Inside Conan: An Important Hollywood Podcast - Colton Dunn Revisits the Classic Late Night Comedy Sketch Dudez-A-Plenti

Episode Date: April 26, 2023

Writer and actor Colton Dunn joins Mike and Jessie to discuss getting cast in his first network television gig as part of Late Night's fake boy band Dudez-A-Plenti and also reveals the only person on earth who has the Dudez-A-Plenti hit single as their ringtone. Got a question for Inside Conan? Call our voicemail: [phone] or e-mail us at [e-mail].

And now, it's time for Inside Conan, an important Hollywood podcast. Hello and welcome to Inside Conan, colon, an important Hollywood podcast. You can't forget the colon. No, otherwise it's just a, well, it makes sense. You need some punctuation there. Something there. The colon's an important body part. One of my most important.

Yes. The semicolon. When's the last time you used a semicolon? I think seventh grade during the how to use a semicolon class. Yeah. I like to go full-blown colon all right now our producer's like are you going to say your name so at any point hi i'm mike sweeney hi mike sweeney hi and you might be i'm jesse gaskell all right and we're the hosts of

inside conan colon an important hollywood podcast this, we're taking a look at Conan on the road. That's right. All of his adventures outside the studio over the years. Yes, when he set him free in the wild. Sometimes with actual shooting permits, mostly all done illegally. Yes, with greased palms. How are you? I'm good.

We normally do this in our Larchmont podcast studio. We do normally do it there, and we, in fact, are still doing it there. Today. But because the studio's dark, we're just in the same room on our computers. Right. I'm in a soundproof booth, but I can see you across the way. There you are. Hi.

Hi. Hi. This is ridiculous. Okay. It is ridiculous. Yes. It's as if we're in the same room. But yeah, we get to come in.

It's fun to come into an office now. I do love coming into an office. I'm back to street parking, is uh i write a little out of practice with that here and now i was gonna say because i just saw you out there moving your car that we're both doing the same infuriating thing i'm sure it's infuriating to anyone who is going to hear about this but we have access to monthly parking, but the lot is about a block and a half away. And so rather than walk the extra seven minutes

from the lot, we both find street parking and then we have to move our cars every two hours while we're here. It's like 80 extra yards. And it's like, I know. Well, I've already, I got one parking ticket already. Have you had at least one?

Oh, I've gotten three. Yay. Going back to January. That's not, one a month. I get one a month. But lately they, So you pay $68 a month

to park on the street for two hours at a time. That's really dumb. You didn't get one yesterday and you were parked at a meter all day without plugging it. Yeah. They're still acting like it's the pandemic. The pandemic. I know. Going on and no one's getting ticketed. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I don't know. I've always thought that that was one of the city's main revenue sources, it seemed like, because they're so on top of it. That's a good point.

I really did. I had the same thing in New York City where you're like, wow, without this money, this city would close up because it's the only city service. Yes. It's the main revenue source. That is run, yeah, like the military. And then it's the main revenue source that is run yeah like the military and then and then it's like yeah nah well hey so speaking of uh la versus new york yeah that's never come up before we our guest today was a sketch staple when the show was in new York. And he, in fact, was a member of the very popular Dudes A Plenty sketch. That's right. Boy, was that a popular sketch.

Oh, it was so funny. Well, it was right around the time, it was in the early aughts. And, you know, there was a boy band explosion. Right. At the time before the K-pop renaissance. And this was a fake boy band that Conan put together. Yes. It was a whole video of him saying, hey, I want in on this. And it was all done by writer Andy Blitz, put it together. Everyone in it was perfect. It was great casting. They were all terrific. But one real standout was a young man named Colton Dunn. Yes. Who is our guest today and who's been so busy.

I mean, you'd recognize him. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he was on Superstore and Keen Peel. And he's also been writing on a ton of shows. Yeah, he's the head writer on a bunch of great shows. Yep. So he went on. This was just the very, very beginning of his story career.

Yeah. So here's Colton Dunn. She drops the shaker. Hi, Jessi. Well, hi. Hi, Sweeney. Hi, Colton. Hi, Colton.

Welcome to the pod. Hello, hello. We're so happy to have you here. Welcome to this beautiful studio. Is it intimidatingly nice in here? It scares me a little bit. This has been a surprisingly nice experience coming in, I'll be honest. Yeah, I was not.

Yeah. It's very nice. It's beautiful. The space is wonderful. Yeah. They converted a sorority house, I think, into this. That's right. The sorority is still here.

If you hear chanting. Yeah. Booking is sometimes an issue here. Yeah. Pledging. It's If you hear chanting. Yeah. Booking is sometimes an issue here. Yeah. Pledging, it's rush week. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But thank you for coming.

You were in this comedy bit that aired in 2000, and it just became a big hit, and it kind of lived on in Conan lore for many years. I mean, really, people still talk about it. And that's why we wanted to talk to you. And it's called Dudes of Plenty. And it was basically- Dudes with a Z.

Dudes with a Z, yes. And Plenty with an I. That's right. Right. Take that shirt off. You know, it was at the height of boy bands. And also the height of people making boy bands. Like it was this idea that they were like,

I'm going to get grouped together and we're going to make a boy band. Simon Cowell, making the band, cranking them out. Yeah. Daddy made a band, making the band. It was a big show.

And it was all people were, you're right. Profiling kind of the, the maniacs. It was usually, you know, like one man who managed and created five bands simultaneously. A puppet master, yeah.

So it was a perfect scenario for Conan to play the puppet master. Yes. And it was all about his journey creating this one. His vision. Yeah, so it was exactly that, a parody of these behind-the-scenes

boy band shows. We're going to reminisce about your time on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Can't wait, man. I love it. Best time of my life.

Really? Was it? Oh, it was great. First time on television? Yeah. Oh, was it? Yeah. We were wondering

where it fit in with your many appearances on TV. Very first appearance on Conan O'Brien. It was on National TV. On National Network Television.

