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"It's icing on the cake," says the comedian about his Emmy nomination.
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00:00Hi, this is Mariah Gullow from The Hollywood Reporter, and this is Meet Your Emmy Nominee,
00:05and I have Billy Eichner with me.
00:06Yes.
00:07Yes, for Billy on the Street.
00:08That's right.
00:09Congratulations.
00:11Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.
00:13That's it.
00:14And how does it feel to be nominated?
00:17It feels great.
00:17It's really cool.
00:18It's exciting.
00:20We've been working on this show.
00:21This was our fifth season.
00:23We've had a couple of smaller nominations in the past, but this is like our first big
00:28category, first time, I'm in a category that's handed out during the big Emmy live telecast.
00:34So I've been to that before.
00:36I did a Billy on the Street bit with Seth Meyers when he hosted it a few years ago, but
00:39I've
00:40never been in a category that was handed out during the main ceremony, so that's cool.
00:45All the kids who work with me on the show, a lot of us have been working on it together
00:48for five years, and they're all very excited, and I'm excited, and you know, it's my baby.
00:54I started doing Billy on the Street videos for my live show in New York before YouTube
00:58was even around, 2004.
01:01Yeah.
01:01You know, and this was a long time, and this is a nice little, you know, like, cherry on
01:06the cake?
01:08Is that a saying?
01:10Pineapple.
01:10I don't know.
01:11Pineapple upside down cake has cherries on it.
01:12You know what I was trying to say.
01:14You're good.
01:14Yeah.
01:16Yeah.
01:17Yeah, I was...
01:17Icing on the cake.
01:19Icing on the cake.
01:21Cherry on the what?
01:22What?
01:23Cherry on top.
01:24Cherry on top.
01:24Cherry on top?
01:25Of the cake?
01:27It's all good.
01:28It's all dessert.
01:28Take that, Fred Armisen.
01:30It's all dessert.
01:30Can't compete with this.
01:34When I was in my 20s, I was a PA in New York, and we had to do street casting.
01:39So, your show always just, like, immediately just makes me, like, die with laughter because
01:46I think about all of the work it takes.
01:49Yeah.
01:49Well, we don't pre-cast the people.
01:50Yeah.
01:51Ever.
01:51I literally go out, and that actually makes it...
01:54Anything you do on the street, if you ask anyone in show business who's had to do what
01:59they call field segments, which is like anything you film on the street talking to
02:03real people, it's always very difficult.
02:05In our case, it's almost impossible because we're not finding people and then kind of
02:11having them stand there as if we didn't find them already.
02:14What you see on Billy on the street is what you get.
02:16I'm going up to people for the first time.
02:18They have no idea.
02:20Yeah.
02:20I don't even know who I'm going to go up to because we move so fast.
02:23It's just like, oh, there's a person, there's a person, there's a person.
02:25I end up speaking to someone for 10 minutes.
02:27I end up speaking to someone for 10 seconds.
02:29I don't know what's going to happen.
02:31You don't know if they're going to like me or hate me.
02:33It's challenging.
02:35Unless you've done it, you don't know.
02:37It all looks kind of easy peasy.
02:39Oh, he went out and he shot for a couple of weeks, but we literally shoot for months.
02:43It's crazy.
02:45And it doesn't get any easier now that you're kind of a recognizable person too.
02:48No, I mean, if anything, it gets a little harder because I'm in this constant weeding out process of I'm
02:54pretty good at being able to look at someone in the eye.
02:57And even if they're trying to pretend that they don't know me to get to get on the show, I'm
03:02like, it doesn't work like that.
03:03But I can tell if they know me and so I kind of have to weed those people out and
03:09that's kind of added another layer to the process.
03:12But of course, it's also like I always say at this point, if people didn't recognize me, I'd be like,
03:18who the hell's watching this thing?
03:20So I'm happy that someone's recognizing me because that means someone's watching the show.
03:25Yeah, yeah.
03:27So I can't really fact check this, but you might be one of the only people in your category who
03:32is like blatantly asking for an Emmy on your show and even giving yourself one.
03:37I've asked numerous times.
03:38I gave myself one.
03:39By the way, no one can tell.
03:41You know, I mean, you could show up to the Emmys carrying seven Emmys and they'll take a picture of
03:46you and everyone will think you won seven Emmys.
03:48I might do that, by the way.
03:51I mean, what do you think Tony Shalhoub was doing all those years?
