WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 646 - Mike Epps / Pashman Returns

Episode Date: October 14, 2015

Mike Epps doesn’t stop. The comedian and actor is one of the busiest people in show business, starring in new TV shows like Survivor’s Remorse and Uncle Buck, making movies like the upcoming Richard Pryor biopic, doing standup around the country, and being a dad. It’s a long way from the young guy who went to prison for selling drugs on the streets. Mike tells Marc how he made it out. Plus, Dan Pashman from The Sporkful is back for the second course. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-marc-maron-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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When I die here, you'll never leave Japan alive. FX's Shogun, a new original series streaming February 27th, exclusively on Disney Plus. 18 plus subscription required. T's and C's apply. Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly, host of Under the Influence. Recently, we created an episode on cannabis marketing with cannabis legalization. It's a brand new challenging marketing category.

legalization. It's a brand new challenging marketing category. And I want to let you know we've produced a special bonus podcast episode where I talk to an actual cannabis producer. I wanted to know how a producer becomes licensed, how a cannabis company competes with big corporations, how a cannabis company markets its products in such a highly regulated category and what the term dignified consumption actually means. I think you'll find the answers interesting and surprising. Hear it now on Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly. This bonus episode is brought to you by the Ontario Cannabis Store and ACAS Creative. Lock the gates! store and a cast creative all right let's do this how are you what the fuckers what the fuck buddies what the fucking ears what the fucksters what the fuckadelics what's happening

this is mark maron this is wtf welcome to the show i am delusional i am punchy i am giddy i am at the end of my tether i am in australia i made it to australia i'm i'm recording this the same day i got here i don't know when I've slept or whether slept happened or if I slept at all. I took a plane from Los Angeles. I flew into the future a day. I was on that plane for 15 hours, man, 15 hours. I freaked out at the beginning, but it's a massive plane, 747, two stories. I was flying business. I'll tell you, man, as nice as business is, somehow I managed to get the seven-year-old kid next to me who was fidgety. And his mom was at seat was over on the, on the other side. And she asked me if I wanted to switch seats with the kid and be in the window.

So the kid could be close to her and his little brother. And I, you know, I kind of balked, I balked at the opportunity to get away to tuck into the window I thought it would be okay and she said well I hope I don't bother you if I have to step over you to to deal with my son and I'm like it should be okay it was okay I guess before we took off I said you want to you want to switch we can switch he's like not really it's up to you and I'm like well do you want to be closer to and then I got the sense like maybe the kid didn't want to be as close as as the mother wanted him to be maybe he wanted one strange dude with a mustache in between him and the rest of his family sometimes that's what you need just a wall of a person you don't

know to make you feel autonomous to make you feel like you you've got your own space so i did that for that kid even though he busted my balls because i put the light on up top and i left it on so i could read i was reading elvis costello's book and uh and he said could you please turn on your reading light instead because it's blinding me and i'm trying to watch cartoons. The nerve. He's the kid. He's the guy complaining in business. This little man about my life choice.

I did what he wanted. I did. You know what I mean? Sometimes when I just see a kid, especially a dude kid, a boy kid, there's part of me that just, you know, empathizes and envies the vulnerability of being that age simultaneously. You know what, why would anyone be mean to a kid? You know, there's an impulse there, but then you realize like, he's just a kid. He's all awkward. He doesn't even, he hasn't grown into his head yet or his arms or his legs. He doesn't know what,

what, uh, you know, the power of vaginas or whatever he chooses in life you know everything's all you just this constant kind of physical changes going on that are you know drastic i feel like i'm entering one i feel like i'm entering the the physical change one enters in their mid-50s where you know most of your body is sort of like all right we're for most practical purposes i think we're through i think we're just going to ride it out and then you're like no no no gotta stay we gotta stay you know tense and and taunt and and and and but loose we have to we have to still be vital but your cells are sort of like nah not really not really you kind of blew the

opportunity to take advantage of all that when you were younger now we're just going to go ahead and get lax we're just going to lay out for a while that's what my cells are doing today on the show i decided to put a little more damn pashman on because people enjoy it mike epps came by and we talked for a while. So I did all right on the plane. It's weird when you're in a plane that big. For a while, you're like, well, I don't feel like we're really flying.

And then when it does get turbulent down to 747, you're like, that must be some serious fucking wind if an airship this huge is feeling it. And then you start going into like, how the fuck does something this big stay in the air? And there, there are answers to these things. I know there are answers. There's good science behind it and engineering and aerodynamics. I understand that. But when you're sort of in the grips of fear, you're like, this is ridiculous. And we're over the middle of the ocean. And then you get down here to Australia and it's like, you know, I've been here before and I just don't know. I think I slept for two hours.

Then I woke up and I ate a Cadbury bar very quickly to get the chocolate, caffeine and sugar buzz. And then I wandered around and I bought a cigar. But you're wandering around like you got hit in the head. You're wandering around like it's some sort of fucking dream. I feel like I'm in waking consciousness. And then i went and did a television show i did the project down here on melbourne i came down a day early to to do some last minute promoting for my shows here in australia for that that'll be tonight

in sydney at the state theater tomorrow at the palais theater in melbourne and saturday night we're going to go through with the bris. We shifted to a smaller venue, which will actually be more accommodating and much more exciting a show, to be honest with you. I'm glad I didn't bail or wasn't pushed out of that, but I think it's going to be okay. I feel all right. I didn't meditate yet, but I'm working towards it. I wanted to let you know that.

Yeah, we're definitely pondering the Lorne Michaels episode. That's still in ponder zone and uh putting together zone and deciding what happens after that zone but i'm here man i'm in australia i'm on an island a huge island far away from my home but i feel like i'm doing okay with this international traveling thing i mean i used to i used to get freaked out when they would say the temperature in celsius is that moment where you're like what what is that what does that mean in fahrenheit what does that mean where we come from but that's better than when i used to come here where it'd be like celsius they're not going to understand anything i do if if celsius is where they're at they're not going to get me at all special treatment it's important isn't it isn't that what we're all working towards

just being able to go uh hi mark maron oh i can go right in thank you i think that's what people are working towards it's not even a celebrity thing i think the only reason uh you know jews moved to florida is that most of the establishments down there know that these old jewish guys just want to be called by their first name and and and made to feel that they have a special table waiting doesn't even matter how shitty the food is if you just go oh how you doing john yeah we got your table now here's your plate full of poop all right look my brain is is is is loose in its cradle because of this flight to australia i don't know if i'm even dreaming this i hope this makes the show but i wanted to do this because me and dan pashman we go back and uh and the segment we

did last week people loved it so i wanted to put up some more of my conversation with dan pashman doesn't seem to matter what we even talk about what the topic is we can always find something to argue about isn't it nice to have somebody like that in your life that doesn't live nearby thank god dan lives in new york but i'll tell you if you like this stuff you should check out pashman's podcast the The Sporkful. He's got some live Sporkful episodes coming to Boston and to Brooklyn with guests like Mike Kaplan and John Hodgman. Just go to Sporkful.com to find out more. Okay. And now I'm going to give you a little more of me and Dan Pashman doing what me and Dan Pashman do, which we deliver that too.

Along with your favorite restaurant food, groceries, and other everyday essentials. Order Uber Eats now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly, host of Under the Influence. Recently, we created an episode on cannabis marketing.

With cannabis legalization, it's a brand new challenging marketing category. And I want to let you know we've produced a special bonus podcast episode where I talk to an actual cannabis producer. I wanted to know how a producer becomes licensed, how a cannabis company competes with big corporations, how a cannabis company markets its products in such a highly regulated category, and what the term dignified consumption actually means. I think you'll find the answers interesting and surprising. Hear it now on Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly. This bonus episode is brought to you by the Ontario Cannabis Store

and ACAS Creative. I don't like granola, just regular granola. It's always too sweet. Yeah, right. Granola is one of the great scams that's been perpetrated on people in that. Really? Like crack? No, everyone knows what crack is.

Right. People think that granola is healthy and it's really more like candy. Right. It's like many of the bars that we are. Granola bars are candy bars. Sure. We know that. 99% of the time.

