Comedian and Actor MIKE BIRBIGLIA grabs a seat on the TV Topics couch to talk with host Steven Prusakowski about his comedy career, his latest special 'The Old Man and the Pool' and also answers some TV TOPICS questions that explore him through his TV viewing past, present, and hypotheticals.
(Photo by: PEACOCK)
#MikeBirbiglia #TheGoodLife #Comedy
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:03):
Hey, where's the remote? It's time for TV Topics, where
those who love television discuss the series and
performances that should be on your radar.
Welcome back to TV TOPICS. I'm your host Stephen
Persikowski. Hanging out today on the TV
TOPICS couch, is a comedian and actor who played Miles in a film
he wrote, directed and starred in called Don't Look Twice.
(00:25):
He was also the wonderfully inline Danny Pearson on Orange
is the New Black and he's given the world lots of humor and lots
of himself in his stand up specials, including The New One
and The Old Man and the Pool. Of course, I'm talking about the
great Mike Birbiglia. Welcome to the show, Mike.
(00:46):
Before we dive into your work a little bit more, I want to start
with some TV topics. Remember, there is no pressure
here and there's no right or wrong answers.
It's just a bit of fun starting with this.
Looking back over the years, what is your relationship with
TV been? Are you ATV, junkie, watches
everything? Are you very selective?
Do you have go to shows? Man, it's crazy.
You know, I am like I was on Orange is the New Black as the
(01:13):
character Danny Pearson. And that was a weird one because
I was like a die hard for that show before I was on it.
So that was, that was like a show that I was kind of hugely
into. I get really into like a lot of
documentary series. Like I, I love the Steve Martin
(01:33):
documentary that was recently on.
I saw I watched the Mother God documentary.
Did you see that? I did not see that one.
It's called It's called Love Haswon the Cult of Mother God.
It was on Max. It's a three-part documentary
series chronicling like a cult leader who called herself Mother
(01:54):
God. Sounds like a family show, yeah?
I mean, I'd, I, I get really, I,I dig into a lot of like things
like that and then, and then, and then with, you know, the,
the Craig Mason series, I got really into both Chernobyl and,
(02:18):
and, and and. What The Last of Us?
Last of Us, sorry. Yes.
The the nerds are going to come not to me for having a pause on
that Craig Mason series, both ofthem, Chernobyl and Last of Us.
I don't know, I, I, I get reallyinto, I would say documentary.
I live in the space of like documentary stuff and and sort
(02:39):
of like maybe long farm dramaticstuff or sci-fi stuff.
Well, the Chernobyl and kind of played like a documentary and it
was probably one of the most terrifying things I've ever
watched on television to the point where I bought the pills
and the testers and everything else that you need just in case,
because that's what I I, I thinkyou're in Brooklyn, I'm in
(03:02):
Jersey City. So I think we're right down the
river from a potential life changing experience in the worst
of ways, which could be one of your specials.
You know, that's you know, you said you could ever predict the
future, but if that comes up, I'm sure there's plenty of
laughs, like when you had hair and teeth and then didn't, but
that was sorry, but that was really horrific.
(03:25):
And then the The Last of Us, I thought, you know, it, it didn't
have, it wasn't as horrifically,you know, so terrifying all the
way through, but there were little elements of it, even
though that cold open with a the1960s as like a a Dick Cavett
type talk show that he's like, Oh yeah, by the way, yeah, the
(03:46):
the fungus or whatever will evolve and wipe us all out.
And that's when we all die. I'm like Mason has a a real good
way of making taking the scienceand and scaring the life out of
you. Yeah.
And then what? And then, for that matter, in
the same vein as Last of Us, I think Watchmen was like that for
me. Oh yeah, yeah.
(04:07):
Watchmen, you know, yeah, a different a different kind of
like angle, I guess, but definitely, you know, definitely
very connected with you in like a way that you're like, this is
television doesn't isn't supposed to do this.
You know, you're supposed to laugh and turn it off half an
hour later and forget about it. Not go out and change your life.
But yeah, but both of those series were I mean, all three of
(04:30):
those are fantastic choices. Is there a a prime time show?
The first one like one that you first remember loving?
It's funny, like I, I'm, I thinkI was in the child of the 80s of
like that Friday night, kind of a full house, all those shows
(04:54):
like was like a full house. And I think Family Matters was
the show that followed it. And yeah, I just remember being
home on Friday nights and when Iwas a kid and just watching
those shows and, and yeah, that that was definitely a big part
of my life. And then also like, weirdly,
(05:16):
like when Seinfeld came out in the 90s, I was just super
psyched that there was a stand up comedian on television.
