July 23, 2024 • 41 mins
Actor and comedian Jack McBrayer is known for his cheerful demeanor, captivating Southern charm and impeccable comedic timing. The Georgia native honed his improv skills at the famed Second City in Chicago before gaining national exposure for his portrayal of various characters on “Late Night with Conan O'Brien.” He then landed the role of a lifetime: the earnest and eccentric NBC page Kenneth Parcell on the hit television series "30 Rock." His iconic performance earned him an Emmy nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award. McBrayer has also voiced countless animated characters and created, produced and starred in the Apple TV+ series, “Hello Jack! The Kindness Show.” His latest venture is HGTV’s “Zillow Gone Wild,” which explores some of the most unusual, extravagant, and quirky homes listed on the real estate website – and which premiered this past May. Jack McBrayer shares with host Alec Baldwin why he enjoys working with ensembles, what it was like filming their last scene together and how he was once mistaken for a real NBC page by none other than Elaine Stritch on the “30 Rock” set. And before signing off, Jack and Alec are joined by a surprise special guest!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is Alec Baldwin and you were listening to Here's
the Thing from iHeart Radio. He was born in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
His mind is a blank slate. He is the son
of a pig farmer and one of the most iconic
characters in sitcom history. He could only have been played
by my guest today, Jack macbriar. He inhabited the role
(00:26):
of wide eyed, television obsessed Kenneth the Page on NBC's
Thirty Rock for seven seasons. Hailing from Macon, Georgia himself,
macbrair discovered his improv skills at Second City in Chicago.
He continued to hone his craft with recurring roles on
Late Night with Conan O'Brien and arrested development before landing
(00:49):
the part that would change his life. The Emmy nominated
actor has also voiced countless animated characters, and in twenty
twenty one, he created Produce Uston starred in the Apple
TV series Hello Jack, The Kind Of Show. His latest venture,
a travel series called Zillow Gone Wild, premiered on HGTV
(01:10):
just this past May. Playing Jack Donneghey alongside McBriar. Was
one of the most momentous parts of my career. I
was curious if thirty Rock had as big of an
impact on mcbrear's life as it did mine.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
It changed everything for me, would you say so it did?
Oh for damn sure, yes, sir. That was kind of
my first break and the fact that it was with you.
I was just so excited to have a job. But
then when I realized what the job was, I was like, Oh,
this is amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
What were you doing just prior to the show, because
your resume is like the menu at whoa Hop. It's
like the longest thing I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
With pictures to boot. But I was temping. I was
in California and I was temping at a place called Teleflora.
I was rearranging their storage facility. And when you have
some OCD tendencies like I do, that's a breeze. So
I was just a hustling boy. Yeah, thirty Rock by far,
(02:09):
which is crazy. And so this would have started in
two thousand and six, right, and you are fifteen years
older than me. Katrina Bowden is fifteen years younger than me,
and it would have been a few years ago. I
was reading an article that when we started thirty Rock,
you were forty eight years old, And when I was
reading that article, I was forty eight years old. I
was like, how is this possible?
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Right?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Because I mean, like you've always been a grown up
to me and I still eat cereal for dinner. But
it is amazing to me just to see how much
time has passed and how my life has changed, and
it's great, like I'm really having a good time.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
When you weren't a telefloor right before we did thirty Rock.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yes, sir, because I booked. I told y'all, how was
that possible? I don't know, but I mean I've never
been scared to, you know, hustle and pay the bills
and everything. I knew that I was gonna get something,
and I'd had little bites. I was able to do
Talladega Nights just before thirty Rock. I was doing a
couple of episodes of Arrested Development just before thirty Rock,
(03:10):
so I knew I was on the right track. And
of course, I mean Tina Fey giving me this lifeline
that really it changed everything.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Had you known her, because she quite often is accessing
people that she's known and worked with her she knows
something about them.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yes, sir, Absolutely, I started doing the comedy scene in
Chicago in the nineties nineteen nineties, and Tina Fey's husband,
Jeff Richmond, was my director at Second City.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
So he was Yes, that was a connection with Jeff
as absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Absolutely, Tina was on the main stage when I was
taking the classes and all that kind of stuff, but
she very quickly moved on to New York and Saturday
Night Live. Jeff stayed around for a couple more years,
and he was my director at Second City, and she
would come back to visit. I know, I know, and
it was just it was so fun to and then
I did move to New York just to give that
(04:00):
a shot as a poor person. So for three years
between two thousand and two and two thousand and five,
I was just just a hustling in New York and
exploring the UCB scene there, doing bits for Late Night
with Conan O'Brien, and that paid my bills, and then
I was able to hang out with all the people
from SNL that I really knew from Chicago. And so,
you know, I've always been in Tina and Jeff's life
(04:22):
for a very long time. And so when the time
came for her to create thirty right. I'm sure it
was Jeff, just like nudge and or say, hey, throw
mcbrear in there, so I'll take that bone.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Well for me and I wonder to get curious about
you as well. You know, we did season one. It
was kind of like introducing ourselves. And we get through
that first season. Seasons two, three, and four, we win
every prize in the world. We win everything. We have
a great time. Then season five comes and I'm thinking,
I don't think I want to do this anymore. Season five,
everybody acknowledged was like kind of more neemic, still good,
(04:54):
but not up to her standards of what she normally achieved.
Her and Carl Lock and everybody, and this says. The
season six comes and I'm like, sign me up for
five more seasons. This is funny again. We have a
great six season and we stop, and when it was over,
I was so sad. Oh yeah, what was your last
scene that you recorded on the show.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
It was the last scene of the series. It was
me as the president of NBC behind your old desk.
I know, I know, and I'm being pitched a show
by Liz Lemon's great granddaughter.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
I know, I know.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
This show was so weird.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
But my gosh, I loved it.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
I loved it. I loved it, And I will say
to your point, I've never been a person who can
like watch a series and be like, oh, that season
was lacking or whatever. Like when people talk about The Simpsons,
for example, they're like, oh, they should have thrown in
the towel at season seventeen. I'm like, these are just
as funny as ones I remember from seven years ago.
(05:55):
But I understand that some people are, you know, they
compare them differently, But as far as I can tell,
it was just all a blast. I was very you know,
you're catching me at an interesting time because I'm starting
to realize as a grown ass man, I need to
reevaluate how I.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Move in the world.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Meaning I was tempting at Teleflora before thirty Rocks started,
and so what I kind of had to do was
just hold on to money like this, just not let
go during the course of thirty Rock. And then because
I was on thirty right, You're able to get other jobs.
I think once people saw what we were doing and
(06:35):
what kind of character I could play on thirty Rock,
you do start getting more opportunities. You were very instrumental
in guiding me towards voiceover work, and now that is
my bread and butter. I mean, I know I sound
like a banjo, but I tell you what I like it.
I like it a lot. You're great, You're the best
banjo human best. But because of the opportunities that thirty
(06:59):
Rock afforded me, I really was just hoping that it
went on forever. I absolutely understand why Tina and the
writing crew were just like, well, the story has been
told after seven seasons, but it was again. It was
incredibly emotional. I remember I remember walking into your dressing
room on our last scene together, and I just burst
(07:21):
into tears. I burst into tears because I just realized
how special it was and how important the whole job was.
And not to blow smoke, sir, but I am so
grateful to you saying yes, because there's a you know,
we read stories about who all else audition for mister Donneghe,
(07:41):
and you know, all these other possible casting choices, and
if you had not said yes to this crazy live
action cartoon that we did, then like who's to say,
it might have gone like thirteen episodes and.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
You know the end.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
But no, seven years we got to do that.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
That crazy.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
It was nuts.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I did the last scene with Tina. We're in this
little marina, this really cute little marina down in Battery Park.
It's nighttime. We're shooting at night and it was cold,
remember it was really cold, and the whole crew was there.
And it's my last scene in the show. And I'm
going on and on with this monologue about the German
Luba for whatever, really funny speech. And as I'm groping
(08:24):
for what I want to say, she of course interests
me and says, I love you too, Jack, And I
couldn't get through it. I couldn't get through I was crying,
and I thought, this has been such an important part
of my life. But this was six and a half
years of my life, and it was such a great group,
as we all know. You know, I breeze out there.
I'm doing the reverse commute over the fifty ninth Street bridge,
hit Silver Cup. We're out there. The only complaint I
(08:46):
had was there was no restaurants nearby for us to
order decent food. None. None. We were like the Siberia
of Queen's there. Really important and economically a piston in
the engine of Manhattan. Economics, but no good restaurants was
to order or coffee truck, mud truck, taco truck, ice
cream truck, a lot of trucks. We ate more fucking
food off of a truck than I ever thought was possible. Construction, yeah,
(09:11):
like we're bridge builders or something. But yeah, when that
was over, I was so sad, and I was so
blessed by everybody there. Like I really believe, like any
group it could be sex in the city, the Beatles,
you name, you remove one person, it's not gonna work.
It had to be those five people that those five
people just meshed and the writing more importantly meshed for them.
