00:00:00
Here we go, Dana. We've got a uh we got a re-release of Ted Lasso himself. Jason
00:00:08
Sedakus. Sedakus. Great dude. Goodlooking dude. Um dude that was a lot of fun. Came in,
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sat with us. We covered a lot. We talked to him for for [ __ ] ever. We talked. We got every SNL thing in there. We got
00:00:24
a lot of his big movies in there. And then toward the end, we unpack the magic of Ted Lasso, which has a new season coming out.
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So, it's a nice time to kind of revisit Jason because he was I think it's his 50th birthday also.
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Yeah, he's got it made. And uh yeah, we went over where the Millers and Hall pass, just stuff that we'd seen, we
00:00:45
wanted to kind of have a few questions about. Yeah. Yeah. And also uh obviously Ted Lasso obviously getting into all the SNL stuff and all his buddies on there that his run of there had a lot of great
00:00:57
people. So yeah, a very hot time on the show and he uh he talked about his love of pinball
00:01:02
machines. There's a lot of personal inside info. So it was one of our longest podcasts in person and so I I
00:01:09
thought I really enjoyed it. Yeah, you'll like it too. Here he is. We won't take it any longer.
00:01:17
Yeah, there he has an elevator. It's time you learned. He only he only gets paid scale plus a
00:01:25
million. So you did Joe Biden in the early days. That was him 2012. Yeah. Where he's kind of a way in 08. I mean, I did I did them in the uh
00:01:37
I mean, the first time I did the first time I did him was like when some Christmas episode of maybe 2007 or
00:01:44
something like that, like and I forgot. And then when Obama picked Biden as his running mate, Fred Armson texted me
00:01:49
saying, "Congrats." I was like, "Well, for what?" He goes, "Biden?" I go, "I play Biden." He goes, "Yeah, you I played Spongebob
00:01:56
Squarepants." Like it was like a Yeah, it was a Halloween sketch. And I was like, "Oh, right." I was like, "I guess
00:02:01
that means I You already had it locked in. I mean, unintentionally. Yeah. I mean,
00:02:06
and then and then I got to do it uh and be, you know, uh who was the magician that went on after the Beatles on Ed
00:02:13
Sullivan. Basically, I did I I lived that existence playing Joe Biden in the vice presidential debates against Tina
00:02:19
Fay's Sarah Pal. They look alike, they sound alike, it'll blow your mind. Yeah. Yeah. And and just everybody was clamoring for it and and and she crushed it. And yeah, I had, you know, fun runs
00:02:30
written by Jim Downey and Seth, but everybody was like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Okay, there we go. Here we go.
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He was full sunglass Corvette guy. He was at alpha at that point compared to, you know, he's older now.
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So, it was a different take on it. Paternal. Very, very grand paternal. That's all I got.
00:02:49
It's kind of close. I don't know. Good lord. So, we have Kansas's own Kansas. Now, you play basketball. Did I just The only thing I ask I'll ask this first. Can Could you touch the rim?
00:03:04
I could. Could you dunk a baseball? I could dunk a baseball. Yes. I've probably dunked a basketball 10 times in
00:03:11
my life. Shut up. Never during a game with a referee. I was just talking about this yesterday.
00:03:16
Any witnesses? There's basketball going on right now. You know, a lot of basketball. So, I'm just dunking on
00:03:21
everyone's mind. 61. 61. What's your wingspan, though? Oh, probably 61. Probably nothing. Nothing spectacular. There's not a lot.
00:03:27
You had a pretty good vertical to get a basketball. It was also adrenaline. I also had a lot of friends that could jump and so it's a
00:03:32
little bit of peer pressure that way too where it's just come on just shut up and do it. But I I do remember if I dunk 10 times six of them uh six of those times
00:03:39
were one day after playing basketball like in between junior senior year you know I know no sophomore junior year
00:03:45
like during summer. That's unreal dude. My dad put up a 9 foot hoop and it [ __ ] all the kids cuz we were awesome
00:03:52
on the 9 foot and then we go to high school. What the hell is airball after airball? Yeah, exactly.
00:03:58
I can get the net. I can dunk on the net. Nine foot is awesome. It's it's it was a uh it's less of a big
00:04:04
deal now. I feel like, you know, shooting threes off the dribble is what it's all about now because of, you know, Steph Curry and whatnot, but back in
00:04:10
Yeah. back when I was playing, dunking was the biggest deal in the world. I mean, that's the I was the the test
00:04:16
market for those strength shoes, you know, that they, you know, really that would kind of create that. Yeah. I mean, I had a pair for the legit
00:04:22
reason. I would jump rope in them all the time. A lot of lot of time spent on that. But yeah,
00:04:27
you know, when they do it now, it's they go up past half court, it's like one step, two step, shoot it, and you go,
00:04:33
Jesus, how do you guard, you don't even know what's happening? He changed everything. It's just one, two, boom, and you go and
00:04:38
then they make it 90% of the time. Yeah. Him, Caitlyn Clark on the, you know, the women's college, you know, circuit, too. I mean, it's all all over
00:04:45
the place. All all over the world. Yeah. Just shooting. You play Sandler? I Adam and I have
00:04:50
played I think we may have played once or twice but not not not enough to have a scouting report. I hear he's good. I know I he gets into it. He's competitive too. Oh yeah.
00:05:01
Yeah. What are you doing? It's all funny games till the game starts. Yeah. Like get open. I go you don't talk to me like that. Jesus. Happy Gilmore. I'm not. He goes
00:05:13
check the call sheet. I go all right. You are not triggering financing out here, buddy. We are all the same. No, I
00:05:20
but um but no, he he plays he's played in a game with uh my buddy Sam Jones that I've played in a few times and
00:05:27
buddy Brad Morris, but yeah, I haven't played uh maybe once or twice. I mean, the probably the best the most fun I'd
00:05:33
had playing in the was was hearing the stories of Gary Shanling's game, then getting invited to go play uh in that
00:05:39
with Sarah Silverman. Oh, you did? Yeah. and and before he passed. And then and then a huge thing was when when Gary
00:05:46
was like, "Hey, you can come without Sarah if you want." Oh, that's a big deal. A lovely like a lovely sort of cuz I'd
00:05:52
read about that game forever like Yeah, absolutely. Sarah, you I mean, who were the
00:05:57
regulars? Oh my gosh. I mean, McKay was there during Jimmy Miller. Uh Jimmy was there a couple times.
00:06:02
When I went I used to go in the early early, not early early days, but I there was a run there when I went and I was no good and I sort of got pushed in the
00:06:09
background. Yeah. Yeah. Just not the emails anymore. You do mugsy bogues out there. I was I was like, you know, distraction,
00:06:16
whatever they call. Yeah, I just want you on the out there like on the side just like, you know,
00:06:22
we need five to keep it even. You go out there and run around circles or a spud web. I would have been a spud web. But no, I got out of that quickly.
00:06:29
I was Yeah, I was D basketball in high school and our center was literally 5'3. He controlled the paint.
00:06:34
That was when they had D basketball. Five 5 foot tall, 91 lbs as a freshman. What about you? Were you always a
00:06:40
bearded stud in high school? Were you a No. No. I was It was a a beard of acne like any of us, right? Like um No, I don't think I could grow a beard until about an hour before I got here. How'd you get rid of the acne? Cuz I had
00:06:51
it bad too and I bought all the products and then once I said, "Fuck it. I'm not going to put anything on it." And then
00:06:57
within two months it went away. I think isn't that something? Did you do that? It was a little bit like it just kind of went away like like
00:07:03
a lot of things that that have affect me or have fallen on me as almost maybe psychosmatic things whether it be um you
00:07:11
know patches in and in and growing uh a beard or or back pain like so much of it
00:07:17
I think is is yeah where you're at mentally and there's so much attention put on that and my mom bless her heart was always really more worried about it
00:07:23
than I was like cuz I cuz I'm not looking at my face all day you know we're looking out our eyes and so she
00:07:28
was she was really adamant So I she had me going through all this stuff going to like a dermatologist and I think it did
00:07:34
exacerbate the problem medic and every time I and I realized later it took me about a year to go it's just making it worse. Yeah. It just hurts [ __ ] dries you
00:07:46
out and I didn't know it as a kid and then the oil comes gushing in and then you know what's going to happen.
00:07:51
Exactly. Yeah. But I have a handful of, you know, playing uh, you know, um, pseudo dermatologist, you know, scars
00:07:57
from from trying to like get rid of things, you know, preemptively versus just taking learning the patience of
00:08:03
just like letting it be. Just how the mind controls everything. Let's just not get laid this year. Let's just ride it out.
00:08:08
Take it easy. Yeah. Were you in high school? Were you I were you like captain of the team or you were
00:08:13
kind of a a funny guy with your friends or what was your lane? Funny guy. Like I was the point guard,
00:08:18
so like kind of a de facto, you know, captain in the sense that you're coming down varsity starter.
00:08:24
Yeah. Yeah. Starting junior year. Yeah. As a junior. Yeah. Okay. So, you were good. I I was decent. Yeah. Yeah. For for for
00:08:31
my for my area and my like my skill level. Yeah. I I was I I wasn't too shabby, but um
00:08:37
but yeah, I mean I I definitely I mean a lot of what we do on Ted Lasso is my experience of what it's like in locker
00:08:42
rooms, you know, people joking around. We we were a very fun group of guys. I have very thoughtful friends, guys that
00:08:49
I'm still, you know, very close with and friends with to this day. Um, and we just yeah, we joked around a lot. Much
00:08:55
to the chagrin, I think of our, you know, our, you know, very athletic-minded alpha um, head coach who
00:09:01
who was lovely and playful as well, but more playful when we were listening and winning. We had the same same situation with a
00:09:08
cross country track distance running coach, blood, gut, and hair, real exmarine, all that stuff. So, were you kind of the
00:09:15
funny guy on the team or because I I I was with a lot of guys who had great sense of humor and I think I kind of
00:09:20
developed as a comedian in high school sports running. Oh, 100%. Because they would laugh at everything I
00:09:25
said. Yeah. And also with like I I always grew up around and gravitated towards funny
00:09:32
people. Like I had funny friends and they were funny in different ways. So like my friend Chris was more of like,
00:09:38
"Oh, what if this happened?" And then another guy is like more like word play. And another guy's like a guy you do character voices with. Another guy's the
00:09:44
guy that we would do fake radio shows with. Or then when I got a video camera in sixth grade, the guy that you would make fake talk shows with, you know, and
00:09:50
you know, doing both of your guys stuff, you know, being like an SNL, you know, fanatic at that point, especially before
00:09:56
you start going out on weekends, you know, on Saturdays and having a friend that can drive like, you know, we did I
00:10:02
did that all the time with with all these different groups. And then my sisters did singing and dancing at like
00:10:07
a place called Miller Marley. Uh and so I was around all those type of like more overt theater folks, you know, the
00:10:14
people that wanted to do musicals that did, you know, summer stock, you know, in Kansas City in the park. Yeah. And Kansas doesn't have a big comedy
00:10:20
scene, right? It's just more it was a theater improv situation. It had it theater. Yeah. I mean, they
00:10:26
they had standup clubs. I assume you all did like Stanfords and songs and all that coming through. I know I saw Dennis
00:10:32
Miller do um you know, stand up. my my uh right before my senior year, me and my dad
00:10:37
went to go see him in in KC, a place called Stanford Sons. Yeah. And um Brilliant. But but yeah, I mean my focus was mostly
00:10:46
mom taking us to go see touring companies, going to see my sisters do stuff during the summer and then there
00:10:51
was a place called Comedy Sports that was like sketch or mostly no all improv kind of like Whose Lions in Anyway, you
00:10:56
know, like short form games. I just love that. And it is hard. And if that's what you learn doing, you know, like you're just constantly
00:11:03
jumping through hoops, people setting you up to fail, like the audience's all part baked into it. You develop a little bit. It's so fast. Improv is so [ __ ] hard.
00:11:10
And uh standup is hard, but it's at least you can get a head start, you know, and think about it. Um
00:11:17
Yeah, cuz now when you're in high school, there there's a point where you go, I actually think I could maybe do this as a living. I didn't really think
00:11:22
that when I was doing standup. I just did it one day and just said, I'll never do this for a living. I just want to try it. Yeah. No, for it wasn't until moving to
00:11:27
Chicago I think I wanted to do this for a living at that point and I moved after after I stopped playing basketball in
00:11:33
college and stuff like I was just like okay um quit doing that started doing comedy sports working in a grocery store
00:11:38
living in my parents' basement and then I was like I'm going to move to Chicago I'm going to move to Chicago you know my my folks are from there my my my
00:11:45
grandmother lived up there I lived with her uncle George and aunt Bernardet had done second city uh you know George went
00:11:50
and I think I assume that you had a place to land for a while George is your George is your is your
00:11:59
son. He's my son. It's weird. It's a genetic I'll talk you through it. It makes sense.
00:12:05
Brought an iPad to explain things visually. Um but yeah, like that was when I made the decision like, "Oh, I
00:12:10
want to try this." All the rest of it was just about having fun. It was just wanting to do something that I saw and
00:12:16
having the opportunity to do it. I assume it's the same. Did you have uh stage fright or or were you pretty comfortable the
00:12:23
No, I I stage fright. No, I'd get antsy. I'd get excited. You know, when I try to explain what uh
00:12:29
anxious is um to like my kids, I say it's excited plus nervous. So, I was definitely anxious, but but I think
00:12:36
there was something about having an athletes mentality towards it all. And it's something I still say
00:12:42
today and something again we've used on the Ted Lasso, you know, show that there's no defense in the arts. There's
00:12:48
nobody trying to actively for the most part when you're doing it stop you from doing it. Yeah. Just Yeah. You're Yeah.
00:12:53
your your own apathy, your cynicism, your ego, you know, your baggage. But I tell my sense there's no getting your
00:12:59
feelings hurt in show business. It's like no crying in baseball. There's it's a monolith. It does. It's
00:13:04
not against you. It's not stacked against you. It's just a thing. And there's How are you going to respond to it? Was made to make you feel bad. I just
00:13:11
want to put insert this cuz I've always been uh noticed your voice and did you get some voiceover offers early in in
00:13:18
Chicago with your voice? Never. Never. Never in a million. Seems like you have a very good He just noticed sexy a minute ago.
