♪
Hey, everyone,
I'm Yvonne Orji, and welcome
to the Emmy-nominated
"Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter."
We are here back again at the beautiful Georgian Hotel
in Santa Monica, California,
a place where for many years,
countless friends have gathered to share a drink --
oh, thank you, baby --
maybe even share a room, but definitely share a laugh.
Well, today is no different.
We brought together six actors from TV's biggest comedies
to toast each other and open up about their Hollywood journey.
You'll hear from John Goodman of "The Righteous Gemstones"
and "The Conners,"
Kelsey Grammer of "Frasier,"
Theo James of "The Gentleman,"
Anthony Mackie of "Twisted Metal,"
Ricky Martin of "Palm Royale,"
and Bowen Yang of "Saturday Night Live."
As always, they are on the record,
but maybe just a bit "Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter."
Hey, Mikey, they're all yours.
Thanks, Yvonne. Hi, I'm Mikey O'Connell.
Welcome to the comedy actor roundtable.
Let's get started. We're gonna jump right in.
What's the funniest or strangest feedback
you've ever read or heard about yourself?
I get told I look like Justin Bieber.
And, uh, since then, everything I wear,
I try to look, you know, 50 and above.
[Laughter]
I'm terrified that I will resemble the Biebs.
Yeah. Thankfully, I do --Well, he's a nice-looking kid.
Yeah, I know, but it was when he was about 12.
You're like Bieber on YouTube.[Laughter]
Exactly.
Yeah, I think they -- I like how you say that --
that they were talking about me in an article,
and they put a picture of Enrique Iglesias.
-Oh! -Oh!
That happens. Yeah, but it's okay.
I shaved my head once for a movie,
and I was told that my head was too perfectly round,
that I looked like the brown ball on the pool table.
I was like, "Well, first of all, that's a compliment."
I don't have any divots in my head.
But then, I never shaved my head again
because I was like, "It's too perfectly round."
I've received many reviews, many of them very bad.[Laughter]
So, it would probably be one of those.
I did a production of "Othello" years ago,
and, uh, Christopher Plummer did Iago,
James Earl Jones did Othello, and I played Cassio.
And I think the review basically said,
"And Kelsey Grammer was just fine as Cassio."
And that, to me, just sucked.
[Laughter]
Desdemona. You would have been a great Desdemona.
I would have been a great Desdemona.
I had a woman who told me how much she admired my work
on "Cheers" the other day, last week.
[Laughter]
The most challenging two things I've ever heard,
actually, really, were not so much that review.
One was after I'd just played Beast --
my days in Marvel --
and they came up and said,
"We have the most wonderful next film planned."
And we're -- I mean, this was Lauren Shuler Donner.
And she said, "We're going to go back in time."
And so, I suddenly had that sinking feeling of...
"Oh, so, I won't be in it."
[Laughter]
"So, my performance as Beast will not be in it.
That's what you're telling me."
So, sure enough, it went back in time, and I was gone.
So, I thought, well, that was really exciting news for me.
The other, my most favorite statement I ever heard
was when I was in my 40s.
Somebody said, "You are the worst boyfriend
I've ever had."
So, yeah.
[Laughter]
Mikey: That's a great review.
Probably, like, some comment that was like,
"That guy's got an underbite."
And I'm like, "Yeah, I do, a little bit."
My jaw's a little bit out.
-Very specific. -Very specific feedback.
It's strange feedback. I think that qualifies.
I bet it was a dentist.
But no, social media is crazy
because you just never know what you're going to get.
And people who are behind a fake picture
and they can just say whatever they want.
So, it's really good to just block.
It feels good.
Hollywood likes to put people in lanes,
and I'm wondering, what are the parts
that all of you are still occasionally offered
that you're like, "Please, no, not this again."
Hmm.I'll tell you this.
I was the most famous actor on "The Wire"
who wasn't on "The Wire."
[Laughter]
And when "The Wire" was on TV, I was every criminal,
every drug dealer, every rapper, every bad boy.
And I was like, "I went to Juilliard."
Like, stop it.
I didn't -- I'm not on "The Wire."
I couldn't -- I auditioned. I didn't get on "The Wire."
Every Black dude was on "The Wire" except me.
I auditioned for Marlo and all of those dudes --
because I lived in New York at the time --
all of those dudes where my friends.
So, one of my dear friends, still to this day,
Jamie Hector, got the role.
So, I would be -- it got to the point
where it was a joke between him and I.
I would go around, and people would ask me for pictures,
and I would take pictures as him.
So, people -- it was just like you and Enrique.
Like, people would be like,
"Oh, my God, I have this amazing picture with Jamie Hector,"
and I'm like, "Get the fuck away from me."
They're like, "Jamie Hector is an asshole."