And I was so so sad when it was over,
(09:32):
and it put a curse on me because everywhere I'd
go people would send me scripts and say, well, here's
a comedy, here's this, here's this. When I sit there
and I go, this is more cute than funny. Sure, sure,
I mean they taught these people taught me what funny, Carlos,
they taught me what was funny surgical?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
And you are right, I mean, like the choices made
with the casting and everything, I can't even imagine what
it was. Another thing that I was so impressed with
and I learned a great deal from was how strong
the were at mixing up the dynamics of the characters.
The fact that Ken at the page could have all
these scenes with Jack Donneghe, the fact that you know,
(10:10):
they could pare me with Jane, they could spare me
with Tracy like and it worked and it was fun
and it didn't seem weird. Well, I mean it seemed
weird because the man that show was weird. I mean,
do you remember you were dressed like Thomas Jefferson's misters?
I mean there were.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
What was the one I said to you before? First
of there's too many to count, and not even the
ones I'm in. I mean the Sandwich Day and all
you're drinking with Dennihee. I mean that Sandwich Day thing
is the funniest episode of all. But I mean, I
I'll never when you sit there and go remember your
live television when we do these are the live shows.
I want to ask you about that and the live
show you go. He was like you, mister Jordan. He
(10:49):
didn't like to rehearse at all. And then because to
Joey Montero and I'm doing my bad Dean Martin. You
know when I come out there and I thought to myself,
this is the most fun I've ever had in my life.
Almost fun I ever end of my life. Stupid as
hell funny.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
It was ridiculous. Oh, in the fact that Kenneth the
Page is immortal. I was like, Okay, here we go.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Well, Kenneth the Page was a joke, Like when we
said when people would say about Tracy, they say this
about you personally. They were like, when Tracy was on
the show, and I think it was Tina, it was
either Tina or Jane turns the other one and says,
you know, well, he's black. He could be thirty, he
could be seventy. Like we're trying to guess his age.
And people say that about you, They're like, Jack mcbaar,
(11:28):
he could be thirty, you could be ninety. You know,
you're so youthful.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Look in my brain, I'm seventeen.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
But god, that show.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It was ridiculous. You know what's interesting too for me,
and maybe it's the same for you. I just kind
of it didn't click for me that. Oh, once we're
done with the show, it will stream, it will live
on beyond, you know. Twenty thirteen when we wrapped or whatever.
And so for me, it's so strange when young people
recognize me from thirty Rock and are like quoting lines
(11:57):
and stories. I'm like, it kind of breaks my brain
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Actor and comedian Jack mcbraer. If you enjoy conversations with
singular comedians, check out my episode with Caroline Ray. You're
most comfortable when you're on stage, Probably you really love it.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Yeah, I feel like I always think my stand up
is a dinner party. I know what I'm gonna make,
you're my guests. I don't know what's gonna happen. But
the thing about stand up that amazes me is it's
only gonna happen in that moment in time. Even if
we film it, it's never gonna be what it feels
like live. So I think it's just an exchange of energy.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
To hear more of my conversation with Caroline Ray, go
to Here's the Thing dot Org. After the break, Jack
McBriar shares the story of his very first night in
New York City and visiting the set of Saturday Night Live.
(13:07):
I'm Alec Baldwin and you're listening to Here's the Thing.
Anyone who has caught actor Jack mcbrair in one of
his many roles on Phineas and Ferb big Mouth or
The Jack and Triumph Show, knows the depth of this talent.
I wanted to know when McBriar himself first discovered he
was funny.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
I think when you get that reaction of people laughing
at you, and it does scratch an itch, you know,
doing live comedy especially, you get that immediate gratification if
people laughing. People are laughing, then yo, you're funny. And
if they're not laughing, you're like, oh, let me learn
a trade.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
I'm got me go work at Teleflora. I think I
was so good at it.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Oh yeah, yeah, I got people who are vouched for me.
But when I think about that, I think about opportunities.
I didn't even start doing school plays till I was
in tenth grade. We moved to Conyer's Georgia, and so
for me acting showbiz that wasn't even on the radar.
When I would watch television, I would love shows like
(14:08):
Carol Burnett and Friends, and so I think I got
bit by the bug then of ensemble comedy making each
other laugh, not having to be the star of anything
that really appealed to me at a very early age. Again,
I did not know of opportunities to participate in that,
so did the plays in high school. Starting in tenth grade,
(14:30):
realized I wanted to pursue performance, and I always enjoyed
getting the comic relief roles or whatever, but again I
didn't know what my options were. Went to college, didn't
really get to perform there, but then moving to Chicago,
but you studied what I got a BS in theater management,
emphasis on the bs.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Es now, But were your parents encouraging you back then?
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Performance writers are always very supportive, but again if this
is in the zeitgeist, if they if there's no understanding
of what it means to be a performer, and there's
some lean years in there too, but they were being supportive,
but because they didn't fully understand what it meant, they're
just like all right. And their three rules were make
(15:16):
sure you're able to pay your bills, always have insurance,
and do something that makes you happy. So I was
able to check those boxes.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
What did they teach? They were both teachers, right.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Yes, sir, Mom was health them pe and dad was
social studies. And I mean decades.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
It's funny you say that that's the word social study.
My dad taught studies the term they had use.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
That term right, So in a weird way, I kind
of just assumed I would be a teacher as well,
that I would have been a good teacher. But I
am so glad that I was, like, I let curiosity
get the best of me and be like, I wonder
what it would be like to try this. I wonder
what it would be like to move to a different city.
(15:58):
So I'm so glad I trusted my gut there and
just went for it.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Now, would you say that like many people who they
take a swing at an acting career, at an on
camera or on stage career, and then they're convinced that
it's going to be too much of an uphill road,
so they access some other part of the business. They
want to get into sets and wardrobe and editing or
camera or directing or writing anything that's not acting and
not performing. Did you feel that the theater administration was
(16:26):
you saw yourself doing something that was just your setting
your sights on something not performing.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Honestly, in hindsight, I think I was straddling the fence
at that point. I was like, there's no way I
can make a career out of acting. So let me
get some business courses in here as well, so that
I can go and be a business person or you know,
just have a fallback essentially. And I don't regret doing that.
I mean, I'm not gonna lie. Having some of that
(16:54):
business background, and especially with like accounting and finance economics,
that has been immensely helpful for me as a grown up,
no matter what career or want to chose it. But
I'm very grateful that I chose it as an actor,
because I mean, I can balance the checkbook real good
and just have an understanding. Now, if we want to
dig deeper, I do have to wonder if I need
(17:16):
to look at some maybe d programming on my relationship
with money or planning for the future or anything like that.
But I think that's just a human thing and it
wouldn't matter if I was acting or not.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
But I think people rarely or certainly not enough to
look at performers, especially ones who work a lot and
have been successful and understand them as people and say
that if you grow up with tremendous economic insecurity, once
you come into this business, if you succeed, you don't
just make a lot of money, you make it fast. Yes,
Like one day I'm standing there and a guy goes,
we're gonna make a test deal with you to do
(17:47):
this TV show. They're gonna get twelve five an episode
and twenty five for the pilot. And I'm like, my
Gomer pilot. I will do my Goomer. I'm like, god,
y'all gonna pay me two thousand, five hundred for the
and two two fifty for the show and the Like,
my agent literally on the phonecals, no, you Maron, We're
gonna pay you twenty five thousand for the pilot and
(18:08):
twelve thousand five dred an episode. I'm not going all sudden.
The phone booth I'm in haint hint no phones back
then is the early eighties. The phone booth I'm in
near Culver Studios is starts spinning. The room is spinning.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Yes, I mean it was a shift of gears and
I just had. You know, it took me a while
to find my legs. Even with that, I am very
grateful that I did not get thirty Rock until I
was thirty three years old, because at that point I
knew who I was, I knew what things I needed.
I am not a car guy. I still drive my
two thousand and four Hundai Accent, So I did not
(18:42):
go out and buy a Ferrari or anything like that.
I knew that I wanted a house and I've always always,
always wanted a swimming pool.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Do you have a house now, sir?
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Look this is my house. It is my dream house, not.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
The house thirty Rock built.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
When I give the tour, I'm like, well, Tina Fey,
wont me this exactly? You know that they gave me
a page uniform for a rap gift, no swear to go.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Are you kidding me? They said to me, if you
could take one prop with you, pick one thing you wanted.
It's a memento of the show. And I still have
it on my desk and my office, which is there
was a glass a glass globe of the world mounted
on a stand like a glass stand. They said, you know,
ge innovator of nineteen you know ninety nine whatever to
Jack's period was. And then I have this award I
(19:28):
was given. It's small, it's like the size of like
a like I how tall. It was like a coke gift.
And then they gave it to me and I still
cherish to tell you.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Fe also gave me the snow globe that Kenneth holds
at the very very end of the series that has
a little tiny thirty rock inside the snow globe, and
I have it.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
But I'll never forget. When we were contemplating, my ex
wife was going to come on the show and play
your stepmother. And she comes to New York to visit you,
and your father has died down in Stone Mountain and
your father is dead, and your mother comes up at
your stepmother and it's my ex wife, Kim Basin, and
she's gonna come and do the show. And we fall
(20:07):
in love and get married, and you become quasi illegally
my step son. I'm your step father, and then I
make you the president of NBC, of NBC Entertainment. And
I was almost swallowing my tongue and gagging on this idea.
