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Jerry Seinfeld: Larry David, stoicism and filming 'Unfrosted' | Full Interview | Graham Bensinger | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Jerry Seinfeld: Larry David, stoicism and filming 'Unfrosted' | Full Interview
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I wanted to take you back to kind of
your earliest comedic days if if that's okay
okay
so how about the most memorable of those
and why well uh there was a lot of
drawing of
cartoons I had another friend who we
would draw cartoons and we would uh you
know compare them and and critique them
um I would love to have been a
cartoonist um I like it's it's simp
similar to uh standup it's a very
uh um pure kind of
exaggerated a reflection of Life
cartooning and um but I did do a
uh a ventriloquist act in a third in our
my third grade uh talent show and I
still have the dummy in my office you
know how your mother throws everything
out sure somehow this thing didn't get
thrown out and I still have it so you
would rate comedians on The Tonight Show
I I think back in the day when you were
I very uh judgmental of comedians from
the very beginning I would even as a
little kid I would go this guy's not
funny or this guy's really funny it was
funny because uh my daughter who was
also um very talented and and she's a
writer and uh does thinks about comedy
does writes comedy
and she started inhaling content at a
certain point in her life and I watched
her do it it was the same way I did it I
mean I six or five or six hours of
Television a day was an absolute minimum
for me and you said that's how you kind
of most learned about life that's how
you learned about how I learned about
life but that's how I really learned
about the all of the various structures
that make comedy work now I didn't know
it's it's funny when you look back on
your life and I didn't know that's what
I was doing right but I look back on I
go that's what I was doing I wanted to
know what is the structure of that joke
why did why is that joke funny and you
would write down jokes I would write
down all the jokes that I liked and then
you TV and I would take uh like laughing
was a really big deal in school in the'
60s when that came on cuz it was all
jokes so the kids loved it and the day
we would talk about the show and I never
wanted to forget one of the good jokes
so I would write them down September of
76 what was it about standing on that uh
Long Island Railroad platform in mapa
that really hit you I mean to this day
it was
like it's like
I I'm there you know uh I I often call
comedy uh in a aquarium it's an aquarium
and you're a tropical fish and when if
you can get in there um you go well this
is it this is the environment I can live
in this environment for the rest of my
life and
um avoid all the things of life I don't
want to do and do the one thing I do
want to do but but it wasn't as if you'd
made it big then I was making I think
$60 a week mcing which I thought I'm
going to live on $60 a week that that's
all I need but um it was just the idea
that now you could make this your
profession you have to understand I
wasn't one of those people who believed
I had
talent I didn't think I had Talent there
was one kid in at Queen's College we
would go watch comedians at the clubs
catch a rising star in the Improv and
one kid said to me I I bet you you could
do that
and I was all I ever wanted but I
wouldn't even say it out loud to anyone
but when he said that to me that was
like giving me permission to say I would
like to do that set the scene and tell
about the conversation you had with
Jackie a few weeks into Jackie Mason
yeah well so I'm doing comedy like two
weeks and
I'm at this club called the Golden Lion
Pub on West 44 Street which is really
just a restaurant and a bar and Tuesdays
and Thursday nights they would take out
one table and aim one of the lights in
the ceiling at the corner and uh
Broadway singers would sing a couple
songs and they would let comedians go on
and it was a couple hour show you could
do 15
minutes and um so I was just start I
didn't even have a shirt like this type
of I didn't have one I would just go on
in a T-shirt and jeans I was 20 years
old and uh Jackie Mason was in the
audience who was you know a gigantic
star in comedy even then and uh he says
come here I want to talk to you and he
takes me over to the bar and he says uh
you're going to be so successful at this
it makes me sick that was exactly what
he said and I was like you know and that
carried me probably for 5 years really
oh yeah cuz he was a professional
comedian right I was just you know I was
not someone I thought I was funny but I
thought everybody was funny all of my
friends were funny as funny as I was I
thought describe one of your first shows
that catch a rising star where you just
go blank well my first time I went on
stage I went blank you can't imagine
um what it feels like to step on a stage
as a comedian the very first time and
you don't know if you're funny or
not and when you watch other
comedians it seems like there's a funny
atmosphere in the room the audience
seems to be in the mood to laugh when
you watch a comedian right there they
clap as soon as the person walks out and
they seem almost giddy and when you walk
on stage that is not what's going on
that uh there's nothing going on it's
just dead quiet it's a
library and you learn over the years to
create you have to create that mood for
them but when you don't know that and
you walk on stage the first time and
it's just dead silence and the only