Can you tell us a bit of what you were doing prior to that? Yeah, I was doing like comedy in New York. I was doing improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade. I also did this theater called Chicago City Limits. It was more of a short form improv comedy. And I actually, I sort of came from short form improv comedy into the longer form Upright Citizen Regained Theater. And that happened in New York. And it's, yeah, so it was just through there.

I was doing that stuff and working at a video store. Oh, cool. I'm curious. Because I remember Chicago City Limits. Yeah. And they were like the only improv troupe in basically in New York at the time. And then UCB came along. Pretty much. And you were kind of straddled boats.

Oh, very smart. Yeah. And I felt like I never heard of- Had a finger in both pies. That's right. I never, short form and long form. And then I never heard of Chicago City Limits again.

No, I'm wondering, like, did they just go, like, did the UCB kind of take over? That's what it, to me, not being that into it, that was my understanding.

I mean, it's got to be a longer podcast. Right. Okay, all right. But, and I would love to hear it and I only know a small, tiny chapter of the story of Chicago City Limits. Right. Okay. All right. But, and I would love to hear it. And I only know a small,

tiny chapter of the story of Chicago city limits. And, but just to, just to sort of get everybody on the same page, it was kind of this short form is basically like a second city. Yeah. All right. But they,

they were people from Chicago came to New York and kind of started sort of this short-form review show, very much like Second City, where they'd have like the parody name, like, you know, one in the bush is worth two in the, you know, Pelosi. Something like that. You know, like that's the name of the show. They were ahead of their time. But they did that kind of comedy, and it was like the only like paid improv show. Oh, it was paid. I think for a time it was like the longest running show in New York City. Right.

It was continuously running for years. And it did have like a heyday for sure. When I got out there to New York the theater UCB hadn't even really opened yet and Chicago City Limits was the only place to get paid to do improv in town and so I auditioned for it I did not get in

and then UCB kind of got up and running and they would let me intern at the theater for classes and so I started doing stuff there and then the next round of auditions I went and auditioned again for Chicago City Limbs. And I got in almost kind of around the same time that I got onto like a Herald team at the Upright Citizen Brigade Theater. So I really was doing both of them.

And man, that was a funny time to like watch sort of the one theater kind of process and deal with this other theater that opens up. And even the other theater. And like maybe talking shit about them and you're like, yeah, yeah. A hundred percent. Or like, it reminds me of this. This is another mashup, the same kind of time period. I worked at a video store, like I told you.

And I remember my manager, we were in the office and I was eating my sandwich before work. And she was just going on about how Netflix is never going to work. Oh, I love it. And from our experience at the video store, it was true. She was like, people are kind of stupid. They need to come into the store and ask questions

to find anything. And so there's no way this is going to work. Stick with us. And so it's kind of like that with Chicago City Limits. It was like, nobody's going to go see these dumb shows downtown and they're like doing improv. They're just getting one suggestion

and then just going for 30 minutes. They're not like doing like a game where they're going forward and reverse or one person's not acting like, you know, a magician. There's no hula hoops. Well, where's the bunny with the next line of dialogue?

Look at our box of wigs in the back. Do they have a Viking helmet? Do they have a Viking helmet down there? So, yeah, I did straddle both worlds and kind of got to see the come up of one and sort of the ending of a chapter. While hedging your bets in both. Definitely hedging my bets. Always. Always hedging my bets. I. Always hedging my bets.

I think you both are making valid points about the other troupe. Yes. I do have a funny story about going into UCB when I was younger and I used to do a thing

called comedy sports. And comedy sports has a specific... Yeah. Comedy sports with a Z. It has like a specific... I'm laughing already. No, it's hilarious.

It's like two teams of act elites go head to head in improv comedy. Act elites. I did it in high school. So I had my high school comedy sports shirt on. Oh, yeah. You lettered in comedy sports.

I lettered in comedy sports. That was really cool. I was in that go was going for my internship at UCB and I'm sitting in the box office and Matt Besser kind of walks in and looks in the window and goes, yeah, take that shirt off. And I was like, oh, it's

my comedy sports. He's like, yeah, I know it is. Oh, I can read. So then you had to go shirtless. So then I just had to take off my shirt, man, and just let it fly. That became my thing. I was the shirtless guy. Topless improver. Yeah.

Yeah, that's terrible. As someone who's taken classes with Matt Besser, that he's like. Well, for him, it was more of a branding thing. I think he was just like, no, dude, I don't want anyone walking up here thinking they're about to see comedy sports. Yeah, yeah. With a Z. Not with a Z. There's no athletes in here.

That's here to draw the line. I respect that. So how did you, were you at the same time then auditioning for TV stuff, or how did you even come into the late night orbit? So the late night orbit so the late night orbit kind of came into the theater you know like

the theater at that time really just sort of became like where people yeah the breeding ground

for the especially those the remotes where the casting people yeah you know because they started using

the original UCB for. For sure. We used them in sketches starting right when they moved there in like late 95, early 96. And they were probably like, and they're doing it for free. We know. Right, right, right. Anything we pay them is better than free. It's all great.

And so then it was like, oh, we just kept going there to look for more performers. Yeah. And it was, so I was, I don't even think I had a manager at the time. I was like trying to find managers. And so, you know, all the auditions that I would go to would be those kind of the weird ones you see in like the old movies, you know, where it's like you and 20 people just showing up and everybody's holding their headshots. And, you know, this guy wants me to be shirtless for this audition. It's just me and Andy. What is this?

What is this? I saw you at the theater shirtless. I wanted to bring you in. That's how you got music planning. Exactly. So, yeah, they came to me and it was Andy Blitz. He was the writer on it. He wrote Dudes of Plenty.

And I don't even know. This might have been before people were texting. So this all might have been phone calls where I think he, like, called and was like, can you, like, sing and dance? And I was like, yeah. And then. And could you? Yeah. I could sing and dance and then uh i mean

not professionally like and also you know who knows maybe not i was overly confident at the time so i was like yeah a hundred percent a lot of actors it's like can you horseback ride and you're like yeah of course and then you would learn that they're really answering the question will you do this yeah yeah yeah um no but i the time, for sure, I could definitely sing and dance. I could still sing and dance. Look, check this out. Okay. Oh, my God.

