Full Comedy Actors Roundtable: Tracy Morgan, Sean Hayes, Marc Maron, Ray Romano | Close Up with THR

[Music] hi and welcome to close up with The Hollywood Reporter comedy actors I'm Lacey rose and I'm joined by Sean Hayes Marc Maron Ray Romano Tony Shalhoub Louie Anderson and Tracy Morgan let's get right into this so at this table we don't have any sort of fresh faces people in me just making it how would you guys describe the phase that you each are at now the the remember this guy I met the reboot stage I met the history he's still alive stage I'm at that I can't stand that guy or I love that guy uh-huh I'm either one or him again Tracy yeah let's see Zoomer and I think I'm in on I don't even know what stays in my head my trucks are making now different and in what ways are there things you you sort of won't do anymore or conversely things that you're excited to do now I'm working so I love work I'm gonna stand up and I love if they have if it if it fits I'll do it and even if it doesn't fit I'll still try to put it on agree I'm am just trying to stay in a business yeah I'm just trying to stay in a business that's all it is everything I think we wouldn't be if we didn't love to work right I think I don't for work all the time are you making different choices about what kinds of work you want to do I mean certainly a lot of your choices more recently or a little more dramatic um yeah but I don't shy away from comedy I'm not gonna do a sitcom again definitely not a four-camera just know if they shot you did yeah yeah I well first of all yes that's kind of our legacy in that world and I don't want to have to follow it and I've just it doesn't appeal to me as much now is doing the butt a single-camera comedy I'm not against that at all but yeah I like to I'm now I'm enjoying kind of mixing it up a little with the drama I think we all gonna I'm just gonna speak for everyone yeah I think we all just want to do things that are you know just different from what we've done in the past and that's that's really where I was totally agree with that man there's other two sides to every story one show that side to the flip side a comedy is like comedies like drama is comedy like a sock turned inside out yes so that's odd - mm-hmm I think that with all the platforms now that's the greatest thing of all because all of us you know are gonna get a chance to work because these things didn't exist I think there were when most of us started there were four places we could work and now there are four you know 40 or 140 and yes and there are four people that watch some of them you know what's so great about that doesn't really matter no I know I got no I mean you you may not get the ratings but but you get to know your audience one at a time entering the business now there's so many more opportunities to see your creative vision or idea realized because there's so many platforms now does that gonna make you rich and all of those other things it's probably know if that's what you're after you probably in it for the wrong reasons begin with I don't at least you have a platform - now you - but whatever anything I don't think anybody had to say whatever got in it for that we got it we do this because we love it right yeah - if you don't love this this will crush you right it will crush you that's true I'm happy to be playing somebody that isn't me specifically that was a big transition yeah I've been painfully playing me for most of my life and the opportunity to do something some guy that is is an actually a bigger than I am but I could understand him I'm thinking different points in my life but to actually do something that wasn't specifically me was a challenge and it was exciting and I liked it I don't think I would take apart where I had to learn Russian or gain 30 pounds but if it's in my wheelhouse I'm excited to be involved just who you do play then become you and in some ways do then to take up take pieces of you and of course I for me like you know I'm not you know I had to whatever acting I've engaged with earlier was not huge things and you know I trained when I was younger a bit but doing my show for four years was sort of hands-on training but doing this guy well the story is that the the best thing that happened was you know this this guy Sam Sylvia is sort of a down-and-out dude a bit and he's got a coke problem a little bit and he doesn't really think he's down and out but I remember when I talked to the showrunners I'd made some decisions about the character I I told them I said this guy doesn't he doesn't carry a vial he's not flashy doesn't share his blow he does it out of the corner of a magazine folded a bindle he'll do it with a key or a pen top and the two showrunners are kind of nerdy women and they both looked at me and one said we're so glad you're here so many at this table have been on really iconic shows played really iconic characters I'm looking at several of you what were the sort of unexpected pieces of moving on from those projects well I guess for me personally you know it has to do with when you're out in the world and and you're recognized you're recognized for that one thing and even though you're proud of what all of that work and all of that time that you put in you really you you you struggle to kind of unravel that image and try to construct a new one and isn't it true sorry I interrupted to write that balance of embracing the thing that made you famous for the people out in the public yeah and also moving away from it for