WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 734 - Kristen Wiig

Episode Date: August 18, 2016

Kristen Wiig is afraid of too many things going well at once, speaking in front of groups of people, and deep water. But she's not afraid of sharing these things with Marc, as well as the story of how she became a performer after a meeting with Mike the Psychic and how she got on SNL after not getting on SNL. Plus, some talk about Bridesmaids, The Skeleton Twins, Welcome to Me, and Sausage Party. 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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Product availability may vary 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. Lock the gate!

Alright, let's do this. How are you, what the fuckers? What the fuck buddies? What the fuck, buddies? What the fuck, billies? What the fuck, aristas? What the fuck, navians? What's happening? I'm Mark, and this is my show.

This is WTFpod.com. I appreciate you listening. Today on the show, Kristen Wiig is here in a rare long-form interview. I was thrilled to meet her. I was a little nervous. I kind of fly by the seat of my pants sometimes, and I only have the assumptions I can make about a person based on whatever anyone else can get.

I don't know these people. I know their work. I know whatever information is out there, but I don't know, and I'm always almost 99.9% pleasantly surprised by somebody when they show up. Let me get a little business out of the way if I could. I will be in Phoenix Saturday night for two shows. We brought that in, man. I think it was Thursday, Friday, Saturday originally. We brought it in.

Big room, doing two. I think that room seats like 500 people. It's stand-up live. I'll be there for two shows this Saturday. That's the 20th. Go to wtfpod.com slash tour. I have a lot of other dates coming up. Some things might change.

I have to be honest with you. I'll tease that a little bit. There might be some exciting news for me, maybe not for you in the short term, but for me in the long term, I believe I will let you know. Don't freak out yet. Don't know freaking out. All right. Also the Carnegie Hall show in New York City on November 4th for the New York Comedy Festival selling good tickets are flying off of the the rollers they're flying out of the printer

whatever they do they're not flying off the shelves but I would get them if I were you if you are in New York or you're planning on going to New York for that show at Carnegie Hall on November 4th, you can go to CarnegieHall.org

or you can go for the Carnegie Hall site or you can go to the New York Comedy Festival. What is that? NYComedyFestival.com to get tickets to that. Very excited. Going to be working out some of that

stuff this Saturday in Phoenix. I've also got a show coming up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a benefit that I've done before for the Endorphin Power Company. It's a rehab halfway house type of facility. I'm doing that September 3rd. You can go to WTFpod.com slash tour. That's my hometown. Going to be there for a fewpod.com slash tour that's my hometown going to be there for a few days

looking forward to that also I'd like to read an email if I could from a listener if I could because it touched me I don't do a lot of political commentary on here though I am a bit worked up at times and usually when I

do do it it's poetically impulsive and some of you may have heard my comments before the rosanne barr episode a somewhat aggressively honestly empathetic criticism and understanding of what could make a trump supporter and i got this email subject line compliments politics and boomer. Hey, Mark, longtime listener and fan. I caught your podcast monologue on the Roseanne episode. I used to be that guy who would vote for Donald Trump. That was something, man.

I don't think anyone has really captured that feeling, that emotion quite so well. For reference, I'm from eastern Kentucky. I'm specifically from Hazard, Kentucky, voted the saddest city in the United States in several polls. The prescription pill addiction, the hate, the racism, it just spills out of people here. They literally hate themselves. You brought that shit to life, man. It was painful to hear what my family has experienced so clearly and out of the context of my history i just wanted to thank you for that that was fucking profound i've since moved away and remade who i am out of the confines of pill

addiction and white powder but that shit casts a shadow over you for the rest of your life p.s glad you and eric andre made up that was some heartwarming shit boomer lives that's from jonathan thank you man uh i i i'm always amazed when people get out they change their life they clear their minds but they still have that that darkness inside that never goes away because you're connected to it somehow it's your place of origin oh after years and years of mild ocd it finally paid off i'm proud to report that I left the house. I freaked out, came back to my house, checked the burners. One of them was on.

Thank you. One of the burners was on. I won. It finally, you know, you do something, you commit, you go for years and years. You know, almost almost insane repeating the same behavior expecting different results insanity but nope burner was on there's nothing on the burner probably wouldn't burn down the house or nothing but it was on and i feel vindicated thank you ocd you had my back on that one i don't know about the other thousand two thousand times however many but that time

you were there for me and we shut that burner off didn't we and we left the house I'm talking directly to my OCD right now and we left the house and we got out and there was a moment there I'm like do I need to check them again that that there was there but I didn't because I just turned one off I knew that that that'll stop you from going back a second time, knowing that you turned one off. I'm not suggesting you leave one on just to stop you from going back more than once, but I don't know. You get the gist.

I was down in San Diego last week. I went down to San Diego for a couple days to the La Jolla area. I went down there with my girlfriend. You know, it's like I'm not apprehensive about calling her that, but I mean, I'm 52 years old, and there's no better word than girlfriend. You know, it's like I'm not apprehensive about calling her that, but I mean, I'm 52 years old, and there's no better word than girlfriend. I went down there with the painter, Sarah Kane.

We went down to the Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego at La Jolla, and she had a piece in a curated show from their collection, and I saw a bunch of art. But really, what you see down there outside of the beautiful beaches is sea lions and seals. Not just a few, not just 20, not just 30, but hundreds of fucking sea lions. And they don't give a fuck that you're there. You can walk right up to them. You can sit next to them. You can take pictures of them. You can, that people are swimming with

them. They're just cohabitating with humans. And the first day you're like, wow, this is fucking insane, man. Look at all these pelicans and sea lions and seals. They're all over the place. This is insane. This is amazing. This is amazing. And then, you know, you, you know you you look out you look at them later that day you're like wow they're still there they just kind of hang out here and sleep and then the next day you realize like oh they're not they're sleeping and they're shitting and there's like they're they're they're stinky and then you just it starts to wear on you a little bit you're like what was so amazing to see that many animals that you never see like that that just let you come right up to them it just becomes this sort of like frightening and intense

thing where you're like there's so many and they're just they're just shitting all over the beach but then you think like but this is their beach and we're really the visitors here but then you're like yeah but there's a lot of them and it's weird i'm not suggesting that they need to go somewhere else but the fascination sort of slowly disintegrated into a mild disgust that uh the wild is the wild and uh we are not that and uh it's nice to be around it for a couple of days but it gets a little gets a little intense man a lot of bird shit a lot of shit, a lot of seal shit, a lot of sea lion shit, a lot of sea lions, a lot of disgusting fluids and sliminess, but they're so fucking cute. That's the thing.

That's how you look at it. That's what overrides it. It's like, it's amazing that they're there. It's amazing. Nature's amazing. They're so fucking cute, rolling around in their own poop, stinking everything up, spreading bacteria and stuff, but they're so fucking cute rolling around in their own poop stinking everything up you know

spreading bacteria and stuff but they're so cute here's the deal had a lovely conversation with kristen wig we talked for a long time because i wanted to make sure we talked thoroughly because i like her she's what she's like seriously one of the funniest people live right now. I don't think anybody will fight me on that. She does a voice in the new Seth Rogen movie. Seth and Evan and I think Jonah, they all put it, Sausage Party. I watched it. I didn't think I would watch it. I thought like how could this be good?

And I watched the entire thing. It was compelling. It was funny. It was fun to hear the voices. You know, everybody was good. And I'll be honest with you. I don't want to be a spoiler, but a lot of cartoon characters fuck at the end.

And, you know, that's my soft spot. Fucking cartoon characters. Animation that fucks. I don't know. I guess it's just growing up with our crumb. S. Clay Wilson. If you get cartoons talking dirty and fucking, I'm in. I'm in.

All right, listen, Kristen Wiig's done a lot of things. We're going to talk about some of them. So this is me and Kristen. 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 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. 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 5pm in Rock City at torontorock.com You don't do much of this stuff. No, I don't. So I'm happy you're here. I'm happy to be here.

I've never met you before. I just got one sick call. Yeah. That was exciting for me. Was it? Because I don't know you, and you're you. And it was one of those classic calls like, I just can't make it.

Because literally, you sounded horrible. I did. And I was one of those classic calls like, I just can't make it because like, literally like you sounded horrible. I did. And I felt terrible for you. When I get sick, I get it in my chest. Oh, yeah. Every time. You do?

Yeah. So I apologize that I missed, but here I am. No, I'm excited about it. That was for a different movie even. Yes, it was. It was for the Ghostbusters movie. Do you live here? I do.

I live here. Then I have a place on the East Coast. On the East Coast. That's big. On the water on the East Coast. Okay. On the water

on the East Coast. I don't want to say. Secret. Secret. So that leaves us a whole coastline. Yeah. Is it above like Virginia?

Yes. Oh, it's up there. Yeah. Like a beach house? I'm from the Northeast. I know. Where exactly? Well, I was born

in Canandaigua canandaigua yes uh which is a finger lake town really yeah and in it's like upstate new york yeah a little scary sometimes up there right i mean i guess if you walk through the woods and but you know um screaming here i am i'm dizzy. I don't know. I never found it scary when I lived there, but I guess. But were you in the woods? No. We lived on the lake.

Oh, really? Yeah. Not like we lived like a block away from the lake. My dad owned a marina on the lake. He ran the boat racket? Yeah. Rented boats? Yeah.

It was like a marina. A little like fancy word for gas station for boats. So did you grow up in boats? Yeah, it was like a marina. A little fancy word for gas station for boats. So did you grow up in boats? Yeah, I did. And then after that, he worked for another boating company. So he was a boat guy. He's a boat guy. And when you were a little kid, you could start a boat?

