Dec. 26, 2024

Anthony Jeselnik's Villainous Persona

Show Notes
Transcript

Inside the Stand-Up World's Minds: Interviews with Comedy's Best
In today's episode, Johnny Mac discusses an insightful interview with comedian Anthony Jeselnik about his stage persona, his approach to storytelling in stand-up, and why he prefers not having an origin story for his character. The episode also features excerpts from Sheng Wang on his upbringing and career, Jim Gaffigan's experiences touring with Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno and Adam Carolla's thoughts on the evolution of stand-up comedy, and Brandy Denise's journey into comedy and career aspirations. Johnny also provides his personal take on Adam Sandler's comedy and dramatic roles.

00:13 Anthony Jeselnik's Villainous Persona
01:21 Jeselnik on Personal Life and Comedy
03:12 Sheng Wang's Background and Comedy Journey
04:11 Jim Gaffigan on Touring with Seinfeld
04:30 Jay Leno and Adam Carolla on Comedy's Evolution
06:52 Brandi Denise's Path to Comedy

TAGS 5 Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed! You also get 20+ other shows on the network ad-free!

This podcast supports Podcasting 2.0 if you’d like to support the show via value for value and stream some sats!

https://linktr.ee/dailycomedynews

Contact John at john@thesharkdeck dot com

John’s free substack about the media: Media Thoughts is mcdpod.substack.com

DCN on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@dailycomedynews

You can also support the show at www.buymeacoffee.com/dailycomedynews

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/daily-comedy-news--4522158/support.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:10.839
Callaroga Shark Media. Hey there, I'm Shonny Mack with your

2
00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:13.400
daily comedy news. Ope you had a good Christmas. Crack

3
00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:16.480
dot com did a really fantastic interview with Anthony Jessenick,

4
00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:19.079
and they are curious about the character he portrays on

5
00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:22.399
stage and asked him does the character have a backstory.

6
00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:26.079
Jess Nic said, I have no backstory villain. I love.

7
00:00:26.199 --> 00:00:27.640
We don't know what's happening here, We don't know what

8
00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:30.239
their problem is. My character was like the Devil's Son,

9
00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:33.039
where there's no motivation other than just being evil. I

10
00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:34.960
don't want to get into here's my upbringing. If I

11
00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:36.880
had a better babysitter, and maybe I wouldn't be like this.

12
00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:39.479
I wanted none of that because that stuff always sucks.

13
00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:41.039
You don't know why I'm like this. You don't have

14
00:00:41.079 --> 00:00:42.799
to know, and I love that. I'm very interested in

15
00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:44.920
villains and what makes someone a good villain. A lack

16
00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:48.359
of an origin story is always preferable to me. Yeah. Remember,

17
00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:52.399
I was a Trevor Batman movie, Dark Knight. Is it

18
00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:54.200
just called the Dark Knight? The second one where the

19
00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:57.320
Joker tells a different origin story every time? Fascinating jess

20
00:00:57.399 --> 00:01:00.399
Nick said, every New Hour, I can resurrect everyone. The

21
00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:02.679
mom dies in the last bushl she's back alive. Now

22
00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:04.920
I've got five brothers and sisters, and now I've got one.

23
00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:07.519
Now I'm an only child. The audience doesn't care. They

24
00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:09.280
recognize me, but they're just in it for the story.

25
00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:11.280
It doesn't really matter what's true and what's not. And

26
00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:13.000
I don't write a whole New Hour until the special

27
00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:14.719
hits because I don't want any of that old stuff

28
00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:16.239
in my head. I don't want to think about the

29
00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:18.439
grandma killed or the grandma who's still alive. Let's just

30
00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:20.719
go from scratch and do it that way. Cracked again

31
00:01:20.760 --> 00:01:22.920
doing a great job, asked him, are there any parts

32
00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.000
of you that are actually hidden in the jokes? Or are

33
00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:26.959
we hearing about your personal life? J just nug said

34
00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:29.959
not at all. Really. Maybe in terms of my morality,

35
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:31.319
I think you can probably get a sense of what

36
00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:33.120
I think about the trans issue. I think you get

37
00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:34.680
a sense of what I think about pro choice or

38
00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:36.359
pro life. I think you can get a sense of

39
00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:39.000
what I think about cancel culture. But otherwise, now it's

40
00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:40.560
not like I feel like I need to hide something.