your own personal it is a bit of a tightrope walk there yeah you know it's funny I I did a show before a monk I was on sitcom wings in the man is absolutely and but a weird thing happened when I you know in the next decade when I was doing monk this happened once it happened a hundred times people would come up to me and they would say I remember you from wings like I was like I was hiding or I'm not dissembling I'm just doing a different part but I in their mind this the initial thing was that was me and so then there was eight years of a monk that kind of diminished the first role and now I'm doing something else and monk is you know it follows me like a you know and how do you how do you respond to people and they're like mom yeah you know they say you're monk and I I don't know I usually just say I I was mom I played monk I don't think anyone here gets to choose what they remembered for no and that's the that's the the whole idea of public you just have to embrace I think everyone's grateful for the part they had yeah I was in the coming to America movie you know I played a cartoon character I was a game show host and and so now I'm playing a woman I'm just looking forward to playing a man again here's someone I've heard you sort of talk about coming off of Everybody Loves Raymond and sort of that yes that process and I think you serve described it's like a little emotional breakdown and the conversation for the therapist of three times a week you perhaps would need to go hoping you can sort of speak to what that was what she learned and well I came from New York I came from New York I was doing stand-up 11 years and the show came along I did the letter men in the show came so I moved we we all moved out and nine years now Everybody Loves Raymond and I was immersed in it I was you know in the writers room and the Edit room everything and I loved it and then it ended and it was like coming out of a submarine I was as serious I was like yeah I live here my kids are 15 now this woman still here I had money I had you know some Fame and I thought it was going to be this is great I can have enjoy this and yeah we were talking before my my therapist said do you want to start coming twice a week now and I said you know I I don't have things to say to you once you know I have to make stuff up 4:30 later I was going twice a week because I it's like you said we all love to work and we all and what you said Idol is not good yeah I I have the way I describe it is I have to keep moving or I catch up with myself like what do I do now right I mean I know Marshall came along as I Wow we say we love to work that's about 50 percent yeah all of the demons that's right because I was I'm always saying I would say that again well we don't blame it they don't know the demons our own demons overtake us when we're not working we shrew Indy is that right my vote was saying to my wife of all you know like get toward the end of a long stretch of working I can't wait for this to be over now I really need a breather I'm just gonna take a bunch of time when she's looks at me like no Julian two weeks you'll be and then she doesn't want to be around me either yeah face all day I try to do a vacation like I don't know how to take a vacation and now like because I'm doing like the podcast to stand up and then the acting gig there I don't I don't have any boundaries or do I can't do a break when I'm working when I'm not so Long's working so then if we go on vacation immediately I went to Hawaii and and I figured out a way to make that terrible like it's scary not Tracy in 54 I don't know if I can unfuck myself I think that it might be permanent I think we can all relate to wanting to work more than that wanting to work and I find myself creating things for myself rather than waiting for a call and I don't know if you reached that point in your life I can't sit around well that's what I did after four months of Raymond we my buddy was going through the same thing one of the writers on Raymond and we saw that's right about this we came up with men of a certain age such a good show you're talking about sort of finding what's next and how do you move on and and and all of that and yet here we are you started this off by saying we're at the reboot phase of your career and in fact you did Altman choose to go back to sort of the thing that made you famous yeah what was that sort of process that emotional czar deliberation about doing that it was quite easy I mean we did this election video to get the message out and the only way we knew how for people to get out and vote and we did it for free the crew did it for free we all just got together to to give you know send this message and how did that go we say goodbye you know and then here we are because of the response so there's a nice organic process to the coming back and and we all kind of talked about it and said yeah there's more to say here in this way and it's kind of missing from television right now and blah blah and for you I mean you came initially when you did that show you were you were the baby you were the one that that hadn't done this hadn't yet I still AM but yeah you also you weren't out yet you were and the world has changed pretty drastically since then how has your sort perspective coming back to this and your own for who you are on that set changed oh gosh that's like a the fourth party now like 30 seconds no I mean I you know I was in a different place when I was a young kid being gay I was out but not out