It was the funniest. And it was always things they'd
say to me that I sit there and go, you
can't be serious, We can't do that. Oh. I was
(20:28):
always looking at car locking and he'd hand me the
script on Wednesday before the read through. I'm in the makeup,
dur In the morning reading the script and I'd say,
are you out of your fucking mind? We can't do this.
And he always said the same phrase, he goes, it's
a big swing, it's a big swing, but we believe
in you. We know you can make it. I was like,
you little bastards, I mean, and they always had these
insane I did well. They didn't do it, obviously, but oh,
(20:49):
I was dreaming of being.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Stuff you imagined. Now, mister Baldock, you certainly don't remember this.
I actually met you before thirty Rock.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
The year was two by buying Flowers.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
L seventh, two thousand and one, you were the host
of Saturday Night Live with musical guest Coldplay and Tina
Fey Rachel Jets. They were like, showing me it was
my first night in New York City. It was that
was the first time I'd ever visited, and they were like,
I got to go to the after party and they
brought me over and I got to meet you very
very briefly, and they introduced me to Chris Martin from Coldplay.
(21:25):
And now all these years later, I'm like friends with
the both of y'all. I know, I can't get over
I can't.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Get it is. It is for me that is the magic.
The people you get to meet.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
I know.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
I mean I say to people, I like, you know,
thirty rocks to me, which is perfect. But that idea
that to go in to work with her and be
the beneficiary of all her great talents. It was really
like the highlight of my life. Now, when you go
to Second City, what's that experience like for you? Was
there a competitive nature to that? Do you go into
there and you're like, God, that guy's funny and she's funny,
(21:57):
and you're you want to keep up with them? Well?
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Good question. One thing that really drew me to improvisation
was the collaboration and the ensemble part of it, and
really the basic tenets of make your partner look better
than you do, and that really aligned with what I
liked doing and what I feel that I was good
(22:22):
at doing. So Yes, in terms of competition, you have
to audition and you might get cast and you might not.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
At the end of the day, you do have to
make people laugh, but I appreciated not having to, you know,
it was not so cutthroat, and I made some of
the most incredible friends and I learned so much from
watching people who were better than me, and I think,
I do have to admit I think, in my heart
of hearts, I knew that I could succeed at this.
I knew I could get some traction, but it was
(22:50):
such a I remember when I decided to focus on
Second City. It really was a revelatory experience. I was
sitting in the audience, it was my first time being
at this theater, even no and what it was seeing
the show, seeing Adam McKay, Rachel Dretch, all these phenomenal performers,
and then it was just like the heavens opened up
and I was like, this is what.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
I want to do.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
They are doing exactly what I want to do, and
this is their job, and these people are dying like
it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
It was so fun. I went to UCB to do
the live episode of thirty Rock. We had the strike
and we go there and because we weren't doing the
episode due to the strike, we did it live at
UCB and eighty Falco role the Congressional The congresswoman who
I was in love with was played by Paula Paula
Pelle and she walks up to me. Paula Pell who.
(23:36):
I don't think there's another person in this business I
worship more as much, maybe like Paula Pell. Oh my god,
she's the one that wrote all the Tony Bennett sketches,
you know, hold that thought about blah blah blah. We
do this spot for you know, lamasille, nail fungus, whatever
it was. And we do and she goes. You know,
(23:57):
I dated a woman once who was one one thousand
gorgeous until it took a shoe shop and her toe
nails looked like a bunch of barbecue fridos. I mean,
Paula Pelle wrote this. No clippers contain those poker chips.
Paula Pelle, Paula Pell, she made me cry. We do
UCB and she's playing EDI's role, and she walks up
(24:17):
and she wraps her thigh around my body and starts
humping me. Oh yeah, slow, like almost imperceptibly. She's the
funniest fucking woman, like one of the ten I've ever met.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
In my life, and nice and generous with a laugh.
She's sweet as she's the best. She's the best.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
But when we did the show live, I thought to myself,
I could never last with these people. You must have
loved every minute I did. I did. How long were
you there.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
At Second City? I was there for about seven years,
did three resident stages, the first one directed by Jeff Richmond,
and then when I did move to New York, for
those three years I was able to do ucb Amy
Poehler was in town. All the SNL gang would come
for the Sunday night Asscat show.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
It really fell Asscat.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
That's it, sir, Yes, sir, I.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Want to go do ascast they asked to do, Like
I would just play say one line. Yeah, they had
me come on stage and say some something that would
launch the show.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Yes, sir, you would. You would give like a monologue
that would inspire the improvisation that would happen after that.
But fella, I tell you what my whole thing. You know,
it's so interesting when people are just like, oh, I
could never do improv. I And for me, improv is
like breathing. But my argument is, like everybody's doing improv
all the time. I mean, we're not giving the script
to like go around and like say lines all day.
(25:29):
So for me, it's just the interaction with the other
people on stage, the supporting that. Yes, anding it's just
I mean baked within me. But I do understand how
some people would be reticent to do so. But I
can totally vouch that anybody can do improv.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Two quick things they want to ask you. One is
thirty Rock was a show that was adorned with guest stars.
We had so many famous people come on that was
just ridiculous. And was it one you had a special
feeling for that? I mean, I'm sure there's many, but
what's what's one that's stands out in your mind? So many?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
You know, I became such good friends with John Hamm
because of his time on thirty Rock, But I do
have to say one that was just I still to
this day can't get over it. Tim Conway, who joined
us for the episode I believe it was called Subway Hero,
and all of my scenes were with him, and he
was my comedy hero growing up, so watching Carol Burnette
(26:24):
and friends, watching him, watching him and Don Nott's do
their two person movies, and.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Marvin Corman on all of them, all of them. I
loved Harvey Korman.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
God bless but so to be able to meet my
comedy hero, and he lived up to all of my
hopes and expectations, and we got to become friends. After that,
I would go and have lunch with him and his family,
like it was the best. It was the best when
you meet your hero and they absolutely live up to expectations.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
So you'd say that Conway, where's your family?
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Yes, sir, among your yes, just because again, like when
I take that stick back, I can't believe what we
were able to do and who we were able to
play with and Tim Conway, what a joy. We had
so many fun people come here. I can't believe. Catherine
O'Hara played my mom. Katherine O'Hara, You.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Know, I was always knocked out. I worshiped Carrie Fisher.
She came on the show. I loved Carrie. I mean
there were people on her episodes a great episode and
there were people that came out. But of course, even
though she wasn't a guest star, she was more of
us recurring character. Everybody's eclipsed by Elaine, who played my mother.
When I was doing those scenes with Elaine, oh I was.
I just couldn't help it, and she was, and she
(27:35):
taught me so much.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
She did.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
You could tell she was completely contrived and completely fake.
She would pretend to blow a line at the end
of the take. She was buying herself rehearsal time. She
do take one, take two, flub the line, Take three,
flip the line, Take four, flub the line. Take five,
get more of the line. Take six, git almost the
whole line. Then by seven she was warmed up, and
then she'd just go like she was skeet shooting. She'd
be like pol and she shoot all the clays out
(27:58):
of the sky. She nailed.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
He mailed it. My first interaction with miss Stritch was
I think one of her first episodes. She came down
and so we put her in a guest dressing room
that was just down the hall from mine, and so
here I am sitting in my page uniform, and she
hated to get some ice. She's like, this sofa needs
to come out of my dressing room. I'm like, and
(28:20):
I'll tell you what. Instead of trying to explain to
her like, oh, madam, I'm an actor, I was just like, Okay,
this is a costume about me and Vanessa Hoffman.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
We're in Queen's Actually we're not in Manhattan. On Rockefelle Plaza.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Me and little Vanessa Hoffman were lugging this giant sofa
out of her dressing room just because it was easier
that way.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
She thought you were the help well actor and comedian
Jack mcbraar. If you're enjoying this conversation, tell a friend
and be sure to follow Here's the Thing on the
iHeartRadio app, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. When
we come back, Jack McBriar shares the inspiration for his
(29:00):
new show Zillow Gone Wild. I'm atc Baldwin and you're
listening to Here's the Thing. In addition to his memorable
television work, Jack mcbrair is also a thespian. He performed
(29:22):
in the Broadway hit Waitress in London's West End and
in the Gershwin musical Crazy for You at Lincoln Center.
I was curious if McBriar had any traditional theater training
or background.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
High school theater really didn't do it in college, No,
I mean Second City was live performance and it was,
you know, eight shows a week. But that was the
easy stuff. When I sometimes I just say yes to
things to see what it is like and to kind
of scare myself. So saying yes to that one night
only performance of Crazy for you was terrifying, but we
did it and it was really fun saying yes to
(29:56):
six months in London on the West End doing Waitress.
It was terrifying, but I said yes, and I did it,
and I'm just I'm proud of myself.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Go over over there were you had you already done
thirty Rock when you do Waitress?