sound in the room is your voice your
shaky voice and these ideas that you
don't have any confidence
in and I got up there and it it it just
hits you like a train it's just oh this
is my hands are thinking yeah this is
way harder than I thought I thought
they're in the mood to laugh I'll say
some things that are kind of funny and
it'll be okay and it's not okay it is
not okay it's just dead
silent and I only was on stage for 2
three minutes my mind went completely
blank and uh then I didn't go on for I
think 6 months after that why so long
cuz I I thought I I need to write and
prepare something that I really know
what I'm doing when I get up there I
realized from that that oh this is way
harder than I thought I thought I'd be
on The Tonight Show in in a few weeks
that's how dumb I was me you obviously
ended up going on Carson a ton uh but
what about the fear of going on Carson
do you miss today that was abject Terror
standing behind that curtain um of The
Tonight Show in
1981 on May 6th
uh knowing that if I go out there and do
five minutes and it
works I'm I have a career and if I don't
I'm going back to the clubs for I don't
know how many
years which is okay but you know you
want to really be this thing you want to
be a professional comedian you ever see
those skiers in the Olympics when
they're standing there at the top of the
mountain and they got that stick in
front of their knees and you wonder what
does that feel like you know I know what
that feels like that the next 90 seconds
of my life is going to change my
life that's that's uh I don't need a lot
of that I've had that a few times your
mom was an orphan your dad left home he
was an orphan also what did each of them
tell you about their situations growing
up they didn't talk much about
it uh but there was a toughness
both growing up in orphanages or in my
father's case really just running from
apartment to apartment and why uh cuz
they had no money so it was a bunch of
kids it was a uh a home where they were
not able to
live uh for some uh bad reasons and so
they decided to set off on their own as
brother a group of brothers and
sisters so it was a lot of
Street hustling of selling whatever you
could get on the street and and usually
they could not make the rent and after 3
months they would just bolt and get
another place and so they were there was that
that
toughness um I was lucky to be around
that usually if the parents have a tough
life the kids's life is too easy and
they screw up and then their kids get
tough hopefully
you know it tends to be an up and down
cycle of of even in in culture you know
we're in the soft period now well and so
it wasn't like that for you so you've
spoken about how never correct me if I'm
wrong like never hugged you never told
you he loved you um never threw a ball
with you no um but there was a lot of
love in my house well and you said uh
like you and your sister and your
parents were almost like roommates in a
way and you called it you called it
complete neglect but in like the best
way possible neglect is how I was raised
but my parents were very loving but
parents in the 50s and 60s did not
express it outwardly like parents do
today there was no emotional hole in my
life that people love to say comedians
that's why they do this they they're
feeling some emotional need I have
always uh rejected that very uh strongly
what was the hardest part of that kind of
of
self-reliance there's nothing hard about
it I mean I knew I wanted to live a
difficult life I craved a difficult
circumstance what I don't know I don't
know but I think you just know it
sometimes when you're a kid I don't want
to I don't want to do anything
easy and I that's why when I found
standup and I I became that thing it was
I was so gratified and comfortable you
you you know how much difficulty is the
right amount for
you um too much is not good not enough
is not good there's a range that we all
seek as humans but you'll push it I'll I
will push it I think your mom was a
bookkeeper for a Time primarily a
housewife uh your dad was in World War
II in the Pacific he was supportive of
your ambition and uh he passed when I
think you were 30 right um somebody said
to you after his uh passing that now
your career is really going to take off
MH um explain that train of thought I
think sometimes you don't want to
surpass your father you feel bad you
feel uh bad about it you feel um
uncomfortable um
subconsciously the case for you too I
don't know maybe maybe I don't know he
had this box of jokes and uh you wrote
in Sign Language there's never been a
professional comedian with better stage
presence attitude timing or delivery um
elaborate on that if you don't mind I
mean uh he had it all as a as talk about
you know someone who was talented he
never had any opportunities or or venue
he told a Salesman he was a Salesman but
he told me he had thought about it uh
but didn't know you know there was no
now there's so many uh entry points to
be a comedian you go to a club there
audition night you know in in
1930 I I don't know how people did it I
guess they worked their way in
Vaudeville somehow but he never had that
opportunity but he had every possible
tool you could have and I I learned it
all from him I got the whole thing from
him how so well a lot of it's
genetic yes oh come on Grant
you can't uh deny that there's a genetic
component to this a genetic comedic sure
how do you make these calculations it's
in your brain that there's a uh a
processor to calculate what these lines
these words you know there the
precise and and you either get it right