03:53He didn't really win all those.
03:57So, but yeah, no, I guess I have blatantly asked people.
04:01Well, for our fourth season, last season, there was some talk that we might get nominated.
04:05We ended up not getting nominated.
04:07And then I thought all bets are off.
04:09You know, we deserve to get nominated at this point.
04:11I'm just going to tell people that we deserve it.
04:13Yeah.
04:14I like it.
04:15I like your style.
04:16Yes.
04:16I think you were, you were handed one by a trapeze artist or.
04:22That came at the end.
04:23This is, this is a lot to unpack.
04:25That came at the end of an obstacle course we did about gun control laws in the United States with
04:31Keegan-Michael Key.
04:32And at the end of it, we had a human bullet, gets shot out of a huge gun and goes
04:37flying way up in the air and he lands in a net.
04:40And then I run after him and I said, give me my Emmy.
04:43And I start shouting, I did political comedy.
04:45Now I want an Emmy.
04:46Because if you do political comedy, that's just like, you're just given an Emmy nomination.
04:51Right.
04:51You know, but if you don't do political comedy, it's thought that, oh, well, it's not substantial enough or whatever.
04:56And so we now do some political comedy on the show, not to get nominated for an Emmy.
05:01It was to get nominated for an Emmy.
05:02Yeah, yeah.
05:02No, I'm just kidding.
05:04But it just, but you know what I mean?
05:06Like if you just do pop culture stuff, people are like, oh, that's silly.
05:09It doesn't, you know, we're not going to like congratulate him for doing that.
05:13Right.
05:14But I find it interesting that if you start diving into political comedy, everyone takes you a lot more seriously.
05:20Yeah.
05:21You know what I mean?
05:21Yeah, yeah.
05:22I mean, did you notice a big reaction when you did the Eddie Murphy comments?
05:29That's one of my favorite segments ever.
05:31I didn't think there was a big enough reaction to that.
05:33That was from the previous season.
05:35Yeah.
05:35And I love that game.
05:36It's hilarious.
05:38We did a game called Eddie Murphy or Mark Twain.
05:41And I'm dressed as Mark Twain.
05:43And we have a contestant I found on the street.
05:46And I read off a list of quotes.
05:48Some are these very like, you know, like old chestnuts of like wisdom from Mark Twain.
05:54And some are incredibly homophobic, bigoted Eddie Murphy jokes from one of his original comedy specials back in the 80s.
06:04Which he's since apologized for, but they're still out there.
06:06Mm-hmm.
06:07And considered like iconic and classic.
06:09And I'm like, ah, he was telling gay jokes during the AIDS crisis.
06:13But, so I thought that juxtaposing these like, sort of old timey Mark Twain quotes with these very harsh Eddie
06:21Murphy jokes about gay people was really funny.
06:23And I'm dressed as Mark Twain.
06:24And that segment really captured this sort of silly, serious balance that we try to accomplish in what I think
06:34are the best segments on the show.
06:36Sometimes things are just silly.
06:37But I think the best segments ride this wave of silly and serious and absurd but with a point of
06:44view and all that.
06:45Mm-hmm.
06:47Yeah.
06:47And I like how, I mean, that kind of, you see that evolve in season five.
06:51For sure, yeah.
06:51You get definitely more into it.
06:53Do you consider yourself a very political person?
06:56Yeah, I always did.
06:58Mm-hmm.
06:58And now with this current state of the world, you kind of have to be.
07:02Mm-hmm.
07:02And I kind of can't help it.
07:05Yeah.
07:05You know, like I don't, I mean every day it's like 50 things to get angry about and furious about.
07:11And yeah, I mean, I don't really know, I think, I honestly do think, you can be cynical about social
07:18media.
07:19And I think there are massive pros and massive cons to it, the way there are with everything ultimately.
07:26But I do think that Twitter, I made a joke on Billy on the Street actually, I ran up to
07:32a woman and I said, Twitter is a force.
07:34Right?
07:34I was just screaming at people that Twitter is a force, just a few years ago.
07:38And I do, that was a joke, but also I do think Twitter is a force.
07:43And, you know, if Trump and his ilk are going to use it for such like negativity, to put so
07:51much negativity out into the world, I think you have to counteract that with a more positive message and a
07:57more progressive message.
07:58And that's what you do.
07:59How effective is it?