Yeah, I went to sailing camp. Really? Yeah. Could you pull it off now? Like if someone puts you on a sailboat? Yeah, I just went not too long ago. Really? Yeah. Could you pull it off now? Like if someone puts you on a sailboat? Yeah. I just went not too long ago. Really?

Yeah. By yourself? No, no, no, no. I like the small boats. Like sailing big boats is kind of. Scary, right? Yeah, scary. I like just a little like sunfishes or sailfish.

You can do that by yourself, right? Yeah, you can do that by yourself. And you just go out with a, and you can manage it? Yeah. That's impressive. Is it? Yeah. It's an amazing skill. Did you ever think? I love it. Yeah? Yeah, I do. It's relaxing? yourself and you just go out with us and you can manage it that's impressive well is it yeah it's an amazing skill did you ever think i love it yeah yeah i do it's relaxing oh yeah being out on the

water and do you do it in the ocean um i do it like martha's vineyard and oh yeah ponds and but oceans it's scary right yeah i'm not up to i'm not into that right in general or just yeah there's sharks and stuff no i don't that makes me sweaty i don't like that i don't like lakes and ponds where i know nothing right nothing too bad can go wrong i don't i don't like not being able to see the bottom of water me neither it's horrible no even in like swimming pools i know at night yeah and not gonna happen no i'm not going in the same way i've never met anyone i'm so afraid of being in a pool but you see one movie where like something comes out of the drain and you're like it can happen i No. I'm not going in. I'm the same way. I've never met anyone that sounds so afraid of being in a pool.

But you see one movie where something comes out of the drain and you're like, it can happen. I can't. It's all connected. It is. I can't look at water without picturing something beyond massive. I know. Coming out of it. I know. I just went water skiing and I fell.

And so I was waiting for the boat to come around and I'm just by myself. Yeah. and I just imagined the bad things creatures yeah not even a shark not real creatures yeah me too like they're like I was down in La Jolla and just but mine are always like so big like like as big as a building oh coming out I feel little ones scare me too but like i have this horrible fantasy that there's something much larger than we've ever that big and it eats you you'd probably be alive in the stomach for a while sure which might there might be other people there might be other people that might be the future sure you don't know what's going on that's the gift that might be the

the salvation yeah so you're upstate new y. You're a little girl on boats. Yeah. And your father's running. There's men around hanging out at the marina. Guys like boat guys. I'm just trying to picture. Yeah. That wasn't lascivious in any way. I'm just trying to picture the universe of you walking into your dad's shop.

And there's like, oh, there's Joe. Well, I was very young. I think we moved from there when I was three. So you didn't know Joe at the marina? No. Joe is long since gone. No, but then we moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and he worked for Trojan Yacht, which is a boat company.

Is that fancy? I don't know. Okay. I don't know if they're still around. What did he do for them? He was in sales. Selling yacht know. Okay. I don't know if they're still around. What did he do for them? He was in sales. Selling yachts. Yeah.

I mean, he had an office and stuff. What'd your mom do? What was your mom? She was a boat wife? She would just dance in the kitchen. She's done a lot of different things. Maybe that's where I get it from. She was-

The characters? No, I just mean wanting to do different things and moving on from things quickly um she was an interior decorator for a little while she worked in a jewelry store for a long time she worked for special olympics for a long time yeah um she funny um as a like in a mom way like yeah like i don't think i don't think she's gonna you know yeah grab the mic anytime soon not witty no did your gum just fall out that was my nicotine lozenge that would have been bad i gotta go i'm bleeding that's never happened they just keep falling out one by one i don't know what's happening. This is so embarrassing. I'm so sorry.

It's okay. It is tooth colored though. If it ever falls out again, you have to let people know it's gum. Right. It's a lozenge. Okay. It's a lozenge. No.

And that'd be sad if like I just insisted on continuing, but I was whispering really bad. It's a tooth and you put it back in. It happens. They said they fixed it. Oh, man. it's funny it is funny so she was it's funny in a mom's way now do you have siblings i'm just trying i have a brother how's he doing i have an older brother he's older yes he's um he's actually mentally um handicapped um so in some ways i refer to him as my younger brother because he's yeah not able to you know live right by himself uh-huh and and did um did you like that must be

i guess not i guess it must be difficult but there must be a sensitivity to that like like it must be challenging growing up like that yeah i think you go through different phases of it yeah you know um when you're really young you don't know that anything's wrong right um you know and then you're a kid and then you go through the like get out of my room right um and then you know we've always been very very close and he's the sweetest person i mean he is he is like and what i meant by younger brother is he does have mentality like a six seven year old oh really yeah yeah um but he's the most positive yeah he's a walking lesson for me it's like because he stays in that place yeah and he's not uh affected by certain things yeah it's he's very like i'm hungry so i'm gonna

eat or i want to watch tv and it's very um he just he doesn't think about how he looks or is perceived or anything it's it's just it's interesting to to watch sometimes does he feel have you had to be protective of him in your life yeah when you're younger you definitely have to yeah sure yeah because you know you're in the neighborhood yeah right but he was very horrible kids very well liked in my neighborhood does he watch your movies some of them he doesn't quite understand because i you know we're a sitcom generation. Sure. So we grew up. Yeah. He thinks those families.

Are real. Are real. And they live in like he thinks the Tanners from Full House live in San Francisco. And they just live in this big house and they're still there. So I think when I got into the business, I think there was a little like, wait, what? Like he knows of actors. So. But he thinks everyone lives in Hollywood.

Right. All together. Right. In different homes. In different homes. he thinks everyone lives in Hollywood. Right. All together. Right. In different homes that there's cameras in all the time. Yeah, exactly. So he's wrestling with the possibility of that illusion shattering because of your job in a way. Well, he knows about actors, but he also thinks the characters are real people. So with me, it's easy because he knows me. But yeah.

Does he say like, you know, you were a different person? It was funny what you did as that person? Or does he just see you as you? I think he just sees me as me. Yeah. But I mean, like, I remember one time we were picking something up at the drugstore and we were paying for something and he was just like he said to the lady behind the counter he's like she was in bridesmaids like really loud i was like okay i was like that's okay like oh cool so she is proud and he knew proud it's surprised you he's the sweetest on earth so

you're both your folks are still around? Yeah. That's nice. Yeah. Mine too. Great. I'm starting to say it with a good tone because sometimes I'm like, yeah, they're still plugging along.

Yeah. Parents. So, all right. So you go to Lancaster. Yeah. And are you a problem child? Did you read that I was? No.

There's not a lot out there on you there's some i know because i don't talk about myself you don't even have you're not even on the social networking platforms good for you i'd like to use this opportunity to say if anyone's following me you're not following me that is not the real kristin wig that's not me does that piss you off it did in the beginning because because you freaked out like who's pretending to be it's never like what it is or even like a tabloid story it's just knowing that people believe it right is the part that's that's frustrating because people think they really are following me and the people who are saying they're me sometimes they're saying really

right dumb wrong things and don't you wonder who the fuck does that no i don't care oh good you have pretty good control of your mental environment yeah you don't sit there who the fuck does that no i don't care oh good you have pretty good control of your mental environment yeah you don't sit there and go like oh that's the key to life it is control over your mental environment i like that yeah did it did you always have it i don't know no i mean i don't know it's a hard question to answer well yeah we obviously were more expanded when we're younger yeah of course not it's a hard question to answer. Well, yeah, we obviously were more expanded when we were younger. Yeah, of course not. It's a fucking disaster being young and confused. Yeah.

So you're, no, I didn't mean you were a problem kid, but like in Pennsylvania, I can't picture Lancaster. Is it dark? No, it was very, it's like Amish town. It's beautiful, actually. It's changed a lot now, but it was riding bikes by cornfields. And you see wagon people? Yeah.

People. Otherwise known as wagon people. I just made that up. I don't know why. I've never heard that. I don't think it existed before. It's just now. But you know what I'm talking about.

I do. Amish. Yeah. But I don't mean it as a slang thing. No, I know you don't. Aren't there Mennonites here? But they would wear, I mean, they would ride in wagons. Sure.

Yeah. And they seem nice. Yeah. Aren't there Mennonites here? But they would wear, I mean, they would ride in wagons. Sure. Yeah. And they seem nice. Yeah. Did you go buy their jellies? Yeah. Sure. Sure. They're around.

They do keep to themselves. It's not like. No, I know. I know. It's like Orthodox Jews. They have their own. But less frightening. I can say that because I'm, you know, one of them.

A Jew. No, I see them in Philadelphia. You go to the market. The farmer's market, yeah. Yeah. The farmer's market. What's that one downtown? Oh, yes.

What's it called? Shit. Something Street Market, right? Yeah, yeah. And they got the good sandwiches. Oh, it's so good. The Knicks roast pork sandwiches. Yes.

But there's one whole area that's the Amish people making pancakes. Chocolate covered pretzels. Baked goods. Yeah. Like donuts right there in front of you. You see them pour the sugar on it. How fucking. Sorry.

How great is that? There's nothing better than that. Really. If you think about it. Yeah. Because I'm at an age now where I'm trying to figure out what the point of everything is. And when you break it right down, eating like a fresh donut, that like, why can't it all be like that?

It can be. Really? How do you feel after you eat the donut? That's not, if you keep eating, I'm saying if you could keep eating them without whatever reflection. Right, but that's part of it. That's why.