41
00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:42.560
If you listen to my podcast, you get all that stuff.

42
00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:44.480
So there are fans at different levels. Oh I want

43
00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:46.319
to know him. I have people come up after the

44
00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:48.079
show and they're like, can I meet Anthony, And my

45
00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:50.599
tour manager will say, sorry, he doesn't meet people, and

46
00:01:50.599 --> 00:01:52.680
they're like, oh, yeah, I know he hates people, and

47
00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:54.120
they'll walk off. And I kind of got in the

48
00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:55.879
reputation of my fans that if they're a good fan,

49
00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:58.519
they want to leave me alone. They'll come by and say, hey,

50
00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:00.159
that was really funny. I don't want to bother you.

51
00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:02.159
If you want my personal life, you can find that

52
00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:04.560
through the podcast. But I think personal stories on stage

53
00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:07.239
and stand up for boring. Unless you have some amazing story,

54
00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:09.400
I don't want to hear it. I don't think a

55
00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:11.280
lot of it becomes the same, and my stories would

56
00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:13.520
be the same. I'm not special. I'd rather have something

57
00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:16.159
more creative on stage. Follow up from Cracked, You're never

58
00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:18.319
tempted to get more personal as you get older. Oh,

59
00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:20.599
I'm tempted because it's so much easier. I try it,

60
00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:22.000
and I get sick of the story. I'm just like,

61
00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:24.400
you know what, it is easier. I'm meeting up ten minutes,

62
00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:26.560
But why I didn't only not tell stories in the

63
00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:28.080
beginning because I didn't have much to talk about. It

64
00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:30.599
is because I was bored telling the same story. Another

65
00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:33.000
good follow up, Will you'd toured this material for two years,

66
00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:35.360
What are these jokes never get boring? I gotta think

67
00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:37.280
it's because they're short. The jokes are very short, and

68
00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:39.199
the payoff, it's not just the payoff for the audience,

69
00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:40.840
it's to pay off for me. I like those laughs.

70
00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:43.000
I like those bursts of energy. If I'm telling a story.

71
00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:45.759
It's not like I'm bombing, but it's just that there's

72
00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:48.039
five minutes without a laugh, I start to feel anxious,

73
00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:49.919
and I don't like feeling anxious. I don't want that.

74
00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:51.759
I want to have those hits, which is why the

75
00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:53.560
stories that I do have are just joke joke, joke,

76
00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:56.080
joke joke, because I don't want to have that explanation period.

77
00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:57.759
And even if the audience is locked in on a

78
00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:00.000
long story, we love this and we're just focused on you,

79
00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:02.479
I'm not comfortable. I'd rather have the laughs. Maybe at

80
00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:03.800
some point I come up with a story that I

81
00:03:03.879 --> 00:03:06.159
enjoy enough that I'll be like that, but I've tried it.

82
00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:07.919
I understand why people want it from me, but I

83
00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:10.319
also understand why it's better that I don't do it.

84
00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:13.240
There's plenty of people who do. Texas Standards spoke to

85
00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:16.199
shang Wang, one of my faves. He said, as a toddler,

86
00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:18.479
I had a reputation for slamming my head into the

87
00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:20.199
ground when things didn't go my way. I think that

88
00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:23.199
explains everything up until now. I'm originally from Texas. I

89
00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:24.759
grew up in Houston. I went to the same middle

90
00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:27.680
school as Beyonce. That's crazy, right, Beyonce alone is pretty

91
00:03:27.719 --> 00:03:29.479
big deal. But then you find out Shang Wang also

92
00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:31.439
came from the same part of town. It's like, Wow,

93
00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:33.719
that's a lot of talent. Most have been something in

94
00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:36.400
the water y'all. The Standard asked what his parents think

95
00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:38.120
of his success, and he said, I think they're proud

96
00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:40.599
of me. I'm really grateful. Follow up, they haven't told

97
00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:42.879
you not in so many words. You know, Asian American

98
00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.000
parents or Asian parents tend to be pretty stoic when

99
00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:46.919
it comes to expressing affection or things of that nature.

