The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Hannah Einbinder

Episode Date: July 6, 2021

Actor and Comedian Hannah Einbinder (Hacks on HBO Max) joins Andy to discuss growing up in LA, wanting to be a journalist before getting into comedy, living with ADHD, and more.

I've been I've I've had a busy morning it's like after years of or not years but you know like a year of like having one thing to do every three days like now I'm having like three or four things to do a day and I'm like oh fuck this is gross to do a day. And I'm like, fuck gross. Oh my God. But I was, I'm going to be on the view Monday morning. So I had to do a pre-interview on about the view, which is like not my scene,

but we'll see. You know, I think you on the view is going to make the view different thing. And that will serve the program overall, I think. Yeah. Well, I told them how Megan has me blocked. And I don't know if they want to talk about that. I'm perfectly fine with it.

She's like, no, I think we'll skip over that. Wow. Can't take the heat. Yeah, I know. I know. Well, I mean, let's just say we've already started this is a podcast called the three questions i mean you probably know that because you clicked on it i mean unless like you're being held hostage and someone is forcing you to listen

to this out of some kind of torture well let me tell you they're they're wrong this is this is going to be good um i i have a guest today that I am very excited to talk to. I don't know her. I've never met her, but she is on just one of the best shows I've seen in a big fan of comedy. No kidding. I kind of feel like it's like the way that my stepfather, Plummer, wouldn't want to watch HGTV. I just, I come home and I want to see murders. I want to see, you know, mafia. I want to, you know. Yeah, maybe it's HGTV. Yes, exactly. yes exactly but anyway uh uh hannah is on a show called hacks on hbo which i started hearing about you know like i do from the people i trust mentioning it on twitter and holy shit is it

a great show and holy shit are you great in it so thank you for being here that's so nice and i've been i mean i just tearfully watched you and Conan at, at LARC. Is that shot at Largo? It is Largo. Yeah. Yeah. Doing the little, uh, farewells. And so this whole week has been me. And I mean this in a, in a platonic way, consuming the two of you. Well, thank you. Yeah, no, it's been, it's been a a weird week it's been a weird week and it's but i mean it's kind of it's also strange because we've been through things like this we've been through the ends of shows and then like a wrap party at the end of show where everyone we're not quite sure what's going to happen next and then something else happens and then and like and i

when i left the conan show like i in in 2000 there was a a period of like the celebration of andy which i i it was the first time i ever took anti-anxiety drugs because i just found myself being like full of rage it was crazy because it was all love and everything. But it was just I felt like I was a bride at a wedding that wouldn't stop. And I just don't like that. You know, I mean, I like some attention, but too much makes me crazy. So I this but this one was weird because it is kind of like, it's not a finality, but like, I don't think we're going to be coming back and doing any more late night talk show-y kind of thing. I mean, it's going to be some kind of different format.

So this is kind of it for this show. And, you know, we were talking, Jack Black was on the last show and he had hurt himself. We had a pre-tape bit and we were trying to figure out how we could use the pre-tape footage and what could we do can we do this should we have it at all and and i realized as we're talking about it like oh my god this is the last bit like this is like the thing we've done a million times which is we got this bit it's it's going to be done in an hour and a half. How do we fix it? You know? And I was like, oh my God, this is the last one of these. I mean, not, you know, ever in my life. It's not like I'm

being euthanized, you know? So, but anyway, that's enough about me. So Einbinder, that's obviously a fake name just because it sounds so cool. It's a sure it's a sure home uh showbiz home run you are alone in that opinion no one has ever said it's cool people have usually said it's troublesome uh yes i know i know um wow it sounds like a like a a school scold in germany like when somebody brings too much in their backpack, I'm binder. I'm binder translates to one, a bookmaker, a book binder in Germany.

Oh, okay. So yes, you're right on with that. Yeah. Yeah. But it's also just German. Yeah. German just has such,

you know, since, since the show has come out, I got a lot of long lost cousins and no shit. Really? Yeah. Like, are they looking for cash or just looking to be friends? I mean, Since the show has come out, I got a lot of long lost cousins and. No shit, really? Yeah. Like, are they looking for cash or just looking to be friends? I mean, it hasn't gotten that far, but I like, I think maybe three years ago, I was really

curious because I've never met anyone not related to me with my last name. Never, never, never. And so I searched I'm Binder on Instagram and a couple accounts came up and I clicked on them and messaged all of these people and was like, Hey, are you like, some of them weren't even Jewish. Some of them were, you know, just like so many similarities, but not related. None of them were actually related to me, but there was one. Um, and this is funny because it actually relates to my to my prepared answer for the first question. Oh. But there's someone who said, hey, I found papers saying that my last name was Einbinder with an A, and that's the Yiddish pronunciation of Einbinder.

Yeah. Is it possible that we are related? binder. Is it possible that we are, are related? And I too, years ago found a similar document that had AIM binder on it. So I did message this person. It turns out they're Polish. I'm Russian. Let's call the whole thing off. But yeah, it's so weird. Like there's no Smith about it, you know, weird uh like there's no smith about it you know there's no uh you know richardson or any of that stuff so it's the einbinder experience is a um a cold and isolating one like the russian planes we we came were there people that told you like maybe you know maybe hannah binder you know or like do something you know what i mean like Like they were like, I mean, I always, I still even today meet people who have changed their names because their last names are

Jewish and which is funny. It's still like thirties to me. It's so wild that that's still a thing. But I mean, when I was doing open mics, just cause I didn't want to like deal with the host, you know, pronouncing my last name wrong. I just wrote Hannah E on the thing. On the little piece of paper. But no one ever really, it didn't occur to me just because I feel like I'd suffered through all of the, the like little tiny name mispronunciation and sort of, sort of thing my whole life. So I was like, I'm not, I'm not going through all that. And then nixing it.