I'm having a fantasy. I'm not, this is not real life. Oh, I thought you were really trying to figure out. To support eating donuts yeah eating donuts constantly you're trying to get to like the meaning of life i am you have it well i don't feel great about eating donuts after okay well then there's something to that sure yeah i should limit my donut intake you have to think of things the consequences of things yes right how but how am i gonna feel that's how i make my decisions how am i gonna feel after i hang up the phone and say yes or if i say no how am i gonna feel you think that while it's happening i think before i have to make a decision i think

that yeah how do you usually do pretty good yeah i mean i think if you oh it's so gross what go with your gut man you can trust your gut yeah yeah you have to it's all you have my gut has made some shitty decisions out of neediness and desperation or you could argue there's no such thing as shitty decisions that you needed to do those go through that horrible right relationship or like turn down that street that's right as wife goes on i realize that uh you really have no choice but to think that way yeah what else are you gonna do just beat the shit out of yourself that's the option yeah how much you have invested in that so all right so there you are

you're not an actress you're a child in lancaster and you what do you what do you what when do you start thinking like maybe i'm gonna be hilarious well i never thought that um i i mean i don't know i think it's a normal yeah thing to like you know perform in front of the mirror and pretend you're on stage when you're in the shower and use the curtain as like yeah curtain for the stage sure um it's that's not great did you have people over for that yeah like friends oh yeah you put on a show yeah but like a couple people here and there it wasn't like i invited the whole no flyers no no flyers um but i i was always fascinated with it but i think every kid is, so I don't know. And it just seemed like a different world.

Like when you would look at those magazines, like what did they have back then? Like teeny bop pages. Teen beat. Teen beat. Not teeny bop pages. Yeah. Yeah, they just look like people from another. Yeah. Like LA was far away. There was no way to get there.

It was like there was a wall around it. I didn't know what it was. And I was fascinated by it. You were. In love with, you know. Who? Oh my God. Jason Bateman.

Oh yeah. Ricky Schroeder, Kirk Cameron. Oh, Jason Bateman. Oh yeah. He's an interesting fella. I love him. I've worked with him a few times. And the first time I worked with him, I was like, i don't want to tell you how much i know about you

from those magazines yeah yeah i watched uh two of your movies in a row which ones uh the good ones the only two good ones no i watched uh skeleton twins yeah and uh welcome to me oh which i liked thank you a lot thank you i cried at both those movies those are two very um special their special movies should be proud of them yeah thank you i am thank you good work thanks i i actually watched the sausage festival oh yeah sausage party yeah i've seen bridesmaids and i've seen uh i've seen a lot of your movies here and there and then you pop up in movies like martian right what was that deal like it was so fun i think it's a pretty funny movie matt is so funny in that movie it's like he's astounding yeah as an actor he's really uh he's one of our

greatest oh no there's no doubt. Yeah. And the nicest. Is he? Yes. He seems like a decent person. He's just great. He's such a pro. And like, I can't, like his range is every time I see him, I'm like, this guy's the best. And he's so, when he gets to do comedic stuff, I just, I want more.

Yep. Yeah. In anything you like seeing him. The Oceans movie. So good. How many times did you see the Behind the Candelabrum? Yes. Oh my God, I can't not watch that movie.

Oh my, you can't not. Watch it. If it's on. Oh, if it's on. I kept watching it. I'd just pick it up wherever it came on. Who are you talking to, mumbles? They were both so good.

They were both so good together. It was so crazy. Oh, and that shot at the end when he's in bed and he's sick and they made him look so skinny yeah and he just gives him a ring oh yeah so what happens you you go to high school and are you confused Just about life? Yeah. Where do you have... Well, I moved from Lancaster to Rochester, New York. Whoa. In eighth grade. Yeah.

Because my parents split up and my mom was from Rochester. And I did their bunch because my grandma lives there. And she moved back there. And they thought it was a good idea for me to go there because I was hanging out with some, you know. Bad people? Kids. Really? Yeah, a little bit.

How old were you? 14? Yeah, let's see. Well, beginning of eighth grade. How old are you? I don't know. I don't either. You getting in trouble, though?

Yeah. Like with what? Dudes? No, just like. Booze? Yeah, not so much booze then, but sneaking out, like cops, like prank phone calls, vandalizing. Oh, yeah. What kind of vandalizing?

Eggs? Eggs, like breaking things. Sure, yeah. I think it was because we were all sort of like this gang of kids. Yeah. Her parents were divorced. Yeah. We sort of like found family in each other.

Oh, yeah. And we just kind of like, I don't know. Fuck it. Yeah, a little. Let's do it. Tear it up. I think so. Yeah.

I know what you're talking about. Didn't care about school. Yeah. I think, you know, I was like mad. Yeah. Let's teach the world a lesson. Well, it wasn't so much like that but just like it'd be fun and like you'd get away with stuff and like sneaking out was like my favorite thing

to do oh yeah it's exciting to jump out of like the window climb down the roof get in the tree your friends are sort of like come on yeah and the moon is out yeah what should we do it's all quiet yeah did you steal cars no i wasn't that bad. Did you drive though? Eighth grade, you didn't take your mom's car or nothing, do any of the driving, underage driving? That's exciting. No, not so much. Just ran around?

Yeah. Yeah, with a bag of stuff. Yeah, like older kids and like, you know, I started with like the drinking and the smoking cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes. Yeah. Did you smoke cigarettes? Yeah.

For a long time? I mean, on and off. Yeah. Like I started when I was young. Yeah, 14. For me. Yeah, on and off around that time. Right.

And then high school, just like you did because everybody did. How great were they? And then college and then on and off. But I'm not a smoker anymore. Not anymore? No. Was it a struggle? Did it just go away?

No, it wasn't. I still do the nicotine. Yeah. I really believe if you don't want to quit smoking, you're not going to. Right. You're like, I have to. It's really hard. I think you really have to say like, I don't like it.

And also it gets to the point where you're just stupid. You get to a certain age where you're like this is dumb yeah like what are you doing you're not winning yeah you're not getting nothing from it and you just keep doing it and you wake up and your lungs hurt but i love doing it holding it the lighting it i mean come on there's some great it's why it's so addictive. It's so good. So fun. But it's not good. So you go to Rochester. Go to Rochester, yeah. Loved high school. Yeah? Yeah, I loved it. Were you performing?

Plays? No. Nothing? I didn't do... I mean, I think I was a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. Really? Like the largest munchkin? No, I stood in the background, basically.

It was like a high school production. It was like the kids who didn't get the part got to be in the munchkins. That's why they do Wizard of Oz. They had no idea what your capabilities were. But I didn't really try. My mom is an artist and I had always... What kind? She does a lot of pen and ink and now she does painting.

Really? A lot of pencil drawing. So I really got into that, and I was really into art in high school. Visual arts? Yeah, and I was going to do that in college. I majored in it. In college? Yeah.

Painting? Drawing. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Do you still draw? I do. Yeah, I do. That's nice.

Yeah, not as much as I, I don't want to say should, but as much as I'd like to. Yeah, pressure yourself to get that drawing done. Yeah. Then they're really good. Yeah. Then you have fun. You spend a lot of time. Yeah.

What do you do? Like pictures of people? Well, I used to do, yeah, very realistic. Oh, yeah? So it takes time. A lot of times from like photos and stuff. Mm-hmm. And I wouldn't get up until I finished it.

Mm-hmm. Like I couldn't do it and then come back later. I would just sit for seven hours and do it takes time. A lot of times from like photos and stuff. And I wouldn't get up until I finished it. Like I couldn't do it and then come back later. I would just sit for seven hours and do it. Yeah. And then I found myself not doing it as much because I knew, because I'm so hard on myself. And like if it didn't look exactly like it, I'd get like frustrated. So then I just started doing like weird geometric. Oh, yeah. Like mathematical. Why pressure yourself? get like frustrated so then i just started doing like weird geometric oh yeah like why reading about math and art and i got into that phase for a little bit yeah yeah yeah just to

take the pressure off of capturing someone's nose yeah and it's very meditative and you can just sit with like a graph yeah you know and you did a lot of those? Yeah, I do that a lot. Is there going to be a show of your work? I have always wanted to do that. I don't know. I wonder if I would do it maybe under like a different name or something. How much do you have at all? Yeah. I have a lot of ideas for things for like the more linear stuff.

But the actual drawing drawings, I have a few a few yeah what's a few like like are we talking like speed freak level no hundreds no no the last one i really liked i gave away um and then i draw for friends sometimes as like a gift oh you know small ones yeah that's nice yeah so you're gonna be an artist of some kind Or like an art teacher is kind of what I thought. Huh. Because I was like, how do you make money if you're just an artist? Yeah. Maybe I just teach.

I date a painter. Yeah. It's a tough world. It's hard. She's good though. She's doing all right. That's good. Big paintings.

Oh, that's great. Yeah. It's a whole different world. It's very exciting to be with somebody in a whole different world. Isn't it great? No talking about show business. But you end up talking about it a little bit anyway a little but she's like completely detached from it but it's interesting when you see somebody that has a talent that you just don't know where it comes from it's like what what is that that's like that's

so great it's yeah it's awe it's just sweet You just go over to the studio and you're like, what? What's going on? Where did that come from? Did I have anything to do with that? Is that me? It is me. She did one, a very chaotic one of me. So when did the art dream shift?

When did it die? Didn't die. You still do. No, it didn't die. I think. You actually went to college for it. I did. Yeah. doodle no it didn't die um i think you actually went to college for it i did yeah um i went to very small school um in virginia for a year and then didn't uh jive with that why would happen

just not the place for me it was really small and i was really you know having fun i was having fun boozing it up yeah you know doing all that stuff um and uh so after that i was like i need to take time and like figure out like who i am yeah you know yeah i was so you took 20 20 21 um one so you went one year of college, and you're like, I got to take a break. Yeah. Figure this shit out. So then I went to Mexico for three months. Really? Yeah.