08:00It's better than not doing anything, I think.
08:03And so, and I find it kind of cathartic just on a personal level.
08:07And so I have become more political, as has everyone, I think.
08:11Yeah.
08:11It felt like the people on the streets of New York also found it cathartic.
08:15I'm thinking of the Stephen Colbert segment.
08:18Yeah.
08:19Where you asked them to send Trump a message through Stephen Colbert.
08:22Yeah.
08:22And it really seemed like they really thought they were going to get that message through.
08:25Like they were like, yes, finally somebody's listening.
08:28I get to say my piece.
08:29Totally.
08:29And I love that segment.
08:30And that's actually a segment.
08:32We shot most of this most recent season before the election because we shoot when it's warm out.
08:37By the time election day comes, it's too cold in New York.
08:39But we went back to New York after Trump got elected right before the inauguration with Stephen Colbert.
08:45He agreed to do the show and shot a segment asking New Yorkers to deliver whatever message they wanted to
08:51to Donald Trump.
08:52And I mean, even that seems now like it was 10 years ago.
08:55Yes.
08:55That was just January.
08:56We didn't even know what he was going to do.
08:57Like that was before the inauguration and people were already, you know, riled up and it's all very overwhelming.
09:03But yeah, I mean, it's really tough if you're a New Yorker, you kind of pride yourself on living among
09:10a very diverse group of people and immigrants and LGBT and people from every corner of the earth and every
09:18race and every, you know, religion and sexual orientation and atheists and Christians.
09:24And we're all a big mix, you know, like on the subways of New York City where I grew up,
09:28you're all you're all together whether you like it or not.
09:30It's just how it is that you take it. It's a given you actually take it for granted.
09:34So I think if you are someone from a big city, especially in New York where we have the friggin
09:39Statue of Liberty, you know, I think it's very hard to deal with the message that we're getting now from
09:48Washington because it literally is the opposite of everything that we live with every day.
09:54Um, so as a New Yorker, it's particularly hard to deal with it. You just get very angry.
09:59Yeah.
10:00Yeah.
10:01Um, so actually talking about Stephen Colbert, do you have any advice for him when he hosts the Emmys?
10:08Oh, I think he's going to be great. I can't imagine a better fit this year. Like I don't think
10:14it would have been, sometimes you have hosts that are less politically inclined, they're sort of sillier and you know,
10:19and that's great too.
10:20But how could we not have Colbert this year? You know, like we need, it would feel so far removed
10:28from reality to have someone who just decided they're not really going to talk about, you know, the political situation
10:34very much.
10:35That would feel very out of touch. So plus Stephen Colbert is like a song and dance man, you know,
10:41on top of all that. I don't know what he's planning to do, but um, he's brilliant. He's great. We
10:45both went to Northwestern, me and Stephen Colbert.
10:48He's older than me. Uh, but, uh, I, I mean, I love him. Actually, when I was first trying to
10:54sell Billy on the street as a show, I, and people, you know, you know, you're trying to figure out,
10:59uh, how to define it for TV executives who are like, this is new and weird.
11:04And we, it's funny, but we don't know how this fits into the landscape, et cetera, et cetera. Um, I
11:10used to use the Colbert rapport as a model.
11:13And I would say, you see what Stephen Colbert is doing for politics. He's using his real name, but he's
11:18clearly playing a persona. And you know, there's a part of the audience that might think it's real, but a
11:24larger part of the audience that knows that it's a satire.
11:27And that, I used to say like Billy on the street's the pop culture version of that, a much different
11:31format, obviously, but that was my model. Like I, I wanted to be pop culture Colbert rapport.
11:38Yeah. In my own weird way. Um, so I love him. Yeah.
11:43Um, you've said before that you enjoy being out in LA. Um, would you ever consider moving here?
11:49I have moved here. You did. It happened. You're here. I'm here. Well, I'm shooting American Horror Story.
11:54So that shoots here. Um, I have actually a little secret is that because funny or die, which produces Billy
12:01on the street is based here.
12:02We've always shot the show in New York, obviously, but I've edited all the episodes with my lovely editors, Bill
12:08and Chris here in LA.
12:10So I ended up being very bi-coastal and with American Horror Story.
12:14Now I'm, I'm here at least for now. I'm sure I'll go back to New York, obviously.
12:19Um, so, okay. One thing I noticed as somebody who lived in New York and LA is that, um, people
12:27who have kind of more of a negative outlook or are a little angrier here are kind of shunned.