[Laughter]
I'm kind of still amazed that, like,
the assistant trope is still so present in Hollywood
for, like, someone like me with, like, an effeminate voice.
It's like, I think they're still out there, and it's okay.
It's like, it's fine. It's just, um...
It does, if you think too hard about it,
you go, "Oh, is it just, like, an ornamental thing?"
Like, are we just, like, ornamental people,
like, in society?
And so, I can't think too hard about it,
otherwise I get -- I spiral.
I've heard you recently say that you, um,
sort of swindled your way into Hollywood.
Did I?Did you swindle your way in?
I read that.You read that?
And you agreed. How did I swindle my way in?
Scamming your way through Hollywood.
What is the biggest scam that you've run?
Bowen: Oh, my God.Show us the way.
I don't know.
I feel like that was probably
just my self-deprecating way
of being like, oh, I don't really know
um, how I figure into this.
Like, I feel like I have my safe haven at "SNL,"
where I get to just sort of write
whatever I want for myself, and I am --
there's a little bit of anxiety around,
like, leaving the nest
and kind of being at the whim of other people
and kind of giving that up.
There is sort of a power loss.
Ricky: How did you get -- what was your "SNL" entry?
Was it just kind of auditioning and doing the --
Yeah, it was auditioning.
And then, Lorne brought me on as a writer for one season,
and then he moved me to the cast after one season,
and he said, you know, "This was always my plan.
Like, if I were to throw you out there without a paddle,
then it would have set you up for failure,
and it would have been a sad story."
And he was like, "I just wanted to make sure you knew
how the sausage was made,
so therefore you could succeed as much as you possibly could."
So, it was very professional.
I think you're awesome, man.
Oh, thanks, Ricky. You, too.
Everyone here is fucking awesome. [Laughs]
[Laughter]
That's pretty -- That's pretty cool.
Thank you, Enrique.
[Laughter]
John, I read that you consider yourself a people-pleaser
to this day, which I feel like
could get you in trouble in Hollywood.
Has it ever?
So, to my detriment. Yeah.
Yeah, it's one of the many things I'm working on.
I mean, I'm not going to smack somebody in the face
for no reason, but it's -- yeah, it became too much
where I became devoid of any personality
and just trying to help.
And then there's a lot of things to it, a lot of layers
that cost a lot of money to fix.
Theo, you went straight into "The Gentleman"
from "White Lotus,"
which is the show that every actor
seems to want to be on these days.
Did that experience open any doors
that you previously felt were close to you?
Yeah, definitely. Um, yeah, 100%.
I think, because it's comedic,
but then there's, you know, it tackles fairly complex issues,
you know, first season, second season,
and his other seasons will, of course.
But, you know, with that season, it's about sexual politics,
gender, love,
animal versus the kind of, you know, ephemeral.
Um, it's complex.
And, yeah, it definitely opened doors, for sure.
And I loved playing that character.
You know, he represented Americana to me in its best
and, you know, the problems with it.
You know, he's kind of front facing,
front foot on the ground.
You know, his energy is outward.
He's charming.
But then beyond that, he's quite calculating.
Um, so with "The Gentleman,"
I kind of wanted to do the opposite,
which is, you know, very British and a twat.
[Laughter]
So far, my feedback is you gotta keep it cute in the comments,
otherwise Ricky Martin will block you.
So much more with our panel of comedy actors coming right up.
♪♪
♪
Don't you just love seeing familiar faces
on your TV screens?
I mean, John Goodman and Kelsey Grammer
have been making us laugh for decades.
The nostalgia of it all!
Let's hear from these two legends firsthand.
Looking back on all your careers,
when was the time that you felt like you took your biggest risk?
[Laughter]
Hosting "Saturday Night Live."
Ricky: That was a risk?
The first time, I was scared to death.
I didn't think I could do it.
I thought I'd die once I opened the door
for the monologue.
But it happened, and it was --
turned out to be the...most fun I've ever had.
And you were such a mainstay.
Like, like people were clearly so happy
that you were coming back.
They made me feel at home. It was wonderful.
That's really nice.But that was --
that's probably the most fear I've ever had.
Now I'm gonna look for it.
[Laughter]
What were you afraid of? Were you afraid of --
Oh, just stinking on ice and, you know,
not being funny, being fat on camera.
Wait a minute.
[Laughter]
Just the wars.Live.
Because I admired the show so much,
and...
...yeah, I was definitely afraid
of getting kicked out of the studio
before the hour and a half was up,
but it worked out.
And how was the lead-up the week of --
Oh, it was it was so busy.
Did you feel nervous at that point, or...
Oh, absolutely. Yeah.
But I was working with such wonderful people.
And then the stage manager -- everybody took care of me.
It was very scary, but so rewarding.
It's just so much fun.
