- 22 hours ago
Ted Danson, Pete Davidson, Ed Helms, Lamorne Morris, Ben Platt and Chris Redd joined The Hollywood Reporter to talk about their respective projects.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00What are the types of parts that come your way and you're just, not this again?
00:03Nerds, tech nerd, computer nerd, you know, guy at the IT company, gay friend, nerdy gay friend,
00:12hothead, drug addict, crackhead.
00:25Hi and welcome to Close Up with the Hollywood Reporter, comedy actors.
00:28I am joined today by Ted Danson of Mr. Mayor, Ed Helms of Rutherford Falls, Ben Platt of
00:36The Politician, Lamorne Morris of Woke, Pete Davidson of Saturday Night Live, and Chris
00:42Redd of Kenan and Saturday Night Live.
00:45Thank you all for being here.
00:47All right, we're going to start with an icebreaker for all of you.
00:50If a fan is coming at you, what is he or she most likely to say or do?
00:56What are you typically known for?
00:59What do they, what does it look like?
01:01They're trying to fuck.
01:02No, I'm joking.
01:06Great start.
01:07Love it.
01:08That's an icebreaker.
01:10No, people come up to me all the time and ask me about, I was on a show called New Girl
01:14and they asked me constantly about my cat on the show.
01:18Yeah, I mean, House Ferguson.
01:19He's dead, but they constantly, yeah, I'm fine.
01:26I will say, I will say a large number of people come up to me all the time and ask me to tell
01:32Pete Davidson something.
01:34What do they want to communicate?
01:37Like, I love you.
01:39Can you marry me?
01:42But through me, like, I don't have stuff to do.
01:45Pete, does he tell you all of, does he deliver all the messages?
01:50No, of course not.
01:53I delivered, like, one or two, like, our very first year working together.
01:57And then I realized how many it was and I was like, I'm done.
02:04I usually run, I usually just run away because I'm terrified of life and people.
02:09Um, I get, uh, people just scream nard dog at me from, from very far away and like all
02:19the way across airport terminals or at, yeah, it's.
02:24And your response is?
02:27Um, you know, I, oftentimes I'll just do that awkward thing where I pretend like I didn't
02:32hear it, but then like 30 people suddenly look at you and they're like, and then they
02:37start shouting nard dog and you, I don't know.
02:42It's, it's just awkward.
02:44There's not a lot of.
02:47Fair enough.
02:49I, I get, uh, I get a lot of people coming out and saying my, my grandmother loved watching
02:54you on Cheers.
02:56I'll say, hold on, hold on.
02:59Let me turn on my hearing aids.
03:01Okay.
03:01Say again.
03:04What about you, Ben?
03:05For the record, I also watched you on Cheers.
03:07So, but, uh, usually it's, usually it's one of two things.
03:12It's either like somebody asking me about to do like a magic trick, something having to
03:15do with pitch perfect or else it's somebody who had like a very cathartic Evan Hansen
03:19related experience who immediately starts to cry and ask me about like mental health and
03:24things that I have no real answers for something like that.
03:27How do you respond to both camps?
03:29To pitch perfect.
03:31I, I have like one little sleight of hand thing that I can do, but only if I have this
03:35little like scarfy thing with me and to do Evan Hansen.
03:40I just try to be like a good listener.
03:41I feel like I sort of weirdly became like a, uh, like mental health expert in, in theory
03:47because of that show.
03:48And I, you know, obviously like all of us, I'm still figuring out, you know, my own shit.
03:51So I try to just be a nice receiver and hear the experience and not give any unsolicited
03:56or, you know, uh, advice that I'm not qualified to give kind of thing.
04:00Have you tried doing the sleight of hand for those people?
04:04I will now.
04:06I love it.
04:07I love it.
04:08All right, Ted, I'm going to start with you.
04:10You have played a lot of different types of, of characters at this point in your career.
04:14I think you played, you played smart, you played meathead, you played rich, you played evil.
04:18You've even played Ted Danson.
04:20Where are you sort of happiest, most at ease as an actor?
04:24The slow, dumb joke.
04:27The best, uh, all the right.
04:29I, I worked for Mike Schur.
04:31We were talking earlier and it was like paragraphs of the most heightened Shakespearean language.
04:36And it drove me nuts because I had to work so hard for it.
04:40Um, I like, I like doing, uh, I mean, this is obvious, but I like doing drama that, that's
04:47funny.
04:48You know, and I like funny that has a source of, you know, either pain or sadness or some
04:55human frailty that's genuine at the core of it.
04:58How about the rest of you?
04:59I remember we had Hugh Grant on a round table a few years ago and he said, no one wants to
05:04be the good guy.
05:05It's harder and arguably less fun.
05:08Uh, do you guys agree?
05:10Disagree?
05:11Where are you sort of at ease?
05:13Some of you.
05:13That Hugh Grant is full of shit.
05:15No, I don't know.
05:17No, don't start this beef again.
05:19I don't want to go down this room.
05:21You've been playing this beef all week, man.
05:27Which one is Hugh Grant?
05:28That's the German guy.
05:29I hope not.
05:34You'll cut that out too, right?
05:38Oh, man.
05:43Crazy, man.
05:44I like playing the crazy characters.
05:47There's more, there's more interesting.
05:48I was, I was, I grew up around a lot of crazy people.
05:51I have a huge family, like over 200 people.
05:53And there's, you know, we got everything from normal school goers to crack kids.
05:58We got it all.
05:59And it's just, it's just fun to find like different ways to play crazy or play confident
06:05dumb.
06:05It's like where I love to live.
06:07I love it.
06:08Dumb person.
06:09Yeah, just very stupid, but like, I believe in that.
06:13Oh, yeah.
06:14You're a bit on the Nell sketch with the drug deal, the guy trying to take over.
06:22That's who that, that's who that is.
06:24Yeah.
06:25You're trying to run an operation.
06:26You can't do it.
06:27And wants all the power with no knowledge of how to do anything.
06:30You know what I mean?
06:31Like, I just love, that's just so much fun to me to play.
06:34I love that.
06:35I love playing high.
06:36I love playing someone who doesn't, who's not supposed to be high status.
06:41He's clearly a low status person.
06:43Like, he's trying to up those, that status for himself.
06:46And that scene where as a character, he doesn't belong in that space.
06:50That, that to me is the most fun to play.
06:53What about you, Ben?