and there's a big laugh or you miss a
word and there's dead silence and the
difference between those two
sounds is a lot of money you said your
mind works faster under pressure in what
ways is that evident to you things are
um happen on stage that do not happen
any place else in life you're you don't
even feel your feet when you're on stage
you don't you don't feel your body you
know you're you're kind of in hyperspace
the brain is is sped up because you're
in a fight ORF flight condition mhm you
know it's a very momentto moment
survival uh environment which is what
makes it so addictive you know it's it's
very adrenaline fueled I mean it's like
emergency room stuff you know it's like
uh Seal Team 6 you know um many many
years of doing
comedy uh I was talking a a comedian
friend of mine the other day we're
talking about how comedians handled the
pandemic so easily it was no problem
because our entire life is being thrown
into situations and going figure it out
right now and so even though the
pandemic was two years
long curveballs is like that's your your
whole life is a curveball I think it's
1993 Adam Sandler opening for you in
Boston you start a bit and somebody
yells from the the crowd and how does it
affect you I had this amazing bit about
weddings it was like uh it was fantastic
it was so long I covered everything it
was a great bit and I worked on and
worked on and I love developing and
polishing every little detail of a bit
so it takes me forever sometimes Years
Years um I was talking to Chris Rock
yesterday and he was telling me about
his last special he said I had three
jokes in there that I've worked on for
over 10
years and people don't understand that
about comedy how could what could take
10 years you know but it it can if
you're obsessive and
perfectionist um so anyway so I do the I
start into the bit and somebody yells
heard it you know and that was that was
a tough one I still think about it
really yeah it was like uh it was mean
it was true but you know I think now
audience is a little more
sophisticated that yeah these are these
are pieces that we work on for months
and months and months you don't do it
once and it works you know um every
scene you see in a movie they did that
18 times that was the one time it was
good that's what's in the movie you
don't see the other 17 same with comedy
I've done this bit 100 times and now
I've got it right but In fairness to you
even if you're performing a couple shows
in the same night at the Beacon Theater
40% of the material could be different
show show most of it's the same yeah um
what did the George Burns book teach you
love this business love it appreciate
enjoy it it's the greatest thing in the
world be happy be happy that you're
doing this and that's something you
should know that would be automatic that
would be natural but it's not cuz the
you get stressed over the anxiety and
where am I at and this person's doing
better than me and all the the the
frailties and foilables of of the of
Being Human what about on the writing
front though well he had this routine
where he would write two hours every day
with writers and they would work on
material for his ACT or whatever he had
coming up and I thought oh so you have a
regular routine of creating
material this piece of information
this discipline or this
understanding I I was in I was doing it
I would say maybe maybe eight months
maybe a
year when I realized oh this is all
about writing this whole racket is
writing and you be if you don't become a
real writer creating new material every
single day you're you're going to get
wasted like that I saw it happen uh to a
guy who was uh on The Tonight Show and
he was a smash hit his first show then
he came back to do a second one it's six
minutes of an appearance in those days
to do six great minutes on The Tonight
Show walking out as a complete unknown
and to kill them in 6 minutes you need
about 40 minutes minutes of material
that you're doing in a nightclub that
will distill down a six so then they
want him to come back in three months do
another six so he takes another six so
his first six is the best six right of
course and then the next six wasn't as
good and then he came back a third time
struggled and he was
gone and that's when I went oh I see
what's going on here now I see what what
this is
this is something that it's right or die
on the day you write something why will
you not talk to somebody on that day
about what you wrote because you don't
want to damage the accomplishment that
you that you did your work that day you
feel you will feel good that you did
your work and you don't want to you
always want to support that
motivation and if you think of something
and you think hey I think this is good
and you tell someone 99% they're going
to they're not going to react the way
you want and this is despite the fact
that you yourself will heavily critique
your work that's right it that doesn't
do you much good I don't judge the work
the audience does they they edit the
work I tell them here are all my here
are my 10 ideas yeah they tell me you
got two good ones out of that and you go
okay okay but if you like some of the
other ideas that's when you'll continue
working I will fight them sometimes I
had a bit about poker that they
hated and I got mad about it what do you
mean you got mad about it it made me mad
uh I actually did it on television
before it was ready and it bombed and I
got so mad that I thought first of all
why did you do that on television it
wasn't ready and it bombed and
I don't know I I this is these are the
ways in which I indulge myself I like I