100
00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:48.800
But I don't know. I'm grateful for my parents. I

101
00:03:48.840 --> 00:03:51.120
know they're very loving folks. I feel like my folks

102
00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:52.879
are very much hands off in a way that was like,

103
00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:54.319
as long as you're not getting into trouble and you're

104
00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:56.080
doing well in school, you can do whatever you want.

105
00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:57.960
They weren't against me doing what I wanted to do.

106
00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:01.240
They would sometimes my mom especially suggest alternatives to stand

107
00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:03.240
up That is sort of related. She's like, if you

108
00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:05.400
want to be on TV, maybe be a news reporter

109
00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:07.639
or something. You know. I guess she was inspired by

110
00:04:07.639 --> 00:04:10.080
Connie Chung. But yeah, they were pretty hands off and

111
00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:12.599
not pushing one way or the other. Jim Gaffian spoke

112
00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:15.159
to The La Times about touring with Jerry Seinfeld and said,

113
00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:17.519
I never had an expectation that that would happen. Jerry

114
00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:19.800
has a very clear and concisive view and philosophy on

115
00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:21.639
stand up comedy. Then when you talk to him, you

116
00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:23.920
feel like you're talking in Aristotle. He's kind of like

117
00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:27.000
a stoic who reminds you to have control of your material.

118
00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:28.680
You don't get caught up in the trend of the moment.

119
00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:31.040
You work on evolving your act in your writing. Jay

120
00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:34.240
Leno and Adam Carolla are doing a comedy Fantasy camp.

121
00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:37.519
In January. Jay was asked about stand up comedy being

122
00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:40.240
Ai prove Jay said, you know, it's the one form

123
00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:42.360
of entertainment that's not changed, with the exception of the

124
00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:44.279
invention of the microphone. It's been the same since the

125
00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:46.920
thirteenth century. You stand in the town square, you just

126
00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.439
yell and say things, or do physical comedy, juggle or

127
00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:52.000
do something. But it really hasn't changed at all. And

128
00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:54.720
I find a lot more made of political correctness. Funny's funny,

129
00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:56.560
you know, if you have something you know. Nicki Glazer

130
00:04:56.600 --> 00:04:59.000
is a good example. Couldn't be filthier but hilarious, and

131
00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:01.720
the stuff is so funny you have to laugh. She

132
00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:03.920
was the best that that Tom Brady roast. Everybody else

133
00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:07.279
was just using obscenities. I'm thinking, I'm getting bored of this,

134
00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:10.120
and then she came out and I laughed really out loud.

135
00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:12.240
It was really really good jokes. So that's the case

136
00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:15.040
of if you're funny, all bets are off. Eleno and

137
00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:18.319
Corolla were asked about a comedy renaissance. Corola said, we're there,

138
00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:20.279
Leno said, A young comic said to me and Seinfeld,

139
00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:22.319
you guys are lucky you started when comedy was easy.

140
00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:25.000
It wasn't easy. It's always been exactly the same. Here's

141
00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:27.759
how old I am. You remember cabaret cards, Corola says, No,

142
00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:30.199
Leno says, in New York that's how they got Lenny Bruce.

143
00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:31.920
You had a license to perform in New York City.

144
00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:33.360
If you're on stage and you say the F word

145
00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:35.439
or something, a cop can come up and tear up

146
00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:38.079
your license, and boom, you don't work. When the Warren

147
00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:40.160
Cord came out in sixty eight or sixty nine, boy

148
00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:42.360
Jay is old, all that went out the windows. Suddenly,

149
00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:45.680
pornography was legal, comedy was interpretive, but all that was

150
00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.199
against the law. If you said obscenity, a cop would

151
00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:49.680
put the cuffs on you and take you to jail.