00:13:23
I think I Hey, look. I might just be morning. It is very sexy, but No, no, no. It might be deeper right now just because of uh you know, seems like a good voice. Ford most
00:13:35
sure like Yeah. Like Arnett has like GMC. could never. Yeah, I I did I did a voiceover thing
00:13:42
for Applebee's like a few years which which was which was nice cuz that you know they're headquartered back home
00:13:48
and stuff and how did that sound? Did you put on a voice voice tomorrow Applebees
00:13:54
like you know like a pot pie? Yeah. All the spaghetti you can eat. Tired of blooming onions? Then come to Apple cing bread sticks, fish sticks. But I do I I remember you know and it
00:14:06
was a big teacher uh big influence in my life. comes up all the time, but this woman, Sally Shipley, who did who taught speech and debate, had one of her
00:14:14
students, she also taught radio TV, and one of her students was like, "Oh, we should do this thing. You know, you should get to do uh the voiceover is uh
00:14:20
Jason Sedakus. He has a nice voice." Okay. And I was like I was like, "I do?" Yeah. I don't you I didn't I didn't know
00:14:26
anything about that. And so, I mean, I don't have a voice. I have I don't have a face either. I say this. I'm like an invisible person, but you
00:14:32
can put stuff on me or give me a voice. The silver screen. You're just You You are I'm just invisible. I'm a totally
00:14:38
neutral person. Whoever you want to be. Yeah. Yeah. You can put a nose on me, whatever. Tell give me an accent. It's a blessing and a curse, isn't it?
00:14:44
I don't know. You know, uh I'm so tempted to talk about Ted Lasso, but I don't do not. They told us do not.
00:14:51
I figure Well, they said 45 minutes in. He doesn't want to promote Ted Lasso. It
00:14:56
says right here working at Banana Republic. Great. Perfect. We want to spend an hour on
00:15:02
and he's an insane pinball person. Have you been to the pinball place in Vegas? the pinball museum off the strip.
00:15:07
[ __ ] monster right by the airport. It's unreal. Yeah, really is. They write pinball big enough. You know where it is. And I went in.
00:15:13
Yeah. Binging bing bing bing bing bing bing. Free game. It goes like this. Free game. But I did. I went through
00:15:19
there and uh got all the effects. Good place to meet kids. So no, I went in there. I felt weird cuz
00:15:25
I'm like it's mostly adults. I go, who's weirder? You know, I'm in here. But I played Galaxia. Yep.
00:15:30
Asteroids. Mhm. Boop boop boop. Asteroids. You don't find them everywhere, Dana. Mhm. You don't go to
00:15:35
pin. No, I did. Guys, I'm from the 50s. I mean, we had a pinball machine at the at the lake back then. It was gambling. It
00:15:43
was bad news. Don't put your quarters in there. Well, Guppy would the guy who ran the Where's Guppy?
00:15:48
Merkantile and Lake Ronan, Montana. He was he was the king of that pinball machine out in the deck and there were goats and we'd challenge him and [ __ ] love. Anyway,
00:15:59
I fell in love with it. Yeah. like well after the fact throughout it's always been there because growing up uh you know was born in 75 so arcades were big
00:16:06
as a kid and and dad taking us to go those things and I would play you know like you know DigDug or any of the other
00:16:12
games Tron whatnot and then he'd always go over to these pinball machines and that was the first time I saw a dude like you know cradle the ball where it wasn't
00:16:18
just luck it wasn't he wasn't just slapping it up there I was kind oh then kind of got away from it then the f one of the fellas that owns and created this
00:16:25
theater called Boom Chicago in Amsterdam uh is a big pinball uh you know fanatic and knows was a lot about the history
00:16:31
and and and just how the games were made and the designers and he had one and kind of taught me and Brendan Hunt who
00:16:36
plays Coach Beard on Ataso taught us kind of the you know the more nuanced versions of that and then 10 years went
00:16:41
by and then I bumped into one again and whenever like especially when you're with someone and you go do films and
00:16:48
you're and you're you're spoken for like to go out on the town can be like laborious especially as you as you like
00:16:54
people knew me from SNL so me and my friend Chip who I work with we would go find a place I found an app that was
00:17:00
just like a pinball. Yeah. Where you found out where the pinball machines were and it's so great because it give
00:17:06
you a per it give you a reason to go out, give you a focus on something. It's not just having a beer like you know we're not like you know give you and to
00:17:13
focus on and also as people maybe start to join us you could kind of just include them. It was it was always we'd
00:17:19
always rent a pinball machine to wherever we were shooting a movie just to kind of learn it and give ourselves something like a Sandler actually
00:17:27
hatched a little uh a little PG-13 on Netflix here boys. Okay. Jerry's Deli in the Valley was a big
00:17:34
place to hang out. I think it's still there but maybe it's not. Yeah. But they had So that was the old days of like Sandler, Drake Sailor,
00:17:41
Schneider. They had pinball in there. Fun House, a game called Fun House and we would uh just hours there just
00:17:48
because there's nothing with standups in the day. Yeah. Board off for us, go bomb at night, come back in. It's practical. It's It's physical.
00:17:54
It's a quarter. It's not that bad. You get 10 bucks. You if you can ride it out and if a good game get Yeah. If you have
00:17:59
a good game, it lasts 15 minutes and then you're sort of competing against you hate when someone's going down.
00:18:04
Yeah. I'll come back. And then you do you hear that knock? That's a good one. It's very close to
00:18:09
what it is. So you lived above a Burger King? I Yes. So this is when is the this is my first
00:18:16
above Burger King. It must have been in New York. It was absolutely New York on 46th Street between Fifth and Sixth. It was
00:18:21
the first place I it was the only place I looked at. I moved in. They had me at the Paramount supposed to be 2 weeks. I
00:18:27
ended up for SNL. That's what I did too. I go really something's wrong with my room. It's 2 ft by 3 ft. I I went down the front desk and they go you got a
00:18:37
king suite. I go no this is my whole room. I had no [ __ ] idea was I had to sleep in the fetal position. It
00:18:43
was so small. Literally, you couldn't stretch out. Oh, you No, you could absolutely touch the wall either side. It's like, you know, but this was this was at the
00:18:50
Paramount. This was the the room that the hotel that they count on you bringing a suitcase. When you go in, they go in or the
00:18:57
suitcase. You both can't go in. It's honestly there's where's a stand on your bed. So funny. Uh but I was there. Yeah.
00:19:03
I was supposed to be there 2 weeks. I end up extending it like 6 somehow. uh and went to a internet cafe, looked up a
00:19:09
place on Craigslist. My sister Kristen had already lived there for a few years. So I had her come to the, you know, look
00:19:15
at the place and it was and I could see the 30 Rock out the back out the out the blinds cuz that was why I was here. I
00:19:20
figured I was going to get let go within at least whatever the writers killed minimum. It's burned in all of us.
00:19:26
I know. Just we all sound like fire me just Why would they hire you as a writer? They did they see you perform but then
00:19:32
also like your writing and said let's just try him. I never asked. I I mean, but that was
00:19:38
the impression I got. I mean, it was a little bit like like I would have said like, you know, I was kidding about, you know, Sandler wanting you around the
00:19:43
game. You always hear that Lauren like he just wants funny people around. So, even though I auditioned for it and I
00:19:48
auditioned the year after um Tracy had left and and um and um it was the year Keenan got hired, a fellow named Fess Mitchell. Um and yeah, I had a I had a decent audition.
00:20:01
And I had one piece in there where I play a senator uh who who ap who offends um uh black people and then he when he goes to apologize to them, he then offends Jewish people and then he offends then he when he's
00:20:13
2003 Exactly. Yeah. It was it was based on Rick Santorum like he was like he compared homosexuality to
00:20:20
beastiality and then in his apology like just doubled down on it and was like what is going on? And so I did that, but
00:20:26
it was nonpartisan and so they liked, you know, the writing of that because it was it was, you know, taken
00:20:31
I like thought behind it. Exactly. Yeah. Steve Higgins was was more vocal about about why I got hired.
00:20:36
Maybe you could give it to someone else. Steve Higgins was the champion for you. Was he? Yeah. Him and Tina. And Tina, who I knew, her and her husband from my
00:20:43
Second City days. Um, and so yeah, so then it was just a matter of going out there. I go into that building, uh, walk
00:20:49
upstairs. I was like, "Chris, how is this?" She goes, "It's it's nice. Like this it's it's clean." Like I go, "How?"
00:20:55
And I don't have a good sense of smell if any sense of smell. So like I was like, "Does it smell like burgers?" And she goes, "You can kind of smell the
00:21:01
fries, but it's gone by this floor." Because it was like I think like three or four floors walk up and the and the reason why it was on top of a Burger
00:21:07
King is because a fellow named Lou, our landlord owned was a you know franchise guy and he built these these things
00:21:13
right on top of it. And so I still thought we're doing SNL. But so SNL smells a little like
00:21:19
I always go to Purpose. You know, you will you if I pick you up, uh, just come down. What was your We always ask cast members like Lauren Michaels is this enigmatic.
00:21:30
Of course, we've been doing Lauren if you haven't noticed. Mine's a little soft. Is like please. Everybody does it.
00:21:37
Um, but your relationship with him, how did it evolve? Was it were you standoffish at first? Were you
00:21:43
No, he was always really like like nice nice to me. I I think he wanted me to get out of my own way while on his watch, you know, a little bit like like I would say that,
00:21:55
you know, the part of him that that hires people because he sees something in them or someone that he sees
00:22:02
something in says that, you know, you should go after the this person's got something. Um like I I
00:22:09
I think he's seen all of us or our archetypes like a dozen times over at this point. And so he kind of is like,
00:22:14
"Okay, I'm going to give you I'm going to give you Billy Murray advice, you know,
00:22:19
they attach you to someone." I mean I mean I don't know. I've never asked him, but that's what it felt like a little bit like cuz he was auditioning
00:22:25
you know who to you know um you know like but he was always supportive like he was
00:22:32
and he was always someone that I felt I could go up and and and speak to. I I remember that after that first audition,
00:22:37
you know, talking to Horatio and and Maya Rudolph. Horatio who I knew from Second City. my who I just met but it
00:22:43
was lovely. I went down to go go downstairs and go, "They're not going to laugh. No one's going to do anything. Like, don't worry about it." And I went
00:22:48
down and did it. And after I got done with my my studio audition, the first one, Lauren came over and shook my hand. And I did not know what to make of it.
00:22:55
Would not know what like where where it doesn't Yeah. I still don't know what to make of. He came over and shook your hand.
00:23:01
He stood up, walked over. Now, I don't Now, I walked forward and I was told that no one's going to laugh. People did laugh a little bit. It's only like five
00:23:07
people. And then he's not going to say anything. And then he got up and did the opposite of that. I was like, and I didn't go upstairs and try to make sense
00:23:13
of it. I probably haven't really spoken much about it because it didn't I was like, now I don't know if I didn't I
00:23:19
then walk out go back to my dressing room, which was, you know, Daryl Hammond's dressing room, I believe, at the time. And and uh he may have just
00:23:25
walked out behind me and gone to the John, you know what I mean? Like, so I don't know. Can you give me a piggyback ride? But it
00:23:30
is interesting how he will cast it sort of almost like a sitcom in a way. You know, you'll be Bill Murray and
00:23:37
Bill hat her will be young. like a Phil type or no? No. I I don't know if I was I I feel
00:23:44
like he wanted me to be the the thing that really helped like sort of pushed me over the edge cuz I wrote for those first two seasons was um
00:23:52
like I wrote when you came to you came back to host once and I was on the cast when you came back to host once. But um
00:23:58
that in those first two years there was there was a a sketch that we did when Tom Brady hosted and I basically like
00:24:04
did like this like the same dancing that I do in that what up with that sketch. Exactly. We wanted to talk about that.
00:24:09
But I but I did that dancing because Beck was performing that week and he had a guy that was doing the dancing uh like
00:24:16
like kind of like you know off to the side and so I just made the choice to do this and then it made a bunch of people
00:24:22
laugh and I remember Tina telling me that during during dress rehearsal when that sketch was going on he kind of looked at the screen and goes Dan Akroyd. Yeah, you know, and and then
00:24:33
then that then we had the show Saturday. The sketch made it on uh as did the other sketch that me and my buddy Joe Kelly wrote uh for our man uh Tom Brady.
00:24:41
And then two weeks went by and during that break they hired hired me into the cast. So it was kind of like
00:24:48
well it's such a specific dance and it always makes you laugh even if you I watch it again and I'm laughing every
00:24:53
time cuz it's so specific and you're playing it so earnest and so clueless. So and what's up with that? You can't
00:24:59
take your eyes off you. And Kenan talked about how much you made that sketch, you
00:25:05
know. I mean, that's very sweet of him. I would I would argue because you didn't have a line. You're just what he call it's got like a bicycle thing and then you do the side
00:25:11
running and you look so stupid and your wig and uh also I think in the Ted Lasso
00:25:17
clip where they it looks like you're in the middle of the all the guys and like the first show. Uh so it's a it's a hilarious specific
00:25:25
what's up with that is just funny. Anyway, it's just funny and it was such a joy. I mean, what were the like when people ask me my favorite sketches from there, that
00:25:31
that one is always top three and not necessarily because of my the effort I put into it or the way people respond to it, which is always lovely, but just it
00:25:38
was the one that we did my generation where when they'd start to build the set, people would start to get hyped and
00:25:43
then it found that spot after update. So, they'd tear away the update thing, then they'd start putting up that and the people in the crowd, you know, we
00:25:48
were all in it. Everyone was in it. Everyone was in some weird costume. And you'd always have like Robert Dairo
00:25:55
there or somebody like, you know, like some weird cameo. You know, Bill dressed as Lindsay Buckingham. We knew exactly
00:26:02
where it was going to go. We're just slotting in all these things. And it was great to get a cameo. It's great when
00:26:08
people even cast want to be in it or a host comes in and says, "I want to be in that." Yeah, that's the And so for people who don't
00:26:14
know what's what's up with that, we like Kenan was a game show a show, a talk show host and he never got to asking
00:26:21
anyone any questions. these long musical interludes and long sing background singers I think and then you dancing and
00:26:29
also athletically did you get out I you did it for a long time it was more of a magic trick I would I would do it for a
00:26:35
little bit of time and then we'd we'd we'd um I'd jump in to frame like that was the thing that I mean the thing I always look at is I have been doing that dancing since I was like on on basketball teams like from
00:26:48
the early 90s that's just watching TV raps with Fab Five Freddy and and Kid and Play and House Party and all those
00:26:53
movies and um and and yet it was the same thing made my 15-year-old friends laugh. The things
00:26:59
that I like delighted in were like me learning the edge of frame and how to make it look like I'm dropping in off of
00:27:05
something or taking a long exit like roundabout thing doing like a Sherman Helmsley walk off, you know, and and
00:27:13
just trying to tickle like Keen and trying to make him laugh and just milk up as much screen time as possible just to make like Kenny Among in the booth
00:27:19
laugh, you know? And you were doing it different on air. You were to surprise him. Yeah. Yeah. You try to switch up little things here and there. Yeah. We
00:27:25
we had a good spry uh group of people uh my generation that at some point you realize that if we if we make the boss laugh by making each other laugh, he'll
00:27:35
in a sketch that's funny with the sound off. Like there's no real joke. Once the melee starts and the party and the
00:27:41
dancing and all this stuff, you can just the audience can really just laugh. Oh, it's great cuz they're not listening for any, you
00:27:47
know, which is another one I wanted to bring up that you did with Kenan was the scared straight.
