The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Craig Robinson

Episode Date: January 2, 2024

Craig Robinson joins Andy Richter to discuss working on "The Office," his many collaborations with Seth Rogen, his impressive music education, the latest season of his TV show, "Killing It," and much more.

Hey everybody, welcome back to The Three Questions. I'm Andy Richter. I'm the host of this thing. Today I'm talking to Craig Robinson. Craig is an actor, comedian, and musician. You can see Craig in season two of his show, Killing It, on Peacock, which is very, very funny. Here's my conversation What are you drinking? Bone broth. Bone broth? That sounds dirty. I hope it's not your own. It's a little concoction I made.

No, it's a... Never mind. It's supposed to be so healthy for you did you know that yeah yeah i mean i've heard about it but do you drink it like just as like sort of like a supplemental thing or is it a meal replacement or something that was like just uh i'm here at the studio and they were like, yeah, Goop has good bone broth. So I said, okay, I'll get some of this bone broth from Goop Kitchen.

Is there a Goop Kitchen there? Yeah, down the street apparently. I never heard of it. Wow. I wonder if Gwyneth Paltrow is behind the counter. I wondered that too. That would be something. Hey, Gwyneth. Hi, Gwyneth. Shout out. Yeah. I came to get my vagina

steamed well Craig it's good to see you I haven't seen you in a long time you know you too buddy yeah everything's pretty good yeah just um you know getting ready for the holidays. I got remarried. Congratulations. Thank you. And I adopted my stepdaughter. So I got a three and a half year old now. Thank you. Good man.

I got a 22, 18 and three and a half. Everything's coming up, Andy. Oh, yeah. Yep. Now, if only'm could make some money if only if only showbiz thought i didn't think i was retired so you you always create lightning in a bottle like oh well thank you and he controls the universe and that's it's always like god you know laugh out loud funny weird oh thank you thank you well you've gotten you get to do i mean you've got you've had a really good career

in terms of like being in good stuff you know what i mean like you like do you feel like there's much that you've been in that you're like not crazy about you know what i mean yeah yeah i have been in some some good good stuff i gotta say i've been blessed like that and uh just thinking about some of the stuff i was in the other day and just like some cool weird projects yeah some cool indie stuff uh people have never seen or heard of but uh still you know no it's good it's it it does at least kind of i mean because there's you know there can be a lot of bullshit in show business but at least if you're like having fun i mean we were just talking a little bit before we started recording about you and killing it uh the show that you do on peacock which is come back for a second season

and now you can talk about it that's why we're here because the the strike is over correct the mundo but you you know you were saying like it's just fun it's just a fun and it you know it everything that i saw in preppered for this, because I hadn't seen it yet, it looks like a hilarious, fun show. It looks crazy. And it makes such a difference when, you know, doing some dumb shit that you're embarrassed to tell your friends you're on, you know? Yeah, I haven't had a lot of those kind of uh yeah experiences thank god you know they uh you know from the office to brooklyn 99 but not and not killing it but it's like

it's you know everybody comes it's like everybody's you know coming with their a game and we're uh corroborative yeah we'll like you know rehearse on Zoom if I call the rehearsal or something. It's really dope. Oh, nice. Well, let's go back to your beginnings. Chicago, Illinois. Are you from the city proper or are you from outside the city? South side of Chicago. South side of Chicago.

Yes, sir. Family there for a long time? Yeah, yeah. My father's family is from Chicago. My mother's people, my mother's born in mississippi uh-huh but um but i we all came up through chicago do you still have a lot a lot of people back there a lot of family yeah yeah yeah i got i got a lot of family that's where most of the family is yeah we did when we do a family reunion we do our family reunions uh we were doing them every year up until like the pandemic but um

when we we go somewhere different every year it's really cool usually you might give 40 maybe 60 people wow nice you know but uh chicago is like 200 or something like that oh that's great everybody comes out that's that is such a nice thing because I don't experience that with my family just kind of keeps to themselves, you know. Really? But there's, you know, and there are like the big, there are big reunions, but they do kind of like end up sort of going into a group of cousins will sort of, you know, connect and then they'll be, yeah, there'll be their own Christmas group, you know, because there's just so many people. Is it kind of like that with you guys? We all mingle. And then, of course, you know, I think it's natural for people to kind of cluster up sure they're all right right we definitely you know everybody makes sure they they you know

mingle with everybody at some point yeah it's it's really nice man we we have a great time you know we're playing cards we have a talent show we have a uh you know a white party you know i'm saying yeah? It's where you beat up a random white dude. It's just crazy. I know. That's what Andy Warhol's white party was all about.

It was easy for them to find a random white dude too. That's not true, everybody, by the way. Don't do that. It was a terrible joke clothes everyone wears white clothes yeah and then i hope i hope the food is not stainable because yeah going to a white party i'd within three minutes i'd have barbecue i'm the worst i'm the worst i gotta wear like a blanket

yes me too i i'm no longer embarrassed you know i don't care my kids my older kids get embarrassed but i'll just tuck a napkin and i don't give a shit it's like if if i'm gonna eat soup or something yeah what's up yeah what's i don't get i don't see what it's if you look at any three stooges episode with a nap out there. I don't know if they're style icons necessarily. But no, I mean, even like, you know, like my daughter said, like, it's just a bib. I'm like, yeah, I don't give a shit. Yeah, it's a bib. I don't.