Look at this dance move. We'll insert that later. We can't cover it for you. Oh, shit. We can't go, oh, my God. You could deep fake it. But Celia called me, same questions. Could you come in?

And, you know, just kind of come in for like an audition, you know. And so I went in to an audition. And it was pretty much, I think, just an audition to see if I could physically like dance and look like I could dance with real dancers. And sing a little bit. And I guess I hit that bar enough to be able to go in. And so then it was like me and these other Broadway guys. Oh, they were Broadway. Yeah. They were like all Broadway.

You guys did really sound good together. It was kind of better than it needed to be. When I did arrive, I was like waiting to see, you know, other UCB people who I was like, oh, there'll be some other UCB people who could pass as singers and dancers. And there were no others. It was just these other actual singers and dancers. Yeah. Yeah.

So you showed up. Did you have to take off your shirt for the audition? That was a question I had. I don't think I had to take. But then, you know what, though? You know, I did. I do remember. But you were in a tank top. I am in a tank top. But then, you know what, though? You know, I did. I do remember, though. But you were in a tank top.

I am in a tank top, innit? And this is only something I found out years later. Somebody who knew me back then was like, no, you were always a shirt off kind of guy. And I was like, what's that mean? And they were like, when you'd go out and we'd be out doing stuff, you'd take your shirt off. Oh. And I was making fun of some guy I saw walking on the street without a shirt on. Oh, yeah, yeah.

And they were like, what are you talking about? That's what you used to do. And so maybe she had already seen me with my shirt off. She'd heard the rumors. I knew that I'd have a scar that was deformed or anything. I always like when it's kind of cold out and I still see guys without shirts. What are they doing? And then you realize, oh, it's their tattoos.

Like they have to show off. Oh, they have to show them. Right. Yeah. Even when it's cold. They were so expensive. Yes, exactly. They need to get their money's worth.

Yeah, it's not a stroll outside without showing them off. Yeah. I'm no longer a shirt-off guy. Yeah. You have two shirts on. That's right. Multiple shirts. And a beautiful flamingo shirt.

So even if you took that shirt off, you'd still be covered. I'd still be covered. So how did they prepare you for what the remote was going to be? Because remotes are different from being in a sketch where there's probably more improv involved. Yeah. I mean, it was a little bit of a process, you know, because this was like, they really did that song, right?

Yeah. So like we came in, we had a rehearsal for just the song. We had... It was a two-parter. You taped a whole behind-the-scenes part with Conan. But then the big payoff, once that was all edited and assembled, It was a two-parter. You taped a whole behind-the-scenes part with Conan. Yeah. But then the big payoff, once that was all edited and assembled, you and Dudes A Plenty appeared like Conan.

We did a live performance. And you did the musical act. And it was amazing. It was incredibly well-produced. That's right. Short-form Tony. Exactly. Televised short-form Tony.

Yeah. Short form Tony. Exactly. Televised short form Tony. Yeah, so it was a live element too, which is another. It was a live element. I mean, yeah. I mean, it was like performing on a late night show. And so it was very exciting. There was just a couple of rehearsals. I think it was really just, we had a rehearsal for the song. We had a rehearsal for the dancing moves.

And then the day of, we kind of had a rehearsal with all those things together. The song was prerecorded. So we had like a session where we went in and just recorded our parts for the song. Yeah. But it was your voices. It was all of our voices. And we do sing. You do.

We are singing in the thing, but it's just we had to have the actual track to back us up. As most boy bands do. Most boy bands do. Yeah. Is that song online anywhere? Like, is it on? It is. Can you download it?

It's on the actual song. Oh, I don't know. I don't know who owns that song. Could it be a ringtone? Maybe. Maybe it's a Girls 5 Ever thing where you guys get back. It is my mom's ringtone. Yeah.

I'm not lying. For real? Yeah, back. It is my mom's ringtone. Yeah. I'm not lying. For real? Yeah, she somehow got it saved as a ringtone. I think somebody made it for her. Oh, that's sweet. Yeah, so did you tell people when you booked this, like, you got to watch this night? Or were you like, let me watch it first,

and then I'll tell people? Oh, no, I definitely told people. I mean, you know, again, this is like before, like, I wasn't able to, like, text all the people or call all the people I know, so I think I probably just called my mom and, you know, started a phone tree. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I put it on my MySpace page.

And then we had the day where we shot the actual sketch that, you know, that they saw. And that was super fun. That was a blast. Oh, yeah. And that was your first, so were you nervous, like know, that they saw. And that was super fun. That was a blast. Oh, yeah. And that was your first. So were you nervous, like, in that situation? You were meeting Conan. You were working with these other four actors who came from Broadway.

Was it, were you just kind of like, ah, I'm ready for this? Or was part of you kind of like, ugh, this is, don't screw it up? Yeah, I think I definitely thought that. I think I remember being like, don't screw this up yeah i think i definitely thought i think i remember being like don't screw this up but because it was these other guys from broadway and i was had been doing a lot of stuff at ucb and you know conan fits in very well in that world of comedy you know as you know playing you know this crazy guy who's trying to put the band together. Right. Yeah. It felt a little bit easier for me because it was like a group of guys. So I don't, it's not all on me to like hold it together. Right.

Right. And I also probably had done more things similar to what we were doing than the rest of them, I felt. So I was like, well, I'll just do what I've been doing. And, you know, remember your training. Yeah. You're an act lead. I'm an act lead.

Don't get a brown bag foul. Did you get to improvise with Conan? Oh, yeah. The whole thing was pretty much improvised. They were just like, they were like, all right, he's going to come in and talk to us

and we just be guys in a band. And so it was him, you know, he's just like laying into us, you know, and giving us his ridiculous ideas. Yeah. And, you know, all we have to do is be like, this is the most amazing, that's a really insightful thing, you know, and giving us his ridiculous ideas. Yeah. And, you know, all we have to do is be like, this is the most amazing.