Like I was just like, oh, this, you know, I don't know.
I was really into it from jump. Yeah.
And then after that, then numerous, I mean, I can't
(05:36):
remember the the names of who who made the jump.
And they started like it seemed like every few months a new
comedian was getting a show and they lasted a few months.
But yeah, like through the late through the 90s, I'd have to
pull up. I'd have to pull up on Google
who. But well, I think Roseanne.
I don't know if Roseanne pre dated Seinfeld.
(05:58):
Yeah, it's weird like that. Yeah, there was a when I got
into comedy in the late 90s, thepath of quote, UN quote success
in comedy as a stand up comedianwas you become a comedian and
then you get a sitcom. And that was Ray Romano, that
was Roseanne, Seinfeld, etcetera.
And I actually was on that trajectory until about 2008 when
(06:23):
I shot like a sitcom pilot for CBS based on my life.
It was like untitled microbilia project.
And then it didn't get picked up.
And then that's when I went into, I kind of doubled and
tripled down on making these specials, you know, like, you
know, I made Sleepwalk with me, my girlfriend's boyfriend, Thank
God for jokes, the new one. And then the most recent one,
(06:45):
which is called The Old Man in the Pool.
And those were those, those became weirdly, those became
what I, I do. And then, and then the rise of
Netflix coincided with me writing all those specials.
And so previous to that, there wasn't really a universe for
that. It was more like Comedy Central.
But my specials don't really. I was on Comedy Central, but I
(07:08):
don't really fit into the mold of what Comedy Central hours
were. And so that that was just a
fortuitous timing thing. Yeah, I mean, it's everything
keeps evolving, especially this last 10 years so quickly.
You know, I'm kind of wondering where does it all go?
You know, it started in clubs. And then I, I know one of your
(07:28):
specials you're mentioning your DVDs.
I'm like, does anyone do DVDs? Anymore.
Yeah, sure. You know, I watched several of
yours on on my phone, couple on the TV and it's just like, and I
when I first started listening to comedy, it was how has it
affected your comedy? Like the the constant evolution?
Like do you have to reinvent yourself in any way or are you
(07:50):
pretty stand, you know? I feel like the last, I want to
say, yeah, since, you know, the last 15 years or so, I've just
really leaned into these kind ofsolo autobiographical shows
where there's some kind of narrative arc.
And I merged things that I studied in playwriting and that
(08:11):
I learned coming up at as a doorperson at the at a comedy club
in Washington, DC, the Washington, DC improv.
And I've kind of merged them into these shows that, you know,
there's an audience for now. Like when I started doing them,
there wasn't, there wasn't really an audience for them.
And, and my kind of Comedy Central audience kind of came
with me for the journey of this thing.
(08:32):
And, and now, you know, like I'mon tour, I'm on like A50 city
tour right now with the next show, which is currently called
Please Stop the Ride. And like, it's funny, 'cause
people are, you know, I'll have shows where it's an hour, an
hour and a half of jokes and stories.
And sometimes people will literally be like, oh, I was
expecting an arc at the end, youknow?
(08:52):
And, and so that's sort of part of the tour that's in process
right now is finding an arc and an ending for it.
I'm going to get into a little more of your work, but I do have
a couple more of the TV topics questions.
What show or shows make you laugh most?
And like being a fan of comedy, you can probably name several
over the decades, but like, whatdo you stand out?
(09:16):
Like, I think Tim Robinson's show I think you should Leave
probably makes me laugh in an embarrassing way.
Like, like, like it's, I mean, I'm screaming, laughing watching
that show and and I think like I'm trying to think like I've
(09:39):
always been kind of a die hard for even since I was a kid for
SNL. Like, you know, Seth Meyers was
on my podcast working it out recently and we're we're talking
about how this thing I've heard him say before, which is like
with SNL, people criticize it over the years, but it's
actually always been the same, which is some of the sketches
are great, some of them are bad,some of them are OK.
(10:02):
And that's every week since since the beginning of time and
the beginning of, you know, the show in his 1970s.
And that's, I mean, I, I still am a stand for SNL.
Like I just love it. I love the new cast.
I don't know. But his show does not seem, I
mean, it's so guy caring, gutsy,I guess it doesn't seem like it
(10:26):
should work. And how do you pitch this?
