- 4 hours ago
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00:06Can you tell Dennis' story because, like, I can't even...
00:08Yeah, when he was, like, eight years old, so, like, a few months after 9-11,
00:12his football coach, like, didn't have it prepared, had him stand up
00:17and then started telling, like, a speech about, like, America and strength
00:22as, like, inspiration to the team.
00:23I'm eight, and he made me hold a flag.
00:26Oh, my God.
00:26So I'm just sitting there shaking it, and he's like,
00:29Pete's dad is gone!
00:32Dude, like, literally, he'll never be back!
00:35He's dead!
00:36And I'm just, like, holding this fucking flag,
00:38and all these other eight-year-old pee-wee kids are like,
00:41what the fuck is going on?
00:42You don't improvise a 9-11 speech two weeks after the kid's dad died.
00:50It's so fucking funny, dude.
00:51Dude, it's funny.
00:52Oh, my God.
00:53You gotta laugh at that shit.
01:01You were in Spider-Man?
01:02I was.
01:03I was in the Andrew Garfield and the Stone Spider-Mans.
01:06The Amazing Spider-Mans.
01:07Yeah, yeah.
01:07Yeah, I remember you had that and Ice Age out,
01:10two number one movies at the same time.
01:11Crazy.
01:12That's nuts.
01:12Ice Age 6, by the way, coming up.
01:14Oh, you're doing another one?
01:15Yeah.
01:15You know why?
01:16Fuck, yeah.
01:17We were done.
01:17Because they make billions of dollars, and why not?
01:20The streaming thing.
01:21Kids fucking stream the fuck out of it.
01:24Or I guess maybe ex-kids, whoever.
01:27And the company came and said,
01:29I think we gotta do another one.
01:30Actually, Ray and I, Ray Romano and I,
01:32were shooting something for Netflix.
01:33I love that.
01:34And they called both of our agents.
01:36Oh, that show was fucking great.
01:37No Good Deeds.
01:38Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:39That was great.
01:39It was crazy.
01:40It was nice to see you guys together.
01:42It was really insane.
01:43We've seen you together so many times,
01:44but you're, you know, Diego and...
01:46Plus, we've known each other
01:48since before we were famous, right?
01:49So, we knew each other when we were poor, right?
01:52Right.
01:52And just doing sets.
01:53So, it was really weird for us,
01:55because we were both nervous
01:56about working with fucking Lisa Kudrow,
02:01because we, you know, we're both big fans.
02:03So, like, our first couple days in rehearsal,
02:06when we got there, we were like,
02:08fine, but this is working with Lisa Kudrow.
02:09This is crazy.
02:10That's awesome.
02:11It's awesome you didn't lose it,
02:12because, you know, you guys are obviously legends
02:13and been around for such a long time,
02:15and it's nice to, like, still get...
02:16That's what I said to him.
02:17I said, listen, she's a TV legend,
02:19and you're a TV legend.
02:20I'm just, I'm fucking, I'm cable.
02:22You know, I was fucking, you know what I mean?
02:24Rescue Me was a cable show.
02:25Rescue Me was fucking awesome.
02:26I love fucking Rescue Me.
02:27Yeah, I know.
02:27You told me.
02:28Yeah, my mom, my mom watched it,
02:30and I think it helped her a lot.
02:31She wouldn't let me watch it
02:33until I was in high school,
02:35but, like, what a fucking great show.
02:37That was the first time you watched it?
02:38Yeah, yeah, when I was in high school.
02:40What year was that?
02:41Uh, 2010.
02:43Oh, wow.
02:43That was towards the end of it, yeah.
02:45Towards the end,
02:45and I always wondered what got you obsessed with,
02:51I mean, firefighters are great,
02:52but what got you into, like,
02:54like, I'm going to start a foundation.
02:56I'm going to play this guy.
02:57Well, what happened was,
02:59you know, it's, you know this,
03:01is that they, the,
03:04if somebody in your family
03:05or a close friend becomes a firefighter,
03:07uh, and then their crew
03:10at their, at their firehouse,
03:12or they're all the guys at their firehouse,
03:14become a part of your life
03:15because they end up coming to your cookouts,
03:17or everybody, you know,
03:18there's such a family at the firehouse, right?
03:20Right.
03:21So my cousin Jerry, Lucy,
03:23he fucking wouldn't fucking ever shut up
03:26about wanting to be a fireman.
03:27It's all he wanted.
03:28Right.
03:28Right?
03:29So he became a fireman up in Worcester, Mass.,
03:31which is where we're from,
03:32and, uh, and he fucking loved it,
03:35and he was a great fireman,
03:36uh, and he was totally into it.
03:39He was into not just, you know,
03:40working his crew out of his firehouse,
03:43but he was working, training, uh, probies.
03:45He was, uh, you know,
03:47trying the new training facilities,
03:49trying to get new training facilities built,
03:51and, uh, the whole nine yards.
03:52He loved it.
03:53Anyways, he died in a tragic, uh,
03:57warehouse fire up in Worcester
03:58in December of 99,
04:00which was kind of a famous fire at the time
04:01because six guys died.
04:03It was him and his partner
04:05were two of the guys,
04:06the first two guys lost.
04:08Four other guys went in looking for him.
04:09One of them was one of our friends
04:10that we grew up with from my class.