That's a really insightful thing. You know, we're here to do this. Yeah. Just be really extra sincere. Yeah. Right. And I'm glad you cleared that up because I think some people watch remotes and even, you know, people watch Conan interviewing guests and they think everything is scripted. Oh, no.

But the remotes are really just, there's kind of a loose idea and maybe some beats. I think this one, I'm pretty sure it was like, Conan's going to come in and he's going to go over the end pose for the song. Right. That's all we know. And so then he just comes in and, you know, I think he's playing along too, you know, playing off of each other. I don't think he even really knows, you know, he was improvising as well. Right. 100%.

Like he kept changing everyone's name and that was improvised. Yes. I wonder whether he had the song, at least the title of the song already. Baby, I love you, baby. Yeah. Baby. Was that? I wish you were my baby.

Baby, I wish you were my baby. I don't know. I don't baby. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if they had written that out. I see like he was coming up with it in the room. Or like who came up with the melody? Did Conan just add, I wonder if he ad-libbed that.

Yeah. We'll have to see who has writing credits on it. Oh, on the song. Yes. Oh, that's right. Someone's getting these big BMI checks. Big payouts. Oh, my God.

Seven cent checks. Oh, yeah. Find out. We'll get to the bottom of it. And then did you guys have a choreographer that was actually teaching you? Real choreographer taught us real choreography. And I was not, you know. And that's when I realized like okay there's a

difference between like i'm willing to dance and i can dance right because uh and this is very funny because this happened to me twice so in this one it was you know situation where the lady came in and she's like she's like okay so here's what we're gonna do and she like does like the moves all right does all the moves right and then it's like okay so now now here's what we're going to do. And she like does like the moves. All right. Yeah. Does all the moves. Right. And then it's like, okay, so now. Now you do it. Let's go ahead and we'll just go through it.

You know, we'll do it at halftime or whatever. And then it like starts up and the guys are all like, doop, doop. They just like have it all down. They're like kind of laughing about certain parts. Like, oh yeah, it's funny when you have to do this. This is a recurring nightmare that I have. And I'm like, what? Oh.

Well, now I had that nightmare twice. Yeah. Because then I did this show. But it was real. My name is escaping me right now. But I did this television show. Very funny show. It was like a procedural show, but it was a comedy.

What's that show called? Angie Tribeca. That was the show. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, that was a funny show. In it, there's a boy band. The story of the week is a boy band is involved in a murder. Oh, that's typecasting. Yeah, that was a funny show. In it, there's a boy band. The story of the week is a boy band is involved in a murder.

Oh, that's typecasting. Yeah, no kidding. And so they bring me in to do it. But the other people in this fake boy band things are like Joey McIntyre. No. Like real boy band guys. Oh, no. Like there's a guy from NSYNC.

Oh, no. And they're all like older. But that other guy from NSYNC. Oh, no. And they're all like older. But that other guy from NSYNC. Yeah. And so like. So they must have seen Dudes of Plenty and thought it was a real boy band. Didn't even know it. Didn't even know it.

In that situation, they were just bringing me in because they, you know, thought that I'd be funny. And they wanted to make sure they didn't just have, you know, I was supposed to look like an older boy band guy. And so they like, so I go in to do this, exact same thing happens where the choreographer's like, this is going to be our little dance. All right, now we'll do it again at halftime. And those guys are all like, oh man, dusting off the wheels. And they're like all right into it again. And then again.

Colton, what's going on? I think there's a few times in the actual dance, if you watch it, where you can see that clearly they made a new move for me to go do while the other guys do some other cool moves. I went to one dance class in LA and it was exactly like that. It's awful to be around real dancers. And all those other ex-boy band guys were right up to speed on all the moves they did not skip a beat

there's a reason these guys were pros they practiced differently it wasn't their thing and it was I'll be honest

it was like I'm gonna get called today it was after that day I was like I like had a huge respect for those guys because I was like

I can't believe because we'd like to do these moves all day and like they just slipped moves all day and like, they just slipped right into it and like, everything they did, I was like,

wow, that really did look cool and good. That happened to me once I got cast years ago to play a baseball player

for a Japanese documentary TV show named Moe Berg and they're like, you know, and I, it's this, can you horse? Can you ride a horse? They're like, are you a good baseball player? I'm like, sure. They drove this huge crew up to Oneonta, New York, and we played at like a Yankees double A baseball stadium. They had over a hundred people dressed in period dress in the crowd. And they had a pitcher from single A Yankee team.

Oh, no. Pitching to me. You're like, no, I can hit off a tee. Yeah. It was like, you know, I was like, oh my God. And they were like, so you're going to hit the ball? Yes. Oh, man.

But all these people who not only were watching, but had spent an hour changing into 1940s garb to watch. And I was just like, oh, motherfucker. And so, you know, I'm like swinging, swinging, missing. This sounds like a Nathan Fielder show.

Oh, my God. And the director didn't speak English. He was Japanese. And he went up to the translator and the translator come over and he said, Mike, the director said to hit the ball. And I, Mike, the director said to hit the ball. It's not a choice.

Did you get it? I eventually did. Oh, good. Just one. Just the one. Just awful. Yeah. Awful, awful, awful.

These are just. Just the one hit. Once they got it, they're like, okay, we're done. Wow. Yeah. With everyone watching you oh wow oh god

it's like having sex on camera why did I say yes to this but I got a comedy sports shirt out of it yeah there you go there was a big payoff for me that's an actual sport everywhere but you should be

well let's go to the live performance element. Yeah. What was that like, being on Late Night in front of the studio audience? I mean, it was probably a very surreal day, I think. You know, because, like, you come in and got to stay sort of in those dressing rooms there that I ended up, like, becoming very familiar with. But at the time, it was like, oh, this is so cool. And I'm, like of in those dressing rooms there that I ended up like becoming very familiar with. But at the time, it was like, oh, this is so cool. And I'm like in a dressing room.