By yourself? I went with a group of people. It was through Knowles. Do you know what that is? It's like outward bound. Oh, really? Yeah. Were you sentenced to it?

No. Oh. I wasn't. It wasn't like sort of like, she's a problem. No. Put her on. No. A friend of mine did it. She did like a two week. Oh. I wasn't. It wasn't like sort of like, she's a problem. No. No. A friend of mine did it.

She did like a two week. Yeah. I think she went to Patagonia for two weeks. Yeah. And I just wanted, I don't know. Why do we make these decisions? You just, at the time, you know where you're supposed to go. Were you climbing mountains?

Yeah. Yeah. We hiked and sailed and kayaked. I always picture swinging from a rope somewhere. No, there's no... No rope bridges? No. It wasn't like a team building.

A get-your-shit-together trip. Right, right, right. No, it was just like live outside and learn how to be in nature. Did you take ayahuasca? No, I don't even know if that was around. I mean, I'm sure it's been around for, what, 7,000 years. It's been around a long time, but it's gotten popular now with a certain class of person. Yeah.

No, we didn't mess with that. Yeah. Creative sort of like middle-aged people are now seeing it as a practical therapy for blasting your brain out and then deciding that you feel better about things. Hey, if it works works you haven't tried it i don't know what would open up if i did that are you afraid i think i would be a little afraid that something would like shift in me and change and i would never be the same person in a bad way but it's weird because you do you seem to take a lot of kind of strange, vulnerable risks in characters that you do in your performing. Like there's some part of your approach to doing what you do that makes me go like, oh, it's so open and I'm squirmy.

Do you feel that when you're doing it? I think when projects come around and there's something in there that is going to be scary or challenging, I like that. Yeah. Because I don't find joy in repeating myself. Right. Even characters? It depends.

I mean, like SNL for me, it was, you know, if you had a character that, you know, they wanted you to do again. Yeah. It's scary because, of course, you're like, okay, well, I want it to be just as good. Yeah. And, like, the intro of a person is always the most exciting for me. Yeah. And then just topping it but not making it the same sketch. Right.

Was such a challenge, but I liked that. But you also know when it's time. You do. To hang up the wig. Yeah. After that, you know, you can only repeat it when it becomes sort of a a sort of exercise in you know catchphrases or something you want to leave it on a high note yeah yeah yeah we did so many characters but we're not there yet we're in mexico we're in mexico so you come back from mexico a changed woman changed

woman no um yeah and then i i just took classes at home at like local community college and art. Yeah. And then. No inkling of being hilarious actress. No. Nothing. Huh. No. And then I went to the University of Arizona.

I know that place. Is that in Tucson? Yes. Yeah. I was dating someone that was like, let's go there. And I was like, okay. Because I wanted to go out west. Yeah.

I wanted to go to California. But we broke up and I went anyway. Oh, before? I was like let's go there and i was like okay because i wanted to go out west i wanted to go to california but we broke up and i went anyway oh before i was like i'm going but i went for like summer school and like one semester and i was like i don't think too big i i wasn't i was supposed to be there it was like a it was a good art program in a way some parts of it i didn't love but yeah i just felt like i wasn't you know how it is when you go somewhere and you're like i'm not supposed to be here yeah but when you know it was it was a very fast decision because i i took an acting class because it was part of the the major was like studio art that's what it was called which was

like three separate you can kind of pick like drawing. So it was like an elective thing? Like you could try? Well, studio art was your major, but then you'd have to pick like you want drawing, sculpture, performance art, which were the three that I took. Yeah. And I had to take, it was either like acting 101 or something else. And I was, I was hesitant to take it because I'm not a performer in my head.

I hated speaking in front of the class. I would miss it if I could. I failed classes. Terrified? Because I didn't want to give book reports. Yeah. Just terrified. Terrified.

Huh. When I'm my, and I still have this a little bit, when I'm myself. Yeah. And have to speak in front of a group i am not i haven't uh honed that skill i'm not great at it i can in when i'm in the shower and i'm having a conversation like if i yeah pretend i'm with people i'm fine right but i get um i get in my head when i'm telling a story in front of people. Like, where is the story going? What are they looking at? Is my mouth crooked?

What am I saying? How do I end this? I get in my head a little bit. Yeah, yeah. And I've just never been in the spotlight. I just never liked it. Shy and terrified. Yeah.

Not socially. Socially, I wasn't shy. Were you popular socially? I guess. I mean, that's always weird to say. No, but were you a leader person? I wasn't a leader. But were you like arty?

I was arty on the side, you know, in the art classes. So you had the secret friends? But then I would take, yeah, exactly. Kind of. on the side you know in the art classes but then I would take yeah exactly kind of but not in like a not in like a breakfast club kind of way but like yeah I just had different

you know upstate New York was very like sort of preppy people would go to the yacht club or like the country club

or like they would go down to the lake and those were like that's what I did and so you kind of just went along with it yeah but then in art school my true but then i would go home and listen to like new order and the smiths and um you're a closet goth girl yeah i got into it more after high school i kind of embraced, it wasn't goth so much, but not conforming to like fashion and coloring my hair and like piercing things.

Radical. What'd you pierce? Well, I pierced my nose and like a few in my ear and my belly button and my tongue. You did all of that? Yes. And they're all gone now? They're all gone. I have like a little one up here at the top of my ear.

Actually, I got that one in New York when I was on SNL. Oh, so that was a more recent piercing. That's a more recent one. No, never throw the tongue post in? No, that closes up after like an hour. It's like an alien. So you're all pierced up but no tats? No, I had tats.

Yeah, I've got three. And one of them I'm in the process of removing. And that's the one I got at that time. Oh yeah. Um, where is it? So ugly. Where do you think?

It's just on your lower back. Yeah. I mean, it's not lower, lower back. I try to say it's not a tramp stamp. I'm like, it's higher than a tramp stamp.

It's a little higher. Um, is that the last remaining one or you, you've got, then I have a tiny little x right here and then i've got like a little script on my ribs a script like words what do you got there um i don't want to say it why because i don't know it's private just between you and whoever sees that part of your body it's like like, hey there, this is my skin. That's what it says? No.

But in beautiful old English. So it looks like it's a poem. That's the big secret. What are you looking at? You can keep that to yourself. I'm getting the back one removed. What was it? It was...

Well, I might as well just say what it was. It's so embarrassing. It's on its way out. First it was a little kind of black sort of sun with a little Leo thing in the middle. And I'm not into astrology. But you're a Leo. But I'm a Leo. So I thought, and my friend was getting one. Right.

Is what happened. So I was like, yeah, cool. I'll get, I'll get that. Yeah. And then I moved to LA and I was like, I don't want to do, I don't anymore i'm gonna change it i'm gonna make it into an ohm symbol oh yeah the ohm so it was an ohm because then i got really into like meditation i went to india and i was into that whole thing and then i added vines on the side vines on the side of the ohm so this is a growing thing it was a malignant tattoo yeah and now it's bigger yeah it just keeps getting bigger

and then i was almost going to cover it up yeah a few years ago and i was like no it needs to It was a malignant tattoo. And now it's bigger. Yeah, it just keeps getting bigger. And then I was almost going to cover it up a few years ago. And I was like, no, it needs to. I don't want this on my body when I'm older. It's like, oh, no. So they're taking it off now? Yeah. Skin grafts?

It's not fun. All right. There you go. So I guess you do have one or two regrets. Yeah. But you never know. I may meet someone really interesting when I go to get it the next session to get it removed. Yeah. All right.

So you're being arty. You're listening to the Smiths. You're getting tattoos. You got a lot of piercings. And now you take this acting class. Yeah, take the acting class. Because I feel like now we're at the moment. Now we're done, right? No.

No. This is all going to cut down to like eight minutes. You're just going to cut to the... No, I don't. Me saying drugs. Oh, yeah. So I took the class and I really liked it. And my teacher was very encouraging. He was just like, have you ever thought of doing this?

You know, maybe you should. And I was like, no, I've never thought of it. I mean, in my sleep sometimes I imagine that I'm in like the movies or something, but everybody does sometimes. So I was there, I was finishing up and I got a job that I didn't want. And I just had one of those moments where I was finishing up and I got a job that I didn't want. And I just had one of those moments where I was like, what am I doing? What job?

I got a job at a plastic surgeon's office to do computer, like Photoshop, basically, on people's faces to do like the after like after they had the surgery like what what they would look like yeah which i didn't really have quite the experience for that i mean i'd studied some of that in school but like i didn't what the fuck was that about i got that job i don't know satisfying it was like paid well I guess. But you didn't get off on it? Like, you know, like this is exciting. No, I never started it. I got the job.

Oh. I found out I got the job. And then I was in my friend's apartment. Yeah. I was staying there. It's like one of those things when after you say yes to something that you don't want to say yes to, you get hot and sweaty and panicked. And you're like, what did I just commit to? Yeah.

And sweaty and panicked. And you're like, what did I just commit to? Yeah. And I had that moment where I was like, what am I doing? I live in Tucson. I'm by myself. Yeah. I don't want to do this for a living.

Yeah. What am I doing? And so I remember this so specifically. I went into the bathroom, and this is true if you're ever trying to decide something. If you look in the mirror and ask yourself a question, you can't lie. I went in the bathroom and I looked in the mirror and I was like, okay, what do you want to do? And it just came out, I want to move to LA. Yeah. And I want to try acting. This is such a weird story, but I guess I'll just tell it.

So I was a little shocked that that came out and I was like, okay, I've never been to LA. My roommate lives there, but that's the only connection that I have.