Like, yeah. I want the pharmacist to be like, I'm binder, you know? Yeah. Well, I, I, and also too, it, it feels like, I mean, for me, like I was aware when I started in this business that it's kind of a bullshit business. Like there's like, it's, there's a like it's there's a lot of a lot of just like a lot of bullshit a lot of gross phony crap about it and it's like to start out with

like well i have to change the name that i've called myself my entire life because of whatever reason it feels like a setting off into like, you know, phony forest being, you know, like I'm going to be phony right at the beginning when it's like, it's a struggle to stay away from that. If it, if it matters, you know, it's also such like a, it's almost kind of like, I mean, everyone should do what they wish, et cetera, et cetera. But like, there's something that I just like, can't help but picture these people's ancestors who changed their names and

they're just like holding on to keep the generations going through the plague or something. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Someone changes their last name to like star or some shit. And it's just like, wow, wow. The ghosts are mad, you know? Although like I, I do have friends friends like i had a friend who when i lived in new york who lived on the lower east side and he was a like a new jersey jewish kid and his grandparents were furious at him because it was like we struggled so hard to get out of that neighborhood and now you're moving back there like no like like it you know it's just

like it was like a slap in the face to them like well we don't care how hip it is and how cool it is and artsy it was gross you know coffee beans at home you don't need to that's right now you're you're an la kid right yeah yeah yeah we've been. We've been here a while. We've been here since 1909. Wow. Yeah. What neighborhood did you grow up in? Westwood, right by- Westwood.

Yeah, UCLA. Do you find among L.A. kids that there's a sort of a character difference between the different neighborhoods, like Silver Lake kids are different than Westwood kids are different than Sherman Oaks kids. I would almost say that it's less about neighborhoods and more about schools. And that makes sense. You know, like kids come from all over to go to, you know, let's say a crossroads, a sort of like, you know, there are no grades and we don't use pencils only paint and like yeah yeah sort of

hippie uh schools so that's sort of like more what shapes i think the youth of los angeles um yeah i i i experienced both the like you know um super artistic like magnet type thing and also public school for high school. So it's certainly they are certainly different worlds, but everyone ends up equally as fucked up. So that's good. Yeah, I have a I have a 20 year old son and my kids go to Campbell Hall. My daughter's still in Campbell Hall. But like, you know, my son's boyfriend is that he's been together with for like four years now, four or five years, which is amazing, like. That they've held together because his boyfriend goes to school in Washington, D.C. and wills here and at UC or USC,

which I mean, as much as that's meant anything in the last year, but it's just amazing to me that they have been able to hold together a high school relationship, much less a LA high school relationship and maintain it in a very healthy, loving way. Because it was remote, were they able to stay in the same place and just do school online? Not, not the last semester because his boyfriend had a, had a lease on an apartment and was like, you know, I'm going to be paying for this apartment. I might as well be in D.C. and if anything happens, you know, I can be closer to school. But it's been rough. And I mean, and I, you know, on one hand, I want to say. Honey, you got to learn to. Live your own life.

I know it's hard. But then on the other end, it's like young and in love and they're miserable when they're apart. Well, how am I to say that's wrong? I hear the Gen Zers are very anti-commitment in all of these things so that they have that sort of classic thing, super special. Yeah, and it's just natural. I, they don't even, you know, I never, I never get any sense that there there's trouble in paradise. Let's just say

I probably already said too much and he's going to be pissed at me, but I just bring him up. Cause, cause you know, my kids are Campbell hall. Will's Will's boyfriend is Oakwood. And it just really does seem like it just seems like, and it doesn't matter where you go to school, they all end up knowing each other. They all end up like churning in the same froth of, you know, giant house parties in Sherman Oaks, you know, and hangouts and, you know, too much weed, which is now that nowadays, yeah. Jesus Christ. It's like, it's vape pens. It's the vape pens. It's too easy. I, I speak from experience.

It's like, there's no, there's no nothing to tip anyone off. There's just these secret pens. Yeah. Everything looks like a usb there's no right just plug it into your laptop and the teacher right fucking clothes yeah now uh what are your folks i mean i i know what your mom does but i don't know what your dad does um what do your folks do my my dad works in advertising he uh he's a director of commercials oh wow yeah that's cool and he's been doing that for a long time has he been in advertising and became a director through advertising or yeah he used to um he used to he started in the groundlings and then sort of did

the path of like uh groundlings transition to like Booker of like commercials, basically. Like he, he was one of those, like, you know, he did a couple of national commercials and then he kind of was like, I feel like more of a writer and kind of creative on the other side.

And so he, he transitioned to a director. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. Yeah. I, cause that's,

if I, if I had never left Chicago, I would be doing advertising. I've directed commercials a little bit. Yeah. Because, uh, I started in Chicago and film and, and that was, that means commercials mostly if you're non-union. Um, and I have friends that's, you know, still that just are there and now they're in charge of things. And so I, I've directed a few commercials you know, still that just are there and now they're in charge of things. And so I've directed a few commercials. And now now that my schedule is uncluttered, I expect to direct some more. So and your mom is Lorraine Newman. Yeah. I don't know if you know that.

And and was she from out here? Is she a California? Oh, OK oh okay yep so and did your folks meet at the groundlings uh my parents met at aa oh wow yeah wow that's amazing my favorite of the hans christian anderton anderson well that's it's it's not exactly anonymous either. That's the thing. They should have made up a story or something. We met at church. Yeah. We met through we met through jingles.

Well, how I mean, how is it to, you know, how is it to grow up with two groundlings produced? I imagine your mom was a groundling. Was she not? Yeah. Yeah. Is it like, you know, get out of bed and go do comedy? You know, you're late for your two man. I want more freeze tags down here. Young lady.