believe in indulging yourself I like to
indulge myself in certain self
resentments and uh frustrations and go
you know what I really suck at that I'm
going to get great at that did it
eventually work it did but it took two
years it's about how I think poker is a
horrible thing you know the the mood in
this room is horrible why are we trying
to get our friends money these are our
friends why would we want their
money so you know it was a kind of a
subtle thing but I wanted to express
that I wanted people to understand how I
see this yes your hand's better than my
hand we shuffled the cards all the hands are
are
different of course some are better than
others they we mix the cards up what
so you know that's my perspective on
poker why will you sometimes count the
syllables oh it's the timing music you
have to you're you're attacking
someone's brain uh in in a uh it's very
much a martial art where you want to get
it into a vulnerable state attack it and
destroy it the it's uh comedy is a very
aggressive um art form
but you know I'm I'm I was just working
on this bit about artificial
intelligence and calling it intelligence
or smartness you
know it's like songwriting you know each
words have a feeli they they have a they
give you a feeling they have a sound
they have an edge um and uh you're
always seeking
that you know uh Bruce Lee used to talk
about that one in punch right it was
just one in for the like that into the
chest you know and comedy's like that
you're looking for that for that that
thing that just it has to hit it has to
have punctuation and Rhythm and flow and
comedy when it's good the audience just
they don't even know what's happening
you know you start a set and you don't
know even know it and you catch the
right Rhythm and it's it's over George
Shapiro mhm you've called it like a
marriage before uh somebody close to you
told me it was more like a fatherly
figure it was with your dad passing
young um how do you think George
influenced you he and I shared the joy
of Show Business life uh we care about
the show and we care about the dinner
that we're going to after the show
equally what are we eating George what
are we going to eat after this and we
both appreciated there was no angst
George had no angst I have no
angst uh things don't always go well but
we just feel like we're in Show Business
we're in heaven we're in heaven on Earth
most people in Show Business you
probably know by now you've talked to a
lot of them they're not even that happy
and they're in the greatest possible
life you can have a lot of them are
missable yeah to me that's a sin that's
a sin because it's it's such a beautiful
opportunity that you have but you and
George like could not have been more
different describe kind of the ways in
which he was this like cheerleader of
he's very emotive very warm and
welcoming amazing with people I am
always around people who are fantastic
with people cuz I am not you don't think
you are no I don't I I try but it's an
effort uh and I'm all my friends and my
wife uh uh are amazing with people so I
kind of like to be with them and they
kind of can interface and andage why do
you think that is with you you just
don't care I'm not interested I'm not if
someone wants to chat uh casually you
hate small talk I am my brain is like I
have to really think what do you say now
what boy it's chilly for late March
isn't it yeah what do you say what do
you say that's it's true it is chilly
for late March what what do he say about
that I don't know I don't know um but if
you want to talk about you
know can you believe they added two
months to that the calendar used to be
10 months and then they added to the two
Roman emperors okay now we're talking
about something now now I can talk but I
can't talk to you about how chilly it is
today it's unusually chilly for late
March on the sitcom front you turned
down 24 guaranteed episodes from a cable
network in favor of four from NBC
NBC
why cable well wasn't cable it was Fox
Fox was an upstart Network that seemed a
little not great and I wanted to be in
the majors I wanted to be in NBC I want
to I want to play Major League Baseball
so I was willing to hold out for for
Major League Baseball I I don't want to
be in the uh you know the South American
League or whatever it is was it a
no-brainer at the time for me yeah yeah
from what I understand on on Larry front
um he basically quit after getting kind
of the first set of notes from the every
season every season he quit and I just
would go
okay and then as we got closer to when
we had to start up again he would come
back well especially early on how did
you so quickly get to a place where
there wasn't the network involvement uh
BMW BMW was buying tons of spots on our
show because we attracted a
wealthy educated intelligent audience
and NBC after many meetings and many
thoughts went hey that's good business
we could make some money off of
this now anybody would know that but
back then you know Alf was the biggest
show on TV when I came on we want them
to do what we want them to do and if you
like it fine if you don't like it fine I
always figured it would be a very
obscure I thought it would be like spy
magazine just a small weird thing for a
very particular
audience but the actors changed uh
Michael Jason and Julia changed that entire
entire
Paradigm they changed that equation to
something else did the sitcom need to be
as time intensive as it was for you you
think in order for it to be that
good yeah once we got it to a certain
level we weren't going to let it
drop it that would have been devastating
