WEBVTT - Rob Riggle 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:01.960 One thing about that episode that bumps me out to 0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:05.560 this day. Okay, for whatever reason, I don't know. Maybe 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:09.840 it was the Devil, maybe evil demon angel, somebody would 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:12.200 not let me get the words wall In Paul Pack 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:16.320 out of my mouth. I couldn't say it. I couldn't 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:18.759 say it. We're supposed to be on Lake wald In 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:22.200 Paul Pack. I can say it now as if it's nothing. 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:27.200 I can say it with ease. That night I maybe 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:29.840 got it out once or twice correctly, and the rest 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:31.440 I just couldn't do it. And I remember they were 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:35.559 looking at me and they were baffled. They were absolutely baffled, 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.400 like what is this guy has a major malfunction? How 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:40.280 do you can you not say wald In Paul Pack? 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:43.880 And I can't explain it. It's just one of those 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:46.960 moments where you're like, I'm so sorry. I wanted to die. 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:49.200 I wanted to go crawl. I wanted to dive off 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:58.760 that boat and die. Hey everybody, I'm Rob Riggle. You 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:02.560 may know me. The office is Captain Jack or the 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:05.639 Hangover step brothers are. The other guys are dub Dubbert 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:20.080 two or st I'm sorry. Also, I love Karate. Hello, everybody, 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:24.880 and welcome to a brand new episode of Off the Beat. 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:28.800 I am your host, Brian Baumgartner, and as you just heard, 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:34.160 I am sitting down today with the comedic genius that 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:37.800 is Rob Riggle. Now, Rob, I don't know if many 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:41.080 of you know this, Robin's led a double life, and 0:01:41.280 --> 0:01:44.520 I mean that, of course, in a non traitorous way. 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:48.160 In fact, quite the opposite. Rob served as a US 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:53.960 Marine for over twenty years, and during that time he 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:59.560 actually asked to be stationed in New York City. Why because, 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:02.640 as he was a marine, he wanted to begin his 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:06.640 career in comedy. You've seen him in tons of your 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:11.760 favorite shows, from Modern Family to New Girl, Arrested Development, 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:15.600 He's been on SNL, He's been on The Daily Show. 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:20.280 But his most iconic role, well, it has to be 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:25.200 right the skipper to Michael Scott's Gilligan, the captain of 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:28.880 the Booze Cruise, Captain Jack. So if you'd like to 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:32.240 feel a little bit like an underachiever, but in the 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:35.320 best of ways, you are in luck, my friend. You 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:38.400 can't help feeling that way after this here. He is 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:46.239 the incredibly hard working and disciplined and hilarious I love him. 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:55.919 He's a golfer. Rob Wriggle. Everyone, Bubble and Squeak. I 0:02:56.200 --> 0:03:03.320 love it. Bubble squig, Bubble and squeaker. Cookie every month 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:20.680 left over from the nut people. Hello, Hello, Ryan, Ambassador Wriggle, 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:25.560 p x G Ambassador Wriggle. That's shrat. I mean, it's 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:30.560 not a state department title, but it's up there. It's close, 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:35.440 this close. How's it going, good, Bud? How are you 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:37.960 nice to see you? I know it's good to see you. 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:41.080 It's been a few months here now, I know, I know, 0:03:42.240 --> 0:03:45.680 I do. I do run into mutual friends though quite 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:49.200 a bit. Oh you in uh in Phoenix? Yeah? Out 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:52.160 of Phoenix. I think I mentioned where's Brian? Why did't 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:53.880 he had out here? Where's it? What's going on? So? 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:58.160 I know I was a little busy last week, but 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:01.640 I would have loved Did you hit the green on sixteen? Briefly? 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:05.040 I did my my shot with a lot of penash 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:08.240 and a lot of flair. We had two shots, right, 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:10.160 you had the one when you're actually playing in the program, 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:13.080 and then the other one was for charity. So on 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:17.000 the program portion, I hit it and it starts leaking 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:20.720 out to the right uh h it's getting worse. It's 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:24.840 getting way worse. It hits the grandstand, hits it and 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:28.080 shoots like a hundred miles an hour across the green, 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.760 almost all the way over to the other side. Uh so, no, 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:33.680 I mean it rolled across the green, So I did 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:37.680 have there was time on the green. Did you get booed? No? 