New choice. New choice. You know, honestly, it just was it just was the language spoken in the house um as i'm sure it is in yours yeah um and aside from that there was no pressure i did not in fact i think they probably discouraged me from doing it and i had no desire to do it as a kid i just liked it yeah yeah yeah she you know my mom played a lot of like the LA alternative comics in the car you know Dana Gould and well he's via Boston but like Dana and and the Sklar brothers and Maria Bamford and like that sort of seeped into my brain pretty early on yeah um and uh there there wasn't I, I also was kind of like a, an aimless kid. I didn't have,

I liked the news. I liked to watch. It's a good way to find out what's happening. Yeah, that's for sure. Yeah. Debatable at this point in time, but, um, right. Okay. Political, uh, at 11 20 AM. Oh, good morning. That's all right. If I can't tell Megan that I'm she blocked me, then you can do it here. It's a safe space. Oh, my God. Great. Yeah. I I deleted my Twitter because I felt that it was toxic. But did you was that pre hacks? It was during hacks. I figured, I said, you know what? I always told myself if, if I ever got any sort of temporary job security of any kind, I would,

I wouldn't leave Twitter because it just made me real, real sad. And I just kind of felt creatively it was not um a good use of my time you know yeah yeah i i i wasn't able to divorce my sort of like comedy brain from uh thinking of tweets and i just was like not thinking of my standup. So it was like, not great for, Oh, I see. Yeah. Yeah. Nazis found me on there and they like would DM me, like, they would just, you know, write shit on my tweets or, um, you know, uh, write shit on my friends' tweets. And so I just say, say, sayonara guys, but, uh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I, I came to it as a grownup. So I kinda, you know, was already had some calluses built up. And so I and I, but I also too, I am a liberal blocker. I, you know, fuck around, you find out like I just like to me, it's like, I'm here. I'm there mainly for fun, mainly because I like to. Well, also, too. It's it's it's a show, you know, it's social media.

I have friends that I have never met, you know, and then I have people that I met on there that are now some of the best friends that I have because we spoke this same language of jokes, you know, and if you, if you know that language, you can, like, you can know a person pretty well from like five or six jokes, depending on the jokes, like you can be like, okay, I have a pretty good picture of who this person is. And I like them, or I have a good picture of this person. And no, thanks. Yeah, no, that's the truly purest, you know, form of the thing. I think that's great. I still try and stick to that, but I don't succeed all the time. Yeah, well, you know, it's the internet.

It's cavernous. Right, right. But, yeah, but no, I don't blame you. I mean, I have my days, and I have also deleted it at times. Yeah. And, well, now that i don't have a job i might have to like stop stop just shitting out jokes for free every time it turns to be at a red light so i might have to be like no no i this this one i should i should make some money

off of this shit there you go can't you tell my loves's a-growing? Were you, I mean, what was school like for you growing up? First of all, are you an only kid? No, I have an older sibling, and then I have four step-siblings. Oh, cool. Okay, so kind of a big, busy house then. Kind of, although not, I mean, everyone's kind of a big busy house then kind of although not I mean everyone's kind of scattered my my dad my parents divorced when I was like 20 or 21 so it was put we didn't grow up together the step siblings and I but um I love them very dearly I got really lucky um in that department

uh my my stepmother Wendy is also really lovely she uh she um she had she was married twice before so two of them are my step and two of them are my step step but they all grew up together so they're all four kind of blood to one another yeah yeah and so when i inherited wendy i inherited them um and they're. They're all like sort of around my age, you know, they're like 24 to 27. It's just like having a bunch of new friends. That's wonderful. That's really, really great. Like that's what I'm one of my joys is my kids liking their cousins like it just especially from being kind of isolated from you know my homeland my midwestern homeland and all my people yeah it's nice that they're making that connection you know because how many brothers and sisters do you have uh i have an older brother and then

a younger brother and sister who are technically half brother but it's like you say I don't think of them as anything other than half now you went to public school you said for high school yeah where was that I went to Beverly oh okay yeah um and and how and how was that did you public school in LA you know yeah it was it was, it was interesting because I came, because I came from, uh, uh, uh, private art school. Um, it was a difficult, uh, a very, very difficult adjustment period. Um, cause you know, I mean, we were, the classes were like Latin and sculpture and like poetry and all of that shit. And everyone in the school I came from had what would be qualified as a learning disability, um, by public school standards, you know, hyperactive attention deficit, maybe a little

bit of a spectrum type situation, um. Just neurodivergent kids. And so going to public school was pretty, it was a really hard transition. And, you know, it was one of those things where I was put in like the special classes, which was just like not great for the self-esteem. Sure, sure. Kids are vicious. And so like, you know, it was, the class was called LI,

which stood for learning impaired. What a great name for it. Thanks. Yeah. Awesome stuff. Love that. Love that. But yeah. And and you're what 14 at this point yeah 14 yeah what a great time to have that shit laid on you yeah um it's like hey sorry you are

a woman but there's more um we're also learning in here so get out there, chief. Have fun. They probably thought you didn't know you were a woman because you were learning impaired. Yeah, it wasn't awesome. But I, you know, I had a, I had a, I always like had a tough go of things socially. Like as a little kid, I was real real sensitive and so I think there is something to be said about like the specific brand of psychological warfare of specifically Los Angeles private school girls yeah um because they absorb the like in some cases uh you know insane qualities of their high-powered parents yeah um and sort of yeah I I just kind of like I feel like we are all kind of born with certain dispositions and personalities and so yeah mine always was kind of like people could sniff out my sensitivity and and um I I I had to kind of navigate that through uh through through school and then when I went to kind of navigate that through school.

And then when I went to public school, it was like, it existed in a different way. I feel like when I started dating, you know, I just had like, you know, shitty boyfriends back to back. Yeah. So it was like, it was tough i mean life is you know whatever well yeah no but i mean did you did you learn like coping mechanisms like it how did you sort of i mean or were you just were you just fucked up and you know i mean by fucked i mean like beat up were you just like beaten up and then got the hell out of there and were glad to go? You know, I think I figured it out about, you know, halfway through high school, but I also was heavily medicated.

I was not like I was failing math and science and it just was not, you know, I was not at the level of my peers. Yeah. And so I took they put me on a lot of Adderall and that kind of shut me down. So I didn't really, I didn't really, I guess I didn't really feel a lot of the things that I was feeling before because I wasn't really feeling a lot of things. Yeah, yeah.