00:27:52
Yeah. And he gave you kudos too as his partner in crime, you know, going, "Hey, hey,
00:27:58
come on." I mean that that thing is really I mean again so fun because we'd always
00:28:03
get you know the host would have something fun to do but then you know Bill and Andy were in there and Bobby Moyahan is who I picture for the third
00:28:10
for the third and just and Keenan when you get Bill and Andy cooking and laughing and then and then Bobby too. Bobb's so funny. Uh and then yeah Keenan would come in
00:28:20
there just hollering at who has whoever I'm trying to think. I mean I like hollering. And were you writing
00:28:26
with on the show with four other people at that time? Did you come up with this with Keenan or No, that was that was probably him. I'm
00:28:32
guessing Brian Tucker, maybe maybe somebody else. Um Rob Klein potentially, but no, I I a lot of times I was just,
00:28:39
you know, like uh those two instances were um just I was merely a muse. And who did you connect with as a writer? Did you have someone who you you wrote with more regularly or would come
00:28:50
to you with stuff? Yeah. Well, I mean those first two years um I I I I really was felt imposter
00:28:56
syndrome of like as a writer only because I had only recently discovered like what I did what I like writing for
00:29:03
myself. But but again that virtue of having funny friends, it was like Mhm. one of those things. And there were two
00:29:10
there are two uh you know sort of uh commandments if you will or like a piece of advice that that uh that Tina gave.
00:29:17
One one was like um you know don't write anything that you feel like you can do yourself. Um you know because it it'll drive you crazy especially if you're if you did audition for the show and now
00:29:29
now and I and I did it once and she was 100% right. I wrote a Dr. Phil thing for Jeff Richards um like later in my first
00:29:36
season because I just wasn't getting anything on. So I was like, "Well, I'll write something that I know." And Jeff and I worked on it really well and it
00:29:42
and it didn't it didn't it didn't go super great at the at the read through and I remember being unnaturally upset
00:29:48
like where it's just like that's Well, you mean you knew how to play it? You like that's my thing. Yeah. But but it but when you when you
00:29:54
give it when you hand it over it's like I'm I was okay doing that but but I but I but people it's it's like the um it's like people weren't hot on Jeff at that point in that room and and and and he
00:30:07
was doing it well. It just it just like didn't get over that hump that Wednesday. Oh my god. I think when they hire you as
00:30:13
a writer, I think it Dana, it's like a little scammed. First of all, it's a little cheaper. It makes you work harder. Sure.
00:30:18
I didn't want to be a writer. I didn't know how to be a writer from Arizona. I just barely had 25 minutes of standup. And Rob Schneider and we got the call
00:30:24
together and he goes, "Hey, it's great news. We're hired as writer performers." I go, "No." No, that's great. That's what Chvy Chase or someone was. I go,
00:30:31
"I don't know how to [ __ ] write and I don't know how to write for other people. I barely knew how to write for myself." So you get in there and they
00:30:37
would say, you know, write for Dana or write for Mike Myers, write for whoever. And I'm like, it's so hard. And also, I barely have
00:30:43
ideas myself and then you give them away and it kills you inside. I know. And it's And for me, what what
00:30:49
what eventually happened was I did start I started pairing up with like Fred. Fred and I hit it off and and you know,
00:30:54
Fred's just a lovely fun guy. And and what I couldn't what I couldn't do was make up something for these guys like on
00:31:00
a blank page at that point, but what I could do is listen to what they did, do bad impressions of it, let my brain click into that and help with rewrites.
00:31:06
Like the rewrite table was I loved. I still love it. I' I'd sit at any shows rewrite table like you know that's
00:31:12
that's my fun to help someone else's. Your ego is out of the way and you're just like, "Oh, how about to get one line in the best?" It's like
00:31:20
and you feel like you're in the game. You're like, "If I can compete just be Yeah. Even with these guys are in in the
00:31:26
mix. Absolutely. Like that that like I like that I'm not taking up space here that I that I that I do belong here. I have I
00:31:32
have worth being here. They haven't they haven't wasted the their time rolling their eyes. Exactly. I told Dana this he was there I think when I uh
00:31:39
there was a sketch I used to play receptionist. I wanted to do it. I hadn't been on much and and I was sort of teetering on every
00:31:44
summer and they'd go I don't know if we're going to keep them, you know, and I'm like god damn, you know, how can I work any harder? Maybe I'm just not good enough. And then I that one I got on and
00:31:53
then David Bowie was musical guest so I said ask him if he wants to be at the end and I won't know who he is and then
00:32:00
he said yes and then he wanted to call me and then he asked if he could be my part and switch and I said no and it was
00:32:07
so hard but I go I have nothing. I mean I and it and I'm it made me think what you said about you just want to get on.
00:32:13
So even like one of your good sketches you might just give to someone that you brought in Yeah. just to get on to stay. Yeah. And
00:32:19
then worry about it later. Like, okay, I gave it one away. But I don't even know if that one was any good. You just go, I
00:32:24
want to do it. And he's like, "Oh yeah, okay." And I was like, "Oh my god." And I have to I get to talk to David Bowie
00:32:29
and then I get to go sideways with him right away where he's like, "Yeah, okay. Go [ __ ] yourself. Good luck with your shit." I had that I had angle on that
00:32:36
with Robin Williams who I adored and was a really good friend, but he really wanted to do church chat. And
00:32:41
this is in the early days. This was my golden ticket. And he was very careful. And I thought if Robin got so excited,
00:32:47
it would be like, "Oh, look, no tits." You know, you know, that kind of stuff. I was just afraid of it. And he even
00:32:52
called me Saturday morning at like 10:00 a.m. to be in it to be to be in it to be a guest. I would really like to play, you know, it was heartbreaking, but you
00:33:03
know, we got past that. It wasn't, but it was uh in those days if your your thing was very precious. You you know, I
00:33:10
wanted to keep it uh quas real in a sense. Yeah. So, but you know, not not like quote unquote sell out like by giving it to the over to the show. I mean, again, I'm using this, you know,
00:33:21
metaphorically. It's not selling out. Well, that was a lucky thing cuz the cast I had Phil and Jan and people in it
00:33:26
and it was a lucky thing. I didn't know home base and then have the cast come and go and the host. So, Lauren loved it
00:33:32
cuz I didn't have to score. Did you come in with characters? Not really. No, I did I did like No, not
00:33:38
really. Did you write them down? I mean, yeah, I did like three characters and like seven impressions that first audition and and it was mostly that
00:33:45
senator sketch that I mentioned and and from what I heard like like when you get to that point like how the heck did I get here, you
00:33:50
know, like in 3 years once once you sort of know you're you're there. Um how did that make it whatever you did? You mean?
00:33:56
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Or and it was it was as much like like the banter in between like dealing with like whether
00:34:02
the piece played well or didn't, you know, I but I was I was Yeah. dubbed, you know, being funny. So, they just wanted me at the table cuz it did feel weird getting, you know, being like
00:34:13
actor. I mean, I I called my my manager over at Brilstein, uh, Jeff, and I was just like, I maybe I [ __ ] up. I think
00:34:19
I should have just stayed acting. No, you're in show biz now. You're in show business. And he would say, you know, you, Sandler, Jeffy
00:34:25
Chase, Tina, you know, obviously at that at that point, like all starters writers is like, you know, and I do sketches, you know, questions and it was it was
00:34:32
great. I mean, you know, and yet it it really took that relationship with Lauren and to the
00:34:40
one thing that I learned there that I feel like I I would encourage folks to do is like go talk to a person that can that can as as as if you can if you have
00:34:48
the opportunity to find audience with the person that can actually change the situation, do that versus talking to
00:34:54
everyone to the left and right of, you know, and and and and Lauren was always open to that with with me. Um,
00:35:01
and you know that I think that when did two a-holes come in cuz that that was one of fairly early on.
00:35:08
That was Chris and I's first season. You Chris, you know. Yeah. So that that really you popped when you saw that.
00:35:13
Yeah. I mean that was this magic Christmas episode that Jack Black hosted. Neil Young was the musical guest. Uh we had our new sort of
00:35:20
generation was, you know, pretty intact there. Like I had come in at the end last three episodes of the season prior.
00:35:25
Bill and Andy got hired over the summer and then Kristen got hired about like five, six weeks into the season
00:35:31
and then Fred a little later. Well, Fred had already been there. Fred and had already been there had already been there. So that was that was a you know a very
00:35:38
fertile time on SNL. The cast was but that specific episode was that they did Lazy Sunday the digital uh the
00:35:44
Lonely Island guys. We did two a-holes. Will Forte did spelling the spelling be sketch that he had submitted probably
00:35:50
six times in the in the couple years which was a groundlings trunk piece that he had that just everybody loved it just
00:35:56
never got over the hump but Jack Black who was the who was the host of my very first episode as a writer that I got a
00:36:02
piece on like he was just like this lucky charm for for for me specifically but I but I feel
00:36:08
for a lot of folks cuz he would just he was one of those hosts that would just support the piece like in a he's straight up just a straight man and just
00:36:15
and and that was Chris and I we we were writing together every single week and we were just tired and we're just
00:36:20
chewing gum and just started talking like hey babe hey babe and you know and just how do we make this guy's life a
00:36:26
nightmare? How would you describe that to people who are listening may not have seen it? It's like two cocky young people uh self
00:36:34
involved. Yeah. Two self-involved people making a business transaction as difficult as person as possible for the person trying
00:36:42
to help. You had a rhythm of, "Oh, babe." Yeah, there was a Yeah, kind like chewing the gum. Yeah.
00:36:47
Hey, babe. What are you doing? What do you want to do? Yeah, we want to go to Hogwarts, you know. And then Kristen was just like this kind of like rapid like almost like
00:36:55
a Paris Hilton type, but you know, just vocal fry and just I want to go there. I'm tired. Sometimes at 3 in the morning, you go, is this even funny? But you're just like, are we delirious? This
00:37:06
is [ __ ] funny. But also it's you two which is already you're halfway there because at that point you know at that
00:37:12
point maybe you weren't even that still emerging I think. Yeah. I mean she was off to the races cuz Chris had so many have so many good
00:37:18
characters. I mean the groundings folks like blew always consistently blew doors off of us Second City folks you know.
00:37:25
Did they really? Yeah. I I think like in regards to characters, you know what I mean? Like like I mean I mean that's what I love
00:37:31
about the the I I I'd say that you know Frell and McKay are like bird and magic like just like platonic soul mates that were like the Hatfields and McCoys who then came together with these two sensibilities of these two amazing
00:37:43
sketch you know American like comedy theaters and then boom like you know we're off to the races once they once
00:37:49
they decide to like just you know harmonize with each other. We had more standups back when a lot of
00:37:54
us were standups didn't have real theater up in San Francisco. There's no ground lanes or I would have been in it
00:38:00
in a second. [Music] I wonder what it's like to be in the ground lanes today, right? you know, because it's obviously
00:38:11
such a feeder system and all and now the Hall of Fame would love it and Phil and go on course,
00:38:18
you know, must be very nerve-wracking because if you get in that you're in the main company, people you're you have a
00:38:23
chance, you know, I would assume so, but I I think it's like especially being out here cuz that that was one thing about Second City in
00:38:29
Chicago is that you you you weren't it was just about trying to do that well like navigate like that you you wanted
00:38:35
to be a good improviser, you want to be a good writer, you want to be a good actor, but like But, you know, you wanted people to, you know, do a good
00:38:42
job for the piece, but it wasn't you weren't thinking beyond like the building you were in in a lot of places,
00:38:48
you know, um because I think it's because it's in Chicago, even though it has that same, you know, alumni, you
00:38:54
know, plus what, 20 more years. And so, you're kind of famous just doing it in Second City, right? I mean, that's pretty big deal already.
00:38:59
Yeah. And you're getting paid for it, which I don't know. I don't think Groundlings gets paid. I don't know what if things have changed over the past few
00:39:04
years, but can we talk about a few more of your really cool sketches you I mean the commitment I mean I watched the I don't
00:39:11
know if David saw but the potato chip with Will Forte and the way you play that you both played it was such fullon
00:39:18
sincerity and drama and then when you started to break I just thought no wonder he's so good at
00:39:24
Ted Lasso like you know you see the seeds of it like it's comedy but I really felt bad for the way you played it that you first you were super defiant you didn't eat the potato chip
00:39:37
it's a complete theater of absurd. Oh, absolutely. With such commitment. I will Forte is a freak that way. He's on
00:39:43
and then the way you decided to give it up and then the way you saw I mean you must have known that
00:39:49
was cuz that's such a weird sketch that it must people who like it must really mention it to you, right?
00:39:55
Oh 100%. That's one of those sketches I'd be curious to know from both of you. What's the one that people can come up to you and you know like oh we would
00:40:00
have been friends as kids. If you like if you like that then we were then we're like friends for life. You know people say what up with that? That's great.
00:40:06
People dress up like that character for Halloween, but I would say potato chip and main justice are two are two that if people come up
00:40:12
to me go, I love potato chip. And I'm just instantly have a soul connection with that person. Do you have one like that? Cuz I want what
00:40:19
skin ads from Maine, which I did. I love we both have a Maine sketch on the variety show with Colar. It was just a flight of fancy of a Petri Farm kind of voice being a skin head.
00:40:32
You know, the weather's the only thing that the Jews don't control. You know, it was that it was that level of that's funny.
00:40:38
What do you clam? He goes, I hate stick for beating spanage. And so it was skin heads for Maine.
00:40:43
So people at an airport come up. Hey man, our friends and I always mention that, you know, cuz we're skin heads.
00:40:48
Exactly. Yeah. Thanks for repping us. What about you, David? It would be bye-bye. Bye-bye. No. Um, we did bye-bye twice. The second the second one bought
00:40:59
miserably. It's a very catchy catch. That's a catchy one. Yeah, that was it was only twice. That's what we did. And then we went away for
00:41:06
well I went to Los Angeles the next day and this flight attendant said it and then from then on I probably honestly heard it maybe every day of my life for about 10 years because when you go off a plane if they
00:41:17
say anything like that your head goes to your sketch. Absolutely. Yeah. To say and then they were told not to
00:41:23
say that anymore and then they show the sketch cuz my friend's wife worked for America and they show them and say this is what they think of us. So we have to
00:41:30
change our I'm like geez we've ruined everything. We say good mororrow now. We say good mororrow. We say get [ __ ] Get [ __ ] Get
00:41:36
[ __ ] I mean, they still hate you. Sorry about the labor room. Sorry about the labor room. Sorry.
00:41:43
No, it is. They It bought me some street cred with uh sometimes they come by and like you're on the southwest and they
00:41:48
give you like a thimble of water and then they come by and they they go, "Hey." And they wink and they give me like a two gallon jug and I go, "Oh my
00:41:55
god." And then the person asked me, "Can I get another water?" I'm like, "I'm water logged. I've had too much." I'm holding it like a baby. And they're
00:42:01
like, "Get [ __ ] Get I have too much. That's mean. Get fucked." I know. They They get mad at me.