Then you did it subsequently, in the future.Yeah.
Like 13 times.
What?! Fuck me! You've done it 13 times?
Oh, wow.In the old days.
And so, once you've done it once, did it feel...
The second, I was still scared,
but it felt like coming home again
because we still had some of the same cast members.
Kelsey, did you have a good experience hosting?
I did it a couple of times. I liked it.
I had a great time.
I'm trying to think.
Phil Hartman was still alive then,
and, uh, Rob Schneider was on the show.
And Adam Sandler and Farley, too.
Theo: Oh, wow. Holy shit. Yeah.
Yeah, I had a great time with them.
I was so impressed with them.
And of course, I couldn't get through it.
I kept cracking up.
Schneider's skit was, uh, something smells good
in whatever, in Assville or whatever it was.
And I said, "Honey, what is that smell?"
And I said, "Just give me the cat's ass, will you?"
So, I grab a cat and...
Oh, that's better.
[Laughter]
I couldn't get through it.
I started laughing the whole time.
I really enjoyed it.
And, uh, Shaquille was on one time with me.
And so, at the end of the final tableau thing,
you know, "Good night, everybody.
Blah blah, blah, blah, blah."
He picked me up.Theo: Oh, wow.
I went, "Holy shit." I said --
You know, I weighed 230 pounds at the time.
And I said, "Shit, isn't that kind of hard?"
He said, "No. You as light as a feather."
[Laughter]
And you're right about that nervous thing.
You did it so much, though.
I've never been a stand-up guy
because I was too scared of it.
I just thought I would just hate that.
I would hate to fail in that.
My monologues always stunk.
I even sang one.
But, uh, I got through it.
And then I read later that Tom Hanks said
that the most important thing you'll do is the monologue.
Oh, now I know!
[Laughter]
I just wasn't good at it.
So, I thought, well, I'll just get through that.
You and John are both playing characters
that you originated in the '80s.
What could you get away with then
that you can't now?
And is there anything vice-versa?
You know, honestly, I don't think there's anything
you couldn't get away with then
and you can't get away with now, honestly.
I mean, there's, uh...
I always tried to keep the level of the comedy
up above a certain, you know, quality.
So, it was never my thing to go scatological
or to go, you know, um, diminish anybody.
So, I just try to make the level of comedy
sort of aim up or play up to the audience.
So, I don't -- I've never really been cursed by,
"Oh, that was inappropriate, or that was like,
oh, what a terrible thing to do.
I mean, the only thing I ever felt foolish about
was trying to do a James Mason impression
on "Saturday Night Live,"
but, uh, it sort of went rather well.
But it was still, you know,
it was still rather embarrassing.
But now I've never really encountered it,
but I've never done jokes below the waist.
I mean, we always had a standing rule about, uh,
the "Frasier" show was always --
we'd never make a joke about, you know, genitalia.
It just wouldn't happen.
We might suggest such a thing,
but we never really...
You know, it was -- there was one scene
where Frasier undid his belt because his Dad told him to
if he was feeling like he ate too much.
That's about it.Below the waist.
I did have a question about music related.
The theme, the "Frasier" theme. How did that come about?
Oh, that was just a whim for me
because I thought I've always wanted to sing a theme song.
So, I said, "I'm singing it."
And they said, "Okay. We weren't even gonna have one."
I said, "We're having one."
[Laughter]
And then you gave them that, or --
No, it just came up with the songwriter for the show,
the guy that kind of did the incidental music
and stuff as well -- Bruce.
He put together an idea.
And then I sort of looked at it and I thought,
"Well, I guess I can sort of jazz it up."
John, do you feel the same?
I feel like the original iteration of "Roseanne"
pushed a lot of new ground.
Yeah, and perhaps it did it, uh...
Different times. I don't...
I think Roseanne kissed Mariel Hemingway one time,
or vice versa.
And that was pretty much unheard of at the time.
Uh, none of us wanted to work stupid.
We, uh, set the--
I think Roseanne first said, "Just because we're poor
doesn't mean we're stupid."
And, uh, we tried to hew to that,
and, uh, sometimes it works, sometimes it didn't.
Ricky, you've been working in entertainment
since you were 12.
In, like, every corner of the industry.
Is there still something
that's on your list of things to do
that you're really dying to try?
Yes. I would love to do film.Mm-hmm.
Uh I think that's what I'm getting ready for.
And I knock on wood for this.
That's my dream. That's my dream.
And I need to go back to theater, of course.
I need to go back to to Broadway.
Something I really want to do.
Theo: What did you start when you're 12?
It was a boy band.
But for me, it was theater.
Because they told us what to wear, what to say,
what to sing, how to move.
Stagecraft.It was stagecraft.
Five years of being part of the boy band,
traveling around the world.
It was beautiful.John: Great way to learn.