So it, I kind of like, I, I, my, I was like, when I entered a public school, I was in this group with, you know, basically I, I, I was integrated into my, um, my boyfriend's friend group. And those were kind of like the, like druggy kids and yeah pretty cool and then he was like you know terrible and um i hope he's listening yeah buddy you know i he you know forgive and forget you know well forgive and remember actually right right of course yeah what's the point of forgiving and? You're just going to do the same thing. There you go. Exactly. But then, yeah, I had a lovely friend who's my best friend to this day, Phoebe Mandel, and she

just kind of saw that I was a bit of a loner and just like scooped me up and brought me into her little friend group. And then from then on, I had a, a cool girl group and I was just with them and it was really nice. Um, that's great. Yeah. She, I are, she's just so I like, I owe her so much. She's the best. She saw me and, um, she saw me and we had English together and she came up to me and she said, Hey, you know, I know I was grounded for smoking weed. And so I was, you know, not able to go out with my boyfriend and his friends. And PB came up to me in English class and she said, Hey, I don't think anyone's going to tell you this, but I saw,

I saw him hooking up with this girl at a party this weekend. And I just wanted to let you know, because, you know, I don't think there are people around you who are going to tell you. And so I broke up with him and she kind of was like, do you want to be friends with me? And it was so nice. And she's the best. That's yeah. I think that's great. Nice. And yeah, yeah. She's the best. That's yeah, I think that's just what you kind of I mean, on this podcast, a frequent, frequent. Topic, because. You know, I would say the bulk of this podcast has been funny weirdos and when since we're talking about your youth it the topic of finding your tribe comes up all the time and it is essential because like my my daughter's 15 and she went through that mean girl horrible shit and the particularly toxic la version of it and now she just she's like all right well that's gonna keep going on i'm not gonna you know i'll just go over here with these

cool people yeah and we'll hang out and be nice to each other and that's really all there is to do you're not going to change certainly not the culture of this place no no um you just are going to have to find the good ones and there's a lot of really you know i will doy there's a lot of really great fucking people here you know i mean this town for as much and as much as it's deserved reputation as horseshitville um there's a lot of really great real people here and it's a real place to live you know yeah um yeah so uh did you go to college at all i did i went to chapman university in orange county california sure the hewell hauser uh university yes the um did you do you know anything about that that's why i know chapman

really it's because he do you know hewell hauser um's why I know Chapman. Really? Do you know Huell Hauser? Honestly, I've heard the name, but I actually don't. Yeah, he was a PBS host here for years and years and years. And it was always like, this show is sponsored by the California Teachers Board. And then like the California School Drivers Bus Board. And then like the California school driver's bus board. And it's all just going out to some weird place in the desert and talking to old people. And it is just the most meditative TV. Will Ferrell did a parody of him.

And a lot of James, James Domian does an amazing version of Huell Hauser. But I recommend it just as weird. just google Huell Hauser look at some YouTube clips because it is the weirdest some of the weirdest most like almost has like a Jim Jarmusch feel to it in a very naive way you know like just really really odd stuff but anyway his archives are at Chapman University. And now that he's passed away, that always says that at the end. So yeah, he fascinating stuff. I know. But you know, Chapman is full of those little like, well, did you know that this person is a donor? Like, it's yeah, it's super. It's super like, it feels like Chapman's existence is just like running 10 feet behind USC, just like trying so desperately.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Every Chapman kid's story was that they didn't get into USC. Like all of the, all of the dance majors were like 5'2", you know? the all of the dance majors were like five two you know it was just like they got the skill and they're the weirdos but like they you know all none of us like just really made the cut in any yeah in any real way so it's just full of like the the the like defected jelly bellies that were just like weirdly were you were you uh uh did you live in a dorm there or were you commuting or freshman year? Yeah, I lived in a dorm. And then my my sophomore year, I lived in a house that it's an old town orange. So a lot of the houses are historical landmarks because they're over 100 years old.

marks because they're over 100 years old yeah and um i lived in a house that was like 116 years old and um the pipes were just terrible and um yeah it uh we won it was a it was like a party house that inherited and you know we just like kind of went in there and um the pipes burst uh during finals and the place flooded um and that was you know helpful yeah that was metaphor for what was to come yeah best results but um yeah it uh it was kind of scattered our living situation i don't even remember where I lived my senior year. Where did I live? Oh yeah, I lived in a different little house. It was very like all the kids, you know, just kind of like lived in small houses

in the neighborhood around school. Yeah. Did it feel like you were away from home when you lived there? Or did you, I mean, did you, so did you, you know, cause I mean did you so did you you know because I mean there's a difference if you stay home for college you it's a different kind of development than if you're off on your own you know yes totally it it didn't feel like I mean it didn't feel like either of my parents were gonna you know uh drive up in a huff or anything. But I, I did, I mean, I did end up towards the end of

school going back to LA a lot just to start doing open mics. So I did see my parents, I did see my mom a lot. So it felt pretty close, but it also was, you know, it's such a radically different culture in Orange County. Oh, sure is. It's insane and terrible. It's amazing. I mean, yeah, amazing. No, no, terrible. I mean, the difference is amazing, but yeah, but yeah, no, it's like I can't.

It feels like it's 12 hours away rather than one and a half or whatever. yeah rather than one and a half or whatever it is i mean i am so amazed by the the truth of the los angeles bubble litter it's so it is truly i mean it just it feels so big because you're sitting in traffic for so long but it's so small you know yeah just is so radically different i mean it's like i would see because it's such a mindfuck, you see kids on the street and they have like surfboards and blonde hair and you're like, oh, this must be a radical, gnarly dude, super liberal, super cool, hang loose. He's in the ocean. He's connected to forces greater than himself. He's, you know, really like a far out guy. And then like, you you know you overhear him being like

coronavirus was synthesized in a lab by liberals to stop donald trump you're just like what the fuck is this intersection of like yeah california culture and like psychotic hickism yeah it's wild yeah well now what was your major? What, what would you start out? I started out as, um, I was in the film school in Dodge college and I started out as a television right around, uh, television broadcast journalism, because I, I, um, I read the New York times cover to cover every morning and in high school and in the beginning of college because I was, again, on so much Adderall. And so I was like, I want to be Rachel Maddow. And I, you know.