06:54You obviously, you went from, from doing Evan Hansen every night into doing the politician.
06:59These are obviously very different types of characters.
07:02Are you, do you find yourself more at ease in, in one type versus the other?
07:06And, and if so, why?
07:08Yeah.
07:08I mean, I think sort of where I fall most naturally is the more kind of wallflower anxious,
07:12sort of like self-deprecating kind of a guy, which I think is definitely like more of the
07:17comfort zone.
07:17But because I did spend so long doing that show and doing Pitch Perfect before that and
07:22Book of Mormon before that, all of whom are sort of iterations of that same guy.
07:25I found that recently I've really enjoyed playing people with a bit more aggression and like
07:30a little bit more hubris and confidence, like Peyton, I'm a politician, just to sort
07:34of get to do something that I don't do in my life.
07:37Whereas the sort of nerdier guys are much closer to who I actually.
07:43What about you, Ed?
07:44You obviously, I mean, there are traces of characters you've played before in this character.
07:50I think, I think you've described it some version of, of the sort of earnest, well-intentioned
07:54guy who has some serious blind spots.
07:57Why do you think you sort of gravitate to these roles?
08:00And in this case, it's one that you created.
08:02Yeah.
08:03I think it's because I feel so connected to that, like the, you know, it's so much of
08:09what I loved about playing Andy Bernard is that he just wanted so badly to do the right
08:19thing and sort of be the best version of himself.
08:21But he had so many hurdles and just like gotten his own way all the time.
08:28And in a way, like he's, he's the very heightened expression of how I feel a lot.
08:35And, uh, and in other words, I feel sort of similar to Andy Bernard, but just with better
08:43editing and coping skills.
08:46Um, and I think Nathan Rutherford and Rutherford Falls is a little bit of a, um, a slightly more
08:54advanced, more nuanced version of that, uh, that's a little bit more complex just cause
09:01it's a more complex story.
09:03Uh, and that's what, so it's a, it is definitely a comfort zone for me as to play those kinds
09:09of characters.
09:10Um, but I also, I don't know.
09:12I, I, I, I also have, there's a, I have an inner Don Knotts that is always trying to get
09:18out and it is always ruining takes and directors are always like, okay, uh, let's pull it back
09:25maybe, um, for another one.
09:28But I just, I just love, yeah.
09:30Being a, a really aggressively wrong character who's with some physical wackiness.
09:39I don't know.
09:40I love that.
09:41What about you, Pete?
09:42When, when you're, uh, working with, with the writers, what are the types of things that
09:47come at you and you say, eh, don't think so?
09:49And what are the ones that excite you?
09:50Well, so few come my way that I do the, I have to do them.
09:57Uh, is that, is that how Cuomo came, uh, came to be?
10:01Yeah.
10:02I don't, I don't really, uh, I don't really have much of the thing about SNL is you really
10:06don't have much of a say.
10:08It's kind of just like, Hey, this, this is what you're going to do this week.
10:11And you're like, Oh, cool.
10:12Uh, so I, I like the, uh, randomness of it and, uh, I usually play very dumb characters.
10:21So it's very easy for me.
10:22Uh, but yeah, that, that, that, that's all.
10:29Fair enough.
10:30Fair enough.
10:31Uh, I am curious, how much of yourselves do you like to sort of see in, in these parts
10:36that you play?
10:37Do I see in myself and parts I play?
10:41In any, yeah.
10:42I mean, this is, this is for anyone who wants it, but we can start with you.
10:44Yeah.
10:45How much?
10:45Oh, my bad.
10:46I thought it was.
10:46No, please.
10:47Let's do it.
10:48Go fucking speak, man.
10:49Say it.
10:50Say what you got to say.
10:51Say it.
10:52I'm here for it.
10:53Don't run.
10:55Exactly.
10:55Um, I, uh, I play this, I have one character, uh, in my set.
11:02Ooh, they're coming for me.
11:03Um, I have one character that I've done in like seven years, uh, on the show, which is,
11:10which shows how, uh, how, how fucking great I am.
11:16I, uh, it's called, his name's Chad and he's very dumb and every response is just okay.
11:21And, uh, I see a lot of myself in Chad because, uh, I have very little to say.
11:28I love Chad because he's so positive.
11:32Like he's just, he's so game and like up for anything.
11:37It's, I think he's aspirational.
11:40He's a good guy.
11:41He means well.
11:44Pete, I, I just have to jump in and say, I love, I love funny, which you are, but you've
11:51got an, an edge of danger in you that I find fantastic to watch, to be, to be, no, I'm
12:00going to laugh, but also be a little nervous to me.
12:03It's like, I wish I had that.
12:05Cause I'm, I'm your run of the mill, nice actor.
12:08You're dangerous.
12:09And I love that.
12:10Oh, thank you.
12:11Yeah.
12:12Thank you so much.
12:14They don't pay the dangerous.
12:16Are you complaining about your pay now?
12:24Lamor, I wanted to turn to you.
12:27You obviously, you referenced new girl earlier.
12:29You spent seven years on, on that show, which was sort of pure fun.
12:35Uh, and you've said when it ended, you wanted to sort of transition and be part of something.
12:40And I'm quoting you here.
12:41That meant something.
12:42I'm hoping you can sort of expand on what you meant by that and, and how you found that
12:49in a woke.
12:50Well, new girls, it was just silly.
12:53That's, that's, that's what it was.
12:55I mean, it was cool.
12:56It was fun.
12:56It was, you know, there are a lot of, there's a, a few different subject matters that we would
13:02touch on, but, you know, there's only so much you can do in a, in a, you know, a quick
13:0628 minute show, um, 22 minute show.
13:10Um, and then it would vary from episode to episode.
13:13So we would touch on little things here and there.
13:15You know, I got lucky enough to write an episode about, um, my character is a police officer
13:21on the show.
13:22And when the incident in Ferguson happened, um, I, I wrote an episode about that because
13:27I started, I had a cat on the show named Ferguson, black dude who plays a police officer.
13:32And I was getting all these tweets, like, yo, how does it feel to play, how does it feel
13:38to play a black cop with a cat named Ferguson?
13:40I'd be like, man, that's clever as shit, but like, stop asking me that, you know?
13:44And so I wanted to address it.
13:47And so I wrote an episode about it.
13:49Um, and then I wanted to get more mileage out of that, but you can't really on a, on a,
13:53on such a happy, happy show.