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:39.800 I didn't because there was so much flare around because 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:43.479 it was such a shocking shot. I actually got laughs, 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:46.280 So I'll take the laughs over the booze. But then 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:47.960 when I went back for charity, I put it like 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:52.480 fifteen ft away, So well, there you go. There's nothing 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:56.720 like that scene, yes, but but sixteen sixteen of Phoenix, 0:04:57.000 --> 0:04:59.880 the whole Phoenix thing is probably one of the most 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:04.360 electric environments, not only in golf, it's just sports. Right. 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:09.480 Are we becoming the like Bob Hope and I don't 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:13.240 know who else of like the celebrity golf circuit now? Yes, 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:16.880 I hope. I hope there's a generation of rat pack 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:23.440 esque wandering nomad golfer cock tailors in this world. And 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:25.520 I hope we're part of it. I hope we're part 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:29.120 of it too. How good was Bob? Was Bob really 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:31.600 good or did he just love the game? He loved 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:33.600 the game. I think, you know, he was probably like 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:37.320 tenor twelve handicapped, I'm guessing perfect, but but he loved 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.520 the game and was dedicated to it for sure. I 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:42.080 know he's always going between Palm Springs and l A 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:46.840 and that's right. Yeah, he loved it. All right. Thank 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.240 you for coming on and talking to me. I want 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:54.520 to start by going way back. I understand what you 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:58.159 were born in Kentucky, the birthplace of my father as well, 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:03.200 but early on moved to Kansas, and Kansas was really 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:06.279 important to you growing up. What was your experience growing 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:10.120 up there in Kansas. I couldn't ask for about a childhood. 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:12.839 I don't think. I was blessed with two loving parents 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:15.800 and a wonderful sister, so I wouldn't trade a minute 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:18.840 of it. I lived in suburbia, you know, Overland Park, Kansas, 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:21.960 which is a nice suburb just outside of Kansas City, 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:26.000 and uh, football in the fall and basketball in the winter, 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:28.840 and baseball in spring and going to the pool and 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:31.240 hanging out with your friends down to the creek in 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:32.839 the summer. You know, I mean, it was a pretty 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.440 idyllic childhood. So yeah, I loved it. I wouldn't I 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:40.080 wouldn't trade it for anything. Were you more interested in 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:42.760 in sports or the arts growing up? Where where was 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:47.480 your focus as a kid? I was a terrible student. Okay, 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:50.320 I was a great listener, but I just I got 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:54.240 bored very easily. So it's self entertained, which probably why 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:57.720 what we ended up in life in the arts. But athletics, though, 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:00.960 kind of grounded me and gave me some discipline and 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:03.599 kind of gave me a little something to hang my 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:07.320 hat on, to have a little self esteem about. You know, 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:10.239 when you're not great in the classroom, you want somebody 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:12.560 to say something nice about you or have something that 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.960 you shine at. And so athletics were a big part 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:18.840 of my life because I got kudos that way. I 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:23.280 got recognition, positive recognition, and you know, in the classroom, 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:24.840 I didn't tell you know I was. I was a 0:07:24.880 --> 0:07:27.840 C and B student. And it wasn't until probably my 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:30.640 junior senior year in high school that I started to 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:32.880 kind of apply myself a little more. Takes some of 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:36.200 the discipline I had in sports and apply it to 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:38.920 the classroom, and I got a little bit better and 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:40.600 I got a little more confidence you know. It's one 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:42.800 of those things too, where somebody tells you when you're 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:46.040 young that you're no good is something, and that's just it. 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.200 You're labeled that you believe it kind of just say 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:51.600 well that's the way that is. You don't know any better, 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:53.680 You don't you don't have the tools to overcome it, 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:55.880 or say well, actually I challenged that, or I don't 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:58.480 believe that, or so you go, oh yeah, they say 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:02.920 I'm a slow reader. That's me. I was a low reader, 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:04.760 you know. And then I'll go out and try to 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:07.160 be better at basketball or better at football or whatever 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:10.400 it was. You know. So athletics was was definitely a 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:14.760 part of my self esteem, self worth, um and discipline. 