I want to be too Rachel Maddow. Yeah, fighting each other. Yeah, yeah. It was, I guess in retrospect, Rachel Maddow truly is an actor, right? Because she's, I mean, an orator, truly. Yes. She is selling the cop. And it's a TV show.

Yeah. it's when you, when you look at like old Walter Cronkite, just like, just relaying facts and, you know, just literally, you know, like C-SPAN adjacent, just like, yeah, whatever. I mean, there's so much theater involved in MSNBC. It's truly, I mean, what, uh, my favorite thing that Rachel does is, um, the, uh, I guess the way that she gestures with her pencil, the pencil to me is just, you know, bouncing it on the table and the, you know, you know, sort of just like wiggling it around and just like the way that she sort of, as if it's a wand,'s like yes yes theater this is a monologue you are an actress you're right and she's you know she's great but yeah yeah so she does she does one thing though i mean i'm just gonna bitch about it right here for a second um because it's because it is like it's a tv technique like yeah uh andy kindler one time said he he said, sometimes Rachel Maddow presents information as if she's talking to someone who's never heard information.

And she does that. And what I see in it is it's a stretch, like it's stretching. Because like say there's like, you know, there's like a toxic dump behind a preschool that's owned by a congressman and she'll say like this congressman owns a preschool and there's a toxic dump behind it there's a toxic dump in property that's owned by a representative and it's a preschool preschool with children in it that's owned by a representative there's a toxic dump and it's like four years old by the way yeah yeah we can't we come on we know we know we know you know but it's like okay she just probably doesn't have like you know it's just not yeah she's just

ripping trying to fill up that that top act you know she on the road, you know. Can't you tell my love's a-growing? So you really, did you think that's what you're going to do? What dissuaded you from that? Honestly, I started doing improv on my school's team. And I kind of was like, oh, I don't think that I'm, I think I'm kind of going on a different path. I just started doing improv and I wasn't really great at it, to be honest, in the beginning and really the middle or the end. Oh, come on. You know, I, I am, I, I will say I'm good at it now.

Yeah. Because I have sort of because I am able to do this, this sort of free thinking and or, or not thinking that is required. Yeah. Getting out of yourself. Yeah. But because I was coming out of this like sort of drug haze, I was so in my head and I was unable to, you know, it was just like, should I say this? Oh, no. Like just like the cyclical criticism internally that was really stopping me from, know getting words out yeah um but I I loved watching everybody on my team because they were so so good so so good um and it was it was so

um it was so great I I just like I was on a I was working as like a PA on a film set and this I just started talking to someone and he was like, you know, you should try it for the team. Like you, and I didn't even know it existed honestly on campus. Oh, wow. I thought, I mean, I kind of, I guess I, I had a little bit of a crush on him and so I was like, are you going to be there? You know, I just kind of like, sure.

Yeah. Yeah. And then I, I, I did did I did uh I went to the um tryouts and um I I remember like crying afterwards for the first time in a really long time um because I just was like I did something vulnerable and I didn't feel comfortable and it's, you know, scared me. And I, I got a, I got a callback for the next round and I didn't take my Adderall for like the first time in years. And I actually did, like, I was able to be there and present. And I just was like, yeah, I'm changing everything. Like this actually worked and I never took Adderall ever again. And I just started doing, you know, comedy, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Was that a big turning point? I mean, you know, was it, do you think it really

was just that simple of, of stopping taking that medication? communication um yeah yeah i i was truly a different person i think um yeah really like muted and um kind of zombie ish you know when you have add and adhd adderall does not act as a stimulant it it counteracts you know what's going on already my i'm familiar i mean as someone with add yeah you know who took it for a while and then for just various old man health reasons like yeah blood pressure yeah i i can't do it anymore which is okay you know i just i have i've had to learn to cope uh you know like with the fact that i can't read a book uh you know but i have to read a book in like 10 minute chunks yeah well you gotta love the book you gotta really love it yes yes and then you're obsessed right yep yep absolutely and um but my kids are on it you know

my kids have the same thing and my kids are on it and it's been it's not always great um but all in all with the different adjustments it's it's kind of it is somewhat necessary you know like um my daughter went from being a kid that couldn't stay in her chair i mean and literally for i think it was like through third grade, the teacher would look and she'd be gone, which is not good. Like teachers do not like to see that a child is just plain missing. And then she'd just be like at the nurse's office chatting with them, a courtyard over, you know, looking at a tree. But she's a straight A student now. She just finished her freshman year of high school.

And I mean, when she started doing homework too, it was the entire household's homework. Yes. Like, you know, it was everyone's. When I would come home from work and until she went to bed, it was about her homework. Yes.

And that was really rough. Yeah. And there was, and like I say, there was adjustment, but I mean, I do think it's necessary, but I also, you know, I've been through what you're talking about with them too, you know, and, and you have to make these adjustments because it's just, I mean, I was, I was a fucking wreck. I didn't never have, and when in my youth i didn't have anything like that i just had i just had a miserable time yeah i i you know i mean i got b's like i got i was like a b plus a

minus student but and always with like you could do so much better if you just apply yourself and it's like well i can't fucking apply myself you know no totally and cop And then when you get to college and there's, you know, drugs introduced and just life outside of anyone's control, it gets even worse. And I mean, I just felt like at times like a hoarder in my junk pile of unfinished tasks, you know, almost like it was keeping me warm. Like, well, if I do one thing, then I'll have to confront all of them. I'll just lay here under this big pile of my own shitty disappointment. But it's why, but it's why you are so good at what you do. It's, it's like the key of, of your ability to sort of like rapid fire. Yeah. It's such a, it's such a gift you know it it is and i mean it's yeah it's like i could i can be very much in the moment and i can not so much anymore but like when i was doing improv all the time i had the experience of things coming out of my mouth that i was surprised like like good things you know what i mean like like the perfect ender

