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The truth is, I take the work where it comes, he says.
Weve all got to pay the bills.
They could be funny, have funny moments or be lighthearted, but I dont think it was intentional.
They were more like characters.
I remember Jim McKay, just his voice and his presence.
I remember Howard Cosell, believe it or not.
We were all struggling artists living in New York.
We all had day jobs; we couldnt get away.
Nobody got paid for that.
Ed Helms, Rob Corddry and Rob Huebel, Dannah Feinglass a lot of Upright Citizens Brigade people.
One more sports link: Youplayed Mark McGwireduring a cold open while you were onSNL.I did play Mark McGwire!
Maybe its my physical size.
I think he was going through some congressional hearings about steroids.
I basically just had to play a big baseball player who is answering questions it was not a stretch.
Im not an impersonator by any means.
I more do characterization.
When Will Ferrell used to do Bush, it was more of a characterization than a straight impersonation.
Darrell Hammond is a savant when it comes to impersonation.
Theres a lot of people out there like that.
And thats how I got cast.
I thought I blew it, to be honest with you.
Like: You got the job, but its only six months.
Like, well damn, I had just moved out of New York to L.A.
I couldnt move everybodyback.
I was like, I still cant move my family out here!
That was the only thing that frustrated me about it.
I wish they wouldve just said, Youre here.
But thats the way it worked for everybody at that time.
But I was grateful to Jon, the writers and producers, my fellow correspondents.
I was really kind of green.
That show allowed me to grow into myself a little bit and discover more about the business of comedy.
Life is a series of gigs, a series of jobs.
Even if youre onModern Family, which runs fortenseasons and is one of the greatest shows?
Youre always going to be looking for another job.
Youre at the highest level, arent you?I dont know.
Im very honored to have been a part of any of those shows.
I dont take it granted at all.
I just love comedy.
I just did a show with Matt Besser on his podcast,improv4humans.
It was just improv but on Zoom.
I was dying laughing, just sitting there listening to all these guys create.
I think one of my favorite improvised scenes in anything ever is your Pow!
scene inStep Brothers.That was a reshoot.
We had to come back and film that.
None of it was scripted.
Theres adeleted scenewhere I have a heart attack that was the original scene!
They said Wills character was too passive in that scene and they wanted him to be more assertive.
Like: Imsnapping necks and cashing checks!
In that heart-attack scene, it wasnt that.
It was something else.
So they were like, We have to reshoot it so hes more aggressive.
It was just Adam Scott, me, and Will.
We came back in.
The thing about improv is you have to deal with what people give you.
So Adam said, Well, Randy here is going to eat your dick.
If I say, No, Im not, the scene is over.
Classic rule: Yes and.
So I was like, Yes I will … like Kobayashi.
Yes and add material, add information.
So it was just classic improv to make each other laugh.
Im Adam Scotts henchman, and hes barking at Will.
As a henchman, what do I do?
All I could do was jerk at him and make these motions.
And started to yell Pow!
For whatever reason, it tickled Will.
Which is the note I got most of the time: Be obnoxious, and make Wills life hard.
And Will is the best straight man in the world.
Hes a great goofy character, but he is the best straight man.
So good, so talented.
Obviously its one of those things where I have no say, so …
But it would have been an honor.
Any gut checks on who they might be considering to replace Trevor Noah?I truly dont know.
I did enjoy watching everybody they brought in for like a week.
Wanda Sykes nailed it, in my opinion.
Theyll choose right, and I hope they choose well.
I wantThe Daily Showto be another institution likeSNL.
This interview has been edited.
