The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Hannah Pilkes

Episode Date: May 26, 2026

Comedian and actress Hannah Pilkes (Netflix's Leanne, HBO Max's Hacks) joins Andy Richter to discuss prioritizing whimsy, her experience as a child actress (and how a growth spurt threw a wrench in her plans), her new live show, “Skiing (That Time I Had a Mental Breakdown in LA),” and much more. Do you want to talk to Andy live on SiriusXM’s Conan O’Brien Radio? Tell us your favorite dinner party story (about anything!) or ask a question - leave a voicemail at 855-266-2604 or fill out our Google Form at BIT.LY/CALLANDYRICHTER. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, everybody, welcome back to the three questions. I'm your host, Andy Richter, and today I am talking to the very funny Hannah Pilkus. You can see her in Leanne on Netflix, and she will be performing her show skiing that time I had a mental breakdown at the Elysian Theater this month. Here's my conversation with Hannah Pilkis. Hey, everybody, welcome to the podcast. I'm talking to Hannah Pilkis today. It is Pilkis. It is.

And it's Dutch, right? It's Dutch. Nice. Yeah. I sprake in hair, don't a bit. Do you speak a little bit? Just a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's such a, it's such a stray. It's all like lugi-inducing. I always say my dad, even if he's being threatening, is so Muppity. He's like, you better not do stuff like that. And I'm like, oh, you are not asserting any dominance there. So he's Dutch. He's Dutch. Very Dutch.

Yeah. And what's on to the States? You know, I. He's very cagey about it. He won't tell. He'll never tell. He grew up on a farm in Holland with seven siblings, a pig farm. And I think he just wanted a different life experience.

And he flipped a coin. And he was like, I'm either going to live in Santa Fe or New York City. And he chose New York City, got into real estate. Can you imagine? I mean, I'm like just his fate in the hands of a penny. Yeah. And also, it's like saying, I'm going to have French toast or clam chowder. Right.

There's no... I mean, they're going to live on a dock or in the Sahara. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, but he... And that's where I grew up in New York, but I think he just wanted a different adventure. And the irony is now I'm like, can I move to Holland?

Get me the hell out of here. You know what? You probably... I have a dual citizen. Oh, you do. Oh, of course. Oh, that's so nice. That's so nice.

But do you ever think, okay, great, you move to New Zealand or what do you do? What's your job, if not this? I don't know. Right? I don't know. I don't know. I don't, I mean,

Like, my wife has dual citizenship. Oh, she's from here, but she lived in the UK. And she's also like an incredibly organized person. So the minute she moved to the UK, she was like, how long do I have to live here to get a dual citizenship? And what does it take? And so she did all of that. And both she and my daughter have dual citizenship. That's nice.

And so when the, you know, sometime in November. a couple of years ago. We started to talk about it, and I was like, yeah, whatever. I said, if we go there, I said, I can bartend. And she's like, you don't have to bartend. She's like, you can be on TV. I love you sling shots.

You could be, yeah. Whatever. But I mean, I was like, I'll, you know, we'll figure it out, you know. You'd be a great bartender. I would, you know, I would be. And I mean that as a high. Thank you. Thank you.

Just jovial, nice. I feel like you'd know everyone's story. Jimbo. Yeah. Yeah. And Jimbole hanging in? Yeah. I do.

Yeah, though, I don't think that, because it is like, it's like being a barber too or a hairstylist. Like, you got to hear so much blab-de-blab or therapist, you know. I mean, one would argue, well, you are a professional listener. Exactly. But it's a different thing. Yes. Yeah. Yes, yes.

I don't know what I was like, like, churn. I'll make cheese. My first thing was like, I'll make cheese. Of course. But there's comedy over there and everybody speaks English. So I mean... There's boom Chicago. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. There's boom Chicago. And also there was a guy, Tom Rhodes, who was a stand-up comedian here who then had like a late-night talk show there for a while too. Yeah, yeah. There's a lot of comedians actually that will go there first to develop material because I don't know if you've ever done a show in Holland. I've never done a show in Holland. Nothing toughens your skin like that. You're giving your best material and they're like, okay, they're good.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's funny. A she wide that could make people laugh. Yeah, yeah. It's, I mean, here in L.A. in Holland, L.A.'s tough. Yeah, yeah. Tougher than anywhere to do comedy. Yeah, yeah.

You can make people laugh in Holland and L.A. Yeah. You got a special. And also, too, the thing, and it really truly is a difference here. And because I, you know, I came up in Chicago doing comedy, is that there is just, you know, there's a giant pot of gold. just nearby. Yeah.

When you're on, like in Chicago, you go and you do, you're doing your improv show and you're doing it because it's fun. Right. Like, maybe you never know it's going to happen. Whereas here it's like,

no, no, just a few blocks away. Right. People are making a fantastic amount of money. Right. By doing this same kind of thing. Right. But coming up that way is the gift, right? Like, everyone that comes here from Chicago

has this energy of play. Yes. versus I started here, which was a really interesting way to start because you just kind of thrust into the thing right down the street that could change everything versus Chicago where it's like, hey guys, let's all do a show where we're smoking and we're giggling. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the premise, you know? Yeah. Well, I mean, did you do groundlings? I came initially out here, I did Second City and then I did groundlings and then I did mod. I did the whole, I did all the schools. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Never really did I.O would do shows at I.O. Right. But never did that training. Yeah, I kind of came out here and was like, I'm going to get a degree in comedy.