No, we know that. 99% of the time. No, we know that. But you know, this is one I wanted to get your take on that a lot of people have been asking me about lately. Really? This is a hot topic with you? Big. Can't wait. Oh, yeah. It's tearing up.

There might have been a tweet about it. Yeah. A lot of people are up in arms over where to draw the line about the correct definition of a sandwich. Well, I'm not a big sandwich guy, but I'm sure I have opinions on it. Do you think a hot dog is a sandwich? You're nodding your head no? Like you're trying to bait me. You asked me that question as you were nodding no,

like I'm playing along with you. My first impulse when he said that, when I pictured it, I was like, oh, yeah, it is a sandwich. Okay. Why? Well, some people are arguing that it's not a sandwich. A lot of people are arguing that it's not a sandwich. John Hodgman called me out on his podcast just the other day because he's arguing that it is not a sandwich. He says that it's a unity.

You would never cut it in half. Therefore, it's not a sandwich. Right. that it's a unity. You would never cut it in half. Therefore, it's not a sandwich. Right. He says a sandwich is something you would cut in half. He says by that logic, a cheeseburger is not a sandwich. Wait, a sandwich is something you can cut in half? Right. He says that a hot dog is its own thing.

It's its own category because you would never cut it in half. What's the history of the hot dog? Have you done any research? I imagine it was like some sort of evolution of sausages and a way to eat them more practically. It was probably an American thing to add the roll. Yes, but like my definition of a sandwich, I look to the Earl of Sandwich.

Oh, really? Yes, who invented the sandwich. And so I look to the way he defined the sandwich. Yes. How did he define it? Well, I mean, he didn't define it, but like he wanted a food that he could pick up a hunk of meat and put it between two pieces of bread and eat it with his hands. Yeah.

So I'm a strict constructionist. I've been dubbed the Scalia of sandwiches. Oh, I don't know if that's good. Are there any liberals on the court? Well, they're called the living sandwichdom contingent. They believe that the definition of a sandwich evolves over time and changes with the times. So to me, the definition of a sandwich is you got to be able to pick it up and eat it without your hands touching the fillings.

Where do you stand on the Monte Cristo? That's a sandwich. Yeah. It's like two pieces of French toast, right? Right. But that's like, well, what if you want to put a little syrup on there? It's kind of hard to pick up French toast, isn't it? It's like sticky and eggy sometimes.

I mean, it can be- You can't really pick it up. It could be a messy sandwich. Yeah, but I don't know if they're really made to be picked up, Monte Cristo. What, do you eat it with a fork and knife? Yeah. No? I mean, I wouldn't.

When was the last time you had Monte Cristo? 12 years ago. Okay. What about this? I had a TGI Fridays. Really? Yeah. Well, maybe they didn't make it right.

All right, fine. How about this? I worked at a deli. They made a sandwich that was two potato latkes with brisket in the middle. That's a sandwich. You're going to pick up potato latkes? Sure. Oh, how do you normally eat potato latkes?

With a knife and fork. How do you eat pancakes? Do you just put your face in them? But a pancake is much bigger than a latke, and it's floppy. A potato latke... But a latke can be many sizes. I've seen some pretty big fucking latkes. I mean, look, if it's the size of a plate and it's an inch thick,

then I suppose maybe then... You're talking about the little silver dollar latkes? Yeah, and most latkes I've seen are like the size of a chip. No. Maybe a little bit bigger. All right, well, okay, so what's your point? My point is that people need to understand what is the size of a chip. Maybe a little bit bigger. All right. Well, okay. So what's your point? My point is that people need to understand

what is and is not a sandwich. So a hot dog's a sandwich. I would argue that it is. What about a burrito? No, it's not a sandwich. Thank you. It's a burrito. Right.

It's a wrap. No, it's a burrito. Wraps are post-burrito. A burrito is a type of wrap. No, a burrito's a burrito. Wraps were invented by some idiot who said, why can't we make a sandwich like a burrito? It's just that we came up with an english word to describe a type of food that existed for a very long time like all over the world there's foods that are dude dude dude a

burrito is a burrito okay a rap is a rap what verb you don't call a burrito a wrap. You're like racist. What verb would you use to describe the act of assembling a burrito? Rolling up stuff in a tortilla. Would you also say that it's accurate to say that you wrap up a burrito? Nope. Why not? Because you don't. I would never use the word wrap for anything.

Even for a wrap, I'd say you're rolling stuff up. So a wrap is a sandwich to you? No, no, a wrap is a wrap. Right, because you- And a burrito is a wrap and- Burritos until recently were not meant to be eaten with your hands. How are they meant to be eaten? On a plate. No, a burrito is a classic snack or street food type thing.

No, it's not. No, it's not. A taco is a classic snack or street food type thing. No, it's not. No, it's not. A taco is a classic street food. Burritos, I think, traditionally, most of the time, are served wet with sauce on them on a plate. That's what I believe. Well, it depends on LA versus San Francisco style. Well, San Francisco burrito is different.

Then you wrap it in tinfoil. What did you say? You do what with it, Mark? You wrap a burrito in tinfoil. You wrap a burrito in tinfoil. You wrap a burrito in tinfoil. That's what tinfoil does. It wraps things. If you wrap-

Tortillas don't wrap things. You're wrapping it in a tortilla. No, no, no. Thin, thin. Oh, you walked right into that one. The funny thing that's great about you is that at some point in a moment, you decide you've won something, and then there's no real discussion of it. We have foils for rapping.

What I think is interesting, especially because I've run into a lot of resistance because the word rap is associated with sort of like shitty American like sandwich wraps that I get. Like those are often crappy and there's so many amazing burritos, especially out here on the West Coast. Right. So people get upset because they think of the word wrap, it defines this like shitty American food that was invented in the 80s.

Yeah. And therefore it's an insult to really good burritos. But you need to separate your negative opinions about shitty American sandwich wraps and just look at it from a lexicological perspective. Yeah, I know, but why homogenize it? Why can't you just let a burrito be a burrito? Why do, if we're just talking about terms for the types of, like just terminology, just classifying foods,

because I think this is important because like when you look at a menu, words need to mean something. We use words to explain foods, and that's important. And so my point is forget what you're putting inside it. Yeah. Like there's a million different things you can put inside a sandwich. It's still a sandwich. Yeah.

There's a million different things you can put inside a wrap. It's still a wrap. Peking duck, when it's all wrapped up, is a wrap. Have you had a Peking duck wrap? That term is redundant. Why? Because when you have Peking duck, it is wrapped. Like, to say, oh, I'm going to eat a burrito wrap. You wouldn't say, I'm going to eat a burrito wrap. to say, oh, I'm going to eat a burrito wrap.

You wouldn't say I'm going to eat a burrito wrap. You just say I'm going to eat a burrito. Right. But it's understood by me, at least, that a burrito is a type of wrap. Fine. So if you're looking to categorize things, but a Peking duck is not a wrap. It's served with little pancakes. Right.

But once you wrap it up in the pancake, that becomes a wrap. Kind of. It's more of taco feel. A soft taco wrap. Yeah. Not a wrap. Kind of more of taco feel. Soft taco wrap. Yeah, not a wrap. I don't know what you hung up on. Is this a new chapter? There's one more thing I wanted to ask you about.

So you and I got a slice of pizza in Huntington before your gig there. And you were telling me about there was some L. some la pizza place you were dissatisfied with yeah that got me in trouble so what happened tell me about it they actually stepped up their game the last time i had it so i said it was better but i i ultimately ended just alienating my neighbors like it just it was just bad vibes so what it was so what did you because people like that place right the thing is like pizza becomes this weird personal thing. And I don't think that culturally pizza is as important to Angelenos as it is to New Yorkers or people from Chicago. I think that really, that's where that happens.

Everything else kind of grows from there. Like either you're going to get deep dish or you're not. You can get Sicilian or you're not. Or you can get just a regular slice. And now there's these wood oven pizzas and stuff. But there is sort of like idea of what a slice should be in new york and there is an idea of what a deep dish pizza should be in chicago and that's where they're invented everything sort of kind of pales to that no matter how much they try i don't know if it's water or what or if it's just my disposition but what i'm saying is that people out here don't know better

right and if they are new yorkers they're like well it's close enough i'm But what I'm saying is that people out here don't know better. Right. And if they are New Yorkers, they're like, well, it's close enough. I'm like, I don't know. Is it? You know? Yeah. Something that I find so interesting about regional foods, like certain ones, like I get why you can't get great lobster in Oklahoma. Yeah.