04:12Uh, we all went to the same school,
04:14same neighborhood.
04:15Anyways, uh, we started the foundation
04:18to help all the kids that were left behind
04:21because it was six guys dead.
04:22It was 17 kids left behind, right?
04:24Um, but in the course of doing that,
04:27I had another good friend of mine
04:29who you worked with.
04:30The guy who was the tech advisor
04:31on King of Staten Island, Terry Quinn.
04:34Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:34Terry Quinn was my Rescue Me tech advisor.
04:37Oh, really?
04:37Yeah.
04:38No, I made everybody watch Rescue Me
04:40because you got the downtime of the firemen so right.
04:43Yes.
04:43My dad was always doing porches
04:45and building other people's fences
04:47and bartending and doing odd jobs.
04:50And that was, that's such a,
04:52no, the way you captured that was fucking great.
04:54But it was like, it's really true.
04:55First of all, uh, you know,
04:58Terry became a New York City fireman
04:59when we were in our 20s, right?
05:01So, uh, I had it sort of on both ends
05:04because I had, like,
05:05the guys who were working on my mom's porch
05:06were the guys from fucking Jerry's crew
05:08at the firehouse.
05:09I mean, they, like, literally,
05:10I go home to visit my mom
05:11and those guys are in the kitchen with,
05:13going like, hey, ma, get us another beer,
05:15but like, they're just part of the family.
05:17So the same thing happened
05:18with Terry's guys in New York.
05:20He was on 22 truck
05:21right before 9-11 for a long time.
05:24Anyways, those guys
05:25were some of the first guys that came up.
05:26That fire in Worcester
05:28was a warehouse building in downtown
05:30that collapsed in on itself.
05:31So it took two weeks to dig the bodies out.
05:33It was like a mini 9-1-1.
05:36So we had firefighters from all over
05:38coming to help dig the bodies out.
05:39And the guys from the FDNY
05:41were one of the first group of guys to come.
05:43And then right after,
05:46you know, a year and a half,
05:46two years later,
05:48one of the first crews to show up
05:49at Ground Zero was guys from Worcester.
05:52So it was weird.
05:55Anyways, I started the foundation
05:56to help the guys
05:59and the families in Worcester.
06:01But right after that,
06:04we realized like every department,
06:07Worcester included,
06:08but Boston,
06:08all these fire departments,
06:10including the FDNY,
06:11they didn't have the funding
06:12for the training facilities
06:14and certain vehicles.
06:16Oh, dude, when I go,
06:16I still visit my dad's firehouse.
06:18The basement is like,
06:20it's just asbestos
06:21and weights from 1975.
06:24It's crazy.
06:24I'm like,
06:24how the fuck are you not funding
06:26these everyday literal heroes?
06:28It's unbelievable.
06:29The funding is unbelievable.
06:30I think people need to realize
06:31that 25 years after 9-11,
06:34like my foundation,
06:35what we do is
06:36you give us your money
06:38within six months to a year,
06:39I can show you the building
06:40or the vehicle
06:41or the tools
06:42and equipment
06:43that we have bought
06:44for fire departments.
06:46Like this year,
06:46we're doing,
06:47I think 37 states,
06:49we're doing 65 different
06:51fire departments,
06:52volunteer and big cities
06:54like New York and Boston
06:55as well as small.
06:57It's the same issue
06:59for almost all firehouses
07:00and fire departments.
07:02They're the first
07:03to get their budget cut
07:04because they don't go on strike.
07:05So if you...
07:06Right, you can't, yeah.
07:06You can't cut
07:07the sanitation department
07:08because they go on strike
07:09and then the garbage builds up
07:10and people get pissed.
07:11Fire department,
07:12you cut their money,
07:13hey, they still put
07:14the fires out.
07:15Right.
07:15So our whole thing
07:17is we wanted to make...
07:18Your life is safer
07:19if their job is safer.
07:21Right.
07:21So we literally,
07:22each individual fire department,
07:24we ask them
07:24before we give them the grant
07:25what they want specifically
07:27and we buy that for them
07:29or we build it
07:30or we have it built.
07:31That's how it came to be.
07:32I wanted to...
07:34Right after 9-11,
07:35Terry Quinn said to me,
07:40we need to do something
07:41for New York
07:42and we organized
07:45one of the first benefits
07:47for the New York City department
07:49through my foundation
07:50because we were already in place
07:52and here we are,
07:5325 years later.
07:54I thought we would go out of business
07:55but we're still
07:56very much in business.
07:57No, you're very...
07:58When I think of firemen,
07:59even before I started stand-up,
08:02you're right there.
08:03Yeah.
08:04I associate you
08:05with being a fireman.
08:07I guess because from that
08:08and Francis
08:10in A Bug's Life.
08:13We are gonna knock
08:15damn dead.
08:17Dude, I forgot about Francis.
08:19So I knew your voice.
08:20Yeah, yeah.
08:20I knew your voice so well
08:22before I got into comedy
08:23because it was Francis,
08:25it was Ice Age,
08:26but also,
08:27was it Ford or Dodge?
08:29Ford.
08:29Ford, yeah.
08:30Ford trucks.
08:30the old tough commercials.
08:33So I,
08:34when I first saw you
08:35in Rescue,
08:36I was like,
08:36where the fuck
08:37do I know this guy from?