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Uh? Yes, I believe Crazy for You is twenty seventeen
and then Waitress was twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
So you went there just a few years ago, and like,
how did you? I mean, I mean, I'm always terrified
of this, of performing over there. I'm like, how did
you go over with a British audience? Oh gosh?
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Everybody was super kind. Now, what was interesting is it
was a musical and I mean, I can sort of
carry a tune, but I am not a singer. Our
star was like Katherine McPhee, who is a singer. But
the good news was as the comic relief, I had more,
you know, of the power songs. But i tell you what,
Like those reviews were just like, well, not the strongest singer,
he's definitely delightfully funny, and I'm like, I'll take it.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Yes, a basket of chim and when you did thirty Rock.
I'm curious when anything you do with improv you have
more of a somewhat of an influence and a contribution
to this in terms of the text and the material,
when you were doing thirty Rock or anything you've done,
if people come to you and asked you for your
input into the material or you just take the script
on thirty Ruck and do it as written, they never
(31:07):
asked you what your thoughts were about the material.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
It was rare that they would ever ask me what
I thought on thirty Rock. And the good news was,
you know, the cripts were pretty fantastic. Now, with that
being said, I don't bring nothing to the table. And
there were a few times where you know, it was
just like really and it was so rare, but I'll
never forget. There was one time they made Kenneth speak
(31:30):
gibberish and I was like, well, as they say in
Stone Mountain, old gig to see sell people. And I
will never forget it was Carlock Matt Hubbard, maybe both
of them said no, no, it's sea salt gone pee.
Paul on the like, oh wait are these real words? No? No,
I was like mm hmm, okay, So just having to
(31:54):
get gibberish down correctly. But at the same time it
was just like if you trust those scripts, then who care,
like just say the words cash the check taking that
you know? It is interesting because again you were the
one who's like Jack, you should think about voice acting.
And now what I have learned in the years that
I've been able to do it is, I guess in
(32:15):
the voice acting world, I have what's called a signature voice,
meaning like, when you hire me, this is what you're
gonna get. And so even though I've been able to
do all sorts of different characters, they all kind of
sound alike as opposed to it well, and I mean,
I'm okay with it. But you know those actors who
work on the Simpsons who do like twelve different voices
and stuff. I just don't have that skill set. So
(32:38):
I am very deferential. Like I am very I give
all accolades to people who are just better trained at
voice acting than me.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Now thirty Rock was over, and you wouldn't did describe this?
What is the children's show you did?
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (32:54):
The preschool show that I was able to do for Apple,
Hello Jack, the Kindness show.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Whose idea was that it was mine, and why did
you want to go in that direction?
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Well, it was another like revelatory kind of thing. I
had just reached a point. So this would have been
maybe in like twenty seventeen, where I have never been
very politically active or even really politically aware, because the
sad reason is I didn't have to be. And in
twenty seventeen, I think I just started paying more attention
(33:24):
to the state of the world and how people were
behaving towards each other. And it hurt my heart. It
surprised me, and it disappointed me, and I was confused.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
I was like, I.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Thought human beings, I thought grown ups knew how to
treat each other with compassion and this kind of thing.
And so as I felt my heart breaking, I was like, well,
but what can I do about it? And I'm start
writing checks to every organization that I think can benefit
from it. But then I was like, but what can
Jack mcbrair do with his very limited skill? And so
(34:01):
I thought about it, and I was like, you know,
everybody's treating each other so rudely, and these are like
lessons that we should have learned as children, like on
mister Rogers neighborhood. And then I was like, Oh, I
want to do a show very much like mister Rogers
Neighborhood that teaches messages of kindness and compassion and listening
(34:24):
and patient, you know, like just all the good things.
And where'd you shoot that beautiful Seami Valley, California?
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Have you been? My God? That brings out the best
in all of us? Doesn't some one of the greatest
shows in history.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
It was a joy. It was definitely a labor of love.
It was a great deal of work because it was
live action, it was preschool. The curriculum for preschool is
very exacting, and I wanted to do it correctly. So
the good news is I surrounded myself with a lot
of experts and consultants and professionals who knew what they
were talking about, and we did it. And I'm very
proud we got, you know how many episodes? Let's see,
(35:01):
I think we did eighteen total over two seasons, with
a tremendous cast of young actors. And that was a
whole new thing for me, working with like six year
old children who knew their lines better than me. And
I'm very proud of what I was able to do.
I'm curious to see what the next thing is, because
now that this has been opened up to me again,
(35:22):
you're catching me at an interesting time where I'm like,
what am I doing? What am I supposed to be doing?
What is my raison etra? What is my purpose? And
it's not scary. It doesn't give me anxiety or make
me feel desperate or anything. It really is just that
curiosity like what can I be doing?
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Now? Well you're doing Are you doing Zillo Goes Wild now?
Or that's done?
Speaker 2 (35:46):
I'm doing Zillo Gone Wild?
Speaker 1 (35:48):
So you're doing that now?
Speaker 2 (35:49):
Yes, sir, which is a very fun and easy travel
show on HGTV. And what I do love about that
is I just get to go into these strangers' homes
and they give me a tool or of their incredibly
weird and wild homes and it's so fun. So I
like it really makes me think, like, Okay, is my superpower?
Just making people feel comfortable? Is my superpower? Just that
(36:12):
I make friends pretty quickly and pretty easily. And if so,
I love it. What can I do with that?
Speaker 1 (36:19):
You know? But you are doing it?
Speaker 2 (36:20):
Well, I am doing it, But like, what more can
I do? Like? Am I supposed to run for office?
Am I gonna be a diplomat, Like I'm not saying
like quit anything that I'm doing. What else can I
do that will scratch the curiosity.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Your warmth and your kindness? So I wonder sometimes do
people come up to you in public? They must come
to you all the time, and do they want the
relationship with Kenneth the Page to go another step further
now that they've met you? Can we go have lunch together?
Can we go have a coffee to gother? Do you
find people that are really really drawn to you that way?
Speaker 2 (36:51):
I mean, like, I'm not hard to talk to. I
can make friends with wallpaper, but I like that.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
In the airport they're like, you're gonna miss your flight
because they won't shut up, which they love you, I
would suspect.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Yes, it's not far from the truth.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
That's you get a very warm response from people in
what you Deserve because you really really brought such an
essential ingredient to that show. Now, my last question, yes,
is you're on thirty Rock about Somebody. But these shows
you've done subsequently were your creation? Do you like doing
that you see yourself doing more of that or was
it more work than you envisioned?
Speaker 2 (37:22):
No? No, you know, depending on the project, it can
be a great deal of work, but also it depends
on where my heart is for that. So I am
so grateful for the chance to be a co creator
on a show, EP on a show, but I definitely
want to continue to do that. The most important aspect
of that to me, though, is the collaboration with people
that I like, I trust are talented. That has been
(37:45):
the most amazing gift to me about this crazy business
that we've chosen. Meeting these people who have such diverse
talents and you're able to create something together that is
so special to me, and that is very mean to me.
I don't need to be the solo artist. I don't
need to be the star. I like working with other people,
(38:07):
and I want to keep creating things that people enjoy,
enjoy with comfort, laugh at, can have kids watch.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
I like all of that. All right. Let me just
say that I'm so happy for you. And when the
show's over, you went out there, you got your house,
you got your pool. It's all coming together for you,
your vision of show business success, which I love because
if I had it to do over again, I would
have enjoyed myself more sure. My love to you. My
deep love to you.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
This was a delight.
Speaker 1 (38:38):
As Jack mcbrair and I were wrapping up, my producers
brought on a special guest, Kevin Brown, who thirty Rock
fans will recognize as dot Com Tracy Jordan's bodyguard and
right hand man. Brown surprised us at the end of
the taping, dressed head to toe in a graduation gown.
All no way, Kevin, where'd you graduate from? Is your
(39:02):
graduation time?
Speaker 4 (39:03):
It's today, and it's from City College and it's a
master's degree.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
Buddy, congratulations Kevin, you a master's and what well, I
just say Black studies, but it's called Study of the Americas.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
I like Black studies better.
Speaker 4 (39:18):
I'm a Black study scholar. I'm an adjunct professor at
Hunter College and I'm still do a stand up comedy.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
My god, how wonderful, Kevin.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
Oh, I miss you, buddy.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Good for you.
Speaker 4 (39:30):
I promised my mother in eighty eight when I was
dropping out, that I go back one day with no
intentions of going back. So twenty twenty one, she sadly
passed away. But I realized I didn't honor that promise
to her, and it became the most important decision I
haven't made in my life.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
I have to go back.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
So I went back and got my bachelor's in twenty
twenty one, and then I got my master's and it
took about two years. I think it was from twenty
twenty two to today, buddy. The timing of connecting with
you guys because I miss you, guys, Kevin. My classmates
ask me about you guys all the time. But it's
great to see you.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
You two, you too, Bunny, congratulations, Pal, Well, my love
to you both.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
Good to see you. Listen, Kevin, sincerely, congratulations. You should
be very proud of yourself. That's an amazing achievement.