You know. It's frozen. Right. Tails. But like. But they show live ones get shipped and they have tanks in some places. Yeah. But, you know, like for the foods where

freshness is really an issue like i i can understand that but things like barbecue or pizza i i don't understand you know like every once in a while and you know uh like i don't understand why like there's obviously a lot of people in la there's a lot of transplanted new yorkers i don't understand why someone i mean i hear this pizzeria Mozza is amazing here in LA. It's a Nancy Silverton place. I haven't been there. It's supposed to be great.

But like, I don't understand why certain regional food camps. Well, sometimes it's water. The complaint out here about bagels and why New York bagels are so much better is that there's something about the water. I interviewed a bagel historian who looked into that. She said it's unlikely. She talked to a scientist in Kansas. Well then then they got to figure this shit out well but what she said is that it's more to do with the fact that you have this high it's almost like a free market thing like because there's more

competition and more experience and more of a tradition there you get the best people there and the expectations of the customers are higher right and also there's competition is greater right and there's also a palette for it that like you know like eventually

people get used to garbage you know there's plenty of people that are like I like Einstein's bagels the best I'm like

really do you right so it is about sort of like expectation and eventually people are like well this is the best

we can do here but right I wouldn't get barbecue really I don't get barbecue in places that aren't known for barbecue. I know there's a million, but I won't do it. But all the time you hear this story of like, you know, oh, this guy went down to Texas to train for a year,

and he brought the smoker with him, and then he still can't. That's because it's like, I hate to break it to you, a lot of food is about presentation and environment. You know what I mean? Like, it's not about just sort of like, you know, knowing the skill necessarily. Like, you know, when I drive out to Opie's when I'm in Austin and everyone goes to Lockhart to one of those, to Black's or Smitty's or to- Kreitz Market is the other one in Lockhart. Kreitz, yeah.

Or they go out to the Salt Lake. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But like, I'll go the other way to Spicewood just because some woman who was actually a food critic in in austin for a million years like turned me on to opies and i'll drive the other way to spicewood and there's nothing out there in about 30 minutes into your drive you pull up on this place it looks like a barn and you go in and they've got free beans butter beans the regular beans the bread all the fixings there and you walk in and there's an old smoker that's not in operation but they take the cooked meats and throw them in there so you walk in and there's an old smoker that's not in operation but they take the cooked meats and throw them in there so you walk in it's like an open casket like as you walk in someone

comes up and opens it and you see all the meat they have for the day there's a fucking slab of brisket bunch of ribs whatever what do you want and then they'll take it with a giant fork and they'll walk it over to the scales and hit it and for me the experience of that and and being and it's all served on paper wrappers and i know that a lot of places do that and a lot of people have franklin's but you get to a certain level of brisket certainly in that area where it's all pretty high right and the other things that you know then you're talking about sides and you're talking about desserts and then you're talking about the the ribs and some places don't have beef ribs some places do but for me the experience of driving to opie's and coming upon it and knowing that it's not a lot of people go that way because they're going to go the other way.

You want to feel like you know something that other people don't and you have a place you go to. Loyalty, there's something to be said about it. And some of that defines your taste. And if you're loyal to something that is good and does have integrity, I mean, it's almost like a belief system. So how are you going to argue with that? It's like saying there's system so how you can argue with that it's like saying there's no god you know i just don't understand why why these regional foods at this point in culture and technology can't be replicated far from where they originated and yes you're

right no i think they probably probably never going to be the same like i get it like you know nothing in la or new york or almost any other place is going to be the same as driving half an hour through the middle of nowhere in te and coming upon a barn and having them open up. That's a magical experience. You're never going to get that experience. I think a lot of that is magic. I think that a lot of people know that, you know, where you get sort of presentation. And even when you go to restaurants where you're like, that's the whole meal, you can't even understand why it's so rich and satisfying if it's really beautifully done.

There's a lot about presentation and about environment that is all part of the culinary experience. And there's all different levels of that. And I'm not saying that some of these places that pop up with the guy who did train with the guy and brought the smoker and all that stuff, you know, isn't, you know, great. But a lot of times it really comes down to turnover. Like, you know, if you open a barbecue place and you're not selling a brisket every day and that thing's sitting around for three days,

you know, it might not be that good after a while. It starts to dry out. So I think a lot of times it's relative to that. How much food do they want to throw out? How much are they really serving? That's why delis in New York only work in New York because there's an actual market for it. And they, you know, they can go through two, you know, through two things of brisket, two corned beefs a day,

and everything's fresh that morning. It means something. Yeah, I think I'm going to go get a wrap, by which I mean burrito. Don't you? You want to come? Not if you're going to talk like that about ethnic people. I'm going to Allen B's in Boyle Heights. What is that?

It's an amazing burrito place. Evan Kleiman from the podcast Good Food turned me on to it. She's here in LA. Yeah. And they've been around since the 60s, third generation, and they got refried beans, best refried beans I've ever had in my life. Oh, yeah? I cook them for like 16 hours.

See, that's good. See, that's- And you can't get that anywhere else. Exactly. Yeah. All right. So I feel like we agreed more than disagreed. It's all right. That's good. I think that's good for our relationship. Yeah. All right. So I feel like we agreed more than disagreed. It's all right.

That's good. I think that's good for our relationship. Yeah. But don't call it a wrap. I dare you to go to Allen B's and go, can I have the wrap? Are you going to do that? Probably not. You're definitely not.

Right. Right. Which means that the whole wrap thing is bullshit. I do think that it's an appropriate classification, but like burrito is a more specific term than wrap. Wrap is an umbrella term. Burrito is specific. So you wouldn't go to a burrito joint and say specific term than wrap. Wrap is an umbrella term. Burrito is specific. So you wouldn't go to a burrito joint and say, can I have a wrap?

That's like going to a cheeseburger, a burger place and saying, can I have a sandwich? A burger is a type of sandwich. All right. Well, you know what? What? It's a wrap. Thanks, Dan. Thanks, Mark.

Take it easy, buddy. And if you want to hear more of that, folks, I'm on one of the latest episodes of the Sporkful podcast, and you'll hear a lot of great stuff on there, like Dan doing his thing with Ron Funches and Jim Gaffigan and Wyatt Sinek and a lot more. All right, check it out. Check it out at sporkful.com.

I did watch a couple movies again on the plane. I watched The Departed again. I think this is the third time, and I like it much better. I think I kind of have pulled the whole story together. I couldn't seem to pull it all together. You know, DiCaprio, Matt Damon, great actors. And that woman, what's her name? Famiglia, what's her name?

Vera Farmiga. what's her name famiglia or from what's her name vera farmiga that's her name those scenes with her and those two guys fucking outstanding and then i watched wolf of wall street again holy shit i remember talking about the movie when it came out i still love it i love it every time i see it just as cash, testosterone, fucking insanity. And DiCaprio is great again. Why am I doing movie reviews of movies that are years old? Does it matter? Does it matter?

Jack Nicholson in The Departed. A little clownish. A little clownish. All right, so those are some fresh, relevant movie reviews for you. Mike Epps came by. He's currently in the show Survivor's Remorse on you know he's a guy that you know started in comedy and now he's gonna be playing richard pryor and i think we we did all right in the garage so this is me and mike epps talking in the garage i don't think we've ever met before. No, I know you, though.

I know you, too. But, I mean, the last time I saw you, I think you were driving up. I left, but I was on the patio of the comedy store, and I think you drove up in something that looked like a rocket. Oh, shit. What was that car? I don't know. Come on.

Was it a Ferrari? What was that thing? Probably a Ferrari, yeah. How many cars you got? I got about seven cars. You like cars. I like cars. That Mustang you just pulled up in.

Yellow. Yeah, yellow Mustang. Is it a V8? I don't know what that is. That's a rental car right there. Because I flew in to L.A. yesterday, and needed to be somewhere and I live way in the valley. Right. And I just got a rental car.

