And I'm like, okay.
And I didn't know who it was.
I could have called you later.
I know, I know.
That's why I'm like, agents are just like,
it's happening now.
It's a game of telephone, that's constantly like,
Conan wants it now.
No, I'm okay.
It could be in an hour.
So I'm like, in a hot air balloon,
I get the call from you,
and you're like, hey, you wanted this thing?
And I'm like, yeah, I'm in a hot air balloon.
You're like, weird joke, ha ha.
And I'm like, I seriously am.
And then we landed, and we landed,
it was in San Diego, and when we land,
we land in these rich people's backyard,
and they come out with champagne,
and they're like, oh my God, this has never happened.
You landed in our backyard.
Do you wanna race go-karts?
And we're like, as they're tying,
they're putting the balloon, deflating it and everything,
and we're like, okay.
They have a full go-kart track that we just got our race,
and we raced with their children for an hour
as they put this balloon.
And I'm like, this is surreal.
Conan just called me in a hot air balloon.
Yeah, it was surreal.
It's one of those things where,
God forbid a crime or a murder had happened
somewhere around that time and you needed an alibi.
And you said, I was in a hot air balloon.
And then we landed and there was a go-kart race
and I just talked to Conan.
It's like, rock him up. It sounds like a little kid who's just caught in a hot air balloon, and then we landed, and there was a go-kart race, and I just talked to Conan. It's like, rock him up.
It sounds like a little kid who's just caught in a lie,
who's just keep saying stuff.
And then, and then.
So I'm curious about Righteous Gemstones,
such a funny show.
Did you know Danny McBride?
Had you guys met before you started working on this thing?
No, John-
You guys have an amazing chemistry together.
Yeah, thanks.
We're-
That whole cast,
it really is one of the great casts on television right now.
Yeah.
And so, and you all feel like you're so simpatico.
And so I was thinking, did you know Danny?
No, no, I think he knew Workaholics a little bit
and seen some of my other stuff.
And his writing partner, John Carceri,
wrote for us on Workaholics for one season.
So I think that might've been a connection.
But he, yeah, he just asked if I wanted to be,
play his brother in something.
And he was like, would you mind coming, we've never met,
would you mind coming out and having a dinner? And I went to Charleston and met
him and David Gorda Green and Jodie Hill and we had this nice dinner and
everything. But actually the very first time I met Danny, he doesn't remember
this really, but it was at the This Is the End premiere.
Oh yeah, that's a very funny movie.
Yeah, very funny movie. And so we were at the actor party.
Seth Rogen. Seth Rogen.
And everybody. And Danny's in it.
And so I'm at this after party
and I'm like kinda, I was pretty early on
at this point in my career.
So I'm like really excited just to even be in the room.
And I'm like, oh my God,
like all these comedy heroes are here.
But Danny for me is like on a Mount Rushmore.
Like I love the guy.
And so I'm trying to, like I smoke weed,
but not like Seth Rogen does.
And so he's going toe to toe with it.
He's like, here, here.
And so I'm like, okay, I can keep up.
And this through the cloud of smoke, Danny appears
and I go, you're Danny McBride.
And he's like, yeah, man, hey, nice to meet you.
And I go, you're Danny McBride. And he's like, yeah man, hey, nice to meet you. And I go, you're a bright shooting star.
I swear to you, dude.
I said he was a bright shooting star.
That's incredible.
And then he's like, all right, man.
And I went and grabbed my girlfriend
and I was like, we have to leave.
And she's like, why, I'm having a good time.
This is a fun party. And I go, I just called Danny McBride a bright to leave. And she's like, why? I'm having a good time. This is a fun party.
And I go, I just called Dana McBride a bright shooting star.
And she's like, you're right.
We do.
We do have to go now.
We need to leave immediately.
You're not allowed to be here anymore.
I love this whole thing where he, you know,
he lives in Charleston with his people.
And I love that.
He was talking about it here on the podcast.
They just live in, like, he's not, nope, not gonna live,
not gonna move to LA, any of that.
We're just gonna make our stuff.
And it's like-
He had lived here for years.
So it's not like he doesn't have a base here,
but he, yeah, they were just shooting, I think, Vice Principals, his series right before Righteous
Gemstones, and they just by happenstance couldn't shoot in Wilmington, I think, North Carolina,
and they had to shoot in Charleston, and they really hadn't spent much time there, and they
shot there, and they fell in love with it, because it's one of the prettiest places.