I don't have any experience. I don't even know where to go or how do you get into acting get into acting that's daunting and so i got in my car and i went to this bookstore and because i like to go to bookstores like clear my head and look at pictures and read and there was a sign that was like psychic mike or whatever i think his name was mike the psychic whatever and it was like a dollar a minute that was like psychic Mike or whatever. I think his name was Mike the psychic or whatever. And it was like a dollar a minute. That's trustable.

Mike the psychic. Yeah. And I think at this point, I don't think I'd ever seen a psychic before. Anyway. Something you did more of? I did it a few times, but it's not something that I do. I'm not into it. Psychic Mike.

Psychic Mike. And I was like, all right, I'll do 10 minutes or $10. So I went in and I sat with this guy because it was just one of those things where I was like, all right, well, this is happening. And I felt so like wandering, like lost a little bit. I didn't know what I wanted to do. And so I went and saw him and he was like, do you, you know, do you have a piece of jewelry I can hold?

And I was like, sure. And I took a ring off and he was like holding it. You didn't take your tongue post out? No, I didn't. So he was holding my ring. Yeah. And he looked at me and he was like, what are you doing in Tucson?

He's like, you don't want to be here. He's like, why aren't you in LA? You should have been there like years ago. It was so weird. And I was like, okay, Mike. And I've never had an experience like that or since. And I was like, and he's like, have you thought about going? And I was like, yeah.

I don't know if he was just reading my mind. I don't know what it was, but it was a very profound moment for me. Good as a job, that guy. Yeah. I don't know whatever happened to him. So I went home and I called my roommate in L.A. And I was like, I'm coming to L.A. tomorrow. That was quick.

But I'm not telling my parents. And I'm dropping out of school. Can I come stay with you? And she was like, yeah, sure. So I packed up all my shit. That day. The next day.

I went to the vet because I had to get drugs for my cat so I could drug her and have her in the car. Drove to LA. Got lost. Went to that diner

on Sunset. I think it's called like dukes or something dukes yeah and i felt weird because i'm i'm close with my parents and i talk to them often especially when you're away oh you're being bad all the time and i didn't tell them that i was there or anything and as far as they knew i was still in ari Arizona just like studying art and just like yeah living in Tucson sure and I was like okay what do I do like how do I tell my parents yeah my friend's mom was like why don't you sign up for like a class or something and tell them like you know I'm in this class like yeah I'm doing something or I got in whatever whatever. So I went to like Lee Strasberg or something. Sure.

And like had my interview in quotes and then started taking classes there. And I called my parents. I called my mom and she was very supportive. She was a little worried about how I was going to like support myself and all that stuff. But she was like, I think because she knew I was not really happy. My dad was more like, what the fuck are you doing? Like, what are you doing? And like, do you know?

And you get a lot of like, do you know how hard it is to make it in that business and the numbers and the, which comes from love. They're concerned, but they were letting you go to art school. Yeah. But if I had a child that did that, I would be concerned. That's usually the only reason they're freaked out. But when you're in your 20s, you take that as them not being supportive and get angry. Right, sure.

Yeah, I got a job at this place in Beverly Hills called the Hollywood Hot Dog Company. Nice. It was like a cute little restaurant where they sold gourmet hot dogs. It was like great in Beverly Hills. Did you have to wear an outfit? No. Oh. But I do remember the rumor starting back in Rochester that I like lost it a little

bit and moved to LA because a psychic told me to and I have a hot dog stand. Nice. That was the rumor. And I was like, it's a restaurant. It's a very, it's sort of like an interesting yet harmless rumor. Yeah. It's not like, man, she's fucked up. I'm like, I didn't go because it was a lot of explaining.

All right. So there you are at the hot dog place doing some method work at the Lee Strasberg Institute. And I just started working little odd jobs in L.A. and didn't have an agent. Didn't, I wouldn't say I gave up, but I was, once I moved there, I was like,

oh, this city is full of people who have experience and take classes and have headshots and have agents and know people. And I knew nobody. Depressing in a way. Yeah. So I just like worked and I, I got a job at anthropology. Oh, that's good. On the promenade. That's nice. And I knew nobody. Depressing in a way. Yeah. So I just like worked and I got a job at anthropology. Oh, that's good.

On the promenade. That's nice. And I just like worked there for a while. My best friend in Arizona ended up moving here. Introduced me to these guys. I ended up doing like interior painting for like in people's homes. Wow. Marbling.

Like stencil stuff. Marbling, stenciling. So basically like it could be wallpaper but right people had a lot of money so they wanted to paint it and you had paint you had art experience so i had got to do that and the reason i'm telling that story is because uh richard the guy i'm still friends with he one day was like i just saw a show at the groundlings have you ever heard of it and i was like no and he said i thought of you the whole time. You have to go check it out. It's improv. And I had no idea what improv was or anything. I knew what sketch comedy was because

I was a huge SNL fan. You were? Yeah, yeah. As a kid? Yes. Who was your favorite performers? Phil Hartman was like my absolute favorite. You loved SNL. I did, yeah. Never thought you'd be on it. No, I don't think anyone ever does. I think that's why it's so, it's such a crazy experience. It seems like such an unattainable goal. So he tells you about the groundlings. Yeah, and I go see a show and it was like the opposite of Arizona. It was like when you know you're in the right place.

I was like, oh, I was supposed to find this theater. I've never done improv in my life, but I want to do it. And it didn't seem like it didn't seem as intimidating to me as acting.

Because with acting you have the script. In some way, there's a right and a wrong way to do it. There's a critique involved. There's like a, either you're good or you're not. I felt like I didn't have experience. So I was insecure in my acting abilities. And improv was like, so you just make up stuff? And you can be different characters.

And I started taking classes there. I auditioned for an improv group separate from there and got in and started doing shows. And I just, I loved it so much. And I would just work during the day at like restaurants. It was probably the best, besides my SNL years, it was the best five, six years of my life. Who was on the show that you first saw? Anybody? You mean?

When you went to the Groundlings that first time. Oh, yeah. I remember. Jennifer Coolidge, Holly Mandel, Brian Palermo, Mike Hitchcock. I think Mike McDonald was there. Patrick Bristow. I knew. And then I started going more when it was like the Will Forte, Maya Rudolph.

I just missed Will Ferrell and that whole group there. So many people. So that was like my life. I loved it. And you get such a family away from home. And you get so close to each other because you're all like scared and taking risks in front of each other and writing and putting things up that you write for the first time. Yeah. It's a group.

So how many years did you take classes? God, I can't remember. I did like the first three levels. And then I took a little time off. Did you go to India? That's when I went to India. So I'm like, what am I doing with my life? Oh, really?

After three years of Groundlings? Yeah, because you had to wait in between some of the levels. It could be like a year and a half. Really? Yeah. So that's when a lot of people do other shows or write stuff. And you just hit the wall spiritually? Yeah. I was trying to figure out all that stuff. do other shows right write stuff and you just hit the wall and i was like spiritually yeah i didn't

i was i was trying to figure out all that stuff and what how'd you do it um well they never really figure it out um but what was the what'd you i i yeah i went to india for three months just out of nowhere like yeah why were you compelled I was learning a lot about different religions. I became obsessed with reading about the origins of religions. And I, there. You were God shopping? I wasn't looking for a new one. I was wondering why.

Did you have one in place? Well, I grew up in a Christian. Right. Like my parents were Christian and Episcopalian. Right. So I just was like, okay, I'm Christian. Yeah. And then I got to the age, I guess, where I was like, well, when people ask me what I am, like, why do I say that?

Yeah. What does that mean? Yeah. And if someone said, why are you Christian? I wouldn't know what to say. Right. So I just got, I don't know. I think there's that age in your 20s.

Sure. When you start reading about like. Yeah. Stuff like that. I just drank, did blow, smoked a lot of weed. Yeah, I smoked a lot of weed and drank and was like, who am I? So you go and you walk up. But it was partly because I was feeling, I was wondering if acting was a selfish career.

Because it felt that way to me. Because I wasn't sure about the other side of it. And I was putting all my time into it and putting on these shows and i just didn't know if i should be like giving back somehow or like volunteering or doing something else with my life you grew up with that idea of charity i don't know i think it came when i started it acting was the first thing that i put everything into and i knew it's what i was supposed to be right doing and so i think whenever you commit to something so hard the moment you do it you step back and you're like all right well do i what are the pros what are the cons i'm sure it's

like that with relationships and with a lot of things instead of just like but selfish I think it's rare to like dive in and then just be like I'm good but selfish is sort of specific maybe selfish

was the wrong word I don't know if it is because like I wrote down before I got out here after watching a lot of your work that I wrote down

self-centered characters really that's interesting it is interesting yeah definitely welcome to me for sure and and skeleton twins yeah bridesmaids a little bit a little bit yeah some of the snl characters that you created yeah like i did i never had the thought about it before how character work really involves its own like in order for a character to be defined, especially in a comedic sense, it really is a self, there's a lot of self-involvement to them.

Totally. Because they are always unaware that they're the character in the room. Yeah. You know, an SNL character never goes, oh, wait, everyone's looking at me because I'm wearing a weird jacket. Right. They just kind of say i'm here this is who i am i'm going to talk this way and deal with it and they're that's what's self-funny self-involved yeah and that you're watching this person right and that's very that's

very interesting that you pointed that out yeah i i don't because i you know the way i think about things and you know knowing you were coming over and knowing that you know i i don't because i you know the way i think about things and you know knowing you were coming over and knowing that you know i knew certain stuff that you've done and then kind of like having to fill my head with you because that's the way i do it and then to sort of like go about my day and clean my litter box and sort of think about kristen wig and think about the characters because like i'm relatively self-centered person. And like. And I have a great deal of more empathy for people.