I said, fuck it. So I could take care of the stuff I need to take care of and then I'm out. Oh, because you got to leave again? I leave out on Thursday nights. Yeah. And I go do stand up on a weekend and then I come back on Monday and then I'm. How's the stand up? Man, I've I come back on Monday, and then I'm... How's the stand-up? Man, I've been doing it so long, Mark.

I know. I got a TV show coming up now on ABC called Uncle Buck. They're doing another Uncle Buck? Well, they're doing a Black Uncle Buck. Black Uncle Buck. Finally. Finally got a Black Uncle Buck. We got a Black Owl in the family, and now we got a Black Uncle Buck.

You and Gerard Carmichael. Yeah. Are you Uncle Buck? I'm Uncle Buck. Really? Yeah. You're fucking working hard, dude. I'm trying, man.

What do you mean you're trying? You're in everything. I got so many kids now, and I got to ride through the hood and wave shit. How many kids? I got four now. yeah not bad you planning on more four in a possible yeah like a spades game okay so what well i just uh i don't do a lot of research but i just got online what the fuck happened in phoenix oh man some dude was drunk and um you know yeah you know some that's what happens at these comedy

shows sometimes yeah you can't control what happens i know so you just did it you're just i don't know who's coming in to see me you know i know that club though you did the tuesday night where you do a door deal and just go try some shit out and they open the room up that was it no it was a weekend yeah it was a weekend, really? Yeah. And you said it pretty, like, not even that insulting, right? No, I just said, I called him a hootie and a blowfish. And the guy got mad. You don't know what the hell people are going through on any given day. No, you don't, man.

What they're bringing into the room. No, you don't. And I mean, you know. And then you stepped away and shit got crazy. Well, he stepped away and it got crazy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But everything worked out? He's all right? out he's all right you don't know i don't know i'm here with mark mine where did you start out dude i started out um i'm from indianapolis indiana originally really and i start yeah i

started out i started out there i remember that was that chicken patties club did you know them uh-uh oh Oh, yeah. They had that club downtown, very long room. The Comedy Connection, maybe it was called back in the day. Crackers. Crackers and Broad Ripple. I know that place. They had that place, too.

That's where I used to get in on that. Oh, really? Crackers, yeah. So you grew up in Indianapolis? Uh-huh. How many people in the family? I got seven brothers and one sister. Holy shit. So, you know, I didn't really start eating real good meals until I got grown,

until I could afford my own. And where are you in the lineup? In the middle. Oh, really? Yeah. Well, that's better than either end, I guess. It is. So you got a brother that's like, what, 70?

He's in his mid-200s. And then I got a little brother that's we're more young my oldest brother's uh 54 yeah and my youngest is 30 something so yeah and you're in touch with all of them yeah i'll talk to him i mean as of lately i haven't been in touch with them because they want money all the time so is that true yeah man i mean they can't help the relationship uh they can't help it being i gotta ask him for something right right there's no way that they're gonna be be in touch with me and not really yeah is that but that must get a little annoying i guess you you seem to have you have some empathy about it. You understand it. I do. I understand it.

But I don't allow it to go on. They got me these first couple years when I got in the show business. And now I'm like, I'm grown. And hey, man, I ain't got no extra money. Right. There's no extra money. I've built a life that requires money now. That's right.

Yeah. And the tax man requires money. It's like that Richard Pryor bit. I always like that one line where he goes back to Peoria and all the people that used to hang out at the place where he'd go, you got a dollar? Give me a dollar. Yeah. You're still doing that shit you used to do. Yeah, you're still doing that same shit you used to do around here.

Give me a dollar. Yeah, give me a dollar. I always thought that was like a pretty astute bit. It is. So when did you start doing it? How old were you? Probably about 18. Yeah?

And what made you do it? What inspired you to do stand-up? Well, I was always a class clown, you know? Yeah. So I didn't graduate from high school, so. You didn't? You bailed? I bailed out.

Why? It wasn't for me you know school is uh teachers breast smell like coffee every day and you're not supposed to be kissing the teacher yeah i'm not and they they're sitting there teaching me stuff that i'm like am i really gonna need this shit when i get grown yeah and uh now i really need it what you need algebra i need all that you know that's really crazy my mother told me she's like go to school i was like why she said because you're gonna need that later on in life and i'm like okay what do you think you you don't have um i could tell you what i

could tell i tell kids this all the time i'm like you know what school teaches you about it it's it's life yeah because now that i'm an adult and i'm in show business it's the same shit yeah it's like a big high school sure you know what i mean yeah there's clicks and there's people out to get you and there's bullies and there's a couple of people you can trust and then they go away it's really life high school prepares you for that oh yeah never ends high It never ends. High school never fucking ends. Never ends, man. It's even worse now because people can gossip on Twitter. Yeah.

So, like, now that you're going to high school, the high school is like, you know, 3 million people. And you never know which fucker is out to get you. Yeah, it's crazy, right? Yeah. So, you drop out what? 11th grade? 10th? 9th.

You made it like half a year. And you're like fuck this I couldn't do it man did you work? I tried I tried to work a couple jobs yeah

it was it was really dead in you know yeah and then I tried I tried to hang in the streets a little bit yeah

weren't cut out for it? wasn't cut out for it yeah what happened? uh went to prison did you? yeah

how old were you? 18. For what? 19. Selling drugs. Oh, yeah? Which one? Wanted to be a drug dealer.

Cocaine. Yeah? So you were selling coke for some other dude and you got hit? Yeah, that's what made me leave town. I ended up owing this guy a bunch of money. And he was looking for me. owing this guy a bunch of money yeah and he was looking for me so you know i had a comedy competition one night at this place called um it was a place called uh what was the name of that place in indianapolis in indianapolis yeah it was a bar and grill uh-huh and my buddy rest in peace

oldest brown he said you know what you funny around the barbershop and the neighborhood. I bet you can't do that shit on stage. I said, I bet I can. He said, I'm going to take you up to this contest they have every night. Yeah. It was at a place called Clubs of Eels. That was what it was? And I went up there, and it was a bar and grill, and it was like 12 comics, and everybody was drunk in the audience, they booed everybody off uh-huh so i signed

up i was like the 13th act i got drunk because i wanted to kill my inner ambition because you know if you get drunk you say some shit that you normally wouldn't say when you know i'm yeah you're not afraid you're not afraid right and what happened killed it i killed it. Really? I came back the next day, the next week, not drunk, with a suit on, invited my whole neighborhood family, and got booed off. They was like, go get drunk and come back. Take the suit off. I was like, oh, shit. Do you remember being up there?

What did you do? Did you tell the audience to shut the fuck up and listen? Oh, man. I couldn't do nothing. They booed the shit out of me. But no, on the first time. What was it? You up and listen? Oh, man. I couldn't do nothing. They booed the shit out of me. But no, on the first time. What was it? You just caught him?

Oh, yeah. The first time, I was just drunk. And I was just, I don't even remember what I said. But I had people on the floor. Yeah. And then the second time, I came back trying to celebrate. Yeah, the pressure was on. The pressure was on.

Yeah, that shit was crazy. I shouldn't have invited them assholes. Not on the second time. I don't think I told my parents to come until I was five years in. I'm not going to make that fucking mistake. Yeah. Yeah, so they can go like, you're nothing. You're nothing.

You can't do nothing. You ain't shit. Yeah. How much time did you do in prison? About 18 months. Yeah? Yeah. Was it juvie?

Well, I did some juvie time when i was younger like 14 and then uh when i yeah i went to this place called indiana youth center which same prison mike tyson was in was he there at the time no was that claim to fame thank god mike was here no he came after me yeah uh you already graduated yeah but what's really crazy the judge who sentenced him sentenced me her name was patricia gifford. Yeah. Have you reached out to her just to say, like, how am I doing now? I don't want to see this hag ever in life. Fuck you, Patricia, if you're listening to this. But did that teach you a lesson at least?