Speaker 4 (40:15):
Well, I tell you, it's a pleasure to see you guys.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
Jac you are hilarious. You stole the many scenes from
all of us. See that's the second person that said
the same thing. You stole those scenes, you bastard.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
I'll read the lines and smile. Omit, that's all I got.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
My thanks to my friend, the one and only Jack mcbraar.
Here's the Thing is recorded at CDM Studios. This episode
was produced by Kathleen Russo, Zach MacNeice, and Maureen Hoban.
Our engineer is Frank Imperial. Our social media manager is
Danielle Gingrich. I'm Alec Baldwin. Here's the thing is brought
to you by iHeart Radio
This is Alec Baldwin and you were listening to Here's
the Thing from iHeart Radio. He was born in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
His mind is a blank slate. He is the son
of a pig farmer and one of the most iconic
characters in sitcom history. He could only have been played
by my guest today, Jack macbriar. He inhabited the role
(00:26):
of wide eyed, television obsessed Kenneth the Page on NBC's
Thirty Rock for seven seasons. Hailing from Macon, Georgia himself,
macbrair discovered his improv skills at Second City in Chicago.
He continued to hone his craft with recurring roles on
Late Night with Conan O'Brien and arrested development before landing
(00:49):
the part that would change his life. The Emmy nominated
actor has also voiced countless animated characters, and in twenty
twenty one, he created Produce Uston starred in the Apple
TV series Hello Jack, The Kind Of Show. His latest venture,
a travel series called Zillow Gone Wild, premiered on HGTV
(01:10):
just this past May. Playing Jack Donneghey alongside McBriar. Was
one of the most momentous parts of my career. I
was curious if thirty Rock had as big of an
impact on mcbrear's life as it did mine.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
It changed everything for me, would you say so it did?
Oh for damn sure, yes, sir. That was kind of
my first break and the fact that it was with you.
I was just so excited to have a job. But
then when I realized what the job was, I was like, Oh,
this is amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
What were you doing just prior to the show, because
your resume is like the menu at whoa Hop. It's
like the longest thing I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
With pictures to boot. But I was temping. I was
in California and I was temping at a place called Teleflora.
I was rearranging their storage facility. And when you have
some OCD tendencies like I do, that's a breeze. So
I was just a hustling boy. Yeah, thirty Rock by far,
(02:09):
which is crazy. And so this would have started in
two thousand and six, right, and you are fifteen years
older than me. Katrina Bowden is fifteen years younger than me,
and it would have been a few years ago. I
was reading an article that when we started thirty Rock,
you were forty eight years old, And when I was
reading that article, I was forty eight years old. I
was like, how is this possible?
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Right?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Because I mean, like you've always been a grown up
to me and I still eat cereal for dinner. But
it is amazing to me just to see how much
time has passed and how my life has changed, and
it's great, like I'm really having a good time.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
When you weren't a telefloor right before we did thirty Rock.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yes, sir, because I booked. I told y'all, how was
that possible? I don't know, but I mean I've never
been scared to, you know, hustle and pay the bills
and everything. I knew that I was gonna get something,
and I'd had little bites. I was able to do
Talladega Nights just before thirty Rock. I was doing a
couple of episodes of Arrested Development just before thirty Rock,
(03:10):
so I knew I was on the right track. And
of course, I mean Tina Fey giving me this lifeline
that really it changed everything.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Had you known her, because she quite often is accessing
people that she's known and worked with her she knows
something about them.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yes, sir, Absolutely, I started doing the comedy scene in
Chicago in the nineties nineteen nineties, and Tina Fey's husband,
Jeff Richmond, was my director at Second City.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
So he was Yes, that was a connection with Jeff
as absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Absolutely, Tina was on the main stage when I was
taking the classes and all that kind of stuff, but
she very quickly moved on to New York and Saturday
Night Live. Jeff stayed around for a couple more years,
and he was my director at Second City, and she
would come back to visit. I know, I know, and
it was just it was so fun to and then
I did move to New York just to give that
(04:00):
a shot as a poor person. So for three years
between two thousand and two and two thousand and five,
I was just just a hustling in New York and
exploring the UCB scene there, doing bits for Late Night
with Conan O'Brien, and that paid my bills, and then
I was able to hang out with all the people
from SNL that I really knew from Chicago. And so,
you know, I've always been in Tina and Jeff's life
(04:22):
for a very long time. And so when the time
came for her to create thirty right. I'm sure it
was Jeff, just like nudge and or say, hey, throw
mcbrear in there, so I'll take that bone.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Well for me and I wonder to get curious about
you as well. You know, we did season one. It
was kind of like introducing ourselves. And we get through
that first season. Seasons two, three, and four, we win
every prize in the world. We win everything. We have
a great time. Then season five comes and I'm thinking,
I don't think I want to do this anymore. Season five,
everybody acknowledged was like kind of more neemic, still good,
(04:54):
but not up to her standards of what she normally achieved.
Her and Carl Lock and everybody, and this says. The
season six comes and I'm like, sign me up for
five more seasons. This is funny again. We have a
great six season and we stop, and when it was over,
I was so sad. Oh yeah, what was your last
scene that you recorded on the show.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
It was the last scene of the series. It was
me as the president of NBC behind your old desk.
I know, I know, and I'm being pitched a show
by Liz Lemon's great granddaughter.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
I know, I know.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
This show was so weird.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
But my gosh, I loved it.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
I loved it. I loved it, And I will say
to your point, I've never been a person who can
like watch a series and be like, oh, that season
was lacking or whatever. Like when people talk about The Simpsons,
for example, they're like, oh, they should have thrown in
the towel at season seventeen. I'm like, these are just
as funny as ones I remember from seven years ago.
(05:55):
But I understand that some people are, you know, they
compare them differently, But as far as I can tell,
it was just all a blast. I was very you know,
you're catching me at an interesting time because I'm starting
to realize as a grown ass man, I need to
reevaluate how I.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Move in the world.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Meaning I was tempting at Teleflora before thirty Rocks started,
and so what I kind of had to do was
just hold on to money like this, just not let
go during the course of thirty Rock. And then because
I was on thirty right, You're able to get other jobs.
I think once people saw what we were doing and
(06:35):
what kind of character I could play on thirty Rock,
you do start getting more opportunities. You were very instrumental
in guiding me towards voiceover work, and now that is
my bread and butter. I mean, I know I sound
like a banjo, but I tell you what I like it.
I like it a lot. You're great, You're the best
banjo human best. But because of the opportunities that thirty
(06:59):
Rock afforded me, I really was just hoping that it
went on forever. I absolutely understand why Tina and the
writing crew were just like, well, the story has been
told after seven seasons, but it was again. It was
incredibly emotional. I remember I remember walking into your dressing
room on our last scene together, and I just burst
(07:21):
into tears. I burst into tears because I just realized
how special it was and how important the whole job was.
And not to blow smoke, sir, but I am so
grateful to you saying yes, because there's a you know,
we read stories about who all else audition for mister Donneghe,
(07:41):
and you know, all these other possible casting choices, and
if you had not said yes to this crazy live
action cartoon that we did, then like who's to say,
it might have gone like thirteen episodes and.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
You know the end.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
But no, seven years we got to do that.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
That crazy.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
It was nuts.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I did the last scene with Tina. We're in this
little marina, this really cute little marina down in Battery Park.
It's nighttime. We're shooting at night and it was cold,
remember it was really cold, and the whole crew was there.
And it's my last scene in the show. And I'm
going on and on with this monologue about the German
Luba for whatever, really funny speech. And as I'm groping
(08:24):
for what I want to say, she of course interests
me and says, I love you too, Jack, And I
couldn't get through it. I couldn't get through I was crying,
and I thought, this has been such an important part
of my life. But this was six and a half
years of my life, and it was such a great group,
as we all know. You know, I breeze out there.
I'm doing the reverse commute over the fifty ninth Street bridge,
hit Silver Cup. We're out there. The only complaint I
(08:46):
had was there was no restaurants nearby for us to
order decent food. None. None. We were like the Siberia
of Queen's there. Really important and economically a piston in
the engine of Manhattan. Economics, but no good restaurants was
to order or coffee truck, mud truck, taco truck, ice
cream truck, a lot of trucks. We ate more fucking
food off of a truck than I ever thought was possible. Construction, yeah,
(09:11):
like we're bridge builders or something. But yeah, when that
was over, I was so sad, and I was so
blessed by everybody there. Like I really believe, like any
group it could be sex in the city, the Beatles,
you name, you remove one person, it's not gonna work.
It had to be those five people that those five
people just meshed and the writing more importantly meshed for them.
And I was so so sad when it was over,
(09:32):
and it put a curse on me because everywhere I'd
go people would send me scripts and say, well, here's
a comedy, here's this, here's this. When I sit there
and I go, this is more cute than funny. Sure, sure,
I mean they taught these people taught me what funny, Carlos,
they taught me what was funny surgical?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
And you are right, I mean, like the choices made
with the casting and everything, I can't even imagine what
it was. Another thing that I was so impressed with
and I learned a great deal from was how strong
the were at mixing up the dynamics of the characters.
