- 8 hours ago
"She understands my mentality and my point of view so well," Gaffigan told The Hollywood Reporter. "It’s amazing. It’s a real gift."
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:03Hi, this is Mariah Gullow from The Hollywood Reporter, and I'm in studio today with Jim Gaffigan.
00:08Well, thank you for having me.
00:10Thank you for coming. Welcome to L.A.
00:12I love it.
00:13You love L.A.? You're into the West Coast?
00:15You know, it's a little too sunny for me.
00:18Yeah.
00:18It's generally warm weather. I'm like, it's not necessary, because I don't like wearing sunscreen.
00:24I'm so bald, I have to wear a hat, too, so.
00:26But it's a lot of indoors stuff here.
00:28Yes, yes. We have good air conditioning.
00:32Great air conditioning.
00:34So we're here to talk about your comedy special, Noble Ape.
00:38Yes, I'm very excited.
00:40Let's start with the title.
00:41The title, Noble Ape, was inspired because I think of myself as, I mean, all humans are animals,
00:50but I think of myself as kind of a big, lumbering ape who kind of, you know, lives off of
00:58animal instincts.
00:59But I aspire to be something more.
01:03So that kind of ties into Noble Ape.
01:06Well, that makes a lot of sense.
01:09And Noble Ape is being released in theaters and digitally.
01:13Yes, it's pretty much everywhere.
01:17It's rather confusing because, in a way, it's being released how everything was released five years ago,
01:24which is where everyone can get it on different platforms.
01:28They can get it at your website, jimgaffigan.com.
01:31With all the, the list of all the places you can get it, there's links.
01:35But it's not exclusively to, you know, iTunes or exclusively to Amazon.
01:41It's also on demand.
01:43It's, you know, people consume things in different ways.
01:46So it's also on your Xbox, you know, and the music streaming services.
01:52So it's pretty much everywhere.
01:55Yes.
01:55And why was it important for you to have such a wide release for this particular?
01:59You know, having, you know, this is my sixth special.
02:03And I feel the outlet for specials, it changes every couple years.
02:10Like Comedy Central, my first two specials, I was grateful to have that opportunity.
02:14And then I released one, my own, on my website.
02:18And then the next two were through Netflix.
02:23And what I, and I received a couple offers from different places.
02:29And what was so appealing about this offer was that it was available to everyone at the same time.
02:34Whether someone, you know, likes to listen to comedy in the car or someone likes to download and own it
02:42at home.
02:44Or, as I mentioned, some people just do pay-per-view.
02:47I mean, I have five young children.
02:49And so, movies, I typically purchase them so that they can watch them a hundred times.
02:54Yes.
02:56Right.
02:56Let's talk about the subject matter of this particular special.
03:01Sure.
03:02Because you talk a lot about your wife's illness.
03:05Yes.
03:06It was last April.
03:09It was discovered my wife had this mass in her brain, a brain tumor.
03:13It's been a crazy year for me.
03:16Crazy year.
03:17I don't know if you know, in April it was discovered my wife had a brain tumor.
03:20I'm not even making this up.
03:22It was removed.
03:22She's great.
03:23Everything's good.
03:27I didn't remove it.
03:29I was in the other room soiling myself.
03:32But the tumor is gone, along with my ability to ever win another argument.
03:39It's not like I was winning a lot before, but now I'm retired.
03:44It was the size of a pear, but it was removed.
03:49It was in a very precarious position around the cranial nerves.
03:53And so we went through this, obviously more her than me, but this harrowing four-month period.
04:02She's still in recovery from it.
04:04I mean, she's fine.
04:04And we, you know, we're traveling and everything, but so this four-month experience inspired a lot of the comedy
04:13for Noble Ape.
04:15My wife is my writing partner, and, you know, everyone, when I started touring with this special,
04:21I was really surprised because I was talking about my wife's brain tumor,
04:26but it became apparent that it resonated with people because we all have had loved ones that have gone through
04:34medical crises.
04:35And we've all spent that, you know, three to four weeks in a hospital, which inspires some of these jokes.
04:42So it resonated with people, which was really, I mean, I wanted to talk about it anyway,
04:48but I didn't expect it to resonate the way it did.
04:51It was strange.
04:52You know, when the doctor told me the tumor was the size of a pear, I thought, wow, I guess
04:56doctors are bad at analogies.