12:32And it's kind of the opposite in New York. If you're like overly positive, people think what's wrong with you.
12:37Right. Totally.
12:38Have you experienced that here? Like, has it been a difficult adjustment?
12:42You know, I will say, I think there's been a massive migration of East Coasters to LA recently.
12:49This is true.
12:49And most of my friends here are not necessarily new friends I've made in LA. They're my old New York
12:54friends and we now just all live here.
12:56Right.
12:57Straight, gay, everything in between. And so we kind of still act like New Yorkers.
13:01You're in a New York bubble.
13:02I'm in my New York bubble in an LA bubble. Could there be a more liberal bubble?
13:07I'm in a New York bubble in LA. I mean, you might as well be living in like a bath
13:12house or something like that.
13:14I don't even know. But, uh, yeah, so I haven't felt the need to, you know, not be angry necessarily.
13:22Also because of politics, LA like New York, this is a very, we're in the most progressive state here and
13:27in California.
13:28And so I think people are a little angrier and are a little bewildered and more willing to share that.
13:33You know, one of the greatest moments ever was the women's march in LA.
13:37Like I'm sure it was great everywhere, but people in LA, the cliche is true.
13:41No one walks around. It's gorgeous weather and no one's ever walking around, you know, everyone's in their car.
13:46So to have 750,000 people in downtown LA on a Saturday or Sunday, I forget which day it was.
13:54Um, you know, walking around together. That was really powerful.
13:57Yeah.
13:58Um, that was amazing. I love LA. I think LA gets a bad rap. I mean, I'm a New Yorker.
14:02Um, but I really love LA. You know, there's a lot to be said for it. It's beautiful.
14:07And, you know, I'm a show business guy and this is, this is it. This is where it is.
14:12Yeah. Um, and this is a great place for you to, you know, your acting career has really ramped up.
14:18My God, hasn't it?
14:19Yeah.
14:20I mean, how do I do it?
14:24How has it been doing that? Like, do you feel good kind of moving into the acting realm with difficult
14:30people, friends from college, American Horror Story?
14:32Yeah, for sure. I mean, that's really what I started off doing. I was a theater major at Northwestern.
14:37I was a child actor in New York. I didn't do a ton. I never fully committed to it, like
14:42in a Neil Patrick Harris kind of way.
14:44But, um, I was and I, that's really what I wanted to be. And I kind of stumbled into comedy
14:50and Billy on the Street taking off.
14:52I won't say it's a fluke because I put a lot of thought into my live comedy shows in New
14:58York, which is where Billy on the Street came out of.
15:00But it was not my initial intention. I really wanted to, I honestly, I wanted to do Broadway.
15:04You know, I grew up in New York and I just wanted to do theater.
15:07Um, and so for me, American Horror Story, Difficult People, it's not something new. It's new to the world seeing
15:15me like that.
15:15But for me, it's actually getting back to what I wanted to do.
15:19And Difficult People is a blast and, you know, very much inspired by Julie's life and my life and our
15:25friends in New York.
15:26Um, American Horror Story, which I'm like, you know, not allowed to talk about very much, but it has been
15:32a blast.
15:34I don't think I, I've had, I'm very lucky. I've gotten to do a ton of amazing things the past
15:41few years, but this is the most, it's the most different thing that I've done.
15:46And it's the most fun I've ever had, even though it's also by far the darkest thing, because it's so,
15:52you have no idea. It's so crazy.
15:55I don't know what people are going to think, but in terms of my own experience, like, and it's Sarah
16:00Paulson and, and Evan Peters and Billy Lorde.
16:05I mean, it's Alison Pill. They're really great actors. Um, and it's great.
16:10And Ryan Murphy and everyone in Ryan's team, it's just people working at like the top of their game, everyone
16:15working really hard, the designers, the specificity.
16:19I'm someone who really appreciate, I've driven people like the, my producers on Billy on the Street crazy because of
16:24my attention to detail.
16:25Every prize is like goes through various phases until I get to what I want it to be. The obstacle
16:32courses had, there's a whole like, you know, process of how we get to build these massive obstacles.
16:37And, and so I really, it might mean that we shoot for 19 million hours, but it's because everyone's trying
16:43to like get the perfect shot and it's great. I really appreciate that.
16:47I wanted to talk a little bit about super sloppy double dare with Keegan.