Yeah, yeah. Because that's the sort of the generalized sort of notion that I would get when I came out here was that the groundlings was pretty industry focused. Like they were pretty like we're going to, we're going to help you do comedy that will be very hireable. Yes, transferable. Yeah. And that will transfer sort of like, well, the thing is like, I. Like Paul Rubens. Like I don't feel like if Paul Rubens has started in Chicago, I don't think Pee We Herman would be a thing.

Because it's behavioral. Because in Chicago we were discouraged from doing things more than once. Really? Truly. That's the thing about characters or anything of that nature, which I even have to fight is I'm like, well, I've done that character four times. I guess I'll retire her for the rest of my life. I know. Meanwhile, stand-ups around the world are doing specials because they do it again.

But I mean, it's what you're comfortable. with too, I think, because I mean, it was sort of the way I was trained, but I just heard Seth Rogen, it was a rerun of him on Howard Stern, and he said he didn't, like he was not good at being a stand-up, like he was funny, but he wasn't good at being a stand-up, because he said, like, he'd think of a joke and he would get it and it would be really good, and he'd be like, okay, well, now I don't have to do that anymore. Because you have to replicate not only the joke, but the nuance. Yes.

And even the canned someone responds a certain way. And then it's the best acting in the world. Yeah, yeah. To constantly replicate what happened the day before and the day before and the day before. Right, right, right. For a special too. I think about that all the time. Like, I'm like the pauses, the anticipating.

It's like, you've done that a thousand times so you know they're going to respond that way. Yeah. Yeah. But it's impressive. Well, my thing is, but then I'll be at Largo and I'll be like, I'm going to do a brand new character. And it's like, is here the place? Yeah. You know, it's here the place to try sleep therapist and real sort of sea.

Right, right. You know, but, you know, yeah, sure, why not? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Roll off the stage and throwing water in people's faces. I mean, sometimes I say I black out and who knows where it's going to go. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes it goes at a good place. But starting in Second City was good in Hollywood because I didn't take it that seriously in a good way

because it was in between a hookah lounge and a sex store. On Hollywood Boulevard, right? On the second floor. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Weirdest location. Yeah. No, the seediest worst part of town. Oh, yeah.

Day one, first improv class, I drove my Mazda meata, and I'm six foot a million. So I have, like, my elbows out of it. Like, it's a clown car. Someone cut the roof off, reached through, and took my iPod. Wow. And I was like, I've arrived. Yeah. That's hilarious.

Yeah, and then you've got a fucking convertible roof that you have to replace. Right. A cloth roof. What a crap. Jeeps and Miata's. What are we doing there? I know. I know. But, yeah. Well, you learn don't ever leave things in your Miata anymore. Well, here, yeah, someone, my car was locked the other day and someone just tried to take a part out of it. There was a zip tie and they tried to take, let's all look at it later. Let's go outside and you guys. The only car part I know is catalytic converter.

Right. I don't think it's that. But I'd love for someone to tell me what's hanging that someone tried to. to steal from an electric car. Oh, underneath. Yes, so even if you don't leave things in your car, they could just take your car. So how did you notice? It's hanging. And it's underneath the car?

No. Oh. There's the steering wheel and probably not the catalytic converter, right? Oh, and it's just inside the car. Oh, my God. They're trying to take body parts from the car. Wow. Yeah.

Nothing safe anymore. That's crazy. Oh, that's hilarious. So let's all do a field trip outside after. And we can insert right here. This is what the part is. Yeah. Yeah.

Going back to growing up in New York City, I mean, do you feel what, do you feel like there's something particular about New York City-bred kids? Like, because I, coming from a small town, I would feel like, oh, my God, you've got to be either sophisticated or crazy or both or, you know, like, you know. I think that the kids are, unfortunately, insufferable hams. Oh, really? You grew up in New York and you're like, I got out of this joie.

Yeah, yeah. My parents took me to the West Village to a place called Space Cadets. We bought those. There were skin-tight bell bottoms and then they went out real big in the bottom. And we'd walk around and see how many compliments I could get in the village from like cool hippies. I think my mom. Was that her plan? She's not.

We didn't. That was a game we developed because I didn't, I love talking to grownups. I think when you're a kid in New York, you just think you're 30 from when you're born. Yeah. And it did foster a lot of independence. Like, I would take the subway everywhere from really young. But how young is young? Probably like 10.

Yeah. And my commute to friend sleepovers, I'd pack a little briefcase and I'd walk alone maybe 10 blocks, but my mom would tell all the doorman to keep an eye for those 10 blocks. She had like a phone list of doorman from building to building. She's like we got Mo four to six. Yeah. And so then I'd feel like I was alone. But really, I had my guardian angel.

watching me walk to a friend's house. Yeah. Yeah, I think growing up in New York, I have no sense of direction, but I do have like a street smarts that maybe I inherited through that. And a fear, I was not afraid of talking from really young.

Talking to adults, calling them by their first name. Now, I moved to the suburbs when I was 12, and that was really weird, because I would call everyone's parents by their first name, and they were horrified by that. Yeah, they thought it was, yeah.