And, you know, oh, I could eat this food if I want to. It's real food. Yeah. It's real food here. And then on day three, you're like, oh. And it was that whole day experience, too, to shoot that one. Because we came in early to like obviously you know wardrobe and get dressed I think I ate at the

like the studio cafeteria for lunch oh yeah I was like this is so cool NBC commissary yes that's right

in 30 Rock that's back in New York City and then did it went off without a problem so I'm super stoked and you know and I know

the show's gonna air you know and everyone know that you know the show's gonna air uh you know and uh everyone's gonna see it and um yeah it was uh yeah it was awesome did people recognize you after that like did anyone no no you mean like did people stop me in the street and be like hey man there's a plenty only only like comedy nerds. Okay, yeah, yeah. Those count. Those are people. Yeah, but there's not that many of them. And, you know, like, yeah, but for sure.

But more later on in my life, when it was like somebody who'd be like, aren't you? You know, and like, but it was more helpful, you know, those kind of things were more helpful for my family

and like friends back home oh to see that this was a real career yeah since I had gone out to New York so like for me

it was more like oh good okay so now they you know they're all like whoa man that was you know that was cool

and yeah six months of getting them off your back yeah yeah exactly are you really in a boy band that's it

I was like when can I get the album? You guys are on tour? I mean, it's your mother's ringtone. I got a tattoo. And then they came, you came back for a reprisal? We shot the video, we shot a music video. You shot a music video, yeah.

Yeah, Dudes of Plenty had to come out with a banging video, I believe was the reasoning behind it. Yeah, yeah. And so he was going to direct this amazing video where we're like underwater or something. Yeah, and then partly in prison too. Yeah, but it was also like. And there's an astronaut underwater, yeah.

But it was like, I think the other thing was too, because maybe the other storyline was like people were spending a ton of money on music videos. Yeah. And so it was this big budget music video, but then the budget got cut. And so that was kind of the, oh, this is like, we're clearly, we did everything on a green screen. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we did that.

And then I think that was it. For Dudes of Plenty. That was it. I think that was it. That was of Plenty I think that was it that was it and Tom Sharpling was in right that's right

he made a cameo which it wasn't a cameo because it was he probably wasn't famous at that time yeah but yeah he played like

the craft services guy right who's handing out bagels and ends up in the video. Ends up in the video. Yes. That's right.

Yes, he is in the video. Yes. Yeah. And Lance Bass is actually in it too, but not with you guys, I'm assuming, because he... No. No, there's like an interview segment, I think, with him. Yeah, but Conan puts him in the video, but... But not in the video.

Not with you guys. Because he's not with us, yeah. Right. He says no. He says no to not with you guys. Because he's not with us. Yeah. Right. He says no. He says no to appearing with you. That's right. So yeah, you were never in the same room

with Lance Best at that time. It's the only time he's ever said no. Still haven't been. Still haven't been. Oh, wow. What? Still a chance though. Well, we've got him.

No! Say hello to your- We knew that was your dream. Now I have to do choreography with them and get humiliated. It's all paying off today. Oh, God. What if we asked you to do choreography? We flew in.

The overall process, though, looking back on it now that I've like worked on different late night shows and i've done different things it was uh it was a really fun process i think not just for me but probably even for the people making it because it was a little also doing all the other remotes like it was kind of its own thing you know it was very much like you know felt like they were you know producing this uh you know song along with it so it just it felt like a were producing this song along with it. So it felt like a really big, nice piece that you don't always... It was different than like, I'm the security guard and no...

Right. I'm eating popcorn loudly while Conan's trying to talk. It was like a little bit more than sort of the just kind of offshoot silly idea bits, which are great too. Yeah, totally. So it was very fun to like—you're right. It was much more ambitious than a lot of the things on Conan, which would be 30-second or two-minute sketches. Yeah, running down the hallway.

Yeah, exactly as you're describing. Yeah. Yeah. So that was fun. Yeah? For sure. And like you said, you went on to write for the Arsenio Hall show when that came back. Yeah. Yeah. So that was fun. Yeah. For sure. And like you said, you went on to write for the Arsenio Hall show when that came back. Yeah.

And Eric Andre. Sure. And Key and Peele. And Key and Peele. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. So you wrote.

Yeah. So you worked in late night sketch variety. Still do. Still do. Yeah. But. What are you working on now? Never stop.

Right now I'm working on. Yeah, I can? Never stop Right now I'm working on Yeah, I can say it Right now I'm working on a show With Frankie Quinones Oh, cool It's a sketch comedy show Awesome Great

And I'm developing with him With Hulu Awesome That's excellent Yeah That's great So this is like Decades in

Late night now I run at Mad TV too Oh yeah, that's right. I'm all about that late night comedy stuff. Oh yeah. The sun is down, let's get funny. Where's Colt? With your background in short form and long form improv,

I think that really checks out. That would translate to sketches and punch lines and jokes but you have also worked in sitcoms and longer form comedy for sure yeah i was on a show called superstore for a long time i loved watching uh on super on superstore you did a lot of the store announcements which yeah that that had to be a fun oh i loved it yeah originally of the story announcements, which, yeah, that, that had to be a fun. Oh, I loved it. Yeah. Originally in the story, they were like, uh,

that, like character, you'd only, that's all he really did. Like originally it was going to be like, he kind of did an announcement. He was the announcer. He like did an announcement at the beginning

and maybe one in the middle, then like a little bit, one at the end, kind of like take you along the story. Um, and they're like, you know, and people were, I remember at first being like, wow, he's not kind of like take you along the story and they're like you know and people

were at first being like wow he's not going to be that much of the story but also being like that seems like super easy job right

like I'm just doing announcements no dancing there was no dancing but yeah just doing announcements and not too much so I loved it

I loved that idea. It's like most actors would be like, I want to be in it more. But I was like, no, man, that's great. Yeah, most of us are just ABR. Big beginning to the beginning of that. All right, cool. This is great. But then they were like, no.

