Happy Sad Confused - Jim Gaffigan

Episode Date: May 4, 2023

Jim Gaffigan takes Josh through his career, from his Indiana beginnings to his big break on Letterman to one of the biggest stand up careers going, plus an acting resume that now includes PETER PAN & WENDY! UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠John Cena -- 5/15 at 92NY in NYC. Virtual tickets available. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your tickets here!⁠⁠⁠⁠ SUPPORT THE SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! Raycon -- Go to ⁠BuyRaycon.com/HSC today⁠ to get 15% off your Raycon order!   To watch episodes of Happy Sad Confused, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Josh's youtube channel here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! For all of your media headlines remember to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Wakeup newsletter here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D.C. high volume, Batman. The Dark Nights definitive DC comic stories adapted directly for audio for the very first time. Fear, I have to make them afraid. He's got a motorcycle. Get after him or have you shot. What do you mean blow up the building? From this moment on,

none of you are safe. New episodes every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Today on Happy, Sad, Confused, Jim Gaffigan, from comedy to acting to balancing work and family. Hey, guys, I'm Josh Harowitz. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused.

Another first time around the pod this week, Mr. Jim Gaffigan. It doesn't get any bigger in the comedy world. and Jim Gaffigan. He's one of the best and has been for quite some time. This is a great career conversation and other live event we taped in New York City talking all things, comedy, acting. And as I said, he's a consummate professional, but also a dedicated family man. And we got to respect that. He's a good one. And it's a great chat. You're definitely going to enjoy. Before we get to the main event, though, as always, I want to keep you guys posted on live events, events just coming up in the happy second fuse Josh Horowitz universe, ways to support,

ways to be there in person or virtually. Here's what's coming up. I've been mentioning this for a while, but we are careening towards a big live event at 92 NY, May 15th, John Sina, talking about the latest fast and furious movie. This is going to be a good one. John Sina, peacemaker, the wrestling career, his comedic prowess, his action chops, the guy can do it all, and he's going to be a great returning guest on Happy Sank Confused. Get your tickets now, May 15th, live in New York City. There are tickets available for the virtual live option as well. That's the only official live event on the calendar right now, but, and this is a major but, I have two events, at least two confirmed for June, that will be big.

So, this is a PSA, guys. If you've been considering the Patreon, and I know I mentioned the Patreon a lot, but let me just say, hear me out for a second. If you've been considering the Patreon, now might be a good time because what do you get with the Patreon? Depending on the level you're at. I mean, even at the lowest level, you get early access and discount codes. This will come in handy, guys,

there are a couple events coming up, one in particular, but all of them, frankly, that you will want to get it on early. You'll want to hear about early. You might want the discount as well. This just never let it be said. I didn't give you a warning. Fair warning. We're going to announce these soon. Try the Patreon. Patreon.com slash happy, say I'm confused. One of these events is going to sell out in a day. I guarantee it. The other one I think we'll also hopefully sell out and you're going to want to get in on these very early. Those are just two of the events coming up in June. There are more afoot. I'm really, really excited about all of them, and I can't wait to say more. Other things to mention? Well, I'm off to L.A. very soon because this is, as I have for

many years now, part of the day job has been working with MTV, and I will be doing my thing. I will be hosting their red carpet extravaganza. It's Sunday, May 7th, live on MTV, the MTV Movie and TV Awards. I have such fond memories, not only growing up watching the MTV Movie Awards, but then having the place I've had the last 10, 15 years, how is this? Time flies when you're having fun. being kind of a guy for them on the carpet. It's a privilege every time they invite me back,

and they have been foolish enough to invite me back again. So you'll be able to watch my red carpet chats as kind of interstitial breaks, I believe, in the two hours leading up into the live event. That's going to be awesome. By the way, the show is hosted by Drew Barrymore. I don't know who's been announced as presenter, so I'm not going to even say,

but I can say that it's our best guest lineup in years, truly. And then I'll be doing my backstage thing. I'll be backstage talking to all the winners and presenters. And those will be fun for me because those are a little bit longer conversations than the stuff on the carpet. And they'll be rolling out, I'm sure, all over MTV and MTV News is socials. So stay tuned. Follow me, of course, on Joshua Horowitz, Twitter, Instagram, and I'll post all the stuff there too. I'm excited.

It's an annual big event. It's fun to not only do a big carpet, but to kind of have, like, the main position, like to be, like, kind of like where everybody stops. And we get such an eclectic, fun group of, like, the old guard, of course, the new guard. And, yeah, I'm stoked. It's going to be great. Then I transitioned right into, basically a couple days later, I'm heading off to Rome for the fast and furious.

X fast 10. I keep saying it both ways. Red carpet. It's going to be bananas with that ginormous cast for that ginormous movie. I can't wait to bring you guys back some fun coverage from that one. And yeah, then we're just like we're into it guys, right? Summer movie season hits with all of them. I'm so excited for. I haven't seen Guardians yet. That's about to come out, but I'm hearing amazing things. Fast, of course, Mission Impossible, around the corner. Indiana Jones. I'm so excited. So lots of exciting stuff, lots of podcasts that are attached to all of these films. Stay tuned. Some big announcements on the way. Yeah. So keep it busy. Hope you guys are too, but I hope you're also planning

some summer getaways, some extended weekends, some rest and relaxation. I'm going to try and fit it in as well. Got to find the balance guys, right? And that gives us a good segue to the main event. A man who has found balance somehow, Jim Gaffigan. As I said to Jim in this conversation, the two things that strike me about Jim Gaffigan following his career are his devotion to the career. The man is a workaholic. He just has, he is always on the road, churning out specials, acting, like as an amazing acting career too, and yet is also a father of five, a devoted husband, and clearly these are both important to him, and somehow he makes it work. He talks about how he does in this. This is a guy where kind of what you see is what you get. He is

affable and charming and sweet and super funny, just like one of those comedians, comedians. and I had a real fun time getting to know Jim. He was at 92 NY to chat with me about the career, but also his latest film, actually, which is David Lowry's Peter Pan and Wendy, which I really enjoyed. Peter Pan and Wendy is on Disney Plus. Check it out.