16:50Super sloppy, semi-automatic double dare.
16:52Yes. Yes. Yes.
16:53Wordy. It's a mouthful.
16:55It is.
16:55Um, so all your, uh, obstacle course people before have been like small women like Rachel Dratch.
17:01Tiny women. The tiniest women I could find.
17:04Yeah.
17:04We put out a call for the shortest woman.
17:08And I like, I love short women on a, on a TV show.
17:12Don't you?
17:13It's enough of these tall freaks.
17:15Um, but, but Keegan, Michael Key, he's very tall.
17:19Very tall.
17:20And, um, I just thought it was just hilarious awkwardness seeing him trying to squeeze through
17:25these little wings.
17:26These tiny little obstacles.
17:27And throwing his guns in front of him.
17:28And was that a fun experience for you?
17:31What a good sport.
17:31Um, it was fun for me.
17:32I don't know if it was fun for him.
17:33I just had to stand there and like scream at him.
17:36Um, it was, you know, that's a segment that ended up getting a lot, uh, like, uh, creating a lot
17:42of discussion around it.
17:43And people talked about it.
17:44And I think it caught people by surprise.
17:46We had done political things, but we had never done a political obstacle course on that level.
17:50And it was very blatant.
17:53Yes.
17:53Some of our more political things, like we played a game called Immigrant or Real American.
17:57The Eddie Murphy game.
17:59You kind of got to read between the lines.
18:01Yeah.
18:01This was very, you know what I'm talking about.
18:03Like in the, it was an obstacle course inspired by Double Dare obstacle courses, which I loved as a kid.
18:08But all about, uh, it was, the idea was, let's do an obstacle course with a theme where there are
18:14very few obstacles.
18:16And gun control in this country, owning a gun, very few obstacles to own a gun in this country.
18:21And I thought, what a sad and absurdly, darkly funny subject for an obstacle course.
18:29And so we have Keegan Michael Key from Keegan Peel, obviously, and other things, friends from college, uh, go through
18:35all of these obstacles.
18:36Each obstacle represents a different state.
18:39And he shows you how easy it is to get a gun without a license, without training.
18:43It's, you know, it's insane.
18:44It's completely insane.
18:45And, um, I'm, I'm really glad that he did it.
18:48I, I went back and forth with my writers a long time.
18:51Can we do this?
18:53Should we do this?
18:54Are people going to think I'm making fun of gun control?
18:57You know, because the context of the show can be so silly sometimes, but ultimately I thought, um, it's important
19:04to me.
19:04You know, I'm on the creative council of every town for gun safety, great organization.
19:09And for me, it's not like Julianne Moore always says, it's not a political issue.
19:13Yeah.
19:14It's just a human safety issue.
19:16I don't even know it.
19:17So we're living in a crazy time.
19:19Um, but, uh, I'm glad, I'm really glad we did it.
19:22And I thought Keegan's presence alone brought a gravitas to it that it might not have otherwise had.
19:29So I was really grateful that he did it.
19:31Wonderful.
19:33Um, so every season you have one sketch that I think kind of pushes the boundaries a little bit, or
19:38one segment.
19:39Um, there was the year that you did the chipmunk segment.
19:43Yes.
19:44Um, but this year...
19:44You really know your stuff.
19:45I'm impressed.
19:46Yeah, you really know your stuff.
19:49Um, but, uh, this year it was Death Rogan.
19:52Mm-hmm.
19:52How did it feel to, um, to complete that segment?
19:56Let me explain what that is for people who haven't seen it.
19:59Um, Death Rogan is a segment where Seth Rogan, who's a buddy of mine, he did the show.
20:06And he, we disguised him as a cameraman who's following me around.
20:11Because there are obviously camera guys that follow me around.
20:13So we didn't put him in a weird costume.
20:15But the camera hides his face and he's wearing a baseball cap.
20:17And I go up to people, he's standing behind me, and you, if you're, if you're not expecting to see
20:22Seth Rogan and he's behind the camera, he's very well hidden.
20:25So you don't know he's there.
20:26And I go up to people and I very earnestly, um, in a very heartfelt way, reveal to them the
20:33news that the actor Seth Rogan had died in Hollywood that morning.
20:37In an effort to get their real reactions.
20:40Now, the inspiration for this was the fact that it does, it sounds like very dark and like, oh, that's
20:46not right.