The fact that Ken at the page could have all
these scenes with Jack Donneghe, the fact that you know,
(10:10):
they could pare me with Jane, they could spare me
with Tracy like and it worked and it was fun
and it didn't seem weird. Well, I mean it seemed
weird because the man that show was weird. I mean,
do you remember you were dressed like Thomas Jefferson's misters?
I mean there were.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
What was the one I said to you before? First
of there's too many to count, and not even the
ones I'm in. I mean the Sandwich Day and all
you're drinking with Dennihee. I mean that Sandwich Day thing
is the funniest episode of all. But I mean, I
I'll never when you sit there and go remember your
live television when we do these are the live shows.
I want to ask you about that and the live
show you go. He was like you, mister Jordan. He
(10:49):
didn't like to rehearse at all. And then because to
Joey Montero and I'm doing my bad Dean Martin. You
know when I come out there and I thought to myself,
this is the most fun I've ever had in my life.
Almost fun I ever end of my life. Stupid as
hell funny.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
It was ridiculous. Oh, in the fact that Kenneth the
Page is immortal. I was like, Okay, here we go.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Well, Kenneth the Page was a joke, Like when we
said when people would say about Tracy, they say this
about you personally. They were like, when Tracy was on
the show, and I think it was Tina, it was
either Tina or Jane turns the other one and says,
you know, well, he's black. He could be thirty, he
could be seventy. Like we're trying to guess his age.
And people say that about you, They're like, Jack mcbaar,
(11:28):
he could be thirty, you could be ninety. You know,
you're so youthful.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Look in my brain, I'm seventeen.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
But god, that show.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It was ridiculous. You know what's interesting too for me,
and maybe it's the same for you. I just kind
of it didn't click for me that. Oh, once we're
done with the show, it will stream, it will live
on beyond, you know. Twenty thirteen when we wrapped or whatever.
And so for me, it's so strange when young people
recognize me from thirty Rock and are like quoting lines
(11:57):
and stories. I'm like, it kind of breaks my brain
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Actor and comedian Jack mcbraer. If you enjoy conversations with
singular comedians, check out my episode with Caroline Ray. You're
most comfortable when you're on stage, Probably you really love it.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Yeah, I feel like I always think my stand up
is a dinner party. I know what I'm gonna make,
you're my guests. I don't know what's gonna happen. But
the thing about stand up that amazes me is it's
only gonna happen in that moment in time. Even if
we film it, it's never gonna be what it feels
like live. So I think it's just an exchange of energy.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
To hear more of my conversation with Caroline Ray, go
to Here's the Thing dot Org. After the break, Jack
McBriar shares the story of his very first night in
New York City and visiting the set of Saturday Night Live.
(13:07):
I'm Alec Baldwin and you're listening to Here's the Thing.
Anyone who has caught actor Jack mcbrair in one of
his many roles on Phineas and Ferb big Mouth or
The Jack and Triumph Show, knows the depth of this talent.
I wanted to know when McBriar himself first discovered he
was funny.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
I think when you get that reaction of people laughing
at you, and it does scratch an itch, you know,
doing live comedy especially, you get that immediate gratification if
people laughing. People are laughing, then yo, you're funny. And
if they're not laughing, you're like, oh, let me learn
a trade.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
I'm got me go work at Teleflora. I think I
was so good at it.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Oh yeah, yeah, I got people who are vouched for me.
But when I think about that, I think about opportunities.
I didn't even start doing school plays till I was
in tenth grade. We moved to Conyer's Georgia, and so
for me acting showbiz that wasn't even on the radar.
When I would watch television, I would love shows like
(14:08):
Carol Burnett and Friends, and so I think I got
bit by the bug then of ensemble comedy making each
other laugh, not having to be the star of anything
that really appealed to me at a very early age. Again,
I did not know of opportunities to participate in that,
so did the plays in high school. Starting in tenth grade,
(14:30):
realized I wanted to pursue performance, and I always enjoyed
getting the comic relief roles or whatever, but again I
didn't know what my options were. Went to college, didn't
really get to perform there, but then moving to Chicago,
but you studied what I got a BS in theater management,
emphasis on the bs.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Es now, But were your parents encouraging you back then?
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Performance writers are always very supportive, but again if this
is in the zeitgeist, if they if there's no understanding
of what it means to be a performer, and there's
some lean years in there too, but they were being supportive,
but because they didn't fully understand what it meant, they're
just like all right. And their three rules were make
(15:16):
sure you're able to pay your bills, always have insurance,
and do something that makes you happy. So I was
able to check those boxes.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
What did they teach? They were both teachers, right.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Yes, sir, Mom was health them pe and dad was
social studies. And I mean decades.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
It's funny you say that that's the word social study.
My dad taught studies the term they had use.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
That term right, So in a weird way, I kind
of just assumed I would be a teacher as well,
that I would have been a good teacher. But I
am so glad that I was, like, I let curiosity
get the best of me and be like, I wonder
what it would be like to try this. I wonder
what it would be like to move to a different city.
(15:58):
So I'm so glad I trusted my gut there and
just went for it.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Now, would you say that like many people who they
take a swing at an acting career, at an on
camera or on stage career, and then they're convinced that
it's going to be too much of an uphill road,
so they access some other part of the business. They
want to get into sets and wardrobe and editing or
camera or directing or writing anything that's not acting and
not performing. Did you feel that the theater administration was
(16:26):
you saw yourself doing something that was just your setting
your sights on something not performing.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Honestly, in hindsight, I think I was straddling the fence
at that point. I was like, there's no way I
can make a career out of acting. So let me
get some business courses in here as well, so that
I can go and be a business person or you know,
just have a fallback essentially. And I don't regret doing that.
I mean, I'm not gonna lie. Having some of that
(16:54):
business background, and especially with like accounting and finance economics,
that has been immensely helpful for me as a grown up,
no matter what career or want to chose it. But
I'm very grateful that I chose it as an actor,
because I mean, I can balance the checkbook real good
and just have an understanding. Now, if we want to
dig deeper, I do have to wonder if I need
(17:16):
to look at some maybe d programming on my relationship
with money or planning for the future or anything like that.
But I think that's just a human thing and it
wouldn't matter if I was acting or not.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
But I think people rarely or certainly not enough to
look at performers, especially ones who work a lot and
have been successful and understand them as people and say
that if you grow up with tremendous economic insecurity, once
you come into this business, if you succeed, you don't
just make a lot of money, you make it fast. Yes,
Like one day I'm standing there and a guy goes,
we're gonna make a test deal with you to do
(17:47):
this TV show. They're gonna get twelve five an episode
and twenty five for the pilot. And I'm like, my
Gomer pilot. I will do my Goomer. I'm like, god,
y'all gonna pay me two thousand, five hundred for the
and two two fifty for the show and the Like,
my agent literally on the phonecals, no, you Maron, We're
gonna pay you twenty five thousand for the pilot and
(18:08):
twelve thousand five dred an episode. I'm not going all sudden.
The phone booth I'm in haint hint no phones back
then is the early eighties. The phone booth I'm in
near Culver Studios is starts spinning. The room is spinning.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Yes, I mean it was a shift of gears and
I just had. You know, it took me a while
to find my legs. Even with that, I am very
grateful that I did not get thirty Rock until I
was thirty three years old, because at that point I
knew who I was, I knew what things I needed.
I am not a car guy. I still drive my
two thousand and four Hundai Accent, So I did not
(18:42):
go out and buy a Ferrari or anything like that.
I knew that I wanted a house and I've always always,
always wanted a swimming pool.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Do you have a house now, sir?
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Look this is my house. It is my dream house, not.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
The house thirty Rock built.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
When I give the tour, I'm like, well, Tina Fey,
wont me this exactly? You know that they gave me
a page uniform for a rap gift, no swear to go.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Are you kidding me? They said to me, if you
could take one prop with you, pick one thing you wanted.
It's a memento of the show. And I still have
it on my desk and my office, which is there
was a glass a glass globe of the world mounted
on a stand like a glass stand. They said, you know,
ge innovator of nineteen you know ninety nine whatever to
Jack's period was. And then I have this award I
(19:28):
was given. It's small, it's like the size of like
a like I how tall. It was like a coke gift.
And then they gave it to me and I still
cherish to tell you.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Fe also gave me the snow globe that Kenneth holds
at the very very end of the series that has
a little tiny thirty rock inside the snow globe, and
I have it.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
But I'll never forget. When we were contemplating, my ex
wife was going to come on the show and play
your stepmother. And she comes to New York to visit you,
and your father has died down in Stone Mountain and
your father is dead, and your mother comes up at
your stepmother and it's my ex wife, Kim Basin, and
she's gonna come and do the show. And we fall
(20:07):
in love and get married, and you become quasi illegally
my step son. I'm your step father, and then I
make you the president of NBC, of NBC Entertainment. And
I was almost swallowing my tongue and gagging on this idea.
It was the funniest. And it was always things they'd
say to me that I sit there and go, you
can't be serious, We can't do that. Oh. I was
(20:28):
always looking at car locking and he'd hand me the
script on Wednesday before the read through. I'm in the makeup,
dur In the morning reading the script and I'd say,
are you out of your fucking mind? We can't do this.