Yeah, we did the Pledge of Allegiance at school, suddenly and we would stand for the national anthem. Like, we didn't do any of that shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In New York, we were all just doing like spoken word. I'm just kidding. We're all doing slam poetry in first grade. Do your own pledge.

But my mom was bringing me to like, my mom was bringing me to like the Norecan, the New Yuriken poetry cafe when I was 10 to learn. The poetry slams. Yeah, yeah. And Blue Man Group. I was a blue girl, blue laundry, someone that worked at a laundromat and was Blue Man Group for Halloween when I was six.

Oh, really? Yeah. So people would be like, what are you? And I'd be like, well, I'm blue man group. I'm the first blue woman and I work at a laundromat. My two biggest dreams. What was the indicator that you worked? Do you had a lot of change in your pocket? What was? The indicator that you worked at a laundromat. Small boxes of detergent. They had a clothes line around. And then painted blue. Yep, yep. Already workshopping. They're not like putting in too much.

They have a blue woman is all I'm saying. Or a blue they or a blue anybody. It seems like it's just a lot of blue men. Because I was at a venue. I was on tour recently and I was at a venue and they had like a looping screen of upcoming things. Sure. And they had blue man group and there was like a woman.

And I don't remember she was blue or something, but she definitely was like, I would imagine she did her own thing. But she wasn't like, but she was, I can't remember what color she was. She seemed to be a featured player. You know what I mean? She wasn't like part of the montage of the blue man group. It was just kind of like, oh.

She was not ready for prime time. There's, I don't know. There's, you know, like the, you know, the bat girl of the blue man group. That's so interesting. Yeah. I hear the audition process is ruthless. Yeah. My friend was a blue man.

My friend was a blue man My friend was a blue man And he said it was really, really intense Yeah, you got to be a really good drummer and you know Yeah No, I mean that was my introduction to clown really Oh really? You can get paid to spit gumballs onto a canvas

And hit drums And I think I saw Stomp too Oh, right, right This is crazy Yeah, that was at the time I mean that was cool growing up in New York And just being able to go to any play or musical What ears are these?

Like, when did I grow up in York? Yeah, like when you were seeing Stomp, what year would that have been? I was, I grew up in, so I was there like 90s 3 and 2000 maybe, so late 90s, I would say, or mid-90s. That's like when I was there too. And like, and like we went and saw all that shit and like went and saw Stomp down the Lower East Side. Oh, yeah. And it would just like my ex-wife and I would just talk about like, okay, it's fine, but the fucking faces they make.

Because there was like a thing where they just would like shake match boxes. Like there was just a number that was all just them shaking max boxes and the fucking faces they would make a look. Oh yeah. Oh. Oh. Oh. Yeah.

They're edging. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. It's just like, oh, Jesus Christ. They're all having sex with each other. Yeah. Oh. Oh. Oh.

Oh, that's, I went to the symphony because I just loved classical music. No, I went one time and the cellist was making the, it was like the face of one of the Hymme sisters. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But it was so antithetical to the music. It was this beautiful concerto. She was like, it was awesome. Yeah, that kind of face, like, especially with Hym, because I really love Hym and their face making, I am like, oh, to be so free.

But oh my God, you really, I wouldn't. Please someone just don't do that anymore. Please stop. And that's because you're, you're self-conscious on their behalf. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love it. Why isn't someone, why isn't someone, why doesn't Mother Hame tell them or Hymne tell them? Mother Hym.

Yeah, yeah. It's a giant goose. Yeah. Can't you tell my love's a girl? Is your sister Ham too? I mean, because you grew up with the two of you. Yeah. My older sister, she's seven years older.

She, I think. Oh, wow. that's quite a spread. It is, but we never felt it. Yeah. Weirdly, I think, again, I grew up thinking I was 30 from when I was born. So we always felt the same age. And we would put on like Moomin Shan's performances and Cirque to Salae performances for my poor

parents, over two hours. Yeah, yeah. A lot of leaping. And I have a program that I found it's like choreographed by Jessica Pilkis, directed by Jessica Pilkis, written by Jessica Pilkis. And it's just us playing the full Cirque soundtrack twice. and just me like just dancing and making faces

and leaping and then it would end my parents would be like yay and I'd be like again and then they'd say no and I'd sob what do you mean you know what two more hours of that

but she's very much and she made me fearless she had this system called bonus stars where she'd say you know go into Lincoln Center and do a big dance and then end in an opera and I'll give you like 50 bonus stars

And if I got enough bonus stars, she'd get me a gift of some kind. So really, I got over my fear of stage fright from her humiliating me all over New York City. Wow. That's amazing. But she's a ham. She just started performing this year at 41. She does clown now. She's always loved the circus.

Yeah, yeah. She was always kind of behind the scenes, of course, you know? Yeah. And now we're taking class together. You mean like she did, she like worked in wardrobe? No, she would write and direct. The tent? She was sort of the clown enthusiast.

She was sheet of the lighting. No, she just loved the circus. So she's in performing, but just and not a performer herself. She wasn't a performer herself. She went to North Carolina School of the Arts for Film and would write and direct. And then very recently, she took one of my classes. I was just teaching a character class. And she was really good.

And she loved it. And then she started studying at the clown school. And now we take acting class together. It's just sort of this wild, full circle. That's nice. Yeah, it's cool. And she's very funny. Did she come out here after you or did you come out here before her?