00:42:07
Now, what about this the main Justice guy? That's another really Yeah. I mean, it's the same character, you know, which is
00:42:14
But it's such a fun How do you describe that sort of character? I mean, he's like got a little goatee. He's like Colonel Sanders or something.
00:42:19
Yeah. Well, I what's funny and this is one one of those things that I love like one of the lessons like showbiz lessons
00:42:24
that that it can almost extend into life lessons at SNL is the the potato chip sketch was was done when I was I was going through a divorce. I was like you know like not sleeping well like being
00:42:36
pulled every which way. John Solomon and Will Forte who were writing buddies went to UCLA together etc. and you know
00:42:42
created all this stuff since Last Man on Earth and McRuber and whatnot. They write Potato Chip. And the reason they
00:42:47
write that thing is because I had done a sketch a few weeks earlier, the first time we did um uh went up with that
00:42:54
actually when Gerard Butler hosted and I had just seen Cool Hand Luke and I was kind of like it'd be funny to do a Cool
00:42:59
Hand Luke sketch, but it but but Coolhand Luke tries to get out of eating the eggs by just being like, you know,
00:43:06
are these are these freerange eggs? Like it's like he says, "I bet I can eat 50 eggs." And then I wrote myself as like
00:43:11
the George Candy part. So I'm doing, you know, doing all that kind. Oh boy, here we come now. You know, doing all that and it did well, but it didn't get
00:43:17
picked. So So you you and that's the beauty of like Wednesdays is like that's when you write one for them, one for
00:43:23
you, and you do something and then your friends, you know, like hear things or your co-workers hear, oh, Jason can do
00:43:28
this voice. And so then they write potato chip and write me in that in that voice. And so that and so it comes from that. And so they're just rot from this
00:43:35
really crazy s place, which is literally just me doing a bad George Kennedy from Cool. loud, bombastic, cocky, high
00:43:42
energy is fun to do in that studio. Yeah. And and just picturing an outfit, you know, whatever. Well, you know,
00:43:47
again, one of those great things that I think Kristen is such a perfect example that the ground these folks had like they could see these characters that
00:43:53
could just be transferred on the television, you know, with with like wigs and just like the slight like just
00:43:58
a couple, you know, props and and and wardrobe and boom, they're, you know, off they went. Um, so then with with
00:44:04
Main Justice, there was an idea that I had had first year for Horatio Sands and it was more like Texas Justice and then
00:44:10
it just like then we just like added some layer of absurdity to it. We just make it Maine and I mean I've told this
00:44:17
story before but like Lauren and Seth hated it cuz there's no logic whatsoever. It's not really a Maine. It makes them like why are they talking like this? What is going on? Why
00:44:28
are you talking about, you know, crawads up in Maine, you know, and not lobster, all this stuff
00:44:33
and and and myself and Mike O'Brien, who was my office mate and good friend, we wrote together a lot. Uh, and I'm trying
00:44:39
to think who else was in there. Oh, I think Rob Klein as well. Uh, who's a Harvard kid, you know, like so like, you know, super clever and and and and
00:44:46
silly. Um, we were just like, you what are you talking about? What was the the logic behind Tunes is the driving cat.
00:44:52
You made us this way. You like it's your fault. Yeah. So like I blame you dad. And so that's why like twothirds of that
00:44:58
sketch we just go through the list like we're we're like Bobby Wan's characters like what the hell is going on? So and then I just go through just exposition
00:45:05
like oh maybe this happened to have a hurricane Katrina. Maybe it is a time war you know like a like whatever.
00:45:10
It's just this weird just to satisfy the story of where does this guy and then we just push on through. But yeah that's one of those ones that you just you know I think it was probably from
00:45:22
one yeah Luke but then also being a fan of Harry Kic Jr. like in and like like when New Orleans folks would, you know,
00:45:28
get real real comfy and just start talking. Fun. Yeah. Yeah. Did you when you were just Cooland
00:45:34
Luca? I What were the things that blew your mind as a kid like with movies or TV and stuff? They inspired you. Was it
00:45:40
Kooland Luke? One of them. I I mean the first one comes to mind is Beverly Hills Cop. Beverly seeing Beverly Hills Cop in the theater. Yeah.
00:45:47
All of it. Yeah. You guys have to pay for the rights for that if we use Well, no. Then we just lay it out on it.
00:45:54
We can do six notes. You could do six notes and then then we're like [ __ ] Do it for the repeat.
00:45:59
Marcy, get Tina Jason. Anyway, but that was that was a big one. Um I mean SNL was huge. Was like you know that was that that that was that
00:46:10
was certainly When were you in high school? When was SNL? Yeah. 94 was like 904.
00:46:15
I know. Yeah. But I would say the up till up until sophomore year till my friend Matt Bale got his driver's license. You got a car and then you're
00:46:21
out. And then you're out every Saturday night. I mean, what were you doing Saturday? Not not. We were on 11:30.
00:46:29
I probably didn't do too much. I don't know. 10:30. 10:30 in case. You guys ready?
00:46:35
Oh, we were on 10:30. Super early. Damn. Arizona. It's like on a 9:30. Do you want me to do any of my sketches
00:46:41
you may have missed? No. I got to ask about movies. Everything's on Pico. Do they have to name the network? It It's It's a swear I
00:46:53
Peacock. You can't really put on an art piece. Peacock. We're the Millers. Horrible bosses. Stop
00:46:59
me if you're in any of these. Horrible. Yeah, we were told by Who were you told by this? You're up.
00:47:05
You can do whatever you want. About the age group of, you know, when you're a certain age. I know. I love I love looking at the
00:47:12
ones you like Dick Fuel crime scene. Well, I thought that guy was [ __ ] too. I thought that was so fun.
00:47:19
character the fuel that's just me doing like like a bad Stallone but also like with V
00:47:24
Diesel. I I'm doing Vin Diesel but So you've got a really good bald cap on like a super short crew cut
00:47:31
and you're coming in what what was Yeah, just he's supposed to take a hit from Jeremy Rener. He's just supposed to take
00:47:36
Yeah, he's just a stunt guy and he just flinches every time and he fights back. It's so silly. It's so like
00:47:42
But yeah, we I did that for the MTV Movie Awards when I hosted it was me. You can look at this if you want. It's just
00:47:47
Okay, so Crime Scene, Crime Scene is is is one of my favorite. We did that with Charlie Day. Okay, so now
00:47:52
that was another great one. But that's written by Joe Kelly, who's one of the co-creators, one of my dear friends, uh who co-created Ted Lasso.
00:48:00
That was a scene that he wrote for a sketch after he he he didn't get asked back. He he had a killer year at SNL.
00:48:06
Didn't come back. Went on to go do great work at How I Met Your Mother, a handful of other sitcoms. You know, he he co-created Detroititers, etc. That was a
00:48:14
a scene that I saw him do in the sketch show. It was all about cops and magicians, right? So, he does this thing
00:48:19
and I'm like, "This is a hum ding." Like, I just love the writing of it. It's so clever and so like it reminded
00:48:25
me of like in that space of like the audition sketch from like Mr. Show or you know, like the dead parrot sketch,
00:48:31
you know, Monty Python, you know, like one of those like where where it's just like the writing is just super clever. And those are two of the all-time
00:48:37
greatest. And just very quickly, it was like he's kind of doing sort of a quas colomo investigating a murder
00:48:43
and then he he's doesn't relate to anything you mentioned. No, not not baseball. He doesn't know
00:48:48
what baseball is. Doesn't know what World War II is. He doesn't know me. I don't I never watch television. Exactly. Yeah. And so yeah, he's just
00:48:54
like this cop who's just kind of a TV snob. Very MontiPython. Very I mean 100%. And uh and so then
00:48:59
when when Charlie uh hosted I I asked Joe if we could, you know, if we could do it. He's like absolutely. Charlie and
00:49:05
I were doing it. I was going to play the part Charlie was playing. He and then Charlie was like, "What if we switched?" I was like, "Yeah, let's do that." Cuz Charlie and I had done Horrible Bosses
00:49:11
one and two. I'd been on It's Always Sunny. I think he's as as smart and lovely and funny as they come. And so I
00:49:16
was just like and trust his his instinct and his gut like crazy. And I was just like, "Yeah, let's do that." And that sketch I I love the pieces. And and it's
00:49:24
it's just one of those things that similar to like doing the the George C. Scott uh or um sorry George Kennedy
00:49:30
voice is like just cuz you do it it like there and it dies like doesn't mean it's
00:49:36
dead like just cuz it dies doesn't mean it's dead like it can come back around and find some other place or inspire some
00:49:41
other some other thing that then finds the right host and the right timing right home same thing with cowbell until
00:49:48
walking came in yeah cuz then they do it a few times they did it and it just never landed someone said they did it as the host who
00:49:54
was we talking to they said they did it and they said it didn't work it didn't work and then They got a fever.
00:49:59
You just need crazy. I mean, you can't. It's one of the greatest rhythms for thing. And then Will, who can lower his IQ, which we
00:50:07
said in like 5 seconds. So cowbell, he does this thing with his eyes where he's really stupid and so
00:50:12
committed. So the two together, it's a magic sketch. But this one I watched and god damn, that was funny.
00:50:18
Yeah, that's that's Joe Kelly and Charlie Day and me just me just trying to get in where I fit in, you know?
00:50:24
Damn. Dane, I want to ask about Horrible Bosses because uh Well, we should because people on our
00:50:30
staff were I saw it. I love horrible. No, I saw Bosses, too. And also, uh The Millers, that one was another smash. You have Anist in both of them. Yeah, she's in all three. I mean,
00:50:41
she like I've seen all these movies. Wait, she's in them? I remember one thing. You go to her parties and you don't even
00:50:47
know because she care he cares about her as a person. You're going to get disinvited thinking
00:50:53
did she need coaxing to be super dirty and that I think that was the horrible bosses one or is she like just ready to just break
00:51:00
it out. She played a stripper and both. Yeah, she's I didn't get this impression
00:51:05
she needed to be coaxed into it at all. I So she reads uh Horrible Bosses where she's filthy. You know that one Dana
00:51:12
did crotches. Yeah. She talks dirty and after not too far from friends after that, right? It
00:51:18
was pretty I mean at least she was like America sweetheart 2013 we did it or no that was like 2010. Yeah.
00:51:23
So she um same year as grown-ups you remember that throwing a wig you know putting a wig on too. I mean that was definitely her
00:51:29
being you know I I I would assume her having fun with the assumption that people make. Yeah. I mean it it was kind
00:51:35
of you know the second one. I really like the the the second one. It was it was like our homage. I I mean I think
00:51:41
the world like I said of Charlie and of Jason Baitman and of their partners like it's such a fun group to to roll with
00:51:47
and do even press together you know and we golly if I could if I could like have
00:51:54
one thing one doover I would have put out that Horrible Bosses 2 movie maybe a more in the summer cuz they they did it
00:52:01
Warner Brothers New Line released it from what I understand as like counterprogramming for um uh uh
00:52:08
Thanksgiving and it was like you because that's usually we put out Oscar movies and like family movies and it's like it's like and they just I think they
00:52:14
miscalculated um you know people wanting to go see a movie with their grandparents where Rachel from Friends is wearing a [ __ ]
00:52:21
ring like around her around her neck like she's riding a cibian from somebody somewhere had that idea in a room everyone's yes let's do that you plenty of those sappy
00:52:32
dog movies we'll go with ring around the neck I'd love to be on the side you know they're just like doing a scene they're
00:52:38
like one more Jennifer maybe Say, "Yeah, eat your pussy." Okay, rolling. And she's like, "Wait, what am I doing?"
00:52:44
Just they get to yell out, bark out alternative jokes, everybody. Yeah, that's how all those movies work
00:52:50
though. But they they just run in jokes. That's the fun ones when you do comedies. Like funny people.
00:52:55
I wanted just to keep doing it like like almost like the Marx Brothers, like just, you know, we the next movie we're going to do is like a prison break
00:53:00
movie. Like just keep doing genres, but as the three like these three goofy like middle-aged dudes and just going through
00:53:06
it. What's your attitude? I mean, I I hear people say this a lot, like they don't make comedies like like that anymore or
00:53:13
like Tropic Thunder or, you know, just it feels like we're in a different place with comedy films are
00:53:20
like balls out funny R-rated comedies. I guess they're out there. I don't I'm a shut in.
00:53:26
I did watch all of Ted Lass. I think sometimes they from the top you get down like I I don't
00:53:32
know if I do that. You can do it, but you know, it starts to you start to lose jokes even in specials. It never sense kind of stand
00:53:39
up. They they start cutting stuff. They start saying and you're like, "Oh, cuz it used to be just
00:53:44
say whatever and live or die, but if you're going to get in trouble, it's you." Yeah. And now they blame Netflix or Amazon. And that's
00:53:51
that makes them nervous. So it's just hard to get out. Do whatever you want. Podcast, we're not really dirty. Uh Dana is filthy, but
00:53:58
we're not really dirty. Um loves working blue. So you can't. So but this is one of the
00:54:04
last places if you want. You can sort of say whatever you want. There's not really a boss. Yeah. And we have editing capabilities.
00:54:10
So if you said kill all whatever. We're going to take 90% of this out. Well, we'll have to be more specific. Start in one.
00:54:15
We're going to start. Dude, I did want a good This is our best warm up. I told Dana, I did one the other day and I was
00:54:22
doing my [ __ ] gross bits. Ahoy. I was like, "Ba bits bits." I walked in coming
00:54:28
in hot five minutes and they go, "That's great. All right, let's roll tape." And I go, "You're [ __ ] joking." And then
00:54:33
they're like, "We're here with David." I go, "You guys, it was rolling. Everyone was fun."
00:54:38
Always rolling productions. You want to shoot the rehearsal? Hit the rib button and let her rip.
00:54:44
We covered George W. We did a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We did a little bit of Hall Pass. I did do Hall Pass with
00:54:51
Owen Wilson. I think we should go there. I knew a guy who had a real hall pass with his wife. Like literally. band. Uh, who was it? I don't know if he ever paid it off, but
00:55:03
it was like they both married as virgins together and she said, "You you got you got one." So, when this movie came out,
00:55:09
I go, "Damn, they made a movie about that." Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Good title. Good idea. I've been a hall pass for a couple
00:55:15
people. Have you starting to get it, Danny? Starting to get it. I was in Vegas at the meet and greet and
00:55:21
I say that to love it all the time. Starting to get it. Yours yours is coming home. Kay home.
00:55:28
Oh, yeah. Should I do one a couple of those for him? Yeah, go ahead. I try to come up with the worst hacky
00:55:33
redneck comedians. So, it's called Red Rednecky the Redneck comedian. I I met my sister only cuz mama took me
00:55:42
down. Come and get some. Got to catch. I asked my mama what's for dinner. She said roadkill. I said what kind? She says I got to take a drive. Come and get some.