It is a retelling, of course, of the Peter Pan story. Jude Law is Captain Hook. It's one of the better. retellings, I think. You know, every five, six years, they give it another go. And there's a lot I really enjoyed in this one. Has actually, like, it has the most shades of hook back in the day for any Peter Pan retelling in the last 30 years.

So take that for what it's worth. If you loved hook, I don't know, there's definitely, it reminded me a little bit of that. And that's a tough comparison. That's Steven Spielberg, obviously, right? But there's a lot to love in this rendition of Peter Pan, and David Lowry continues to be a fascinating filmmaker, who I really should have on the podcast now that I think about it at some point, just the balance between kind of the ain't them body saints side of his career, old man on the gun, and then Pete Strachan and Peter Mann and Wendy, and the Green Knight. I mean, this guy kind of can do anything and everything, and he's interesting. Anyway, that'll be a conversation for another time, I'm sure. So I take you now to 92 NY, one of our live events.

I hope you guys enjoy this. I know you will. When you've got one of the funniest men on the planet, a professional funny man like Jim Gaffigan, satisfaction is guaranteed. Remember to review rate and subscribe to Happy, Say it Confused. Spread the good word. Give the Patreon a chance at patreon.com slash happy, say it confused. And, yeah, enjoy me and Mr. Jim Gaffigan.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. I like the fact that he's that close. You had the option. Oh, that was like a beautiful E.T. Phone home moment.

That was very special. He's actually my son. You're all Jim Gaffigan's children in the way tonight. This is where my apartment, this is why I left. An official welcome, again, to all of you folks coming out tonight. This is a live taping of my podcast. Happy, Say, Confused. And you know this gentleman.

He is a best-selling author, a brilliant stand-up, an amazing actor, a rock contour. Mr. Jim Gaffigan, one more time, officially. Thank you. And a New Yorker. I've lived in New York for, I think, over 35 years? How did a sweet Indiana boy end up in our

scary city? Have you been to Indiana? No, I always wanted to move to New York. I mean, I grew up watching the odd couple and seeing, you know, it just looked like there was a lot of energy there and

I love everything that I think people don't like about New York. I love the noise. I love the attitudes. I love all that. And I think I need the energy because even when I'm in the suburbs, I just fall asleep at 8 p.m. Right. I'm a lifelong New Yorker, and I often say, yeah, like, I feel like I would just like go into a cocoon anywhere else. I would not interact with anybody if I didn't, wasn't forced to, on the streets of New York. And I like the fact that

I could walk outside at any time and get food. That's important. Let's not underestimate that That's a factor. That's key. So we're going to do a little bit of it. This is your life, Jim Gaff again tonight. But I want to start with a great new movie that Jim is in. You know, Jim, you've quietly or not so quietly have been accumulating this amazing acting career in addition to the stand-up career.

And he's in this amazing new retelling of Peter Pan, Peter Pan and Wendy. You are Smee, part of the iconography of the legends. Yeah. How does this happen? How do you get involved? I had done an indie film that was produced by David Lowry. The director. And I think he saw that.

And one of the producers that he works with was on set. And we were, and I kind of brought up. And I didn't even remember it at the time. I was like, what is David working on? He goes, well, he's going to be working on a new Peter Pan. And I'm like, oh, I could be Smee. and I totally had forgotten it until I got to Vancouver

and I was like, how'd you guys end up hiring me and they're like, you told us so I'm not that bright but I'm, I'm pushy. You felt, clearly you felt there was an inner Smee within it. Yeah, well, I mean, I think it would have been a really fantastic Wendy

but I was like, all right, I could be Smey. Like, Hook, that sounds like a lot of work. Right. Hook is played by delightfully talented and charismatic, Mr. Jude Law. Yes. Now, do we resent Jude Law, who is obviously one of the most attractive human beings on the planet, and yet chooses often to be like, you know what, I'm going to just not be that for this?

You know, yeah, he's, he is a good-looking guy. And, you know, that's reason enough to not like someone. Yeah. But he's also a great actor, and he's intelligent. And we spent a lot of time. Like, if you see the movie, there's, you know, there's a lot of downtime on film sets anyway. But, like, we were in, like, a dingy for, like, three of the weeks.