04:59But I quickly realized they're just dumbing it down for idiots like me.
05:04Like, the surgeon looked at me and thought, well, this guy's not going to understand centimeters.
05:12I don't even want to try and explain circumference.
05:17Based on appearance, he doesn't eat fruit, but he's probably seen a pear.
05:23Does a lot of the comedy come from wanting to lift Jeannie's spirits during her sickness?
05:29Our relationship was, you know, you have to add some humor.
05:33But my wife, being my writing partner, you know, like some of the situations were just so unique and odd
05:44that there were comic ideas.
05:47You know, my wife was in an MRI for, I think, three hours.
05:52And she came out, and the first thing she said to me was, write down these observations on MRIs.
05:58I think we can make some jokes out of these.
06:00So there was definitely some, you know, humor was really important in the recovery process.
06:06And as a caretaker, you have to have a sense of humor about it.
06:09I mean, she had a tracheotomy and a feeding tube, so we built some humor around that.
06:16But this special was, it's just very odd.
06:21You know, like once you can get beyond the fact that a brain tumor is removed, and then you sit
06:28back and you think it was shaped like a pear, that's just weird.
06:34And just, you know, the team of doctors and the healthcare workers that are amazing people, but there's also a
06:41lot of humor in it.
06:42Like, I just think it's absurd that someone would go to college for, you know, 20 years, and then their
06:52job is in a hospital.
06:54Like, to me, that's just brutal.
06:55You know what I mean?
06:56And so, like, spending so much time in a hospital inspired a lot of jokes.
07:01And a straighter the setup, better the punch.
07:04So there's nothing straighter than a hospital.
07:07You know what I mean?
07:08Yes, and you know, right away from the special, that you have spent a lot of time in a hospital
07:13when you start making jokes about Jell-O.
07:15Yes.
07:16Oh, yeah.
07:16No, it's just absurd.
07:18She mostly ate Jell-O.
07:20Jell-O, you know what they make Jell-O out of?
07:22Bones and hooves.
07:24I always thought that was an urban legend.
07:27Bones and hooves.
07:27What kind of madman?
07:30Let me have the bones and hooves.
07:32I've got an idea for a kid's dessert.
07:36It'll be huge.
07:37We'll get Cosby to do the commercials.
07:40Everyone trusts him.
07:42But I think there's something strange about how human beings, we can't live in that knowledge of that panic and
07:51sadness.
07:51So I think people watching or experiencing the special, they kind of get in touch with those moments that you
08:01can't live in, you know, whether it was a loved one or a grandparent.
08:04But we've all had that time in the hospital.
08:07Yeah.
08:07And you have five kids.
08:09Yes.
08:10How did your relationship with your five kids change over time when you were all taking care of Jeannie?
08:16It was, you know, it's ever-changing.
08:18Any parent would tell you that.
08:20But what was unique about that experience was the shift from my role as being kind of the sixth child
08:30to this caretaking role.
08:33So, I mean, I do relish the fact that my children could see me taking care of my wife and
08:39that there is, and that there's honor around that, doing that for someone you love.
08:47But it's weird.
08:48You know, kids are very forgetful.
08:50They're very resilient.
08:52But generally, you know, we got through it with humor, which is important.
08:57So, I don't know.
08:59It's fascinating.
08:59You know, a five-year-old doesn't really know what a brain tumor is.
09:04I mean, they don't even know what a comedian is.
09:05But the rest of them, you know, it definitely made us closer.
09:11Yeah.
09:12I wanted to talk about a hashtag that you've been using.
09:15You're very big on social media.
09:17Yeah.
09:18Well, thank you.
09:18And you have a hashtag called HowWeCare.
09:20Yeah, and the hashtag HowWeCare is, you know, Jeannie and I were approached by Tylenol.
09:28That is, they started this program to acknowledge caregivers.
09:32It's called HowWeCare.
09:34And they created this care card that, because the caregiving role is, it's a very difficult position.
09:45And there are so many responsibilities.
09:47And so, this care card, you can help out people that are caregivers in your life.
09:53And so, you can go and give them Uber rides or Handy, which can help around the house, you know,
10:01building a ramp or whatever.
10:03And so, we were approached by them, and, you know, we were more than happy to kind of team up
10:09with Tylenol, just because caregivers are really kind of under-acknowledged.