for us we killed ourselves physically
killed ourselves I mean it
was you we were totally physically
exhausted for eight months of the year
totally you know Larry and I together
would sometimes write uh a 60-page
script in two days C me from wrong you
and Larry David would sometimes get into
big perhaps even screaming arguments
screaming argument he he he has said he
he would uh sometimes scream at you over
a single word no we never screamed okay
we would debate okay uh to
exhaustion and and uh
for the fun of it but like over a word
oh yeah whether it's your standup or
when to end the sitcom timing uh was
always incredibly important to you
what's the length to which you'll go in
your mind thinking about that I I just
love good timing I don't know why um people
people
um um today are so uh
disrespectful in in my view of
audience's feeling of timing uh you
watch movies that are clearly 20 minutes
long and you go didn't you watch this
with an audience and see how how it felt
can't you feel that you can you know uh
when I'm on stage you know my stopwatch
is always running and the length of that
show to me is I have to hit it within a
few minutes and 5 minutes over there no
good you take an hour and 10 minutes of
work and you add 5 minutes to the end of
it and they're like enough just shut up
already and they walk out like this
instead of wow that that felt great tell
about the little mule inside of you
named Artemis oh my friend Mario calls
me he said there's a mule inside of me
that he named Artemis it's just a mule
that just keeps
working emis pulls the cart
so I I am uh I I do like to pull the
cart I want to pull the card I don't
want to hang
out in fact I'm kind of uh off now for a
couple weeks and I really feel uh a
little uh uh not right okay so it's
funny you say that because uh I I pulled
a quote that you once gave that said I
get thrown off easily if I have one
weekend off from standup and I do
something weird
I completely forget who I am and what I
do for a living yeah yeah yeah you go
back on stage and well after the uh Co I
hadn't worked for two years and um and I
had done a standup special right before
Co so my whole Act was gone so I had to
start a new act and I hadn't been on
stage in two years and I would go to
clubs and I would watch people on stage
and go how how are they doing it where
do they get the guts to go up on stage
like that I literally it seemed like I
had to start from Total scratch but how
when you've been doing it for as long as
you have so let's say you didn't do any
exercise for 2 years and then you went
into a gym it would just
seem daunting right it takes a minute to
get back in the routine but then
once yeah but two years two years of
nothing just sitting imagine what it
would be like to go into a gym but stand
up the standup stage is even more
intimidating than a gym it's very
intimidating place and speaking of
exercise how about how Body for Life
impacted you well that was an exercise
program I found in a bookstore in
Milwaukee in uh
2004 and it was uh no that interval
training was new and uh it was very
painful type of training but very short
so that interested me cuz I didn't want
to spend a lot of time exercising and
the intense pain seemed interesting too
what do you mean seemed interesting I
like to be in a difficult
environment I don't know why because
pressure on the system is generally a
good thing I I just felt instinctively
I'm going to do better under pressure
and so you have a trainer um I think
Adam R yeah uh you'll do 3 days of
cardio 3 days of weights I I do
something every day so what is like the
typical routine exercise is so unfunny I
I really I can't talk about it wait what
do you mean you can't talk because but
you have spoken about but it's not funny
yeah but
it's you have said it is exercise that
kind of makes well I just think the body
and the mind are one thing so if you
exercise your body then you exercise
your mind and the mind I only do things
that are good for the brain function I
care about brain function for the
obvious reasons I I feel like I need the
brain you once said I I've always had
the skill of extracting the essence of
any subject yes uh I study be it
Scientology Judaism Zen yoga meditation
right um on the marelus is my new one
how so the Roman Emperor who wrote a
book called meditations okay which was
the beginning of
stoicism and that that's my obsession
now is Marcus Aurelius he had this fantastic
fantastic
philosophical observations on life and
you've learned what from that that
everything that you're worried about is
going to be gone like that the people
that you that are criticizing you
they're going to be gone you're going to
be gone all this hand ringing worry and
con concern over how are people viewing
me uh and uh someone said something bad
about me and you get so upset about it
is is wasted time and energy Marcus
aurelus says your only focus should be
on getting better at what you're doing
focus on what you're doing get better at
what you're doing everything else is a
complete waste of time so I have this
movie coming out in about a month I am
so excited to read the worst reviews
what do you mean cuz they're so
meaningless that's what he thinks now
did it take you a minute to get to that
place or you I been looking forward to
it for two years I can't wait for the
bad reviews but I I mean did it take you
a minute to get to the place of enjoying
that or have you always kind of been
unaffected by no it took a that took
many many years okay on the
Transcendental Meditation front believe
you do it at least twice daily at least