Yeah, I haven't been back. Do you feel that comedy kind of saved your life? It did, man. You know, comedy is – I tell kids all the time, I'm like of you know saved your life it did man you know comedy is uh i tell kids all the time i'm like you know find your purpose yeah in life because it can save your life and most people who get in trouble and people who fail in life they really don't find their purpose you know everybody has a talent right you just have to find it yeah and accept it when it when it's a lot of people find their talent and say oh i don't want to do that it's like well

that's their calling yeah you know they're scared of their calling they want to do some shit that's not their calling right you know yeah so after the second time you went up with the suit what what made you did you feel at that moment, you're like, this is it? Even though you bombed that night, you're like, I'm going to keep working. Yeah, I went back the next week and I was good. Yeah. So I got on a bus, got on a Greyhound bus and moved to Atlanta. Running from the guy you owed money to.

Yeah. That was really the reason? Yeah. How much did you owe him? Shit. $7,500 or some shit. Oh, so some real money yeah like fuck he's riding past my mother's house really he was nice to my mother but but in that way that people trying to get

information from her hey miss reed how you doing have you seen mike did you ever haven't seen him did you ever did you ever make that right yeah oh did. I came back years later and made it right. Now he's asking me for money. I'm like, dude, I paid you back twice. There's no more fucking money. Okay, so you go to Atlanta, and that's where it starts? Yeah. You know, Def Comedy Jam at the time was inspirational to me.

Who were the guys that you looked up to? I didn't really look up to none of them. I liked Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, you know. Yeah. me so who are the guys that you looked up to i didn't really look up to none of them i liked eddie murphy richard you know yeah but those guys definitely paved the way for me the sedge entertainers chris tucker's steve harvey's of the world tucker lives down there right yeah yeah i saw him recently at a like i was doing that little room they have that laughing skull at the at the vortex burger place yeah on peach tree right downtown it seats like 75 people damn and yeah it was just a it's a good workout room but i was

doing a week there and he came in to do guest spots i hadn't seen him in years damn it was right because he's sort of coming back now right yeah but he was just getting back into it and it was like holy shit he's still got the he's still got the energy, man. Yeah. I think a real comic, man, you never lose that. Right. You lose it. You get scared. Yeah. And then you got to get past the scared again.

Yeah. You know, like if you don't do it a while, you're like, oh, fuck. Yeah. It's like doing open mics again, but you get up there and you're like, yeah, I can do this. And that's how comedy is, man. Comedy is a... Comedy... I've always related comedy

to being a chick. Yeah. Because it's like you have to spend time with her. And if you leave her, she will leave you. Mm-hmm. And to get her back,

you have to work hard. Yeah. And hopefully get her back. And do some new stuff. Do stuff differently. Comedy's my bitch. So you got involved with Def Jam? Yeah, I started doing Def Comedy Jam and went on tour, started doing dates.

And then I moved to California and auditioned for Next Friday. With Ice Cube? With Ice Cube. So what was it like to come out? So how long have you been doing comedy before you come out here? Were you established?

Seven years. So were you making money doing comedy? Yeah, a little bit. But you weren't a draw? No. And you were touring with Def Comedy Jam

or just on your own? Def Comedy Jam. Who was on those bills with you? Talent. Yeah. You know Talent. I remember remember him it's just comedy no talent wasn't on the shows it was like me joe claire yeah it was a guy named zoo man zoo man remember zoo man i know the name what happened to zoo man hey man you know

this fucking business right here boy who knows yeah you never know what like you know, this fucking business right here, boy. Woo. Who knows? Yeah, you never know what, like, you know, you just. You remember Reggie McFadden? That was my man. Yeah. Oh, you guys were buddies? Reggie McFadden.

I used to love that guy. I used to see Reggie on Def Jam before I even got in it. He was funny, man. He was. Yeah, like, I don't know what, like, because I used to see him in New York. That's where I started. So I used to see him at the Cellar and shit. And I always thought he was so fucking funny. And then, like, years go by, I don't know what, like, because I used to see him in New York. That's where I started. So I used to see him at the cellar and shit. And I always saw him.

He was so fucking funny. And then, like, years go by, I didn't see him. And then someone was like, I think he owns an island. I think he's like, like, I don't know where he is. But, like, the last time I saw him, he was talking about diamond mines. Yeah, he tried to sell that shit to me. Did you even know what it was? I didn't know.

He called me out of the blue one day talking about it. I'm like, dude. What? I gotta pay the tax, man man i ain't got no fucking diamond and he's got like a bunch of kids and like three or four wives i don't remember what the mythology was i don't know what's true and what isn't so reggie reggie was funny though man he was really funny you know and that's the thing mark i don't understand you know i think a lot of comics performers in itself, they expect to land something in their career. And when they don't do it in the time that they want to do it, they just say, fuck it. Really? I've also seen the other thing happen where they don't say fuck it and they just kind of just keep pushing on yeah and you know doing those b rooms and still hanging on to the dream yeah it's i think it's

more uh sad man right it's a little more respectable to say it sometimes i guess so but reggie looked like he was happening reggie was funny as hell man i remember seeing reggie man i mean having people on the floor literally like. Yeah. People bent over. Yeah. He'd do that thing about the intercom at his building. You remember, like, it's all fucked up. Yeah. Yeah. And someone just fucks it up because they hate living there. He was funny.

He was funny, man. So you used to tour with him a bit? No, I never toured with Red. You just knew him? Just knew him. So you're in it seven years. You come out here. You get representation.

Yep. Got an agent. Got a manager. You still with that guy? Nah.'re in it seven years. You come out here. You get representation. Yep. Got an agent. Got a manager. You still with that guy? Nah. That was it. No. I done been through 90 agents, 90 managers.

You know how this shit is. Well, I do. But you're a pusher, man. I mean, you really keep going. Yeah. Because it's amazing if you really look at your resume, just how much shit you've done and how much you've popped up in to get to where you are. It wasn't no easy thing.

So you auditioned for Ice Cube, and what was that like meeting him? It was cool, man. I had been a fan of his in NWA. To see him in person, man, I was really starstruck. I was like, damn, Ice Cube. Yeah. And then I did three movies with him. I did All About the Benjamins next Friday and Friday after next.

And I did a movie called Janky Promoters with him that actually didn't come out. It didn't come out at all? It came out on DVD. Uh-huh. But you guys are buddies? You know, we're cool. You know, we're cool. You know, we're kind of friends.

We don't talk all the time, but we've done enough movies and stuff. We've got enough history and stuff we got enough history with each other where we yeah real cool with each other when you see each other everything is all right well i don't bug him you know i don't think he he's not the kind of guy i think you want to bug for any reason yeah yeah so after all about the measurements you went on and you do you were one of those guys that always show up in movies yeah it was mike epps it was mike epps again cameo yeah but sometimes like if you get that right cameo and you really movies yeah it's mike epps it was mike epps again cameo yeah but sometimes like if you get that right cameo and you really nail it it's a big deal right like the hangover

right what was it the first one yeah yeah third one yeah yeah you were like that guy black dub yeah yeah was it fun working with those guys it was cool i tell people all the time man when we did that movie it was like uh nobody knew that was going to be as big as it was. Right. Because nobody really knew who Bradley Cooper was. Nobody knew who Zach was. It just blew up. What's that director's name?

Todd. Phillips. Todd Phillips. He's like, he rolls the dice, that dude. He rolls. I'm sorry. It's all right, buddy. Am I draining you?

No, no, no, no. My energy does that around what time this time anytime oh really like i yes like you get zapped no i'm not tired my and i just get like yeah i know there's that weird yawn that's not because you're i'll be on tv doing that shit and i have to stop and be like they're like damn am i boring i'm like oh no hell no i stayed up till five this morning you were up till five hell yeah what are you doing shit i went to um i went to the screening of uh black mass last night oh shit is it good gangster really whoo really i recommend people to go see it oh fuck man i i mean i love that story and and and dude was i mean good crazy

really oh i'm fucking you gotta see that i'm psyched dude gangster really oh man is it as good as american gangster uh in the same line oh yeah yeah oh that's gonna be fucking great i love those stories man i do the true stories I couldn't wait to see them. Yeah. Who else is in it? You remember? Kevin Bacon. How's he?

Great. He's always good, right? Good. He played the opposite side of what he usually played. Uh-huh. He wasn't a bad guy this time. Did they go into the whole brothers? You know, the Bolger brothers?