to the press but I was out on the set I was out to my friends I was out to the world but I didn't I didn't have the DNA or the the the ability to be one spokesperson for an entire group of people nerd that I I wasn't trained to be that person you know how to do it I couldn't find the words and thoughts to connect to give a positive message and now I'm in a different place and and you realize you know silence equals death this is true and so here I am out and proud and glad to be on the show and I do anything and everything I can for the LGBTQ community I have a future co-starring role on shades of blue acting with my BFF best famous friend forever Jennifer Lopez forever who hasn't spoken to you in 10 years changed your email phone number and address and return to Jenny from the block me on all social media when you look at the success he's had is there any piece of you that thinks ooh we should we should reboot 30 rock we should reboot monk we should reboot Everybody Loves Raymond that would be a question for Tina I think she became a mom and a wife did you do 30 what I'd do it now tracy Jordan I don't know I've Tina Fey and Alex bowling and all them agree to it it was such a family atmosphere I think I would I think I would say math it was a right situation it was the family it was family on it says so well yeah Martin was blessed I I don't know I go back and forth on yeah and the better hurry up or I'll have to play monk there's some comfort in going back you know like I've been talking people been asking me about coming to America and Eddie has said there's might be another coming to America and there was something really great about that in that time in my career and and I just wonder I think it could work I think all things coming to America to work right i I think also in the craziest way it's a way to relive your childhood for me it's like go back in time and live your 20s over again this is I guess the closest way to do that you also say with the show which i think is a piece of why the show is working there's there's a sort of a cultural moment and a political moment that you were providing commentary on so to do these shows again there would have to be something presumably to say but I think each one of those shows Believe It or Not has something to say family or you know with the person who is some sort I think that was the great thing about those shows and when they come back I think the reason people like to do it is to see if they still have it yeah Abby Lee's yeah and the money it's a wonderful different thing was in office yeah no business yeah this was family you and these people's homes right look Archie Bunker you any home look good you at home as opposed to being in office all right I want to touch on the sort of cultural moment that we're in whether that whether you label that the me to moment the time's up moment I am particularly in the sort of comedy space I'm curious how it has changed your perspective and the conversations that that you are having now you saying comedy did you saw a PC in comedy yeah sure yeah that's what the question is about PC there's no room for it in comedy wallets how do you think Richard Pryor George Carlin would have survived it do you yeah right now you mean I think they would figure out a way to what I feel a way it is a different time but I do think there has to be people being willing to do it I think we have like Roseanne got all this flack about people who knew her saying that hey good congratulations but you know we're friends and people and and you got flack for doing it and I just think that you know right now it's possible that the liberalism and freedom of speech and all those things are at stake this is how things like this get lost yeah there's nobody goes I'm gonna say it I'm gonna say it even if this cost me my you know sponsorship because I think you say we talked about it you know you have a great podcast yeah nothing you guys talk about everything sure yeah and I think that like in terms of like cuz you had to go through it would stop yeah but you hear if you're willing to shoulder the burden of what's coming at you and you know what's coming at you and you got to say the truth and you got to say the truth you know the scary thing is is these you know if there's gonna be a pylon you know how far away does that get from at what actually happened you know when is it just people who don't even know what's being talked about just start to annihilate somebody I think the big the big fear is that you know overnight your reputation can be completely dismantled and you could be shredded and wake up to like this tweet shitstorm and and some sort of tabloid shitstorm yeah I know and you know it so it's a lot to go through and I think it's scary when you are somebody who has to get out there and tell your truth or you want to comment on the world there's a stand-up that that's in the back of your brain like because it's gonna compromise you it's not really that there's censorship in the country because you can say whatever you want you just got to take what's coming at you but self-censorship is the bigger cancer on stage well you better know what you where you going with it you know it's like you know it used to be like I'm just gonna shoot from the hip like Tracy does that a lot and I'll do it about certain things but there are certain areas where it's sorta like I'd better know where this ends mark you've used your podcasts or talk about what's going on and in the culture I think