20:47But let me tell you why I did that.
20:49Because it's frustrating to me when a celebrity dies and we were coming off a year of like, major celebrity
20:54deaths.
20:55And everyone goes crazy and all of a sudden they're a martyr.
20:58Everyone was a fan.
20:59Right.
20:59But we don't tell these people how we feel about them when they're alive.
21:03You know what I mean?
21:04And so, I mean to a certain degree we do, but we also put them through hell.
21:09I was gonna say, don't, don't, don't celebrities do get a lot of people going up to them and telling
21:13you?
21:13They do, but if you look at, I don't know, but I don't know.
21:18But you know what I mean?
21:18Like when someone dies, all of a sudden everyone sort of creates this other version of that person.
21:24Like there's some martyr or something.
21:26That's true.
21:27And everyone comes out of the woodwork, oh my God, did I love so and so.
21:32He changed my life.
21:33And it's like you've never mentioned him once.
21:35And so, I thought, why don't we let a celebrity experience that kind of adoration they get when they die
21:42while they're still alive?
21:43I mean, I think funerals in general are very stupid.
21:47And so, you know what I mean?
21:48I mean, whatever.
21:50I'm not anti-funeral.
21:51I don't want that pack to come after me.
21:57But I thought, let's do it with Seth Rogen.
22:00And then, of course, just the name Death Rogen made me laugh.
22:03And so, and we got a variety of responses.
22:05There were people who felt very bad.
22:07There were people who kind of didn't care.
22:09One older man, for some reason, his initial response was, oh, did he have AIDS?
22:14Seth Rogen?
22:15I mean, look, you don't know.
22:18But I actually really love that segment.
22:21I think it freaked Seth out a little bit.
22:24And his mom tweeted that she didn't like it.
22:26Oh.
22:27Which I felt bad about.
22:29But he's not dead.
22:30He's very much alive.
22:31He has a lot of projects in development.
22:35And I think Seth Rogen is going to be okay for a little while.
22:38Yes, I think so, too.
22:39He seems very healthy these days.
22:41I agree.
22:42It's that James Franco you have to worry about.
22:44I mean, really.
22:45Yeah.
22:46Whoop.
22:47Loves to dabble.
22:49Yeah.
22:49Alright, so a couple of quick fire questions before I let you go.
22:52First best, last worst.
22:54First acting job that made you think, I've made it.
22:58Even if it wasn't true.
23:00Uh, I've made it?
23:02Oh, man.
23:03Uh, oh, God.
23:07I don't know.
23:08This is very hard.
23:09Um, I don't know.
23:11In a way, it's American Horror Story.
23:13Oh, nice.
23:14In a way.
23:15Uh, best story you have from Billy on the Street.
23:19I know.
23:19So many.
23:20But I did get to do a segment with Michelle Obama.
23:23And that's...
23:23And that was amazing.
23:24I kind of felt bad for Big Bird.
23:26He seemed a little outgunned in that segment.
23:29Well, it's Michelle Obama and me.
23:31And Elena.
23:31Take a seat, Big Bird.
23:32And Elena.
23:34Elena's like a contestant that's on my show a lot.
23:36A real, not a celebrity, a real person.
23:38You know, but Big Bird was fine.
23:40He got his own on the street segment after.
23:42And, um, I think Big Bird's gonna be just fine.
23:46Yeah.
23:47Uh, last time you were recognized in public?
23:50Oh, I can't, I can't leave my house.
23:53It really, it's become such a burden.
23:56I'm kidding.
23:57Um, last time I was recognized, I don't know.
24:00You know, like walking around.
24:01I think I, I live in either New York or LA.
24:04And I have a feeling a big part of my following is in New York and LA.
24:07And so people recognize me, but I think they feel like they know me.
24:12You know, I certainly, it's not like I'm, you know, Leonardo DiCaprio and I have to walk
24:16around, you know, with a baseball cap on.
24:18I live my life and I'm fine.
24:20Oh, nice.
24:21You know what I mean?
24:21Yeah.
24:22Um, you know, like a lot of your persona is kind of the like, I want to be famous,
24:26which is your alternate, your Stephen Colbert ego.
24:30Correct, yeah.
24:30Um, but do you see a downside to the growing fame that you have?
24:35I have a very manageable, lovely level of success.