13:55So, um, when I, when I was done with the show, I wanted to do something that kind of
14:00felt more authentic to, uh, maybe some of the things that I had been through in my, in
14:05my real life and some of the things that friends of mine had been through and, and, you know,
14:10reading a lot of scripts and, uh, you know, woke came along and it was based on a true
14:14story.
14:14And it's, it's about a guy who is a nerdy black dude who doesn't think racism is an issue.
14:22Like he doesn't see it.
14:23He just wants to draw cartoons and become successful and keep his head down.
14:28And then he can't avoid it.
14:29Living in San Francisco, what happens, all these microaggressions and these things.
14:34And he needs to, he needs to express himself.
14:37One thing, the police, they rough him up a little bit.
14:39He has a bit of PTSD and he starts seeing things.
14:42Now the show is absurd and it's really funny.
14:44Um, but there are moments of that show, which, you know, you're not laughing, you know, you're
14:49not laughing at because if you're a human being, you can identify with a lot of the shit that
14:53we're talking about.
14:54So that was what I wanted to do.
14:56I wanted to be a part of something more, uh, with more stakes, with more weight to it,
15:01but also can, can, you know, can poke fun of it.
15:04I mean, I have a, I have a racist marker that played by J.B.
15:08Smoove, you know what I mean?
15:09So how fucking ridiculous can you get, you know?
15:14And the Emmy goes to.
15:19But your character on the show laments.
15:23And, and again, I'm, I'm going to quote him.
15:27Why is it that us people of color are always having to stand for something or say something
15:30in our work?
15:31Obviously he's a cartoonist, you are not, you are an artist.
15:36How have you felt that, that same pressure and, and assuming so, what has that sort of
15:41personal navigation looked like for you?
15:44Yeah, I think it's a responsibility, um, if you choose it, you know, I don't, Black is
15:49not a monolith.
15:50I sometimes feel like we, we feel like we all got to jump on the thing, you know what
15:54I mean?
15:55If you don't know, if you don't want to, if you don't feel that, that calling or you
16:00don't feel activated to say something on, you know, you see some injustice happening
16:05or, you know, and if you have this loud voice, you don't have to say anything if that's not
16:09who you are, you know what I mean?
16:10So me, myself personally, I wasn't that guy at all.
16:15I didn't know enough, didn't read enough.
16:18I just wanted to be, I just wanted to like book a commercial and book a job and, you know,
16:24be taken seriously as an actor.
16:26And then you start to see people listen to you.
16:28And again, your neighbor is going through something.
16:31And if you have a platform to say something about it, um, obviously with some sort of
16:35intelligence behind it and some, you know, some resources behind it, you should, I think
16:40you should.
16:41So, you know, this show is speaking on exactly that.
16:45This guy, initially he was like, I don't want to, I don't want to be the, the guy who everyone's
16:53leaning on to speak up and say something.
16:55And I think that's fair for a lot of folks.
16:57But if you, if you feel moved to say something, you should, and if you don't, and if you don't
17:02know shit, I think that could be the problem too.
17:05You could be putting a bunch of bullshit out there and information that's, that's just
17:09false.
17:10Just like Ben was talking about earlier about speaking on, you don't want to talk about
17:14mental health to the folks.
17:15You might have somebody running into traffic.
17:17You don't want to do that, you know?
17:19So yeah.
17:20Can anyone else relate to that on, on, on any level?
17:26You guys are, you know, have these platforms and, and there sometimes is this pressure to
17:31sort of use them to, to say something, to stand for something.
17:35Yeah, I definitely can relate to that.
17:37I think just being black in America on TV forces you kind of to relate to that.
17:42I've always stood up and protested injustices, but in my work, especially my standup, I like
17:48to speak a lot on, on, on some of that stuff.
17:51But also like, I also feel like part of our freedom is to be able to, to, to just create
17:56without having to, to represent something like every single time you do it.
18:00So it's just walking that line of like representing your, your people and speaking to your culture,
18:05but, but also having the freedom to just create without being bound to an injustice every single
18:11time, because sometimes I just got a dick joke, fam, like, and it's just what I, what's on
18:20my mind and what I want to joke about right now.
18:22So it's kind of, it's, I mean, that's, that's, that's a part of the, that's, that's a part
18:26of the fight, you know what I mean?
18:27In, in, in, uh, being able to, in, in having this voice is being able to balance that.
18:32And I, but it's, it's a part of the, it's a part of the job, I think.
18:35I, I, little, little confusing in that I, not confusing, but I, I, I will say that I
18:43play a billionaire, uh, about as white as you can get and as old as you can get politician.
18:51So I guess I'm doing my part by pointing out how wrong that is.
18:56Um, but here's something I, I mean, it's, I don't know, maybe being white, uh, my lessons
19:05are way different, but I, I, I know that I have always walked around in the last, you
19:11know, up until about two or three years ago with my heart is pure, you know, and my intentions
19:17are good.
19:18And I use that as a, uh, an excuse maybe, uh, to not step out.
19:26To not take a look at, yeah, intentions don't matter, you know, because you've offended
19:35or saddened or somethings, you know, people by your behavior or your lack of whatever.
19:40So, yeah, I, I haven't had a chance to reflect that in work, but, uh, I appreciate the conversation.
19:49When you started, I'm not going to lie to you.
19:52You, I thought you were about to go full Liam Neeson for a second.
19:56What?
19:56What?
19:57For Liam Neeson, like when you first thought, I was like, oh no, he's not about to say he
20:02did something crazy, is he?
20:05Oh, good.
20:06Oh, okay, good, good, good, good.
20:07I think this is the forum.
20:08I think so.
20:09You can just air it all here.
20:11Let's go.
20:12Ted, The Good Place is, you know, wrapped in you very quickly sort of jumped into this,
20:18this next show.
20:21Was there any sort of thought given to, you know, want to take some time off before jumping
20:27right in or, or, and, and truly at this point, how are the choices different?
20:31And this is for everyone at, at this sort of stage of your collective careers.
20:35I always, my first paranoid thought is, oh, you think I should take a, a break, you know,
20:43and let people breathe a little before.
20:46Not what I said.
20:46Why didn't you give America a break, Ted?
20:49We needed a break.
20:52I, I'm, uh, uh, I, I love the work.
20:57I, I love funny.