Yes. Oh, man. I'm fucking psyched. You better go see it. I want to see it now. I think everybody should go see it. Yeah. Did you like Straight out of compton

i have you know what yeah i ice cube invited me to his room one time um and i watched half of it and i haven't went and seen it yet but i've seen it yeah i've seen half of it did you like it i did yeah it was so you know it was good for me and there's also a question for you is that because i didn't really know that world like because i wasn't they weren't prominent personalities in my memory it was all new to me so i couldn't be like that dre wouldn't really look like that or did you know like they all looked enough like good for you right like because i didn't bring any of that baggage to it and you know you got to play richard pryor everybody knows richard pryor that going to be a hell of a fucking chore, dude. Are you fucking ready? I'm born ready.

I'm born ready. How'd you get that? Walk me through the audition process of that fucking thing. I chose to play Richard Pryor about 10 years ago. He picked me to play him. You had a relationship with him? Him and his wife, yeah. When he was sick? Yeah, I went to his house to sit with him for a relationship with him? Him and his wife, yeah. When he was sick?

Yeah, I went to his house to sit with him for a year. With the second and last wife? Yeah. The one that was back. Yeah. The double up. Yeah. Went to set with him.

So, okay, wait. So you see him. How did he know you? You saw him at the comedy store or something? Because I mean. I think his wife initially picked me. Uh-huh. For this movie or for a movie?

For, to play Richardard pryor in general in general he's just like you're gonna be the richard pryor guy so you sit with richard he's in a wheelchair and what's he say to you he's not talking because he has multiple sclerosis so it was way into it yeah he was speaking through his eyes which was really really crazy oh man cool because uh i could tell some days he didn't want to be bothered some days he did they sat you down and they said you're going to be the guy but there was no project necessarily there was no project they had a script they had a script and they they they got a guy named bill condon i don't know that guy's name. He directed Dreamgirls. Right, right.

A bunch of movies. Yeah. And I guess Bill didn't see that. I guess he didn't. I wasn't his pick. Right. And they picked Marlon Wayans to do it. This is 10 years ago?

Mm-hmm. Oh, so, okay. And the movie never happened. So now it comes around again for real. Richard's passed. is his wife involved in this script yes she is every script uh-huh she's what's her name again jennifer yeah yeah yeah and she's uh you know she's the beneficiary of richard prior yeah so anybody that does anything about richard prior gotta go through her and what's your relationship with her? She's cool. Good.

Well, at one point, she was upset with me, you know. But Lee Daniels came on to direct the new one. So what was she mad at you about? You know. I don't know. Never know. I still don't know to this day. Shit.

Yeah, she lived with that man for fucking decades what the hell could you have done nothing piss her off nothing because he was a maniac no doubt did you read that fucking book the the scott saul book i haven't read that one oh you got to read it dude you got to read it yeah i'll give it to you if you want it. No, I got it. It's such a big-ass book. You'll run right through it, though, man, if you love Richard, because he does a thing where he just takes it up until the movies, until he goes bad. He takes it up until about 1980 or whatever. He goes through maybe Silver Streak, and that's the end of it.

So it's really Richard from the birth through him becoming richard prior and then once it kind of levels off and he's just doing movies for money he don't do that yeah that's what the script is though the script this script that we have is sort of like that i read prior convictions yeah i got that that's his book yeah it's kind of weird it's written like a 10 year old wrote it the prior conviction yeah so it's almost sort of childlike in his you know in the way he yeah sort of receives his past so kind of a beautiful i read both books you got to read that scott saw book because it'll give you some back you know that backstory yeah now when you okay so so what was the audition process you marlin okay now or you're not

i mean you know it is what it is yeah it's the's the business. I actually did a cameo in Marlon's Meet, this new movie that he's just done. So you're all right. Yeah, we cool. He's a gentleman about it. And what was your audition process? What did you have to do? I mean, you know, I think I was picked to play Richard Pryor because I really believe in real life that, you know, you have people that are reincarnated through other people in some ways. I could never, ever claim to be as great as that man.

But I think that my life has been parallel to his in many many ways with the drugs and you know being in the streets and you know yeah and i think a lot of other comics and stuff they just haven't been through what i've been through so what was your experience with drugs outside of selling them? Done drugs. I've done everything. Shit. Yeah?

Yeah. I've been an addict. I'm still an addict. Yeah? You know, but the older I get, I manage to taper off a little.

Yeah. What's your drug? Everything. Weed. Yeah. You know. Yeah. I'm just doing weed now yeah yeah i used to do a lot a lot of coke a lot of coke get up not to talk about man most of the movies you've seen me and i was high in oh really yeah i might be one of the actors that could do that and still be in a movie in an Yeah? And you wouldn't know it.

I got to imagine. I look at me doing stand-up on Coke, and it's not good. I mean, Richard could do it, but I'm one of those guys, my eyes go up. Yeah. My eyes go. Yeah, your mouth starts moving. No, my mouth doesn't move. Yours?

No. Oh, so you can hold it. I'm crazy as fuck, though. Yeah? I'm crazy. What are you going to do for the prior role? Are you going to use? No. No? No, no, no, no, can hold it. I'm crazy as fuck, though. Yeah? I'm crazy. What are you going to do for the prior role? Are you going to use? No.

No? No, no, no, no, no, no. When does that? I don't have to do that no more. Mm-hmm. I'm past that. You felt like you had to do it? Yeah, I'm an actor.

Yeah. And I'm good at what I do. Well, you did make some shift. I watched Bessie, and you were real sweet in that, man. I mean, that was some real acting. Thank you, man. And what is the process from knowing how to be big and funny to sort of what was the first movie you did where you challenged yourself

to not do that, and it was okay? It was a movie called Sparkle. I deal with Whitney Houston. Oh, man. And it was actually the It was a movie called Sparkle. I deal with Whitney Houston. Oh, man. And it was actually the movie she died in. But that was the first time I've ever done a role that was really like. And I played a serious movie. What was it like working with her?

It was great. Whitney Houston was such a great artist. And again, she's, you know. So sad. Some of the best, some of the greatest artists in the world they're troubled man oh i know you just can't there's no way around it like it's almost like that's their sacrifice yeah well it's that deal what you were saying before is that you know when you realize your talent yeah i think some people avoid their talent so that that doesn't kill them

in a weird way. You know what I mean? To really embrace your talent and what that means, sometimes it's a hard road. It is, man. She died during that movie? Yeah. Really? Mm-hmm. Did the movie come out?

No, she died after the movie came out. Oh. Yeah. Did you guys become friends? Did you feel that she was in trouble? You know. Yeah. I was dealing with my own shit yeah yeah but we connected we definitely connected uh-huh and uh you know i think she's one of the women that like real things she likes real people and i do too so yeah but she was a great person, man. Great artist, great person.

And one day I was on the set and I walked past her trailer and Michael Jackson was playing and she was in there singing with him. Sound like him and her was in that trailer. Wow. It's crazy. So you did Sparkle and that made you know that you could do it. Yeah, I did a lot of other roles, though. My first movie I ever done was with Vin Diesel called Strays. Vin Diesel wasn't a star.

I wasn't doing shit. I think the budget on the movie was $100,000. But that was a straight role? Yeah. And he nailed it? Killed it. Yeah. Is roll yeah and you got you nailed it killed it yeah and is that movie out did you can you see it yeah you can find it on you know it's so it's so bizarre to me though like so many of these uh these roles like cab driver criminal you do the side pieces i've done it all bro yeah i've done it all i was in bernie max last movie before he died

called soul man him and isaac k yeah yeah so i was literally standing there with those guys and then they went away you know both of them bernie was uh he was great he was a beast did you like watching that guy yeah i think it's good you motherfuckers he was real yeah yeah he was you know and that's the thing you know you got to be real yeah what kind of stand-up are you doing uh talking about my baby mama's talking about obama talk about everybody yeah i talk about a little bit of everything talk about myself how's the draw now you selling tickets good you know i do all right 2,500 people that's good yeah that's it that's the that's the max in the big cities oh well i could do i could do up to i used to do i used to do kevin hart numbers years ago when i when i when

i first got it going you know i used to do 14 15 000 people it's hard to hold that i guess yeah you can't hold that shit forever so your folks still around yeah how are they feeling about you they loving it yeah they loving it they they they love it um they must be happy that you made it out of the shit yeah you know that's the thing my mother mother and father, they're like, it's so hard for them to give me a compliment because they know who the hell I am. Right. You know? I do. It's like.