Yeah, that's it. It's functional. Yes. Yes. And then I can eat without having to like fully concentrate on every single spoonful. It's, you know. Because eventually it's good. Something's going to spill.

You're going to get some rice or some beans or some meat or something on your shirt. That's right. And there is, there's a playing field below my chin too, that like, there's some real estate down there that will collect anything that gets lost so me too i bet we we both shop at uh dxl i have i have yeah yeah well now going back to uh did you have a we've i mean because you're you were first and foremost and i don't know if you still think of yourself you know first and foremost, and I don't know if you still think of yourself, you know, first and foremost as a musician, like music was kind of where you started out.

In terms of, um, you know, I got a degree in music and music is always, always with me. Yes. I, uh,

I use music in my act, I stand up and then I have a band. And so, uh, yeah, absolutely. The music is always there were there musicians in your household like you know oh yeah everybody played we had a piano upstairs piano downstairs

organ we had drums in the house different horn instruments it was it was you were touching some kind of instrument coming out of that house yeah yeah and was it like and it did it just end up being kind of a natural thing or you know like did somebody have to force you to practice there was there was some practice forcing but i was also a natural so i uh we went to lessons and yeah we have to you know learn our stuff and then i was you know figuring out other stuff on my own songs on the radio and what have you so uh and then playing in church and stuff like that yeah yeah i i envy that so much because i don't i never i'm just not good i mean i like music and i'm an okay singer but in whenever i i tried uh cornet and uh in in grade, and then I tried to take guitar lessons,

and I think I just don't have the knack for it, and then I don't have the patience. I would love to strum a guitar. I can pick and play one finger at a time, but just trying to do a chord, yeah, I'm the same. I would smash a guitar down. just trying to do a chord. Yeah, I'm the same way. I would smash a guitar down. Look at this. I quit.

Well, now, do you have a lot of siblings? Older sister, younger brother. They have half brother and sister who are older than us. Okay. And, I mean, did you guys play music together? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Me and my brother and sister, who I grew up with, yeah, yeah, all the time. Yeah.

My brother is in my band today. Yeah, he's in your band today. I forgot about that. Yeah. Chris Robb, shut up. Chris Robinson, also from the Black Crows. He had a different look. Yeah, yeah.

In the Black Crows. But, you know, he's really got a lot of uh a lot of breadth yeah it doesn't like we've always been proud of him that's right was it was it a funny family too i mean yeah yeah my mother was very funny my father's funny he's more of a ham type but he's also like he was an attorney. So, you know, the iron fist kind of do, too. But, yeah, we all we all were my sister. Everybody's funny in the family. Yeah. Yeah.

Having an attorney, dad, does that like does he let you argue your case or is it just as I say? It was do as I say, but he would also let you hang yourself you know he's in there cross-examining you and it was too easy for him you know yeah yeah yeah and yeah so i uh you know you learn not to lie or lie real good right yeah you gotta get it bulletproof first yeah as a kid what did you think you were gonna end up doing i mean did you was it pretty much music all the time did you were you in plays it was their sports going on well in high school i played a little basketball a little organized basketball i was on the team i made it twice sophomore year senior year nice i wasn't very good on a playground what happened junior year i I wasn't very good. On the playground, I could— What happened junior year?

I just didn't make the team. Oh, wow. I wanted it so bad, but I just couldn't—I don't know. I was a big fighter, and I could leap. Yeah, yeah. I was good for rebounds, blocking shots and stuff, but I didn't have that killer. You know what I'm saying? I know exactly what you—because that's what ended my football career was just like, I don't, I can't, like, I can't get into this Lord of the Flies shit, you know?

Yeah. You know, kill him, kill him. It's like, no, it's just a game, guys. Take it easy. Just out there. I was just having fun. I've been talking my life. Oh, I made a bucket, you know?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So much fun. I did one day, though, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So much fun. I did one day, though, and it was senior day in high school. And I got subbed in, and it was just before half. And one of our guys shot a free throw. I got the rebound. Clock's winding down. I hit a buzzer beater.

Oh, no shit. Wow. And I walked off the car like, ah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, man.. Wow. And I walked off the car like, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, man. That was not a feeling like that. Yeah. Were you theatrical at all?

Did you play in plays or anything? Yeah. Yeah. We did plays at church. We did. I didn't really do school. I got to college. I think I did a couple of musical scenes and stuff.

But let me see. Was that at Illinois State? Yeah. You know, it was mostly church plays. Yeah. And it's funny because I would hear people like on the office talk about all the plays and stuff they were in. And I was like, well, I did a production of The Wiz at church one time. I'm thankful for that experience, though, man.

Yeah, yeah. Well, did I mean, yeah well did i mean were they religious plays or were they just the whiz is the whiz you know right right that's what i'm saying so we did that and i think we did one religious play where like yeah yeah one was like like uh the christmas some kind of christmas play where yeah i thought it was one of the wise men or something i don't remember yeah yeah I like it. Jesus story. Yeah. When you start heading towards wanting to do music for a living,

is anybody worried that you're not going to? Although I guess, you know, your mom was a music teacher. Oh, well. Did you think you were going to be a music teacher? You know, in college, I thought I was going to be like a musician, like, you know, singer. Yeah. going to be a musician, like a singer. Yeah. I bought a keyboard.