And how do you say we're going to shoot this and hope that
people are going to laugh and people are loving it.
I do as well. But it just seems like it
shouldn't work. That's amazing hitting
percentage that he nails. It's amazing.
And I I felt the same way about Portlandia, Carrie Brownstein
and Fred Armisen's show where like I think there's something
(10:49):
to be said for these shows wherethere's kind of no grown-ups in
the room. I mean, not the Carrie and Fred
aren't grown-ups, but like that there's it weirdly feels like
there's no kind of like executive pull in some shows
like that. Like I don't when I watch, I
think you should leave. Like it doesn't feel like anyone
(11:11):
is saying what we need to appealto blah, blah, blah or whatever.
Like it's just true. It's just oddly like unhinged.
Yeah, that, that that's a good word for it.
Unhinged. And and you just like every time
you watch it, you go in knowing that you won't know what to
expect and it's still somehow defies any kind of expectations,
(11:32):
if that makes sense. I think any, I think that if you
pitched Coffin Flop to a group of people, I, I, I don't think a
majority of those people would say that's a great idea.
Let's film that. I can't imagine like I've told
people to watch it and they saidwhat's it about?
I'm like just watch it because anything I tell you will not
(11:56):
play a a fraction as well and will only ruin the element of
surprise. But there's just no way to say,
oh, you have to watch, you know,a coffin flop.
It's. Impossible.
It's. One of those shows I think
people come up to you like, oh, did you see this crazy show?
And then that's about. That's all you need.
Yeah, I agree. Is there?
A Are you a crier? Yeah, definitely, yeah.
(12:16):
What? What's the last show that made
you cry last? Show that made me cry I would
say, you know, I think, I think I think it's possible Chernobyl
was that like it's there's certain there's certain shows
(12:39):
that kind of go to such an intense place that it's it's and
it's so vivid that it's hard notto feel and that you know and
then in terms of like a drama that made me cry like the last
one I'm thinking of is like Friday Night Lights, like Friday
Night Lights like really made mecry and even like, and even like
(13:00):
like I think it's the same creators or some of the same
collaborators. Parenthood made me cry and and
parenthood the movie. I mean, I I cried that too.
Before we had our daughter. I showed my wife the movie
Parenthood because she had neverseen that and and we just cried
and cried. Do you cry more after being a
(13:20):
parent than you did beforehand? I think similar like I think
like my aesthetic is like the things I'm drawn to are things
are in that kind of like James LBrooks kind of funny, but then
the the tears of it kind of sneak up on you kind of thing,
which is that I think that's what I think parenthood does did
(13:41):
so well as ATV series. Go into some of your other work
your your special the old man inthe pool and you have a a
Peacock special like good ones, which kind of shows how the
sausage is made and then breaks down a little bit of your
process. But you know, in in one of your
specials, you mentioned that youstarted telling jokes because it
(14:06):
got the attention of a girl and essentially you made her pee
yourself. And how did it go from there to
a life in comedy? Like where's it's a big jump.
Yeah, that was from that was from my girlfriend's boyfriend
and and it was I, I think somewhere, I want to say I was
(14:26):
maybe 15 or 16 years old. My brother Joe took me to see
Steven Wright live, who was, if people aren't familiar, just
this amazingly brilliant and is amazingly brilliant deadpan one
liner comedian. And that sort of sent me into
kind of a rabbit hole of like writing my notebook, like random
thoughts, you know, because because it would it it performed
(14:48):
the what Stephen Wright does so well.
He performs this magic trick of here's some things that I was
thinking about and they're, I'm just reeling them off of the top
of my head and you and it's an illusion because it's, he's
written them and workshop them and he knows they'll get laughs
in these different places. And so, you know, I started
(15:13):
writing a ton of jokes. And then when I was in college,
I entered like the funniest person on campus contest.
And then, and then I won and I won the opportunity to perform
at the Washington DC improv. And I was taking improv.
I was in the improv group at Georgetown University.
And then it became my, it becamemy love language.
It became my way of communicating with people.
(15:34):
I was like, oh, these are my best friends.
My best friends are improvisers.And you know, which is what if
you see, I, I made a movie called Don't Think Twice.
It's about a, a group of best friends.