I learned a lot. Yes, of course, until I was 17.
And then I went as a soloist.
I started doing theater in Mexico.
I did TV series in Mexico, uh, in Argentina as well.
It was Latin America. It was acting.
But then something happened with music
that I had to serve the wave
because it was very difficult.Something definitely happened.
Right? I mean, something happened.
You happened the hell out of music.
It was very, very, very powerful, very beautiful.
And, and, uh,
and it was all a preparation to where I'm at today.
What can I say?
This is -- I would do it all over again.
It's been a very beautiful life of entertaining.
All right, so just to recap,
John Goodman did "Roseanne,"
a bunch of other stuff,
and then "Roseanne" again,
and then Kelsey Grammer did "Cheers,"
which became "Frasier."
And now he's doing "Frasier" again.
[ Laughs ]
To be a man in comedy.
♪
Welcome back to "Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter."
Let's pick things back up with our Comedy Actors Roundtable.
Anthony, what's your biggest risk?
And I feel like you've had such a diverse career.
You started out working with Spike Lee and Kathryn Bigelow,
all these huge directors.
You're a Marvel guy, and now you're playing this,
like, action, comedy,
post-apocalyptic thing based on a video game.
Like, where do you feel comfortable
and where do you feel uncomfortable?
I will say my biggest risk was probably the --
I would say the saddest moment of my career.
I did this show where it was 40 pages of dialogue,
and it was just me.
It was me against me talking to me.
And, you know, you're getting the rut of people being like,
"Oh, you know, play this guy 20 times, so do this 20 times."
And I was like, "I want to see if I still got it."
Like, "If I'ma fail, I want to fail
going down guns of blazing."
And, uh, I read the script.
I was like, "I want to do it."
I went to go do it and honestly did some of the best work
I feel I've done as an actor
in my 40 years of acting,
and nobody saw it.
Theo: It was a movie?No, it was a show.
Oh, a show on TV. Got it.
It really just humble sauced the shit out of me.
And ironically enough, it was this dude,
something he said that a friend of mine sent to me
that it really just turned everything around for me,
for my career, the way I perceived my career
and the work that I wanted to do.
Did you go to NOCCA? I did.
It's a great place.
It was an amazing school when I was there.
We had to create and evolve out of nothing,
and we did some of the craziest work and clown work
and just everything.
The performing artists in New Orleans
and a lot of people went through that.
Yeah, Harry Connick Jr., all the Marsalises, you know,
I met Wendell Pierce,
who has kind of been like my older brother since I was 13.
Wendell Pierce pulled up to NOCCA in like a Porsche.
And he had on a white linen suit
with a white hat.
And he was coming to talk to the students.
I'm 13 years old, and I'm like, "Who is this black dude
in this Porsche with this linen suit?"
So I run up to him after he talks.
I'm like, "Man, I want to be just like you.
I'm gonna do everything you did. I'm gonna go to every...
I'm gonna do everything you did."
He's like, "All right, kid, good luck."
And he puts on his hat and he gets in his Porsche
and he's like, skrt! It blew my mind.
I actually played against myself,
and I -- similarly to you, I put everything in it.
I feel like I did some of my best work,
and I always remember, you know,
and I didn't watch the show before the, um -- you know,
before you go to the premiere and whatever, blah, blah, blah,
because, you know, at the time, everyone was like, "Yeah!
Fuck yeah! This is fucking awesome!"
I was like, "Okay, I'm feeling pretty good about this."
I remember, uh, going down to the bar.
I was, like, ready to go to the -- the --
the premiere of it or whatever.
And I looked at my phone just on nothing,
like New York Times, something else.
And I was like, "Oh, God.
I'll have another drink."
And I was just like, "Oh, God.
Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God."
And then had to fucking turn up to the thing,
which I knew had been kind of destroyed, you know, like...
[Laughter]
Do you guys feel that, like, it's a little bit better
to play opposite yourself
because there are fewer variables there?
Like, you are kind of on both ends
knowing where you're coming from?
I would say it's -- it's -- it's the hardest.
-It's so hard. -Because for me,
I look at acting like a game of tennis.
Like, when you hit the ball across the net,
you need somebody to hit it back.
Like, you can't volley by yourself,
and you're just hitting a wall if you are.
You're looking at yourself going like,
"I'm not getting anything."
Exactly. "You're shit, man."
-Oh, my God. -"This dude sucks."
You know, so it's -- it's weird when you don't have
that other person to act against.
-Or to surprise. -Or to surprise.
Or to do something to really, you know --
And you can lock yourself into performances that
you find you're -- you don't like on the other side,
-can't you? -Right.
You do something, and then on the return side,
you're like, "I don't have enough time
or I wanted to do something else."
Yeah. It's tricky.