It's really gorgeous.
And they all live on an island, 20 minutes from downtown,
and when I was there, I rented a house on the water,
and everyone just drives in golf carts.
It's idyllic. It is so fantastic.
And Danny, to your point of, like, us being such a great cast
and feeling like we know each other,
he does such a great job.
And I feel like I learned so much from him
about like being a leader.
He takes his people out all the time.
He does little parties.
He does get togethers.
He's, hey, everybody come over.
We're grilling at the house.
We're gonna go swimming.
We're gonna go out on a boat, whatever it is,
and you really feel like you were jumped
into his gang right away.
And it was-
Yeah, I'm not down with any of this.
Yeah, that's not, I'm so sorry.
Yeah, I mean, you're just putting something out there now
that then expectations will be raised.
It'd be really nice if you can invite us over
for like food and parties and stuff.
That'd be a nice record.
I will arrange for a table for all of you at Paquito Mas.
Yeah. I will not be there. Someone all of you at Paquito Mas.
I will not be there.
Someone who looks kind of like me will be there
and you guys will cover the bill.
Arrange a table at Paquito Mas.
I would love a Conan impersonator to show up.
Wig on his head.
And you can see the strap that's holding his wig on
is under his chin.
Ah, blabla, yeah, flip-flop, chip-chop.
All right, well, you guys have to cover this, remember?
Conan's not paying for it.
Flip-flop, chip-chop.
Yep, that's my...
The old tagline.
That's the old tagline.
How do you like being a dad?
I think I haven't seen you since you became a dad.
I mean, I'd love it more than I even thought I would.
Yeah, it's not funny to say that, but it's true.
No, it's okay to actually have a human emotion.
Occasionally.
Not often.
You're allowed one.
People don't like it.
They don't like it.
Yeah, it's great.
And every day is so fun.
How old now?
He's 15 months today.
Oh wow, okay.
Which is like, I never thought I'd be the type of person
that I was like, after a year to talk about months.
But it is important, cause you,
cause like at a year, if he can't say da da,
that's totally fine.
But by 13 months, he's like a total idiot.
So, so you really keep tabs on every little thing
where I'm like da da,, dada, dada.
And you're taking another page off the calendar.
Uh-huh.
Come on.
Dada, I know you got it.
You got it.
But you'd be such a fun dad.
I think I can see you, a lot of it is,
and it was, I mean, I loved being silly with my kids
and still do to their dismay,
but I just ate it up with a spoon.
It's so fun.
It wasn't like, well, time to get on the floor
and act like an idiot.
I'm always on the floor acting like an idiot.
So there should be kids around.
Yeah, it's weird if there's not.
Yeah, it's unreal.
And I'm like learning new things.
Like I can do a great Elmo.
Like he's like thrown for a loop.
He thinks I'm possessed.
I'm like, Ipo, it's me, Elmo.
Wow, that is good.
That is good.
I'm like, come over here, play, put your toys away.
And then he's like, whoa, Elmo.
Yeah, that's the best. That's kind of scary actually. Yeah, I did. I didn't even know I had it and then all of a sudden I's like, Whoa, Elmo. Yeah. That's kind of scary actually.
Yeah, I did.
I didn't even know I had it.
And then all of a sudden I'm like,
I act like I'm possessed or,
Oh, Elmo's in control now.
You will go to the ATM.
Yeah.
You will use this pin number.
Okay, Elmo.
Elmo can create all kinds of hell.
Yeah, Elmo's a maniac, Trento. And yeah, Elmo. Elmo can create all kinds of hell. Yeah, Elmo's a maniac, you can tell.
Yeah, so it's been a blast.
I'm loving it.
I'm so thrilled that you came by and did this.
Me too, yeah, I'm a big fan.
This was exciting.
Well, you've always been incredibly nice to me.
And so just getting to hear you tell your story
and take us through it is, it's so funny.
I'm just imagining a lot of people listening to it
who are big fans of yours getting kind of inspired,
who don't even know half the shit that you've been through.
All the Cementra kids out there,
they're like, ah, I can walk.
Oh.
You never know.
Yeah, yeah.
Thank you so much for coming by.
Of course, yeah, thanks for having me.
You're a fine fellow and please come back.
I'm glad you came around on me.
Yeah, because this-
It didn't start off.
It didn't start off great.
It started off bumpy, yeah.
I'm glad you came around.
I have to tell you, when you walked in the door,
I was mad.
Yeah, I noticed that energy.