10:14There's nothing sexy about it.
10:16It's exhausting.
10:17And just, I know that, you know, traveling to and from the hospital was something, even after Jeannie got out
10:25of the hospital.
10:25You know, you know, that help of a care card would have been great.
10:31Mm, yes.
10:32Let's talk about how Jeannie takes care of you, because she directed your special.
10:37Yes.
10:37What kind of a director is she?
10:39Well, she, you know, our relationship, we've been, you know, it'll be 15 years we were married.
10:45And our relationship is just so enmeshed.
10:49So, there's no real censorship of what she says.
10:55And having written the material with me, and, you know, there's a lot of disagreements on things.
11:02But I feel like she's kind of a secret weapon, because she understands my mentality and my point of view
11:08so well,
11:09that she can say, you know what, you're trying to say this, but people are hearing this.
11:13And so, I mean, every comedian needs that skill to understand that, because it is a conversation with the audience.
11:22But having someone who happens to be your spouse, it's amazing.
11:26It's a real gift.
11:28At one point in your special, you say, my wife doesn't like that joke.
11:32Yes.
11:32I know people are scared about Trump being president, but I can tell you, as a straight white male, I
11:38feel like I'll be okay.
11:39Okay.
11:48My wife hates that joke.
11:51And I love her, but not enough to get rid of that joke.
11:55Does that happen often?
11:57That happens a fair amount.
11:58I mean, she definitely has, I mean, I have the final say, but she'll have, you know, strong opinions on
12:07editing.
12:07You know, and, you know, like the joke in question that we're talking about is about how, that's all about
12:14how people, I look like a Trump supporter and living in New York City.
12:18And I say, you know, we're all worried, but the good news is that I think all, you know, white
12:24men will be okay.
12:25And so my wife, who is still reeling from the election a year and a half later, you know, she
12:31understands the value of it, but she also doesn't like the reality of it, you know.
12:37Would you and Jeannie ever consider writing a movie or a book based on your experience?
12:42You know, I think my wife, she's definitely in the process of writing a book about her experience, and it's
12:51just finding time.
12:52You know, it's being the parent, you know, of one child is taxing, and so I know that it's also
13:02very cathartic for her to write about that experience.
13:06But we'll see.
13:07I don't know when the expectation is, but she's very funny.
13:11You know, she helped me write the two books I wrote, so I know it'll be a great book if
13:17she ever gets time to do it.
13:18Yeah.
13:20So a couple of quick questions before I let you go.
13:22Who was the first comedian that really made an impact on you?
13:27I would say Jonathan Winters, because it was this self-contained, like he created a world where the, it was
13:38stand-up, but it was such character-driven, and there was, like he played all the roles, and so it
13:45was really fun.
13:47What was the first movie that really made an impact on you?
13:51I think, I want to say the little kid in me, Bad News Bears, with Walter Matthau and Tatum O
14:03'Neill.
14:03Because I remember being in love with Tatum O'Neill, and, but that, and just kind of like the irreverence
14:11and the humor of it, it felt real.
14:13And I watched it with my kids.
14:14It's filthy.
14:17But, you know, you don't remember some of, you don't remember how kind of like completely inappropriate it is.
14:25He's driving around and drunk half the movie.
14:27So, but it's an amazing movie.
14:30What was your favorite comedy club to perform in back in the day?
14:35I mean, I still perform in comedy clubs all the time in New York City to develop material.
14:42I do have, you know, a special place for Gotham Comedy Club in New York, because when I was finding
14:50my voice, which is, you know, my point of view, and, you know, the type of comedy I would do,
14:57they were very nice to me.
14:58But many comedy clubs have been very nice to me.
15:01Yeah.
15:02What was one of your worst sets or auditions?
15:08You know, in hindsight, actually in Nobile, if I talk about when I opened for the Pope, which.
15:15There was a lot of anticipation around that.
15:17Yes, and it was a classic, it's a no-win situation.
15:22People don't realize there are some comedy performance situations where you're not going to win.
15:31And that's one of them.
15:33Look, the White House correspondents, there's going to be people that are angry.
15:36And so, but, you know, there's a lot of really horrible experiences when I started.
15:43But I think you have to block them out, you know.
15:47What was your best family vacation?