00:55:52
I like it's in the jokes and you're like, "Oh, is that after the joke?" Come and get some. I got mine as rap. It's your It's your cigar pull. Like, you know, burns. It's like It's hard to come up with a catchphrase.
00:56:04
Come and get some. I I had to look it up. I couldn't have been the first one to say come and get some.
00:56:09
I remember who's the guy that would do Shucky Ducky. Quack quack. It was somebody on It was on deaf comedy.
00:56:16
Shucky. He might have been called Shucky Ducky. Oh, it might have been his name. Yeah. Shucky Ducky. Quack.
00:56:22
I think Louis there's millionaire influencers that just have a catchphrase. I like hot sauce.
00:56:28
They have a catch filter. A meme and a coffee cup. I don't know. I'm not a grumpy old man. I swear to
00:56:34
God, I'm not. I like with his movies. I just say what movies he's in. You were in Hall Pass, correct? Yep.
00:56:40
Okay. What else do other than like most of it? I did like Hall Pass. Masterminds.
00:56:45
Masterminds. Yeah, mastermind. It's a cartoon one. That was No, that was that was with uh Kristen Wig and and Galanakis and Owen
00:56:52
Wilson again. Yeah, I was just I played a little uh um like a hitman kind of showed up there for a couple weeks,
00:57:00
hired gun, you know, you come in, you screw together your sniper. You went back and hosted. Was that kind of cool doing that?
00:57:06
Yeah. Yeah. I I' I'd been asked prior, but the timing was was was off and it was I went back and played, you know, um uh uh Biden a couple times, Romney a
00:57:17
couple times, but but but at that point, I'd never I hadn't had the chance to host. And yeah, this perfect timing. Um,
00:57:23
yeah, it was nice. I mean, it it's it's a surreal experience. The one thing that
00:57:29
was different was it was postco, so like, you know, the table read was which I loved, you know, like Wednesday was
00:57:34
like like a little theater show for everybody, you know, and 55 skits. Oh, it was I I just loved it. And
00:57:41
and um just the marathon like the Bo in that room alone, everyone's 100%. Yeah. And and also and also everyone there has seen the best of the best of the best. Like at least a third
00:57:52
of that room has been there from the get-go. So they're just kind of like, "Okay, yeah, we've saw this. We've seen this, you know, 100 times over."
00:57:58
But um but regardless of all that, the the the opportunity for the first time ever like Yeah, cuz we during my time there's between 45 and 55 sketches like when when working
00:58:08
there, the 10 years I was there, I'd probably on a good week be in 12 to 17 of those sketches. So the most
00:58:15
time you're you're watching read and read through and read through and read through. So then to show up and go back and to be in 95% of the sketch cold
00:58:24
read over 50 sketches over four hours sickening like I loved it. I I I try to read them, you know, you make little
00:58:30
notes, you try to do it and then just give it give it your all. There's no way you could do it all. Are you a good reader? I'm like a cold reader.
00:58:35
Some people are exceptional and then some people are good. Maybe you're okay with it. I I am okay with it. Yeah. I I and it it
00:58:42
did make and it's something I say to anybody that is currently working at SNL or ever or ever did like or will like if
00:58:49
you get really good at doing SNL you go you then need to find you need to then leave like during the off weeks or the
00:58:55
summers go go play with other people that don't do SNL and you'll be you'll be like you'll feel like you know Daniel
00:59:00
Laruso like the karate kid where it's like oh I didn't know I learned how to do this you're faster because you're in this
00:59:05
allstar team and you lose perspective you don't take the bunker mentality into your relationships You know,
00:59:11
seems like you have dove tailing to Ted Delasio, you seem to have a lot of wisdom around SNL. Like what would you
00:59:18
say to a cast member who just got hired and they you had you had 30 seconds with
00:59:23
them? Yeah. Like I would say enjoy the process of creation and destruction on a on a you know weekly basis. Just enjoy it.
00:59:33
Like like make [ __ ] eat [ __ ] etc. repeat like and and and don't judge yourself for when it sticks or when it doesn't because like I've never said just because it it it dies doesn't mean it's dead. I've never said that before,
00:59:44
but that that that makes total sense to me. Oh yeah. You know, and there's timing. Where where is the set in the studio?
00:59:51
Who are you following? What sketch are you following? And what's the vibe of that audience? The moment sometimes that
00:59:56
I can just tell when I'm doing standup that there's a dead spot and I see a open micer coming up. I go, "No chance."
01:00:03
Yeah. Five minutes ago probably would have rode away. right now it's just dead. So there's a lot of whimsy. Yeah. But um you know Jerry
01:00:10
Miner who is a friend and was a guy that I looked up to you know uh when he was at Second City when he was on one of the
01:00:17
stages there. He came back to guest right and I asked him the same question. What would you you know if you had to do it all over again his time there. I
01:00:22
think he was there for like maybe two or three seasons. Uh he was I had more fun if you could the the the sooner you can
01:00:27
make SNL your recess versus your school. Yeah. The better. It's easier said than done. So hard. It's so hard. But that but and yet if
01:00:35
like if if you're able to do that well I feel like it builds like you're unless you're a savant like certain
01:00:41
people just immediate but you're trying to fight nerves try not to try try not to be too funny get the card here's the
01:00:48
guest look around land the laugh be there and then the audience eventually you land enough the audience kind of see
01:00:54
is you can feel the vibe they're liking to see you and then you get more confident and they like you more and
01:01:00
then I can see this happen with Cesaly Strong We were watching her evolution on the show. Absolutely. And you can't rush
01:01:06
it, but it's it's Lauren tried to expedite in a kind way. He asked me to do the warm-up before the show, like probably after my first or
01:01:14
second year in the cast. And I' again, never done standup. What would you do? I would just I would just do like like
01:01:20
old school jokes, you know? Raise your hand if you've never been to a TV taping before. All right. But another show hands at a TV taping for the very first
01:01:25
time. A lot of the same people, you know, you know, stuff like that. Um my son mentioned you yesterday cuz he
01:01:31
was at that show and he goes I go we're going to interview him. He goes oh man he's a really good stand up. Oh no cuz that's all he saw you coming
01:01:37
out that that I mean that was Lauren just wanting the audience to have a better sense of who I was before show before
01:01:44
you get out there. Yeah you know and he would and he would be you know Norm used to do it but like Normally
01:01:49
would say so I'm going to be in this sketch. I'm going to come out when I come out. Really really let him have it. Let him let me let him hear it you know
01:01:56
please. Yeah, you know, it'd be great if you could like stand up and apply, right? That'd be better than anything.
01:02:03
Lauren's like, Norm, let them not like you ahead of time and then go do your update where they're going to hate you. Don't you love when Norway always uses
01:02:11
the one name Chevy did it, Danny did it. Billy liked it. No, he's only one. I love I towards the end there like uh on Tuesdays was the host dinners. Did you guys have those? like where you
01:02:25
I loved them cuz it was like it was a little bit like the part of me that wouldn't do homework and then we try to talk about current affairs or current
01:02:31
events before you know we started talking about you know baolf you know like I didn't read bowolf but I can I can talk about them twwa
01:02:37
you know how to 4hour boozy dinner and then go back and write the show I did to avoid writing when they go
01:02:43
we're trying to gather people you want to go spay and I'm like yeah I I love it just to see Lauren like get
01:02:49
loose and and I learn through repetition so hearing stories that he may have told before It didn't bother me at all. I
01:02:54
just kind of like play as Ed McMahon or just like or just I was always like I loved when you came back to host you
01:03:01
I feel I felt I always had fun making Lauren like my straight man like during pitch meeting
01:03:06
on Mondays I would I would I have I for years since even Chicago I I still carry
01:03:12
them like these little tiny notebooks and I just sit there with this little notebook and it would be like all right Jason and I'd go hey Lauren you still
01:03:19
need you you ran out of karaoke last night without paying you you owe me a 100 bucks he's I'll get you. Okay. You
01:03:25
said that like you know like whatever and then and so then you know whomever you know Ludicrous or Ben Affleck
01:03:30
doesn't know what my relationship is with this guy who's an icon and it's just me like you know just giving him
01:03:36
giving him guff but he always like we would always laugh about it was always like respectful. It was never me
01:03:41
like you know being a dick to him but it was just just kind of like acting like he was just one of the one
01:03:46
of the bros one of the guys. Yeah. Yeah. And he hosting is scary. One time I went back and not I got sick after during dress
01:03:53
and I had to lay down and Marcy I don't know if you were there when Marcy as she was
01:03:58
of course dramatic anyway and then freaking out pounding on my door I was in that little dressing room off of 8H
01:04:04
the host and the music were there so I was in there laying on the ground and uh I threw up and then it was mid toward
01:04:11
the end of dress and I missed two sketches and I just went in and then they go so those got cut. Yeah.
01:04:17
The writers are like, "Fucking awesome." And it's already got a stink on it if we try
01:04:22
to bring it back next week for Michael Ke little little bit of barflex. Yeah. And then I I got up. I mean, hero is a
01:04:31
strong word, but I got up and I did the show. But um No, hero. That's whispering. I was
01:04:39
I went out there and did a real C++ episode. I hosted twice. I don't know if anyone was better. If you can consider
01:04:44
that. I remember Adam was in my my uh monologue once and then he water boy open and he had to fly back to LA and I
01:04:50
was and Lauren goes just do stand up and I'm like it's not that [ __ ] I never even go on anymore so I had to go
01:04:57
do cold standup of like dogs are funny. Do you know he made me do he or he made me he asked me to do the warm-up for the
01:05:04
[ __ ] 40th anniversary. Oh, he asked me to cuz I because I had done it for eight years. That one that I was
01:05:09
telling and again just straight up just just being goofy, you know. I mean, Don Partardo would introduce me and here
01:05:15
Jason and I give it up for Don Part, the man, the myth, the legend, the only person in this building that was quoted
01:05:20
in the Bible, you know, just doing old jokes. God said, "Let there be light." He flipped the switch, you know, like the corniest, hackiest, whatever. But
01:05:26
just having fun, right? The audience is and then all cast that 40. That's what I said to him. Like
01:05:32
he has Eric Kenworth who is a buddy producer on the show was you know writer guy that we work wrote together all the time and I was like what are you doing
01:05:38
like like Sarah Simmons in the house you know Chappelle Spade I name check I was
01:05:44
I was like these guys would all kill like why me just would you just do it you know and so I so I do it
01:05:51
and it is I eat so much [ __ ] I like it's not going no one's listening it's like
01:05:56
10 minutes before it's live and you're looking out there and what I've said is like it looked like the gatefold of like
01:06:01
Sergeant and Peppers the cover every person was famous. Every person was famous and then famous on top. Famous
01:06:07
was talking to famous. At some point I I was like, you know, said to Keith Richards who was talking to Jack Nicholson, you know, Keith, Jack, I
01:06:13
think if you guys sit down, people will start to follow along and and it's just nothing. Then I'm like, so I'm not
01:06:20
bummed. I'm just laughing about I look out in the crowd. Galifanak is is crying with laughter about how much [ __ ] I'm
01:06:25
eating. Lauren then comes up to me says says uh you know, do you want me to like off mic do you want me to introduce you
01:06:32
settle him down? I was like, "Yes, please." I go, "Yeah, man." Like, "That'll help." And he starts to go up to the mic. I go, "Hold on. Let me
01:06:38
introduce you." I go, "Lad and gentlemen, really quick. Let's give it up for the man. None of us would be here without him. The one and only. Please
01:06:44
put your hands together for Mr. Dick Eversol." And I do and I make that joke. And as I do that, Bill Murray walks right in front of me, looks up at me,
01:06:50
and gives me a little thumbs up like the boss. And I was like, "That's why you say yes to this game." I'll take that.
01:06:56
Lawrence says, you know, everybody quiets down a little bit. And then I got about 30 seconds to just say, "Hey, everybody have fun tonight." you know,
01:07:01
like before they got loud again before the real show started. But that was that was just mayhem. I don't I
01:07:06
didn't dressing room. I think I was just hanging out in the hallway or something. Yeah. I my my my m my mouth gets dry just thinking about it. Right.
01:07:12
Stargazing. Everybody turn into like somebody somebody I got to meet Eddie Murphy that night. I got like it was like a to-do.
01:07:18
Chappelle asked me, "Where can I smoke a cigarette?" Yeah. I wasn't sure. Go to Stairwell. I don't think you can. I What about a vape? He
01:07:25
goes, "I don't like them." Well, all right. I know. But it was wild. Bradley Cooper, can I get a picture with you? You know, sure
01:07:32
for one night. I know. All right, let's talk about Ted Lasso. Yeah, Ted Lasso. [Music] Ted started as a uh video
01:07:45
as a commercial. Yeah. Yeah. Very well. There was a guy with a beard in that and then who made that call? I mean, there you go.
01:07:51
Uh you guys is it the same guy? It's It is the same guy. Same guy. Yeah. Cuz I was watching this morning
01:07:57
going I don't know if they brought him over. No, no, that your guys chemistry and pattern. Yeah, we're we're pals from way
01:08:03
back when. I'll just set the table, David. Yeah. Um, so I hear about Ted Lasso. Everyone's talking about Ted Lasso. I'm
01:08:09
watching stuff. So eventually my wife and I get to Ted Lasso. Like everyone else are like
01:08:14
it's sort of mandatory at this point. Yeah. And then it became like this is lightning in a bottle.
01:08:19
And you've heard everything. And you actually was you can talk to it, but you've heard from famous people, right,
01:08:24
that just had to tell you what they thought. Can you want to mention them or no? Just famous. Well, I mean, the ones that stick out
01:08:30
were like, you know, finding out that Brad Pitt like the show, finding out that, you know, Frank Oz writing a lovely letter, you know, um when at the
01:08:38
Emmys last year sitting next to, you know, Brian Cox and his wife and and and you know, we were at a table with some of the succession folks and then him being I love the show like just
01:08:48
if you get it, you know, it's it works on so many different levels. It's very the the the the pop culture
01:08:56
patter how fast you all do it around the room talking about Julie Andrews movies it's all thrown away.
01:09:02
Julie Andrews sent Brett Brett Goldstein a very nice head shot her own appreciation for him. So
01:09:08
the Roy Kent guys oh these [ __ ] we're going to kill. So, it's like a it's it's it's almost like Andy Griffith
01:09:15
at times. It's so earnest and sincere. And then the likability factor of Ted Lasso, you know, the country bumps that doesn't know what he's doing. He's smarter than everyone. He has no ego.
01:09:26
When the guy tried to take you down, that actor would be Muhammad. Yeah. And then you did your press conference and turned it. So, what So, you got you do the NBC thing and I I
01:09:37
watched it again and you're a fish out of water. So you guys get in a room, they get the order. Yeah.