And I like your work,
but I just got this energy of pure evil. Yeah, well, it energy. And I like your work, but I just got this energy
of pure evil.
Well, it's because I went with the suede jacket.
You went with the standard leather.
And it was kind of a battle from there on.
I hate that.
Whenever I'm wearing just regular leather,
tanned leather, and someone else has suede.
You're a monster.
How dare they?
It's just, it's on.
I feel threatened.
Yeah.
I feel threatened.
Makes sense.
Hey, Adam, thank you so much.
Of course, thanks.
["Spring Day"]
Occasionally I like to reminisce
about my comedy showbiz past.
This just popped into my head
and it takes me back to this very particular time
in my career.
I just did, we weren't even recording and I did a bit.
And a very stupid, silly bit.
And I'll explain what that was in a second.
But it immediately reminded me of this time,
I think back in maybe 1993 or 1994,
and is when my show was first starting.
A lot of younger people don't know this,
but when my show first premiered in September of 1993,
it was new, it was very raw,
I was very inexperienced, very young.
I was replacing the great David Letterman.
So, as you can imagine, there was a lot of criticism
and doubt, and people were like,
who hired this guy?
And it was choppy waters for quite a while,
and people thought maybe this isn't gonna work out
and everything.
And then Dave invited me on his show.
His show was on CBS,
and it was the big number one show
at the time and this was a big deal to get to go
on Dave's show and promote the show that we were doing
a couple of blocks away, his old show.
It's a big deal and so I was thinking of what to do,
what stories could I tell?
And then it's just a total,
cause I was always goofing around,
it's a total joke in the writer's room.
I mimed, I acted out doing something,
where I said, what if I just went out?
And again, I wasn't serious,
but what if I just walked out there and David Letterman,
you know, if David Letterman said,
all right, well, this next gentleman took over
our old show on, at the late night show,
that's on at 12.35 on NBC,
and I think, you know, please welcome Conan O'Brien.
And there's the band is playing, Paul Schaeffer.
And I walk out and I shake Dave's hand and I sit down
and Dave says, so Conan, how do you like the new show?
And I say, and this is, you might have to check out
Instagram for this, but whatever,
but because I'm gonna act it out.
That's a at Team Coco podcast.
At Team Coco podcast.
And that I would say, he would say, welcome Conan.
I, you know, how's it going over there at the new show?
And I'd say, well, Dave, I gotta tell you, I just think.
Oh my God.
You glitched.
Oh my God.
Why would you think this?
What is wrong with you?
And absolutely freeze.
And the reason this came to mind is just before I froze,
I used to, something I used to like to do is say,
I gotta tell you something, and I would freeze
and I got pretty good at it where I could really freeze
and commit to it.
And the whole idea is I would freeze
and I would not have told Dave beforehand
or his producers or anybody.
Oh my God.
And so I was pitching this as,
you know the way I love to pitch
this is the worst thing I could do?
Yes.
So I'm pitching this,, you know the way I love to pitch this is the worst thing I could do? Yes. So I'm pitching this,
the writers are laughing really hard
and Robert Smigel, who's the head writer at the time
and brilliant head writer and everything,
said, you have to do it.
Oh man, I'm nervous already.
And I was like, what?
I can't, and he said, you have to do it.
That's not a good advice.
And you just freeze and I just knew that that what would happen is I go like,
well, Dave, I just think that I...
And then Dave would like watch for a bit and go like,
hello, Conan, Conan, Conan.
And then he'd probably be like, Paul,
I think we have a situation over here.
And no matter what they did, I would stick to it.
And then Dave would just say, okay, I think we're,
guess we'll just take a commercial.
Yeah.
And Robert Smygle,
Yes.
You can deny it if he wants.
Robert Smygle said,
not only should you do it, you have to do it.
Oh God. You have to do it.
And I was saying, I don't think I can do that.
I'm barely not getting canceled now.
In fact, we were canceled at one point for like 30 minutes
in, by NBC and Burbank,
and then they realized they didn't have a replacement.
So, I mean, I'm not even hanging by a thread.
They had to stick with you.
They were like, we literally don't have another person
drive around and try and find someone,
but that's how bad it was.
So I'm not just hanging by a thread.
I'm hanging by a thread of the, a tiny thread that came off that thread. Why would, why would Rob think that that's how bad it was. So I'm not just hanging by a thread. I'm hanging by a thread of the,
a tiny thread that came off that thread.