Why do you think that is? How do I praise you when I know who you really are? Like, you know. But don't they think that you, they don't think you changed or you don't think you changed or they still see that you're. I don't think I was a favorite. Yeah. It's like you're in trouble. I can't start kissing a guy's ass because he becomes successful when he was never my favorite.

Yeah. With both of them. Yeah. I think they if I think they they would if they had a choice, they would have wanted one of my other brothers to be in my position, not me. That's fucking hard, though. I've always been a rebellious person, man. I've always been radical, crazy, rebellious. But do you sense that they're proud of you?

Yeah. Oh, yeah. But they're a little withholding. They're like, you're going to get in trouble. It's only a matter of time. Yeah, they've been waiting on that shit for 20 years now so i told him you can forget it i'll still get in trouble every now and then i'm on tmz for bullshit but nothing serious oh yeah what happened nothing i mean you know like they like the shit in phoenix i mean you know it's always that wasn't even you that was just a bad

crowd okay well guess what my name was all over the internet. They didn't put nobody. They didn't put the victim's name. They didn't put nobody sitting in the audience name. They said Mike Epps. It's so fucked up, dude. Because I looked at that thing and I'm like, that's just a bad night at a comedy club.

Yeah, why would you put my name in it? Well, they wanted to. Because it was at my show. Yeah, some guy snapped. But that used to happen. But you know that shit used to happen all the time before this fucking internet yeah we used to have to deal with that just just comedy just comedy is some guy gonna would someone take care of this shit where's the bouncer and that was it but now you can't do anything with any they actually tried to kick him out and i didn't't let him. Before the show? Before the shit jumped off.

Oh, right. You were like, oh, cool. I was like, let him enjoy it. Yeah. But he started fussing with someone in the audience. Oh, that guy, he's got a chip on his shoulder. He turned and the one thing led to the next. And then you just, you travel with a lot of guys?

One guy. Yeah? And he steps in? No, he didn't have nothing to do with it. But like, is he there just to sort of to make sure you don't get fucking in trouble? We use the club security. That's their job. Right.

I can't stand on stage and protect myself, too. It's fucking horrible to have to worry about that. Oh, yeah. That shit is like... You just never know where it's going. Yeah, you don't know who's coming in the club. That's the thing. And comedy clubs, they don't pat people down.

They don't give them breathalyzers. They just set them down and be who they are. But a good comedy club bouncer knows when someone's fucked up. They can tell you, like, that dude. And you know it, too. You know when you look at an audience and you get a feel for it when the opener's on? You're like, that table, that's going to be a problem. Man, I go through it all the time.

And you know what i usually do i'm like hey and they're like you're up i'm like look where the light is pointing at yeah yeah it's me it's my show yeah what the fuck yeah they don't know man they did like i taped a special in chicago and some woman's like i want to take a picture with you in the middle of your shit yeah in the middle of it i'm like what if what a bitch shut up what is what do you think is going on here this is not the it's alcohol it's all alcohol they're just like all fucked up they speak in tangeray huh yeah and they're just looking at you and like it's just me and that guy and i'm just gonna do this now they don't care

about 900 people they don't give a fuck so So what is this show, The Survival Remorse? Survivor's Remorse, this is a show that was executive produced by LeBron James, and it's loosely based off of him, him and his friend Maverick. But it's on Starz. It's a good show. I'm playing an uncle again. I used to play cousin down at my uncle all the time. It's a good show. I'm playing an uncle again. You know, I used to play cousin down at my uncle all the time. And it's a good show, you know, because it touches on, it's about an athlete.

Yeah. And it touches on the things that athletes go through. Right. And they call it survivor's remorse because that's what it is. It's like, it's about a guy who survived, but he's remorseful for people who didn't survive around him but survived what yeah the streets upbringing whatever yeah whatever was unfortunate for him right right now that he's successful yeah there's this baggage of friends and yeah you know like we're just talking about it yeah that shit is real man yeah

do you have it yeah i got survivors of morris i'd like i people come at me all the time about money and shit man i'm like dude if i give you all my money i ain't gonna have shit yeah you know and i tell people all the time like i'm like my brothers i i i'm, dude, I told you yes 100 times. And on the 101st time, I said, no, you got mad? Fuck you. Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm.

It's like shit. What about your folks? They ask you for money? My mother and father? Yeah. Yeah, I don't feel too bad about giving them money. No, you got to give them money, right? Yeah.

Mom, I give her money all the time. Yeah. The only sad thing about that is is they they take my money and give it to other people the other siblings yeah so it's like uh when i leave yeah my other brothers pull up yeah because they know i gave my mom something well what kind of business are they are they doing all right or they're not yeah yeah and they don't live here they live still in indianapolis yeah with her oh really so your folks aren't together yeah no more than probably not together yeah you talk to your old man though yeah i talk to him all the time yeah yeah i'm so much like him i can't deal with him

all the time we it's like two people talking to their self. It's hard, right? Yeah. When you see, like, because there's that part of you, the things that you get pissed off at them about, you're like, oh, it's just me. It's you. Yeah. And he does the same shit to me.

I'm like, dude, don't get mad at you. So it's on Starz, right? It's on Starz. And it's already been's on stars right it's on stars and it's already been running for a few few episodes yeah and people really like the show man because it's we touch on a lot of stuff yeah sex related uh money wise i mean violence everything is in this show to some degree but it's a comedy have you ever been in a situation in a comedy club where there was real violence, real threat?

Yeah, this past, when I was in Phoenix, that was pretty rough. It got pretty ugly? Yeah. I didn't watch your video. Yeah. But there was no guns? No.

No. Well, that's good. No, I've never been in a comedy club, and it got shot up. Yeah's good. No, I've never been in a comedy club and it got shot up. Yeah. Yeah. All right, so when's the prior movie start shooting? We go on pre-production in January, and then we start filming in April.

And how many years of his life is it going to span? I think we start off as a kid we in a little bit after the fire oh really mm-hmm so you're gonna have to a lot of haircuts I don't know how they're gonna do this but right yeah I have a hell of a stuntman yeah yeah so you're gonna go through the fire you're gonna go through shooting up the car yeah you're gonna go through all fire you're gonna go through shooting up the car yeah you're gonna go through all those bits all those wives yeah you can go through the first wife you know you got the one wife richard pryor jr's mother and then you meet that guy richard pryor jr yeah

yeah i used to know him back at the comedy store is Is he all right? Yeah. Yeah. I don't really deal with the kids too much because they're, like, biased about who should play their dad. I'm like, I have to tell them all the time, I'm just an actor for hire. I'm not personally embedded in your family. Has Rain been in touch with you? Not in a good way. Oh, no. You know, man, it gets touchy, man, you know, with that. I'm just an actor for hire.

Right, but they also have their own relationship to this father that might have abandoned them or they didn't have a relationship with all that stuff i don't get in that shit so what are you getting now in your mind like you maybe you read the scott saul book but what are you going to do how do you prepare like how do you start this fucking thing well you know the beauty of it is is that i'm from the midwest he's from the midwest yeah i grew up in crap houses been around hoes and pimps and yeah it's not gonna be a hard stretch for me to know the world to know the world now what people are expecting, I have no control over. Of course.

But I'm not there to do an impression of Richard Pryor. I'm doing Mike Epps as Richard Pryor. Interpreting. Yes. But you do, like, do you do... I'm going to do what Jamie did with Ray. Yeah, that was tricky. Because, like, it's very easy to do a caricature.

But, like... Yeah, I don't want to do an imitation. Well, no, I think that, like, but like i don't want to do an imitation well no i think that like of course you don't want to you know and but you don't want to you know appear that way either you know because ray with the you know with the sunglasses and everything else i mean it'd be very easy to make that impression but he put that emotional depth in there he did but you're gonna do a little work on trying to get the the delivery and shit right i got it i got the diction and um uh-huh listen to those records yeah i mean you know i have to embody them yeah so i've the great thing is i've always been a fan so it's not like i'm tapping into somebody that i don't know

right this is somebody that i've studied for years yeah do you remember the first time you saw the first richard pryor movie uh live in concert like how old are you um 45 so you're probably like i saw it in high school and i was like what the fuck yeah i didn't life changer yeah i you know what's really crazy is that eddie murphy was really really from my era. That was the guy. Eddie Murphy was my era. Raw and delirious. Saturday Night Live, yeah. But Richard Pryor was someone that I also knew about. Did you go through Eddie and then to Pryor?