it particularly you know after louis c.k you came on you talked about empathy and sort of really understanding power dynamics yeah curious what that process has been for you and and what the sort of larger takeaway has has been for me in response to my friend going through that or did situation why yourself in that well I mean at some point you know there has to be a conversation there has there has to be some sort of leveling off so we can communicate so not everybody men in particular are running around terrified of their past or of how to behave because I don't I don't think that's going to be helpful for any anyone it's heavy man I mean you know because there were there was there was no it was just decided and it came down hard and it came down fast and it was terrifying God's name Z's that was that was a little nuts that article but men are disappearing I mean jeffrey tambor was sitting at this table two years ago and they're disappearing yeah they're eventually there has to be some conversation I mean obviously we're all going to behave a little better you know I don't know how to speak to any of this but I can only speak to what I'm more aware of I think there's an awareness of how hard it is for women yeah we weren't aware of us as much well sometimes you gotta push the envelope right so yeah because there is the problem is is that there are people afraid to laugh because they don't want to be just say now you do the show that way that's right that's what I mean maybe you have wait a minute that's like a woman's you getting in the bed with a woman she said make me [Laughter] for me but I think people are confused it ain't coming on a witch hunt right it's something different one thing though that a villager with the fire burned a monsoon but I think that happens in some people's minds is that day or night they want to laugh and sometimes they wake I don't know if I can oh yeah oh don't know what to do yeah then they see everybody else laughing then they laugh yeah except for the one person who hates you and they're the ones we're just trying to make Pete the world laughs it's funny today all of us in here are just trying to make the world a better place you know was before we got here we'll be right about women starring women run by women staffed largely by manager you're very much the sort of minority curious how that has changed your perspective and your own sort of take away from that experience why don't I don't think I've ever and I would think most men I've never been around that many women in my life especially everyday and very quick and I'm not just the only man I mean I'm a sexist you know dick you know with with a relatively heart of gold be not not quite a heart of gold but he's you know he's got his vulnerabilities but but working with so many women I found it and the fact that they're learning how to wrestle and they're doing this thing that's very theatrical and just the amount of like hair and makeup because it's the 80s that they have to go through there was definitely a lot of empathy and a lot of pride that I felt and I was very moved by the camaraderie and how like they they all came together and when they succeed in doing things I'd get choked up so I don't know what what it's done for you know in a general sense my perception yeah I can't speak to it I wasn't you know I was not anti women before I went in agate I'm not gonna tell you like who knew they were humans so but but but it did increase my respect oh my god not this again please babies are boring I mean they don't party they haven't traveled they have no sense of irony and you love this you love being a temperamental star I know you do if you were sitting at home with that cave your life would become just anger and resentment no work no husband you would burn up in a smoldering ash heap of rage and disappointment you think that's good for you or your boring baby oddly even though the they're all dressed in leotards and they're wearing these these outfits and this hair it's there's not it's not a sexualized set you know because of the nature of how you know it's running and what the script isn't overall working towards and I just think that is sort of magical that you have this situation where you know you you have these women who are feel safe enough and supported enough a lot of them can beat the out of you at this point Betty could certainly take me down but but it has you know not just just working with an ensemble that large and having it mostly be women it has been it's been it's been great for me because I'm sort of a self-involved you know a self-centered person and it's nice to be part of an ensemble and it's nice to be the only guy acting like an who's not really an because then right when I come out of the I'm surrounded by women like the rest of the preparation process I think you have talked about become Christine I mean they're that name is is on scripts what was that decision what what does that actually look like for you I'm a while when I didn't realize that it would make a difference I thought I would be able to just put that on that could still be Who I am but it there was a definite change I don't know how it happens but I think it's when when you when they put the lipstick on something happens because I just would look in the thing go you know and I think what really happened was that I had a night because people treat you different they treated me different than as Louie they treated me different as Christine so there was no there