Who are sort of pathologically self-centered. Because I connect with them. But so it's interesting to me. That you know your apprehension was. Selfishness in a way. Yeah. And I don't, I mean, that's a whole other question of like,

yeah, like where characters come from and do you find things in yourself or do you notice, are you hyper aware of those traits in other people because you don't have them or is it a combination of, I don't really know what it is? You don't. No, I don't know.

Well, when you come back from India after you've done your soul searching and you've traveled the country and you've seen all of the colors and it's exciting, what did you come back with? Well, the trip was long and it was hard. And traveling through India by yourself as a female is as difficult and this was what I don't know a long time ago um and I definitely knew that it's you realize it's a big world and there are people who don't have things that we take for granted right that um whatever you do it's all about intention and that if you're gonna be there's nothing wrong with being an actor there's nothing selfish about if i'm on snl

i could look at it as like oh but i'm making people laugh and is that a gift for someone yeah and i think i do think everything's about intention so you reconciled it yeah and it but i needed to because i i i didn't want to just put it in the back of my brain and ignore it and just say like okay well i'm getting jobs so right you didn't want to be just ambitious i wanted to know why i was doing what i was doing right and had and for it to feel right because it was such a commitment and like it And like, it's everything. And I wasn't doing anything else. I wasn't like, I didn't finish school.

But the joy of it and the creativity of it. I loved it. And the community of it wasn't enough for you to know. It wasn't just some sort of job you were gunning for. It was at the time because that sort of felt like the elementary school part of it. Right. And then in the growlings, you sort of feel like as you're working more and then maybe you get an agent you start auditioning you're in like high school and then like then when you sort of graduate

you're like okay well what job am i going to get like how am i going to take what i learned and do what i want yeah do. Because I, I do what I do because I like it. And I'm not, it's not about like, I mean, I don't know. It sounds so weird to be like,

it's not about the money, but it's really not for me. I, I'm glad that I get paid to do what I do, but I always say like, when I'm on my deathbed, I'm not going to, thinking about the movies I did or like my IMDb page. It's not going to be about that. It's going to be about the people around me and the life that I lived.

Yeah. How did I do? Yeah. Because I think happiness is sort of underrated nowadays. Sure. As a goal. I like okayness. Happiness comes and goes.

It does, but it's nice when you get it. If you can acknowledge it. Oh, it's happening. Look, I'm right here. I think you do. I think you do. I'm getting better at it. It's very uncomfortable for me.

To be happy? Yeah. Because... Then what happens? That's what i suffer from i saw that's exactly what it is like when things are great is when i'm the most nervous it's like the rug being pulled out from under me yeah syndrome yeah or whatever you call it can't stay at this level i that's me yeah yeah more in relationships than in career right um because career just changes so much and it's so like this is always a new challenge in a way yeah and you can you can

yeah start your day over any time and with relationships the challenge is how am i gonna stay in this no for me it's that like once i'm happy yeah i'm like okay this is when i worry that it's gonna go away because it's great does that happen no i mean i mean relationships end sure but um i think that i think that just comes from i don't know you can't track it divorce related i think it's divorce really i think if you think your life is great and something horrible happens out of the blue at a certain age yeah get you're like oh okay i need eyes on the back of my head and the side and the top and underneath or that was a lie yeah're like, okay, so if things are great, then the next thing's going to come.

But I'm much better at it now. I'm much more of like. Grown ups. Yeah. You get grown up. And I heard that saying, I was telling someone, I forget who said it. Yeah. Like if you, if you constantly worry that the worst thing is going to happen and then

it does, you've lived it twice, which is good is good because i've yeah i've said in the past like two years i've had this shift in that where i'm much more zen about stuff and like well i think i think we do that the the sort of negative fantasizing to protect ourselves from disappointment and rejection like if you imagine the worst thing anything anything above that, it's sort of like, eh, that wasn't so horrible. But why do you got to put yourself through that? And I think we associate worry with self-care. Like if you worry or if you worry about someone else,

it's that you care about them. But really, it's not. It's not. It it's just like how is it going to affect you yeah and it stops the flow of things i guess well yeah it gets you out of yourself in a weird way it's like using a bunch of other stuff just to make yourself feel better in some weird way like worry is like this it's just impotent you know this attempt at control of things. It's nothing. I mean, it can be useful, you know, if you're concerned about something and there's action to be taken. But if you're just sitting there going like, I wonder if my cat's happy, you know. But it's filling something else.

Because if you ask yourself like, okay, if I didn't worry, what would I feel? Then you get into the real shit. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. you're avoiding something else but yeah i got some work to do well i'll do i'm very impressed that you challenged yourself on that level to to sort of like wonder whether or not you were you were being a well-rounded and decent person uh in light of being consumed with this drive to do this thing. Yeah.

I think that's a nice, mature, kind of sensitive and thoughtful thing to do. Well, I think you have to ask yourself, like, why you do stuff? Because we know what we like and what we want to do. And for me, and this business is so up and down and crazy, you do have to remind yourself why you're in it a lot. And I do love the acting part of it and the writing part of it and the performing with other people and playing off other people. I love it. Yeah, because you're in it and it's alive and it's like exciting yeah but it's stressful it's stressful yeah even

even acting like i just shot something not too long ago and i was like so nervous because i'm always nervous on the first day yeah and i was like why do i put myself through this every time like i'm fucking nervous why do i do this why aren't i just home and blah and then your head goes and then you do it and it's fine. You're like, okay. Well, where is it coming from? I'm going to disappoint them. I'm not going to do it right.

Or I don't know how to do this. What is the fear? I don't know how to do this. Right. Yeah, it's all of it. It's not going to be what they want. Right, right. Or I'm not going to challenge myself.

Or I'm going to fall back on the things I normally do. And I'm not going to take risks. I mean, you could, I could. Have you ever had that happen though? Where you show up to do something and it's not right and you have to make adjustments. All the time. Yeah. I rarely leave a set going, well, I nailed that.

What's next? Which is good because I. But do you rely on yourself or have people come up to you and said that, yeah, you're not hitting it? You know, it's like when you do the show, it's like you feel. There's always like a gauge, you know, and you feel like, OK, I'm in the groove. Right. I'm having an off day. Right.

And sometimes you just have to let it be. Yeah. You just have to let it be and you don't know and sometimes that's the thing that's on screen and then maybe people say you suck or that wasn't good or a lot of times they don't know or they don't know yeah but you think they know you think everybody knows and you gotta just keep your mouth shut right you just have to say you thought it was fine nope i don't need another take that was good and I don't have as much certainly uh experience as you outside of like stand-up but in acting where like I felt myself getting better and you definitely know in a scene when something beats out right yeah you know yeah you know and like you know it took me a long time because like i'm not the type

of comedian that you are to know what i could do physically to make something funny like i had to be very aware of it and then ease into it and let it happen and i imagine that's what you got in the years of improvving yeah that you know the whole thing just becomes one sort of, you're very connected to the funniness in your fingers. Yeah, but it's still fleeting. I mean, it's not something I think you discover and you hold on to. So how did SNL happen? I was at the Groundlings, and I was in the main company.

I think I was only in there for like a couple months. So you knew that SNL was a possibility because people happen, that happens at the Groundlings. So at this point, you must know that you're going to be seen for it. As far as like them coming to see the show, yes, you knew that would happen. My manager made like my demo reel yeah and sent it to the show yeah and um lindsey shookus who still works at snl who i owe my career to yeah and who i just saw last night uh she saw my tape and i had my audition they flew me out to new york what characters are on the tape oh my god well God. Well, I auditioned twice.

So I'm trying to remember the first time. Target lady is on there. So that's an old one. That's a Groundlings character? That's a Groundlings one. Aunt Linda, she was like a movie critic on Update. She was on there. People that you never saw on the show.

Yeah. A few impressions. I just tried to show my range of voice. Yeah. So I tried to do like different accents. That was the first reel. That was the first audition. Okay.

Yeah. So they flew me to New York. Never been more nervous in my life. Sure. Because I don't do stand up. Yeah. But you know how to be in front of a crowd now. I do, but, but that talking to the audience thing is something I didn't do a lot.

If I was in character, I could monologue for 20 minutes. Right. Um, but because I was. Improvise. Because, yes, exactly. Because I didn't know, I didn't know if it was funny. Yeah. You know, with stand-up, if you have a thing that works, then you go do it somewhere else.

You kind of know. I didn't know because these were just little kind of like bits from scenes or I'd write new things for the characters because it was just a little taste of it. But you put them up. Yeah, but it was in the context of the scene. And I had the costume. And this was like a lady who worked at Target. And I'm like, okay, if they don't think this voice is funny, then I don't know where to go. So I did, I heard like it's five minutes, like no more than five, which I took as like at five minutes, they were going to turn all the lights off.

Everyone was going to go home. And so I bought a stopwatch when I got to New York and I practiced. And I tried to get it like exactly five minutes in They were going to turn all the lights off. Right. Everyone was going to go home. Yeah. So I bought a stopwatch when I got to New York and I practiced and I tried to get it like exactly five minutes in my room. Yeah. Auditioned. It felt actually good. In the studio.

They were laughing. Yeah. I felt good. Lauren was there. Lauren was there. Seth, who was there? Tina. Oh, she was the head writer.