01:09:42
And so when did you know like, hey, holy [ __ ] we got a real hook for this now because you cast all these other
01:09:48
characters. Yeah. How does that come together? I mean, it's like it, you know, starts and stops like uh
01:09:54
because we we did the first commercial in 2013, the second one in 2014 we got to do because the one in 2013 was
01:09:59
wellreceived. It's sort of wellreceived just by your friends. They hear it. Yeah. But we also hear about it from the
01:10:04
football, you know, because it was it was made to bridge the gap between American football fans and and, you know, soccer fans and and Brendan, who
01:10:11
plays Coach Beard, and Joe Kelly, who's one of the creators of the commercial. Uh, and we're all friends. And we're
01:10:17
kind of like Goldilocks. I know nothing. Joe knows a little bit about both, and Brendan knows a lot about both, but
01:10:22
mostly in more importantly soccer. And so we we we tried to do that uh with the first commercial and it and it hits like this weird ven diagram of football fans like it, soccer fans like it, comedy folks like it. and the advertising like
01:10:34
the business people uh like it. And so we get to do a second one. They don't want to give us the same budget, meaning they don't want to fly us out to the UK.
01:10:41
That's okay. All right. We'll make the commercial about how Ted got hired and fired in 3 days and loved fell in love
01:10:46
with soccer, fell in love with the UK. And so that's where like all the enthusiasm and like like um like like not the egolessness, you
01:10:54
know, to a lot of degrees, you know, came out. So then in 2015, Joe and Bren and I meet in Brooklyn. Uh
01:11:01
my partner at the time was like, you know, what do you you guys all really enjoyed doing that? You should do something. I was like, yeah, but what?
01:11:06
So we sit out for a week and we're like, is it another commercial? Is it a movie? Is it is it this? And we and we sort of
01:11:11
modeled it after the British office, you know, six episodes, one season, six episode, second season, and then like an
01:11:17
hour and a half special for the third season. Like and we just we just just all these story ideas and characters just dumped out of
01:11:23
us in if that was a week, we worked on three projects that week. I'd say four out of those seven days like we're just
01:11:30
dedicated and we just filled up these pages. Then it goes away for a couple years. We have Olivia and I have kids.
01:11:35
Uh Joe couple years. A couple years. Yeah. We didn't do anything with it because we cuz kids uh Joe uh and three other buddies created a
01:11:42
show called Detroititers with Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson and our buddy Zack Cannon and that was on Comedy Central. So that was taking all of Joe's
01:11:48
focus. Um I was doing like little things with like Forte and and movies here and there. Uh and then Bill Lawrence uh
01:11:56
approaches me about doing a project. Uh we talk about that that doesn't quite you know uh you know we don't end up
01:12:03
doing that but he's like if you have any ideas and I have like this stack of like 50 pages like a you know first draft
01:12:10
rough draft of a pilot but then all these different breakdowns of episodes and ideas and whatnot. And you want to
01:12:15
take a look at this. I sent it to him. She gave it to Bill. Yeah. Gave it to Bill. Bill. And so that's so to answer your question, it's when someone that knows that much about
01:12:21
television looks at it and goes, "Oh, there's something here. Oh, yeah. You guys could do you guys could do this." You're probably 90% there with with that
01:12:27
to a certain degree. Yeah. I mean, a lot of it, but not that Bill's influence wasn't immense and super duper helpful.
01:12:32
And really was the gas that got this sort of pre like this old gel. Showunners are big big in this town.
01:12:38
They they almost are more important than the idea or the stars. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's it's it's and he
01:12:43
provided all that. So he really got us moving. And I and I look back through the text recently kind of remind
01:12:53
you for just you know the business. He had other things going on. We had other things going on you know and and you
01:12:59
know navigating the deals with and I mean it was you're talking about NBC owned the rights. Warner Brothers is
01:13:04
where Bill's deal was a show for Apple. Um and that was once Apple came on because we pitched it to everyone but
01:13:10
Apple was the only one that said we'll take it. We'll take a shot at it. And then you know then all the deal making after that once. So other places you
01:13:18
went in with a pitch and they said no thank you. Yeah. Netflix passed you know Amazon passed. I mean it makes like I get it
01:13:24
like cuz well until you see it. Yeah. No one believes until you see it. But you did have proof of concept. All you need is but the commercials are
01:13:30
pretty broad and I understood that. Oh that can't sustain. And yeah we tried we did do our darnest to pitch the tone of what it what it was
01:13:37
and yet yeah nobody was nobody was buying and I I I don't begrudge anybody really. Oh, no. Just
01:13:42
Tim Cook. Yeah. Yeah. Timmy Cook. How did you write the British characters, though? Like this the woman
01:13:49
who plays Rebecca. Yeah. Is so good. I mean, all all the British people are so good. How did you put
01:13:55
yourself in how they would react to the Americans cuz they're so well written, too. A little bit was good fortune of of
01:14:01
Brennan, Joe and I all getting to work in Europe, you know, even though it's we did theater, you know, for varying
01:14:07
degrees. like Brennon for like off and on for 5 years, Joe off and on for like 2 three years, me off and on for a year
01:14:12
like we're just writing archetypes, you know, and and and just of like the American, you know, whatever spirit, uh,
01:14:20
you know, and the assumptions being made and we'd made jokes about all those stereotypes and assumptions while at
01:14:25
Boom Chicago, you know, taking the piss out of ourselves. So we we kind of had that to a certain degree.
01:14:31
And and I mean Brits are like, you know, in a fun way, you know, one other thing we learn that I feel like I learned when doing stuff at Boom Chicago is how that were more similar than than we than we'd like to think
01:14:43
regardless of flag or or or you know, age or or race, gender, all the all those things, those those complicated
01:14:49
amazing things that make the human jumbo. Like at the end of the day, you know, we we like salt, we like sweet, we
01:14:55
like, you know, we like you know, kissing. Yeah. Yeah. But, but I mean, even across everywhere. So, so if
01:15:01
there's if there's an archetype of someone that is too positive, we I think any of us will assume like, oh, they're
01:15:06
not they're a nightmare or or something bad's going to happen or and he just sort of played against those those
01:15:12
things. You know, 75 years or however many years of sitcoms, you know, have us thinking that these things are supposed to go this way, these things are
01:15:17
supposed to go that way, and and we just try to like twist them or just turn them just a little tiny bit like nothing.
01:15:22
Again, nothing that we thought was so you don't see everything coming. You know, some people are smart. They think they see everything coming and then you
01:15:28
go, "Oh, it's a little not what you think." Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. And and and I remember feeling that way when watching the documentary about Mr.
01:15:34
Rogers being like, "Oh boy, here comes that the dark turn at minute 50." And then it doesn't and then you're like, "Okay, oh, they're going to wait until
01:15:40
an hour and 10 minutes in." Then it doesn't. You're just like, "Oh, he was just a decent man." Yeah. Who was trying to make a difference in
01:15:46
children's lives and also adults. Oh, wow. So, there's people subversive. That's cool. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
01:15:52
Yeah. What do I do about that? I mean obviously like Ted Lasso the first season there's a lot of failure and the
01:15:58
way and then just the fun of watching how he navigates it. Yeah. And and how he encourages other
01:16:03
people to do it. It like for me it the it also it always reminded me of like highway to heaven or you know touched by an angel like this idea of you know like like that this person would come in and
01:16:15
and you know sort of act this way and people go what the hell's going on here and it was like Yeah. Right. That's a good
01:16:21
just subconsciously I didn't realize at the time, but a big thing was about his egolessness. Like if you don't ego, no
01:16:26
ego. If you don't put any if if you just play it without any of that. He's not he's not trying to get over on people. He's not trying to trick anybody. And
01:16:33
it's still 100% consistent regardless of people thinking that it it it's, you know, different than that now than it was then or anything. It's like it's that's I talked to someone the other day actually who went on some psychedelic
01:16:45
trips with Iawaska and or mushrooms or whatever and it was really all about getting rid of the ego. Yeah. Cuz once the ego goes away then something has changed this person. So I
01:16:56
it's interesting you mentioned Ted has no ego. Yeah. That book How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollen was a big influence on
01:17:03
me and and and the times that I had done you know uh mushrooms you know in my Amsterdam days.
01:17:08
Oh, the Amsterdam episode. I saw that a couple weeks ago. Oh, yeah. No, that's something you have
01:17:14
to see. That episode you got to watch more than once. Yeah, there's Thank you. That's But but the whole show has so many levels to it. It can be slapstick. It
01:17:22
can be funny and silly and then it can be very real. It's like when you're playing darts, you Ted.
01:17:27
Yeah, sure. And you go something about I'm just curious. Yeah. Be curious, not judgmental. Yeah. Do people mention that to you?
01:17:34
A handful. Yeah. People have asked me to write that on like their arms and they get a tattoo and it's not his and I don't even know if it's Walt Whitman's.
01:17:40
I mean, we say it's Walt Whitman's because it's sort of apocryph. Yeah. Your character is casually always
01:17:46
quoting Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Robert Frost, but it's always thrown away. Yeah. You know,
01:17:51
trying to be Yeah. Like cuz it's he's not too Yeah. He's not too problem. You shepherd it like a sketching way. I
01:17:57
know you have your three other partners. By the way, there is so many producer credits on the on the show. It's
01:18:03
amazing. I don't even know. I I just watch the show and wait. Am I a producer on it? I don't know. You're on it. You might be. You might be after that
01:18:09
coexe. But do you you treat it like so you're probably someone else is technically directing, but you're going
01:18:15
to be you're just going to be an overwriting creative force in it just like shephering a sketch here.
01:18:20
Yeah. I mean, the way I can it's it's a little bit like it's a big old cookout. Everybody brings a dish and I just sort
01:18:26
of help put things on the plate. But the sensibility has to stay wherever you want it to be. Well, if you I'm sure
01:18:32
something sounds false, you can stay say I don't feel Yeah. Yeah. That's that's been afforded to me from the get-go. Yeah.
01:18:38
And do you It's It's done now, right? So, you miss You're going to miss it. I'm sure. I will. Yeah. I mean, we're still, you
01:18:43
know, like I I still watch cuts for like, you know, music stuff or or something like that. Um but for the most
01:18:49
part, Yeah. But all the editing is done, all the writing's done. Uh it's and and now, yeah, we have the final four
01:18:54
episodes being rolled out and then, you know, handful of press here and there, which is a joy to do because I get we all get along actually. in the editing
01:19:01
bay they call it. So it's sort of there's so many choices in there and so I would assume coming
01:19:07
from all those years of sketch comedy and other things that and you may have people that are on the same sensibility but sometimes
01:19:13
you'll know or I assume you're going to know we have to go to that reaction shot a little sooner. Yes. To get to laugh.
01:19:19
Yes. So there's all that mathematics in there and so this show is landing it so consistently. I always assume it's
01:19:24
either a few people that are right on the same frequency or one person that says, "Guys, I think we should do it
01:19:29
this way, but there's a reason why it's so brilliant." I I mean, I think it's an just the best
01:19:36
idea winning. And yeah, there's a certain level of harmony in it. And it is something that I learned in that same Karate Kid way I was talking about with
01:19:42
with SNL where you know by the time by the time you were there and by the time you were
01:19:47
there 20, you know, 15 years later, all those same people were still there building those sets, making those props, building
01:19:53
those wigs, you know, and they're all great at it. They've done their they've done 10,000 hours times, you know, just our three generations, much less the two
01:19:59
prior and then the four cents or whatever. And like I was like, "Okay, I'm going to my
01:20:05
sketch got picked. I'm gonna go into that room with the heads of each department and just let them know what the sketch is about from my perspective
01:20:12
without pontificating without without you know being condescending and just let these geniuses do whatever they want
01:20:17
to do with it. And then you just we have done that with this show like where you and and if you leave a little space for the people
01:20:23
to create behind the camera and in the office and in marketing and whatever to lean into this show the same the same
01:20:30
space and and grace we want to afford the audience as well. I think a lot of people get you know feel more ownership
01:20:36
over they're good in their job and you let them do their job and if you hire good people I I like to not worry about something. I
01:20:41
like to kick at someone and say you know what you're doing way more than I do and you come in there. It's nothing like someone handing you some great
01:20:48
something good and you get it all basically and I get that Robert Smiggle was that for me turn it you know in
01:20:54
terms of that's such a difficult word art or whatever it seems like there was some and you can talk to this or not an
01:21:00
autobiographical tinges in the third season based on you potentially your private life with it was you can speak
01:21:08
to that or not but I I couldn't help but notice and I thought it was so wonderfully done because I've been on
01:21:14
the road at times with my sons and stuff like that. Yeah. I mean, but those are very poignant scenes.
01:21:20
Thank you. Yeah. The what's interesting is is that my relationship to my life like I'm I'm I'm it wasn't there from the very get-go. Like even when uh the initial idea of
01:21:34
doing a show like why would he go there? Because a guy like my age would have most likely have a child at least one
01:21:39
child and and probably be in a relationship. If he's not, there's some there's must be a reason why. And so
01:21:45
that's why the pilot ends the way a pilot. I mean, I like literally the second it was it was thinking about it in a long form of a television show, I
01:21:52
was like I knew that that was the ending of the pilot was going to be okay. Uh so
01:21:57
so none of that was autobiographical and then his life sort of marched on. The only thing that that that in my life
01:22:02
that helped inform the playing of things and maybe even the the um the the notion
01:22:09
of of a of a story point uh when breaking the episodes was being a father and so what that's like to be away from
01:22:16
from your child because you know Otis and Daisy were you know the season 2 and season 3 were in London so I wasn't away
01:22:22
from them you know with with you know the way we we split our time uh with our children it's a week on week off so um
01:22:29
but I was always, you know, they don't do overtime in the UK, so I was home. I was able to be home for Yeah. Yeah. So,
01:22:35
like they literally afford the opportunity to make a living. I know, right? And so, so I didn't have to,
01:22:41
but I but to I, you know, my luckily my I've never had a parent take their own life. So, you just kind of like have to
01:22:46
do the acting thing of like empathize with someone that has gone through that or has been forced to go
01:22:52
through that based on the decisions. Um, and so yeah, it's it's I understand people conflating the two. I I it's a good answer that it's not not
01:23:03
maybe people are reading in a bit place to go anyway. Yeah. It's it's what would naturally happen in these things. I
01:23:09
because so much of it for me is is like is like what happens when you know if you if you if you haven't
01:23:14
broken up with someone you haven't been broken up with then then there's a whole bunch of music out there for you once
01:23:20
you do. There's a whole bunch of movies and TV, too. Like, uh, and whether you're on either side of that thing, uh,
01:23:25
and and boy, you think you like songs now, they're going to get you through things and make you want to jump off a a
01:23:30
roof and think you can fly or the opposite. And it's it's a compliment to your acting, too, you know, when you have that little soccer field, the Lego set,
01:23:42
you're missing your, you know, or just the little references to FaceTime or my son's here right now.