It's a fictional movie that's a group of best friends who are
improvisers. And it's about how one of them,
Keegan Michael Key, gets cast ona Saturday Night Live type of
show and how it breaks up the friendship between these group
of people. But like, in a certain way that
(15:57):
reflects the type of friendshipsthat emerge from doing comedy.
And, and so I, I feel like that's what kind of drew me in
and, and, and that's what weirdly like that's what still I
think keeps me interested is like, I love comedians and I
love hanging out with comedians and I love performing for
audience of people who love comedy.
(16:19):
You know, like I, I'm, I'm a comedy nerd too.
I love going to comedy shows. Yeah, and you know, I, I love
stand up and I have a hard time laughing when I don't feel like
there's a certain amount of authenticity to it.
You know, someone, my wife and Ialways said that didn't happen.
And like, but with yours, there's a, there's a ton of true
emotion in there and that you'rereferencing key parts of your
(16:42):
life. I watch your specials and like,
oh, I, I read chapter one of thehigh school years.
Then we go to the early days of,of marriage and, and parenting.
And then you have now the the old man in the pool, which
touched upon the health, well, some of your health issues.
And I'm wondering you're, you know, is, is there ever a time
(17:04):
that you worry that there's like, what's next?
Like, you know, it, it, it is your job.
You know, you do have to help support a family.
So, you know, does that ever keep you up at night?
So they can. Yeah.
It's just not, not landing. Nothing's coming up as as
organically as you'd like. Definitely crosses my mind.
I think that, you know, the solve on that front is that, you
(17:27):
know, the old expression comedy is tragedy plus time, I think is
pretty much true. And and and there is really no
escape from tragedy in life and existence.
And so sometimes it's honestly waiting long enough for your
life to smack you in the face toto write about it later to find
(17:51):
the comedy in it. So it's it's actually kind of a
sadistic way of looking at it, but I think it actually is true.
And I think it really comes downto like a commitment to wanting
to continue to be better, get better, and not being complacent
about, you know, 'cause you can get complacent if audiences are
(18:12):
coming to see your sense of humor and then you give them a
subpar version of that sense of humor.
Like the audience might kind of grade on a curve.
And that that can, I think that can hurt people's shows.
But I'm actually, I feel like I'm so intensely self critical
about my own work that I, I don't, I don't feel like that's
(18:35):
a concern right now, at least right now.
Are you constantly like planning?
Do you have like a schedule in your head like in, in in X
number of years? I'd like to do another show.
Or is it, is it, you know, is itorganic or is it more of like a
something more scientific, I guess?
It's definitely organic, like I'm on this tour right now.
(18:55):
It's like a 50 city tour and it's called Please Stop the
Ride, but by the end of it, it probably won't be called Please
Stop the ride. Like, I don't know, like that
was an idea I had and that was based on a joke.
I have. And, but you know, by the end of
it, it'll probably be called something else.
I, I, I'd like to, you know, my brother Joe, who collaborates
(19:19):
with me and he always describes comedy writing as letting your
mind go for a walk. And I think like ideally that's
what happens when you're writingan hour of comedy is like
you're, you're letting your subconscious kind of explore
like where the whole thing is going.
And yeah, you, I don't, I don't think you, I don't think it's
(19:42):
wise to force it. Yeah, I was looking at your
tickets, you know, for your, your tour.
And I was seeing like a title onsome of them, you know, a name,
the police stop, the ride. And I was like, yeah, wait, does
he have a new? I thought you were working on on
this is kind of like working through it and coming up with
your next special. And I was like, but then certain
(20:04):
dates didn't have in certain states.
Did I was wondering is everyone getting the same show or is it
you know, does it vary? Basically everything I've been
doing for the last year and probably for the next the next
year at least, if not more, is all of the same group of
material. Sometimes you know, it's it's
really honestly venue dependent.Like sometimes it'll be have a
(20:24):
title, sometimes it won't. Like in New York City, I'm
playing the Beacon and I'm not going to give it a title because
there's so many people in the theater community here.
I don't want people to be like, oh, that's the finished show,
you know what I mean? So I think I called it like one
night only or something like that.
Do you, do you have like when you're doing this, like do you
have jokes that just you're trying your best and you're
(20:47):
working them and working them and they just like get to the
point you're like, OK, I got to give up and part ways with it?
Or do you always like, continue to push and say, I know I have
something here and and, and build it up and and work it,
workshop it until you get to that point where like, OK, I've
nailed it. I think there's like this there.
You know, when I was starting out, I, I would listen to like
(21:07):
hours and hours of interviews ofcomedians.