I came out here when I was 18. I was really, really young. I worked at the counterburger and I had $500. And I just was like, I'll figure it out. And that was in, as opposed to going to college. As opposed to going to college. Did you go to college at all? I did like UCLA Extension and two classes, but I never got.

But at 20, I mean, there's, you know, were there a couple years in New York? were you in Philly? No, I moved out when I was 18. 18. Oh, 18. Oh, okay. I think I was truly, maybe I took a down here. So just out of high school and like I'm going to do it. Well, I was, I acted as a kid and I think, I also was just not a traditional learner at school. Yeah. I didn't feel like I was smart, but then I would really excel at things like English and humanities and art. Yeah. And so I don't really think I thought I could get into any school, which was sad. And also fiscally, I love my family, but we were very much like, yeah you know we don't need to save like wow let's go to Egypt you know I'm gonna go see the pharaoh

instead of yeah yeah no I know that there's oh credit cards yeah yeah no my mother my my oh we're going there yeah no there used to be like and my older brother was like the most reasonable one but there'd be like my mom you know just my mom's like I don't have any money in my account so I can't go to the grocery store. So let's go out and have a nice dinner on the credit card. And you know what? And my brother would be like, that doesn't make any sense. And I was like, shut up. Let's go. Shut the fuck up. A hundred percent. And that is how I lived my life. And growing up, it was deeply dysregulating. But now, as it all burns to the ground, why the fuck not get the really fun dinner? Yeah. And we lived. Like, we lived and we traveled and we had

no business doing that. And then it would catch up to you later. Because credit scores are real. Absolutely. And also, too, it is helpful to have some knowledge of what to do with money and how to hold on to it. And I have none of that. I have no financial literacy. Yeah, no, I have either, now I have like, I have a business manager who is just daddy. Like, can I buy this, Daddy?

Hold on. No, you cannot, Daddy. Your son. Daddy. Yeah, yeah. You shake your matchbox for him stop style. Daddy, look what I. Daddy.

I can do a matchbox dance. Tell me what a rough IRA is, Daddy. Yeah. No, my business manager, like once I did a movie in New Zealand. Lord of three. She choked. She always had a singer. She had a singer and she had a choked.

No, it was aliens in the attic. Probably I don't make your choke as just as much. Aliens in the attic? But like while I was there, I just, I was there by myself and I bought a watch, not like a crazy watch, but like a nice watch. Sure. And he called me. It was, I think, like $1,500. That's a nice watch.

Yeah, yeah. But I mean, it wasn't, it's not like a rolling. Right. That's like thousands of dollars. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And he called me and he was like, hey, I see you bought a watch. I said, yeah, yeah.

I just, you know, I was here. I'm making money and stuff. And I said, you know, and it said it was duty-free, so there's no taxes. Do you buy it on a plate? And he went like, no, he said, he went like, he said, don't you already have a watch? And I was like, yeah. I do. You're only allowed to watch.

Well, nobody was, but he's at the time, at the time my financial status was such that, like, I did not need another watch. Sure. And he was just reminding me like, you. Yeah, you don't. Because, I mean, I'm, I just, and if you got $40 and something's $32, yeah, okay. That's $8 cushion. What about tomorrow, dumb, dumb? There is no tomorrow.

Oh, yeah, tomorrow, nah, I don't. So we have that in common. Like me saying to my brother, shut up. Yes. You're going to get prime rib. Shut up. Absolutely. I mean, that's, I got a money person for that.

And they took us out. It was like the first big job I'd ever gotten fairly recently. and he took us out to the sunset tower hotel. And my husband Greg and I truly seemed like little, we're like, give me a second, 30 martini. I don't know, maybe we could get the foie gras. And it was so funny because he's speaking in the abstract. He's like, when you're making more than this?

It's, you know, he's taught us how to make it last what I've made. But he reps like, like, Shaq and all these big athletes. that also need a money manager because statistically a lot of athletes go bankrupt. Right. Because you don't, you know, because you have big families. Yeah. Again, financial literacy is not something I learned. No, me neither.

I learned out of like do a kegstand and hop nitrous. Learn that your credit could be like 480. Yeah, yeah. No, it's like, yeah, no, I was taking improv class. Right. And also like it's like, isn't that money? Isn't that numbers? Fuck those.

I hate numbers. Texas? Boring. Get those out of here. And I still, and it's, it's embarrassing. Like, because I told you, like, I just got divorced recently remarried. And that was one of the, like, falling in love with somebody. And, you know, it's all beautiful and all exciting and everything.

And then it comes to the point where it's like, oh, I'm going to have to show her my finances. Yeah. You know, and it's just really, it's like, you know, like, yeah, I'm going to show you my underwear and I shit them. Here you go. It's my full pants. God, that you're so powerful that it knocked the earring out of my ear. Wow. And, you know, and she didn't run away.

But I mean, but thank God. Now I'm just like, yeah, you just. And that's what you should do. You are good with this. You do that. That is someone. They've studied that. And they've studied numbers.

That's the degree. And they're good with it and they're smart with it. Okay. Yeah. Why not? Yeah. Give it to them. I also think it's really unfair that artist taxes,

independent contractor's taxes are the most confusing. It's super predatory and on purpose. Well, it's because... They're like, I have Newt and a riddle in the question. Well, it's these, it's also, I always, well, and I don't even know what it is now because it's a different world with the dissolution of our federal government, the federal government turning into just like a, you know, like a barn with chicken squawking in it. But, you know, the thing that always fucked over performers was that there was this alternative minimum, which was meant to stop people from abusing business expenses, like just not having too many three martini lunches and then writing them off.