No, I knew about Richard before Eddie. Right. I did. But you didn't watch him. It wasn't your generation, right? No, Eddie was my generation. Yeah. He was so fucking funny, man. He. Yeah. I did. But you didn't watch him. It wasn't your generation. Right. No. Eddie was my generation. Yeah. He was so fucking funny, man. He was crazy. Do you know

him? Yeah. You guys are your friends? Has he talked to you about Richard? Yeah. He's going to play Richard's father in the movie. Really? Buck. Yeah. Buck was a fucking hard dude. Yeah. That's a serious role. Yeah. I think Eddie can do it. Of course he can.

He's a good actor. He is a good actor. He doesn't want to be funny right now. Nah. Do you think that one day he's just going to come out and be really fucking funny again? I don't know. Hard to tell. Because I talked to somebody that talked to Arsenio who said they hang out and they write jokes all the fucking time.

Yeah, stand-up is... Once you leave that shit, get to his position, you don't want to do that shit again it's too personal man standing in front of people and shit really you think that's it yeah it gets too personal it gets like okay and i guess once your life gets that large where nobody can relate to it yeah how are you going to talk about it yeah i don't have shit to say well you. Yeah. How are you going to talk about it? Yeah, I don't have shit to say. Well, to the audience, where are you going to get up on stage and go like, my Ferrari's in the shop again? Some bullshit.

Everybody's sitting out there with a stanza and shit, listening to you talk about your rich problems. It doesn't fare well, does it? It doesn't. Who else is in the movie? Oprah Winfrey's playing the grandmother. Oh, she was important. That's another hard role.

Yeah. She was running the whorehouse. Yeah. That's a big cast. Yeah, man. Have you guys started reading or anything? Doing anything? Making deals.

Oh, that's it? Still negotiating? Yeah. And you're just doing stand-up and Uncle Buck? And Uncle Buck. For what network? ABC. Does it look good? Is it funny? still negotiating yeah and you're just doing stand-up and uncle buck and uncle buck for what network abc does it look good is it funny yeah i mean you know for whatever it's worth i can't really be mike epps the way i want to be mike epps but i could still be funny because i mean you know we still this is for children what are you doing everything you want to do is there something you

want to do what's what do you really want to do? Is there something you want to do? What do you really want to do? I mean, playing Richard Pryor, that seems like a top of the hill kind of thing. Yeah, ain't nothing else. That's it? Yeah, that's it. After I do that, I'm done.

I mean, when I say I'm done, it's, hey, I did it. Right. But you'll keep going. Yeah, yeah. Sounds like you got a lot of relatives that need money. Yeah. I got to keep working for these assholes.

And your kids. Yeah. And you just keep doing stand-up? Yeah, I don't know. I'm tired of doing stand-up. I got a special coming out on Netflix called Don't Take It Personal. Yeah. December 18th.

And that's your swan song? That's it? That's the end of the stand-up? For right now, you know. That's it. I did it it do you ever think about producing or do anything on that end yeah i've been producing a couple of things you know i got a couple films i'm trying to produce right now and uh i got a movie called not so mr

nice guy that i'm doing yeah yeah and that's something you wrote yeah wrote produce probably star in after richard pryor i'll be able to pick and choose. A little more, right? Yeah. And what about music, dude? I did a little music here and there. I've had songs out, but it was just for fun, you know? Yeah.

It was like, I think every artist at some point starts, they start flirting with music, doing music. Sinbad's all about music these days. Yeah. Yeah, I had him in here. He'd rather be doing all music, I think. Eddie Murphy, too. Oh, really?

Yeah, well, I remember he sang. Still he's singing? He did some reggae song. It's pretty good. Oh, really? Recently? Yeah. What is that?

Like, I play guitar, too, but I wouldn't know what the hell to do with it. I think they just, both of them compliments each other. You know, music, people in music want to be funny, and people that's funny want to do music. I think that's true. How old is your oldest kid? 22. What's he doing, or she? It's a daughter.

She's working. She does makeup. Oh, yeah? Yeah. And you get along with all of them? All of them. That's good? Yeah. And you get along with all of them? All of them. That's good. Yeah.

I haven't always, but, you know, that's kid-parent relationships. Tricky, right? Yeah, they heal. Yeah? You think you're a better parent than your parents? I doubt it. I don't think none of us were shit.

And where are you going on stand-up for, where are you going next for stand-up? Rutgers University. I do colleges. Rutgers? New Jersey? My father went there. Wow.

You do colleges? Sometime. Aren't they hard? Nah. The kids don't want to... They just want you to talk about people. Oh, yeah? Yeah, they don't give a fuck.

But you got to keep it level, right? You got to keep it clean? Not really? Not really. Yeah? I mean, come on, right? You got to keep it clean. Not really? Not really. Yeah? I mean, come on, man. All the naked women and shit on Instagram, and I got to go in front of some students and talk clean?

Please. Do they tell you that, though? Yeah, some colleges, they try to tell you that shit, but I still curse and shit. Kids want to hear dirty shit. They don't want to hear that clean shit. Yeah, that's true. You ever get any flack? Nah. Not really? Nah. All right, buddy. It's good want to hear that clean shit. Yeah, that's true. You ever get any flack? Not really? Nah.

Alright, buddy. It's good talking to you, man. Man, I love you, Mark. I've been a big fan of yours, man, before I knew you, before I met you. Yeah. Well, it's good. Do you feel okay about what we did here? Hell yeah. You got anything you want to tell the people? Yeah, I just want to

tell all the fans thank you for supporting me. And all the ladies, it ain't your beauty, it's your booty. And keep supporting my man, Mark. I'm sitting here looking at Obama's cup. You like Obama? He had Obama in this damn garage. I can't believe it. It's crazy.

Yeah. Yeah. Are you a fan? Have you met him? Yeah, I met him one time. Yeah? Where at? At the White House. You were over there? Yeah. I've never been there. Yeah. What was that for? They asked me for my ID 30 times

before I got to him. I'm like, dude, the fucking warrant would have came up by now. Yeah. Why were you over at the White House? My wife had us going over there for some shit i don't remember you don't remember why you were at the white house some shit don't thrill me uh-huh yeah yeah it's just something you got to do yeah was he did you have a moment with him was he nice guy shook his hand he said he liked

survivors remorse okay so it was recently. Yeah. All right. Well, that's enough, right? Yeah. All right, buddy. Well, good luck with everything. Thank you, Mark. Okay, man, women, children, whoever's in the car. That's it.

That's my conversation with Mike Epps. Please go to WTFpod.com for all your WTF pod needs. Am I dreaming? Am I going to wake up in LA? Has this whole thing been a fucking dream? It hurts behind my eye and my tooth is a little hurty. Is that a sinus thing? Boomer lives! Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly, host of Under the Influence.

Recently, we created an episode on cannabis marketing. With cannabis legalization, it's a brand new challenging marketing category. And I want to let you know we've produced a special bonus podcast episode where I talk to an actual cannabis producer. I wanted to know how a producer becomes licensed, how a cannabis company competes with big corporations, how a cannabis company markets its products

in such a highly regulated category, and what the term dignified consumption actually means. I think you'll find the answers interesting and surprising. Hear it now on Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly. This bonus episode is brought to you by the Ontario Cannabis Store and ACAS Creative. bonus episode is brought to you by the Ontario Cannabis Store and ACAS Creative. It's a night for the whole family. Be a part of Kids Night when the Toronto Rock take on the Colorado Mammoth at a special 5 p.m. start time on Saturday, March 9th at First Ontario Centre in Hamilton. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will get a Dan Dawson bobblehead courtesy of Backley Construction. Punch your ticket to Kids Night on Saturday, March 9th at 5 p.m. in Rock City at torontorock.com.