And so there was, I had a lot of time with Jude Law. And he's very intelligent and thoughtful. And he's really, you know, had this incredible career. I dislike him more for his success than his looks. Right. how would you define the Smee hook relationship well that's I mean that's what was so fun about working with David Lowry is we all I mean I can't think of a story that really I mean little mermaid all these Disney stories are amazing but I do think that there is an attachment we all feel to Peter Pan and whether that's being a kid that doesn't want to go into eighth grade or you don't want to grow up, or you look back and have nostalgia for when you were younger. But when we started, when I got to Vancouver and I spent some time,

and also there was the pandemic, so there was a lot of zooming going on, where we were talking about Smee and Hook, and so developing backstories for these classic characters and where they, some of the, that could, come from and so we created this backstory where and some of it is maybe because i have five children and as we all know hook is rather mean to smee right and how do we justify that and they had the idea that um and i don't want to give anything away but that smee rescues hook at some point and that and i was like oh so smee the reason he received

receives this abuse constantly from Hook is because Smee is like a parental figure to hook and anyone who's lived with a teenager you know and or seen the way like a child might talk to a parent right there's some kind of justification for it now there's some young kids here I know that you wouldn't do that but but there is something about how a teenager treats a parent in the cliche form. That is really how Hook treats me. Speaking of the kids, do you ever take acting jobs like,

oh, like this will earn me some monocum of respect? I'm going to be Jude Law's friend for a few months. Maybe they'll like me more. I mean, you know, I was in Luca, and that was, that was, so doing a Pixar movie, that was pretty impressive. And then I did Hotel Transylvania. And so there was, they were impressed, but it's, if you'd go about trying to impress your kids,

it's a very brief moment. These are snipped, these are little. It's a very like, oh, that's so cool. You know that person anyway, and then. You're chasing the dragon. We'll never get there. We actually have a clip from this film. Let's take a little sneak peek at Peter Pan and Wendy.

And Smee. What? Huh? It's the boy, Captain. It's Peter Pot. Oh! Oh! Sorry, Captain.

Sorry, Captain. Mr. Smith! Mr. Smey! Smee. Make a note my cabin needs a new door. A new door, yes. Right. Might I say, Captain?

That will be your third door this month. It won't be the last. Where's my telescope? Telescope. Smee. Telescope A-dand, Captain. Speak not to me of hands. Smee.

I see your point. point. There's always the question of how hard to go into the pirate speak, right? Like how hard, like the accent and the pirate talk? Yeah. Is that a big discussion? Oh my gosh, it was a huge. I mean, it's terrifying also doing an English accent, but also the, you know, you work with a dialect coach.

and supposedly the traditional pirate accent, Ar, and all that, is a certain part of England that the original Captain Hook came from. And so they were like, we do not want that. You can't do that voice or that accent. So then it was discovering, I mean, I didn't know there were that many. I mean, it makes sense. It's a big, you know, it's a significant country,

but I didn't know there were that many accents within England itself. And so I don't know. I think I ended up with a Midland. I don't know what I'm talking about. But it was just one of those. It was nerve-wracking because I'm doing a scene with an English person. My dialect coach, she was English. You know, Ever Anderson's father is English and a director.

So I'm just like, it was terrifying. And we're in Canada, so it's not, so like, you know, when you go on vacation, you end up, like, sounding like the people. That wasn't the case. It was stressful. And also, I mean, I love Dick Van Dyke, but, like, anyone who's watched, like, Mary Poppins, you're like, all right, I don't want to have that accent. Right? Do you, at this point, feel as comfortable on a film set as on a stage doing stand-up? Yeah, I would say so.

I mean, you know, every set is different and whereas stand-up, there is, they're very different experiences, but they're equally gratifying. I mean, I love, I mean, stand-up, there's nothing better than you have complete control. You're the writer-director performer. You have a microphone. The feedback is usually with laughter or silence. I mean, that's pretty amazing. But I do love the experience of being part of a community and serving even a moment is very rewarding.

And so I enjoy that process a lot too. But with every movie or every acting opportunity, you're literally joining a family, and there could be crazy people in that family. I mean, the law of averages is there is going to be at least one. And you don't want to be that crazy person. Right. And so I kind of pride myself on being the good soldier.

So even when I'm, and some of it is because I had my own show and I saw friends that I love that would show up and you just behave horribly. So I knew that I didn't want to be that person. Did that damage relationships when like a friend comes? into with that environment, you're like, wait. Well, I wouldn't say it's damaging. It's just someone, it's, someone has a different perspective on work professionalism. You know what I mean? Like, I think, you know, the process of acting in a project is such a communal thing,

and some people don't like to work in a communal setting. So one of the themes of the Peter Pan's story in this one in particular is this, this push and pull with growing up, right? This fear of growing up. I'm curious, like, for you, when you were a kid, what did you imagine being an adult to be? I would say that's, I mean, it's really interesting because with any parent, you look at your kids

and these questions, you're like, what was I like at this age? What did I care about? But I, you know, and I see, I think that I thought that I would go out every single night. I was like, I'm going to go. out to dinner every night. I'm going to stay up. I'm going to walk around and just have fun. But I did imagine that I was not somebody like, oh, I don't want to grow up. I was like, I mean,

I was in a small town in Indiana, so I was like, get me out of here. And I love Indiana, but I was like, I got to get out of here. Like, that was. That was clear. Yeah. Was that clear to like, you were the youngest of six? Yeah. Were you the odd one that was the one that was the one that thought that? Like, did all the kids feel that way? Like, what? I would say, yeah, I mean, there was a certain affection for just, or, you know, city life, or like, even, I remember when we would go to D.C., I love D.C. because there were all the accents and people from different countries, and, you know, I like talking to strangers

and my brother, who's kind of my Irish trend, would be like, don't talk. to people. So it was, like, I'm one of these people that, if I'm lost, I'll just go out to people like, hey, where do I go? And if any parent will tell you, that's like the worst thing you could do in front of a kid. They're like, don't do that. So, but I kind of like that in the city that there is, there's also a certain anonymity in large cities.