08:39Like, I've heard this voice
08:40since I was a kid.
08:40It was Francis the Ladybug.
08:41Yeah, I was like,
08:42yeah, my mom goes,
08:42that's Francis from A Bug's Life.
08:44Yeah, yeah, yeah, fuck.
08:45Yeah, that was,
08:45that was a great cast in that movie.
08:47That's a fucking great movie.
08:48It's a great movie.
08:49It's unbelievable.
08:50It's fucking crazy.
08:51It's like Julia Louis-Dreyfus,
08:52fucking,
08:53there's,
08:53everybody's in,
08:54everybody voicing in that is amazing.
08:56Yeah.
08:57Yeah.
08:57No, that was like the first,
08:58I remember,
08:59Pixar movie that really fucking slapped.
09:01That was like a really good fucking movie.
09:02I still watch it.
09:03I'm excited to show my kid that movie.
09:05Oh, yeah, fuck yeah, right?
09:06Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:07That's what's cool about those things is,
09:09you know,
09:09some movies are dated,
09:11where like,
09:12those will never be dated.
09:14No, they won't.
09:15They're kind of,
09:16you think,
09:17pretty much,
09:17I think they're evergreen
09:18because it's like the Sandlot, man.
09:20It's like,
09:21Yeah, that holds up.
09:22That movie still holds up
09:23because it's generationally,
09:25you know.
09:26Everyone has a Wendy Peppercorn.
09:27Yes, exactly.
09:28Everybody has like a scary neighbor.
09:29Exactly.
09:30Everyone has a dream to play sports with.
09:32And it's baseball.
09:32Yeah.
09:32It's like,
09:33you know,
09:33kids,
09:34so I kind of,
09:35I'm no genius.
09:36That was one of the first acting jobs I did
09:38after I got famous.
09:41I had already booked these two big movies,
09:43Demolition Man,
09:44so the fucking weird thing on that movie was,
09:48Stallone,
09:48the first day I went to do the,
09:50I'd done Sandlot first
09:52because it was a pure acting role, right?
09:54So that was really good for me
09:55because I was like,
09:55fuck,
09:56okay,
09:56I got it.
09:57I think I can do this, right?
09:59Right,
09:59you're not playing just Dennis.
10:00Exactly.
10:01Right, right,
10:01and I,
10:02you know,
10:02you got to bring it down size-wise.
10:07Stallone,
10:08that fucking thing was so big.
10:09It was such a big,
10:10loud movie.
10:12Like,
10:12the first day I go for the costume fitting,
10:14right,
10:15on some lot,
10:16Warner Brothers or whatever the fuck it was,
10:17and yeah,
10:18they put these science fiction fucking real metal things on you
10:22with the big boots in them,
10:23and I'm like,
10:24this is crazy,
10:24and they're like,
10:25hey,
10:25Sly wants to say hi to you.
10:27You know,
10:27he's,
10:28when you come out,
10:29go left,
10:29and he's down at the end.
10:31So I'm like,
10:31oh,
10:32okay,
10:32great.
10:32And this is like peak Sly.
10:34Peak Sly.
10:35This is like 45 fucking bigger than ever.
10:36This is Sly,
10:36like top of the box office,
10:38right?
10:38Yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:39So when I was driving in on the lot,
10:41I thought I saw like a batting cage.
10:43Like there was a big net,
10:44but because it's a movie a lot,
10:46I'm like,
10:46it must be a set or something.
10:48Right.
10:49So this fucking PA walks me up this fucking wall.
10:52I'm smoking a butt,
10:52and I turn a corner.
10:53I'm in my fucking weird sci-fi outfit,
10:55and there's Stallone in his sci-fi outfit,
10:59the main outfit from the movie,
11:00and he's in a fucking giant batting cage
11:04hitting fucking golf balls
11:05with a guy that looks like a golf pro,
11:08like a golf guy.
11:10He's like,
11:11hey, Dennis,
11:11welcome to the movie.
11:12Hey, man,
11:13I'm so glad you're doing this.
11:14Hey, do you golf?
11:16And I'm like,
11:17oh, not really.
11:18He's like,
11:18well, listen,
11:18if you want to learn how to golf,
11:19this is my pro,
11:20Ken,
11:21Ken Dennis.
11:22Hey, man,
11:22how you doing?
11:23Pretty good.
11:24He's here every day.
11:25Every day we're on location.
11:26Every day we're on the lot.
11:28He fucking,
11:29every time they called cut,
11:30he was outside.
11:32In the science fiction.
11:34Fuck.
11:35That's the good.
11:35Ken, what am I doing wrong?
11:37That's the good days, man.
11:39Well, you could fucking do that.
11:40Dude, it was fucking awesome.
11:42It was so awesome.
11:43Who was like,
11:44we were like,
11:44ah, okay,
11:45I want to do that.
11:46For me,
11:46it was Burr.
11:47I saw Burr open for Dane Cook
11:48when I was 15,
11:49and I was a big Dane Cook fan,
11:51and then I saw Burr go up,
11:52and I was like,
11:52what the fuck is that?
11:54Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:54What is that?
11:55What is that?
11:56Who does,
11:57how did he do that?
11:58Who is this guy?
11:58When I was a kid,
12:00my dad was a mechanic by trade,
12:02but he was a musician.
