RE-RELEASE - Chris Rock

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0:45Dana Carvey:You can even upgrade to 4K cameras and doorbells with rings, retinal vision, which means super clear footage and the ability to zoom in without everything turning into a blurry mess. Perfect for identifying whether that's your package or your neighbor pretending it's theirs. For me, it's just peace of mind, whether it's packages, the yard, keeping an eye on things when you're busy, your dog, whatever. Ring makes it easy and reliable. Your door, your yard, your home. Honestly, it's the only way I know what I panic bought at 2 a.m. And with Ring, it's protected. Shop cameras, doorbells, and more right now at ring.com all right we got our boy chris rock who is a rock very good friend and great guy a great guy and one of the funniest guys out there in real life on phone calls on uh and on stage obviously he did that special um where he finally talked about the will smith situation and we oh yeah we helped with that a lot we were live after after his I think it was the biggest, whatever, the highest numbers or something.

1:54Yeah, they did one. That was the first live show.

1:55Dana Carvey:Yeah, live, and it was global. But that was amazing. We talked to Chris about everything. We covered the gamut. We just laughed, basically. The sound's a little itchy because it was one of the first ones we ever did. But it's still fine. He's always very interesting to talk to. And he kind of opened up toward the end and talks about this apartment that he got. and it was sort of the, one of the first times he's ever sort of bought something for himself or something like that. But we get into his childhood and all kinds of stuff. It's very, very interesting. And it's always funny with Chris Rock.

2:28Always lots of laughs. Here he is, Chris Rock.

2:35Rock said I could stay there. Hang on, Dana. I wet the bed. And so I said I shouldn't stay at his house because I feel embarrassed. You still wet the bed.

2:43Dana Carvey:I was a bed wetter. There's no way to get out of a wet bed with any dignity. what happened dear but anyway that's we'll get to the childhood stuff in a minute but chris on a day off for you not a family baby day but a chris day like it's going to be totally off no emails you're going to have fun does that great chris day include having to go on a podcast

3:09because you know you're performing i love the lady but i really love speak i know yeah so you had to do it. Rock and I came in together. Yeah, thank you, Rock. Almost anything for Dana, but anything.

3:23Dana Carvey:No, but you guys were the junior varsity who outdid the varsity, but we had a junior varsity team consisting of Farley, you, Sandler, Schneider, and David. I mean, it was an incredible junior varsity team that was being trained to take over when we left, in a way, right? No? It was, yeah. It's amazing that Farley, like Kobe Bryant, came off the bench. People forget. Yeah. Oh, yeah. We do a whole show. We go, hey, how about this guy, Farley? I don't even know why they hired us because normally they bring in the new people when the old people are, you know, not doing great. You guys were in rare form.

4:10Dana Carvey:I mean, that was, you know, that was the beginning of a 18, 20 person cast. When I came in, it was like basically four feature players or there were six total. And that was the beginning. And now there's like 21. So it never went back to just five people being the cast right after that. No, I don't think. Yeah, I went the other night. I couldn't believe how long the credit roll was. Don Pardo's like, Jimmy. I'll rope her. I'll rope her on SNL. Like, I couldn't believe. It's like, how many people are in this cast? We started, it was just so people know. I came on the end four shows of the previous season.

4:58So Rob Schneider and I got hired to write for four episodes. On those four, Dice Clay was the host. We had a couple of good ones. you know, Alec Baldwin's first show. And then when the summer came, we got picked up. And then that's when Rock and Farley came, right, Rock? Were you a full cast or were you a feature player? Me and Farley got brought on together. We were the new guys that year. Yeah. So we were all sort of new together. Yeah. So we got close offices and we, rock who people don't know because he's tough on tv so am i i've come off like a hard-ass athlete but rock is a nice person and i was sort of an out of my element from arizona and we gravitated just because we were kind of in over our heads like everyone is there i guess when they yeah i mean well you know they always had that thing it was the stand-ups and the improv guys yeah yeah And the improv guys were more technically prepared for the show.