was a lot more door opening which was really interesting and then maybe it's just I don't know it was just different and I asked people not to call me Louie on the set because I was I really wanted the character to be Christine but I I sometimes during this thing we'd have a two hour break and I would go out in the public as Christine and go to the store and stuff and I would get weird looks like some people went is that a guy but a lot of people what would tree I felt the actual difference but mostly what I felt were the big thing I felt was the preparation to get ready to be a woman and I don't mean because I'm a man but what women often go through every day to present themselves to the world where men go is this clean do you know what I mean and so it seemed like a lot of work to go out to be ready to be seen yeah where we don't have that thing so I think I do think everything kind of got in this in the these times turn turned upside down on the head and I think that we're looking at everything like that differently anyway you know what I like I love a jingle like at the end of the spot like row row row do maybe I'll do well Lee but he has a sexual advantage on you that I don't have I can be objective okay oh the PI chip will get the pie for me oh thank you no pot for me thank you very much for the tacos mother mmm Kenneth ray what's that process for you to get into the character for me it's the hair my character is a washed-up producer and I based the hair on Brian Grazer and I say I say this all the time he's not a washed-out he's an a-list producer yeah but I mean to use his hair so once I'm in that hair you can't not be a you it yeah I usually use a line - I usually for each character I've done over the past there's usually a line because I do a little bit of a voice I don't know if any of you guys it's not even perceptible to the people listening to it but in your own head you'll hear a different voice and I have I have a one line from dialogue that kind of gets me into that I would have come to you so so before we've seen I say that out loud you're on people are looking at me like why are you saying no it's just yeah yeah yeah okay well yeah you got the studio what are you coming to me for wouldn't be the same without you yeah yeah you want me to you want me to hide the cash okay forget about no way suit yourself yeah okay I already told you I I know what you people do so you think I would work with you people I'm a professional I've heard Denzel Washington say it once an interview tell the young actors write your backstory so I do a for each character I get cash there now I try to write a little backstory and I always put my father in there you know I got this thing I'm to bring up because Tony is playing a character from another time right yeah oh yeah I write in this and this missus Mazal which is fantastic but this is also the prime time when women were treated like that and many of those issues are on the show and then how does that translate to this set well I was it's really interesting because I I think this show I don't know how long they've been working on it when it was you know first conceived but I think it's just kind of a collision at the time were in and the Amy sherman-palladino the the creator and main writer I think she's just writing about something a family experience because her father was a stand-up and her mother still alive is a entertainer singer dancer so she was writing about her world and all of these these issues of this young woman you know kind of moving from a domestic setting out into the world professional world breaking into comedy but it was it it just so happens that once we were doing the pilot then all of these news stories started to so it wasn't it wasn't as a result but it was Quincy it is kind of coincidental I believe I'm not in the writers room but of course but but I think it's just kind of a happy accident Easter Island face I know that face I was wondering is there any way I can get you to change your mind about taking back the apartment no no way I paid for I overpaid for I know it was mine to take back my son knew that I'm sure he did so what's the point irate why are you even bringing this up I want to get the kids back together join the club and the apartment is a big piece of that possibly I've already put it on the market you could take it off the market looking a lot of the layout and it's so close to the part I'll pay for half the apartment what's your preparation you know for this character you know I I it's the clothes for me you know because we're working in it's 1958 yeah and I play this he's actually a math professor Columbia gotta be fun and it's great and I grew up and not to age myself here but you know I was a kid in in this time period and so I have these images of my dad and my uncles and my parents friends and and the way that they it's a totally different thing the way they slowly drop the way they dealt with their wives the way they dealt with their children didn't do it or didn't and you know and blessed that I have you know I can carry that into the work but but man the clothes and the shoot the wingtip in causes them and the like the layers I have you know it's kind of shirt too tied the sweater vest the jacket to go you know and just for dinner yeah yeah we that's right we are in a tie and we're having supper and so it's it's it's part part memory and part you know this brilliant wardrobe designer that we have costume designers I always say if my father