You know, if you ask some stranger for directions, it's not like you're going to run into them again. Were you, in your family, were you considered the funny one? Were you, like, where, the, in the Gaffigan rank, the power rankings, comedy. I mean, in my family, I'm considered third funniest. And, um... In your family unit now with the kids, you mean, or with, like... Among my siblings.

But, you know, it's a little bit... I mean, I always, my response is, like, I have more comedy specials than them. but that's not to say that and so like my brother Mitch and by the way my brother Mitch my brother Joe are considered funnier I mean this is what a weird family that we're sitting there doing

pecking order on who's funny is let's get the chart out let's do the whole but because my other brother Mike is very funny but like he's just like downright misanthropic you know I mean

so but I do consider myself a combination of all my brothers and my sisters too so it's but yeah i am considered third funniest and so whenever i travel around and i do shows and i'll meet a friend or a co-worker of my brothers they always say hey your brother says he's funnier than you well never goes away yeah do you um do you remember the first time you ever articulated to your parents that you might want to go into comedy acting showbiz well you know I was I was I mean there is this story that I've told where I was probably eight or nine and I was with my brother and we had just seen a movie that is with my mom and it was totally age inappropriate it was it was about I think it was called obsession or something like that it was about someone I think Ali McGraw was in it and she died and And then her daughter grew up, and she was Allie McGraw, and the dad, it's kind of hard to describe.

But we were at a place called Chicken Unlimited, which, because it was fancy. Right. And I remember my mom asked my brother and I what we wanted to be when we grew up, and my brother said he wanted to be a helicopter pilot, and I said I wanted to be an actress. so I you know maybe there was some comedy in there but I had always been

but I didn't know anyone that would do that like I didn't know I mean we didn't know anyone that was even a newscaster like if you saw a newscaster or a newscaster or knew someone that was the cousin of a newscaster that would be huge

so it wasn't a realistic pursuit the only thing close to the entertainment industry was the merchant band. Sure. And I can't play any musical instrument. So it just seems

it just seemed like people on the East Coast or the West Coast got to be in the entertainment industry. So it wasn't realistic. But like the night before graduation from college, I admitted to a couple friends that I wanted to be a

comedian. And I said, but everyone wants to do that. And I wanted to be an actor, but everyone wants to do that. And they're like, no, not everyone does. I'm like, you're just being nice. And I was like, but I still think everyone wants to be nice. Guys, why would you want to spend a fortune right now, especially in these tough times, economically speaking,

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Like, what was the dream goal when you arrive in New York City? Was I graduated. I studied finance in school. and then I moved to Tampa, had a job that I was horrible at, and then a friend of mine from college helped me get a job in advertising. But I always knew that I wanted to go to New York, and I remember thinking, I don't know what I'm going to do, but New York will help me figure it out.

And so I moved to New York. I worked in an advertising agency, gray advertising. I worked on the Procter and Gamble floor I now know that in hindsight I was kind of the token goy because everyone was Jewish and then there was me and they were just kind of people would mess with me

they'd be like all right go get you know someone would call me and go go get the schlep bag and I'd be like all right so then I had to ask people where's the schlep bag and they're like it's a portfolio they're messing with you and so but I have this great

fear of public speaking and so like essentially in a meeting i'd have an idea and i would just get all flustered and you know i'm around grown men and women and they're like what is wrong we now know it's anxiety but like at then at that point they're like why don't you do like public speaking or toastmakers or something so i did an improv class and then um someone uh was uh doing a stand-up seminar kind of thing. And so I did that. And then that's, you know, I did stand up and I've been addicted ever since. So talk to me a little bit about, okay, so like the 90s, basically, portion of your career in New York. That's a period where you're finding your voice, as it were, trying out different kind of personas. Maybe that's too strong a word. But trying to figure

out who you were on stage. Yeah. I mean, well, I think that I was also trying to figure out who I, I mean, I moved to New York thinking, I, you know, like I was in the Midwest, I'm like, I'm not supposed to be here. I'm not Midwestern. I'm supposed to be in New York. So then I get to New York and everyone's like, you're the most Midwestern looking person I've ever seen in my life. And I was like, really? And so. I'm the cool one back home. I thought I was the urban guy. And so then I, so in stand up, you know, to set a You have to understand, in the early 90s, this is before YouTube. This is really the beginning of Comedy Central. Is this like alt-comedy scene? It was before that. It was, there was very much, you know, stand-up was combat in some ways. So there was not, and it was a lot of, so there had been an 80s,

comedy boom so and then it went bust where like all these clubs closed and so there were too many comedians and there was a lot of uh so like if you had great confidence and and uh you could deal so like audiences didn't know how to perform necessary i mean how to behave so they would heckle they would essentially they'd behave like people in long island behave right now i'm joking i love like i And so, but there was an element of combat and there was like, so people would, in the early 90s, they're like, all right, so I see Rodney Dangerfield on the Tonight Show, people yell at him and he responds. I'll do that. I've seen Andrew Dice Clay. This is what he, you know, it's a little bit of, you know, this is, I'm helping by yelling. Right. This is what is expected a lot. Yeah. And so it was much more of combat. So how did you handle that?