20:58I love being silly.
20:59I love studios.
21:00I love actors.
21:01I just really love my life in this business.
21:04Really love it.
21:05So I don't particularly want to just sit back.
21:09I could pick a different, you know, perhaps next time out, I will pick something that's
21:15more Fargo-esque than, you know, Cheers or something.
21:18But the opportunity to work with Tina Fey and Robert Carlock came along and it was just
21:25for me, a no brainer because it was this different strain of comedy that I hadn't experienced
21:31yet.
21:32You know, I don't know the Saturday Night Live, um, I haven't experienced as an, as an actor.
21:38So I, I really, and I think at this point in my, I'm pretty much from damages on, I, you
21:47notice how I'm slipping my career in pretty much from damages on, I, I realized the important
21:53thing was to find the smartest people in the room and then ask very nicely if you can be part
21:58of what they're doing.
21:59So, you know, I keep trying to find the smartest people in the room and, you know, Tina and
22:05Robert, certainly.
22:06Would you say you want to be on Woke?
22:08Be on Woke season two?
22:10Is that right?
22:11Yes.
22:12Oh, thank you.
22:13Yeah.
22:13Well, you heard it here first.
22:14I mean, we can bring you on easily.
22:16Yeah.
22:17What network are you?
22:19Hulu.
22:20Oh, that's not even a network.
22:21I can do it.
22:22I know.
22:22100%.
22:23It doesn't count.
22:25Come on down and host SNL right after, right before it comes out.
22:28You know what I'm saying?
22:28Just come on down and host.
22:29Scariest thing in the planet.
22:31I would never do it again.
22:32I did it once years ago and it was just, no.
22:39You guys are comedy commandos and you, you have a crap load of youth and adrenaline.
22:45That just scares the crap out of me.
22:47Pete, I've heard you say recently that this season has been a favorite, if not the favorite
22:53of yours.
22:55That was not something you were sort of saying, you know, a year ago about your sort of comfort
23:01level at the show.
23:02What's changed?
23:03What's made you feel so sort of comfortable and ease?
23:07I think I was in a really different place like a year or two ago and, you know, I'm not
23:18exactly proud of how I handled or was handling things a few years ago and, you know, looking
23:26back on it, it's like, you're like, oh, come on, dude.
23:30But luckily a pandemic happened and I got kicked in the balls and had to sit with all of my
23:37like immature, irrational decisions.
23:41And I was so happy when they said that SNL was going to come back because I was just like
23:54literally sitting in a room with my own thoughts and I was feeling really bad and I felt really
24:03lucky and I was really excited just to like work and see people.
24:07And I kind of had a different outlook for this season and kind of moving forward.
24:15Uh, and, um, yeah, I just been able to have a lot of fun and it's just been really appreciative,
24:21like not working at all really sucks.
24:24So I was just like really happy to get back to work.
24:29Many of you were, were working during the pandemic, you know, finding, delivering comedy during what,
24:36what is, what, and was a pretty bleak time.
24:39Some of you had audiences that were, were not there.
24:43Um, talk to me about what that experience was like, cathartic, challenging.
24:50How'd you guys feel?
24:51Um, I, uh, shot the Evan Hansen adaptation during COVID, uh, in the fall of last year.
24:58So we were sort of one of the more maiden voyages in terms of sort of a large film trying
25:03to go during this time.
25:04Um, and while obviously that is far from a comedy, uh, it certainly took a lot of the warmth
25:10and like camaraderie, uh, out of the experience and added this layer of, I think fire under
25:16everybody's butts to feel like if we're going to go out on this limb and go through all of
25:20this testing and, and, uh, just sort of put ourselves through this sort of risk.
25:24We all have to really believe in what it is we're making.
25:27And I think as, you know, as sad as it was not to be able to, you know, touch the people
25:33I was working with or see my directors, half of my director's face, like ever, um, it was
25:37also really kind of a nice, um, I don't know, motivation to, to make it great and to make
25:42it worth it, to have everybody up and themselves from their families and put themselves on the
25:47line.
25:47Uh, and thankfully, obviously all of the protocols were very overly safe, even at that point.
25:52Cause again, we were pretty early on and it was before we were figuring out exactly
25:55what worked and what didn't.
25:57So it was sort of like everything in the kitchen sink to make sure that everybody was safe.
26:00Um, uh, so I, I'm, I'm definitely looking forward to these things slowly falling away.
26:05And I wouldn't necessarily say there's anything I preferred about the process of doing it under
26:08these circumstances, but I think there were things to mine, uh, most, most, especially
26:13that, that feeling of like, there has to be a real purpose for us to be here.
26:16And thankfully, obviously Evan Hansen is a very sort of isolated and, and, and lonely
26:21character and the story is somewhat, um, gray in that way already.
26:24So thankfully it sort of lent itself to that, but for people like, you know, Chris and Pete
26:29who are having to, you know, make crowds of people laugh and, and, and go out on that
26:33sort of a comedic lane during this time, that is something I would, would imagine it's very
26:36challenging, at least at the beginning when you're sort of getting your footing again,
26:39I would imagine that was a really weird feeling.
26:41What do you think Chris?
26:42Uh, it was, it was definitely weird.
26:44At first it was nice because it was like, we were out the house, you know what I mean?
26:49And, and it was like an outlet, I had started a fund for the, for injustice for the protesters
26:55and, and I had did all, all the stuff on the ground that I could do.
26:58And then I was like, I needed an outlet because there was no standup.
27:00And it was the longest I had ever sat down in, in my career of comedy.
27:05So it was good to just be out.
27:06And we had kind of more space a little bit, but almost too much.
27:09Cause we weren't, we weren't able to kind of be around each other as much.
27:12And it was like all those masks, so it kind of made it hard.
27:15And we do miss those 200 people that can't sit in that, sitting in those stands every,
27:19every, uh, Saturday, but it was, it was cathartic.
27:22It was a nice outlet to be able to have, you know, to, to, to create with your friends again
27:27and like show up on a Saturday and, and see, and see a crowd of people and see those nurses
27:33and make them laugh and knowing that they have to go back to work and, and, and maybe offer
27:37no sleep.
27:38And, and it was just, it just carried me through, uh, I had started a therapy in the pandemic.
27:43So I've never even met my therapist in real life yet.
27:46It's all zoom.