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.800 But I also my junior and senior year, I started 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:19.360 to come out of my shell Moore. I started to 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:23.080 get more confidence, and so I was on the high 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:26.600 school radio and television station. We had a thing called 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:30.200 forensics in my high school, which was like acting and 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:33.439 improvised acting, and I liked it because you didn't have 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.880 to commit to doing you know, my fair Lady for 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:38.760 the entire spring or whatever for the big spring production. 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:41.679 And I couldn't sing to save my life. I still 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:44.559 I only really nail it when I've had too much 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:47.440 to drink in it scaraoke night, and then I'm pretty 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:50.440 and I'm pretty awesome, at least I think so. I 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:52.320 think I'm pretty awesome, but I could never sing. So 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:56.200 but the forensics allowed me to try acting and try 0:08:56.800 --> 0:08:59.840 little scene work, and I loved it. I absolutely loved it. 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.120 And then when I got to college, I started again 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:04.720 to look into theater and film. I ended up becoming 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:07.600 a theater and film major at the University Kansas, and 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:09.800 I loved it. I mean, our stories are somewhat similar. 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:14.520 I was very sports focused early on. I would say 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:18.640 there was for me a seminal moment between junior and 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:21.000 senior year of high school where I was, you know, 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:24.480 sort of dabbling in theater or acting or you know, 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:27.680 doing shows, where for me there was a real shift 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:30.840 where I went, oh, no, this is what I want 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:33.600 to do. I want to be an actor. Did you 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:37.480 have that moment when you were in Kansas or making 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:40.199 the decision to study. Was it still just fun or 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:44.240 a way to to pass college, or or were you like, oh, 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:48.040 this is what I want. That's so interesting. I thought 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:49.920 about it, but I haven't really drilled down on it. 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:53.280 I think it was always there. It was a passion 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:56.319 that I just didn't believe in. I didn't trust it. 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:58.280 I didn't think it was possible. So I thought it's 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:02.000 a waste of time. White Honestly, this is late eighties, 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:06.880 early nineties in Kansas. You know, there's a whole lifetime 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:10.800 of conditioning, not from my parents necessarily, but from them 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:14.640 as well, but from coaches and teachers and peer group 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:18.080 and other people's parents, and you know, all these people 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:20.680 that I respected that we're like, oh, you know, we 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:22.880 love acting. Acting is great, but what are you really 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:25.840 gonna do? You know, you're gonna obviously have something else, 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.320 and you're not putting all your eggs in the acting basket. 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:31.040 That's not a plan. It's it's cute, but it's not 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:33.559 a plan. So what are you really gonna do? It's 0:10:33.679 --> 0:10:35.440 you know, And so I would be like, oh, well, yeah, no, 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:37.040 of course, yeah, of course I'm not going to just 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:40.000 do that. I've got other big plans. And but the 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.880 truth was, you know, I was a fan of comedy 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:47.080 and acting my whole life. I just didn't think it 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:48.880 was in the cards. You know, I thought the odds, 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.800 I'm I gamble, I know the odds on things right, 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:55.520 and the odds were like, yeah, chances are the most 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:57.240 acting I was gonna do is probably be right here 0:10:57.280 --> 0:10:59.719 in Lawrence's Lawrence, Kansas is not gonna go beyond this. 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:02.000 Uh So, what do I really got to do? Because 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:04.440 I am going to have to leave the house. Back then, 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:07.319 you were expected to leave the house at twenty two. 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:09.679 There was no grace period, you know, once you graduated. 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.800 You know, my dad had the plate breaking ceremony, Break 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:14.960 the plate and you're on your own, boy, good luck. 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:18.960 You know. I was expected to start my life and 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:22.200 so so act. I just never believed it was possible. 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:24.920 Not because for a little boy from Kansas, none of 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:27.439 that stuff. I'm just saying. I didn't like the odds. 