Even though I live in New York, I still have this Jersey thing where I feel like I have to prove myself. I'm grateful for any chance I get to be the least talented person in the room, because it'll make me work that much harder.
What all my favorite comedians have in common is extraordinary honesty.
Creativity saved me.
I've always been really open onstage.
I always just try to remind myself, like, at the end of the day, no matter how much pressure it is to be a TV show host, you still get to be a TV show host.
I think there's enough TV that makes people feel dumb out there.
A lot of the things I loved the most growing up were, on the surface, kind of challenging or impenetrable. I loved Andy Kaufman, and half his shows, people would walk out in a rage. I love punk rock, which is notoriously music that doesn't always sound very inviting or appealing but, I think, unquestionably has the most heart, the most integrity.
There's a teacher at the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York named John Danaher. He's leading this whole group of fighters named the Danaher Death Squad, and they're revolutionizing how that world works. I actually went and signed up for classes mostly because, man, if there's innovation like that happening in New York, I want to be around it.
As far as comedy goes, I'm endlessly inspired by Jo Firestone.
I always think all the other comedians in New York hate me - I'm just convinced that they all dislike me - when, generally, I think I'm a pretty well-respected guy.
I can legitimately say without being arrogant that there's probably a stretch where I was one of the better teachers of improv in the country.
I think, in my own life, I'm pretty political. I think I have some very strong ideals, and I struggle a lot with it. I struggle a lot with feeling like, 'I have a platform; should I be saying more?'
Maria Bamford is someone who's really inspired me in a big way.
Everyone likes to laugh. Everyone likes to dance along to some music.
I will say I miss teaching improv way more than I miss performing improv.
One of the reasons I stay in New York is because you're always around so many other types of arts, and it's easy to just get lost in it.
You don't often see vulnerability on TV, especially talk shows.
If I pretended to be confident all the time, that would just be a lie.
I didn't like who I was. I spent a lot of my life regretting who I was, which is a sad thing to say.
The whole romanticized 'sad clown' thing, we gotta get rid of that. That has to go! That's just getting sick people to voluntarily stay sicker and sadder than they have to be.