I, well, you know, some of it is, you know, I was terrified, but one of the things that I did is that because I'm a slow talking Midwestern, I just would never stop talking. And then also I developed this thing where I would talk for the audience. So I would say a joke and then instead of someone heckling me, I would heckle myself. And so that's, oh, that's weird, why is it doing that? So that's where that came from is so that I would always be talking and that, you know, going on stage in the early 90s looking like the nephew of John Tesh was like people were like, who is this guy?

You know what I mean? And so I had to address it. And because people, you know, and so that's some of where the inside voice and some of the the, you know, I mean, the self-deprecation is just low self-esteem, but it is also addressing that, you know, communicating to the audience that you're aware of how you come across and what you'll, and by the way, you know, stand-up comedy is now much more of a, a college-educated profession. In the early 90s, not so much. Do you know what I mean? In the early 90s, it was like people that can't afford therapy.

Do you know what I mean? It was, do you know what I'm saying? It was much more, like there was no expectation that, I mean, no expectation that you would be able to make a living doing stand-up for every Roseanne or Seinfeld. There was, there was not necessarily every city in America even had a comedy club at that point. Now we live in an age where comedians are performing in theaters and arenas and can afford to have five kids in New York City. That was not the case.

And what did, like, your fellow comedians back then make of you? Because, look, you've been labeled for good or for bad as, like, the clean comic, right, over the years. And, like, did you have the respect of your peers that, like, that was, you were staying true to yourself, that was your lane? Well, some of it is, it's, you know, like the whole clean comedian thing, which comes down to, you know, what I think people like about comedians is a certain amount of authenticity. And so when I would try on different kind of personas, you know, I'm still a big fan of Dave Attell. I wanted to be like Dave Vettel, but the reality is that people don't want to see an angry, grumpy white guy, really. You know what I mean? They're like, that guy is like my boss, or I've seen.

In history books, that means bad news. You know what I mean? So, some of it is authenticity and also what works for you. And so I do think that, so discovering the authenticity, but also, comedians kind of do the comedy that they can do. It's not some grand plan. Like, if you know David Cross, that his stand-up is exactly the stand-up he should be doing.

If you know, Lewis Black, you know, he's not yelling all the time. No, these are refined or accentuated version of himself. He has very passionate beliefs. And so the authenticity is, you got to discover that so that it's kind of you can access the material because if you're pretending or putting on a different character it's it's not sustainable I say that and I'm sure like in the next six months there'll be like a great example that proves that wrong but so before we get to what I think was probably a major turning point in 99 for you for stand-up we'll get there

in a second but in the in those 90s years you're acting you're trying to get parts where you can I I noticed, do you know how many roles you played on Law and Order in different incarnations over the years? Was it, you know, any New York actor, that's, you know. Jim Gaffigan has been five different characters on Law and Order over the years. Yeah, that's, but that was, I mean, for a New York actor, that was, I mean, I also love Law and Order, and, but that was, that was such a great credit to have. Because, you know, it's weird because there was, you know, there was a time when, you know, before streaming where that was, that was the equivalent of streaming was just watching Law & Order reruns, right? That was the original streamer. Do you remember any of your characters in Law & Order if I named one?

Me? I think, I know that I played a guy, Larry Johnson, and then in Super Troopers, I was also named Larry Johnson. It's a good name. Which is very weird. Yes, you were, on Law and Order 98, you were George Rosakis. Oh, yes. SVU, this is one that seems a little bit upsetting. Yeah.

You were Oliver Tunney. Do you know who Oliver Tunney was? Do you remember that character? Oh, that guy was a bad, he was a clown. Pedophile, yeah. But everyone on. Not to downplay it. You know what I mean?

But it is like, it is weird because you'd think, like, you really want to act that bad? You know what I mean? It's like, oh, it's a great role. Yeah, it's so weird. Yeah. Then you were a crematorium owner, Russell Matthews, a criminal intent, and Marty Palin. You were Marty Palin.

Yeah, is that the guy that killed his wife? They probably all did, right? Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. Okay, so let's talk about what seemingly was a huge moment for you. Indiana Kid looks up to, of course, Mr. David Letterman. Yeah, it was a huge.

It was, you know, the primary goal for a long time was, all right, if I can get on Letterman, then I have a credit. Because, you know, it's interesting because there was a time when the Tonight Show or Letterman were... Overnight would change you, right? It would transform, you know, it would, for generations, I mean, or decades, it really changed careers. but it was for me it was a credibility thing so like if you said you were a comedian there wasn't there wasn't a question of do you have a Netflix special it was like have you been on Letterman or the Tonight Show and if you hadn't people you would say you should try and get on there like as if as a comedian you didn't know but it's always

shifting so like even you know you know what we call a Netflix special in five years they might call it a YouTube special because there's a shift in how important any platform is for building a career and I don't know I've seen so many changes in stand-up over there have you thought about like if you were coming up now would you have been able to navigate I mean there are more opportunities in a way as you're saying like yeah there isn't that one get on tonight show get on Letterman but at the same time there are so many more folks trying their hand at stand-up now, seemingly. Yeah, oh, yeah, it's huge, but, and also, like, the impact of podcasts. Right. You know, so there's podcasts and TikTok stars that, but I also have been around long enough to know that, like, there is, you know, it's like, does it last after five years? Right.

And that's the consistency thing. That's where we all know who Jerry Seinfeld is, and even independent of the fact that he's had these incredible shows, it is the consistency, the relevance of his humor, and him adjusting that humor over decades. That's pretty impressive. I don't know what the last time you saw this was, but we have a clip from your appearance on Letterman back in 1999.