And one of them that I always remember is there's a interview
from the 1980s with Jerry Seinfeld and, and he says this
thing and I'm paraphrasing, but he says, you know, the audience
tells you what's funny about youand if you're smart, you listen
to them. So I, I, I don't believe in this
(21:28):
idea of like, if something isn'tworking over and over and over
again, that you should just keeppushing it on the audience in
some way. Like I think there's, there's
something about that that's kindof wrong headed.
And, and, and so I, I always tryto, I always try to keep an open
mind to like what might be funnythat I'm not considering.
And and I and it generally all abandoned stuff if it's just not
(21:51):
working with a crowd. And you mentioned working with
your brother Joe, but you it's like kind of a family affair.
Your wife is involved, your brother Joe, your sister, I
read, got you an interview with with Conan O'Brien years ago.
How did they come to be? And does any of that typical
sibling stuff get in the way? Yeah, my, my, you know, I've,
(22:13):
I'm, I'm from a, a funny, you know, funny family.
I'm youngest of four, which is always like an attention seeking
number in the rotation of familymembers.
And my sister Gina got me into comedy when I was really young,
like in, in the late 90s, you know, I was a teenager and she
(22:34):
would sneak me into places like Luna Lounge or something like
that, where, you know, it would be like Sarah Silverman and Zach
Galifianakis and all these kind of, you know, all comics from
the 90s. And so I think that really
shaped my taste. And, and then, you know, same
with my brother Joe. He was really into comedy
writing satire. And my sister Patty's very
(22:56):
funny. Like I, I, I'm lucky that I'm,
I'm from a really funny family. I, I think like, I think I, I,
you know, and my wife Jen is a poet.
So I, I'm surrounded by a lot ofcreative folk and funny people.
I think like for me, the being alone, so to speak, is like
(23:19):
being at the Comedy Cellar or being at like a, in a small
comedy room. Like the Comedy Cellar in New
York seats like 150 people and it's mostly tourists in the
audience. Like it's a huge tourist
attraction. And, and so people are from all
over the world often. And, and I, I find that that's
like a really enjoyable place for me to just work out stuff
(23:41):
without people evaluating it foris this, is this ready to be a
special, is this ready, you know, is this done kind of
thing? And you mentioned your father
had the SNL dream that he revealed to you at one point.
Yeah. It was kind of news to you.
Did you ever share that dream? You know, I know you're, you're
(24:01):
you're good friends with Seth Meyers.
So. Yeah, and, and, you know, and
Mulaney's close friend and, and he wrote for the show for years
and yeah, I know, you know, the the Please Don't Destroy guys
came on the my podcast recently and and yeah, I I think it was
my dream in high school. And then when I was in college
(24:25):
and I did improv, it became clear to me that other people
are much better at that type of comedy than I am.
And I was, oh, OK. And it's that thing where you're
kind of finding, figuring out who you are.
And and that was that was definitely one of those, one of
those things I realized. It's got to say something about
(24:46):
yourself, you know, to to be, I guess, self assured enough to
say, OK, this is I'm not like I feel like if I feel I don't fit
into something, I'm like, all right, that's a flaw.
But they say, OK, well, I just go, I ride this lane, you know,
like your your comedy is very, you know, it's very unique in
(25:07):
and it's it's Mike Perbiglia comedy, which is great.
It's not just like, OK, this is like you said, a bunch of jokes
and who says it could be a different?
You can't remove you from from it.
And but at the same time, it's like you didn't want to force
yourself into lanes that you aren't comfortable in, which is,
I guess something admirable instead of, you know, constantly
(25:32):
trying to say, well, I'm going to I'm going to be this when you
that's not you. So it's very cool.
Just an interesting thing. And I was wondering about your
acting. Is that a bypower product of
your comedy, or was that something that evolved, you
know, and came about at the sametime?
I wasn't, you know, I was actingsince I was in high school, you
(25:52):
know, even middle school, really.
But yeah, in high schools and plays and stuff and then, and
then when I was in college, similar, I was in plays and, and
improv and stuff like that. And then I basically, I, I
wasn't, I auditioned for a ton of stuff, didn't get cast in my
20s a lot. And then when I was 30, I made
(26:12):
Sleepwalk with Me as a movie. And then that led to Judd Apatow
asking me to be in Train Wreck. And that led to, you know, Jenji
asking me to be in, you know, Orange is New Black and Lena
asking me to be in girls. And so that's sort of where that
came from. And I and I think that that led
to things like Man Called Otto and and stuff like that.