01:23:48
there's where his flight is. All all that detail is so I mean that's just also having friends
01:23:53
that that you know go go through all these things and just yeah just keeping keeping those things in your head, heart
01:23:59
and soul and letting them bang around there. Then at some point when they come out they come out you know I think about
01:24:04
watch the uh it's not usually conscious like I I I watched the audio commentary for
01:24:10
Godfather uh I think it was either one or two just recently and it was talking about how he made Godfather one and then
01:24:15
everybody loved it and he's like do Godfather 2. He was like, "I don't have a Godfather, too." He He's like, "I don't." He goes, "But I forget the line
01:24:21
the studio had had for him." He's like, "You found out the the the formula for Coca-Cola and you won't make any more
01:24:26
bottles." Like, it's such a great line. And And he had this separately, he had this idea about a father and son story
01:24:33
where you show the father and son contemporaneously at when they're at the same age. And then that like came down. He
01:24:41
remembered that and that became Godfather, too, you know. And so like these things going on in the world in
01:24:46
life, you know, are one thing, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's their time to show up. You know, Christopher Walkin hasn't hasn't showed up to say the lines
01:24:52
yet, you know, and so you're kind, all right, well, here here it is all at this time. And so
01:24:57
is it because one of our lisms that we remember is he said to me once, um, you never leave a hit. Mhm. You know, so it's Ted Lasso. Is it
01:25:09
not my advice? Is it is it done now? this story is done. It's it it sounds like such a political answer, but it's the truth. It's like we only conceived what you know these these three then
01:25:20
this thing became this this this big old thing that I mean how much content is the three seasons if you think of it as a movie or
01:25:26
Oh gosh. I mean it's 10 episodes, 12 episodes, 12 episodes, but this season is probably twice as long as the first
01:25:32
season. The episodes are just, you know, just longer. There's more more characters, more story. It could go back to being an NBC promo.
01:25:38
Yeah, exactly. You know what I think you could do? the natural the Doppler effect. I know what's you know how this is some
01:25:44
of flight effect. Sorry I'm interrupting. I'm cross talking. Um Tarantino wrote a a book after Once Upon
01:25:52
a Time in Hollywood which I loved so much. It feels like Ted Lasso if there ain't going to be more television that
01:25:59
that character people would want to hear. Have you thought of that? 100%. Yeah, we've thought about
01:26:04
writing a novel about him. if whether it's that whether it's whether it's you know doing podcasts about the episodes
01:26:10
to sort of you know offer those audio commentaries which I was you know so lucky to grow up in a day and age of DVDs just to sort of talk talk through
01:26:17
things and themes and and the people that have you know u expressed interest in the show and also explain the show in
01:26:23
a much more cerebral cerebral uh way than I ever would have you know been able to you know explain it to anybody. Um, and even even when they're off or wrong, you know, it's it's still
01:26:34
interesting. But but yeah, I mean there, you know, there's opportunities, I think, for for spin-offs. The way people have have gravitated and cared for these
01:26:40
characters and seen themselves or their friends or their family in these characters in these situations is is,
01:26:46
you know, we were hoping people would do that. We didn't expect it to be. When what was when did you kind of go,
01:26:52
"Holy [ __ ] halfway through the first season or when you won all the 18 Emmy nominations." At some point you went
01:26:58
even winning the Emmy or even the nomination for the Emmys didn't I think it I don't know man it you know it came out during quarantine so we didn't know you know cuz I'm not too
01:27:10
active online and less so then I just a guy would drive by the house and I'm taking out the garbage and honk hey love the show right and it's a little bit the same way I felt SNL days you know you
01:27:21
walk around on Sunday and people like great show last night you're like oh right people watch someone's watching
01:27:26
you I mean, you can you can get a feel for what works and what doesn't sometimes just out in the real world. Yeah. Oh, 100%. Yeah. And it's and it's
01:27:33
usually very and then you're getting like slaughtered with it. You go, "Oh [ __ ] something's" Then an Emmy nomination. Yeah. Then Apple probably tells you it's doing
01:27:39
well and they might not tell you exactly how, but it's doing well. That was the That was a a big difference that was that probably is from a
01:27:45
business side of things understanding that they have access to metrics and and information that they don't share was
01:27:50
was it premiered on a Friday. we had already started our writer room for season two like you know just kind of
01:27:55
just in case just in case uh then Monday calls the the heads of Apple call and say hey so we'd love to pick
01:28:01
you up for a second season then two weeks after that we'd love to add can you do two more episodes for a second
01:28:06
then two weeks after that we we'd love to get you for a third season and you're like something has they know something that I don't know in
01:28:12
the intersect but that anecdotal thing of walking around like became more clear um you
01:28:18
know cuz season 2 we're we're in lockdown up there in in London you know, so so you know, we started going to
01:28:25
things later. Yes, we were winning these awards, but then you feel like, oh, is that just inside the the the bottle or the bowl, you know, the showbiz box
01:28:32
and uh which is lovely and flattering and and also a little something you keep. I don't know about you guys, but I
01:28:38
you keep a little bit like Well, you're going to kill do season 4. It'll crush. Exactly. Yeah. You don't you don't want to spook the muses. And so by by the time we're going back there to do this
01:28:49
this past third season all of 2022 and getting to take you know the kids to like football matches and stuff and have
01:28:54
people calling us coaches and being excited to see us and like that that I would say you know
01:28:59
and hearing Brad Pitt loved it. Yeah. Yeah. That's always nice. Yeah. Miss Piggy and Yoda. Come on. No matter what you do Dana like you've
01:29:06
done it we've done it. You hear from the streets like I could tell you the top movies that they like the top because
01:29:11
it's just in order. You just hear this one the most, this one the most. And they probably only really like probably
01:29:16
40 of my movies. Like really really long. I like them all. [Music] I I want to ask you a question. So this is So you're you come off
01:29:30
Why did I add that? I don't know. We have editing capability. Get rid of anything I say.
01:29:36
This is what's curious to me is because I came off like a rocket. I've never had anything because of this. 30 years
01:29:41
later, I'm having a little bit of a moment in Hollywood. Nothing that anyone would know about, but I'm getting more things coming at me.
01:29:48
So, you come off SNL, you're doing all these movies, pandemicist, whatever. You do this and now here you are. You're the
01:29:54
bell of the ball. Uh Hollywood loves you. So, now you're wiser, more mature. What
01:30:00
do you What is What's coming at you like movies? Would you do a potato chip commercial if the price is right?
01:30:05
100% with Forte and Solomon. Yeah. You got to dance with the ones that brought you, you know. I couldn't couldn't do it alone. you know right now that you have
01:30:12
this heat and that the audience loves you, the world, you know, you're in this moment and so I just wondered how cuz
01:30:19
now you're it's happening a second time. Here it is again. Yeah, it it doesn't feel like it from the inside. Maybe that's my own just
01:30:25
sort of like but are things coming at you though like to a to a degree but like there's a little bit of things off the ground.
01:30:32
What do we do? What do we do with But with the TV show it' be probably scary to go do one right away like you
01:30:37
you for a second a complete you know about face. I mean, there's a few ideas out there like I I was really really
01:30:44
wanted to do this uh this play on Broadway with uh um but but just with with family it's it's tough it's tough to I'm still trying to navigate those real life things and also just where
01:30:56
where where my you know head heart and soul are at and and there's also a great desire to like get
01:31:03
a little bored cuz I take your time. Yeah, I I would say if anybody was advising,
01:31:08
I would say just don't be in a hurry. This thing's going to this thing is still, you know, it's still landing.
01:31:14
People are discovering it today. Tell anyone who hasn't seen it, start. Yeah. It's it's it's and and I and I,
01:31:21
you know, I I I believe in that wholeheartedly. I I I I what I truly love is seeing the way um all these
01:31:28
great people behind the scenes uh in front of the camera, the way that that their lives have changed from it in a
01:31:34
way that I was afforded an early glimpse of that with being hired by SNL, you know, that that's
01:31:40
that that changes the way folks that maybe weren't supportive of a child taking a path in the arts, mine were luckily, but it changes the game there where it's like, you know, my my
01:31:52
son you know, is just work so much. Just anything on a on they especially if one of their first
01:31:58
things is a hit. Like it's also scary because some people like we used to talk about when you go on Friends and you're
01:32:06
young actor and you're on Friends and you don't as much as you tell yourself you don't know how hard it is after that. Like it
01:32:12
can't be like this all the time. Even though everyone treats you like a certain way on anything that does well, you look back, it's always going to be ups and
01:32:18
downs. So yeah, it's kind of like what you bring to it. Like I like I know we worked just as hard on you know and any of those
01:32:24
movies that you that you named as I did on this. I was charged with more responsibility and and and being
01:32:29
like you know like from the writing side producing side being the final like tube for you know decision-m and and you know
01:32:36
tone cop and and whatnot that's that's all lovely but at the end of the day what I'm putting out there and what I want to put out into the world is and
01:32:42
and how I go about trying to do that. been doing that is, you know, from any of these sketches, you know, from the
01:32:47
sketches that weren't on SNL that that I did with, you know, all my buddies back in Kansas City from obviously or your very tight
01:32:54
friends. As long as that's coming from that area, then it's probably going to be good.
01:32:59
Unless it's I don't know if Quint turn or whoever your favorite director of course, but in in lie of anything else,
01:33:05
if it's coming from you, it probably it feels it feels authentic and all I've done is added to the people that I want to make laugh and and be proud of of
01:33:13
what I'm doing. and then how I'm going about doing it. So, it is those guys that I played basketball with, you know, those guys from my, you know, quote
01:33:19
unquote cross cross country team, but then but then I acquired everything from my, you know, uh, days of improv in
01:33:25
Kansas City, Chicago. Boom. And so, it's just like this that same that same gatefold, that same, you know, that I
01:33:31
saw on the 40th. Like, I have that many people, you know, behind me and they're not looking over me being like
01:33:36
correcting my work or making me second guess. They're just encouraging me and and and you just want to kind of be able to look back there metaphorically and be
01:33:43
like, "Yeah, have them, you know, doing that nod of just like, yeah, do it. Keep doing that. Keep doing that. Keep being,
01:33:48
you know, be you just want to be proud of you. You know, you want and you also want to feel getting to come through
01:33:53
sketch and improv in a whole community like Chicago could have happened to 10 dozen of the people that I got to
01:33:59
work with, you know, just different, you know, that never got a total break." brilliant and
01:34:06
you want to do right by them too because it's it's um I don't know it's there's so much whimsy to this game and it's there but by the grace of God go I mean you have to stay humble and go
01:34:19
I I love Paul Newman for that he was my favorite celebrity because one one they would go oh you've raised 500 million
01:34:26
for from your spaghetti sauce he goes I wish I'd kept the money you know didn't want to be put on yeah a pedestal and
01:34:34
the other saying, "How did you do it? How did you I could give you a thousand answers. Just plain dumb luck." Yeah.
01:34:41
So, just those two things. Uh, you asked about movies that were huge influence. It's not a not a comedy
01:34:46
by any means, but a big one that shows up in Ted Lass all the time was Color of Money. Like, and you know, in 1986, so
01:34:52
like between my ages of 9 and 11, I watched these movies that I'd go to theaters with my dad. Things are R-rated. You know, like movies are
01:35:00
change. They like everything that the mental uh excuse me the the the male mentoring in that movie like of you
01:35:06
know Tom Cruz is like and Tom Cruz after you know ladies and gentlemen you know Top Gun
01:35:12
Tom Tom Cruz you know well after Risky Business and all the right moves and all that but like now he's like a bonafide like
01:35:17
and he's incredible. He's he's like that's when you don't hear enough about Color Money was a because Scorses has so many good ones
01:35:23
but Color Money I like I like I love that movie. I was talking about that Ed Nort and I were I saw him
01:35:28
recently. were talking about the movie and I I thought I was going to get laid into when he started talking about scores cuz that guy knows the guy's done
01:35:34
the thing and forgot more about movies than I'll ever know like and he brings up Color of Money. I go I was so ready
01:35:40
to geek out like that's my favorite Scorsesei movie and a lot of it has to do with the way I saw it but then also those performances. I go I I recommend
01:35:46
people to see that movie and then if you love it then go back watch the hustler as like a prequel,
01:35:52
you know, because Jackie Leon is that Jackie Leon and Paul Newman. Yeah. Where he plays fast Estee Felson. same character,
01:35:57
you know, same guy that wrote the novel, Walter Tevis, you know, who wrote both books. And well, I I like pool hall movies. I like,
01:36:02
you know, rack them. We were going to put podcast rack and after you do a punch, you go rack
01:36:10
transition with the sound of the balls. Rack them. Cuz there's a mystique there's a mystique to people that can play the piano really well as adults that you've
01:36:17
never seen play piano that are really good at Jeopardy. Yeah. You know, and and pool. Like if someone's good at pool, you're like,
01:36:22
especially if they didn't grow up with money, they didn't grow up with a table in there. Like how do you get good at pool? The way they do the chalk and the way it
01:36:28
goes perfectly on their hand. The math of it. It's so complicated. Pool but you know the the dramatic movies
01:36:35
affected me. 2001 I wasn't everything watching Jonathan Winters and stuff. Those things I don't I wouldn't say
01:36:41
could I do that. It was just like just blew my mind as art and the Beatles of course Pink Floyd
01:36:46
Tom Hanks and Michael Keaton movies like where they're just where they're funny 15% of the movie but it's like they're
01:36:52
carrying this dramatic narrative like Mr. Mom, Mr. Mom is incredible. Mr. Mom is finally kisses too. I love
01:37:00
just a magic as an actor, you know. Gung-ho. I love that was a movie my uncle. I have a Gung-ho poster that my
01:37:06
aunt Nancy gave me in my basement and that was But again, Michael Keaton like was so He's great.
01:37:12
I mean, him and Tom Hanks like like just they were these these modern versions. Tom Hanks and big.
01:37:18
Yeah. Tom Hanks. What' you guys think of Punchline? I mean that was your work that was your
01:37:23
knew someone who who trained himself. Barry Soil was a stand who who um I thought Tom did a great idea. I mean he did a great job. Yeah. It's it's such an interesting like
01:37:34
having I guess one that we could talk about altogether is like you know Studio 60 like when they when when someone makes a a a film or television show
01:37:41
about your world like we're we're very blessed to have a bunch of the football soccer community having you know taken
01:37:47
us under their wing and embraced us in a way that again we weren't you know jocking for but the fact that we got it
01:37:52
authentically and organically like really floats our boat. Yeah, we're very very pleased about that. It's hard to make a a movie about
01:37:59
standup you know. And I think distance running, there's never been Chariots of Fire. Not really difficult to capture
01:38:06
that. I think usually there is the meltdown and then the mic feeds back. Yeah. And the comedian has a meltdown, which of course Tom Hanks, who's a brilliant actor, played it perfectly, but I've never seen that in a
01:38:16
Well, they also have locker rooms. The comedian turns and then there's a squeak. And wasn't there a locker room? Yes, there
01:38:21
was. And I think Taylor dressed up as like a nun or something for the show. It did it
01:38:27
as well as anyone's done it, but it it it's hard to do it like if someone they talk about doing a dramatic show about a
01:38:34
sketch show. Yeah. You know, like Studio when they did I love the pilot and then
01:38:40
Studio 60. Yeah. It's just tough tough to capture that. That was all I watched. Yeah, it is. It's very It's It is.