Oh, no. Oh, my gosh. Are you ready to take a peek? I'm very thin. Let's take a look. Let's take a look. This man regularly performs at the Gotham Comedy Club right here in New York City.

Please welcome the very funny Jim Gaffigan. Jim. Jim. Hi. There's a different kind of pride where I'm from, you know. It's not like, we're from New York, we're tough, or we're from Texas, we like things big. It's more like, we're from Indiana, and we're going to move. You know, the reason I look like this is because my father was from Sweden,

and my mother was Elton John. Yeah, I trust people with glasses, don't you? It's like, well, ask him, he's got glasses. But if you're wearing your glasses like this, get away from them! Would you ever take directions from someone that looks like us? Where you got to go? 53rd Street.

Well, why don't we take my... spaceship. I got to pick up Santa Claus anyway. You know, the only advantage of wearing glasses is that dramatic removal. You ever see that? My God. Holy God. They're still laughing at the material. That's a good sign. Well, that's great. That's great.

If that's a cue back, I mean, do you remember, were you nervous? You didn't seemingly asking it. Yeah, I mean, I was definitely, well, the weird thing is, is I had, like, I started stand-up, and this was, you know, seven or eight years after I had started, and every single one of my peers had done, the equivalent of this so I was like the last one so there was part of me that was like I'm ready you know and it's in a weird way it was kind of like all right a relief that I've gotten this and also the fact that Letterman is from Indiana and I'm from Indiana and I and growing up I would see him on TV and I'm like what he got out I can get out but but it was it was yeah so it was like one of

those things where I was not the first of my peer group to get there. So I had friends that were like, oh yeah, this is what you do. You talk slow, you know, so I was talking slow. So we don't have time to go into every part of the career since then, because it's been a lot, it's in 24 years, I guess, since then, but like you got a sitcom off of that, and clearly it did jumpstart the career. Have the effect you thought it was going to have? Yeah, I mean, well, some of it is the night of this performance.

which I had no expectation. So I had always had this as a goal. Right afterwards, the executive producer said they're like, the executive producer wants to talk to you. And I thought, oh, cool, maybe they'll want me to write for the show. And then they were like, they want to develop a show. And what was kind of instantaneous was if Letterman thought I was good, then suddenly all these people

that had ignored me I think I had just been in L.A. meetings like two weeks before that and people were like yeah we're not interested and those same people were like now we're interested so it was pretty it was a hugely

significant thing because this the entertainment industry it's perception and it's and what people don't realize is the entertainment industry is very risk averse it's like I know that we think that they're just throwing money

around, but like, it's an investment and you want to, you don't, you know, they don't want to put money behind a horse that's not going to finish the race. It's so funny because literally on the stage, like, about a week ago, the other best example I can think of from like that Letterman effect Ray Romano was here. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Guys both, it changed your lives. Yeah. So in reading about you over the years, like, it seems like you have two passions in your life, which are, I mean, you're a workaholic. You're... Do either that or feel feelings. There's that. But the family's obviously a huge thing to you as it should be.

But like those two passions can, obviously, and often do for folks, conflict. And for a true workaholic, how do you, I don't know, how have you managed that? What's the secret sauce for you to kind of keep two boats afloat? Well, I mean, I would say it's a constant, I mean, wait a minute, so you're saying my family and my career. It's like, it'll be sad if I was like, what's the other one? Career I got, what's the other one again? Well, I would say it is a constant reevaluation, right? And I would say that it's every, you know, it's every couple months, like, okay, well, we have to slow down, we have to do this, or we have to, you know, if we're going to do this, we have to construct it where everyone goes.

And as children get older, it becomes way more complicated. But I would say it's constantly reevaluating. That being said, I am a parent, so I am filled with. guilt but I also I do think that it's important for your children to see you work hard and and I would say I you know I don't play golf I'm not going out to dinner often when I do stand up in the city I can do stuff you know beforehand like I never had dinner with my dad I have dinner with my family and then I go out and do a show and then I get my kids to bed and then I yell

let them to wake up and stuff like that. It's hard. Parenting is very hard. And it makes no sense living in New York City. But I love it. I'm a New York City kid. I came out semi-OK. It can happen.

You know, I mean, I think your generation, yeah. We're going to go to some audience questions in a second. But before we do that, I've got the happy, second-fused, profoundly random questionnaire for Jim Gaffigan. OK, correct. Ready? What's the wallpaper on your phone?

my 13 year old daughter she's my middle kid so it's like see I do care do you have a favorite t-shirt that you own whatever fits over my gut would you ever skydive

no that's not necessary it's just no it's the last actor you were mistaken for? It's always Phillips Seymour Hoffman, you know, which is a great compliment.

But, you know, it is consistent. And people always think they're the first one to notice it. They're like, I just realized this. I don't know if you know that your coloring and your gigantic jug head look like Philipsy Morhoffman. I'm like, I know, thank you. What's the most annoying thing about you, according to your kids, to your wife? What's the common theme?

Oh, well, I mean, I think it's a different thing. I would say to my kids is that I have, I'm a motivator, like I don't, I'm much more strict and kind of like an army general, kind of like, you know, what you should do is you should do this or that. And I would say that the most annoying thing, my wife would probably say that she's annoyed that I can nap and she can't. Some people are nappers and some people can't. And I would have jumped out of a building if I can't nap. In the spirit of happy, say I confuse. An actor or comedian that makes you happy always, without fail. You see them on screen.