(26:36):
Is it something you want to keeppursuing or just something that
kind of like, well, if it's something, if something
approaches you, you'll, you'll take it, but you're not out
there. I love doing it.
It's mostly, you know, what I get out of it the most is, is I
just like working with people who I admire as directors, who,
where, where I'm learning something, you know, like, like
(26:58):
when I was working on train wreck, like I love working with
Judd just because I'm, I love Judd's movies.
And so I, I'm learning, you know, I've directed 2 movies and
I want to direct, you know, I want to direct 10 more.
And I, I, you know, I always view it as like a, a learning
process. Even when I was working on
Orange is the New Black, it was always like a different
(27:18):
director. So I got to work with like
Nicole Holofcener, who whose work I love and you know, so a
lot of it's that even with like,even with like pop star, like
working with Yorma Kiva and Andy, The Lonely Island was kind
of a dream. I can't see any better way than
getting that opportunity. Like even when I have these
(27:40):
conversations, I mean, I get theaccess and I get to ask
questions and tap into parts of people and and their work and
and their craft. Some amazing access, but to be
on set with like a, a Judd Apatow or you know, and and be
able to see them work through itand work with you directly has
got to be, you know, beneficial and and also probably a a great
(28:02):
high. Absolutely no.
And I, and I hope that, you know, I, I hope to keep doing
it. Yeah, well, I.
Mark Forester was Mark Forester was like that too.
You know, just seeing how he works is was fascinating to me.
And a lot of your comedy, you, you stay pretty positive.
You know, you're, you don't get too dark and, and you touch upon
(28:23):
some politics, but you don't dwell on them.
Are you a political person? Like, are you watching the news
daily or? Yeah, I mean, I, I read a lot.
I, my inclination is that, like,John Oliver and Seth Meyers and
all these folks who are doing weekly or nightly shows with a
(28:44):
full staff of writers can do it considerably better than I can.
Like, I'm just me. And so I'm not going to top John
Oliver in the political space or, or Jon Stewart.
And so that I'm just, you know, I always think of like, well,
the best thing I have to offer is, is my own story.
Yeah. 'Cause I mean, you know, this
(29:07):
kind of political climate we're in, even if you are someone who
stays on top of the news and politics, I mean, I figured you
have an audience all, all the time.
And I wonder if it's tough for you to not, you know, to avoid
keeping keeping to your ACT. Are you very disciplined with
what goes in? Is there like, you know, how
much room for improv do you have?
(29:27):
I always think about like if youlook at old man in the pool,
nothing in it is something that you couldn't imagine seeing 10
years from now, 20 years from now.
I always think like, how will this joke age?
And because I want ultimately what I'm doing to be Evergreen,
the same way that, you know, Judd Apatow movies or Evergreen
(29:49):
or, or, or camera Crow movies or, you know, any number of of,
of directors who I, who I, who Ilove.
I, I want, I want them to have that kind of endurance.
Like, people still watch My Girlfriend's Boyfriend and have
an experience with it. And, you know, that was a show I
(30:10):
wrote like 14 years ago, you know, 13 years ago.
And I I that that always gives me a real sense of pride.
Yeah, when I listen to them, youit's hard.
You know, there are some references like Phil Collins
came up and. Yeah, yeah.
Every now and then. Every now and then, yeah.
But otherwise, they are very Evergreen, which is great, you
know? And then that goes back to, you
(30:31):
know, some of the comics I always loved, like Steve Martin,
you know, some of his stuff. It's, it's still funny Now it's
you know what we're looking at 30, I mean, 40 years later now
and, and you're like, oh, you can still play that and still
entertain young and old looking internally and having, you know,
accessing these moments, I guessin your life that, that you tap
(30:53):
into and, and mind for, for comedy.
Yeah, and with Old Man in the Pool, like the goal was like,
how do I write a show about death that makes people feel
better about life? Because I feel like if I could
pull that off, it, it would accomplish something that people
would want to kind of share withtheir friends and they might
watch, you know, again and, and maybe watch years later.
