Woody says I can make jokes, but I don't get them - I'm always looking deeper for the meanings.
When I used to watch comedians with my dad, he laid it all out for me. He wanted to be a comedian himself, and he was so funny. We'd watch stand-up on TV, and he'd tell me the subtext of what they were saying.
My sense of stand up comedy would be so esoteric.
Great Canadian comics are often outsiders and insiders at the same time. That's a great perspective for a comedian.
I feel like I'm the most well-adjusted character on the show, even though I'm sure the other actors would tell you the same thing about their characters.
I think comedians see themselves as people among people.
I think having an outsider's viewpoint is interesting and good, especially for a comedian.
To a guy like me, a laugh is full of information.
It's a required part of your film history to know who Woody is. His movies are so wonderful, and not just funny but so insightful about human behavior.
I remember my dad turning to me - my dad loves to turn to me and explain why things are funny. He used to do that with Seinfeld all the time. He did it with Colombo, too, set the scene.
Executives do not on the whole do well with comedy. They can't understand it, they can't read it, they can't spot it.
I think any good standup or actor is part philosopher, part psychologist and sociologist, because you're constantly recreating behaviors.
I remember going to Bob Preston's dressing room because I was losing a laugh - as you do in a long run. He said, 'Give me the script. That's where you're going off the road.' That's comedy. It's never the line itself; it's in the foundation.
Every comedian has a moment in his life when he realizes he's a little bit different from everyone else. It's like being the only guy in a movie who sees the ghost. The ghost talks to you and you talk to him. Then you turn to your friend and say, "Hey. Do you see that ghost? And he says, What ghost?"