Sure. But that's your business manager, your agent, everybody that you pay a percentage to the government looks at is like a fancy lunch. Right, right. So you have to pay taxes on that, you know, from telling people there. You have to be like when you make a dollar, you, depending on how many, what percentage you pay people, you might not, you might only take home 65 cents of that dollar before, after everybody gets their cut from it. And you're paying taxes on all of that. Right. And anything online is now the Wild West where nobody understands that you have to, you have to account for taking out your own taxes.

I don't know how we got on this. Yeah, yeah. Because it's fun. Oh, it's a riot. Yeah, we were talking about. comedy and fun. Oh, because you got one of those things where it's just money in the wind. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I get to like catch, I can't wait to wait to go in that. The money hurricane group. I want to go to Sephora today and blow a grand. Oh, that would be, it would be awesome to just, as a part of a podcast. You would get guests. Oh, you would get guests. Oh, and then there's the money grab hurricane room.

Okay. It's all counterfeit Twos, which you'll find out later. But, but, but, yeah. Can't you tell my loves it grow? They live right down the street in Pasadena. Oh, okay. They live in... Is that a good thing?

It's great. I mean, you know, we did have to set some boundaries. If my parents moved down the street for me, I'd be like, I'm moving back to Chicago. They live down the street with a 32-year-old bird. We grew up with a parent. Nice. What kind of bird? She's an African-gray.

She's sassy. And very talky. Very talky. They're the talkiest, yeah. Thanks my mom's her mate, so she'll get up on her shoulder and simulate sex, and then she'll lay eggs in her cage and we have to remove them because, of course, they won't hatch. Right, of course. And that'll make her sad.

Yeah, yeah. So kind of one big happy family. So just having the eggs disappear doesn't make her sad. And she's very smart. I'm sure she's like, where the fucker my eggs? So I could have sworn I laid an egg the other day. After I fucked your mom. Yeah, yeah.

Wait a minute. I fucked your mom. Laid an egg. Right. Where's that egg? So it's my parents, huts in the bird. And then my sister, my brother-in-law, my nephew, there are two dogs down the street on the other side.

Oh, wow. And then there's... Oh, that's really sweet. We all live close to each other. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, which... Who picked Pasadena first? My sister, when they moved out right after college,

and then that's... I was roommates with my sister when I was 17 for a little bit. Yeah. It was so fun, and then I was introduced to it. Then I moved out here. My sister and her husband lived in Hong Kong for a long time because he's an Imagineer. Okay.

My folks lived in the suburbs of Philly. And then, as, life went on and my sister had a baby and just folks get older. Yeah, yeah. It just like makes sense for them to move here. Yeah, yeah. Now we're all right down the street. Oh, that's really nice.

It's really nice. It is. It is. And I think like the older you get, the nicer it is because I feel like we've all worked through a lot of stuff. And now we're able to hang out. Yeah. And we go, boundary. If we touch something, they strikes a nerve.

We go, hey, and that's a boundary. And we really do respect the boundaries. Yeah. All we have to say is boundary. Well, now tell me something. I mean, to move out here and to get into this business, I mean, it does take a certain nerve. Well, there's a crazy person.

And it is like, because I've thought about it because I was just, it actually came up in a therapy session where I just was, I was talking about somebody that I, that I was like, well, once you're into something, you just got to fucking do it. You know, like you got to just have the faith that you're going to be able to pull it off and then you could do it. My shrink was like, you say that. Right. Not everyone. Yeah. And I'm like, oh, okay, yeah, I guess. It's delusion.

Yeah. I mean, not saying you're not great, but like there is a level of delusion required you also. Yeah, there's, I mean, there's fake it till you make it. Yeah. But then I also like, I still think of myself, like, where did I have the nerve? Right. Where do you get off? Yeah, to keep doing this.

And thinking like, yeah, no, it'll be okay. And I'll be able to support a family. And I'll be able to, you know, continue doing this. You know, I'm fifth. And this is all I've really done in my adult life, aside from work for a moving company and weight tables. Right. You can always bartend. Yeah.

Yeah. I can always bartend. Yeah. No, totally. It's. But yeah, but I mean, what was it like when you came out here and you were on your own? And did you have like moments of big doubt where you're like, oh, shit, I better figure something else out? Never once.

No. No, absolutely. I mean, I started so, so young. I got a movie when I was 11. And so that was being exposed to that so young, I think. You just become aware of yourself really young. Does it give you unrealistic expectations about the way of the rest of it? I just think from such a young age being told what my look, my brand, how my height could hinder me.

I mean, I was 11 and I went from 5-6 to 5-11 in a matter of months. Yeah, yeah. I shot up like a beanstalk, and that was not good for acting. You could hear your legs, the bones in your legs. Yeah, I was told something like they thought I was going to have a Dakota banning trajectory, but I got too tall. Who says that? They're like, well, hope she's funny. Oh, well, we really, you know, we really had high hopes for you, but fuck off.

She just pulled stop growing. Like that Netflix movie that's called Tall Girl and apparently she's 5-11, the girl, but they shoot it all at a low angle. Oh, really? The conceit of it is that it's like she could go to Congress. college, but too tall. It's just so crazy. I've never been heard of that. She could go to prom, but too tall.