to this to this scene right and it would come out of my mouth and i'd be like that just came out you know like and that's fucking magical when that happens it is um and i i i completely um feel you on on like i think it's just it's that like we as as like addh people are kind of like around um yeah peg in a in the square hole of the system man and like you know your kids are like that have you seen the joker like looking in a fucking mirror yeah i've never seen my own autobiography. So portrayed so well. I look great in green and purple too. That's just a side note. But, but you know, it's like you and your kids and me, and by the way,

and both my parents were on Adderall and my older sibling, we were all on it. It was the family, you know, good morning and here's your coffee and here's your meth. But like, you know, I, I wasn't coffee and here's your F but yeah yeah like you know I I wasn't a B student I was getting I was getting F's like I was failing these classes it was a last resort and it was you know the only reason I graduated public school like it did serve that purpose and I also am so like I really think it's dangerous to say like, this drug is bad. Like it does help people and like every, you know, everything in moderation and, you know, different brain chemistry, whatever.

I just got to the point where I was taking too much and I was on it too long, you know, and I was at school for something creative, you know, I, I didn't need it. You know, you, you, you get through math and science and then you go something creative you know I I didn't need it you know you you you get through math and science and then you go to you know in my case you go to a liberal arts school and you can just do English and you know all the things that you love and um so yeah and I also was just smoking way too much weed and it was like very high potency and you know every just constantly so I was there was a whole other factor there but but. Yeah. That's, that's the other thing too, is that like, uh, you know, weed for me, especially when I was young, weed was like self-medicating for depression. But then,

you know, when you then start to actually, you know, get a health plan and you can take medication, that's a mood stabilizer yeah i always felt like the periods when i was smoking weed it was like i'm on these uh you know high tech mood stabilizers let me get a a bucket of marbles and dump them on the floor of my mood you know like let me get let me get real stoned and then wonder why I feel so shaky the next day. Oh, thank God. You know? Yeah.

Yeah. There is something to, like, I don't know. What's your experience like with weed now? Is it, do you? I have, I really kind of have to avoid it. Yeah. I still like it a lot. I just, for me, the basic thing about it is it's like a contentment

toggle switch. I can be, and I, and I mean, and I actually have come a long way just in terms of like being a depressed person. I have gotten pretty undepressed in the last probably 10 years and it's been a process, but it's, and it's been for very lots of different things. One of which could just possibly be like, I just stopped, you know, like I got to be an age where just whatever the brain chemistry factory, you know, which would be my brain just kind of started to regulate in a better way. I went through years of, you know, like, because, you know, the things are like your love life, your career, you know, like your sort of artistic set. You know, like those three, you know, channels were full and fruitful and lovely. You know, I was in love. I had a great job. I felt fulfilled creatively.

And I still didn't give a shit whether I was alive or not. Yeah. I still walked around feeling like just who cares about anything, you know? Of course. And it, and it, and it blows. And so, but I mean, I got, I got past that and now, I mean, I still, like I, and it's, what's also nice about going on and off the wagon with weed is like the first time you get high after not getting high for a while it's fantastic it's the greatest um but then you know but then three days later i'm like i haven't done a fucking thing yeah i have not you know like the sink is full of dishes uh you know i watched a lot of that kind of mediocre Italian crime drama. But, you know, I haven't really done any of the things I need to do. And also I eat like just, you know, like it's something it's like there's a dinner bell at 10 p.m.

Do not need ringing. And so it just I just have to abstain. It's like one of those just grown up things of like, high and you accept, you know, you expect that the next day it is going to be like, you're just ruined. You can only do it once in a while and then not again. But I have found like in, I'm not on any sort of medication right now. I haven't been since Adderall, although I would probably benefit from a little bit of an anti-anxiety, but look, you know, it's fine.

It gives me an edge, that's fine. I like to, what has worked for me has been to only smoke weed during the day when I am out on a walk and it's sunny because that, you just, I mean, you just put on the scissor sisters and you know, you just fucking, Oh my God. Yeah. What could go wrong? Yeah, truly. I can't smoke weed if there are walls, you know? Yeah. Can't do it indoors. You gotta be out. It's gotta be sunny. You gotta be,

you know, sunscreen and a dream. Like that's the only way for me. And a smart hat. Yes. Oh, my God. Yes. Yes. Oh, my God.

I mean, don't make me break out my sun hat. You won't be able to see my hat. All right. Yeah, we could do a trying on hats montage on an audio podcast. Yes. You doing the classic hand on chin shaking now shaking not that one and then yeah um it's um yeah it's it's a weird it's a weird journey like navigating these brains huh yeah yeah yeah it takes a while you know it takes a while, you know, it takes a while.

So anyway, let's keep going with your life. You are you you get out of college and just come home and do stand up pretty much, right? Yeah, I just I just I started doing, yeah, open mics, you know, obviously like a psycho every night, like night crawler out there, just, you know, as many as I possibly could. And then, you know, get that sort of, I sometimes like romanticize the beginning when I knew no one and I kind of was just like alone and just, you know, in the corner of like all of these places that have gone out of business, like trying it. And, um, from there, you know, you just, you get booked on shows and, um, from there, it just kind of became like a thing where I, I, uh, I mean, there are so many, the LA comedy scene is both like, you know, it's both very, very difficult and like a lovely, supportive, great place. Yeah. Coming up here

is like, so it's a, it's a blessing and a curse for, for most, I think, because you're just like, so it's great because you can really go quickly because there are, you know, scouts in the audience or whatever. But it's also like, you know, you kind of get off to a running starter, at least in my case, I kind of like, you know, one year, two years in, I kind of started to like, I got management and then I kind of like started to do opening gigs and like started to do, you know, the Colbert thing. And it almost felt like when the pandemic hit, I was like, oh my God, I can catch up. Like I can kind of catch up to the opportunity, which is obviously the most horrific thing for anyone to say,