Why would, why would Rob think that that's-
Cause Robert thought it was so great and revolutionary
and would just like, no one's ever done anything like that.
It would be like an Andy Kaufman and I would stick to it.
And you would never unfreeze the entire time?
I would not unfreeze.
They would go to commercial.
They would probably just say like,
get the fuck out of here.
Yeah. I would go across the street and that America would
in that moment realize he has broken the sound barrier
of comedy.
And I was thinking, I don't think that's what's gonna happen.
So what did happen?
What did happen is that I didn't do that
in the plot of some stories.
Probably best.
And because I was new and nervous, I did,
by today's standards, I did, you know,
like, I was okay, I'm sure.
It wasn't, I didn't have the confidence,
or I think people hadn't tuned into my rhythm yet, too.
And there's no way to know which way Dave Letterman
would have gone with that.
He could have liked it, or he could have really taken it down.
I think he would have loathed it.
Any normal person would.
I absolutely thought that was deranged.
Like when he does it, how we feel. Deranged, yeah.
And so that's just for you comedy nerds out there.
That's the world I was in where Robert Smigel,
and God bless you Robert,
still the funniest, most prolific.
It's Robert Smigel or Jim Downey, take your pick.
These are just insanely top of the best comedy writers,
prolific and so essential to the DNA of my late night show
that, and that he was pushing me to do that.
That's crazy.
And if I had said to him, okay, I'm gonna do it,
he wouldn't have stopped me.
He wouldn't have stopped me. He wouldn't have said, you know,
he wouldn't have chased me down to the West side
and said, wait, wait, I thought about it.
I thought about it, don't do it.
And there's an alternate universe.
I don't know if you guys in the sci-fi world,
you know, there's an alternate universe
where things play out differently.
There's an alternate universe somewhere
where I come out and Dave says,
Conan, how's it going there
with the new late night show?
Well, David, gotta be honest there.
Oh my God.
That Conan is just like working in accounting or something.
Although I do like this part where he's just frozen
and you and I can just have a conversation.
Yeah, but we never would have met, for sure.
No, that's true, but we have it now,
so let's not waste this talking about him.
Yeah.
And maybe you and I could just talk about some nice things.
Which comedy bit do you think triggered that memory from?
Do you think it was Sanitized Pirate,
or when he picked up the tissue and went,
tissue, I barely even know you.
I did hold a wet wipe that's in a perfect square to my eye
during one of the breaks, and I put it over my eye and said,
hey, check it out, sanitized pirate.
I do it sort of a la Robin Williams,
you know, who's, you know, a sanitized pirate.
Yeah.
There's no, I don't know what's wrong.
I need to go to a doctor.
And there is a hospital half a block down
from where we do this. Yeah, it's very close
to the medical center.
We need to get me there, but that is just,
I'm just telling, you know, long time fans
that maybe there's a 1% chance
it would have catapulted me into a new realm.
That's the thing is there is that tiny chance
where it could have been this stellar,
almost pre-viral moment,
but there's also this big chance of like,
oh, you know, it could have killed you.
This is upsetting.
Could have killed you.
Oh, easily could have. It would have killed me. Because there's no internet now. It's not like people can share it and be like, oh, you know, it could have killed you. This is upsetting. Could have killed you. Oh, easily could have. It would have killed me.
Yeah, because there's no internet now.
It's not like people can share it
and be like, look what this guy did.
It's like, whoever watched it would be like,
uh, okay, something's wrong with this guy.
Yeah, and then cancel the next day.
Internet can sometimes save you
because people can be really upset about something.
And then the internet rallies behind you
and they realize, oh no, no, people out there get what he was trying to do.
Anyway, that's just something that came to mind.
I wanted to share it.
I thought that was worth our time.
Aw, that's a nice memory.
It makes Robert look crazy.
It's.
I love you, Robert.
You're a genius and who knows, maybe you were right.
We'll never ever know.
Peace out, Tupac.
Oh.
Conan O'Brien needs a friend. With Conan O'Brien, Never, ever, no. Peace out, Tupac.
Conan O'Brien needs a friend with Conan O'Brien, Sonam Avsesian, and Matt Gourley.
Produced by me, Matt Gourley.
Executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and Nick Leow.
Theme song by The White Stripes.
Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino.
Take it away, Jimmy.
Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair,
and our associate talent producer is Jennifer Samples.
Engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez
and Brendan Burns.
Additional production support by Mars Melnik.
Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Battista, and Brit Kahn.
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