12:03He could play almost any instrument,
12:05but he played the accordion in Irish bands.
12:08So I would see my dad on stage on Saturday nights.
12:11That's awesome.
12:12And then they would come back to the apartment,
12:14you know,
12:14after weddings and,
12:15you know,
12:16birthdays or whatever,
12:17and play music in the apartment.
12:19He,
12:19him and my sister played the fiddle.
12:21My dad was really funny.
12:22My mother was really fucking funny.
12:24All my Irish aunts,
12:27everybody in my family was funny,
12:28but my dad was,
12:29I was like,
12:30huh,
12:30that's interesting.
12:31Hmm.
12:32Center of attention.
12:33Hmm.
12:34Hmm.
12:35Yeah.
12:35You know?
12:36How do I get some of that?
12:37Yeah.
12:37Yeah.
12:38and again,
12:38everybody was so fucking funny.
12:40And also the funny thing,
12:41because I wasn't a great student,
12:43but I went to the same school for 12 years,
12:45same nuns,
12:45same fucking priests,
12:46same kids,
12:47right?
12:47You know what's a Catholic school ago?
12:48Neighborhood school, right?
12:49Same uniform.
12:50And I got a couple of laughs,
12:51like fucking kindergarten,
12:53first grade,
12:53I got laughs,
12:54and I was like,
12:54oh,
12:54I like this,
12:55because girls liked it
12:56when I made them laugh.
12:58And that,
12:58I went to school,
12:59I hated school,
13:00but I loved going there
13:01because it was like
13:02fucking smoking,
13:03drinking,
13:04fucking making girls laugh.
13:05Right.
13:05Like,
13:06I want to have fun.
13:06I want to go to work
13:07and work hard,
13:08but I want to have a fucking blast doing it.
13:10Right.
13:10You know what I mean?
13:10I don't want to be with some fucking cocksucker
13:12who thinks they're the fucking,
13:13you know,
13:14the fucking greatest thing
13:16that walked down the fucking street.
13:18Yeah,
13:18once you realize that,
13:19like,
13:19that what we do is kind of silly,
13:21if you get,
13:22get a little bit
13:23and you can keep it going,
13:24there becomes a point
13:25where you're just like,
13:26this is fucking dumb.
13:27I'm playing pretend
13:28and I'm like balding.
13:29And they're paying me.
13:30Yeah.
13:30Yeah.
13:31Yeah.
13:31Yeah.
13:31And I'm so Irish
13:33that people telling me
13:34to do it,
13:35to quit.
13:36That makes you want to do more.
13:38Yeah.
13:38It makes me go,
13:39fuck you.
13:39I'm so anti-authority
13:40that even if it's not an authority figure,
13:42but like,
13:43you know,
13:44even when my mom would say it,
13:46I'd be like,
13:46what the fuck?
13:47Yeah,
13:47well,
13:47that's why you're standing,
13:47it's only you and the,
13:48you have no boss.
13:50I know.
13:50Yeah.
13:51I know.
13:52When,
13:53because,
13:53you know,
13:54I'd had,
13:55I'd lost my dad.
13:57How old were you?
13:58I was 25.
14:01That's a really tough.
14:02He dropped dead.
14:02That's a really tough age.
14:04And I was close to my dad.
14:06And I was,
14:07that fucking thing blew me away,
14:09as I'm sure,
14:10you know,
14:10you know the experience
14:11because it happened
14:11even younger to you.
14:13When I look back,
14:14I'm like,
14:14thank God it happened
14:15when I was as young
14:17as possible
14:18because if I was in,
14:19you know,
14:20my teens or 20s,
14:21I would have fucking
14:22went off the deep end.
14:24Yeah.
14:24With substances
14:25or just whatever.
14:26Like,
14:26when you're seven,
14:27you're just like,
14:28you don't even know
14:29what the fuck
14:29is really going on.
14:30Right, right.
14:31I understand it.
14:31I get more sad now,
14:33which is like weird,
14:33like,
14:34especially with like the baby.
14:35Yes.
14:35I'm like,
14:36oh,
14:36you'll never meet him.
14:37And then I'm like,
14:37oh shit,
14:38I'm my dad's age
14:39when he died.
14:40Holy shit.
14:41You know,
14:41because when he died,
14:42he was like,
14:42you know,
14:4333 and I'm seven.
14:44I'm like,
14:44you're old.
14:45Like, you know,
14:45it's, you know,
14:46but now that I'm that age,
14:47I'm like,
14:47oh fuck,
14:48he was like,
14:49just getting started
14:49and all that stuff.
14:50So like,
14:50I think it would be
14:51way tougher.
14:52I can't speak for you,
14:53but I feel like
14:53that would be way tougher
14:54in your 20s.
14:56I don't know, man.
14:58That's interesting.
14:59It's a,
15:00none of it's easy.
15:01Right, yeah.
15:02I'm, you know,
15:03I'm not over
15:05any of that stuff.
15:06Like, it's so funny.
15:07It's like,
15:07you just get used to it.
15:08Like,
15:08but it's literally,
15:09like if I talk about my cousin
15:11for too long,
15:12or my dad,
15:13or,
15:14or several other people,
15:17you know,
15:18it's right there
15:19below the surface.
15:20It just comes right back.
15:21Right, yeah.