because Jesus Christ, shouldn't you be ready? And so many people are so talented and so ready and, you know, are still waiting. And so, you know, of course, saying that makes me feel terrible, but it just was the reality of, you know, I was like, okay, so now I gotta, I gotta get my hour together, but I'm only four years in to stand up. Yeah. So, um, yeah, no, it's, uh, nobody's really ready, ready. I mean, you know, I mean, there are some people that are ready, but you don't, until you're there, you don't, you're not aware of like what it takes. And I mean, and stand up is its own, its own thing yeah but i always i mean i just remember when i started to get you know because i perform i performed improv forever in chicago and then i did a stage show forever and then when i started to get

real you know like auditions that weren't just for some like a walgreens commercial you know an extra in a walgreens commercial i just felt like well they're treating me like i'm legit and i guess i just should act like it you know like i'll figure it out as they go you know like my first when i got my first job on a movie it's a small speaking role on a movie i didn't have any idea what the fuck i was doing yeah and you just have to be like and like you know all right let's let's turn it around let's come around and like and then you just stand there for a minute and wait like oh that's what that means okay okay you know um but it's yeah there's you know do you think that the, well, first of all, I want to ask this. Why, why stand up versus improv since you had done both?

I am so much better when I can prepare. I see. I feel so, I feel like I really need time to articulate myself because I'm so scatterbrained. Um, and because I have, you know, anxiety and I feel, uh, like, you know, I'm always, when I am, I haven't done improv in a really long time. So I would be interested to see, um, I would be interested to see what it felt like now when I feel more confident on stage and as a comedian and, you know, et cetera. Yeah. But I, I, at the time I was like, God, I, I, I went home from every, I think, my comfortability in my head and in my body, which I was not, you know.

So stand up was like, I can go home, I can take hours and days and weeks and months and work on something and make sure that it aligns with how I actually feel, what I actually think, my intentions, etc. And that is something that I feel I need time to do because if I just blurt things, I feel like I don't always articulate myself as well as I know I can. Yeah, yeah. So did COVID then end up being sort of like a good thing for you in the terms of like just giving you even a hyper extended kind of version of that phenomenon? It was that and all the death. That was I was like, OK, this is awesome. Do you have to be a bummer?

I'm sorry. No, I mean, I think the break was, I will tell you, I had nine months of writer's block before the pandemic hit. And the first week I was just clickety clackety on the keys. Oh, that's great. They want all of the pressure of this, you know, of the industry that had collapsed before my eyes just released. And I said, oh, it's gone. Now it's just about the work. And I have no external forces pushing me to hurry up and be ready for quote unquote, you know, an hour. And I feel like I can just do the, this art form. Um, yeah, I always wrote from my room. I don't really talk about like this happened to me today or last week or whatever on stage. So I've always kind of written in captivity. And again, I, I,

I'm like so conscious of the fact that like there are so many comedians who have hours and hours and, you know, the experience of like needing to catch up is a fortunate one. Yeah. For certain. But it just was, you know, know the the way it was for me um yeah then you know uh hacks happened during the um the pandemic entirely um from start to finish just like the casting process was going on during that time. So I kind of picked up in this other way and it was like, oh, I get to do this completely different yet similar core thing of,

of comedy and comedic acting, which was, you know, that, which was, you know, that was also kind of like a beautiful departure from any sort of, it almost didn't feel, I mean, yes, there was pressure, certainly, but it felt like, because I was coming at it from such a newcomer position, I guess I I felt like it was um kind of pure you know there's there wasn't um like years and years and years of with like with stand-up where you know it became it became uh like work stand-up yeah you know it really I's like, okay, I got to clock in and I got to figure this out. And it, you know, took kind of the fun out of it. And I felt like, I don't know, I was able to kind of transfer the feeling that I got

with getting that break from it to the acting. Yeah. Makes sense. It makes absolute sense. Yeah. And I, because was it, was it, was it daunting to be put into this thing where you were going to be acting so much? Had you acted? I mean, just in quantity of acting. Had you done that before? Before Hacks, I had a maybe two lines in a buddy of mine's film.

Yeah. Yeah. Like I just played like a waitress and i was like hey johnny or whatever you know right like oh that was you yes oh you're at the hey johnny gal i am waitress number seven blue eyeshadow um and uh yeah it was my first, yeah. It kind of was just like, all right, well, I feel like human beings, we just will adapt. We, a fucking pandemic hit and everyone, the air was poison and we all were like, all right, mask up. We all just were like, that's the world now, you know?

Yeah. I just felt like I was like, all right, this is the world now. And I was scared shitless, of course, but. Right. You know, well, it's like I said, I and I, I throughout my life have relied on other people in a relative kind of way. And and and, you know, like you're working with people and especially on this show, you're working with people with a real track record and people that it's just they're inherently talented. Like they know what they're doing. They're smart. You read the script. Yeah, this is great. They're they're saying to me, we think you can do this. And I was and I mean, that's I've been that whole way, like all these people around me and they seem they're capable. I mean, that's, I've been that whole way, like all these people around me and they seem they're capable. I know they're capable.

They're saying I can do this. All right. I'm going to just take them at their word and just do it. You know? Yeah. I think I got, I got to that point maybe when we had like a week left in the, I was like, well, they believe in me. I literally, I literally think the day we wrapped, I felt that way. Yeah. Like I really genuinely really genuinely takes a while it was because there is such an active force within me telling me that

like i'm not shit honestly like it just is like so loud and it is ever present in every area of my life and so this was such a this challenge that's so much because i'm like so you don't believe gene smart you don't believe lucia and yellow you don't believe paul w downs jen statsky you don't believe mike sure okay yeah what's wrong like what really yeah what you can't what do you know that they don't know yeah nothing is the answer the answer is nothing to that question so it's like you know what do you this is uh not serving us girly you know yeah yeah you need to get yourself a posse of sycophants yeah i gotta get yeah yes men right right oh my god you're so fantastic and constantly fussing with you and you you know, like, yeah, she's your demand, demanding a break every three minutes to fix your makeup.