6:04But the stand-up guys, because we write our own material and we live and die by the crowd, we were more, I thought, mentally prepared for the show. Because the show is - Yeah, the show is - It killed or it didn't kill. Yeah. Like we could, you know what I mean? like the stand-ups I thought were less into the politics of who likes who and who's close with Downey and who's close with Lauren that's like improv guys because they're thinking they're they're in a group think and stand like Sandler to come from writing on the show and this by force of nature make himself you know the biggest cast member a huge only a stand-up could do some crazy shit like that yeah i think i got on i caught on a sailor we always thought he's funny but chris dana you we all know great comedians that never pop or never make it and i'm like i watch a guy go this guy's better than me and i probably make more you know i mean they're just right they don't get discovered and when you see sandler i think it was somewhere around crazy spoonhead where i'm I'm like, this fucking guy does not run out of ideas.

7:13He does not stop. And he just fucking crushes. It's every week. It was a new one. I'm like, God damn, this guy's got it.

7:21Dana Carvey:He would crawl around on all fours down the hallway. I'd be in my office and I'd hear a little knock. And he would come in so gently and so quietly. But he wanted me to introduce Opera Man because he'd done it once and they didn't what? you know so that i from update somehow i introduced it and it was separate and he had a little stage and that was the beginning but when i first saw sandler his likability and charm let's just talk about him for a sec he'll hate it hey just sitting in a chair and leaning back hey it was like whoa you know and the girls liked him let's face it and uh then he's adam sandler but i was the original Pete Davidson.

8:04He was...

8:07Dana Carvey:Yeah. Pete Davidson. Great comic, but I am fascinated by who he has sex with. I mean, that's a big part of my life, following that thing. Rock, I have a question about when you did your first... Do you have, like, questions prepared? Did you guys actually... Yeah, we care about you. My goal was for you not to be bored. Like, so you got an SNL, and then Bring the Pain really blew up, right? Oh, my God. You know what I mean? So I have questions for you that I'm actually curious, like as if we were hanging out. Yeah. But if you want us to ask about anything, let us know. I'll answer anything you want.

8:43I'm curious about if Rock felt if it was not fair, but I did one weekend update in my first four shows and it scared the fuck out of me. We all weren't really actors. We hadn't done much. so Rock's first show they were so salivating over Rock to come in and do all these sketches they couldn't do that I remember I think they overloaded you with so many because there was a confederate sketch especially yes I almost I got SNL hadn't had a black cast member like nine years most people think I'm the black guy after Eddie I'm actually the black guy after Damon Wayans and living color was killing it at this point and it was like a bunch of whatever snl so white articles or whatever and then i got hired so yeah there was like this immediate thing well like you're gonna do some eddie murphy stuff right like i don't do any impressions they brush off all the old that's a lot of pressure

9:48Dana Carvey:you know the Eddie Murphy type stuff I don't do any impressions I don't do any voices you know what I mean like I do what I do I mean you know but uh so yeah I guess there was pressure you have to do act and you have to look at cue cards and you know just being in one sketch you're terrified all week or I was and you have to inch your way in and you were like hosting that first time because I remember you were in a lot of sketches they're pulling you every which way you have a million costume changes and the scariest one was I was a soldier in the Confederate soldier. I don't know what the sketch was.

10:20You were the first black general or something. I don't know. And Franken wrote it. Franken. And he was fucking roughing you up. No one should have to work with Franken the first year on the show. Never. That's what I was getting at is he's so tough. Now, what are you doing? It's like, okay, you've been on two years. Now you can work without Franken. God damn.