15:21It's crazy.
15:22You know,
15:23it's like,
15:24because I also knew guys,
15:25you know,
15:26FDNY guys,
15:27like, you know,
15:27that died,
15:28that have died since 9-11
15:30from 9-11 related stuff,
15:31which is totally bizarre.
15:32Yeah,
15:33some of my dad's pals
15:33are just like,
15:34I mean,
15:34that one's just like,
15:35that just kind of,
15:37but anyways.
15:38It's harder,
15:38because when there's a,
15:39like,
15:41you know,
15:419-11,
15:42you know,
15:42if you're,
15:43when your dad,
15:43when someone passes
15:44in your life,
15:45it's super sad,
15:47but like,
15:48in my particular case,
15:50it's damn near a holiday now.
15:52Yeah.
15:52And it's like,
15:54it's like,
15:58people kind of like,
15:59I don't know if it's called
15:59virtue signaling,
16:00or like whatever,
16:01but like,
16:02on social media,
16:03whatever,
16:04whenever there's like,
16:05this sort of like,
16:05tragedy,
16:06people that have nothing
16:08to do with any of it,
16:10which,
16:10it's nice to be like,
16:11you know,
16:12sorry for certain people,
16:13but like,
16:14you know,
16:14they post like,
16:15the towers,
16:16and they'll be like,
16:16today's a day
16:17where we all just like,
16:18I'm like,
16:19oh really?
16:19In Florida?
16:20Like,
16:21okay,
16:21like not,
16:21not to be like,
16:22yeah,
16:22really,
16:23but,
16:23yeah.
16:24But it's become like,
16:25this sort of,
16:26I don't want to say,
16:27holiday's the wrong word,
16:28but like,
16:29there's like,
16:29no man,
16:30you're,
16:30you,
16:30you're right.
16:31And it's like,
16:31this,
16:31this 9-11 week,
16:33and there's like,
16:33they're making new documentaries.
16:35And by the way,
16:35it's going to be worse this year than ever.
16:37Oh yeah.
16:38I'm not,
16:39I,
16:40I'm saying this in the right way.
16:41How many documentaries did you get asked?
16:42The 25th anniversary.
16:43So now,
16:44there's fucking,
16:46everybody,
16:47and their brother and their sister's going to be like,
16:49oh,
16:50it's,
16:50it's fucking 9-11 week.
16:52Like fucking Giuliani down there,
16:53fucking,
16:54who basically on fucking 9-11 said,
16:56hey,
16:57walk north.
16:57Fuck,
16:58my mother could have said that.
16:59Yeah.
17:00Right?
17:00Oh,
17:00okay,
17:00that's basically what he did.
17:02But fucking,
17:03he's down there taking fucking selfies,
17:04every 9-11 in front of the fucking memorial.
17:07It's like Comic-Con.
17:08What the fuck?
17:09Yeah,
17:09it's 9-11 Comic-Con for him.
17:11Yeah,
17:11yeah.
17:11Hey,
17:11I'm Giuliani.
17:12Take a picture with me.
17:13remember me when everybody loved me?
17:15I told everybody to walk north.
17:17Remember?
17:17Yeah.
17:18Fuck,
17:18he was like a real life hero.
17:19Dude,
17:19I'll tell you one of the greatest 9-11 stories,
17:21and again,
17:22talking about Rescuing Me,
17:23and why,
17:24why it was.
17:25Now,
17:25I'd love to,
17:25when you came up with that,
17:27how,
17:28did you like,
17:29put out feelers for people who were affected by it?
17:31How,
17:31how did they?
17:32No,
17:34my cousin's death,
17:35and that experience,
17:37that,
17:38yeah,
17:38the way I was trying to process that grief,
17:40I was like,
17:40fuck,
17:41I wonder if I could just turn this,
17:42because it was horrible,
17:43as you can imagine,
17:43for my family,
17:44for all of us,
17:45and,
17:45and I was like thinking,
17:47how can I fucking process this pain into something?
17:51Could I tell a story?
17:53Could I tell a story about that fire?
17:54And I was like,
17:55there's no way I can tell a story about that fire.
17:56It's just so fucking personal,
17:58right?
17:58There's just no way.
18:00You know,
18:00it's,
18:01it's my family,
18:02and like,
18:03my friend's family,
18:05you know,
18:06one of the guys that went in to look for my cousin.
18:07So,
18:09but I had it in my head,
18:10and I told Peter Tolan,
18:11who we were doing this TV show called The Job Together.
18:13Peter Tolan is the guy who did Larry Sanders with Shandley.
18:16Right.
18:17Famous showrunner.
18:18So I said,
18:19maybe we could do a movie.
18:20So we were thinking of making a movie about a firefighter,
18:23and,
18:23who dies in the line of duty.
18:25But we're processing it,
18:26we're shooting this TV show,
18:27at the time,
18:28in New York,
18:29and then 9-11 happened.
18:31And because I knew Terry,
18:32Quinn,
18:33and his,
18:33all the guys in his crew,
18:35that was like that day,
18:37when I,
18:38when I was watching it happen,
18:40I was like,
18:40fuck,
18:41I couldn't get a hold of Terry.
18:42I was thinking about those guys.
18:43We went through that process,
18:44right?
18:45That was so fucking weird too,
18:47by the way,
18:47because,
18:48you know,
18:48it was,
18:49it was chaos.