And he always said the same phrase, he goes, it's
a big swing, it's a big swing, but we believe
in you. We know you can make it. I was like,
you little bastards, I mean, and they always had these
insane I did well. They didn't do it, obviously, but oh,
(20:49):
I was dreaming of being.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Stuff you imagined. Now, mister Baldock, you certainly don't remember this.
I actually met you before thirty Rock.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
The year was two by buying Flowers.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
L seventh, two thousand and one, you were the host
of Saturday Night Live with musical guest Coldplay and Tina
Fey Rachel Jets. They were like, showing me it was
my first night in New York City. It was that
was the first time I'd ever visited, and they were like,
I got to go to the after party and they
brought me over and I got to meet you very
very briefly, and they introduced me to Chris Martin from Coldplay.
(21:25):
And now all these years later, I'm like friends with
the both of y'all. I know, I can't get over
I can't.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Get it is. It is for me that is the magic.
The people you get to meet.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
I know.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
I mean I say to people, I like, you know,
thirty rocks to me, which is perfect. But that idea
that to go in to work with her and be
the beneficiary of all her great talents. It was really
like the highlight of my life. Now, when you go
to Second City, what's that experience like for you? Was
there a competitive nature to that? Do you go into
there and you're like, God, that guy's funny and she's funny,
(21:57):
and you're you want to keep up with them? Well?
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Good question. One thing that really drew me to improvisation
was the collaboration and the ensemble part of it, and
really the basic tenets of make your partner look better
than you do, and that really aligned with what I
liked doing and what I feel that I was good
(22:22):
at doing. So Yes, in terms of competition, you have
to audition and you might get cast and you might not.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
At the end of the day, you do have to
make people laugh, but I appreciated not having to, you know,
it was not so cutthroat, and I made some of
the most incredible friends and I learned so much from
watching people who were better than me, and I think,
I do have to admit I think, in my heart
of hearts, I knew that I could succeed at this.
I knew I could get some traction, but it was
(22:50):
such a I remember when I decided to focus on
Second City. It really was a revelatory experience. I was
sitting in the audience, it was my first time being
at this theater, even no and what it was seeing
the show, seeing Adam McKay, Rachel Dretch, all these phenomenal performers,
and then it was just like the heavens opened up
and I was like, this is what.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
I want to do.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
They are doing exactly what I want to do, and
this is their job, and these people are dying like
it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
It was so fun. I went to UCB to do
the live episode of thirty Rock. We had the strike
and we go there and because we weren't doing the
episode due to the strike, we did it live at
UCB and eighty Falco role the Congressional The congresswoman who
I was in love with was played by Paula Paula
Pelle and she walks up to me. Paula Pell who.
(23:36):
I don't think there's another person in this business I
worship more as much, maybe like Paula Pell. Oh my god,
she's the one that wrote all the Tony Bennett sketches,
you know, hold that thought about blah blah blah. We
do this spot for you know, lamasille, nail fungus, whatever
it was. And we do and she goes. You know,
(23:57):
I dated a woman once who was one one thousand
gorgeous until it took a shoe shop and her toe
nails looked like a bunch of barbecue fridos. I mean,
Paula Pelle wrote this. No clippers contain those poker chips.
Paula Pelle, Paula Pell, she made me cry. We do
UCB and she's playing EDI's role, and she walks up
(24:17):
and she wraps her thigh around my body and starts
humping me. Oh yeah, slow, like almost imperceptibly. She's the
funniest fucking woman, like one of the ten I've ever met.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
In my life, and nice and generous with a laugh.
She's sweet as she's the best. She's the best.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
But when we did the show live, I thought to myself,
I could never last with these people. You must have
loved every minute I did. I did. How long were
you there.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
At Second City? I was there for about seven years,
did three resident stages, the first one directed by Jeff Richmond,
and then when I did move to New York, for
those three years I was able to do ucb Amy
Poehler was in town. All the SNL gang would come
for the Sunday night Asscat show.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
It really fell Asscat.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
That's it, sir, Yes, sir, I.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Want to go do ascast they asked to do, Like
I would just play say one line. Yeah, they had
me come on stage and say some something that would
launch the show.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Yes, sir, you would. You would give like a monologue
that would inspire the improvisation that would happen after that.
But fella, I tell you what my whole thing. You know,
it's so interesting when people are just like, oh, I
could never do improv. I And for me, improv is
like breathing. But my argument is, like everybody's doing improv
all the time. I mean, we're not giving the script
to like go around and like say lines all day.
(25:29):
So for me, it's just the interaction with the other
people on stage, the supporting that. Yes, anding it's just
I mean baked within me. But I do understand how
some people would be reticent to do so. But I
can totally vouch that anybody can do improv.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Two quick things they want to ask you. One is
thirty Rock was a show that was adorned with guest stars.
We had so many famous people come on that was
just ridiculous. And was it one you had a special
feeling for that? I mean, I'm sure there's many, but
what's what's one that's stands out in your mind? So many?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
You know, I became such good friends with John Hamm
because of his time on thirty Rock, But I do
have to say one that was just I still to
this day can't get over it. Tim Conway, who joined
us for the episode I believe it was called Subway Hero,
and all of my scenes were with him, and he
was my comedy hero growing up, so watching Carol Burnette
(26:24):
and friends, watching him, watching him and Don Nott's do
their two person movies, and.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Marvin Corman on all of them, all of them. I
loved Harvey Korman.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
God bless but so to be able to meet my
comedy hero, and he lived up to all of my
hopes and expectations, and we got to become friends. After that,
I would go and have lunch with him and his family,
like it was the best. It was the best when
you meet your hero and they absolutely live up to expectations.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
So you'd say that Conway, where's your family?
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Yes, sir, among your yes, just because again, like when
I take that stick back, I can't believe what we
were able to do and who we were able to
play with and Tim Conway, what a joy. We had
so many fun people come here. I can't believe. Catherine
O'Hara played my mom. Katherine O'Hara, You.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Know, I was always knocked out. I worshiped Carrie Fisher.
She came on the show. I loved Carrie. I mean
there were people on her episodes a great episode and
there were people that came out. But of course, even
though she wasn't a guest star, she was more of
us recurring character. Everybody's eclipsed by Elaine, who played my mother.
When I was doing those scenes with Elaine, oh I was.
I just couldn't help it, and she was, and she
(27:35):
taught me so much.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
She did.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
You could tell she was completely contrived and completely fake.
She would pretend to blow a line at the end
of the take. She was buying herself rehearsal time. She
do take one, take two, flub the line, Take three,
flip the line, Take four, flub the line. Take five,
get more of the line. Take six, git almost the
whole line. Then by seven she was warmed up, and
then she'd just go like she was skeet shooting. She'd
be like pol and she shoot all the clays out
(27:58):
of the sky. She nailed.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
He mailed it. My first interaction with miss Stritch was
I think one of her first episodes. She came down
and so we put her in a guest dressing room
that was just down the hall from mine, and so
here I am sitting in my page uniform, and she
hated to get some ice. She's like, this sofa needs
to come out of my dressing room. I'm like, and
(28:20):
I'll tell you what. Instead of trying to explain to
her like, oh, madam, I'm an actor, I was just like, Okay,
this is a costume about me and Vanessa Hoffman.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
We're in Queen's Actually we're not in Manhattan. On Rockefelle Plaza.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Me and little Vanessa Hoffman were lugging this giant sofa
out of her dressing room just because it was easier
that way.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
She thought you were the help well actor and comedian
Jack mcbraar. If you're enjoying this conversation, tell a friend
and be sure to follow Here's the Thing on the
iHeartRadio app, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. When
we come back, Jack McBriar shares the inspiration for his
(29:00):
new show Zillow Gone Wild. I'm atc Baldwin and you're
listening to Here's the Thing. In addition to his memorable
television work, Jack mcbrair is also a thespian. He performed
(29:22):
in the Broadway hit Waitress in London's West End and
in the Gershwin musical Crazy for You at Lincoln Center.
I was curious if McBriar had any traditional theater training
or background.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
High school theater really didn't do it in college, No,
I mean Second City was live performance and it was,
you know, eight shows a week. But that was the
easy stuff. When I sometimes I just say yes to
things to see what it is like and to kind
of scare myself. So saying yes to that one night
only performance of Crazy for you was terrifying, but we
did it and it was really fun saying yes to
(29:56):
six months in London on the West End doing Waitress.
It was terrifying, but I said yes, and I did it,
and I'm just I'm proud of myself.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Go over over there were you had you already done
thirty Rock when you do Waitress?
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Uh? Yes, I believe Crazy for You is twenty seventeen
and then Waitress was twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
So you went there just a few years ago, and like,
how did you? I mean, I mean, I'm always terrified
of this, of performing over there. I'm like, how did
you go over with a British audience? Oh gosh?
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Everybody was super kind. Now, what was interesting is it
was a musical and I mean, I can sort of
carry a tune, but I am not a singer. Our
star was like Katherine McPhee, who is a singer. But
the good news was as the comic relief, I had more,
you know, of the power songs. But i tell you what,
Like those reviews were just like, well, not the strongest singer,
he's definitely delightfully funny, and I'm like, I'll take it.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Yes, a basket of chim and when you did thirty Rock.