Theo, I heard recently that you want to play Henry VIII,
-which seems very against type. -That's aggressive.
I thought you were going to say a gamut of inappropriate things
I've said to that question.
[Laughter]
Yeah. Uh, yeah, I would.
I like -- I've always been fascinated by him,
the idea of someone who, because he became maniacal,
he became, you know, obese and covered in boils
and a terrible dictator, but he didn't start that way.
So the idea of -- of seeing someone, uh,
evolve to that and what power does.
And -- And Britain at that time is an interesting --
you know, it's a very interesting period of history
-because -- -He's fascinating.
Yeah. They were -- They were kind of small fry.
-Henry VIII was extraordinary. -Yeah.
And Henry VIII kind of put them
back on the kind of European scene.
Kelsey: His contribution to music.
And, of course, he would always say to his wives,
you know, "Don't lose your head."
[Laughter]
The biggest risk I've ever taken
was bringing home a B-minus to my very Nigerian mama.
More with our A-plus panel right after this.
Y'all, I'm so glad I made it.
♪
Tell me about a time
where you most wanted to walk off a job.
I walked out of stage once.
I left a tour. I was exhausted.
I was sad. I was depressed.
I was not happy with what I was doing.
I had been working for two years nonstop,
200 shows in -- in two years.
Theo: Oh, my God. Jesus Christ.
And I was in Australia, and we still had two more --
two more weeks to go.
We had to go to Argentina to do the final,
and then everybody was going home,
and I was like, "I'm not going to survive.
I'm not going to -- If we go to Argentina,
I'm going to collapse and I'm going to collapse bad.
I need to go home now.
Please listen to me. I need to go home."
I was begging my managers, everybody.
"You're crazy. We're almost there.
Come on, let's do this." And I'm like, "No, no, no.
No, you don't understand.
If we don't go back home now, this is going to get ugly."
And I went back home, and it was the best decision I ever made.
Did it cost you for that?
How much did it cost you?
-It was a lot of money. -Yeah.
It was a lot of money, but it was my health.
-Yeah, absolutely. -And it was my state of mind,
my mental health, my physical health.
And I just wanted to be home.
I wanted to be with my dogs. And this is not only two years.
This is a decade of not being able to say no.
"Yes, let's do it. Yes, let's do it. Yes, yes."
People pleasing, people pleasing, people pleasing.
And that last tour, I was angry. I was not enjoying the music.
I was not happy with the applause.
The arena was full, packed. Every stadium was full.
And I was just sad and I couldn't take it anymore.
So I went back home, and we're still here.
This is 20-something years ago.
-Oh, wow. -I just needed a break.
Bowen: And if you're numb to all that stimulus,
like, in -- in the arena,
like, if that's doing nothing for you,
-then, like, huge red flag. -Imagine. Imagine.
-Yeah. -Oh, my God, yeah, yeah.
I mean, I feel like a lot of people
reach a point in their career like that where they're like,
"I'm just doing it for myself now."
Has anyone else had that sort of like moment where they're like,
"Oh, I'm -- I'm not going to take this part
that my agent really wants me to do,"
or, "I'm going to -- I'm going to take some time off,
even though I'm really, like, hot right now"?
I think kids helped that for me personally,
'cause I was very into --Yeah.
Yeah, I think, you know, you're -- you're a product.
You're kind of selling a product,
which is yourself in some way,
especially when you're starting out.
Um, but I guess having kids,
suddenly you realize that some of it doesn't matter.
Do you know what I mean? Like, it doesn't matter
in the broad scheme of things.
And that gave me a bit of perspective,
'cause when I was a young actor, I was just like,
"Ah," rather hungry, you know.
Have to jump from job to job and fucking all that stuff.
Um, but it gave me a bit of perspective around,
like, I don't want to take your kids out of school
or do that just because it seems sexy or whatever at the time.
That -- That gave me a bit of perspective.
And obviously stopping taking all the Class A drugs
helped as well.
I'm joking, I'm joking.
[Laughter]
Anyone else?No, I would agree with that.
My kids changed a lot for me, dude.
My dad, you know, dropped out of school in eighth grade.
My mom went to a Negro-appointed high school.
So looking at that, I left home with $435.
So I want to give my kids the opportunity
of leaving home with the -- the -- the advantage
that all my classmates had when I got to school.
Like, I had a classmate who, you know,
backpacked across Europe for a year after high school.
I was like, "How the hell? You just walked across a --
What?!"
[Laughter]"That's a thing?"
-"That's a thing?" -What?!
-"That's a thing?" -Like, coming from New Orleans,
every day was a, you know --
an idea of, how are you going to eat?
-Yeah. -It's a struggle.
So having kids now and looking at my kids,
I'm like, I never want them to experience the -- the struggle.
I want them to have the pain.