But then we ended up, everybody loved Garrett. Then you fucked it up by being good. Shit, they're extending it. No, that's always so cool when an actor starts with like you know sort of ancillary character and then you

you earn your spot on the yeah oh yeah well I mean I don't know I think maybe they just were like

I don't know I don't know if it was my merits or just oh don't be modest no you like you popped in there just like oh

yeah we're Garrett we're Garrett and you also wrote some episodes I wrote two episodes Like you popped in there just like, oh, yeah. What are we doing? We're Garrett. We're Garrett. And you also wrote some episodes too? I wrote two episodes. That's so great. That's really cool. That was a blast.

Yeah. Yeah. Was that stuff that you like stories that you had pitched? Or how did that come about? Well, no, I didn't necessarily pitch the stories. They, they have like, in that situation where it's sort of the actor on the show is going to write an episode. I'm not necessarily in the room as a writer while they're sort of breaking

like that season or, or sorry, like kind of coming up with the idea for that season. So when, at that point, when you come in to to write an episode in that situation they're usually like here's like three outline three storylines that we're kind of dealing with do any of these appeal to you okay and then you kind of you know but i mean

you definitely get to bring in stuff that you want to bring in and yeah you know um yeah add add things that you wanted to add or like try little jokes you probably dialed garrett way back i'm going back oh yeah 100 in the beginning the middle leaves garrett dies in this episode garrett goes to maui oh yeah you film everything in mauii. It has to be on set. This script is insane. But that was a great, great time to write for a show. Yeah, it was a really long-running show. I mean, sitcoms don't get that kind of run very often anymore.

No, it was great, and I thought it ended really well. Can't complain about anything. Wow. You're the only person who's ever said that we have it on tape no one will believe would believe us I can't

now I can't complain if I do come up with something they'll throw this in my face and how have you balanced because you I mean you really do it all in terms of writing and acting and developing. Has any of those sort of taken priority or do they kind of all take the forefront at different times?

I guess wherever the check is coming from is what takes the lead. Because I assume that it's harder to... wherever the check is coming from. Right, right. Is what takes the lead. Yeah, like are you, because I assume that it's harder to. At this point, it is, you know, a career, so it's, you know, very, you know,

it's sort of like, but yeah, I mean, it ebbs and flows, you know, especially after like doing something like Superstore. You know,

I certainly was more like, oh, what can I get in on the development side? You know know what can I do some more writing stuff I like to do a lot of voiceover stuff I like to do cartoons and stuff like that but there's also these like motivations you know

that only happen with time where it's like well I have you know my son here at home and I don't necessarily want to go away for six months to act in a, you know, in, in, you know, a short, you know, um, you know, horror film or something, uh, you know, or like, you know, that kind of thing. So like, you know, having a writing job close to home or voiceover work close to home or, uh, or, or something where I just go shoot for a little

bit and then come back. Those kind of things are also factors into where my creative energy goes. You know, so it's sort of like, I think there's two sides of it. Because at first, you're following your passion, doing whatever you want to do. And then it kind of becomes your job. And now it's my job. I have to get very successful at my job. And then I can go back to just being like, oh, well, which way do I want to go now? Right, right, right.

Definitely. I know. The sweet spot. You have to earn the right to say no to things. Yeah. I'm curious about your writing experience with Late Night versus and also comedy sketch like Mad TV and Keen Peel and really Eric Andre versus actual a nightly talk show. Did you prefer one over the other? Did you find the experiences similar in a way? Oh, wow. I mean, those are all extremely different experiences that are all kind

of really dependent, you know, sort of top-down, right? Like, who's the host of the show? Who's the head writer? Those people all kind of decide what the workflow and the process is for each one of those shows, and you know, you hear great stories and nightmare stories

from all different places, and so, I mean, you know, I love the structure of the late night, you know, of the late show job. I loved, like, coming in the morning. It's like the same thing every day, kind of. Getting the, you know, the cake or getting the, you know, the sheet of paper that has all the news stories on it. You know, writing, you know, 10 jokes for each one of those things. Like, you know, I like that process.

That's something that I'll do to this day sometimes. Oh, really? Lots of sickness. Well, no, like if I have like something, if I'm going to write, you know, say I have to like write, you know, I want to write a couple scenes in a longer project. When I get up in the morning, I might just go through the news, you know, like the Twitter trending or whatever, and just write out a couple of jokes, you know, for that, whatever the thing is, just to kind of

get a little bit loose. I love that. I love remotes with like late night shows. Like, I love that because that's a sketch comedy, you know like yeah it's uh that's really one of my favorite favorite things to do you know like uh i remember at at arsenio this thing that i wrote for arsenio to do that i thought was very funny it's called uh uh the black witness through history and so it's uh i think there was like this viral video at the time of this guy who was like you know they were just like

kept interviewing like the funniest dude at like a crime like the hide your wives hide your wives you gotta hide you know so it's like

this kind of character but it's like our studio through history so it's like at the Hindenburg you know and it's like

our studio's like oh man that thing was exploding I don't even you gotta get your blimps out of here. These people are blowing them up.

Very funny. And, you know, so it's like those like little things that you can, you know, it's really hard to kind of fit that

into like a, you know, a sitcom or, you know, into something else. It's so specific and like being able to pull it from like the,

you know, the viral video and then do it that night. There's that immediacy something else it's so specific and like being able to pull it from like the you know the you know the viral video and then do it that night there's that immediate edc like from the short form improv comedy background that i have that yeah you know i really enjoy um you know and then obviously with you know you get into more sketch you have kind of like the sketch comedy of mad tv was super fun to do but it was very you know you know, I'd almost feel like it's almost like a corporate, like it wasn't as, it wasn't like groundbreaking or anything like that. You know, it was very like goofy stuff, you know, the blind, you know, Kung Fu Master with Bobby Lee, you know, like just like super silly stuff. But then, you know, to Key & Peele where it's like, okay, now I'm doing the sketch comedy

and I'm using the sort of current event stuff. Yeah, social commentary. And we're able to take a little bit more time here. It's not like, you know, and so, you know, it's definitely a wide variety, all different awesome places to work, all work different strengths. I don't really have any real favorites.