You know, yeah, well, what I mean. Professionally, and I mean, you know, I'm sure you've talked about hacks a lot. sure you've talked about hacks a lot um i just wonder if there's like what's kind of the intangible thing that you've gotten out of it not like you know people now know who you are and there's you know career opportunities but is there something that you got out of it that like it's just personal and you know i mean aside from aside from this group of new friends and people I consider, you know, family now. Yeah. I would say what I just mentioned about, you know, having no choice but to bend the knee to the idea that I am good. Yeah.

Could be good. Yeah. Could be good. Yeah. Worthy of the opportunity, like because of all of the people I respect more than anyone telling me that I am. And that is not something I experienced. Like I can't do that thing of like, good job, Hannah. Like I don't have it's i was born without that in like written into my situation so i i i really more than anything um i'm so

fucking grateful for that because the moments i am able to feel it it feels really good yeah yeah you know well i, you know, it takes time and you'll develop that. And I, and I, like I say, and having used that same methodology, it's good. It works. I also would recommend as a, as sort of like a side strategy, the old, look at that fucking guy. If that fucking guy can do this, I can, Jesus Christ, look at that fucking guy if that fucking guy can do this i can jesus christ look at how shitty that thing is good lord i can do better than that you know that has been a huge engine in my in my career and in my life oh because it's just like there's so much shit out there that it's real easy to go, well, I'm a better formed turd than that.

You know, I guess I'm I'm I'm look, I'm no Sharknado, but I can. I I'm just saying, give it a try. Give judgment a try. Yeah. See how it works for my toes into judgment. The episode should be called, I think, or a memoir. I don't know. Yes. Right. Um, well, what are you looking forward to? What's, what's, what's ahead for you? What's kind of like your ideal path from here on out? You know, and it doesn't have to be work, you know, I mean, I always love it when people answer that and it's not about work. Yeah. No pressure. Um, you knew what this podcast was about. No, no. Um, I think, uh, the truth is I am looking forward to peace. Yeah. Uh, I hope, I hope I will, um, reach peace. Um,

hope I will, um, reach peace. Um, and, uh, that's like in my physical self, emotional self life, the world at large, um, just, uh, a little, a little bit of peace because, um, I, I, I just hope to, I just hope to experience, um, a little bit of that quiet and a little bit of that feeling of calm and sort of the pat on the back and the being okay, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. I guess. Yeah. Yeah. It's, you know, it, it's patience and it's, it's self love. Cause I, you know, the one thing, you know, cause the other thing is like, well, the, what you've learned of this,

one thing I've learned is that like years and years of being you fucking lazy piece of shit. What's wrong with you? Why don't you do this? It didn't help. It didn't help. It didn't help. What helps is like, Hey, you're a good person. And you know, really let's look at the positive aspects of doing this thing that you're having trouble doing. And it's, you know, it's a change in conversation and it's, it's a seeking peace in yourself. You know, that's one of the things, one of the things that I, I mean, I'm not big on like aphorisms or anything, but one of the things, and I tell my kids is work for peace, like within, within your life, within your family, when something, when you're about to say something,

think about it before you say it. Is this, is this a weapon or is this an olive branch? Is this going to make things better? Or is this just, is this just you taking out your trash, you know? And, and so I think you're on the right track. It just, it takes time, you know, I only say this stuff cause I'm old. That's, you know, I mean, I, I'm not, I don't mean to be, you know, I'm not Dr. Laura or anything. Are you kidding me? I, this is like, I, I should, this is like, I, I am obsessed with talking about this and also like it, we clearly have certain like similarities in our definitions and it's like,

I have nothing but, you know, respect and love for, for you and your, you know, your work and you as a comedian. And it's so lovely to, to get a little bit of wisdom. I feel like. Oh, good. I'm glad. I'm glad. Took you long enough to say that. All right. Well, I guess, I mean, is there, is there anything that you can add to kind of what you've learned? I mean, as the final one one she really cracked up with that i just don't you know i mean i don't want to keep you anymore you know oh my god are you kidding me

same time tomorrow uh oh i don't know if you can handle the fee. Well, you got SAG insurance. That's it's not the best, but it'll do. Look, you know, I'm sorry. You know, the, what have you learned part of this thing of this podcast? Like, I mean, to compliment you up top is the number one. That's going to stay with me for the rest of my day. There you go. I guess more generally to say I've learned it and that its importance has

become even more, I suppose, relevant or stressed to me from talking is that we, um, we are all really like, especially comedians operating from a very similar place. And so, um, I guess, uh, remaining open, remaining communicative and remaining, um, willing to be vulnerable with one another is, is really the key to the most beautiful human connection. Yeah. You know, and that's, I feel like the most important thing that any human being could ever do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's, I mean,

growth isn't going to happen if you're, if you're closed and the whole point is growth, you know? And I mean, you know, like the way muscle grows, you know, it involves tearing down tissue on a cellular level. It scars over and it builds more. And it's like, so it's this constant process of, well, I guess destruction, reclamation, you know, getting rid of old and getting in and introducing new and clearing out the deadwood for place for new stuff to grow. for new stuff to grow. Um, so yeah, I, I, I'm all for that. Um, and thank you so much for doing this. Uh, it's great talking to you. It was, uh, and, and, and kudos on the show and, and, and

on your standup and, um, you know, keep on chugging along. Thank you, Andy. I'm so grateful for this time and also you and your voice and yourself, you know, expanding, you know, across many years, but not so many years, right? Yeah, it doesn't matter. Yeah. Yeah. Lots and lots of years. It's okay. Thank you for everything you've given sure and all of us well thank you and thank you all out there that's really nice of you by the way and thank all of you out there for listening uh to the three questions and we'll be back next week with more still three though the three questions with andy richter is a team coco and yourwolf production.

It is produced by Lane Gerbig, engineered by Marina Pais, and talent produced by Galitza Hayek. The associate producer is Jen Samples, supervising producer Aaron Blair, and executive producers Adam Sachs and Jeff Ross at Team Coco, and Colin Anderson and Cody Fisher at Earwolf. Make sure to rate and review The Three Questions with Andy Richter on Apple Podcasts. Can't you tell my love's a-growing This has been a Team Coco production in association with Earwolf