That was all that. And then all of a sudden, I tell you, comedy just swooped in. Like, no, you're coming this way. Yeah. And because I was so silly all the time, and people would come back to me and say, oh, I was trying to tell somebody what you were saying the other day so so it was like i was doing these bits but i know they were bits i was being stupid yeah and uh and i mean people like man you play too much all the time always something always silly didn't take anything serious until i i got bit with the comedy bug and then I started getting serious about comedy. Yeah.

You know? And this is during college? This is during college, yeah. Yeah, yeah. What happened was like, I always saw comedians as some kind of, you know, hero, godlike figure. Like it just didn't dawn on me that I could do that until I went to a homecoming show, and a buddy of mine was doing comedy. And then another dude was doing comedy, who I knew, and they were doing stand-up. And I was like, I can touch this person.

Do real people do this? Yeah, yeah. That was all she wrote. Can't you tell my love's a crow? me that was what improv was like i had friends doing improv and went to see shows i'm like oh you know look you know it is it yeah humans can do that i can quip yeah and i also think too people you know there's a lot of like, don't compare yourself to other people, but I feel like if you think, and it doesn't even have, you know, there's like a, there's like the kind of more nasty version of it. Like, oh, if that fucking guy can do it, then I can do it. And then there's the nice version of like, oh, look at that. That person can do it.

I can do it too. You know? You get excellent point. Yeah. Once I was into it, I was in, and I didn't know I was going to be, I thought, wow, it'd be awesome to be a comedian. Even, and I had, and I bought, you know, I was figuring out how would you do it? But there's no, you know, one, two, three, and now you're a comedian. Yeah, yeah. So I was watching like, I think back then it was called MTV Half Hour Comedy Hour or something.

And then they would show these comics, and they'd be showing them for three minutes or four minutes. And some of them, now I realize they were just catching them in the middle of their set. I don't know. But some of them were just like, wow, that wasn't too thrilling. And like you said, know i could do that yeah you know so it it uh but then you know if i were to go back and say i was okay this was a moment they were doing this or they would just you know have a theme for the show groceries it might be grocery shopping and everybody's doing their stuff on groceries and some are great some

of it wasn't but it was definitely something there to go, to compare yourself. Like you said, yeah, I can at least do that. Yeah. I can stand there and talk and make no one laugh, for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. At that age, I mean, when you were starting out and you were figuring it out, were there people that, like, you were kind of aiming towards, like, that you were trying to emulate or, or you know heroes at the time that you saw um i i loved a slew of people so you got

your richard pryor your bill cobs your eddie murphy you got your uh uh steve martin your martin mole you had yeah it was all these different richard Stephen Wright, Paul Mooney. So it was like one person would give you like Paul Mooney gave me this strength and like this. He was so badass. Yeah. And he, you know, it was like his way or the highway. Right, right. And now he's like planted like a tree, you know, like like he's not going to be moved by anybody.

Yeah. You can walk out on the show. And then later on, I ended up opening up for him. You know, since it was like, uh-huh. You got like a Stephen Wright or somebody who was just all, you know, one liners after another cerebral and you make you sit and think. and you make you sit and think and you got Richard Pryor who was you know all the way up there yeah yeah and he's you know acting out stuff and becoming these characters it was uh so so so many people there's so many different things and I just I feel like I just steal a little bit from all of them were you ever intimidated by the notion of getting to do this for a living and if so like what did you do to deal with it to keep going i think it was um yes of course uh and i think you know my naivete yeah allowed me to go through gave me the gumption to think I could do this. Yeah. Because you got to have, you know, the belief you got to have a vision for yourself.

I think I remember I was on a treadmill one time. This is when I had moved to L.A. and I was, you know, trying to figure this out and stuff. And I was working on a treadmill and I was watching TV as I was doing it. And in my apartment complex. And I was working on a treadmill, and I was watching TV as I was doing it. And in my apartment complex. And I just stopped. And I said, what are you doing? You're trying to fit in that box. What are you doing? It was this crazy thought, almost panic.

And then I was just like, yep, I sure am. And I hopped back on the treadmill, and I kept on working it out, man. So, yeah, there wasn't a backup plan. It kind of was because I was a school teacher and I figured I could go back to teaching, but I don't think I ever thought I could always go back to teaching. It was like, I was out of there, I was out of there. yeah no i that especially i felt too when i first came to la and i you know i mean i was i was i was with a show that traveled from chicago uh but and so i was making some money being a performer but i felt like there's there's so many people here it's like you know if you go to i don't know it's like if you go to i mean not necessarily now but you know like

when the auto industry was thriving it's like if you move to detroit and said i'm gonna make cars it wasn't crazy you know and so it's like to come out here and say i'm gonna make some kind of living in television or movies or entertainment in some way it's not like it's like yeah there's all kind of you know not everybody's tom cruise you know there's plenty of people you know pulling cables or making a good living you know yeah absolutely yeah when what what brought you from because you you were in uh you went to master you got your master's degree in music was that right did you go right after you were done with inner undergrad i know i taught for three and a half years oh okay kindergarten through eighth grade music yeah yeah so um so i was did you like i mean do you are you good with kids i mean would you i'm good with kids and i was

i was uh i was okay teacher you know i was a fun teacher and i was a music teacher so i would take the kids some some uh i had a little quiet and and I took after my mother because she was a choir director for our high school. So I would take kids out around Christmas time. We'd go to senior citizens' homes. We'd go to the museum. We'd go to Navy Pier and be a part of this thing. Yeah, caroling. Yeah, caroling and doing the thing it was it was awesome man and i had little shows in the spring like uh uh little music shows i think yeah yeah old school versus new school so one girl do reeta

franklin and at that time like i had like a group doing Drew Hill and stuff. It was real cool, man. While you were doing it, did you always feel like it was a holding place? It was just a resting point before you really started to turn it on? At that point, yes, because I was going hitting the clubs at night. I would work all day and then at night go do comedy. I also was a bouncer at some point, but not like the...