Oh, I guess she can just climb Mount Everest. Right, right. Could be a doctor, but no way. How could she fit in the building? They don't have white coats that long. And then you go to Holland and you're like, she's short there. No shit. Yeah, yeah.

My husband's five, six, and we went to Holland and tried to get a bike. And they were like, we do not have one for you. And I was like, that's okay. I wanted to walk in. I did notice that because I've been to Holland a couple times and just like going. I just remember it was like the day that we got there and we just went to like this nice bar across the street from our hotel. And it was sort of like after work drinks time. Sure. Sure.

And I was like everyone is, it looks like a fucking volleyball team. They're tall and hot. Gorgeous and fucking blonde. I have never seen so many hot fathers. And they're on their bike with their precious children and they're doing a good job. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's like, isn't it the tallest country? Yeah, I feel short there.

Yeah, yeah. And I'm like just shy of 5-11. Wow. I digress. Oh, be brave and you started as a child. Yeah. I think that's why I started doing comedy. Yeah.

Because I think the focus and hyper-fixation on appearance was really going to break me. And I mean, even still is something that like I, as a woman in this industry, wrestle with all the time. And, you know, the sad thing is from such a young age being like, how, how. was Dakota Fanning when she made it. I mean, I've been Googling that since I was so young. And that's really hard, I think. But delusion as well. And I do think I'm very funny.

Like, I think I have moments of self-doubt, and then there is no other alternative. Yeah, yeah. I'm reminded every day. I like making my family laugh. It feels like that is my love language. That is my currency. So I really don't know what else I would do.

Yeah, yeah. And I get, it's like this, you know? It continues to be like that. And my brain can hyperfixate. It can loop on shit and it can not let stuff go. And so that's where I go to gardens. I walk around gardens. I find whimsical.

I love whimsical things. I try to find a whimsical thing every week to do. Yeah. And that helps me, you know, drop. Name some. Go to a garden, listen to like the Hobbit soundtrack. Look up this theme park in Holland and see how long the lines are and be like, oh, it's 10 minutes to Drombleut.

I'm so happy for that Dutch girl. Yeah, yeah. You know, watch Labyrinth. Yeah. Maybe get a tattoo. I don't know. I think, do something spontaneous. Every time I feel so trapped in the loop of cynicism,

I have to just remind myself of the magic of being alive. It's corny, but I really do need an anchor to return to. Does the notion of making it, like, was that something that was like, like, that starts to wear on you? Definitely. And I think, I think the helpful thing about living out here now and feeling like I'm married and I have my family here and having a well-rounded life is that it's never enough, right? When will you ever feel like, all right?

And now I have, you know? Because then it's like you got to sustain that forever. Right. Yeah, because then what? Because literally then what? That's always like the, yeah, then what? And it's the only job like that. You know, my friend's in fashion merchandising and she's like, I got a promotion,

but there's three more promotions I could get before I met that. And there's no such thing for this. I guess an Oscar. But then after that, you could get an Oscar and then they're going to shit on you for it's been a long time since their Oscar that they've worked you know or whatever their big comeback and they got their Oscar or well that stuff sounds weird anyway it's always so weird like I I just did a tick talk live from the Oscars and I did and it is it's just so strange that and I've said this because I've been to the Emmys and I've said this before but it's just so weird that

in a room full of people that went into like the most rejection heavy industry in the world like Like if you got a problem with rejection, do not do this shit. Right. Because you get it every fucking day, 10 different times. Totally. And this is a room full of people who, quote, unquote, made it. Right. Everyone there, by nature of being there, is a wildly successful person.

Right, right. And, but they still sign up to feel disappointed. Absolutely. You know, like they get clustered into little groups where it's like, whatever, eight people and only one gets to feel. And then everyone else is told no. And everyone else gets to feel like, no, they don't like me enough. Right. It's like it's almost kind of sick.

It's so sick. The other day I thought to myself, oof, this is so crazy that I signed up for this. But then I thought to myself, what if I was an agent? And my job was to call everyone on my roster every day and tell them that they didn't get the thing. That's, I cannot fathom a more. That feels worse to me. Yeah. Because at least I can reconcile with or, you know, go get a leechy mark.

And my husband be like, you're amazing, you're amazing. Yeah, yeah. But I don't have to now go experience that loss via 10 other people in that day. You know, I was like really close to a job recently. And I knew that they had to call three other people on that roster that didn't get it that were in this. And I'm like, that must suck because I started sobbing. It was like, you know, the biggest, it was like the dream job. Yeah.

And, you know, that's also, I think that was the greatest heartbreak I've ever felt is when you're so close to not just a job, a dream. a dream job. And that sticks with you, I think, more than anybody I've ever dated. It's crazy. Yeah, yeah. But you just have to let it run its course. Yeah.

Well, it is, it's like, again, yeah. And that dream job, a commercial for Sloeman Shield. Me and Shaq with the general. 1877 cards for kids. No, yeah, it's, it is. It's, it's, again, you get, you cannot forget. Because you know, there's a lot of people make a living doing this. And you don't, you know, you go, I just did a guest spot on a TV show.