twice sometimes more you said it's the
greatest thing
as a life tool as a work tool and just
making things make sense right do you do
meditation I don't I I tried it I've
tried it once but oh great good
try um what what what do you what do you
want in life gram what do you want what
do you want to have more than anything
i' like to make the most of my ability
and be happy and and what does it take
to do that energy you need energy it's
the most valuable Quant
of human life well where do we get it
and you're saying you get it from
meditation well you sleep right that's
about it that's all you do to rest your
body the next time you get out of bed
before you leave the bed stand up turn
around and look at that bed does it look
relaxing does it look peace did it look
does it look peaceful what you went
through there no it's a necessary
component of human life but it's not the
level of rest that you need and is
available to you effortlessly meditation
is effortless exercise is the opposite
of that exercise is great for energy but
it takes more effort than anything it's
incredibly difficult thing to do
meditation is like I say if I said to
you I'm going to need you to get in a
hot tub once a day and just sit there
for five minutes could you do that
that's pretty easy it's pretty easy
meditation is even easier than
that so if that's all you have to do to
double the amount of energy that you
have to accomplish what you want to
accomplish in your Ben singer
life how do you not use that so I'm
speaking to you trying to approach you
as a very pragmatic person cuz you seem
very pragmatic you don't do stupid
things you try and do things that make
sense right I tried to yeah okay so
that's what this is you know the bar in
your phone instead of that was the
yellow and the red all white just boom
full battery full battery how have you
felt that's extended your career oh my
god well I'm 70 okay which is shocking
well there you go yeah so that that's
not just because of meditation yes it is
if I if you ask me my three keys to a
successful life you want you want my
three keys Transcendental
Meditation lift weights
espresso you just do those three things
and you will kill it how many espresso
machines do you have oh I have one
everywhere I have him in espresso machine
machine
everywhere uh we're just going to run
out for quick coffee we'll be right back
I'm sorry that's not possible when I do
this little show Comedians in Cars
Getting Coffee you're comedian with the
president going nowhere back it up yes
sir what did the creative process entail
for the Obama episode how did you go
about getting their sign off and what if
anything was said no to let's do one
question at a
time what was the creative process right
for figuring out what you wanted to do
with him well it was what I was allowed
to do and the amount of time that I had
we were going to go to a coffee shop but
then when we they explained the size of
the the Secret Service detail that
became unwieldy and then they said you
could drive around the loop of the South
lawn so we did that knocking on the
window yeah knocking on the window was
part my greatest disappoint
was I wanted on that little coffee table
while I was waiting for him which was
all fake we just made that up was I
wanted uh a file that said top secret
and a copy of Mad
Magazine and uh they wouldn't let us
even put a prop really there yeah they
said you know we have the fruit is the
only thing you can use so I did the joke
about the Apple anything else that we
said no to oh everything everything but
for some reason the window was they were
okay with you said everything you do is
about how to get out of today's
depression um yeah I mean it doesn't
happen every day what's the feeling that
you try and get out I mean I depression
is probably too strong a word it's just
we all have these mood dips you know
where you just you're feeling good and
something not great happens or you're
late or you you see a scratch on your
car and you just get depressed about it
and you can get depressed when things
are going great that's the most
depressing when does it happen most for
you it it irrespective of circumstance I
just don't feel good sometimes just
don't feel
good and um the the best way to to get
out of it for me is uh work work is the
best antidote that's why I work so much
because it's the op for some reason it
just you feel like you're not wasting
time a tendency to be depressed is part
of the kit that comes with the creative
aspect of the brain that's right how did
reading that impact you I realized this
tendency to get depressed I would never
want to not have that if I would lose
the creative uh gift that came with it
it's part of it it's it's a probably an
overactive brain right after your sitcom
wrapped yeah uh for a few months you
didn't do much uh I think you're playing
uh pool
in like aards Hall on the upper west
side um you said I was kind of lost
after the show I really didn't want to
get married I didn't want to be single
anymore I didn't know what I wanted to
do mhm um what was that period like for
you that was was pretty interesting
period you know you you kind of feel
like you got to the end of the the the
rainbow there and and so now what you
know what what do I do in life
now and uh depressed then
no no that's always the same but and I
don't know if I I think most human lives
are like this you know good days part of
the day is good part of the day you
don't feel good sometimes you don't feel
good a whole day some days you feel
great all day well and I know I'm
certainly like that but then there are