27:47And so being able to work through my things and, and be, and go and put that stuff to
27:53use in a comedic way that I've always kind of used comedy for us, it was, it was fun.
27:58I mean, it's hard and I would hope to never do it again.
28:01Like, uh, no time.
28:05It's still time.
28:05It really is.
28:08I think, I think we got closer though.
28:11And I, and I, and it just made me, it raised a lot of respect for everybody I work with
28:15because it was, uh, it was truly a fight every week to, to get, to, to make that show, to
28:20make that show happen.
28:22Ed, you sounded like you were about to say something.
28:25Yeah.
28:25And I, it's kind of what Chris just said, which is that, you know, we, we, our show was
28:32scheduled to start the week of lockdown.
28:35So we got punted and we didn't know if it was going to happen or not.
28:40And, and then a couple of months later, the, the protocols gotten sort of figured out and
28:45locked in and we were able to start, which was really, really exciting and cool.
28:50Um, so strange and so different and so hard in so many ways.
28:55But I think kind of, I think Ben was touching on this too.
28:57Like the, the hurdles made it really enhance the cohesion of our crew in a way that was
29:06kind of beautiful.
29:07Like it was, it was so much more complicated to show up to work every day and, and to get
29:14the, you know, get tested and go through all the motions.
29:17Everybody's wearing masks.
29:18It's weird.
29:19But when you start making something that still feels funny and still feels good, uh, there
29:26was a sense of like, uh, there was like a team spirit and there's always a team spirit
29:32on a good crew.
29:33But like, I think it was especially heightened in, in this circumstance just because everyone
29:40felt lucky to be working and, uh, and sort of respectful of each other's effort to, to
29:48kind of step up and, and, and meet all these extra protocols.
29:54Um, and you know, we had a lot of production, our production really shrank because of COVID.
30:00We had a lot of kind of big plans to shoot different locations and on both coasts.
30:06And because of COVID, we really just almost everything was on studio lots.
30:10And that also had some surprising benefits that being that contained allowed us to be
30:18more, uh, creative and spontaneous in the, in those spaces.
30:24Whereas when you're, when you're taking a whole crew across the country, like you got
30:27to have everything figured out and locked down.
30:30There were just at the locations that we used on, on back lots allowed us to position things
30:36differently.
30:36There were all kinds of weird little ways that, that, that the limitations turned out
30:42to be opportunities.
30:44I always think of, um, there's a great quote by, uh, Orson Wells.
30:50I think that, uh, the absence of limitations is the enemy of art.
30:56And it's, I've always, I've just constantly reminded of that.
31:00Like every time I feel like something's a big burden or is too much to deal with, like
31:05all of a sudden, all these cool new ideas and fixes and opportunities bubble up.
31:12Saturday night live is the living example of that.
31:14Like it's such a, it's the whole show comes together in a week.
31:18It's all limitations.
31:19And yet it's like explosively brilliant every week.
31:22So I want to shift gears a little bit and talk about these sort of careers and the navigation
31:29you guys do.
31:31Um, and I've heard you tell a story about, um, I think this must've been sort of just post
31:39hangover, how you had a conversation with, with your agent and said, you sort of wish
31:43there was some sort of training program, um, for, for all of this.
31:47Maybe you could get together with, you know, a big star, have brunch, you know, once a month
31:52and, and get some advice about how to sort of handle success, fame, next choices, et cetera.
31:59Uh, first off, do I have the concept, right?
32:01Am I, am I described?
32:03Yeah, more or less.
32:04Yeah.
32:05Okay.
32:05Okay.
32:07I'm curious, what do you sort of wish you knew and, and how would it have changed the experience
32:14for you?
32:15And I'm going to open this up.
32:16So, uh, start thanking everyone.
32:18Yeah.
32:19I think early on, like, you know, I went through, I sort of had this gradual, uh, build of,
32:27of fame or celebrity, if you will, until the hangover.
32:31And then it just became this astronomical thing that was so unfamiliar and, and in many
32:37ways scary.
32:38And, uh, and so, yeah, I don't remember that conversation, but I've often reflected on how
32:44I wish there was like a mentorship program for like, for celebrities or some way that
32:51like, to just help younger actors navigate some of these, uh, circumstances.
32:57There's just so much unexpected.
33:00And the, the industry is set up in a way that's just sort of like sink or swim.
33:03Like you either, you either get it, you either know how to do it or you don't get out of the
33:08way.
33:08And, uh, and I guess the thing that I wish I had just sort of understood more early on,
33:16and this is a little hacky to say, but it's true is just to like relax and just enjoy,
33:22enjoy some of it and not panic so much about, you know, I think, I think when you have a
33:28big sort of step up in, in opportunity, there's, there's, there's a fear that comes with it in
33:36terms of making the right choices.
33:39And, uh, and I, I got a, I may be a little overwhelmed by that for, for a period and it's
33:47not worth it.
33:47You just gotta, you gotta pull back and take the time you need, if you need it to kind of
33:55recenter and, and, and it's, you were so lucky to be in these positions and, and it's like,
34:01like Ted was saying, it's so fun.
34:03What we get to do, we get to do this insane.
34:07It's such a, it's like, it's ridiculous.
34:09What does it look like from the inside?
34:11I mean, as you mentioned, there, there was the daily show, there was the office and then
34:15there was the hangover.
34:15Like in what ways did that feel different from, from the inside where there was just, you
34:21know, phone calls off the, uh, well, yes.
34:25I think a lot of money signs got it.
34:27Yes.
34:28That's certainly.
34:29Ferraris.
34:30Come on, Ed.
34:30Yeah.
34:32I mean, some people I think are really equipped to just slide right into that really easily.
34:37And for some reason, I just, I was pretty, I, I grappled with a lot of anxiety moving into
34:42that.
34:43And, and it's a lot of the stuff.
34:44What, what was, what was the, it's, it's, it's a lot of the social stuff.
34:49Like, you know, the, the, suddenly you're invited to things that are like overwhelming.
34:54You're, you're, you're, you know, you're like, people don't realize celebrities also
34:59get starstruck awkward at times.
35:03I certainly still do sometimes.
35:04Um, but, uh, but then, and then it's dealing with like, you know, your agents are suddenly
35:12coming at you with, with things that are, uh, exciting, but maybe there's competing things
35:19or maybe there's, there's like, oh, if you do this, you can't do that.
35:22And then they're like, but I, but I'm friends with that person.