I want them to know what it takes,
that the regular American man experiences
trying to put a meal on the table.
But I don't want them to have the pain --
I mean the struggle, you know?
So it's a -- it's a dangerous negotiation, you know.
-'Cause you can't spare them. -Yeah.
You kind of have to set them up not for failure,
but for the idea that they're going to have to fight for it.
You're going to have to fight for it.
Yeah, yeah, if you just give them anything --
It doesn't mean anything if they don't fight for it.
-Yeah. -You know? Yeah.
I tell my boys, I'm like, "Yo, I'm the coolest mother--"
I'm -- I'm the dad everybody wants.
Yeah.
And my sons don't watch Marvel movies.
They don't. They have no idea.
Like, I'll FaceTime Sebastian.
I'm like, "Yo, man."
I'm like, "Yo, say what's up to my son."
And he's like, "Hey."
Dude!
Like, it's just -- it's really they don't --
to them, I'm Dad.
-That's right. -You know.
And that's what I've been working so hard towards.
But what -- when is -- what is that cutoff point
when you decide to coach soccer
as opposed to filling the coffers for their future?
What is the best feedback professionally
that you've gotten from your children
or in your case, obviously, the most humbling?
-Yes. Yeah. -Lack of feedback.
"You saw my movie?" "Nah!"
"Come on, Dad. You can do better."
Oh, no.
At what?
"Last night was better, Dad."
Last night's performance. Tonight's?
-With your shows? -With my shows.
Last night -- In theater.
No. In the meantime, there were like five or six.
Like, "Yeah, last night was better, Dad."
Kelsey: "Well, that's how it goes, son.
You know, some days are better than others."
"Good. That's true. That's --
Thank you. I'll make a note of it."
My kids are most thrilled about, uh, cartoon performances.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
-When I voice-over. -Right, right, right.
I've got a new -- I'm playing a toilet bowl
on "The Patrick Star Show" next week.
They're thrilled about that.That's gonna be big for you.
My 9-year-old wants to come and see,
watch the recording and see how it goes.
-That's cute. -Yeah.
More of our comedy actors roundtable coming right up.
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♪
Sometimes the quickest way to get your face on TV
is to get your pen in the writers' room,
and Bowen Yang is a perfect example.
Bowen, I'm going to throw another quote...I don't have kids. Yeah.
...that you have back in your face.
Okay. Uh-oh.
You said in the same interview
where the other made-up quote happened
that you -- this was the season
that you sort of really let go on "SNL."
What does that look like in the writers' room and onstage?
I think I kind of threw out any preconceived notions
that I had about myself, 'cause I think I was absorbing
other people's expectations, right?
Like, I think I was playing a lot of campy,
loud, broad characters for a while.
It's a sketch show.
Like, there's -- there's room for that.
It kind of celebrates that more than anything else.
But, like, um, look, I-I will reveal to this table
we -- we wrote, like, um --
And it was a purely loving tribute to Sylvester Stallone,
but, like, we were -- we were --
we were, like, talking about Stallone.
And I was like, "I think I've got a Stallone.
I think I've got a Sly." I'm not going to do it here.
But, like, that was, like --
I think internally to the people at work
at the table read, like, they saw that, I think.
People were like, "I didn't know you could do that."
Like, I think people are kind of locked into an idea
of what any of us as performers can do.
It's like that type thing you were asking about earlier,
and I think letting go this season
has meant kind of building from scratch again,
which has just been really nice.
I never thought I'd have that, um, reset.
It's not comfort.
I think if you're comfortable at any place
or if you're comfortable at "SNL,"
then, like, that's probably not a good sign.
-Yeah. -Um, but I --
I think that's what I probably meant by that quote.
-Yeah. -I remember saying that.
[Laughter]
-I remember saying -- -I read that .
Anthony read that one, too.
[Laughter]
No, but, Ricky, your last two roles were so different,
but they had one through line,
and that was shirtless in Florida
or L.A. subbing for Florida.
Is that by design or that's what you're going for?
Or is that what Hollywood expects of you?
You have a tattoo of that, don't you? Shirtless.
Shirtless.It's a very important part of the -- of the deal.
No. I mean, it's -- it's -- that's the way it was written.
And the first one was "The Assassination of Gianni Versace,"
and -- and -- and, you know, it was Miami in the '80s,
so I guess you wear in your Speedos
-and you wear no shirt. -That's what you do.
-Yeah, yeah. -And then now
is Palm Beach in the late '60s.
And you're a pool boy.
You ha-- You're a caretaker.
And -- And Carol Burnett,
uh, the character want you half naked, I guess.
I don't know. You just go with it and you own it.
-And -- And -- -But it's endemic to the story.
It is part of the story.
So you don't -- you don't think about it twice.