I was the guy who went to get the bigger guys if something was going down. Right, right. Help! Yeah, the middleman bouncer. What you going to do, bouncer? I'll be right back! I'm going to get my big brother Bouncer. Well, you went back to music school.

You're still doing comedy, but you went back to grad school. Why? I went to grad school right after college. Oh, you went to grad school right after college. Yeah, I got my degree. Okay. I thought you said you taught in between school right after college. Yeah, I got my degree. Okay, okay. I thought you said you taught in between. I'm sorry.

I wasn't. Yeah, no, I went to grad school right after college. Okay. I'm sorry. Yes, right after college. And now, I'm sorry. Here's what happened. So I went to grad school. I'm starting to think this is all bullshit. I'm starting to think that this, every

piece of information I have on you is a lie okay okay okay okay so i graduate i from illinois state in normal illinois i got a job teaching in indiana and i did that for a year and then what town in Indiana I'm just curious because I'm from there it was uh I did uh Whiting and then I also went over to uh where's Eggers uh Eggers Elementary so Franklin Elementary at Eggers it's all like right over the Illinois line yeah yeah exactly Whiting is right there and then then you drive, you know, 30 minutes, 40 minutes or whatever it was to Eggers. I can't think of where Eggers is. Somebody hit us in the chat.

Hammond, Indiana. Hammond, Indiana. Well done. All right. Thank you. Yeah, Hammond Eggers. That's how you remember it. Hammond Eggers. I. that's how you remember it ham and eggers i why is that the first time i've ever heard why that's the beauty of comedy and genius the

simplicity okay so i taught a year in india and then chicago was doing this thing called teachers for chicago they were they wanted to become a teacher so they paid you to to get your master's meaning oh you go learn and while you're getting your master's you're working for the city and teaching so it was uh that's how it's a good way to yeah oh good teaching in chicago yeah and uh and how long after you got out of grad school well you said a couple of years you taught a couple of years and then yeah after grad school yeah it was almost over let me see i taught a total of three and a half years yeah so one year in indiana and then three and a half years. Yeah. So one year in Indiana and then two and a half more years. So as soon as I got my degree, I was out.

Oh, yeah, yeah. And you got your degree and you were like, I'm off to California? No. Well, what happened was I went to Montreal. Oh, to Jester Labs? Went to Montreal, did New Facesaces and then came to L.A. That's a comedy festival for people that don't know. Montreal.

Oh, yeah, just for laughs. It used to be a big thing where they would find new talent, new faces, as they say. They still do that, yeah. They still find people. I think so. I don't think it's the same as it was. It's still prestigious and wonderful. Yeah, yeah.

Well, because I think the internet makes it so that it's not as important to have a place like that, you know? Exactly. Wow. Good point. So I got some heat coming out of Montreal. Ended up doing two weeks of meetings in L.A. Wow. Man, you're talking about the stress of a young man, like, trying to wonder, do they like me?

No. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All these no's all the way. No, no, no, no, no. Yeah. But it turned out I got a deal with, remember Green and Laurie? Mm-mm. Green, Van, General, Laurie.

They had a, so I ended up doing a deal, like a holding deal with them. It never went anywhere anywhere but it afforded me to move to la oh nice and uh you know so that was uh that was nice yeah i don't i didn't i never hear of anybody getting those anymore they used to just pay you pay it and maybe eventually put you in something exactly yeah now no i caught the tail end, baby. Yeah, no, there was time, there was a time where if you like, if you wrote on Frazier for 10 minutes, you could get a million dollars for sitting on your fucking hands, you know, for a year and a half. Or if Johnny called you over to the couch. Yes, yes, yes. That kind of stuff, man.

I hate that shit. I hate that. Like, you know, you get the blessings of the, all that sort of like, you know, Oh yes, sir. Wait, you know, all that,

like waiting to get the blessing of, and then fill in the blank, whether it's like teacher, coach, you know, boss, whatever. It's like,

yeah, I hate that shit. It's like, you know, Johnny, how dare he, you know, Johnny, how dare he? You know, everybody should have sat down instead of like, oh, I'm going to have that shit. You know, Howard Stern talks about that all the time. And it's like always something that has always annoyed me.

The notion that like just somebody assuming that much power. It's like, do you ever watch the great British bake off? You ever seen that show? I have not. Okay. Well, there's like a, it's like do you ever watch the great british bake off you ever seen that show i have not okay well there's like a it's like they all these people it's a baking competition yeah and there's like one guy if you do really well he shakes your hand oh they all they all like get all like oh my god he shook my hand and i'm just like fuck that fuck that guy for putting so much importance on shaking people's hands. Oh, it's kind of like Simon saying not insulting you, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah.