hugged me once I would be an accountant right now what are the parts you won't take the lines you won't cross perhaps things I had to do nudity yeah what they think was it that was the other thing about all these women you know all 14 of them you sign this on their custom women they said they all agreed that they would you have to sign whatever it is way to do and what was I gonna be the guy 14 women I'll sign dating them and I was gonna be the guy I'm not I'm not gonna do it so I had to sign it so I knew that my time was gonna come like I knew it was gonna happen and I didn't know what it was gonna be but I knew it was but you couldn't care well then you got support where were we could I say at that point when your table carrying yeah say it of course what else happened Jule but like it like I did talk the ID I talked him out of the frontal I didn't need that pressure so I said you can do you can get out control a shot but if we do it my dick I just don't need that on the ass no we got the ass full ass I didn't do I had the same so I had a new Zenon in vinyl I did a three sub in vinyl I'm still sad that that show got canceled well thank you but I had to do it new teen and I and it was me on a bed waking up after in Vegas after night of craziness and Bobby Cannavale e comes in you know Bobby kind of Olly does full frontal nudity and Boardwalk Empire and everything that I've seen that and and on the street yeah yeah so he wakes me up when I stand up and I have the sock yeah after the tank he goes he goes he goes bro you don't gotta wear a sock with me I don't care he goes I don't wear it I've seen you and boy I know my ego where I'm keeping the soccer were you nervous why they do a sex scene in that episode I had a I had a nudity and be drunk in the same head so and sometimes that's even scarier to play drunk yeah why oh here put it this way the director is not going to yell too big during the nude scene yeah drunk is so many who knows but yeah I had to do the three it's crazy that I don't from never having a sex scene to having a threesome and you're simulating sex it's not it's it's nerve-racking it's not real and it's not real but they make exception for that they understand yes on some level if you do get turned on it's like you're in it you know what are you gonna do that happened I'm sure more first movie thirty thirty years to life how can you man to do a sex scene yeah accident pardon me I'm sorry she was a sports okay there was some actor it was one actor who is I forget who was before the sex scene that was doing the one you know the white I'm going to say you said I apologize if I do and I apologize if I don't you know my wife when I did the my wife is from Queens New York in over a very long time and so she I did the scene and she like tell me what happened and I'm like not it's not it's nothing because woman is sitting and there's another one anyway and then she she flies how she was in New York before I saw him and then she I say how was the flight cord she goes yeah there was an actor sitting next to me he gave me his card and now I start getting jealous you know I'm like we need gave his card and so he knew if you say game I go what'd he look like what was his name and she stalked me she goes what was the name of the girl that song oh I'm working over here yeah anything for you in there the line with my sexting story are the things that are their lines you won't cross things that no I'm open I'm open to anything if it makes sense I mean I'm like Tracy that way I'm just like if it's I'm all-in at any cost is it always been the case yeah yeah I'm always my dumb motto is we're here for five minutes well like so nothing no no Will and Grace nothing blurred out or anything no I'm an NBC nobody they blurt another nothing like oh yeah we just did an episode this this season where Nick Offerman was on a show an episode and he was sleeping with Will & Grace at this different times and he just fallen and he just went for it yeah yeah he's great when I had you I do a scene with my boyfriend not as Christine that was really interesting because you know I don't wear anything to make myself more of a woman because I have nice breasts to begin just happen to get nice breasts and bless that when they work in the scene and so I wore a slip as a for the next morning when we woke up and I just said oh my god when I sell the scene I said oh my god I am my mother I have and it was says but it was a little bit comfortable it was a little uncomfortable because I didn't really know how to play it that way as a woman yeah as a man I could have but as a woman I would I didn't know how to play that and it was really it was interesting but other people got along nervous when I noticed when I did that movie with Adam Sandler longest shot remember to remake a shot to play a transgender night however it wasn't a transvestite in a normal said it was a transvestite in a jail so I remember feeling funny about it you know they literally gave me a camel toe lasso me gave me a camel toe aspect of it may be nervous I was in the aspect that I was in a prison got it it wasn't in the streets I've aunts ever since I'd know how to do that at school but this is in a different setting this is in a prison so I remember Chris Wragge in it thank you I felt pretty boys one of me they did kicking chris said never be ashamed of what you're doing because if you ashamed in the people in the audience gonna be ashamed so you embrace it so did I went back to my aunt my mom's and