These are very deep -- uh, deep characters,
and -- and -- and the story behind them are very intense,
and -- and that's the kind of thing I like to do.
It's based on a book, was it?It's based on a book.
And is that fiction or based on a real --
No, it's fiction.
Everybody wants to be part of this --
this -- this social club.
It's the wealth of Palm Beach and the glamour and the fashion
but also the darkness behind it
and -- and their secrets and their -- their -- their pain.
And -- And -- And this character knows everyone's secret,
and -- and it's -- it's a very powerful character.
So I'm very happy to be half naked half of the show.
I don't care.
[Laughter]
Can everyone tell me about the weirdest fan interaction
they've ever had?
I had one, uh, where I was at a bar,
and these people were sitting opposite.
We were just having a glass of wine, whatever.
And the girl goes, "Excuse me."
And I was like, "Oh, God. Here you go."
She's like, "Your fly is undone."
[Laughter]
"Also love the show,"
but in, like -- kind of in a cutting way.
I was like, "Do you?
I'm very confused about this whole interaction."
Zipped up my fly.
Man: Oh, my God.
Anthony, is it Marvel?
Uh, no.
Actually, I was in Vancouver shooting "Altered Carbon,"
and this is a very long story,
so I'mma truncate it drastically and miss a lot of points.
See this young lady across the bar.
So I tell the bartender, "Yo, tell her come over, say hello."
She makes her way around the bar,
and everybody in the restaurant is like, "He's so nice."
'Cause I went to this restaurant like every day
'cause they had an oyster happy hour.
She comes around the bar.
She's like, "Can we take a picture?"
Like, "Look, I can't take a picture with you.
Everybody in the restaurant is looking."
She goes, "Oh, no." She starts crying.
And everybody in the restaurant is like, "You're an asshole."
And I was like, "Well, give me your phone.
If you're discreet, I can hold the camera down,
take a picture." She goes, "Oh, my God."
And everybody in the restaurant goes, "Yay!" right?
So I take the picture and I tell her, "You have photo approval.
If you don't like it, we can take another one."
Everyone hearts melts. She looks at it.
She goes, "Uh...[Stammers]" [Imitates vomiting]
-Oh! -She pukes from here...
-all the way down to my shoes. -Jesus Christ.
And -- And this is after two dozen oysters, a lobster roll.
-Oh! -She runs out of the restaurant.
The waiter comes, and he's like, "Dude."
[Laughter]
He scoops me up.
He takes a tablecloth,
grabs me, and takes me back to the oyster,
uh, wash-off, hoses me down in the oyster...
-Shucking table. -To shuck you.
They take my clothes.
He goes across the street to, like, T.J. Maxx
and gets me, like, some sweatpants
and, like, a graffiti T-shirt.That's a nice interaction.
And I come back out, and this woman like,
"I'm sorry. Can I take a picture?"
[Gasps]
Same lady?
-No. -Oh, different lady.
Oh.
Who saw me walking out,
thinking I'm leaving the restaurant.
[Laughter]
Raw oysters from here.
Oh, delicious.
Hey, don't go anywhere.
More of our comedy actors roundtable coming right up.
♪♪
♪
What did everyone spend their first big paycheck on?
Your first sort of like "I'm doing okay" splurge.
I bought a house.
-Big dog. -Yeah.
First one.
More than a cashmere sweater, but okay.
I built my dream car.
I found a 1964 1/2 Mustang in Tuxedo, New York.That's a great car.
Brought it back down to Brooklyn to Christian Camargo's garage
and worked on it for like three years and built it myself.
-Yeah. -That's cool.
-Yeah. -That's really cool.
I also bought a home and I --
and I gave the -- the down payment of an apartment
-for two of my best friends. -Oh.
-That's nice. -I will rock with you, man.
[Laughter]
Let's go.
Like, "This is for your apartment."
That's pretty cool. Yeah.
Should we hang out more often?
[Laughter]
I bought -- Similar, I bought an MGB GT for £1,200.
Anthony: Oh, that's nice.
It didn't run, but over the years, I've done it up,
similar to you.
You still have it?I still have it.
Oh, dude. Come on. We're going cruising.
Awesome. Awesome. Beautiful car.
The most gratifying thing was able to get my mom a house.
-Oh. -That was great.
Yeah.
It's been cars and real estate this whole time. Yeah.
I was just going to say, like, I bought Gucci shoes.
Equally great.One man's Gucci shoes is another man's house.
His car. Exactly.
Car or shoes.
Bought them off of some bum I saw on the street.
[Laughter]
"Those are perfect."
[Laughs] That's exactly how it happened.
What's the inevitable question that you always get asked
that you just never want to hear again?
Cock size.
-[Laughing] -What, what?
-I'm sorry. -That's interesting.
Cock size.