Simon Cowell. Yeah. No, exactly. Like, if Simon Cowell says something nice to you, then it's like, oh, well, I'm not a piece of shit. You must have talent. Yeah, yeah. That's a chef talent. Yeah, yeah.

Can't you tell my love's a crow? When you got out here, was it intimidating? Were you just excited? Did you know anybody? First of all, did you come out here alone? I came out here alone. I knew a couple of people. The first, I don't know, four to six months, I was hitting the road a lot. And then when I finally sat down, I didn't, my TV wasn't

like, I didn't have cable. I wanted to watch the NCAA game or something, but I was like, oh, I have to leave the house, the apartment. And it was, yeah yeah i guess it was always intimidating you know but i was eager to navigate and yeah figure it out i felt like i had something to offer yeah and i was like this is still and i my manager and my manager i was with him before i moved to LA. Oh, wow. So, so I met him. I was doing a, uh, some of the Bay area black comedy festival and I ended up winning that. Oh, wow. And, uh, and, and three yards was down there and they met with a bunch of, with all the comedians in the finals. It was six of us.

And, uh, and then they ended up signing me after I won. So, and he's my manager to this day mark schumann wow no so he's like my brother now that's great yeah i was gonna ask you did you have somebody did you have like a champion did you have somebody really kind of yes sir corner yes sir yes sir if it weren't for mark i wouldn't be here right now yeah for sure that's nice yeah now uh was jerry minor one of the people that you know that you knew when you were out here did you know him from chicago uh because he or he's from detroit i think i knew brandon from chicago i don't know i'm not sure when i

met jerry that's wow what a great question i don't know if i met jerry ish i think i think i did make me jerry chicago yeah because he had to in Chicago Yeah I'm not sure All I know is that Jerry said to me He said I'm going to make you famous And then we did this song Yeah Somebody's fucking my lady We did it four places

That's the first time I ever saw you Was on that It was Just before we started recording this I was, it was, I just, I just, before, you know, we started recording this, I was talking to somebody about it and remembering, and that's, it's such a funny,

funny bit. Thank you. Yeah. We sat and wrote that together. It was his concept. Cause it was, um, he,

he got, he like the R Kelly had a video. Yeah. With, uh, Mr. Big and, uh, uh, played by Ron Isley. so it was this concept of you know somebody's

phoning my lady yeah yeah and uh but it turns out you know well for those who haven't seen it yeah yeah yeah look it up look it up it's funny no it's funny it's a good bit oh no i'm gonna say one more no i love the bit it's yeah yeah it's just i didn't want to give it away right right exactly exactly it's called somebody's fucking my lady yeah guess who it is that's that's the don't think about who it is just go watch it um well did what was what was kind of your first some of your first acting roles while you were out here and were you going on auditions and getting turned down a ton and and how do you deal with What was kind of some of your first acting roles while you were out here? And were you going on auditions and getting turned down a ton? And how do you deal with that?

I went to an audition and the lady pulled me to the side and said, hey, learn what you're doing. You have some big people behind you. Take this serious. So that's how bad my audition must have been. She's like, wow. But that's how bad my audition must have been. She's like, wow, you, uh, but that was great advice. And while I was still in Chicago though, I showed some, I must've shown some signs of, uh, a promise. Cause I did audition for a commercial or no audition for something. And the, and the, uh, casting director said, you don't have an agent? And she was offended I didn't have an agent. And then she made the call and then I got two agents, two commercial agents that day.

Wow. Yeah. So that was cool. And then I got to LA and then I was taking acting classes in Second City in Chicago, then switched over to LA and was. and was taking, going to Ivana Chubik and, you know, really learned about, like, character work and, like, fighting for, and each scene is a love scene, really. Or else, why would you be there with each other? So fighting for, to make your points and make your, make things valid. It was, it was a journey. Yeah, yeah. and make your make things valid it was it was a journey yeah yeah but when what was you know like

when you started to actually make some money as an actor because you were making your money as a comedian and you were getting your holding deal but when did you start actually getting some checks in that were for shows i mean i guess it was a uh the office was the office yeah yeah towards what i made about got to be a regular in the sixth season okay hello mr uh seven out of thirteen not anymore baby i'm all i'm all episodes produced. So that was a nice come up. I bet. Yeah, no, that is, it makes a big difference. You know, when you get paid by the episode, it makes a difference.

It does. And I was in a show called Lucky. That was like my first thing. It was a couple of things i got here but lucky was my first thing a written by the cullen brothers yeah who were badass robin mark cullen and john corbett was the star the guy from northern exposure right sex in the city yeah yeah and uh he could not have been more on fire. Do you hear me? The man, and I've seen a couple of people in my life, I've seen this, where women swoon. Yeah. Like the definition of swoon, they would swoon over him.

They loved his tune. And he couldn't have been cooler. And then Billy Gardell was my, we was his sidekicks. So it was, Billy was the best, bro. Yeah. I know Billy. Yeah. He's been out here.

Super comic and just super cool. And like, yeah, I was kind of under his wing and, you know, just figuring stuff out. We were having a blast on that show. And it was a, we did one season. It got all the best reviews. I mean, I still have some of the paper clipping. And they were talking about how great it was. And then we went to, it was on FX.