35:25Or I think they're brilliant.
35:26I want to work with that person where you can't work.
35:28I mean, sure you can do it, but you're going to blow this and what it's just like, wow.
35:33Um, I, I don't know if you guys can relate.
35:36I, I feel much more sort of like I have much better tools now and I'm just much more, maybe
35:43I'm just more chill as a person, but, um, but there was a, definitely a period there where
35:48I was like, I want a mentor.
35:50I want somebody.
35:52I think that's everybody's journey though, too, because you have to learn yourself,
35:57you know, actors, you know, from school I went to, or just people that I might meet on
36:01the street that say they want to, they want to get into this business, you know, and how
36:06do you handle it and how do you start?
36:07And I always just tell them, I say, start by taking an acting class and then the rest is
36:11up to you.
36:11You've got to figure out your own journey to navigate.
36:15Like, even if you had a mentor, they could only tell you, but so much, you know, they could
36:19show you some of the pitfalls for sure, but you're going to walk through them anyway.
36:25Like you're gonna, and that's the best possible way to learn in my opinion, because I've, you
36:31know, I've, I've, you know, made a million mistakes and, but I'm also one of those people
36:35that's extremely cautious as well.
36:37I'm just, I tiptoe, like, I tiptoe that line of trying not to mess up.
36:44Like, I don't want to, I don't want to ever have to go through fire, fire, fire.
36:48I've made some mistakes, but like, I, I learned slowly, you know, if that makes a lot of sense.
36:55So it's, it's not, I, you know, it's not the trajectory that I thought about when I was
37:01a kid, when I wanted to act, like I wanted to just go to the moon, you know what I mean?
37:05I see Eddie Murphy on TV and I just want to be Eddie Murphy, you know, but, you know,
37:09I'm happy with my life and I would, you know, I wouldn't really trade it for anything in
37:14the world, but it's slow.
37:16It is a very slow and gradual build because I'm tiptoeing, you know, I, I, and I think
37:23that's, that's fair for a lot of actors that they should probably, they should probably
37:27learn by fire, you know?
37:29Yeah.
37:30The, the, uh, wait, to just piggyback a little bit, just like the, the gradualness of,
37:35of this of like going from no one knowing you to like, some people recognize you is
37:40so different than what you think it is outside of this.
37:43I remember the first time people started recognizing me a little bit.
37:45I thought they won the fight because I was saying shit and I was like, Oh, okay.
37:54I'm a beautiful fan.
37:55That is crazy.
37:57I'm sure this shit would be nice, but, but it is, but it is a lot of just like kind of
38:02learning yourself, learning your triggers and, and like, and, and, and learn what's
38:06right for you.
38:06Cause I mean, I, I had a ton of anxiety going to those, like the Emmys are going to these
38:11big events that I had never even thought about going to before, before getting into
38:15this.
38:15And, uh, yeah, but, but no one can really prepare you for that either.
38:19It is kind of like, you have to kind of be in it to know, to learn what, what you like
38:23and learn how to navigate through those things.
38:25Oh, I think, I think that's right.
38:27Ben, Pete, I mean, you're both there.
38:29There's good and bad advice sort of given, uh, with regard to sort of how to behave and
38:35what the choices you make are when the iron is hot, you both are at these, you know, been
38:40at these points in, in your career where it seems like the choices are endless.
38:45Yeah.
38:45I mean, I think I, I, the only sort of bucket list thing that I had from, from growing up,
38:50I started working in the theater when I was nine years old in musical theater.
38:54And so my whole upbringing and my whole life was sort of pointed towards the experience
38:58that I ended up having at 23, which was doing Dear Evan Hansen and getting to originate
39:02a role and, you know, to Tony award and all that stuff.
39:05So like how there's a real sort of scariness in reaching that so quickly because I sort
39:10of felt like, well, now is everybody done with me?
39:13And is that sort of like all I have to offer?
39:15And, you know, it's something that you think you'll continue to work towards.
39:17And obviously I feel incredibly fortunate that it happened in such a fantastic way, but
39:21I think I had to kind of embrace the freedom of, of the sort of opposite of what Ed was saying,
39:27which is sort of like the limitlessness of that, of, of sort of like what now, what do I
39:31feel like I really want to do and how can I continue to challenge myself when sort of,
39:35the only real sort of hardest pinnacle of what I could have imagined has already sort
39:40of been checked off.
39:40And so I think I've tried to allow my guide since then to be, you know, one of the things
39:46that make me really sort of authentically excited and allow me to work with people that I authentically
39:52want to be around.
39:53And I think there's a real desire to continue, especially when something's going very well,
39:59or when the sort of, like you're saying, when you're trying to strike when the iron is
40:01hot, to continue to sort of wedge yourself into these particular bubbles or spaces or
40:05boxes that we're all supposed to be heading towards, like to really want to be a Marvel
40:09superhero or to like really want to be an action hero, or like to really want a big dramatic
40:13Oscar film.
40:14And like these things that like, you know, still exist and that, you know, maybe I have
40:18a bit more of a foot in the door to, you know, auditioning and getting in for these things
40:21because of where I've been.
40:22But I don't think that necessarily means that those are really the things that in my heart,
40:26I really want to do and that I really want to strive for just because I'm supposed to
40:29want to strive for those things.
40:30You know, so I think it's been like riding that line of not being an idiot and, you know,
40:36taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, but also allowing myself
40:41to really, you know, make art that I'm excited about and particularly get to make art where
40:46I'm playing queer characters, which is not something that comes around a lot.
40:49And, you know, as a queer person, I think we're in a place where everything is sort of
40:53like, much like a lot of the conversations that are happening right now, everything is
40:57swinging like really far in the opposite direction, which is obviously a fantastic place to start
41:01where like everything is being really overly scrutinized and every queer character and
41:05queer story where we're investigating and thinking, why is this not a queer person playing this
41:08role and who are the queer people telling the story?
41:11And I think that's a fantastic place to be.
41:13And that's obviously the direction that I'm glad that we're heading in.
41:16But I guess my hope and dream is that we will eventually find this equilibrium where sort
41:21of the number of people playing queer roles and making queer stories is, you know, there's
41:27there's room for, you know, all sort of places within the spectrum of sexuality.
41:32And it doesn't need to be this kind of hard and fast rule.