Mike Shoemaker. Yeah. Yeah. Paula Pell. Yeah. Marcy Klein. I can't remember who else was there of a tough crowd yeah yeah and you can't really see because it's dark and like you're it's very you know it's snl it's like you're walking into a huge church and giving a sermon um to people that you don't

that have never seen you before and have their arms crossed right um so i did that and then i never heard anything i heard like they did tell me i was going to meet with lauren yeah and i knew forte and i knew um sudeikis and they were like oh my god if you're going to meet with lauren like that's that's it like he meets you and then that's the meeting when he tells you you're hired and then this is amazing so in my mind i was like oh okay well great i guess i'm getting the job and i go to meet with him and i'm sitting oh okay well great i guess i'm getting the job and i go to meet with him and i'm sitting in his office and i'm nervous and he's talking about yeah chevy chase something and then he's like you know we don't have room for you right now and

i was like oh okay uh and he he proceeded to talk and i didn't really like hear anything and i didn't want to cry and i was like okay and i was talking to lindsey about this last night she's like i remember walking you downstairs and you were like okay well thank you and um i was it's cool i got to meet him i got to see his office and stuff in his fish tank and thank you and i'm going back to la and then that was it. And then. Did you cry? I did cry. Yeah. I cried, but it also felt like, okay, if that wasn't meant to be my path, like, it's great. And then like, I want to say a month and a half later, I got a call from them again saying,

we want you to audition again. And in my mind, I was like, oh my God, I gave you, I did everything I had in that five minutes. Like, I don't have anything else. And so they said, you know, if you have any more like anything else that you can repeat some stuff, but new stuff would be great. Sure. OK. And so I went out and then I auditioned again and I felt great about it. And, you know, some of the people came in my room after and said it was great and funny.

And I was like, OK. And then and then the season started. I went back to LA great and funny. And I was like, okay. And then the season started. I went back to LA and the season started. And I was like, well, I'm not on the show. Because I'm watching it. Because I'm watching it. So I guess I didn't get it. Yeah.

And then after the third show, they called me. And they said, you're hired. We want you to come out just the fourth show watch it yeah and then you start that next week so i was like i had to leave on like a wednesday and it was like the weekend or something yeah so i had to like pack up my life and i was like um okay i'm on snl it was i've never been more nervous, intimidated, scared. I'd never lived in New York City before. I'd been there for the audition and I was just like, where do I live?

You know, how do I get around? And it just kind of started. Yeah. It was like. Where did you live? I called a friend of mine i went to high school with and i said where do i live i don't know the areas he's like well i've lived on the upper west side i was like great i'll live there so i did i had a great little apartment and then i moved

downtown after i got to know the city um and who was there who were who were who'd you walk into um oh uh let's see amy tina maya rachel dratch chris parnell um forte but after that first year a lot of people left yeah tina rachel maya horatio parnell so a whole new crew now you're a veteran so then it's yeah just you you're forced to just like but you were you were working right away, right? I mean, you were doing bits. You weren't like, you know, on the sidelines. Yeah, I mean, it's such a weird, there's no science to it, I think.

No, I know. I mean, you write sketches and hopefully you get them on. I got something on the first show. Yeah. That I wrote with Jason. Yeah. And it just kind of started from there. And you were like a worker, man. I mean, you did a lot of shit. I loved it.

Writing night was very daunting because you had to like, you know, you'd come in at like three or four in the afternoon and leave at like five in the morning and you'd know you'd have to like have three or four things written that you would have to read in front of a large group of people and people were still figuring you out and like deciding yeah about you and the writers yeah and you didn't know i was like okay well this worked at groundlings yeah i don't know if this is gonna work you don't know if any of your stuff is gonna work right working with improv and writing sketches at groundlings is different than the machine of snl well these are people that have never seen you before right so if you start talking in a voice they're either gonna

not laugh or think it's funny. And you had to wait for the decision. I mean, I enjoyed trying new things. Sure. And it was, I got stuff on. Now, this is happening post my resolution with Lorne Michaels, so I don't have the same weird obsessive intensity around him that I did. Oh, you did? Yeah.

Yeah, it drained my listeners. And then Lorne agreed to let me interview him. Yes, I did hear that. I haven't heard his show, but I heard he did your show. Yes. Well, the whole first like 20 minutes is me walking through that meeting and getting some closure around what I thought happened and what he thought happened. And what really happened?

Do you feel better? Yeah. Good. I feel better? Yeah. Good. I feel better about him. Good. I don't know that I would have been right for the show or anything, but I did get a sense of him. He's a guy who works at a building, and he loves it.

He loves it. Yeah. He breathes it. No, it's amazing. It's magnetic. magnetic doesn't matter how much money or how powerful he is he's like there in it and he has to put on a good show every saturday it's all he loves it and you you love him i love him more than anything yeah i have a very um he's like family to me i love him do. Do you talk to him frequently? Yeah.

Oh. We get together and have dinner and text and stuff. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Oh, that's sweet. Yeah, he's great. Does he, when you do movies and make choices, do you ask him for advice?

I mean, we talk about things, like when we see each other and, you know, whatever he gives me as far as advice, I listen to, for sure. But like when you decide to do a movie that, you know, because he gives me as far as advice i listen to yeah but like when you decide to do a movie that you know because he's a big movie guy right so like when you choose to do a movie like you uh welcome to my world or like something that's welcome to me that seems more challenging i don't think he knew about that one oh really yeah i didn't buy him i i mean we don't talk like before the project you don't you don't say like uh i'm having trouble making a decision

or like do you think this would not no no he trusts you yeah i think and yeah and i think with that's such a personal thing like picking a movie to, you have to kind of only listen to those two movies. Like to me, you know, I've seen some of the bigger movies and I've seen some of the movies that you've had smaller parts in. But like these were big movies for you and they were odd movies and they're dark movies. And, you know, I didn't like I didn't see either of them when they were out just because I don't do a lot and I don't go to a lot. like I didn't see either of them when they were out just because I don't do a lot and I don't go to a lot and you know I don't you know I love Hater and I love you know I I don't I loved seeing Joanna Gleason oh yeah but like Hater is just so good Hater's great oh my god I don't know it's like some I don't know where he's from another planet he is he's a genius kind of is right yeah

I know he really legitimately is but he's a genius but he's a decent guy genius he's not a genius you're sitting there going like well i don't know if i'd want to hang out with him you know what i mean like he's he can kind of do anything and he's like one of the best actors i've ever worked with yeah he's a worker like he'll work like you know he's got a fucking discipline to him yeah right because he cares about it. Yeah. But I imagine you do too. Yeah. I mean, you have to. Right. To do characters that are big but not inhuman.

Yeah. There's a balance, right? Yeah. But so my point was that, you know, these movies for me, because I know they weren't, they're dark movies, which are hard sell, but like, I love that Welcome to Me movie. Thanks. That's so out there, man. It was really out there.

I mean, really out there. My friend Elliot wrote the script and it was just like one of the best things I'd ever read. And, you know, there's something about reading a script and like getting a movie together you know this one had the the director but you know getting financing and like casting it and scheduling and where are we shooting and it's so it's so hard but it's so when you were you involved in that were you a producer yes oh yeah it It's crazy. It's so hard.

Staying budget and shit? Oh, and there's just so many little things that can go wrong and do go wrong, and you just have to plug up the dam. Did you shoot it in Palm Desert? We shot a little bit there, but mostly in LA. The thing I liked about it was that there was moments here where I'm like, this would completely be an amazing public access show. Yeah. Or an inf access show. Yeah.

Or an infomercial. Yeah. And it became something, it was almost like beyond what sketch can do, but in the same world. Does that make sense? Totally, yeah. I mean, she's a character in a way.

And like you were saying before, how we were describing characters as a person who's like the the one that everyone's looking at in the room yeah it's definitely that character partly because she wanted it to be that way it was part of her pathology yeah yeah and like this idea that i was talking about about these self-centered characters and you thinking about that what do you where do you think that comes from? I don't know.

I don't know if you could say all of them are. I do. No, no, no. But I'm just saying like Target Lady, Gilly. I would say Target Lady is more like in her own world and that she's so happy to be working there and all she cares about um and yes occasionally she'll like run off and leave the person there but it's because it's like it's it's very joy-based sure she's just someone who's like excited yeah yeah and i don't think it's a negative thing yeah no no but i mean definitely for sure and it's it's funny because uh the aunt

linda characters based off someone that i knew and the penelope is based off someone that i knew um i think what it illustrates to me and i don't want to interrupt you unless you know i don't have anything else was even some of the impression like you, you know, some of the, the impersonations that you did reveal that about celebrity and public people in general. I think that's some sort of bizarre gift that you have is that it's innate in you to find this, like this weird kind of self-contained, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's freakish, but it's what's funny. Like whether it's like Michelle Bachman or any of them or the woman with the financial advisor. What's her name?

Oh, Susie Orman. Yeah. Like all those people. Like when you play them, Liza, obviously. But like when you play them, the note that you find is that they're in their own fucking world. And that's what's hilarious in a way yeah i feel like you almost have to make them in their own world otherwise the impression doesn't work because to me it's like it's such a fine line because i never want to approach things from like i'm making fun of someone like Right. Like from a mean. Right. I just never find that funny.

Yeah. Even in comedy with the other. I just don't find it. For me, it's not ever what I wanted to do. Right. So the trick is finding that one thing or five things that make that person sort of recognizable. Like what, how would you describe that person?

And then just taking it and turning it up to like 50 yeah you know like when i would do kathy lee yeah um if i would like laugh like that she doesn't do that like she doesn't keel over and like do like she's not that right big right but i would just take something that she did and like make it bigger and i think in doing that and taking something that a person does or says or how they act and making it bigger, you are making them the most important person in the room. You are making them a character. So how do you layer it up? Do you get the voice first? It depends.