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.679 I didn't like the odds of it actually happening. So 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:34.839 I didn't necessarily commit heart and soul to it, which 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:41.280 I learned that's required, that's required for your dreams at 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:44.640 a certain points. Yeah, at some point, you're gonna have 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:46.680 to commit heart and soul. You're gonna have to take 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.960 the leap of faith, You're gonna have to risk it. 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.480 You're gonna have to be so uncomfortable you're gonna have 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:56.520 to go through a lot of fear and a lot 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.160 of pain and a lot of failure. And nobody wants 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:03.360 those things. Nobody wants to fear the pain or the failure. 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:06.920 But that's you know, all the cliches are true. That's 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:08.719 where your dreams are on the other side of all 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:10.480 of that stuff. And if you can get through all 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:12.280 of that stuff, chances are you got a good shot 0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:15.160 at getting your dream. So I didn't believe it. So 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:18.080 I actually got my pilot's license when I was in college, 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:21.400 and I got a guaranteed flight contract with the Marine Corps, 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:23.520 and I was like, all right, I've always wanted to serve, 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:25.160 So I was like, yeah, this will be great. I'll 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:28.600 go do some my my time. I'll serve, I'll fly planes. 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:30.719 You know, I'm twenty two years old, with my hair 0:12:30.800 --> 0:12:33.480 on fire. I got my pilots licesnse, this will be great. 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:35.640 You know, I'm living my top gun fantasy. This is 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:39.560 whoo uh. Well, as I got into flight school and 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:42.240 it was great, it was fun, but the passion wasn't there. 0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:44.360 I didn't have the passion like I go out to 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:46.679 the bar with guys in my flight class, and they'd 0:12:46.679 --> 0:12:48.320 be talking with their hands. We're like, oh, man, I 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:51.120 did a breakup with Rendezvousdadana is about thirty seconds off 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:53.160 and I lost him in the cloud and I must 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:57.280 to drop two thousand three delevation. And I'm saying, going, yeah, okay, 0:12:58.000 --> 0:12:59.719 that's awesome, but that you know, do we have to 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:01.480 talk out it now? Because the girls over there, let's 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:03.880 go talk to them, you know. And so I realized, 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:06.600 you know, they were passionate, like that's what they're calling 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:10.040 was they wanted? And I could tell I don't know 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:11.920 if my passion is where it needs to be. So 0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:15.040 then I actually started doing some very interesting soul searching 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:17.840 at a very young age. I still didn't asking questions. 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:19.480 I was like, what do I want? What do I 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:21.560 really want? What am I passionate about? What I what 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:23.160 would get me out of bed every day and make 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:25.800 me run to the door and put up with things 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:27.520 I wouldn't already put up with? Just what would I do? 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:30.719 What is it? About? That time I get a call 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:33.520 from a friend I went to KU with and he 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:36.679 was up in Chicago doing improv Olympic and Second City 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:39.560 and all these improv things, and he said, um, hey, 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:43.400 real well, I'm doing this long form improv up here. 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:46.400 It's what we did in college, but it has a name. 0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:49.640 It's called improv because we used to do bits. We 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:53.320 used to do characters, we said, you know, and and 0:13:53.360 --> 0:13:55.240 we would just sit there and riff in the car, 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:57.840 in our room at a bar where we were. We'd 0:13:57.840 --> 0:14:00.760 actually fall into these root scenes and routines and we 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:03.960 call them bits or whatever. But we didn't know. We 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:05.600 just thought we were being funny. We just thought we 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:08.760 were super funny. He goes, no, it's there's actually structure 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.319 to it and it's a real thing. And he goes, personally, 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:14.160 I think you would do very very well up here. 