18:50So nobody knew who was really dead.
18:53Right.
18:53Because everybody was missing.
18:53No,
18:54I didn't find out for like three weeks,
18:55because they were finding people on the show.
18:56Yeah,
18:57yeah,
18:57exactly.
18:58So at that time,
19:01Terry,
19:01through the grieving process of Terry's crew,
19:04because those guys all survived,
19:06they were,
19:06you know,
19:07they were just ridden with survivors guilt,
19:10and they were going down to the pile every night,
19:12you know?
19:13Nice.
19:13Through that fall,
19:14I was going to the firehouse a lot,
19:15and Peter was around,
19:17and Peter one night said to me,
19:19we were at the firehouse at Terry's house,
19:21hanging out,
19:21watching guys come up from the pile,
19:23and other guys go down,
19:24and it was so fucking funny,
19:25because one night,
19:26this is like two weeks in,
19:28a guy comes in.
19:29Now remember,
19:30a lot of great,
19:31the beginning was a lot of celebrities hanging around,
19:34and bringing gourmet food from the top restaurants down to the firefighters and everything.
19:39But now three weeks later,
19:40that's wearing off.
19:41It's cold.
19:42Right,
19:42yeah,
19:43yeah.
19:43Right?
19:44And so we're in Terry's firehouse up on 100th Street,
19:47and he's getting ready to go down,
19:49and this shifted guy's coming up from the ground zero.
19:51So this guy walks in the door,
19:53and he goes,
19:54hey man,
19:54how was it tonight?
19:55And he goes,
19:56eh,
19:57the food sucked.
20:02He goes,
20:03we're back to regular burgers.
20:04No more gourmet.
20:05And he's taking his bunker gear off,
20:07and we started laughing our balls off,
20:08and he goes,
20:09yeah,
20:09no,
20:09it's funny to you guys,
20:10but I fucking like those gourmet.
20:12And I'm like,
20:12this is so fucking funny,
20:14but it's so real.
20:15It's like,
20:16you know,
20:16so that night,
20:18we're leaving,
20:19Peter turned to me,
20:21walking back to my apartment,
20:24and he goes,
20:24that's the fucking show.
20:26Yeah.
20:26It's the pain of all the shit,
20:29and it's that fucking,
20:31like where else can you have that fucking humor?
20:33Right.
20:33Like that.
20:34You know what I mean?
20:34That's how they really act,
20:35that's how they act.
20:36Yeah.
20:36They're like.
20:37So that's where we,
20:38and then I said to Terry,
20:40hey,
20:40we're thinking of this,
20:41and he's like,
20:42fucking great idea.
20:43That's awesome.
20:43He said,
20:44great fucking idea.
20:44So that's where the seed came from,
20:48was like,
20:49in the grief is that fucking,
20:51it's like,
20:52you find these great fucking moments of humor.
20:55Well,
20:55because you're so vulnerable and raw,
20:57and your emotions are so manic,
20:58that you're like,
20:59right?
21:00It's funny.
21:00We're funny.
21:01We can laugh.
21:02It's crazy.
21:03Yeah.
21:03That's how they survive.
21:04That's really how you survive grief,
21:06I think,
21:06is that you have to,
21:07because the pain never goes away.
21:09The pain's right there.
21:10It's right there.
21:10Like you scratch your leg,
21:11it's fucking,
21:13right?
21:13Yeah.
21:13But it still makes me laugh,
21:15like fucking,
21:17you know,
21:17the last time I talked to my mother
21:19was on FaceTime,
21:19because I was overseas shooting.
21:21I was in Ireland.
21:22And I,
21:24she,
21:25I was wearing a baseball hat
21:26after I left the set
21:27and came back to the hotel.
21:28So,
21:29she hated me having a baseball hat on,
21:31on a fucking FaceTime.
21:32That's just like,
21:33her fucking thing.
21:34That's super old school.
21:36You're talking to your mother.
21:37I'm talking to my mother.
21:38And so I take my baseball hat off
21:39and she goes,
21:40what's going on with,
21:40first thing,
21:41what's going on with your hair?
21:42I go,
21:43what?
21:43She goes,
21:44what's,
21:44your hair's all fucked up.
21:45I go,
21:46well,
21:46I had a baseball hat on
21:47and you don't like me wearing a baseball hat.
21:48She goes,
21:49put the hat on.
21:51You look like you just walked in
21:53off the street,
21:53like a bum.
21:55That's so fucking to the point,
21:57you know what I mean?
21:57Um,
21:59I,
21:59like I remember the first time I left
22:01after my dad died.
22:03Big Irish family,
22:04fucking,
22:05you know,
22:05everybody from the neighborhood was there
22:07and like my brother's best friends,
22:08my best friends,
22:09they're still my best friends
22:10from guys from growing up,
22:11right?
22:12Yeah.
22:12So my brother's best friend
22:13at the time was Sweeji,
22:15fucking great Irish kid.
22:17His dad came over on the boat
22:18with my dad.
22:19We had this thing at the house
22:20after the funeral,
22:21right?
22:22Where we came back to the house.
22:23My mother was okay at that point
22:24and like it was all family and friends.
22:26It was in the summertime.
22:27And it was like,
22:28everybody's drunk or whatever.