OMA not said just re do it came off came off like a fat rat in a cheese factory do you start off in jail in this show that you're doing now curious you're drawing a lot from your own experiences and your prison no you've you've not know people correct but I am curious on this show you are drawing from your own path are there points where you say e to dark I don't want to know really now go know I did 15 years to selling crack it's not like that on TV now it's from my life so I Tracy Morgan got a second chance when I came out the accident I can't trade Malka so if you look at the show dog premise but it's kind it's a kind show Tiffany Haddish is the mother of my children she's allowing me to be back in my kid's life I know people like that I've went to prison for a long time got a life and came out you weren't there for violent you know we all deserve a second chance what do you want just saying hello Tracy stop calling me we're gonna meet the kid shake do you want to see the kids my kids our kids I don't know how about when you get a job or volunteer at a community center something in other words make something of yourself all the adults in my kids lives are positive role models and I'm very much want to keep it that way so probably a waste of time actually show your booty on camera oh boy is this kind we need that more in the world kindness yeah and that's what I want to promote kindness I've survived the accident for a reason to bring love so at least 150 times a day I tell strains I love you some people so Tiffany is somebody who is in this moment in her career where she's completely breaking out curious what advice you have given her on how to sort of navigate Fame and stay grounded stay humble and stay grounded this is the time you got some meat on you this is where you stay humble stay grounded because what goes up comes down even ice turns the water when it's hot so relax and embrace it have a good time stay humble stay consistently working I'd say that to everybody on my set just relax and stay humble we got a nice show just a premiere but we not gonna celebrate till we get to the six or seven season everybody loves rainy what's the best and worst advice you guys gotten in the past about navigating fame and success be patient be patient for what you gotta make happen go get it you know it's so much well I'm stand up it was I started to stand up and to address that it's kind of the opposite in stand up because I remember I think it was Seinfeld who said the way to make money in comedy is to not a were worried about the money in comedies were just worried about the comedy and he was right it was another comic max Alexander yeah yeah yeah I remember at a bar with him and and I was just young and saying how do I do it how do I get this kick and how do I work there and he said it's it's gonna come if you're good and you work on your stuff if you work on your craft it will get there now look there are cases where yes you still have to hustle and get out there and do it but worry about yourself you know yeah yeah I think the best advice is it speaks to what both Traci and Ray said too it has to do with humility and there's a quote from Stanislavski I think I think it's down sake it is love the art in yourself not yourself in the art mm-hmm so that that you know we don't take we take our work seriously but not ourselves and our because it's because one of the things that this business perpetuates macum Zinn evitable in a way is that it becomes you know it becomes about me and and how do i how do i elevate this and you know and and that that can really mess with your ego and if your ego gets too much in the way well many things will happen but you I think your work can suffer and your and and and your you your your life can suffer you know your your relationships your family your friends your whatever it is it's good to have a wife who could whatever with them if you were a plumber or as long as the money was the same young people cuz to me I see like show business like space and if my woman is lost in space and I'm lost in space then we both lost some space so I gotta be granted my ladies the time if I could come from the Oscars did not get home she like your dog on so that keeps me grounded I don't care about that and love spaces on Netflix right when it's all said done Anita wants to say dude I wanna know who I am she was a journey for me like you said it's about the artists in me and not about me being in art I just can't stand people that make you all about well I think comedians are a little bit too insecure to get like that anyway yeah the MA what they never it's a dichotomy you think you're great but you also think you're horrible comics you actually think they're great - very frightening people the cylinder I know because like you know if guys who like I've known in comedy or anybody who really has a sort of this weird confident belief that they are truly great and I can't see through it they make me nervous That's not me right I was fortunate in that I had no major success for most of my career like there was never a point where it was sort of like he's getting out of control when I started to show in my garage and by some fluke of nature and cosmic climbing it put me back on the map and I've started to work my show that was my sitcom for four years was on a network that really nine people watched and they didn't promote and but you know but it trained me a lot and what I'm getting around to is that the the wisdom that I've learned