people that you know struggle with it
more than others I would call it real
depression yeah I don't know what the
word for it is I I just call it uh the
mood darkens I get a darkening mood and
I don't I want to get out of it how did
having children uh impact your
life you don't have kids I don't like
someone that doesn't have kids would ask
that question okay well here here here
was the connect how did it impact your
life here was the how having a human
body impact your life so here was the
connective quote had you what does it
feel like to be just a Spirit sparking
through the Galaxy and then you took the
form of humanity how did that change
you wait so had
you the connective quote was um you had
once said if it wasn't for my kids I'm
pretty much done with living I could
kill myself now now now there's
something else to live for yeah yeah
well the kids kids are the greatest show
on Earth so you just want to watch them
live and the entertainment value of
watching them try to live is uh you know
I don't watch all the shows that
everybody watches I don't find them
interesting what do you watch I watch
baseball and I and I like to see what
the kids are doing the kids are very
entertaining because they're you know
they're primitive humans and you it's
fun to watch uh you know like you you
can't not watch the turtles try to get
to the the waves you know the little
blue Turtles when they run down the
beach and some of them make it and some
of them don't whenever that you have to
watch it and so that's what kids are you
just watching these turtles run for
their life how do you think your
upbringing impacted you as a dad well
unfortunately you think the way you were
brought up was the
greatest and so you attempt to replicate
it or even worse you attempt to improve
on it that's where you go really wrong
as a parent you think my childhood was
good I'm going to make my kids'
childhood perfect that's when you really
screw them up because perfect is not a
good place to be uh for optimizing you
know the human instrument imperfect is
where you want your kids to be I always
talk about this this bracket of struggle
if stay you want to stay in the bracket
not too much not too little and try and
move the bracket up as high as you can
so uh the worst thing with uh kids is
when you try and give them pleasure or
problem solve or praise those are my
three poison pce of being a parent
solving their problems giving them
pleasure don't give them that Cracker he
he likes this cracker this is his
favorite cracker give him that
Cracker this is horrible it seems like
you're increasingly interested in
Sharing like how the sausage is made
well our parents do that that you want
us let me show you how life works but I
mean it's not limited to just use a
parent I mean even
in just hearing you talk about things
professionally I I want to take the
watch apart my whole life is I want to
take the watch apart I like knowing the
time but how does this watch work yeah
and that's why I can't chitchat chitchat
is the time right let's talk about these
gears how how the hell does this thing
keep track of the time what with a
spring marriage uh your wife said Slow
build in Jerry becoming a teammate yes
explain that well I was 45 I was a very
successful comedian a comedian is an
inone act you think I don't need
anyone that's what a comedian thinks
this is not a good partner for someone
that doesn't think they need anyone is
not a good partner partners want to
cooperate with other people this is why
most comedians either fail at marriage
or don't even try it Jim Gaffigan said
to me every time he hears a comedian
getting married he he goes why why would
they do that it's it's really not for us
I wanted to do it again because I wanted
to see if I could do something I'm
really not cut out for how was your idea
of a good first state her attending the
taping of your HBO special like two days
that's what I was doing I mean no
whatever you're uh I've been would bring
girls to shows that's that's you know
who's not going to do that why do you
think the relationship works you know
we're both extremely cranky and un and
understanding of each other's
crankiness and appreciative of
crankiness I don't like people that
aren't cranky I find them kind of boring
I I like I like people that are really
on the verge of exploding at all times
oh God come on yeah and she's great at
that oh come on come on what you're not
married I'm not I'm engaged oh you're
engaged congratulations thank you should
be married as of September oh good for
you I'm happy yes yeah yeah this show is
going to get you married some woman's
going to see this and go I I think I'll
hitch my ride to that I guess kind of
serious FR you guys uh decided to visit
Israel uh the end of the year um why'
you guys decide to make the trip we're
Jewish and uh we feel very uh close to
the struggle of being Jewish in the
world um uh people think of Jewish
people I think sometimes is very uh on
top of things and unsuccessful for the
most part that is somewhat true but the
struggle of being Jewish is also uh
ancient thousands of years of struggle
and uh Israel is the latest one and
anti-Semitism is uh seems to be
rekindling in some areas and uh so we
just felt we wanted to do that to be
supportive to the Israelis what stood
out most to you from the visit that my
life of uh what I thought was just being
fun having a fun life and making other
people happy which I I love to do um had
this other effect on these other people
for a completely different reason they
appreciated me coming because I'm a