But I always wanted to be a writer on Conan, I remember. I remember always being like, oh, man, that would be like the coolest job in the world. I'm thinking that would be the best. Well, I feel like you made the right choice because you got to work on so many other things instead. And if you'd been a writer on Conan, you would have just done that. Oh, I didn't have a choice. That wasn't...

You would never have left. No, maybe you understood me wrong. I didn't have a choice to write on Conan. That wasn't like an option that came up for me. Well, you know, no one ever left the writing staff.

No one ever left. I know. That means you did a good job. Yeah. It was a very good job. It was good because of that NBC commissary. That's right.

Man, it was pretty great. But did you go through that, I mean, before you started getting those jobs, were you going through the process of submitting packets and stuff for late night? Yeah, yeah. I think I made one for Conan at some point. Yeah, I definitely did packets for that, SNL, like all that kind of stuff. Right. You know,

at that time, I was a lot younger and definitely was more focused on performing. So like, I think at that time, it would have been, you know, I also may have like gotten the job

and then been like, I'm going to be the star, you know. Hey, what am I doing? You know. Yeah, yeah.

I had to sit in a room for eight hours with these other idiots. Yeah. Cause I went, I ended up, I auditioned for this thing called a boom Chicago. Oh, right. Chicago city limits in Amsterdam.

Yeah. And going out there and performing. That's where I met Jordan, uh, peel and a bunch of other people and, uh, Seth Meyers. And,

uh, I, uh, worked out there and that's where, that's where I really started writing a lot more just for myself and for Meyers. And I worked out there and that's where I really started writing a lot more just for myself and for the show. And so that's when I came back from there, I think I was a little bit more like open about being a writer or taking writing jobs and doing that as a job and understanding what that was and enjoying it, I think, a little bit more. Right.

That is a new way of ego gratification. As a performer, I could see you thinking like, oh, no, I want the attention. And then it's like, oh, I write this and get to see it put up. That's also really— I still get attention for that. Yeah, that's right. I remember writing Mad TV. I wrote a sketch called LAPD Pinatas.

So I think you can get an idea what these pinatas are. So the pinatas were all people of color. Oh, God. And it was a commercial. Ike Barinholtz plays a cop. You can find it online. Yeah, yeah. Very, maybe, I think it still holds up.

I think it still holds up. Unfortunately, it still holds up. Yes. I still love pinatas. That's why I think it holds up. And, you it still holds up. Unfortunately, it still holds up. Yes. I still love pinatas. That's why I think it holds up. And, you know, Ike's like telling you what, you know, these are the different pinatas. We got the runner, the, you know, the, I forget what they are. They're very funny.

You have to go check them out. But, and I remember writing it and writing down all these like different, the crackhead, like all these different like names that he's calling them and just just saying, this is a pinata that looks like this. And then the day that they're going to shoot at them, getting a call and being like, hey, can you come down and approve the pinatas? And going down there and being like, oh my God, this came from my door and somebody made the crackhead pinata.

And I think I had the runner for years. I had the runner for years. I had the runner for years just hanging in my room. It's like pinata of this guy. Where is that pinata? I ended up throwing it away. Your son was like, I broke it open. There's no candy in there. This is crap.

Thanks, Dad. Oh, that's great. I still have Grand Theft Auto GTA The Board Game, which is a sketch that we wrote for Matt TV, and they made The Board Game. And I have that. Oh, my God.

How many hundreds of sketches do you think you've written over the years? Oh, my God. Hundreds? Yes. Maybe thousands? I think I'm probably into thousands at this point. Yeah, I'm definitely into thousands. And with shows like that, there's like, you come up with these great ideas and you do them

and then it's like, you can't even get to say, like you have to move on to the next sketch. Right. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. There's no time.

Yeah, I'm amazed that you could even reference sketches so quickly. It's only because we've started talking about them now. Yeah, yeah. Now it starts to roll out a little bit more. Because it all feels like a blur when I think back. Yeah. I've heard so many people say, like you're saying,

like, come on down and check out the pinatas. That feeling, the writer's saying, wow. And a lot of times, if you're working with good people, like they add stuff that you couldn't even. You're like, oh my God, this is better. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, you took it and you elevated it like 20%. You yes-handed it.

This is fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. So I think that's the thing that like when you get, and it takes time to get there, right? It takes so much time to get there, more than it does to when you get on stage and get a laugh and get that energy, very immediate.

But once you get there, it's like very similar, if not sometimes more powerful of a draw to the idea of creating, you know. Yeah. Does that pinata last forever? Well, almost. Almost forever.

Well, thanks, Colton. This has been so fun. Yeah, it was a blast. I know. Was there anything we didn't get to? Well, I also have a show coming out on Netflix called The Recruit. Oh, yeah. It comes out mid-December.

It's a spy show? It's a spy show. It's about spies and stuff. And you're... I'm a straight-up spy, dude. Really? And this is... You were just acting in this or writing as well?

Just. Just. Excuse me. Just acting. No dancing. I'm just acting in this or writing as well? Just. Just, excuse me, just acting. No dancing. I'm just acting, but I do, you know, I still use a lot of improv. So I definitely know that some of my improv bits have gotten into the final cuts. So can I ask you a question? I hope people check it out.

In a show like that, where it's, I'm assuming it's scripted? Oh, yeah. In a show like that, where I'm assuming it's scripted, do you kind of on your own do a little improv and see if it catches fire? Test the waters with the people you're working with. The rule I do is I do it as scripted first. Okay. All right. I focus hard on doing that. Yeah.

Even harder if there is something else I want to do, I will like really try to nail it the way that I think they want it. Okay. And then when I feel like I did that, then I just do it. I also do, then like, and this may, people like this,

I don't ask if I can try to do something else. That's what I was wondering. I'll, I will, I'll make sure that I did it the way it's scripted. Yeah. And then like when they yell action the next time, I'll just do the other thing.