See them on stage. Oh, I don't know. John Candy, I mean, always pretty much. Or Jonathan Winters always makes me happy. Great. That movie that makes you sad? Wow. You know, like, I like movies where, you know, you get kind of caught off guard.

Like, it's a wonderful life. Like, at the end of it's a wonderful life, I'm always a little bit like, I got to go and do something. Right. But, and so, yeah, I, you know, like, I love dramas. I love sad songs. So that's kind of, you know, that's what I consume mostly. So the stuff that catches me off guard is stuff that really gets me.

And that's usually the, you know, like, it's a wonderful life. It's the emotion of, like, the cumulative. The cumulative effect of this guy realizing how important his family is, that the community is showing up for him, that stupid his uncle isn't going to ruin his life. Spoiled, it's a wonderful life for folks. Wow. And a food that makes you confused? Food that makes me confused? Honestly, I've always wanted to like salmon. I've always wanted to. And it just, I know I should like it.

I know that, but like fish in general, just I don't know what's going on. I mean, I'm not talking about fish and chips. I mean, that's like French fries. Well, you fry anything. It's okay. You deep fry anything. Yeah, but fish in general, like, I'm going to do shows in Scandinavia. I'm like, I don't know what you guys are doing with all this fish.

But I wish, I wish, I'm just, I'm too white trash, I think, to really get on the fish. Okay. But salmon, I wish I liked it. There's a lot of benefits. People love salmon. You know, it's like, it's like a salmon steak, you know. Put it on a bagel, you know, all this stuff. I want to join, but I just, it's disgusting.

No. It's good to know yourself. I'm sure this audience has some questions. If you want to just raise your hands, I'll, yeah, we can start right here. Go ahead. Fellow Hoyia, so I have to ask, what was your Georgetown experience like?

I know you run the football team, where you won the improv troupe? No, there was no... There was no... My daughter goes there, and now there's all these theater programs. There was Mask and Bobble. I don't know when you graduate,

but there was cabaret, which was... Was that going on when you were there? There was this thing at college where all the people, all the people that were singers would sing songs, just covers. And every year they would have a host, and it was usually someone comedic, and that was the first time I did it. I did like stand-up, and I did comedy bits, and I was reviewed by the school papers. There was the Hoyer and then the voice, and just decimated. horrible reviews.

And I sat behind the woman in statistics and I'm like, what are you doing? Why are you burying me? But I was drunk. And she was like, he was just drunk. But that was my experience. It was a touch of the entertainment industry. But I mean, I loved it.

But at the end, I was like, get me out of here. All right, let's go. Yeah, yes, sir. Fellow of LaLamere Lakers. Oh, there you go. Did you hone your skills in the backwoods of Indiana? You know, I would say that at Lollamere, I mean, we went to this school that Chief Justice John Roberts went to. Okay.

Even though Supreme Court not as high status as it was to be. But I would say that it was such, I mean, there was a hundred kids. kids in the school. And there was 25 in my graduating class, and there were four girls. And I was voted funniest and best body, believe it or not, male body. But I mean, at my high school, I think that every single one of the kids that went there, was raised with was kind of taught this you can do anything kind of thing that you kind of hope that you would learn right and that and and all I wanted when I was at Lollamere was to go to Georgetown and I applied and I didn't get in and so it was like but that incredible rejection I you know that was one of those moments where I think it was so instructing because at that time I was like, well, what do I?

I mean, I literally had a dog named Toya. My parents had a dog named Hoya, but it was one of those moments where I could either kind of, you know, feel sorry for myself, but I transferred in. So it was, you know, rejection was a great lesson. Now it sounds like I'm leading a self-help. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah.

So do you have any advice for somebody who wants to like comedy? Well, here's what I would say, you're starting too late. No. But what I would say, it's, you know, because I have a 17-year-old son that's very funny. And what I would say is that there's skills of learning how to write and performing. And I don't think that any time you write down and writing styles can shift, you know, you can write by hand, you can type on a computer, you can write down, you can do it audio, but some of, and I've seen this throughout my entire career, that some of it is how you process rejection and humiliation. I know that sounds really ridiculous, but like if you know that it's like, all right, there's going to be some jokes that don't work. There's going to be times when you audition or you interview for a job and it's humiliating.

There's going to be a girl that you ask out that says no. It's like, that kind of develops a certain amount of grit because everyone that I know in the entertainment industry, either they're just kind of like a robot and it doesn't affect them. or they develop a certain amount of calluses to process rejection. So I would say write as much as you can and get an appetite for humiliation. I have a follow up there. How do you stay sharp when there's less rejection?

Like for you, by now, career-wise, I mean, people are predisposed. They're excited to see you now. And you're getting, obviously, you're Soderberg. Like, you're working with amazing filmmakers. but it is but it's it's also it's also

all self-assignment right so it's like I'm certainly not comparing myself to like Stephen King but it's like you know he doesn't need to write

all those books he already wrote him you know I mean it's like it's also but it's enjoying the process right and so

but it is self-assignment so that being said it is it's enjoying it but also if you don't set a goal like if you don't sit there and go I'm going to do a show I think we should all put pressure on this kid

if I'm not going to do stand up at Gotham Comedy Club in the next six months that's on me and then you set that goal and then are you sitting with your mom

and then she'll call up and she'll set it up and you'll do it and you'll go up and you'll do two minutes and you do it because you set a goal and you do it right yeah anyway you know what that that kid ended up being that kid ended up being jimmy fallon single tier drop amazing uh yeah um back there yeah what's your uh favorite place for late night food oh my gosh there's so many so here in New York? I mean, I love a burger, but it varies, right? Like, I love

