All these things that enter your head are assignments. You write them up and then throw them out there and if someone wants to do it, your assignment is done.
When kids like Steven Spielberg were eight and nine and 10, they had little cameras, and that's all they wanted to do. When I was 10, I was in my attic pretending to host my own variety show. Spielberg wasn't. That's why he's a film director, and I'm doing what I'm doing.
One of my great influences was Don Knotts as Barney Fife.
My natural state is to be happy. I'm naturally buoyant. I wake up feeling, 'What a great morning!' I've had some tragedy in my life, absolutely, but I don't know one human being who hasn't. You either learn from it and become empowered by it, or you become a victim to it. It's life, after all.
Eugene Levy is my closest friend.
David Lynch and I almost made a movie together in the late '80s. We had lots of dinners and lunches. He's a very cool, hip guy. This film, let's face it, is like an homage to him, I would imagine he'd find it funny.
My mother was the concert master of the symphony. Absurdity and eccentricity were not criticized.
All you're trying to do in an improvisation is get as much material as possible for the editing room.
I've never done an improvised movie as a fictitious character. I think that's the challenge.
Being the youngest of five, you're adored, you're fueled with confidence.
Any time you're honoured by your home, it's a bigger deal than most.
People do think I'm Jewish. But we're Irish Catholic. My father had a brogue.
Why does 'I Love Lucy' still make people laugh? Because she's a specific character who has real reactions.
I hate to lull the audience into letting them think that something is something. It's always fun to defy expectations.
You try to figure out things to keep yourself interested. It's very easy to get lulled.
Often audiences vary... but I've always found Milwaukee to be a fabulous place to play with great audiences and very hip.
Comedy is so subjective. If you trip and fall down, some people will laugh, and some people will say, 'Oh, physical comedy is so pedestrian.' Some people look at Three Stooges as lowbrow; some people consider them artists. No one is wrong. It's just a personal take.
You go through publicists because it's easy for a publicist to say to another publicist, 'No'.
The mark of the man is how he responds to situations. You're not going to avoid tough times. We're all over the barrel some of the time. What are you going to do about it?
I remember, as a kid, nothing struck me funnier than seeing Richard Nixon look into the camera and sincerely tell everyone he didn't know where the 18 minutes had gone from his tapes. But there was all this sweat on his upper lip. We knew he was lying. He knew we knew he was lying. But he was determined to tell the lie.