Some people don't like that. Do they tell you then when they yell action the next time, I'll just do the other thing. Some people don't like that. Do they tell you then when they don't or no? Well, I mean, so far nobody's ever told me they didn't like it. But I'll talk to the other actor. Like if it's something you have to go back and forth. But a lot of times I do think if there's any young actors out there look at it. But a lot of times people will ask

too much permission I think sometimes. And then in the response sometimes discourages them from even performing their idea well. Somebody's like, I guess just try

whatever you want. And then the pressure's on. Right. I just gun it. Ask for forgiveness rather than permission. 100%. And show it.

I mean, when you just give them the evidence right there and you've done it, they're like, Then they should be grateful for it because you're adding to the comedy. And then I could see them going, like, looking forward to whatever your next line is. Right. Like, let's do it again. Then they're like, we stopped writing buttons for these scenes. Colton's going to do it for us. Just lazy writers.

Well, thank you so much, Colton. It's been fun. Thank you, guys. Thanks, Colton. Thank you to Colton Dunn for joining us. Thanks, Colton. Thanks for coming in. That was fun.

No thanks for keeping your shirt on. That's right. He was shirtless. I like to objectify men. Well, nice. Don't even think of doing it with me. I'm always dressed 24 hours a day. You are.

You're always wearing four shirts just in case. Showers. That's right. Hey, we have a listener question. Yeah, we sure do. And we want to give an honest answer to this question. It's from a fellow named John in Omaha, Nebraska.

Ah, this is great. Hello, Mike and Jesse. Wow. Three exclamation marks. My question is twofold. Wow. Over the many entertaining years of the Walker, Texas Ranger lever clips, which was a bit, we used to do it late night with Conan O'Brien. Who was the lucky or unlucky writer, producer, editor

who was tasked with going through the Walker, Texas Ranger catalog to find the best and juiciest Walker, Texas Ranger clips? Did Conan see the Walker clips before the show or were they randomized? Was his reaction on air a genuine reaction or did he know which ones were coming from rehearsal? That's a good question. Thank you, John in Omaha. Yeah.

I love that we're big in Omaha. Yes. Well, you know, if you count John, very big. Yeah. And of course, Walker, Texas Ranger clips. It was just some of the, mostly they were incredible over the top, quick fight scenes. Chuck Norris just kicking ass. Yeah. Well, you know what? I can answer that. Two writers were tasked to do it the first time we did it. And they went down and they were like, oh my God, there are so many great clips. And they cut around 10 clips and we rehearsed them and people loved them. And then we aired them and it was an immediate hit. The Walker, Texas Ranger Lover was a big hit. And so the problem with, as Jesse, as you know, if anything is like, like you came up with, with Buzzfeed lists, like Buzzfeed's running out of ideas and you came up with that bit and they were, it was so funny. We just kept doing it. And then I, you tell me, wasn't that- It's a blessing and a curse. Yeah.

Exactly. It's exciting to have something that, oh yeah, this is popular, but then you're in charge of it every time. And it's like, oh. Right. And typically it'd be like, all right, let's do this four times next week. Right. And it's always back to the salt mine. So that happened with the Walker, Texas Ranger. And after a month, they were like, it was two writers, Michael Komen and Andrew Weinberg. And they were both like, please don't make us go down and look at more.

Her eyes are bleeding. Right, and they'd missed the writers meetings because they had to go down and screen. And then they started going, there aren't any more. We'd be like, are there more? Eyes are bleeding. Right. And they'd miss the writers meetings because they had to go down and screen. And they're like, and then they started going, there aren't any more. We'd be like, are there more? No. Nope.

We looked. So then we stopped doing it for a while. And their moods improved. But then we'd have a week off and Conan would go out in the world. And people were like, more Walker takes a stranger. So he'd come back and go, guys, all I'm hearing is people want more clips. And so then I was like, oh, God, I'd feel awful. But it was like, guys, you got to look for more. And they, you know what?

They kept finding more. I think, I think we showed 96 we had 96 clips that we aired they were writing for Walker at that point they were creating new clips that's right so we'd come to know

what clips were going to air or you know what was that a surprise for him we would rehearse like maybe 10 to 12 oh wow

and we'd pick the best 5 so he would know the 5 he might he might not know the order I can't believe they had to find 10 to 12 for every one segment that aired.

That's a lot of clips. It's a lot of clips. I can see why they were wearing them. Oh, God, yes, yes, yes. I think eventually they were like, here's a title sequence. It's just like, it's from the show. Yeah. And I know, I mean, anything can become onerous too.

Like I used to work on The Soup with Joel McHale, and that was involved watching TV and finding clips. And you think, oh, I mean, what a great job. You're watching TV for a living and you're looking for clips. But if you're under a deadline and you have to do it day after day, it's, it actually, it feels like a work. You know, I did heroin for a while and having to find fresh heroin, it just gets, it really takes all the, yes. It becomes a full-time job. And then those two guys, Komen and Weinberg, that job of looking at those clips affected them so deeply that they came up with a show called Eagle Heart starring Chris Elliott, where he played a Texas.

Yes, that's right. Texas Marshall. Yeah. Oh, my God. Yes. Permanently scarred. And they only used dialogue director. So thanks for the question.

Yeah. Thanks, John in Omaha. director so thanks for the question yeah thanks john in omaha and if anyone else in omaha or elsewhere would like to ask us a question you can email us inside conan pod at gmail.com or leave us a voicemail because we love that 323-209-1079 and hey you know if you like the show you can also support us by rating Inside Conan on iTunes and leaving us a review we occasionally read them and in anticipation of you doing that we'd like to say

we love you Inside Conan an important Hollywood podcast is hosted by Mike Sweeney and me Jesse Gaskell our producer is Lisa Burr. Team Coco's executive producers are Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and Nick Liao. Engineered and mixed by Joanna Samuel. Our talent bookers are Gina Batista and Paula Davis, with assistance from Maddie Ogden.

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