you know, and I'm going to butcher the pronunciation, because like whenever I post on this, they're like, that's, you spelled it wrong. You know what I mean? But Mamoons, which there's one near the comedy salon, there's one on St. Mark's, is you know, and Schwarmes. It's like that's, you know, and that's, you feel less guilty, you feel less likely you're going to feel nauseous the next day. But I would say, I mean, I love doing stand-up when I'm on the road and then going, eating a steak and, you know, not telling my wife, because that's the whole thing, is you can't

be out having fun, and your spouse is trapped with children. But I'll have a steak. So late night, there's so many things, but I try to... I try to mix it up. I think that's the important. No salmon. Yep. Sir on the side, yeah.

Hi. This is a two-parter. Am I correct in remembering that you had long hair when you first after the city? I mean, I had hair. I mean, I don't think long, because I worked in, I was an account person in advertising, so I don't think I could have. Longer. Well, definitely longer. longer, but not like, you know,

I wasn't Billy Rice, I didn't. Okay. We cleared up the hair. Over here, yeah, please. Bruce Spring's the biggest hit for him to run. Put him on the mat. Is Hot Pockets your

Orange Run? Play Hot Pockets, pay up. You know, it is, it's, I don't know, it's weird because there is something of

you know yeah I mean I guess you do do it as an encore sometimes I used to I stopped okay okay because but there is something well again it's like

the entertainment industry's all perception so like I would do it as an encore and the whole other show would have been new material and people would be like he did some new stuff he did some old stuff and so it's and after you've worked so hard on But the hot pocket thing, it's weird, but I feel like it's diminishing.

You know, I mean, and, you know, that's very flattering to be compared to Bruce Springsteen. But, yeah, it's weird. I don't think, you know, hot pockets aren't as important as they used to, right? Let's go all the way in the back, yes. This more observation, I listened to you with my wife and my kids, and you have improved our relationship. Because it's like, you know, you tell this terrific stories and we all laugh together and run the car, and then afterwards, if I can connect with kids,

and there's in a way that I've never did before. Oh, wow. Well, thank you so much. Thank you. We have time for about, yeah, let's go. Who do you think was more starstruck? You, by meeting the Pope or the folk by meeting you? Well, that's a tough one.

The Pope had no idea who I was. Didn't mention the Hot Pockets. No, there was a guy behind him speaking in Italian or Spanish. And he was like, and so the Pope would be like, who's this guy? And so there was someone like, Comitica Americana. And so he was like, yeah. But I got my mother-in-law, who is a very devout Catholic, like already admitted to have.

still alive. But I got her to meet the Pope, so I won best son-in-law ever. He did it. We're wrapping up, but I do want to say you've been to 92, 92nd Street Y before. We're always privileged to have you here celebrating the 150th anniversary of 929. Unbelievable. So, I mean, do you have, hopefully you have more fond memories after tonight,

but what do you think, as a New Yorker, what do you think not New Second Street Y'Y means to New York? Well, it is such a, I mean, by the, By the way, I mean, my kids, we were talking about the preschool, right, and how I had kids at Avenos, and I still have one there. And the reason we chose avenues is because they had poached the person from the 90 seconds street wide. And so it was like, all right, we got to follow her.

And so the impact of 90 seconds three and why now is so huge. And it's just even from a conversation earlier, I had no idea that the sheer consistency of that importance. Like, I knew that when I moved to New York, that it was this very important cultural landmark where important, you know, conversations occurred, and it was very, you know, kind of like a pie in the sky idea that I would be able to, you know, talk there or be interviewed or anything like that, but I, you know, it is, it's most, I think it's most impressive the consistency over that span of time. It's like, I mean, I, you know, McSorley's has been around for a while. Those are the two. But it's, you know, it's, it's filled with

drunks. Well, you're a cultural landmark in New York now, too. So we appreciate having you always. I should mention, yes. Peter Pan and Wendy to come full circle. Disney Plus, check it out. Honestly, it's a great piece of work from Jim and a great filmmaker, David Lowry. You're touring, you're about to go to Europe, yes? It just never ends.

Yeah, no, it's, I look forward to it, but I used to be much more excited about international travel. Now I'm like, ah, jet lag. Now I'm complaining about going to Europe. That's how far I've come. Well, we'll get you back to New York, and like I said, you've got some amazing projects. You've been directed by Jerry Seinfeld

and Steven Soderberg in the last year. So that's pretty cool. That's fun. We'll talk about that more or another time. Let's give it up one more time for the great Mr. Jim Gaffigan, everybody. And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressure to do this by Josh. I'm Amy Nicholson, the film critic for the LA Times. And I'm Paul Shear, an actor, writer, and director. You might know me from The League, Veep, or my non-eligible for Academy Award role in Twisters. We love movies, and we come at them from different perspectives. Yeah, like Amy thinks that, you know, Joe Pesci was miscast in Goodfellas, and I don't. He's too old.

Let's not forget that Paul thinks that dude too is overrated. It is. Anyway, despite this, we come together to host Unspooled, a podcast where you talk about good movies, critical hits. Fan favorites, must-season, and case you miss them. We're talking Parasite the Home Alone. From Greece to the Dark Night. We've done deep dives on popcorn flicks. We've talked about why Independence Day deserves a second look.

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