So you had, Shield was out. And then we came out lucky. Nip Tuck was next. And so we went, we were invited to Nip Tuck premiere party. Head of the network looked me in the face about looking at me and said, you guys got nothing to worry about.

And we had just done 13 episodes. I was like, oh! I'm buying a boat. Right? And then we were waiting to get picked up. And then we were waiting to get picked up. And so

my manager called. Hey, man. And then, you know, the show goes. And then Rob Cullen called. Hey, man. And then Mark called. Hey, man.

Then Billy called. I was like, okay, I got it. And when I tell you, I had spent all the money all the money because the first i didn't realize uh first they were taking the taxes out you know and i didn't have anything set up so it was like to check it dwindled up and then once that thing mid-season i had you know i fixed that up and then but still it was all spent it was crazy so i was just kind of comatose sitting holding my

chair like yeah yeah what am i doing now no shit i i it's i have been i have i have experienced in doing and i didn't even i mean i i only had one show that i was on i mean aside from the conan show but like sitcom type show that went like a full 22 episodes. You know, everything else that I did was like mid season. And, you know, like Andy Richter controls the universe was two mid seasons. You know, they wouldn't commit. They wouldn't. Cause it was like, you know, all the fucking people at the, it, you get through like Fox was amazing.

Cause it was this wall of like women with really good tech or this, the climb up was like, it was all women with really good taste that were doing the development, kind of running the network. And then you just hit this fucking wall of white men that just like wanted cars blowing up and titties, you know, and anything that was kind of funny or different like they'd let stuff go but then they wouldn't know what to do with it and i experienced at least three times feeling within days people telling me the exact same kind of thing don't worry this thing is doing great this is fantastic we love. And then literally two days later, it is not looking good. And it's like the same fucking person. And, you know, it's like, what happened? What did I, you know, did somebody find my prints on a murder weapon?

What the fuck happened? Man, I did a show. Mr. Robinson. Yeah. Okay. So we did two versions. We did a pilot that was a single camera, and that didn't go anywhere, but they wanted to keep the concept. We brought in the Cullens, and then we did six episodes. I learned the term burn off because they burn these episodes off.

Oh, yeah, yeah. They play two a week for three weeks or something. No, I'm sorry. They play one for six weeks. Yeah. One a week for six weeks and then they burn them off. They just play them because they had them. And we did... This is also where I learned

they didn't care about ratings because we did decent with the ratings you know saying so it was uh it got us out of there but yeah i'm part of the burn off show and everything one of i can't remember i'm i it would take me a second to remember exactly which one but i do remember one of the shows i would that i did one one of the mid seasons, I think there was eight or nine episodes. And within like a month, you know, six weeks or whatever, eight weeks, it was on four different time slots. You know, like that'll be easy to find. Yeah.

That'll get, that'll cause repeat traffic, you know? And it's like, there's so much of it when you make tv and i've said this a million times the quality of what you do is like maybe eighth on the list of in terms of like whether it goes or not like the like if it it's like it's really good everyone's all the all the grown-ups are like well what the fuck does that matter you know lots of stuff is really good you know yeah but we did it in the mr roberts uh one of the ladies a lady looked at me she was like script supervisor she was like you're gonna retire off of this show and again you know i let it keep going i'm okay yeah yeah all right yeah yeah

i had a i had a sound guy i think it was on the movie cabin boy which was like my first big job who this sound guy tell me he said because he had been the sound guy on a full metal jacket and he was like he's like you should have done that part that d'onofrio did like vincent d'onofrio and full metal jacket you know the guy that goes nuts yeah he's like he goes oh my god you would be and i'm you know i'm playing like an idiot in this so i don't know why he thinks that like i would be capable of that but he was like and you know when you hear that and it's like yeah yeah i could do i could be vincent d'onofrio and now you know now i'm like no i couldn't i can't be fucking vincent d'onofrio you know well when what was it i mean the office must have been to be in something that now i mean like i i have a small part in the movie elf so like i am in i

have a part in a legitimate christmas classic you know and and you are in like a titan of television comedy you know you have you got to be in that and you'll always have that i mean it was were And you are in like a titan of television comedy. You know, you got to be in that and you'll always have that. I mean, were you aware of that while you were doing it? Did it feel like that? Once we were in it and I started to see, like, because we, you know, we went to some places, man. And like, you know, between the Emmys and whatever else. But, you know, I was in the the warehouse so I wasn't in all things

produced so I came along in the fourth episode of the first season or the fifth and second season I wasn't in it that much third season in and out here and there and then by the sixth season I'm a regular so I didn't get the full experience that all the other

cast did but the experience I did get like when we went to Scranton, we were the Beatles, bro. It was unreal. Wow. We went twice. We went for like a one office convention. And then we went back when the show wrapped just to say, hey, thank you. Yeah, yeah. They threw us a parade.

And it was ridiculous a parade. It was ridiculous. I think I have two children there. But... No, if you had two children, you would know. You would know that you have two children. It was such an

honor. They're all smart. The whole cast is smart. Yeah. You know, some of the conversations I would overhear, oh, okay, they're genius. And then they would be doing the fantasy football. So I never got into it. But it was awesome, man. And everybody's super sweet.