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:15.560 I think you're better than some of the people that 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:18.600 are up here and they're getting success. And that seed 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:22.840 planted very firmly in my mind, and it was all 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:26.000 coming at the right time. When he said that, something 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:29.040 inside me lit and it made me believe and I 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:31.760 was willing to bet on myself for the first time, 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:34.080 I think maybe in my entire life. I mean, I 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:36.520 bet on our team. And you know, I was always 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:38.040 good as a team work, but for me to be 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:41.000 the you know, that never happened. So that was the 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:44.160 turning point for me where I said, Okay, well I 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.120 looked at my contract and it's like, oh yeah, eight 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:47.720 years after you pin on your wings and on this 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:50.160 I was like, oh god, So I had to stop 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:53.880 flight school become a ground officer because if I didn't 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:56.320 do that, I would have been a twenty year active 0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:58.880 duty marine flying planes. And that was fine. I would 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:00.400 had a great life, but it wouldn't I would have 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:03.760 never tried acting in comedy. And I can live with 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:06.200 the failure more than I can live without knowing. So 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:11.240 I switched to the ground side. Shortened my commitment and uh. 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:13.800 And then then I started finding my way to New 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:16.600 York City. That was my whole, my path New York. 0:15:17.320 --> 0:15:21.920 So you you were on the path. I never realized 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:26.320 that would have been twenty years in active military. Yeah, 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:29.000 and I ended up doing twenty three. Yeah. I did 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:32.480 plan on that at all. Yeah. I mean, and you 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:41.840 served overseas. This was the first nine years, right, Liberia, Kosovo, Albania, Afghanistan, yep. Yeah, 0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:45.800 and did several non military tours USO tours as well 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:51.960 to Iraq and Afghanistan and places like that. That's so incredible. 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.920 We truly owe you so much and I thank you 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:59.640 as always for your service. I just respect the hell 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:02.680 out of you for that. Well, you're very kind. While 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:07.920 you're doing this, you you clearly have already gotten bit 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:12.360 by the bug and have these plans. Are you doing 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:16.160 anything while you're in active service in terms of improv 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:20.200 or shows? Are you what are you doing during that 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:24.840 time to potentially help prepare you? Yeah, it was very true. 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:26.640 It was tricky. So when I when I quit flying, 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:30.600 I was down in um Corpus Christie, Texas, and I 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.440 was about to be shipped back to Pensacola. And that's 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:35.040 when I made my switch to the ground side. So 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:37.040 when I switched the ground side, they said, okay, fine. 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:38.960 They looked at the fact that I had done all 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:42.120 this radio and television and theater and film stuff and 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.480 in college, so they said, all right, well now you're 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:47.720 a public affairs officer. So they sent me to Defense 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:51.880 Information School in Indiana for about four months, and then 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:55.240 from there they sent me to North Carolina Marine Corps 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:57.760 Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, second Maarin Air Wing, 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:01.560 So I joined. I lived on that base for the 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:05.320 next three years. And while I was there, I was 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.360 fulfilling my my you know, my contract. There's not much 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:10.760 to do in eastern North Carolina when you're you know, 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:15.960 seven years old. So I went to night school. I 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:19.720 got a master's in public administration, because you know, just 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:22.040 idle hands with the Devil's workshop. So I just I 0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:24.040 tried to stay busy, you know. I tried to stay 0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:26.919 kept my nights full, trying to prepare myself so that 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:29.960 when when I was freed up from my service, I 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.960 would be able to go do go do things. So 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:36.040 the I remember the chief of staff for the second 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:38.199 Ary in aarrowing I saw that I was, I was 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:40.679 getting out and I just gotten promoted to captain, and 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:42.159 he was like, why are you leaving? Why you leave 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:43.600 with the court, Why are you leaving all this glory? 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:44.880 You know, why I leave it, all this good stuff. 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.840 I'm like, well, you know, and I didn't. I didn't 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:51.600 talk much about, well, I'm gonna go be a comedian, 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:53.520 you know, I want to go be an actor, you know, 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.760 because it was generally frowned upon or laughed at or teased. 