is that if you really like the best that you can be is to be to really know that who you are and that you're ready to do things and that you're not afraid and you can sort of know your limitations and either that didn't happen from any advice it happened because of this slog so by the time I finally am able to make a living in show business I'm fifty and perfect though in one sense when you're younger you know you see all these young people and they get really you know a lot of success really quickly at an early age and it's just hard they just don't know how to handle it taught me a lot happened I had a wife and three kids when I first got oh I'd sit down that show knows what they can do for your career in 60 seconds yeah you know how I handle it Tony which is odd because of how long it took is I pretend it's not happening yeah like my kitchen my mother told me to buy like a new car for four years but this works right I was bored riving a 2004 Camry and she's like why don't you get a new car and you know it was up because the reason I got one is I pulled that ship box up to an event here in Hollywood yeah and everyone's getting out of black shiny cars and I'm and I don't even want the valet to partner might just tell me where to put it I don't play that comedy was easy from another coming and life was hard and I just thought that was really accurate yes I think my life has been much harder than my career so so that was really good that was real like that - what you just said was so true is the truth because we easy or says no one can touch us that's our world yeah no one could touch this when we up there we've actually nowadays when you get listen Michael Jackson problems in come on stage came off but she kind of knew that we can complete the sentence I wish someone would cast me as a man try it it's an easy talk for me I think a rabbi or a cop go to someone intelligent someone sexy and good-looking to stretch for both UK and miss one I'm tired of being approached to play the fat guy no I'm just kidding I was taking a job well I mean I don't get an approach to rap but generally like it's different variations of cranky [Music] I'd like to I'd like to try a nice guy maybe to do this but I see the pattern starting now dad I'm the dad of the trouble twenty-five-year-old yes yes we have two more if we went back to who you were as kids your high school yearbook would likely say most likely to mine was trip at graduation and that's true and I really did it I went to three different high schools graduated nobody really knew me what should it have said most likely to almost make it mine was not a chance been most likely to lose his hair I think mine would have been who is that I mean I had very few friends but I think that you know I I don't feeI it's not like a bad thing I don't feel bad about but I always was I wanted to be you know president so I hope somebody said most likely become president which I thought I could never do until recently you would be good in the last one if they weren't you would be as confusing as the one we have if there was a comedy series made up of everyone at this table it would be called for the final answer made up of us yes safe oh that's awesome that'll be I got it when worlds collide mm-hmm when we're looking at all these different worlds when worlds collide every episode will be crazy the title be yeah who ate the ice cream and would never leave this room naked and afraid oh boy we should come up with something that's plenty Everybody Loves Raymond could be one of them yeah I mean you know he's very likable what about left-field sure that's good feel this is a lot of love feel but I think Ray's looking for something that's really gonna pop yeah and I'm giving up here's the thing we have to in the writers room you have to first spew the all the wrong things a disgusting politically incorrect things and then come out with the one you're gonna use we can't do that here yeah that's ray we're still working yeah how about six relatively selfish guys how about mmm men the men of a certain stage of decline yeah how about five out of six of us have sciatica thank you hi I'm Tony Shalhoub hey what up I'm Tracy Morgan I am Ray Romano and thanks for watching thanks for watching thanks for watching The Hollywood Reporter you're watching Hollywood Reporter on YouTube okay thanks

Channel: The Hollywood Reporter

Views: 255,072

Rating: 4.7640872 out of 5

Keywords: thr, the hollywood reporter, hollywood reporter, hollywood, roudntable, ray romano, close up, close up with thr, roundtable, close up with the hollywood reporter, sean hayes, marc maron, tracy morgan, louie anderson, will and grace, entertainment, baskets, glow, tony shalhoub, the marvelous mrs maisel, get shorty, the last og, emmy roundtable comedy actors, emmy roundtable, comedy actors, comedy actors roundtable, emmy, comedy series, comedy, celebrity, tv, television, 2018

Id: XMrjuZ4_QyY

Length: 53min 52sec (3232 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 26 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/distephano87]

How could you leave Tony Shalhoub out of the title?

[u/[deleted]]

They went into the effects of #metoo on comedy. Always nice how self aware Marc Maron is and insightful to the process. How it's not really they're going to get flack for the things they say. The bigger threat is self censorship and not knowing where the joke will land. Tracy comments on this and how sometimes comedy is just what comes out, unedited, unfiltered.