I'm curious when anything you do with improv you have
more of a somewhat of an influence and a contribution
to this in terms of the text and the material,
when you were doing thirty Rock or anything you've done,
if people come to you and asked you for your
input into the material or you just take the script
on thirty Ruck and do it as written, they never
(31:07):
asked you what your thoughts were about the material.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
It was rare that they would ever ask me what
I thought on thirty Rock. And the good news was,
you know, the cripts were pretty fantastic. Now, with that
being said, I don't bring nothing to the table. And
there were a few times where you know, it was
just like really and it was so rare, but I'll
never forget. There was one time they made Kenneth speak
(31:30):
gibberish and I was like, well, as they say in
Stone Mountain, old gig to see sell people. And I
will never forget it was Carlock Matt Hubbard, maybe both
of them said no, no, it's sea salt gone pee.
Paul on the like, oh wait are these real words? No? No,
I was like mm hmm, okay, So just having to
(31:54):
get gibberish down correctly. But at the same time it
was just like if you trust those scripts, then who care,
like just say the words cash the check taking that
you know? It is interesting because again you were the
one who's like Jack, you should think about voice acting.
And now what I have learned in the years that
I've been able to do it is, I guess in
(32:15):
the voice acting world, I have what's called a signature voice,
meaning like, when you hire me, this is what you're
gonna get. And so even though I've been able to
do all sorts of different characters, they all kind of
sound alike as opposed to it well, and I mean,
I'm okay with it. But you know those actors who
work on the Simpsons who do like twelve different voices
and stuff. I just don't have that skill set. So
(32:38):
I am very deferential. Like I am very I give
all accolades to people who are just better trained at
voice acting than me.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Now thirty Rock was over, and you wouldn't did describe this?
What is the children's show you did?
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (32:54):
The preschool show that I was able to do for Apple,
Hello Jack, the Kindness show.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Whose idea was that it was mine, and why did
you want to go in that direction?
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Well, it was another like revelatory kind of thing. I
had just reached a point. So this would have been
maybe in like twenty seventeen, where I have never been
very politically active or even really politically aware, because the
sad reason is I didn't have to be. And in
twenty seventeen, I think I just started paying more attention
(33:24):
to the state of the world and how people were
behaving towards each other. And it hurt my heart. It
surprised me, and it disappointed me, and I was confused.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
I was like, I.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Thought human beings, I thought grown ups knew how to
treat each other with compassion and this kind of thing.
And so as I felt my heart breaking, I was like, well,
but what can I do about it? And I'm start
writing checks to every organization that I think can benefit
from it. But then I was like, but what can
Jack mcbrair do with his very limited skill? And so
(34:01):
I thought about it, and I was like, you know,
everybody's treating each other so rudely, and these are like
lessons that we should have learned as children, like on
mister Rogers neighborhood. And then I was like, Oh, I
want to do a show very much like mister Rogers
Neighborhood that teaches messages of kindness and compassion and listening
(34:24):
and patient, you know, like just all the good things.
And where'd you shoot that beautiful Seami Valley, California?
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Have you been? My God? That brings out the best
in all of us? Doesn't some one of the greatest
shows in history.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
It was a joy. It was definitely a labor of love.
It was a great deal of work because it was
live action, it was preschool. The curriculum for preschool is
very exacting, and I wanted to do it correctly. So
the good news is I surrounded myself with a lot
of experts and consultants and professionals who knew what they
were talking about, and we did it. And I'm very
proud we got, you know how many episodes? Let's see,
(35:01):
I think we did eighteen total over two seasons, with
a tremendous cast of young actors. And that was a
whole new thing for me, working with like six year
old children who knew their lines better than me. And
I'm very proud of what I was able to do.
I'm curious to see what the next thing is, because
now that this has been opened up to me again,
(35:22):
you're catching me at an interesting time where I'm like,
what am I doing? What am I supposed to be doing?
What is my raison etra? What is my purpose? And
it's not scary. It doesn't give me anxiety or make
me feel desperate or anything. It really is just that
curiosity like what can I be doing?
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Now? Well you're doing Are you doing Zillo Goes Wild now?
Or that's done?
Speaker 2 (35:46):
I'm doing Zillo Gone Wild?
Speaker 1 (35:48):
So you're doing that now?
Speaker 2 (35:49):
Yes, sir, which is a very fun and easy travel
show on HGTV. And what I do love about that
is I just get to go into these strangers' homes
and they give me a tool or of their incredibly
weird and wild homes and it's so fun. So I
like it really makes me think, like, Okay, is my superpower?
Just making people feel comfortable? Is my superpower? Just that
(36:12):
I make friends pretty quickly and pretty easily. And if so,
I love it. What can I do with that?
Speaker 1 (36:19):
You know? But you are doing it?
Speaker 2 (36:20):
Well, I am doing it, But like, what more can
I do? Like? Am I supposed to run for office?
Am I gonna be a diplomat, Like I'm not saying
like quit anything that I'm doing. What else can I
do that will scratch the curiosity.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Your warmth and your kindness? So I wonder sometimes do
people come up to you in public? They must come
to you all the time, and do they want the
relationship with Kenneth the Page to go another step further
now that they've met you? Can we go have lunch together?
Can we go have a coffee to gother? Do you
find people that are really really drawn to you that way?
Speaker 2 (36:51):
I mean, like, I'm not hard to talk to. I
can make friends with wallpaper, but I like that.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
In the airport they're like, you're gonna miss your flight
because they won't shut up, which they love you, I
would suspect.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Yes, it's not far from the truth.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
That's you get a very warm response from people in
what you Deserve because you really really brought such an
essential ingredient to that show. Now, my last question, yes,
is you're on thirty Rock about Somebody. But these shows
you've done subsequently were your creation? Do you like doing
that you see yourself doing more of that or was
it more work than you envisioned?
Speaker 2 (37:22):
No? No, you know, depending on the project, it can
be a great deal of work, but also it depends
on where my heart is for that. So I am
so grateful for the chance to be a co creator
on a show, EP on a show, but I definitely
want to continue to do that. The most important aspect
of that to me, though, is the collaboration with people
that I like, I trust are talented. That has been
(37:45):
the most amazing gift to me about this crazy business
that we've chosen. Meeting these people who have such diverse
talents and you're able to create something together that is
so special to me, and that is very mean to me.
I don't need to be the solo artist. I don't
need to be the star. I like working with other people,
(38:07):
and I want to keep creating things that people enjoy,
enjoy with comfort, laugh at, can have kids watch.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
I like all of that. All right. Let me just
say that I'm so happy for you. And when the
show's over, you went out there, you got your house,
you got your pool. It's all coming together for you,
your vision of show business success, which I love because
if I had it to do over again, I would
have enjoyed myself more sure. My love to you. My
deep love to you.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
This was a delight.
Speaker 1 (38:38):
As Jack mcbrair and I were wrapping up, my producers
brought on a special guest, Kevin Brown, who thirty Rock
fans will recognize as dot Com Tracy Jordan's bodyguard and
right hand man. Brown surprised us at the end of
the taping, dressed head to toe in a graduation gown.
All no way, Kevin, where'd you graduate from? Is your
(39:02):
graduation time?
Speaker 4 (39:03):
It's today, and it's from City College and it's a
master's degree.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
Buddy, congratulations Kevin, you a master's and what well, I
just say Black studies, but it's called Study of the Americas.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
I like Black studies better.
Speaker 4 (39:18):
I'm a Black study scholar. I'm an adjunct professor at
Hunter College and I'm still do a stand up comedy.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
My god, how wonderful, Kevin.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
Oh, I miss you, buddy.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Good for you.
Speaker 4 (39:30):
I promised my mother in eighty eight when I was
dropping out, that I go back one day with no
intentions of going back. So twenty twenty one, she sadly
passed away. But I realized I didn't honor that promise
to her, and it became the most important decision I
haven't made in my life.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
I have to go back.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
So I went back and got my bachelor's in twenty
twenty one, and then I got my master's and it
took about two years. I think it was from twenty
twenty two to today, buddy. The timing of connecting with
you guys because I miss you, guys, Kevin. My classmates
ask me about you guys all the time. But it's
great to see you.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
You two, you too, Bunny, congratulations, Pal, Well, my love
to you both.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
Good to see you. Listen, Kevin, sincerely, congratulations. You should
be very proud of yourself. That's an amazing achievement.
Speaker 4 (40:15):
Well, I tell you, it's a pleasure to see you guys.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
Jac you are hilarious. You stole the many scenes from
all of us. See that's the second person that said
the same thing. You stole those scenes, you bastard.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
I'll read the lines and smile. Omit, that's all I got.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
My thanks to my friend, the one and only Jack mcbraar.
Here's the Thing is recorded at CDM Studios. This episode
was produced by Kathleen Russo, Zach MacNeice, and Maureen Hoban.
Our engineer is Frank Imperial. Our social media manager is
Danielle Gingrich. I'm Alec Baldwin. Here's the thing is brought
to you by iHeart Radio
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