And like there's people my age that are, you know, have lines and, you know, and they've been doing this forever. And they made a living. And they, you know, they have. family and whatever. And but you don't know who they are. You know, they're not, right, right. They're not household names or anything, but it is possible to do that. But you do when you get the scent of, oh, there's a big one. There's a big one. Here comes a big one. And then you start to, you can't not project into the future. Right. Of what this might mean.

Right. It just, it's, it's like literally your wildest dreams come true depending on what they are. but in terms of like financial things like, oh my God, you know, you get on a show that lasts for a few years and it's just like, oh, well, then it's... I'm made in the shade. I'm made in the shade. I do think it's like that's why you have to keep your brain fit is you have to let yourself dream. Yeah. I felt like I was in a loop for a long time of if I don't give it everything or if I don't entertain the idea of it coming to fruition, then I can't get hurt. Yeah.

And even with this last job, it was like, well, I let myself dream and that felt amazing and like it's so much more attainable that way. I think it's really, it can just be so doomsday otherwise, you know. And perspective. Like you just, I think that is like my word of the year forever. Yeah, yeah. Perspective of safety and comfort and security and how lucky I am to have that through this job. Yeah. How do you walk the line between sort of like giving them what they want and, and, and.

being yourself, you know, because it can be, especially there's a lot of, you know, a lot of audition kind of things they want, they want what they've seen before. Yeah. And, and it's, and sometimes it is kind of, I mean, I'm, I'm speaking for myself, you do get afraid of like pushing your individuality because you want to get the job, you know, but you, but you also kind of want to do what they tell you to do. And I'm, right. I mean, do you. Well, sometimes you have dreams. jobs. I just did something on hacks and it was like, okay, we did it exactly faithfully in their way. And then they were like, all right, and now do your Hannah version. And that is, you have to savor those experiences because of the rarity of that. But those are comedies. It's all these comedic

minds together. And they love the individuality. And then there's other jobs where it's like, don't even add in a syllable or a sigh or a word and relinquishing that, you know? I think that is to me, the necessity for me is making my own things at the same time. I see. And having autonomy some way. All right, I'm going to be workshopping this hour. I'm doing this live show at the same time. I'm even going to go do improv with friends and tour for the weekend,

knowing I'm going back to a job where I really have to kind of put me in a box. Yeah. The alt, the strange, you know, goober me and show up for this thing. I do believe that in being in a comedic field, there's a lot more potential for us to bring ourselves. Yes. Than if it's a procedural or whatever the case maybe, you know? You're absolutely right. right about that. But it has been interesting even in comedy to relinquish control that way.

Yeah. And no, that's not, this is not my business. This isn't, these aren't my words. My agent said like a one for them, one for me, which I kind of like. Yeah. That mentality. Yeah, yeah. That's, all right. I'm going to write this thing and then I'm going to do this thing. Yeah. Although when you, when you're around the people that have a little bit of clout and a little bit of leverage and miles on them, they'll, they're like, I'm not, no, no. Like, like, like, Like when they, when they have a different, just the thing of like, okay, you did yours. Now you do one for us. And they'll be like, no, because that's the one you'll use.

You'll just use, you know, like, and I want you to do, I want you to do the one that I want, you know. Right, right. I saw, I think I might have told this story before, but I worked with Terrence Stamp, you know, tears. Yeah. I worked with him on a very silly comedy. And I just watched him. I was, it was like I was later in the day and I was just watching. and I watched him getting notes from a director.

And every time the director would give him the note, he'd give him a note. And he'd go like, oh, yes, of course, I see what you're saying. And then Terrence Snap, they'd do it again. And Terrence Stamp would do exactly what Terrence Stamp wanted to do with the lines. And the director would come out and explain it again. And you'd go like, oh, right, of course. I see what you're saying. And then the next time, Terrence Stamp would do exactly what he wanted to do.

Well, isn't that what Mel Brooks says in his book that he'd get all these notes from producers and be like, thank you guys. This is invaluable. Yes, yes, yes. Thank you. And then not apply it. And they would forget and be like, well, you're welcome. You know, way.

This is like so, this is like so direct. Yes, right in front of them. Until like, it was like four or five times. Yeah. And he would have just done it all day. And also, Terrence Stamp was right. Terrence Stamp was doing Terrant Stamp. As someone that has only recently gotten to do some bigger

projects and work with directors, a myriad of different types of directors. There's that approach where you're like, no, I'm doing me no matter what. There's the one where you are quite literally told how to say the line from the person, which is really tricky for me, verbatim through their, you know, from their lips and then finding that middle ground so that you don't feel like you've completely jumped ship, but you don't feel like you've pissed them off so much that they're like, what are we even fucking doing here? Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I'm still trying to find that. Yeah, it's, it's hard. It's hard to, you know, and you just, you know, it's also too like, Wendy, I often am just like, all right, fine, I'll do it. Well, and I'm like, I'm just like to be here. Yeah, yeah, it gets me out of here. Yeah. I want to ask you about, you're doing, you're doing a, you're doing a show called skiing. Yeah.