22:29My mother's trying to be,
22:30it's keeping her busy
22:32and she's paying attention to everybody
22:33and getting drinks for everybody.
22:35And,
22:35uh,
22:36we did a big toast to my dad.
22:37It was nice.
22:38So now we haven't seen,
22:39nobody's seen Sweeji in a while
22:41and he was drunk.
22:42So we thought he must have fucking
22:43driven home drunk
22:44or fucking just walked,
22:46whatever.
22:46He hasn't been seen.
22:48My mother's living in this tiny
22:49little fucking house.
22:50She goes,
22:50ah,
22:51to me and my brother,
22:51I think I want to go
22:52and take a nap now
22:53because I'm feeling very sad.
22:55And we're like,
22:55okay,
22:56she starts crying.
22:56We're like,
22:57we got you,
22:57we got you.
22:58Go in,
22:58you open the door to her bedroom.
23:00Sweeji Scott,
23:01like a big,
23:03fat,
23:03pink,
23:04white Irishman
23:05is buck naked,
23:07spread eagle on her bed
23:08with his fucking balls
23:09and his cock
23:10hanging out,
23:10passed out drunk.
23:15He only had the energy
23:16to take his clothes.
23:17We go out,
23:18we go,
23:18we open the door
23:19and we go,
23:19and she goes,
23:20God damn it,
23:21Sweeji Scott,
23:22get out of that
23:23goddamn bed.
23:28He wakes up like,
23:29ah,
23:30sorry,
23:30Mrs. Leary,
23:31I'm sorry.
23:32And she started laughing
23:33and we started laughing
23:34and that fucking,
23:35that was the first laugh.
23:37You know?
23:38I remember my first,
23:39the first time I made a joke
23:41after 9-11
23:42that there was a lot of like,
23:43mental health wasn't as like,
23:45Yeah, yeah.
23:46hot as it is now.
23:47Yeah.
23:47It wasn't a hot,
23:48cutting edge,
23:49cool thing to get now.
23:50It is the cool thing.
23:51Yeah,
23:51and they were doing studies
23:53on 9-11 kids,
23:55like people from Columbia
23:56and they would interview kids
23:58and just like,
23:59because they were like,
23:59they had no idea
24:00how to deal with like,
24:01trauma like this.
24:02And I remember
24:03they would ask,
24:04they were like,
24:04just so you know,
24:05we're going to have to ask like,
24:06pretty weird questions.
24:08It's just,
24:08just bear with us.
24:09It's a study.
24:10So there's no wrong answer.
24:12And I remember the guy went,
24:13do you in any way
24:14think that your dad is still alive?
24:18And this is like,
24:19you know,
24:19five, six months later.
24:20And I go,
24:21well,
24:22he better not be.
24:25The guy goes,
24:26what?
24:26I go,
24:27well,
24:27then he's just an asshole.
24:29He just fucking left
24:30and used the 9-11 excuse.
24:32I go,
24:32what an asshole.
24:33And then the guy told,
24:35they told my mom.
24:36And then my mom was like,
24:37that was pretty funny.
24:38It is very,
24:38also great answer.
24:40Yeah.
24:40He would be a fucking asshole.
24:42Yeah.
24:42He just fucking skipped town.
24:43I'm just going to use this 9-11 thing
24:45to fucking skip town.
24:46Yeah.
24:47I have two,
24:48two questions before we wrap up.
24:49One,
24:50now I hate when people,
24:51this is,
24:52I feel like worth asking
24:53because it's actually
24:54one of my favorite stories
24:55and it made me
24:56love you even more
24:57when I heard it,
24:58but it could be like hearsay.
25:00So I apologize
25:01if it's a dumb question,
25:02but there's this rumor story
25:06where you did the ref,
25:07it blew up,
25:08you started getting
25:08a lot of movie offers
25:09and then if 2xC comes along
25:11with you and Sandra Bullock,
25:13Sandra Bullock's first movie
25:15and the rumor is
25:17your agent was like,
25:18yes,
25:19it's a big check,
25:20but don't do it.
25:21It's a piece of shit.
25:22You'll get something better.
25:23And you were like,
25:24fuck that.
25:24Like,
25:25I'm,
25:25I'm,
25:26I've never seen that
25:27sort of money before.
25:27I'm doing this.
25:28You do it.
25:29Movie comes out.
25:31It's,
25:31you know,
25:31it's,
25:31it's not great.
25:33And,
25:33uh,
25:34your agent was like,
25:35right or whatever.
25:36And then,
25:37um,
25:37you fire your agent
25:39and then your agent goes,
25:41hey,
25:41I told you not to do this movie.
25:43And you go,
25:43well,
25:44I can't fire myself.
25:45Can I?
25:45No,
25:46no,
25:46no,
25:46no,
25:46dude,
25:47no,
25:47that's not true.
25:48That story is true,
25:49but it's not me.
25:50Oh,
25:50it's not you?
25:50It's,
25:50it's somebody else really great.
25:52It's like,
25:53uh,
25:54fuck,
25:55but no,
25:55I wish that was me.
25:57Oh,
25:58telling everybody it's you for 15 years.
25:59No,
25:59it's not me.
26:00I've heard that story and it's,
26:01I think it's Albert Brooks who did it,
26:03but it's such a great line.