41:35But I do really appreciate, given the fact that there's been so much time where those
41:40stories haven't been told by the right people and performed by the right people, that we
41:43need to really kind of exaggerate to the other direction first.
41:46So I'm happy to be around while that's happening.
41:48Um, yeah, yeah, you just mentioned a hand, you threw out a handful of things that you're
41:54supposed to want the Marvel superhero, the dramatic Oscar role.
41:58What are what are the things that that you guys want?
42:02What is what is that sort of bucket list item?
42:05What's the sort of I've made it type of role?
42:10What does that look like for each of you?
42:12I think Oscar Oscar winning dramatic Marvel superhero.
42:21I feel like that's out there.
42:23That's what you want.
42:24OK, I like that.
42:25I like just to go big.
42:26And that I'm right for that.
42:28That's what I'm sure.
42:31Yes.
42:32Can I say something on the previous question?
42:35I, you know, being a celebrity is kind of like being the five year old in a room with
42:42all the adults staring at you and you can spin that kid out with all that energy coming
42:49that kid's way.
42:50You spin out.
42:51It's just it's too hard to handle all that energy.
42:54I was very lucky early on halfway through Cheers that I started doing ocean advocacy and I
43:04started an organization and I did all of that.
43:07And I realized somehow, I don't know why, because it's that if you take that energy coming
43:14your way and you deflect it into something you care about, then I became OK with fame.
43:21I became OK with all that energy.
43:25And so I, you know, I thank you for watching Cheers.
43:28I want you to come into the tent here and meet this biologist, you know, this marine biologist.
43:33She has a lot to tell you.
43:35Became a use of my celebrity and that energy.
43:39And that that served me well over the years.
43:44Pete, you obviously have in the last couple of years, all of a sudden there are all of these
43:50sort of opportunities, projects, directors, et cetera, calling.
43:57And I am curious, are you able to enjoy it?
44:01Are you getting good advice, bad advice about what to do in this sort of moment in your career?
44:08Yeah, I think I have a I have a couple cool people around me that I think give me great
44:15advice. And it's a odd, enjoyable time for me.
44:21I'm really looking forward to getting to do, you know, films because that's.
44:27Always been like my dream growing up, I think I think it's everybody's.
44:32So, you know, I I'm just really excited to work and, you know, meet cool people and work
44:41work with cool people.
44:42And if you get to work with your friends, that's that's kind of a bonus.
44:45I've been realizing that it's like such a it's like the most fun you could possibly have
44:53is when, you know, your homie's on set.
44:54So, yeah, I think just being level headed and, you know, just, you know, taking taking
45:02advice and listening to it is is where I'm at right now.
45:06It seems like Saturday Night Live is this culture there has has shifted in that you are able
45:12to sort of take on these other projects and still be a part of the show.
45:15I mean, Chris, obviously, you're a wonderful example of that.
45:18But people seem to be taking time off and yet still get to be a part of this thing.
45:24And so it isn't just a sort of launch pad.
45:27Is that true?
45:28What does that feel like from the inside?
45:30I think it's I think it's very true.
45:32I think that because there are so many places to get content that no singular thing is a
45:37real launch pad anymore.
45:38It's just a collectiveness of a bunch of good work.
45:41And then you kind of find you people find you.
45:45But it is it is nice to have that.
45:48I mean, I came in with the I I came in with a couple of jobs already.
45:52So, like, I kind of wanted to keep that up.
45:54That was like kind of one of my things.
45:55I was like, you know, I got to be able to stand up and I got to be able to, you know,
45:59do do a couple of things in there and some at least.
46:02And it's been nice to be able to do both.
46:05I don't sleep now.
46:06Like, I haven't slept since last year.
46:07But, you know, I was broke till I was 30, man.
46:11So I don't need to sleep.
46:12That's unhealthy, brother.
46:13Take a nap, man.
46:14I'll take a nap after this.
46:16But then I get up and write.
46:17You know, I mean, it's just it's it's I think this year is definitely different because of
46:21just how chaotic it's been with COVID and everything.
46:24But and you're flying cross country.
46:26Yeah.
46:27We would fly in on Friday night and get there on Saturday morning and then sleep and
46:33come into the studio and rehearse a couple of times and do the show and then fly out
46:37Sunday at 8 a.m.
46:39back and then we shoot the whole week doing Kenan.
46:43We're hoping to not have to do that again.
46:45But it was very it was very dope to like like he was saying to be working with your friends
46:50because it wasn't wasn't work.
46:52I mean, I mean, Kenan is like my brother.
46:54So and we and we were able to create this closeness with the entire cast that it was kind of
46:59like playing all day and it was flying in and seeing Pete and them being able to play
47:03and then flying back out.
47:05It was it was I mean, it was just like I was constantly hanging out with my friends on
47:08set and I was tired.
47:10But it's like I was I was also felt real fortunate because there's a lot of people
47:13that were able to work, you know, Kenan's been on that show for what, 18 seasons now.
47:19What's your sort of gut reaction at the process prospect of of doing that kind of run?
47:26I would never do 18.
47:29How about you, Pete?
47:31And hats off, fam.
47:32Like that is.
47:33Yeah, I'm good.
47:34I'm surprised I'm seven.
47:36Seven.
47:37I'm ready to hang up the jersey.
47:40Kenan's like fucking Karl Malone out there.
47:42Yeah, I mean, he's he's he's he's a legend for it for it, man.
47:47And I think you have that marker.
47:51I know I'm definitely I'm definitely having a good time, but it's definitely better than
47:55the first few years.
47:57I mean, I had a good first year, but and then with my second year was kind of wild.
48:01But but I don't know.
48:03I don't know how anybody did 18 years.
48:05It's a boot camp.
48:05It's it's a lot of people on this panel.
48:08I think it's a good opportunity to tell us when you're going to quit.
48:10Yeah, I want to know that I'm I'm going to let y'all guess we can go around the table
48:20and guess.
48:23Now, but yeah, I think it's I think it's tremendous that someone stays that long on a show like
48:29this.
48:29This time, I don't really have a year of mine for real, but I just know it ain't 18.
48:34Fair enough.
48:37Hollywood's obviously a place that likes to sort of keep people in in certain lanes.
48:42I don't know if any of you sort of have felt pigeonholed at any point in your careers, but
48:46I am curious.
48:47What are the types of parts that come your way?
48:49And you're just not this again.