At the time I had a mental breakdown. It's going to be the Elysian Theater. And I just want to know what that, what the fuck is going on with that. Well, it's a drama. No, it's a comedy. It's with dramatic elements. It's a lot about what we were talking about. I've been really fascinated with like affluence and what the successful adult looks like, especially in the wake of everything that's going on in the world. And kind of chronically dating people with a lot of money whose families would take me skiing or going to comedy festivals. Like I went to the tell you right comedy festival a few years in a row. And it's, the most expensive ski city or ski town in the country now. So you just see in front of you quite literally in the venue the billionaires up front that paid for the VIP table and all the like rowdy locals in the back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think they just enacted a law too that you can sleep in your car so that if there was a snowstorm, you would still be able to make it to work the next day.

You sleep in the parking lot in front of your job and don't go home. Wow. So just this insane disparity. Yeah, yeah. And that when I grew up, the thing we could afford was a sport with a ball. And then I would go skiing and put on all these, this robot suit that's $5,000 and be like, what the fuck I could fix my dad's teeth with this, you know? And so I had a partner and they took me to the top of a mountain a long time ago with no prior experience and was like, you know, you learn by doing. And I had a breakdown.

I mean, I'm 5-11. I am a giraffe and I didn't know how to get down. And so it's kind of- You hadn't even like done Bunny Hill practice. One thing that you go up a ramp and back down. We hadn't even done a bunny slope. And I was brought up to like a dark blue. I think it goes green, blue, dark blue, black, double black.

Was this person trying to kill you? And absolutely, I would say, you know. But I honestly think the naivete of they'd grown up doing it since they were so teeny. Yeah, yeah. And their folks, I just think a lack of understanding of like what I grew up and came from, there was just like a total lack of awareness. So anyway, that skiing has been this kind of pervasive thing in my life that I think is just like so glaringly exemplary of what we're all experiencing in the world. Yeah, yeah.

It's like this crazy polarity. And now my in-laws have taken me skiing and I love it. And that's also weird to feel guilty for loving this thing that's $5,000 to go do, you know? So it's kind of an exploration of like money and wealth and physical comedy because me on skis is insane to look at. And yeah, it's fun. Did you, I mean, how did you, well, just, I don't want to, spoiler alert. How did you, how did you get? I'm a ghost.

How did you get down the hill? I kind of want, you got to go see. Okay, okay. I did get down the hill. Yeah, yeah. And there was what I, I don't think I imagined this, but something got me down the hill that may have been from my mind. No, no, no.

It actually happened, but it was very magical realism. Oh, really? You felt like God was helping you down the hill in someone? I'm not a real God gal. I know, but, you know, the universe. Yeah, there was something. The powers that be that got me down and I'm not a big God gal. And I promptly broke up with that person.

I'm a big God gal. I'm a big God gal. You got to know about me is I'm a big God gal. I'm a big God gal. He and I are real close. We're chums. I'm not, I'm not. I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a

spirit something. But I did get down the mountain. I'm barely even that. I mean, like, I converted to Judaism a few years ago. Just for fun. Just kind of, yeah, I was like, I'm something to do. And I mean, it's kind of crazy. I did it over Zoom for a year and a half over the pandemic. Did you do it because of your spouse? Or they, they grew up Jewish. And I think I wanted to be able to contribute to the conversation and understand the high holidays. And I also thought I was Jewish until I was seven because I went to Stephen Wise preschool across the street for me. That was a Jewish preschool. And we had synagogue every Wednesday. And we made minores and juice and Chala. And my parents one day tell me, honey, you're not a Jew. And I go, well, what the fuck am I

doing here? Because I really identify with this now. Why did you send me here? But I actually think from a really young age, just the idea of like acts of service and difficult conversations and all that. I don't know. That's my relationship to religion, but the show is really good. Yeah. It's really funny. But I also felt like there's things I wanted to talk about in the wake of everything that's happening that, especially run money. Because I just feel like what does it even mean anymore? Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

So I don't know about you, but I've needed to be on stage as much as possible right now. That's been myself, has been performing as much as I can. Yeah, yeah. I can take it early bit. I can kind of take it. Yeah. I mean, I, I mean, we're in different positions. Yeah.

Well, yeah. I mean, but I also too, I also just have always been a, I prefer a closed set, actually. Sure. I just like, I like making things with a crew and I like a little sort of like tight-knit group, you know, like this. And especially, like, one of the things that I still love about. making television, motion pictures, whatever, filmed entertainment is just a little like pack up everything in a truck and drive out to a field. And then everyone, you know, everything's coming off of trucks and it's like a circus. You know, again, it's like kind of circusy. It's very cool.

And I still love that kind of thing. It's magical. All right. Well, Leanne is coming back for a second season and your show skiing. That time I had a mental breakdown will be at the Elysian theater on March 31st. And you're working on another hour. This is the hour I'm working on. And you can catch me on the new season of hacks. Oh, nice. Yeah.

Sweet. Yeah. Well, Hannah, thank you so much for coming in. It was great talking to you. Thank you. This is so fun. Yeah. I hope.

I saw that I had a miss call from the business manager as I walked in here. And I won't lie to you. Like, I've been here, but 40% of me. has been floating above me, sort of like, who could we sell? Andy's here to tell you that you're canceled. All right, thanks for listening. I'll be back next week with more of the three questions. The three questions with Andy Richter is a team cocoa production.

It is produced by Sean Doherty and engineered by Rich Garcia. Additional engineering support by Eduardo Perez and Joanna Samuel, executive produced by Nick Leow, Adam Sachs, and Jeff Ross. talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista, with assistance from Maddie Ogden. Research by Alyssa Graal. 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?

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