Not with an original character, but with an impression. Depends. Not with an original character, but with an impression. Because I was obsessed with Kathie Lee for a long time in a way where I'd watch her. And it was so mainstream and so odd. But I used to love Regis and Kathie because I was home. I was a comic. And I would watch them because Regis was like this old school broadcaster.

Yeah. And Kathie Lee was a lunatic. But they were so funny together. And watching their really really old episodes but that was the thing they so funny they riffed yeah like they were in real time yeah riffing live and i'm like who the fuck does that yeah and they would just confidently do that you just watch kathy lee like i don't know how cody turned out but i was concerned for for years like why she turned out okay oh good yeah but uh she just to me she was visibly mentally erratic i just found her very entertaining and very uh i'm i'm fascinated by people that don't have a filter yeah right don't think about that stuff right so that's a

personal fascination for you yes for sure for sure. Because you're the opposite. Not in like a blanket, like I care what people think. Because in many aspects of my career-wise, like I don't. You can't. You'll drive yourself crazy. But I'm aware of, you know, like if I am doing an interview, either this or like in print, I can see the words I'm saying. I'm very aware that everything I'm saying is anything I'm going an interview, either this or like in print, I can see the words I'm saying. I'm very aware that everything I'm saying is anything I'm going to say like going to

be controversial or is like, am I going to have to worry about this? Not filtering myself in a way where I'm not being true, but I have an awareness of like my surroundings. You're not a loose cannon who's out of control. Exactly. And you do have to be careful of that now. And I imagine that's one of the reasons why you're not on any social media. Yeah, I don't have any desire to be connected.

It's commendable. Yeah, I just don't. You can keep your life to yourself. That's the goal. Yeah? Yeah, for as long as I can. Well, you seem to be doing a good job. And the sausage movie I liked.

Sausage Party, thanks. But I want to, before we go, I want to make sure I get some technique in here. So, okay, walk me through building an impersonation. It depends. Someone like Susie Orman, Paula Pell and I would write those in the beginning. And I just had always wanted to do her because I find her so fascinating. And she is a character. I mean, just the way she talks and acts.

I mean, I'm fascinated by her. I think she's so brilliant. And she also doesn't care. She does have that element of like, she doesn't care how she acts or talks. But not in like a loose cannon way. It's just how she is. And that came from just like, I watched her a lot.

So I just kind of got the voice. And then we just started writing about how she like saves money and like the jokes kind of went there and it just like snowball. But if I had to do like, if someone said, okay, this week you're doing some political person and they're like, if someone said, okay, this week you're doing some political

person and they're like, here's a tape. I would put it in, but I wouldn't watch it. I would just listen to it. So I would like close my eyes and then I would kind of like talk along with them and like try to get the voice right. And then I would watch it, but that's where like sort of the exaggeration would come in. Like if someone's eyes are a little like Nancy Pelosi, she's going to have like bigger eyes and like, I'm going to open my eyes as wide as they can go to make it funny.

Yeah. Um, and you just have to find those little things and just exaggerate it without being an asshole. Okay. exaggerate it without being an asshole okay and then when original characters are presented to you uh you know in scripts as as an actor uh and also characters that you create from nothing you you know it would seem to me that you're able to invest more of your own vulnerability into them. Yeah, I mean, when you write, like I wrote a lot of my stuff with two writers,

James Anderson and Kent Sublette and Paula Pell, and characters would just come from us like messing around in the room or like I just would start talking a certain way or like, hey, I saw this woman, she did this or she talked like this. I remember Gilly, I was in Paula's room and I was like, I want to do a character that smiles like this. Right. And I just like smiled like that.

And we just came up with this devious child and like how she would look. And then we wrote the song in the beginning. The dance is the best. And it just came out of that. That's crazy, that dance. And some, oh, the dance, oh, my God. It was always different. They're all, I don't know, it's hard.

They're all different. They all come from different places. Well, no, I like that. Some come from real people. Sure, but I like that because I talked to Daniel Klaus, the cartoon, the comic graphic novelist. I don't know what you would call him. He's a brilliant guy,

and he deals with very sort of painful characters. And he said that a lot of times he'll just see a person on the street and be like, just that moment of seeing that person would inspire him to build a life. Oh, yeah. So I could see how you could take a smile and then just build a life backwards from it yeah because you just start talking and that that was like some exercises

we would do at the groundings you'd just all be walking on the stage yeah like all right now walk with your hips forward yeah and now um swing your arms really high and like now like do something with your mouth like kind of to the side everyone come to the to the fourth wall and you just start talking and like all of a sudden you're this person oh wow and you sort of develop like what kind of person stands like this who am i like where do i work right and then you just it's such to start with the physical aspect sometimes it's so immediate way to come up with something yeah so immediate too huh yeah now when you do something like specifically uh welcome to me where you have somebody who has a psychological problem

and is you know the comedy well you're very good at balancing of keeping the comedy in not you know intact through very painful characters like both of the like you know skeleton twins you know it's heavy shit yeah that's heavy movie but uh but but yeah it's it's very heavy but somehow it balances you know somehow like you know even at the end you know they i didn't know how it was going to end. I assumed you weren't going to die. Spoiler alert, years later. But the comedy still held. It wasn't like big laugh comedy, but the nature of the person was still something.

I don't know how to explain it. Not light, but you you had control of it somehow well i think when playing someone that has you know a psychological behavioral disorder that people really suffer with like you have to be careful and you have to be respectful and you don't want to just say okay well from well, from what I know about this, she's going to act like this. Yeah. And so, you know, I talked a lot with the director about it because I didn't want to make fun of her. About which one?

About The World of Me? About Welcome to Me. Yeah. I didn't want to make fun. Right. I wanted people to be laughing with her, not so much at her. Right. And there's little things that would make us laugh that because she was the character, like when she was ordering food and she got really excited and she's like, I'm going to order the shrimp.

Like for some reason, the producer and I always used to like laugh at that. I don't know why. Because it was just like a dumb, she was so excited about ordering the shrimp. And I felt like the comedy sort of, if you can call it that, that sort of like seeps through is almost like accidental. Right. It's her excitement. You were just playing, you know, you had built this character out. I thought one of the moments that was like really great was when you, because your character is incapable of empathy in a way.

Yeah. Other than for animals. Yeah. Kind of. But when you decide you have to apologize, whether you can or not, or whether you're comfortable with it or not, and when you're in front of Tim Ramos' door,

you have the weird sort of like forced smile and the awkwardness of trying to have an earnest apology and then to walk away from it. That was really, I thought that was the beauty of that character. Because that character, I think the risk is with certain characters that you've got to let them be kind of

horrible. Right? Yeah. You do. Yeah. Because some, they find a way. Yeah. And then you've got to trust the material that it's not going to remain horrible yeah and i and and some people at the end of the movie maybe don't want to be around her and that's okay too and that's those i like those movies too that don't wrap everything up and everyone's great and forgiven and yeah you know so let So let's close by talking about the challenge of being a hot dog roll.

It's a bun, Mark. I'm sorry. No, I'm kidding. That was one of the most fun, easy projects. I mean, Seth and Evan and all those guys, they just purely come from what they think is funny. And so much of like, you know, when you have a script for a comedy, it's so sometimes, most times, depending on the studio, is very overthought. Yeah. And, you know, you can write, you can overnote the comedy out of very overthought. Yeah. And, you know, you can write,

you can overnote the comedy out of something really quickly. Yeah. And sometimes you just have to be like, this is funny. Yeah. You know, like when we read this at the table read, it got laughs. Maybe we don't need to like dissect every little thing. And with these guys, they're so good at writing a really great script with characters with arcs and

like they get that story part down and they also just have so much fun and like they don't give a shit if it's funny it's funny like hey it'd be funny if this happened okay let's do that right and it it just goes to show that when you let artists do their thing and right it's like it works it's funny well yeah i thought like i thought there was no way i was gonna watch that movie like i just just buy like and i like those guys i've talked to them and i respect them and i you know i think they're funny but i'm like i'm not an animation guy yeah and like i'm like how the hell are you gonna sustain a movie like this like To me, it was almost like, this is just a fuck you to movies in general. We just came up with this stoned idea and fuck you.

And then it was like, wow, it was really compelling and funny and moving. And everything was well thought out and all this stuff was beautifully done. And then all the fucking at the end. Because I love underground comics, like old school, our crumb shit shit and just to see cartoon characters just fucking it's good you know yeah i love it that in the world no there's not enough fucking cartoon characters thanks for having me that's how we ended i'm good with that thanks for having me for real it was fun you good yeah I'm great alright so

let's turn some AC on yeah okay good times great talk lovely person I enjoyed talking to Kristen that was it was a treat

you know cause you know you wanna talk to somebody for years and then it happens did I mention that know, because you want to talk to somebody for years and then it happens. Did I mention that? That I've been trying to talk to her for years while I have. Go to WTFpod.com for all your WTF pod needs. Buy a poster. Get a t-shirt.

Check my tour dates. Check who's been on the podcast if you're curious and wondering about somebody. Alright? I'm going to play some loud guitar with, uh, yeah, it doesn't fucking matter, man. Right? Right? This is what I do sometimes. guitar solo Thank you. Boomer lives!

I'm out of here. challenging marketing category. And I want to let you know we've produced a special bonus podcast episode where I talked 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. Calgary is a city built by innovators. Thank you. people and better health solutions, Calgary's visionaries are turning heads around the globe, across all sectors, each and every day. Calgary's on the right path forward. Take a closer look how at calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com.