In stand-up, there's that idea that comedy comes from a dark place, but it's not a rule.
Well, all comedy starts with anger. You get angry, and its never for a good reason, right? You know its not a good reason. And then you try and work it from there.
The secret source of humor is not joy but sorrow.
SpongeBob is a complete innocent - not an idiot. SpongeBob never fully realizes how stupid Patrick is. They're whipping themselves up into situations - that's always where the humor comes from.
Sometimes a scene may be about one thing, and it may end up still being about that, but the emotionality of it comes from somewhere else, or the humor of it comes from somewhere else, and it gives it that real-life quality.
Molly Shannon and I used to always talk about that we really felt strongly that we were comedic actors, that we weren't comedians. You just played things real and the comedy came out of the context.
I think we grew up thinking that the funniest things on TV were the old, serious movies. I always liked the Marx Brothers, but the thing that always made us laugh were movies like Zero Hour. That's what inspired us.
Humor is always more interesting when it comes from someone who's had more than, like, five experiences.
My mom is very good at being passive-aggressive, and my Dad is a total wiseass, so I think the mixture of the two of them is my comedy. But, I am definitely the first comedian in my family.
I thought it was funny. I always thought Star Wars and Indiana Jones were basically comedies. The humour came out of their relationships; it came out of the fact that we were basically types.
That's what I think works the best, and what I think makes the best comedy - something that's completely committed and more approached as an acting exercise, as opposed to being worried about whether to be funny or not. The comedy comes from the context.
It's always been said that comedy comes mostly out of the dark side anyway.
I get my sense of humor from my parents. That's why they don't have one anymore.
Of course, my whole theory of comedy is based in reality. The funniest stuff comes from real life.
People always ask about my dad and his comedic influence. It's funny because my mom is really the comedian of our household.
As a comedian, I'm like one of those on-the-scene reporters. I will actually go and try to find disasters so I can write jokes as the disasters unfold.
A lot of joking stems from a very dark place a bit.
Have you seen the film Histoires D'Amérique? It's also a mixture of humor and monologue, and it shows how the Jewish humor comes from drama and tragedy.
When I did 'Sex and the City,' it was like, 'Let's do a comedy where the humor is not coming from innuendo but from the a truthful place. This is a show where we're going to be able to say and do what we want.'
My theory is that comedy comes from little people.
I draw from the most pompous people, who are the people that make me laugh the most.
I don't have a caustic sense of humor. What I find funny, that humor comes from a much gentler place.
I'm always either listening to 'Hamilton,' which makes me cry, or Giggs, who makes me laugh.
I got my sense of humor from my grandmother. You know, my grandmother was very funny.
There's always a source for humor.