10:40Dana Carvey:He was intimidating. He's great. He's an amazing guy, but, you know. He's a little intimidating because he doesn't, He's very blunt. That wasn't very funny. You have to get used to that. He's the white Lou Gossett Jr. from Office of the Hill. 100%. What you going to do, mayonnaise? Was it that we called? Mayonnaise. Mayonnaise. Because I remember that sketch. He's the Jewish Lou Gossett. Rock, but was it weird? Because I didn't really think about it that way. But In Living Color is doing great. You must feel like you're almost stuck on SNL because. it's like fuck I should be honest I mean I loved it and I loved you guys but it was a weird you know I'm sure Jackie Robinson used to like go to Harlem after the fucking games with the Dodgers and shit it's like shit's happening uptown why am I here with Pee Wee Reese Pee Wee Reese good reference when you went on In Living Color you finally went on there was it fun or was it not fun at that point No, but I finally got there.

11:45The Waynes were gone. Keenan was gone. I was like, I don't even know what the hell I was on. I was on, but it was weird. I got to work with Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx was there. You know, all of that SNL and Live in Color, it was just for me to make friends and to kind of learn about writing and writing on a deadline. All of that was just training. And, you know, I was supposed to do stand-up. Thank God. it's a humbling boot camp that just reminds you that everyone got there because they were good and then you're immediately shit on and you're i mean it's like a wake-up call like oh fuck i'm not the first guy to like maybe you know the show wasn't perfect for me but you know julia louise dreyfus stiller you know oh yeah it's like a lot of people that

12:35Dana Carvey:kind of, you know. Jim Carrey, I auditioned with Jim Carrey, you know? I mean, and I thought, well, they gotta pick Jim Carrey. Guy's insane. Oh. But then he killed on In Living Color. I auditioned, the night I auditioned, the night me and Sam were auditioned. We were at the Chicago Improv. And Dana Gould was so good. Oh, wow. I left the audition. Yeah. I didn't even stand a meet-up. Sam Fred guy. Yeah. Yeah. I like, okay, this is over. This guy. Smart, funny. Smart, funny, like, whatever. Like this guy is so much better than me. I am out of my league and I left. And later that night, Lauren, you know, whatever, found out what hotel I was in and told me to come downstairs and basically told me I had to show.

13:28I didn't even like, that's how good Dana Gould was. Like, let me get the fuck out of here. Cause I'm wasting my time.

13:34Dana Carvey:I think with Lorne, it's like almost a sports analogy or something. He's looking at if people can play well together a little bit. Well, actually, I asked him that in reference to Dana Gould, it is not like Dana has had a great career writing on The Simpsons. It's fucking great, great specials, the whole thing. Lorne said the thing, I said, what did you see in us? Because I was like, what did you see in me and Sam? Because we both were like, what the fuck are we doing here? and he said well you guys had original thought yeah that's a big thing is writing they always look at the writing we both had like a joke somewhere that he hadn't heard before and that's why he hired us what would be like at that time didn't Sandler have the thing about who's guarding Will Chamberlain the Will Chamberlain thing is one of the greatest pieces of comedy That should be an NFT.

14:32Dana Carvey:Explain that. It should be an NFT. It was so original and so funny, but I want to know what your signature thing you might have had, or your go-to. Your most surefire bit, you know? I had a bit about going to an abortion rally to meet women that I knew were fucking. That was... I remember that. That was pretty radical. That was radical. in 1989, 90. Whoa! Well, Rock came with more hype than Sandler, I think. I think Rock, when I got there, everyone was telling me and I also heard a lot of hype about Farley and then we knew Sandler from the Valley, so me, Schneider, and maybe Dennis, maybe Dana were helping and saying Sandler's funny.

15:21He came soon after, but it was, we were like, first, you can tell if people had game and And sometimes you can just tell around the office, you can tell it read through, but I definitely was looking around that place going, everyone's great. It's on, I mean, when you go down to Jack Handy, talk about original thoughts. Every Jack Handy sketch, I'm in read through going, you're fucking shitting me. I should quit the business. I don't even know what I'm doing. He would hit, he would, the weirdest ideas. Yeah. Hey man, I remember Mike Myers, just shit that didn't get on. And I still remember it to this day.