152
00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:51.639
And people think, oh, it's so terrible now, it was

153
00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:55.399
way worse back then. The thing is now is actually

154
00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:58.199
better for comics because music is expensive to do. You

155
00:05:58.240 --> 00:05:59.959
have teams to load in, load out, put up a stage,

156
00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:02.439
set up the sound system. A comedian. You just show up,

157
00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:05.160
Corolla said, every time I play a theater and see

158
00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:07.399
the posters like Santana was here eight years ago in

159
00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:09.560
the percussion section is fourteen dudes, and you look at

160
00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:10.759
it and you go, well, I just sold out a

161
00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:12.560
show and they sold out a show. How is this

162
00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:14.839
working here? The thing that's funny, though, is that the

163
00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:16.199
theater wants to know if you want to come by

164
00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:18.839
that afternoon for a mic check, like you're in Santana

165
00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:20.920
new topic, Leno said. People say to me, oh, I

166
00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:22.680
bet you wish you were doing the Tonight Show when

167
00:06:22.680 --> 00:06:25.120
Trump was president. No, I don't, because when you really

168
00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:27.199
don't like a guy, it's worse. I had a fondness

169
00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:29.759
for Bush. He then pantomimed set up for a joke.

170
00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:32.360
I don't think President Bush quite understands and people would

171
00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:34.360
giggle him laugh. But if I really hate it him,

172
00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:36.199
I mean, you see how polarizing it gets. Now. I

173
00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:38.720
sort of blamed Trump for all that because at the

174
00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:40.439
Tonight Show we used to make fun of both sides,

175
00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.399
and people couldn't really figure out your politics, so you

176
00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:44.800
got the whole audience. Now you either get the Trump

177
00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:47.199
people like Gutfeld, or you get the anti Trump people

178
00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:50.560
like Kimmel, which to me, I'll take everybody's money, thank you.

179
00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:54.759
I play both crowds. Brandy Denise is one of vultures

180
00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:58.199
and comedians you should and will know, Vulture asked at

181
00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:01.920
Brandy Denise, how you've ended up becoming a comedian, Brandy said,

182
00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:06.000
gering up, I discovered some of Adam Sandler's old comedy songs,

183
00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:07.839
Randy said, I never knew I was listening to a

184
00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:10.079
form of comedy, but I love them. Yeah. Right, she's

185
00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:11.639
saying it right there. She was listening to it and

186
00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:15.279
not realizing it was comedy because they're terrible. I remember

187
00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:16.959
after that, I kept a notebook where I began to

188
00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:19.319
write my own comedy parodies. I think it was then

189
00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:22.079
when I first began my journey with enjoying being funny.

190
00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:24.519
Whose career would you like to follow? Want of psychs.

191
00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:27.920
She's had her own TV shows, she's hosted, she pushed

192
00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:30.879
us out banging specials. And Adam Sandler he does what

193
00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:34.120
he wants. He's transitioned from comedy to drama effortlessly and

194
00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:36.399
works with his friends. That's the goal with my people.

195
00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:39.439
Johnny Mack does like dramatic actor Adam Sandler. I've said

196
00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:41.680
that before. He's not funny at all, but he's a

197
00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.600
decent traumatic actor and he should just give up comedy

198
00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.600
and just do dramatic movies. In my opinion, biggest financial

199
00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:50.879
hurdle you've encountered since being a comedian, being broke is easy,

200
00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:53.000
but making a nice six figures for the first time

201
00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:54.959
after being broke for so long as a learning curve.

202
00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:57.040
I learned how to spend money quickly, but after that

203
00:07:57.079 --> 00:08:00.040
I realized investing in saving are just as important and

204
00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:02.439
you start making money. Some years are better than others,

205
00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:03.920
but as long as you learn to budget early, you

206
00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:06.839
should be good. Best comedy advice, worst comedy advice. Best,

207
00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:09.519
you're already fun. Make sure your spirit is right and

208
00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:13.879
you know yourself, and stay grounded. Worst. A lame ass

209
00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:17.279
stool banging comic in Atlanta told me not to move

210
00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:19.600
to LA because it wasn't ready. Well, i'd say his name,

211
00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:21.720
but you've never heard of him. Like I said, can't

212
00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:24.319
rock this boat, baby, I do what I want. It's

213
00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:26.040
tattooed on the back of my neck, and I mean

214
00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:29.160
that in the most disrespectful way possible. And that is

215
00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:31.439
your comedy news for today. If you enjoy the program,

216
00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:33.360
tell a friend about it too. If you'd like to

217
00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:35.960
show without commercial interruption, click the link in the show

218
00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.080
notes and I'll see you tomorrow.