48:50Nerds, tech nerd, computer nerd, you know, guy at the IT company, gay friend, nerdy gay
48:58friend, hothead, drug addict, crackhead.
49:03Rapper.
49:05Ancient rapper.
49:06Upcoming rapper.
49:07Nerdy drug dealer.
49:11I've always wanted like I get nerdy all the time and I've always wanted to be we're talking
49:14about Marvel characters earlier and I've always wanted to be in a superhero movie and I get
49:18this call about auditioning for.
49:20You did Bloodsport, man.
49:22You were great in that.
49:22Thank you, man.
49:23So that's what I'm saying.
49:24It was Bloodshot with Vin Diesel and I was like, man, it's my opportunity and I read the
49:28script and it's it's it's a fucking nerd.
49:31It was a nerd in a superhero movie.
49:33I was like, shit, man.
49:35It's one step closer, though.
49:38Closer and closer.
49:39But the pandemic started and no one saw it.
49:41I saw it, man.
49:44I saw it.
49:44I saw it the day it came out.
49:46It was great.
49:48Well, you did a good job.
49:50And you had a different accent and shit.
49:52Yeah.
49:53British.
49:53And you look like you had to eat a lot of ramen, too.
49:57I was like, Lamorne's eating the shit out of that ramen.
50:02Yeah, that's all I had on set.
50:04Ben runs tight ship.
50:06He took all the questions.
50:08What about you, Ed?
50:09Yeah, I get a lot of offers to be sort of like like wound up jerks or like like or not
50:21jerks, just sort of like douchey guys who mean well, which is sort of a thing, I guess,
50:26that Andy Bernard was.
50:28And I've been I have had a lot of I love Andy Bernard.
50:32I love playing that part so much.
50:35But but yeah, I'm sort of looking for different lanes.
50:39At this point, I think that's fair.
50:41What about you, Ted?
50:43Alpha males scare the crap out of me.
50:45So anything where I'm supposed to be alpha or manly or masculine, you know,
50:51either I'm really bad at it, which is true, or it really bores the crap out of me, which
50:57is also true.
50:58All right.
50:58We're going to end with I wish Hollywood would cast me as we know Lamorne's he's he's
51:04going superhero, a non a very cool superhero, I should say extreme.
51:10I just want to be like the fifth or sixth guy in like a lot of movies.
51:16You know what I mean?
51:17I want to be I just want to be that guy.
51:19I want to like Buscemi my career real hard.
51:22I really want to be like a black John Wick or like same hair, just black in a Marvel movie
51:32or in a horror movie.
51:34I want to really be in a horror movie and just be the killer.
51:37I also want to be a black John Wick.
51:39I want to be cast in something with my wife, Mary, and shoot it next door.
51:53It's all about location now.
51:55I feel like that's that's that's very achievable.
51:59You will have a pitch on your death tomorrow morning.
52:02Correct.
52:03The next door location is the most important.
52:07Second most important.
52:09Yeah, I don't know.
52:10Sorry.
52:11Ted wants to be John Wick.
52:13I think we all want to be John Wick.
52:15Just a white John Wick.
52:17Yeah.
52:18Actually, any ethnic background John Wick will be fine.
52:23I want to play an Asian schoolgirl.
52:25That's what I would say.
52:27Oh, oh, shoot.
52:29Yeah, me too.
52:32Ben?
52:33I have a lot of friends that I like to make stuff with.
52:35My best friend Beanie Feldstein and my friend Molly Gordon.
52:38And my boyfriend Noah Galvin.
52:40And we'd love to make something together, preferably some sort of comedy film.
52:43That would be my dream to make something with with my people.
52:46For sure.
52:47Molly, as in Brian and Jesse Molly.
52:49Yes.
52:50She's been my best friend since I was like four years old.
52:52Give her.
52:53Give her my love.
52:53I will.
52:54She's coming over right after this.
52:55I will.
52:55That's crazy.
52:56I love that.
52:57Are you actually actively going to make something?
52:59We are.
53:00Yeah.
53:00We are developing something.
53:02We made this short called Theater Camp that's on YouTube.
53:06You can find it about basically very abusive theater teachers based on the ones that we
53:10grew up with.
53:11And so we're adapting that into a feature, which will be really fun.
53:14And Ed, I wish Hollywood would cast me as?
53:19I don't know how realistic this is, but I've always wanted to be like a martini thing, like
53:25debonair, super villain and or hero, like a James Bond.
53:31Come on, Hollywood.
53:33Come on, man.
53:34Come on, Hollywood.
53:35Get it together, Hollywood.
53:36How is this not James Bond?
53:38You look good for the boys, Hollywood.
53:40You look good right now, man, with your special futuristic camera.
53:44You have a James Bond camera right now.
53:46It's all about the camera.
53:47If you use the right camera, anybody can be James Bond.
53:51You watch this.
53:52It's fucked up, man.
53:52I think we should make a movie called The Roundtable.
53:56And it's us.
53:57It's us.
53:58We're the cast.
53:59Absolutely.
54:00I'm down.
54:01I'm down.
54:02I don't want anything to do with it.
54:05Perfect.
54:06Perfect.
54:07That'll be the first line.
54:12Perfect.
54:13Well, thank you all for being part of this.
54:16I've enjoyed all of your company.
54:18And I hope to actually do this in person one of these days.
54:23But in the meantime, great camera, Ed.
54:25Thank you, everybody.
54:27Lacey.
54:28Lacey.
54:29Good job.
54:30Nice to meet you all.
54:31Yeah.
54:36Good job.
54:36Good job.
54:37Good job.
54:37Good job.
54:37Good job.
54:38Good job.
54:38Good job.
54:38Good job.
54:38Good job.
54:39Good job.
54:40Good job.
54:40Good job.
54:40Good job.
54:41Good job.
54:41Good job.
54:41Good job.
54:41Good job.
54:41Good job.
54:42Good job.
54:42Good job.
54:42Good job.
54:42Good job.
54:43Good job.
54:43Good job.
54:43Good job.
54:44Good job.
54:44Good job.
54:44Good job.
54:45Good job.
54:45Good job.
54:46Good job.
54:46Good job.
54:47Good job.
54:47Good job.
54:48Good job.
54:48Good job.
54:49Good job.
54:49Good job.
54:50Good job.
54:50Good job.
54:51Good job.
54:51Good job.
54:52Good job.
54:52Good job.
Be the first to comment