15:58I'm like, what the fuck?

16:00Dana Carvey:I've mentioned to people, they asked me about, oh, the greatest cast, whatever. And I mentioned specifically 90 to 93 because there were too many cylinders firing. And you'd have a Toontz is the cat or Myers do sprockets. You do Nat X. David do this. Sandler, you guys were coming up and getting a fan following. I think those three years was like sometimes I'd sit back and go, man, that show kicked ass. Because they got the overlap. They got you guys and we're coming up and it's crossing. And then you guys all leave and then it's just us. Yeah, we had Phil, we had Jan, we had, you know, it's just like, that was a wild time.

16:34It was insane. I learned more there than I had learned at any other time in my life. And good people, you know. You know what's interesting? You told me about Nicki Minaj years and years ago. I didn't know who Nicki Minaj was. And you go, I said something about her and you go, actually, she's really funny. She's got a great personality. And that was the first of me going, oh, really? I like that you look at it with those eyes because sometimes I look at, I can't help it when I meet women or, and not that you were dating them, but when you just meet women, that sort of easy, funny thing that comes out of them is always really a great quality because they don't try to be like Robin Williams.

17:12They're just, they're a funny personality. I love it. Well, you know, you're a handsome guy, David. So you think you have a chance. I don't think I have a chance. You're the good looking guy. Whenever we go out, they like rock better. Okay. They always go, why aren't you Chris Rock? And I go, I can't be. Don't you get more handsome than ever, Chris?

17:32Dana Carvey:Don't you get that? Oh, thank you. It's not like you're aging horribly. I'll just say that you're very gracious. We're all doing well. He looks cooler when he gets older. Yeah, if I lean back and have the mic here, I'm in good shape. The neck is not happy with this age, but this is pretty good. You lose volume in your face, and your face recedes into your skull, so you need glasses this is something Jerry Seinfeld will do eventually but can I should I ask you kind of off the kilter I asked you a question last night because I'm name dropping who did you have dinner with you guys last night me, Jerry Paul McCartney good Guy O 'Carrie Jimmy Fallon JR.

18:24Dana Carvey:Did they shut down the restaurant? What the fuck? Aziz, I'm sorry. Which Cheesecake Factory? So Paul McCartney goes, you know, I'd like something, you know, a little sudsy on the top. And Jerry goes, I don't want anything with suds. Sorry, go ahead. I didn't say that as a name drop. I was just feeding Dana. I love that. I do Jerry Seinfeld as a serial killer because I don't think, Jerry has two gears and fallon does this one gear but sometimes jerry goes when he did his president bit someone wanting to be president i think i'm just the right guy for that thing i think i could do president too he has that do ba do do do so i do him as a serial killer i'm just gonna go in cut your spleen go down the living do the thing anyway sorry i could do paul mccartney killed killed kills um so what do you like so when you're in that situation with those people you just look at the table and kind of go i belong right i mean you're chill i mean you you're in that situation we're in that situation right now we're all pretty accomplished us three um yeah i mean hey nobody looks at paul mccartney and goes i should be here how you doing my equal But he's so, there's no way like it.

19:43Maybe Jerry. But, you know, through lots of therapy, yeah, I can kind of relax. But McCartney seems like he likes to hang out. Funny people also get a pass. They like little court jesters around. I've been invited to shit out of mostly curiosity factor. They just go, Spade, go. Keep things moving. I'm like, beep, beep, beep, boop, boop. You know what I mean? They like that you're going to say something funny. you're enough David you don't have to be a jester you're enough I just got the results back I have to be they told me my therapist told me 4th of July savings are happening now at the Home Depot with select appliances starting at$398 plus get free delivery on appliance purchases of$398 or more no membership required upgrade your kitchen with a modern and sleek GE profile refrigerator featuring hands-free autofill for the perfect pour every time and make laundry day easier with two-in-one washer-dryer combo innovation that completes laundry in about 90 minutes.