well-known person and a comedian they
like but this was a whole
different uh set of circumstances and
emotions we had uh we were having lunch
one day in Tel Aviv and there was a
missile attack from Gaza uh 26 missiles
were fired at the city and they were all
taken out uh by the Iron Dome Tech that
they have
and everybody has to run out of the
streets and you have to get into a
shelter because the metal falls from the
sky how does that kind of shape your
view on what's going on I grew up in the
50s and 60s and World War II was kind of
Vietnam and I would I was never in the
military and you always wonder what is
what's a war like you know we've
obviously we've all read about it our
whole lives all wars throughout human
history what's it really like yeah so I
I know what it's like now unfrosted um I
obviously rough transition uh I watched
it o over the weekend and I mean the
cast is extraordinary oh thank you um
also the writing is so distinctly
different M than what you'd see in a
typical film what were the biggest pain
points of the process for you of just
the entirety of this project um walking
onto a film set and uh being responsible
for the camera angles the actor's
performances my own performance how many
takes do we do before we move on we're
running out of time we're running out of
money um it's much different than TV
doing the TV show was like going into
your backyard you know and playing cuz
we eventually that world was our world
we just knew every inch of it right I
mean not immediately though not
immediately but after a while right but
in a movie set you know you're going to
locations you've never been you're going
to be there for two hours you got to get
this it was fun it was crazy it's just
crazy but the people that I had around
me people like uh Melissa McCarthy and
Jim Gaffigan and Amy Schumer and it's so
fun on and on how do you get that cast
together I don't know I just asked them
but I mean that's how right I mean
because you don't like it's you making a
lot ex for Hugh Grant he called me he
called you and yeah he said I would like
to be Tony the Tiger and and you you're
Tony the Tiger he said can I do I have
to do an American accent no I go do
whatever you want I just wanted to meet
him I I love the guy what about him
playing Tony the Tiger really resonated
with you because I know you said his
character was pretty cool our idea of
Tony the Tiger was he was a failed
Shakespearean actor who had to take this
humiliating job because he couldn't make
his car payments and but he really
wanted to do Shakespeare but he's forced
to do Tony the Tiger that that's our
idea of Tony the Tiger how was directing
harder than you expected oh it not with
the the amazing people that I had they
they were wonderful they're incredible I
mean Hugh Grant is a total pain in the
ass uh which he told me he would be we
had so many fun fights okay like what I
would say to him you're English you
don't know anything about comedy you you
know about wit English people are witty
I go there's no money in witty we do
comedy we got big laughs in this country
and he would scream I know a lot about
comedy he was the best he was my
favorite there was uh onset blowup that
you kind of had to diffuse right I think
so yeah were few explain the kind of
most notable situation my favorite one
was a there was a there's a you know
there's different teams on a movie
different departments there was a prop
guy who was a little tightly wired and
you know they they arranged things you
know like whoever started this fire and
they put this stupid stuff here you know
and some guy uh on the movie he just
lost it he started screaming at uh one
of his assistants and I went everyone
stop I mean screaming like crazy loud I
go everyone stop this is a Pop-Tart
movie none of this matters we will not
have any screaming this is not important
I made a big deal out of the fact that
this is not important we're we're here
to just make a silly movie you turned 70
April 29th yeah uh I think you're doing
press for the film that day yeah I
believe it premieres uh shortly
thereafter but so it's not as if you
have much time to celebrate the birthday
but how do you view turning 70 I'm not
me or my age or I'm I'm on I'm just on
this ride like everybody else just like
okay where's you know it's like
Disneyland you're just on this little
cart going along the track and you're
going all right so we're going to make a
turn now I wonder what's going to be
around the turn so I I don't care I've
heard you talk a lot about like what
still motivates you and The Arc in the
creative process how would you assess
where your talent is today relative to
whatever you think its peak can be um
Peak can be is I still have to get to
the peak I'm not there wow that's that's
a exhausting um you know I let the
audience tell me how I'm
doing and they they keep coming and
they're they they they clap and they
laugh so that's that's it we're we're
all going through this ride together to
me me and whatever the whoever the
people are that like what I
do I want to make this ride better for
them you know that's what I live for I
want to uh put a smile on as many faces
as I can and that that's a pretty good
life if you get to be someone doing that
so I I don't care where it's going or
where I'm at uh I'll be on stage tonight
and if they laugh I know okay we're
still doing something right and and
that's that's what I care about thanks
for doing this thanks gra thanks for
hanging in that took a it took a while
reasonably painless right yeah know it
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