Awesome, man. And everybody's super sweet. And to this day, like, well, you know, they'll send out a group text. It was, you know, if it's a make-a-wish thing, situation, or somebody actually, one of our, one of the guys, I think his name was Phil, man. Rest in peace. He just died. And he was a light, man. This dude was amazing. Like, he kept everybody happy. He was just one of those people. light, man. This dude was amazing. He kept

everybody happy. He was just one of those people. So everybody's sending well wishes and where can we do this and that. It's a good-hearted cast. Yeah, it's always a part of your day and of your life. Yeah. Doing something

like that. And that was the first time i went to like up fronts and stuff you know yeah yeah it was you got the whole experience man i got the whole experience exactly right it was it was it was something else something to live through yeah you you've done a lot of work with seth rogan and how how did that come about how did you start i think the first thing i did with Seth was Knocked Up. And, you know, Allison cast that. You're cast through regular casting channels for that?

Cast through regular casting channels, yes. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And so we worked together there. And then Pineapple Express, I think they called me in for. And while we were doing Pineapple Express, Jerry Minor was doing this part in Walk Hard. But then he got that Caveman sitcom.

So he had to bow out. And then they were like, Craig, come do this part as Bobby Shad. And so I ended up playing that part and also doing part of Express. But that was a side story. And then we went and auditioned for Zack and Miriam Make a Porno. And then for like, this is the end, they called us in. Yeah. So I'm not sure if that's all all we did but

yeah yeah seth seth's uh sausage party awesome yeah they called me for that yeah yeah that was i was thinking about that movie that movie is genius man it's pretty funny yeah just just for the the twinkie character it's genius yeah yeah um yes i mean seth is he's such a such a great guy i i he's really it's one of the great guy so amazingly like productive from such a young age you know like a prodigy pretty much yeah man i think he's 13 when he started something. Yeah, yeah. Writing jokes. And that business model, man. Oh, yeah. There's no stopping these guys. No, I know.

And to be that stoned all the time, that's the thing that blows my mind. I couldn't, you know. Still young. Yeah, I know. But, I mean, I smoke weed. I can't even do the dishes. That guy's writing three movies at a time. I enjoy it but i my tolerance

is too high i need to step away and come back i think yeah yeah well uh let's see what uh what do you got going you got uh well you got killing it killing it yes that's which is now the second season came out in August. But you can catch up. It's only 18 episodes. The first season, 10. Second season, 8. It's a half hour. It's a sitcom.

Yeah. I'm going to burn through those. Like I say, I knew of it and I'd heard of it. And then in prepping for this, I watched some scenes from some different episodes. And I'm like, shit, I've got to watch this thing you know bro it's so weird to see me on that show just yeah yeah you know and but it and meaning like it's like i'm dealing in the first you know season i'm dealing with snakes yeah it's not the first thing you think about you know i'm saying So it is so weird and different and, and, and grounded and that edge and funny. And, and Claudia is, is Claudia O'Doherty is like my partner on there, you know?

Yeah. That's my girl, man. She is amazingly witty and funny and charming. And she knows, you know, she knows who she, she is well, like very aware of her presence. Yeah. It's dope to work with and fun to watch. Yeah. Did, um, was, how do you like being number one on the call sheet? Because I mean, you know, like me, I've done that a couple of times, not me you know usually i'm a character actor you know it's fantastic

but it's it's also like you know it's because i mean because i've seen you know on the office i was number 17 yeah yeah but the people are still awesome i awesome. I don't get into the numbers thing. Right, right, right. No, but I mean, because it's, you know, especially like. It's so weird to be like, excuse me, you know, it's number one is talking. I've never had that. Oh, there's some fuckers that do that kind of thing, though, you know. Check the call sheet, homie. Yeah.

I mean, you know, I hear I've heard stories from people that it's happened to of they run a scene and number four on the call sheet's got a couple of funny jokes that do well. And then they do a rewrite and come back. And all of a sudden, those jokes are number one's jokes. Oh, wow. Yeah. I mean, I know that you hear things happen and then you're like, nah, that doesn't happen. But no, it does. It does.

There's people that'll do that shit. Shout out to John Cusack, who I love. John is dope. But we were doing Hot Tub Time Machine. I had a big, like, toast. Yeah. And then next thing I know, John was saying my tongue. He was saying it.

I was like, I guess I'm, okay. That's a cut. Oh, okay. All right, have a good day. He would take the time. And he was open about, like, the jokes, too. He was like, you guys are funny. Y'all are funny.

So, you know, I'm going to be leaning on you kind of thing. Right, right. But, man, that blew my mind one day. I was like. Did he just do it? Or did he talk to somebody first or no he just did it bro wow it was it was total gangster yeah you gotta admire that part yeah yeah well uh how how often are you touring with your band, The Nasty Delicious? You know, it varies from year to year. We didn't do a lot last year. Our next date is May 8th at the Troubadour.

Okay. So it's going to be funky. Yeah. I think I might come see that. Come on down, bro. Yeah, yeah. I might have you come and do a song. What's your song?