01:38:46
What What are the movies you revisit now as a Pulp Fiction is a big one like I think
01:38:52
Die Hard is Quinton. What did you say the second one? Die Hard. I think di you can watch again like when my wife and I it's u
01:38:59
you know we watch a lot of Redford you know all the presidents we watch three days of Condor
01:39:05
um which casting Sundance kid I showed to my my sons six months ago unreal unreal this is awesome you know
01:39:12
it's really fun you have all that ahead of you how old are your kids Otis is nine Daisy's seven
01:39:17
yeah so you're is he asked for Save it Private Ryan yet no but but I do show them I remember my dad taking me to
01:39:24
Beverly the Hills Cop in the theater. I saw that movie in the theaters with my dad. Not supposed to. F-words all over
01:39:30
the place, you know, nudity. Like, and never forget it. And it made me like I wanted to be Eddie Murphy so bad.
01:39:37
So bad. So bad. I like, you know, and and more so than than like Chvy Chase and Fletch. I I loved, you know, Chvy
01:39:43
Chase, but like but Axel Foley really like knocked my socks off in a way that still does when I when I rewatch.
01:39:49
And they're coming out with a new one, right? Or is that I guess. But, you know, we'll see. We'll see see what happens. Yeah. At least we got the I loved animals was my my R-rated one.
01:39:57
They showed the girls tit. I know. I know. It's heavy duty and it was pretty great. What does that mean? I just in the
01:40:04
middle of the movie I go I have a boner. It was so elicit, so nasty. And Monty Python. Monty Python was that was I was pretty young. Yeah,
01:40:15
that scared me. Saw The Longest Day when I was seven in the theater black and white World War II film.
01:40:20
Yeah. shout about you know the ships come up a little broken German there. Did you see the Fableman's the Spielberg
01:40:26
one? I haven't watched it yet. I watched on the plane riding. What do you think? I loved it. Really? Yeah. I I mean
01:40:32
it is Spielberg Spielberg telling you know autobiographical like his story but just his love of movies and and having
01:40:38
children that are falling you know in love with storytelling getting to see their mom and dad do it and and and um
01:40:45
you know so much I feel of of and I understand the the laments of over nepotism but so much of it is is seeing
01:40:51
someone do it and see them enjoying it or seeing the way people enjoy them. I I I you know, nothing that I've purchased or uh have been given on a plane uh will
01:41:04
move Otis towards wanting to be do what I do for a living more than him probably seeing people give me as many high fives
01:41:10
as they do when I go to when we go to soccer or anything. When they're happy to see when people are happy to see
01:41:16
they're being polite and and begin because of the themes of this show, they're like Yeah. I mean, it's something that we I mean, how often have
01:41:23
we had the opportunity for people that work in comedy to have people tell them take them aside and be like, I I
01:41:28
discovered this. I watched this when I was going through this and it helped me. That's the thing. It's like if you were famous for I don't want to pick on
01:41:34
Porkies, but something like that. A hard r weirdo movie that everyone loved. But with Lasso, uh TL
01:41:42
Teddy with Teddy, you um you know, the people are going to be emotional about it because it it touches
01:41:47
everything. Yeah. Hannah gets that a lot who play the woman who plays Rebecca. Just the amount of women that come up to her and just like you are playing me.
01:41:53
Yeah. She is a force of nature obviously. So the thing I was going to say earlier about the the the theuh writers, you
01:42:00
know, we let we let all the Brits Englishize things. Every now and then do we do we push back where it's just like car park versus parking lot or saying
01:42:06
tie instead of draw. And some of those things drive people crazy and I understand that but that's just, you know, this is the phrase that I would
01:42:12
always use just so folks in Kansas get it. So you're trying to get too much in the weeds of like the the politics of
01:42:18
you don't want to lose because I think if if if your dominating emotion is confusion then you're that
01:42:24
much further away from either being happy or sad. You know you talk like Ted Lasso sometimes. Say
01:42:29
that again. If your dominant emotions are I like your dominating emotion is confus. If your dominant emotion is confusion
01:42:35
you're you're you're that much further away from making an a if the audience is confused then they don't know whether to
01:42:41
laugh or or cry at at a given moment. So yeah, you kind of try to give him breadcrumbs without me during tenant. That's nice.
01:42:47
Exactly. Juno most my dominant emotion was anger. Juno Temple. Yes, ma'am. Is great. Just got to go through the list. Well, no, I just I like all the these two actresses especially are great.
01:42:59
Obviously Brett Goldstein just the way he stands all the time as far, you know, like a gunslinger.
01:43:05
Yeah, he he's he's just funny. He's a funny funny voice. I'm sure it's not some someone's
01:43:10
going to do him on SNL. I know. I'm surprised they haven't yet. really surprised. He's such a funny character.
01:43:15
Yeah, but that's all him, you know, it's fun to hear him talk about because it's him doing Bill Sykes in his mind from
01:43:20
Oliver. He's just trying to be Bill Sykes, you know, just like and so yeah, when I'm doing like rewrites or where
01:43:25
you're breaking stories, just like the same thing at the rewrite table at SNL, just doing bad impressions of all these like very specific, you know, authentic
01:43:32
people. I'm just, you know, talking like this with Rebecca and like that and I'm doing bad. I can't do any of these
01:43:37
accents, but you're just hearing them. You're just hearing the the rhythm and the cadence of it and you know trying to draw from what they're you know what you
01:43:45
and when did you decide I just one more question one last question when did you decide that you would use
01:43:52
uh R-rated language was that pretty early on you kind of use it you don't lean on it but all of a sudden it's like
01:43:58
he's [ __ ] [ __ ] mostly from him but that's an interesting it was I 100% didn't want to use it
01:44:05
myself I didn't want him to be you know all those movies that you you I sort of got and I I mean I was making these
01:44:11
choices, you know, for for the reasons I made them. You know, the movies that I was doing and the characters I was playing, a lot of them were CADs, you know, guys on the make, you know, like
01:44:17
um trying to trying to get uh uh girls and whatnot. Like Dick Fuel. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Like he just
01:44:24
wanted respect, you know. He just wants respect and a paycheck and a good lunch. Uh but like uh but then so I knew that
01:44:31
lay on for me. I didn't want to be body and I didn't want to I didn't want him to swear. If he did, it was only, you know, I think he's done it once every
01:44:36
season. Um and but everybody else it's like yeah that's just the world you know as as it is. And so we just wanted to
01:44:43
it just works. Yeah. Apple never fought it. They didn't want us to use the cword. Um um so we we
01:44:48
there was a monologue we had thrown around in England more. I mean it's like and that was the whole
01:44:54
premise. It was like you know we were even ready to beep it you know. But it was May the the the you know the woman who owns the the bar uses it very
01:45:00
casually and uh and in reference to uh Ted to Ted when he Yeah. and and and just Ted and Beard's reaction to whoa hey you know she's like what what's the big deal you know and just her going no
01:45:12
you can use it in a bunch of different ways and she goes through a bunch of different ways you know what it reminds me a lot of like when we it ended up not
01:45:18
being able to use it cuz Apple was like nah we you know we can't use a c word I was like all right um was remember uh uh
01:45:24
Schneider's standup bit from days gone by of the word dude yeah is that that that great that idea of
01:45:31
I like that you remember that oh yeah yeah that was you on that special too I think right was that the young comedians. Oh yeah,
01:45:36
that thing got a lot of lot of in a closet with a knife, dude. Yeah, Rob has some really good
01:45:43
rhythms, dude. Oh, no. I mean, come on. I didn't know it was B. I didn't say it on the ticket.
01:45:49
Hi, Rob. No, that's my joke. Calm down. He's doing me with the You too concert. Oh, what is it? Bono's yelling no war. No war. I'm saying no more.
01:46:00
You're saying no more? What is he saying? War. Sorry. I go I don't know. I don't even know who the [ __ ] is singing. I'm supposed to
01:46:06
read his lips. Am I booging you? Am I booing? You didn't mean to boo. That's a bad bon. When What's your brain candy? When do you want to calm down? What do you do? Take a walk? Do you
01:46:18
watch a I do? You watch the best of David Spade or Yep. Still do I have you do now? Um I do. Um I mean I'll play the last few years has been pinball was one for
01:46:29
uh you know a while, but those are tougher to move around, right? So, so playing video games, like playing, you know, Fortnite with like friends and
01:46:35
just, you know, turning my brain off and just focusing on that. And then a thing that I got into over the last like I mean I'd always been into it but over
01:46:41
the last you know six years basically uh was like magic like just shuffling cards like just I just find it very
01:46:48
meditative and and a lot of times when in situations where I have to do as much you know listening and thinking as I do
01:46:54
talking I'll I'll usually have a deck of cards on me because it'll keep me from you know pulling out my beer you know
01:47:00
shuffling. Yeah. Yeah. Or just or just kind of like you know doing like little slight of hand moves. And I don't really perform magic for anyone. I just I just I'll do
01:47:07
it for like friends after a couple beers or like my kids if there's just like a deck laying around, but I've never been one and be Hey, you want to see a trick?
01:47:13
You know, I haven't relaxed, David. Um, I don't know. Actually, I haven't been in 30 years. See, I envy that. I wish I could I I know before I
01:47:25
before I die, I know I will dedicate more time to like trying to play the piano. I've done it throughout my life and then something always but it's just that desire to want to run before I can
01:47:35
even crawl and it's so hard. Piano is tough, you know. I I have an electric piano too. I'm just banging on
01:47:41
it all the time. But I don't, you know, but the guitar, if you get nylon strings, get a small guitar, just learn
01:47:46
because it doesn't rip up your fingers. Yeah. Before you get the calluses, so you get a clear note rather. It's all
01:47:52
mushy. Yeah. Learn five chords, G, C, D, E minor, and then you can play 100 songs.
01:47:58
No, but it's really simple. It's mostly the right hand. Is Smoke on the Water still the go-to one or is that too old?
01:48:04
That aged you so hard. Spade. I don't even know what it is. No, that's a deep purple, isn't it?
01:48:09
I'm young. Don't act like you don't know what Smoke on the Don't make me the old guy. You probably know what it's about, too.
01:48:17
I would do um Come don't you know Nirvana get com I mean I've always loved Nirvana there. I was right in the sweet spot.
01:48:29
Well, me too. And I was older, but still thought they were random. And I listened to them a ton before
01:48:35
doing this season uh for one reason or another. And um I got and Otis was learn learn, you know, playing guitar. Him and Daisy take these these like lessons, do this thing out here called Kid Row. It's
01:48:46
lovely. It's like School of Rock, but they just call it When you're young, you learn so much better. And and I I bought a I'm left-handed,
01:48:53
even though I don't play guitar, but I would play I air guitar left-handed, so I bought Yeah. Exactly. Or or Kurt Cobain. So I bought like a guitar and
01:48:59
try and Otis and I took a lesson together, he was already better than me and I was slowing him down and I'm just like even playing Smells Like Teen
01:49:06
Spirit. So hard, so difficult. And and then even if you play the simple version of it, like it hurt my fingers. I
01:49:12
couldn't like drums are a much more natural fit for me. I have better limb separation.
01:49:17
You could also get a a maple neck uh Strat and have them put the David. This is inside baseball. It's a Strat. caster. The nylon strings was a mindblower here
01:49:30
because I was like, "Oh, yeah." Also with very lightweight strings on an electric guitar. Um, you could play bar
01:49:37
chords with that. Really simple. It's still hard. It's like It's like impossible.
01:49:43
Even people that don't that just do it noodling around make it look so easy. It it it's a Look, well, next time we
01:49:50
hang out, I'll show you I'll show you a couple. I'll show just a D chord and then a bar. Just bar, three notes. bring a pinball machine and then you'll be
01:49:56
like I'll take I we have a little farm up up north and uh I want a room with pinball
01:50:02
machines in it cuz it's worth at least as a kid they were huge. I've not played it in a while but and a pool table.
01:50:08
Jason was our guest today and he in summation it's the the left brain lived at Burger King. He's one of Kansas's favorites. He has a very small room at the Paramont Hotel.
01:50:22
A small room. Uh, we don't normally sum up. His next thing is going to be something with low pressure. He might remake The
01:50:27
Godfather or something. Um, our guest has been Jason Sudake. You were great. I car murdered out by
01:50:33
the way. Not bad, huh? Yeah. Not bad. Called the jet car. I wanted to look Yeah. Like a Batmobile. It looks allar movie star and now a
01:50:42
global live streaming star. I don't know. It sound I said star three times. Sounds like a nice resume. I just call the best and take your time and have fun and
01:50:53
and I'm one of those people that was really affected by this show and it just love it. Just really affects me. I was
01:50:59
affected by you. We're going to work on you work in progress. No, I'm not. Look at I'm I took notes. No one works hard. Thank you, Justin. What's your name?
01:51:10
Justin Thorough has been our Justin Billy Sadakus was here today who played Ted Liso. I think Bill Sedakus was wasn't he like a a baseball player if I remember is that Greek or what's
01:51:23
Lithuanian? Lith who? Lithuan I stand Yeah. Lith Lithuanian. Lithuanian. But yeah, I'm throwing this away. Stephen, I want to hear your Hall Path story.
01:51:34
Yeah, you didn't you didn't you didn't finish that. I dated a girl in Hall Path. No, that's not your Hall. The girls that
01:51:40
come up to you at the end. Oh, you dated. But he likes the other story better. in. Oh. Um Oh, in in Vegas.
01:51:48
Yeah. The type the girl that the girls that they go, you're my you're my hope pass. You get the meet and
01:51:54
greet. And I go, first of all, they're all nervous and they hands drenched like a shamwow like I go. And they go, I'm
01:52:01
your hope pass. You're my pass. I go, oh. And they go, that's where I get I go, no, I know what it is. I'm a hard
01:52:06
pass on my side. You're a hard You're my hard pass. Yeah, you're my hard pass. Hey guys, if you're loving this podcast, which you are, be sure to click follow on your favorite podcast app. Give us a
01:52:23
review, fivestar rating, or maybe even share an episode that you've loved with a friend.
01:52:28
If you're watching this episode on YouTube, please subscribe. We're on video now. Fly on the Wall is presented
01:52:34
by Odyssey, an executive produced by Danny Carvey and David Spade, Heather Santoro and Greg Holtzman, Mattie Sprung
01:52:40
Kaiser, and Leah Reese Dennis of Odyssey. Our senior producer is Greg Holtzman. And the show is produced and
01:52:46
edited by Phil Sweet Tech. Booking by Cultivated Entertainment. Special thanks to Patrick Fogerty, Evan Cox, Mora Curran, Melissa Wester, Hillary Shuff,
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Eric Donnelly, Colin Gainner, Shan Cherry, Kurt Kourtney, and Lauren Vieiraa. Reach out with us any questions to be asked and answered on the show. You can email us at fly
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onthewallsey.com. That's audacy.com. [Music]