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21:23Dana Carvey:I'm right here. Don't miss the return of Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again. So what's next? I've been liberated. We're gonna take this city back. Over-Medicated. In an all-new season now streaming only on Disney+. us they're hunting us it's time we started hunting them i can work with them this should be tons of fun marvel televisions daredevil born again now streaming only on disney plus so chris so i i went into therapy with conan's therapist i piggybacked on his therapist at five i was in it for five years what right what so you went through it intensely right so what's the headline what is what's the takeaway for you you know mine was is that i have a hard time taking care of myself i'm always trying to help other people that'd be one of them you know i bought a guitar for my nephew a really nice guitar and then i had a hard time buying myself a guitar and i have a lot of money and i said god i'm sick so yeah i mean honestly this apartment is probably the first real purchase i've made for myself in about 28 years right since i got that corvette for an snl that snl like like life-changing purchase like and so what was that yeah i know what you mean like yeah always do it for other people uh i don't know i mean what i've learned in therapy is like you know childhood trauma is like some real shit and you gotta until you deal with all your childhood shit nothing you just you know nothing's gonna work out for you you gotta you gotta start at the beginning it's like working on a script okay page one so when i met you you were a young man but I were you ever kind of like snarky and spoiled in high school because by the time I met you you seemed kind of like this guy at least in maturity you weren't bitter you weren't snarky you were never in a group with comedians kind of uh shitting on some other comedian so I noticed that attitude you had as a young man but I guess the childhood stuff for me it was like I had a lot of anger and it, it was in my standup.

23:51Dana Carvey:It was in my characters. And once in a while I'd go off on any kind of authority figure that turned into my dad. But I, I got, you know, I got past that, but I, how did your anger express itself then to you? I mean, here's the weird thing. It's when I was, um, I mean, my child, I was bullied ridiculously half of it, the bullying is because I was just a little guy. and then i got busted school so i got i was a little guy and i was black right it's hard so it's like i'm getting double bullied i would if i was white i would have probably got bullied too but it was just like ah you're also supposed to be tough probably yeah it was pretty rough right and it was pretty like every day so i it's weird i had a weird uh temper i'm gonna it's gonna be a weird thing.

24:44I was the oldest of seven and I was weirdly smaller than my younger brothers. So it was a weird thing where your brothers like, hey, so-and-so down the block bothered me. And I'm like, I got to fucking go protect Andre or Tony. And I'm fucking smaller than them. As my shrink puts it to me, you have been scared to be angry ever since. So the guy you saw was bending over backwards to be nice because I was so scared of my anger. Yeah, I see. I was frightened of what, you know, my shrink, the good shrink I got, you know, like the top, top guy. there's good ones and bad ones there's good ones and bad ones you know and he broke it down it's like because you're a nice guy and you're so scared of that thing coming out of you again yeah that you let the whole world walk all over your friends walk over your family walks over you your your your female relationships like everybody just you over because it's somewhere in there they know you, there's a force feel holding you back.

26:06Dana Carvey:Interesting. So in the weird way, I'm like the opposite of you in the sense that in the last year, now I can get angry. I'm not scared of letting people know how I feel about certain things. My therapy was about that too, though, because I was always the nice guy holding stuff in and not really, my aggression, my competitiveness overrode the nice guy, because people who ask me who meet me now well did you just allow other cast members like oh no lauren do their sketch that kind of thing there was a natural competition in me but in my personal relationships i hated confrontation because when confrontation happened at my house bodies flew my dad was just really violent so i mean all my siblings are like that we don't like confrontation that goes too far It wasn't violent per se, but it was loud as fuck.

26:59Those things stick with you, just loud. Yeah, it just sticks with you. So now, yeah, I can tell you, hey, I didn't like what you said to me, or I didn't like what you, without losing my head, without hitting anybody.