15:50Best family vacation.
15:53I mean, we just were on vacation in Ireland, and it was, we have friends who also have five kids.
16:02And they were there, and her parents are from Donegal.
16:08And so we spent five days in Donegal in this small town.
16:14And it was like going to another planet.
16:17Because we live in New York City, and there was just, I mean, the roads are just absurd, but it
16:23was amazing.
16:24It's like everyone has, like, everyone can play an instrument.
16:29Everyone sings.
16:30It was, it was pretty, it was pretty special.
16:32And it doesn't feel so weird to have five kids when you're in Ireland, does it?
16:36No, it doesn't.
16:37It doesn't at all.
16:39What was the most disappointing toy you've ever gotten for your kids?
16:44I would say, you know, I'm in this animated movie that's coming up in, I don't know.
16:53You know, you do animated movies, and then, like, a decade later they come out.
16:56Yeah, that's true.
16:57But they gave me my character.
17:00He's, like, one of the leads.
17:02And I was so proud, and I brought it home to my kids.
17:05And I was like, this is me.
17:07And they're like, great.
17:08And then, like, maybe 20 seconds later I saw it just on the ground.
17:12And, like, the head was, so I was like, but that's, that was me.
17:17And you guys like stuff like this, right?
17:19And so they just didn't care.
17:21They didn't care.
17:23In your special you discuss a lot of fruits.
17:26What is your favorite fruit and why?
17:28I would say my favorite fruit, I mean, now I have an affinity for pears.
17:33I got my, after my wife got out, like, that Mother's Day I got her a necklace that had a
17:39pear.
17:39Aww.
17:41But I would say, you know, the avocado is so beautiful.
17:46I feel like it could be a fruit or a cheese.
17:49It's amazing.
17:50Yeah.
17:50Right?
17:50It's both of those things.
17:53The Emmys have been announced.
17:55Do you have anybody you're rooting for?
17:58Just, you know, it's weird because I just was gone and I was not in my typical binge mode that
18:05I'm normally in.
18:06I don't know.
18:07I think Handmaid's Tale is pretty amazing.
18:10It's pretty amazing.
18:11I think Elizabeth Moss is amazing.
18:16I don't know.
18:17I think, I hope that, and I don't even know if it's nominated, but Wild Wild Country, I hope that's
18:24acknowledged.
18:24Oh, yeah.
18:25Because I thought that was really.
18:26That was a binger.
18:28That was a binger.
18:29That's a, you know, when it ended, you're like, oh, I wish there was, like, three more episodes.
18:33Yeah.
18:35Like, the past year, I've done Handmaid's Tale, I did Wild Wild Country, you know, always Game of Thrones.
18:45What's something else?
18:46Now I'm like.
18:47Game of Thrones is something you can't watch with your kids, huh?
18:50Well, you'd be.
18:51Or do you?
18:52You have to understand, my wife, I love the, you have to understand, my children have watched, like, most of
19:02The Walking Dead.
19:03But my young children, like, my five-year-old does a great impression of a zombie.
19:09And so there's something, you know, it's weird, because you get married, or, you know, you have kids with someone,
19:16and you think, well, obviously, we're not going to let.
19:20But my wife brought my, you know, now 14-year-old, but she was probably three, into a haunted house
19:28at, like, three.
19:28And I was like, what are you doing?
19:30She's like, she has to be desensitized to this stuff so that she can enjoy it.
19:34And so, Walking Dead, all my kids have watched it, and they're just unfazed.
19:40And I have friends, adults, that are like, I can't deal with it.
19:44You know what I mean?
19:44I know.
19:45My nine-year-old loves it.
19:47And, you know, it's also, what's great is there's also the graphic novel, so then they're reading.
19:52Yeah, there you go.
19:54Wow, really, Walking Dead has made your kids very healthy.
19:58It's helped.
19:59And I'm the only one eating.
20:00I eat during Walking Dead.
20:03Oh, crap.
20:03Like, they're, like, eating a zombie.
20:04I'm like, this is great pasta.
20:06You know?
20:07Well, Jim Gaffigan, thank you so much for being here.
20:10Your special is Noble Ape.
20:12It's available everywhere.
20:13You can check it out on jimgaffigan.com.
20:17Thanks so much.
20:18Appreciate it.
20:18Bye.
Comments