What's your go-to for the band? Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I don't know. Oh, that's a lot of pressure. Yeah, that's a i don't know oh that's a lot of pressure that's yeah that's a lot of pressure you know it's not a lot of pressure it's so much fun but once you see my show you're gonna you're gonna want to come on stage all right all right part of this yeah yeah oh that would be okay all right well now i now now that's all i'll think about until may

it's not just song selection. Yeah. Yeah, just don't change it on the last day. No, I won't. Whatever you practice, just stick to your guns. I just did a Christmas song. A Christmas song. And look, man, I've been,

I was out late last night. I was on stage with Chappelle. So I was supposed to be in bed, but then Chappelle we got on stage three hours later. So I didn't get to bed until like two or something. Get up and do all the stuff. But I can't. I was going to change the key at the last

minute so I could sing lower. And I had to try to hit these high notes when I sang Silent Night. But at the last minute I was like, Craig, play any key you practice. Let's not get on television. Oops. Wait, can we go?

Hold on a minute. No, this is live. What? Oops. Well, let me get some of the other things, some of these other things out. The Ark and arc and the yard bark, uh, that's, uh, coming out in April.

That's a animated show. Uh, you're voicing a character in saving bikini bottom, the Sandy cheeks movie, SpongeBob world. That's pretty fucking sweet. That's gotta be great. I'm a,

I'm Sandy's father. Oh my God. That's awesome. We have a big family of squirrels, you know, circus act squirrels. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome we're a big family of squirrels you know circus act squirrels yeah oh that's fantastic and then uh you're in the upcoming movie my spy the eternal city with dave batista anna ferris and kristin shaw yeah that's nice is that shot yeah yeah yeah yeah

yeah by the fact that that was one of the funnest movies i've done the thing that well name they brought me to south africa cape town south i've never been to africa so and to rome and rome yeah breathtaking with the statues and the art and the arts yeah no you're like okay yeah this is you get you know and you got it and you got to know your bible stories or else you're not going to get anything that's going on in the museums any of the artwork there it's like you got to know your bible stuff because yeah because it's all bible stuff well um is there something you've left undone i mean is there stuff you you know what do you what are you heading towards? Just kind of more of the same?

And it doesn't even have to be show business stuff. Like, you know, you're going to buy a football team or something? I mean, it has to be a very small football team. Yeah, only three guys. Three guys. And you know you're not working for money, right? you know you're not working for money right um I mean there's some some things

that I think about which are I gotta hold stuff close to the chest man yeah all right one day just pop out yeah yeah I understand well what I mean are there some stuff some music stuff coming with the band all right

are there changes I mean are there any just kind of changes that you'd like? Do you plan on staying in LA? Do you ever, you know, are there any kind of, I don't know. Yeah. Well, I have a house here. Yeah. You know, my first house.

So, you know, seeing how that goes for a while. Is that new? It's, yeah, I got in 2020. It's nice, isn't it? Owning a house. It is nice. You know, the first time I had COVID, I was in an apartment. Oh, wow.

And I was like, and then when the pandemic hit, I ended up getting it. And I thought when I was in an apartment, I was like, I don't want to die in this apartment. I don't want to die. Well, that must have been early, too, then. Yeah. Early on in COVID, yeah. So then the pandemic hit, and I ended up getting a house, and I got COVID there. Yeah, that was my second one.

And I was like, well, at least I could die in the house. Yeah, they won't be hauling my ass into an elevator. Well, what's the main lesson you think you've learned out of your sort of travels through show business from Chicago to LA to a podcast at Monday afternoon? Be yourself. Yeah. You know, being genuine goes a long way. You know, being genuine goes a long way. But be yourself because you're the only you we got.

Yeah. You know? That's a good one. That's a good one. Unless you're an asshole. Unless you're an asshole. Yeah, yeah. If you're an asshole, then fix that.

But do you know you're an asshole? Does somebody, an asshole's like, that was the asshole thing I did. Oh, well. You know, some of, like, I have known some assholes that are like unapologetic assholes. And sometimes that shit is magical. Like, you're just like, wow, that guy is a prick and he doesn't care and there's something like there's no there's no you know like there's no evasiveness no there's no hiding behind a mask it's just straight up hey i'm gonna take that all right boom boom yeah well craig thank you so much

for taking the time and everybody uh check out killing it on peacock you know you're a funny man so it's got to be a funny show. You're welcome, brother. Thank you, man. It's been a pleasure. I don't like doing podcasts because it's out there forever. I just get to talking, but I think we did all right. You got off

clean here. I've called up a couple of podcasts, but can you take that out, please? Remember when I said the thing about the thing? Yeah, yeah. No, listen, we get that. That's Sean's job. Sean's the one that's got to deal with that stuff when somebody's like, I think I shouldn't have said that. I'm like, yeah, well, okay, whatever.

It's out there now, Holmes. Yeah, good to see you, Craig. And thank all of you out there for tuning in, and I'll be back next week. Bye-bye. The Three Questions with Andy Richter is a Team Coco production. It is produced by Sean Daugherty and engineered by Rich Garcia. Additional engineering support by Eduardo Perez and Joanna Samuel. Executive produced by Nick Liao, Adam Sachs, and Jeff Ross. Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista, with assistance from Maddy

Ogden. Research by Alyssa Grahl. Don't forget to rate and review and subscribe to The Three Questions with Andy Richter wherever you get your podcasts. And do you have a favorite question you always like to ask people? Let us know in the review section. Can't you tell my love's a-growing? Can't you feel it ain't a-showing? Oh, you must be a-knowin'

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