26:04It's one of my favorite fucking stories ever.
26:06I wish it was me.
26:07It wasn't.
26:08Um,
26:09the one question I've been asking everybody is,
26:10what is one thing you've learned from your own experience that has helped you in your personal
26:15life,
26:16uh,
26:16like,
26:17tremendously,
26:17that was an advice that you got from someone else?
26:21Oh,
26:21God,
26:22yeah.
26:22I mean,
26:23besides all the,
26:26uh,
26:27things I thought I would,
26:28never quit that I just fucking quit like this.
26:30Like,
26:32I don't know where that comes from,
26:33but the thing I had to learn was,
26:35um,
26:37in a way,
26:38I didn't get rid of it completely,
26:39but you know,
26:40I,
26:40by nature and it's genetic,
26:43cause it,
26:43my,
26:44my dad has it.
26:45My mother also had it.
26:46Like,
26:47uh,
26:47I've got,
26:48I can fucking go black Irish rage.
26:53Right.
26:54Like,
26:54I just have a fucking temper.
26:55I mean,
26:56I'm really crazy.
26:57Right.
26:57Right.
26:58And,
26:58uh,
26:59so that kind of was what my act was.
27:02Like,
27:02that's when I started doing standup.
27:04Uh,
27:05I was still in a theater group at Emerson College and I,
27:08you know,
27:08called the Emerson Comedy Workshop.
27:09He played various characters,
27:10but one of the characters I started doing,
27:12he broke the fourth wall and he was a really angry guy that fucking smoked cigarettes
27:17and ranted about certain subjects,
27:19right?
27:19Whether it was smoking or whatever.
27:20And it always went over big with the audience,
27:22you know?
27:23And so when I graduated or right around the time I graduated,
27:27I saw an interview with Richard Pryor where he said the reason that he transformed into
27:30the act that he ended up,
27:32you know,
27:32becoming famous for is because he wanted to become the Richard Pryor that he was in the
27:36living room with his friends.
27:37Right.
27:37So that's why I was like,
27:38Oh,
27:39I need to,
27:40cause I actually was the guy I wasn't with my friends.
27:42It was just like,
27:42I'd fucking snap and rant and rave and fucking,
27:45you know?
27:45So I turned that into my act.
27:48But in real life I had to learn like,
27:50you can't fucking,
27:51especially once you get famous,
27:53you can't fucking kick somebody's door down and fucking go in to try to beat the shit
27:57out of them.
27:57Yeah.
27:57Especially not now.
27:58No.
27:59Yeah.
27:59When you did it,
28:00you probably could.
28:01I just,
28:02I did it fucking with cab drivers,
28:04man.
28:05Like shit that was this crazy.
28:06Like fucking.
28:09One time I tried to pull this fucking cab driver out of the cab
28:13and I was on my way.
28:14This is during rescue me.
28:16I was on my way to work.
28:17I was wearing a rescue me fucking t-shirt with flames on it.
28:21And I was driving myself to work.
28:23And,
28:23and,
28:25fuck dude.
28:26And this fucking guy.
28:27I mean,
28:27whatever.
28:27I had to learn.
28:29My kids were like,
28:30my wife was complaining about my kids.
28:32And I was like,
28:32I can't keep doing this.
28:33Like,
28:34I'm probably just going to have a heart attack or get fucking sued.
28:36Right.
28:36So I was like,
28:37I had to learn.
28:38Fucking really pisses me off.
28:41And it doesn't,
28:42the anger doesn't solve anything.
28:45It's great for standup.
28:46Right.
28:47Cause I still,
28:47that's what makes me have stuff to talk about on stage.
28:50But in real life,
28:51you just have to go.
28:52Right.
28:53Right.
28:53Now don't call anybody.
28:54Don't fucking drive anywhere.
28:57And then you get,
28:57you know,
28:57then Ice Age comes back.
28:58Yeah.
29:00Right.
29:00Exactly.
29:01Yeah.
29:01Right.
29:01Right.
29:02So,
29:03but I'm much happier this way.
29:04Right.
29:05I still get angry,
29:05but I don't,
29:06I don't,
29:06you know,
29:07my hands don't hurt,
29:08you know,
29:10uh,
29:11I don't miss it.
29:12You know?
29:13That's something I gotta,
29:14I'm trying to work on it.
29:15That's,
29:16you know,
29:16kind of from the same.
29:18I think grief has something to do with it too.
29:20Like you,
29:20you don't realize it.
29:21you're defending yourself,
29:22you know,
29:23you're defending yourself.
29:23Yeah.
29:23Yeah.
29:23It's also like,
29:24you don't know what I've been through.
29:25Like,
29:26you know.
29:26Exactly.
29:26It makes you,
29:27part of the process of getting through grief is you never really get rid of that raw thing.
29:33Yeah.
29:33You're angry about it.
29:34It's easy to get fucking,
29:34that anger turns into something else.
29:36Like you're pissed at the fucking cab driver.
29:38Right.
29:38Is it really about the cab driver?
29:39Right.
29:40Mm-mm.
29:40Come here.
29:41You know what I mean?
29:42Well,
29:43thank you,
29:43man.
29:43Hey,
29:44dude,
29:44this was awesome.
29:44Thank you for coming to the garage.
29:45I really like this podcast.
30:11We'll see you next time.
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