I thought -- I thought he said "capsize."
Anthony: He was so ready.
He was so ready.
The slingshot was pulled back.
I'm glad it's out there.
[Laughter]
He's like, "Somebody gonna ask this shit.
Oh, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready."
Oh, my God.
Mine, it's usually --
Honestly the most difficult one to answer
is -- is, you know, "How do I get an acting career?"
You know, that's what I get asked most of the time.
I said, "Well, act."
Go out and find a place to act. That's what you got to do.
If you really believe in it, just go do it somewhere.
Do it at your church. Do it at your local playhouse.
Or do it in your school, whatever it's going to be.
Get -- Get somewhere with a great play
and read it, read it out loud and look in the mirror.
Do what you got to do to make sure that you --
you're connected to the emotional life of a character.
And -- And if you're any good at it,
you'll find out pretty quick.
He answered it. Never ask it again.
[Laughter] Yes.
Mine is take a picture.
"Can I take a picture?" Yeah.
They, uh -- I've had many experience --
'cause you don't know what social reality
you're tying yourself to.
You don't know what that person gonna use that picture for.
You don't know how --
You know, because of the -- of the Kardashians,
we're kind of put in this reality
where we're looked at as -- as tools, as vessels,
as opposed to, uh, artists,
and there's been several experiences now
where people have taken a picture with me
and used them for ways that I don't deem...
Sorry about that. Yeah.
...you know, the right way.
So because of that, I just --
I choose not to be a part of your social reality.
-Yeah. -You know?
It is interesting, the melding of, you know,
actors and celebrities
where there used to be more difference.Completely different.
And now people -- they're conflated into the same thing.
Right.But it's like I have no interest in that other part.
-Right. -It's the job.
-It's what I do, you know? -Yeah.
Um, but the assumption that you're that,
as well, is frustrating.Right.
I have people tell me all the time,
"Well, this is what you signed up for."
I'm like -- I'm like, "That's crazy."
That's like telling a girl
that because she got -- put on a cute dress and went to a bar,
she signed up for me to harass her all night.
No, no.
In this day and age, we literally learn
that we have to respect everyone's no.
So if I tell you no, respect it.
And there's a reason for that.
For me, it's -- not to make it about work again,
but it is always people asking,
"What is the week like at 'SNL'?"
Because it's such a long answer.
I think I asked that question. Aah!
-I'll tell you. Monday we -- -Make a form letter.
-What's that? -Make a form letter.
I know. It is -- Like, it's like what Kelsey's saying.
It's like it is a long -- It's --
It's like if you give people that advice about acting,
it's like that's the advice they don't want to hear.
You know what I mean?
Like, I'm about to give you such a boring,
dry, like, rundown of what the week is like.
And, you know, it's -- it's when you feel
like you've disappointed them in your answer
that you feel like, "Oh, well..."
-Totally there. Totally there. -Or midway in your answer,
-they're like, "Mmmmm." -Yeah, yeah. Exactly.
"I really didn't want an answer."
They're fucking checked out.
"I just wanted a picture."Right. "Shut up and take a picture."
Don't give a fuck.Ricky: Getting the phone ready for the picture.
There's a game,
and it probably doesn't happen with you guys,
but, uh, it's like, "Where do I know you from?"
-Yeah. -Oh.
You want to -- And I'm like, "I don't know," whatever.
And it's a fucking -- And then you're getting up.
And they're like, "No, no, no, wait, wait, wait."
And it's a game and blah, blah, blah.
And then, you know, they expect you to
reel out your CV,
and they're like, "No, never heard of that.
Sounds shit."
[Laughs] No, no, that's a different thing.
But that game of kind of --
It's like if someone's going to just say,
you know, "Oh, hey," notice, whatever, that's fine.
It's an interaction, but a kind of -- a frisson
that someone wants to happen in a kind of sexy way.
You know, "What is this?"
That's -- I find that irritating.
That question. "Ricky, are you gay?"
Are you kidding me? You don't know by now?
What are you talking about?
-Moving on. -Are you sure?
[Laughter]
I read that, I read that.
You read that?
[Laughter]
I wish people would ask me.
[Laughter]
People know.
Thank you all so much for doing this.
-Um, let's raise a glass. -Thanks, Yvonne.
-Ah. -Thanks, Yvonne.
-Thanks, Mikey. Thanks, Yvonne. -I've been waiting for this.
I've drank all of mine already.
I do like the champagne idea.
Gentlemen.Alright, we're back, we're back.
-Wonderful to see you. -Cheers.
-Really a pleasure. -Cheers. Cheers.
Well, that was an exciting conversation.
And I guess I did drink that drink.
When that happen? Hey, Janess, I'll have another.
Until next time, I'm Yvonne Orji,
and this has been "Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter."
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