0:17:57.200 --> 0:17:59.439 It's all because they just nobody gets it, and I 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:01.879 don't have time to explain it to everybody. So I 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:03.680 just didn't talk about I just didn't talk about it 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:05.560 very much, but I I my intent was to go 0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:09.280 from North Carolina to Chicago. Um, and I was going 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:13.680 to wait tables and bartend and take classes at Second 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:16.399 City and improv Olympic. That was that was my That 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:20.639 was my plan. And uh the chief of staff came 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:22.439 in and said, and he's like, what would it take 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:24.680 for you to stay in the Marines? And I said, well, 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:26.959 you know, so I think I want to try some 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:29.280 things and I want to go Chicago to do what 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:30.240 what are you doing? What do you? What are you? 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:31.879 What are you doing such a secret? I think I 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:33.720 want to be an actor comedian. He's like, oh god, 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:40.040 you know, Okay, here we go. So um he said, uh, well, 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:41.360 what if I can get your orders to New York 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:42.960 City or Los Angeles. And I said, well, if you 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:44.719 can give it a new orders to New York Los Angeles, 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:47.920 I'll I'll extend on active duty. I'll give you three 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:51.600 more years. And uh he called my bluff. The next day, 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:54.680 I had orders to New York City, so I said okay, 0:18:54.960 --> 0:18:57.480 So I signed on for three more years. I moved 0:18:57.480 --> 0:19:01.399 to New York City and I was the deputy director 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:04.959 up there for Public affairs in New York and I 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:08.800 did Marine Corps stuff from seven to five every day. Uh, 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:11.359 And then in the evenings, like every other body, I 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:14.480 went home from work, but instead I went to try 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:16.399 to do comedy. And when I first got there, I 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:18.199 didn't know anything. I didn't know what I was doing. 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:20.119 I didn't know where to start. I didn't have any connections. 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:24.040 I didn't know anything. Wow. So you you really just 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:27.399 arrived to New York City on a wing and a prayer. 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:31.000 How did you get started then in the comedy scene? 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:35.160 What was your in? So? I remember there was a 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:37.480 stand up club up in my neighborhood. I lived on 0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:40.520 the Upper east Side, the Comic Strip Live. I think 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:44.199 Comic Strip Live on eighty three and Second Avenue. I 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:47.199 walked by it one day because, like I said, I 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:49.960 didn't know anybody. So literally, when I got to my neighborhood, 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:54.080 I just started walking in these ever expanding concentric circles. Right. 0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:56.359 I was like, Oh, there's my grocery store. There's a 0:19:56.440 --> 0:19:59.760 very dirty gristiis, I'll shop there, here's my here's a 0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:01.720 law dream Matt. That's where I'll take my clothes because 0:20:01.720 --> 0:20:03.520 I don't have washer and dryer and I found a 0:20:03.560 --> 0:20:05.560 sports bar. I was like, ah, this is a really 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:07.640 cool sports bar. This is where I watched my sports 0:20:07.960 --> 0:20:10.680 you know, maybe me, maybe meet friends. I mean I knew, 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:13.640 I knew no one. And I sat down started talking 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.600 to the bartender. He was English. He's, uh, you look 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:19.480 like you big man, big man. You haven't play any rugby. 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:22.560 I was like, no, no, you know, I saw played. 0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:25.920 I played American football. This is not all right, Well 0:20:26.359 --> 0:20:29.280 show up here next week and uh, you know, And 0:20:29.320 --> 0:20:31.879 so I started playing rugby. It turns out that sports 0:20:31.920 --> 0:20:34.120 bar was the the rugby bar for the New York 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:36.479 Rugby Football Club, which is the oldest one in New 0:20:36.520 --> 0:20:39.080 York whever. So is this all of a sudden. I 0:20:39.119 --> 0:20:42.600 found myself on the weekends bartending at this bar, and 0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:44.320 I didn't have a car, so I would show up 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:46.119 and there's always a couple of guys and everybody just 0:20:46.200 --> 0:20:48.720 dog piling the cars. And we go underneath the tribe 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:52.320 of Bridge and we practice rugby and I, you know, 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:54.560 I'm getting smashed and the hell beat out of me, 0:20:54.600 --> 0:20:56.159 and I don't know what I'm doing. I'm tackling with 0:20:56.200 --> 0:20:58.480 my head instead of my shoulders, and so I'm getting 0:20:58.520 --> 0:21:01.800 my bell rung every day. And but I instantly, within 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:04.080 you know, two weeks of living there, I had all 0:21:04.119 --> 0:21:07.280 these friends and people. They were really nice, and people 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:08.679 are like, hey, hang out with us, or what are 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:10.040 you doing tonight? Do you want to have a beer, 0:21:10.119 --> 0:21:11.960