24:39I would, I would say that the little, uh, you know, the, the bits and pieces I've gotten
24:45through the years of people recognizing you maybe at awkward moments, I, that's led me
24:51to understand that if you are DiCaprio or someone at that level who really is incredibly
24:59recognizable all over the world and maybe feels they have to sneak around to a certain degree.
25:03I don't know.
25:04Maybe he doesn't.
25:04I'm just assuming.
25:05I'm just using it as an example.
25:07I would imagine that fucking sucks sometimes.
25:10Yeah.
25:10Like that's just not a natural way to be.
25:12I'm not on that level.
25:14Um, and I don't know if I'd even want to be, I don't know how much fun that is at
25:18the end
25:18of the day.
25:19I mean, I'm sure he has a ton of fun.
25:21I'm sure it's great, you know, on some level pros and cons to everything.
25:25But, um, yeah, you know, people up in your shit all the time.
25:28I want to be able to like go to CVS and walk around and, you know, buy lube and stuff.
25:34Yeah, totally.
25:36Without it being a big deal.
25:39Uh, worst audition experience.
25:46Uh, worst audition experience.
25:50Uh, this is a long time ago.
25:52I went on audition for a commercial.
25:54This is years ago.
25:55And I, when I got there, I realized that everyone else there was like a full on model.
26:02And I didn't know, maybe because I'm tall, my manager was like, just go, you know, but
26:06I was like, no, no, I don't look like these.
26:08They're like full, the women were taller than me.
26:10And like beautiful.
26:11The men were tall and beautiful.
26:13But it was also for like a Kentucky fried chicken, like fast food chain.
26:19And so when you went into the audition room, they had, they had me surrounded by two beautiful
26:25female models, like gorgeous, like from like Russia or something, you know, how they like
26:30ship those in.
26:31And so, and they had us reenact the scene and they gave us this, um, to like use as like
26:39the chicken leg or something.
26:40It wasn't a real chicken leg.
26:41So they just gave us this wrapped up bit of tinfoil and they were here act like this is
26:46the chicken leg.
26:47And I said, okay.
26:48And I was very young at this point, like right after college or something, had an audition
26:52very much.
26:52And I'm sitting next to these models and they were like, Billy, you start.
26:58So I was like, all right, it's supposed to act like this is the chicken leg.
27:00I guess I'll, I'll bite into it, but it's tinfoil.
27:05So I just took a bite out of it thinking that's what I was supposed to do.
27:10And I like bit into this foil thing and it was not fun.
27:16And then, you know, then I look over to one of the models, like I shouldn't have done
27:21that.
27:22And she's literally just like, like no reaction.
27:26I don't even think, I don't know if they spoke English or what.
27:29And I felt so embarrassed and I could just feel the casting directors look at me like,
27:33why would you do that?
27:36And I didn't know why.
27:37And it was terrible.
27:39All right.
27:40Well, before I let you go, can you give me three predictions for Emmy night?
27:43What do you think is going to happen?
27:44It doesn't have to be wins.
27:45It can just be things that go down at the Emmys.
27:49Oh, it's hard to predict what's going to go down.
27:51Um, I would imagine there will be some politics talked about.
27:57I hope so.
27:58I think it's so boring not to.
28:00Um, and I miss those days of like Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, like at the Oscars,
28:06just like screaming about, I don't know, whatever they were screaming about, the death penalty.
28:11Um, we never talked about the death penalty anymore.
28:14I hope that Allison Janney just talks about the death penalty for a half hour.
28:18Um, that would be good.
28:21And what else?
28:23I think Colbert, I'm predicting a musical Colbert moment of some sort, you know?
28:28Um, I could be wrong.
28:30Three predictions you said?
28:31Yeah.
28:32That's it.
28:34Um, I predict a physical altercation between me and Tracy Ullman.
28:41She's nominated in my category.
28:43Ooh.
28:44And I think that it, I think it's going to be bloody.
28:47I really, really do.
28:49Yeah.
28:50Billy Eichner, thank you so much for being here.
28:51Do you think Tracy Ullman knows who I am?
28:52I don't.
28:53I think during the category, they're going to read the nomination by Billy on the street.
28:56And that speech is going to be like, what?
29:00We'll look out for that reaction.
29:01Okay.
29:02Yes.
29:03Billy, thank you so much for being here.
29:04Thank you very much.
29:05And we will see you September 17th on Emmy Night.
29:07Yes, you will.
29:08Sitting in the audience.
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