(31:15):
And, and you know, that, that that's, I think that if it's
done well, like that's comedy, that that's the service comedy
can provide. It's like showing a a real
struggle, a real the reality, which is is death and illness
and decay and and find humor in a way that people can take with
(31:35):
them in their own lives. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of
healing in a way, 'cause you, you, it puts it out there
because when someone gets I'll many friends and family back
away and they disappear and the person who's left there to deal
with it is left alone. And by having these shows like
the Old Man in the pool, you invite everybody in and say, you
(31:58):
know, you can come on my journey, as painful as it was
for me. And you're not alone.
You know, it's like, I, I mean, I get to the end of I believe it
was, it was that one and that itends.
I'm like, it's just like almost like profound moment where
there's like very emotional and you're like, again, like I said,
I'm feel like I'm reading chapters in your life.
(32:19):
And then I when I'm done, I'm like, oh, I know Mike, wait,
wait, no, I don't know you at all.
I just watched, you know, 8 hours of your specials but.
Sometimes people say that to me,they'll be like, it's so funny
that you've never made ATV series because if you watch your
specials in sequence, it's like a, it's like a, it's almost like
the British documentary 7UP. It's like a comedic, it's like a
(32:41):
comedic 7UP. Yeah, it truly is.
And I, I think it's I, I listen to your work, you know, you know
how comedy gets delivered these days on Sirius.
You get bites here and there andlike, get a YouTube clip, but I
listen to them chronologically and I, I really, I enjoyed the
(33:01):
ride. It was like I, I, like I said,
I, I felt like I read a book or I felt like I watched, you know,
more of like a documentary 10 part series and, and watched you
grow and your relationship grow and your willingness and ability
to, to father and then your, your health issues and, and how
(33:22):
you tackle those. And even just within your
special the the old man in the pool, the you know, just the arc
of you. They say you know, like, but
working out or swimming five times a day, You know what's his
name doesn't I'm. Not going to call a swimmer.
Yes, doesn't do you know, and you and you tackling the idea
(33:43):
that do I you know, what do I need to do to to improve myself
to get healthy into it and and what's your motivation behind
it? And by the time it's all said
and done, it's like you feel like you can write a thesis
about it. Yeah, I mean, that's definitely,
and that's where I mine a lot ofmy material from.
It's like, it's like journal entries from years ago that I
look back on and sort of see what, you know, where, where my
(34:04):
head is about what happened in the past.
Can you ever turn your your comedy brain off?
I know you said it again on on one of your specials.
You've no on deck circle for ideas.
So does that make it difficult while you're standing there?
I know that, you know, I'm one of those like type of guy to
laugh in a funeral because there's a joke processing in the
(34:25):
background that I don't want, but it's happening.
Does that happen to you as well?Yeah, I don't, I don't think
once you once you are a comedian, you know, you've
performed 10 or 20 or 30,000 hours of stand up.
I don't think it's possible to shut off the the over analyzing
(34:47):
side of your brain that creates jokes.
So I think, yeah, you're, there's constantly, yeah, you,
you have the, you have yourself.And then you have the person
outside of your, the brain outside of yourself analyzing
yourself. And you know, comedians are
stuck with that. Does it does it ruin a lot of TV
(35:10):
shows and like moments that you are too busy writing a joke in
your head to instead of experiencing what's going on
right there in front of you? I don't know, I think it's
something that we, you know, we,you know, all of us have to an
extent, right? If, if you're, if you're hyper
analytical, you're hyper analytical regardless of your,
(35:32):
if you're a comedian, I, I thinkit's just something you, you
that you know, you just live with.
And did you ever ask yourself the question why you need to
tell jokes? You ever like self analyzed and,
and tap into like I'm, I'm, yeah, I'm always considered the
(35:55):
joker and I'm, I've been, you know, since I was a kid and I
can't turn it off. And I'm like, is this some kind
of big self? So I need therapy.
Is this like a big self-defense mechanism that I'm unaware of?
But is do you know why do you? I don't, I don't know.
(36:15):
I don't know why I think that you, I think it comes down to
sometimes, you know, you find whether it's a movie or play or
TV show or, or a book or whatever it is you, you love a
format so much that you, you, it's not even a choice.
(36:40):
It's like all I have to do that 'cause I love that format.
I love that. I love the way that makes me
feel when I see, you know, a comedy special or a solo play or
whatever it is that makes me laugh and then feel something.
And I feel like at some point along the way that bit me and
(37:02):
there's not much I can do about it sort of out of my hands.
You're infected. Yeah, exactly.
And do you have any advice for anyone who you know, has that
inkling of an idea that they want to get into comedy but
like, doesn't have you know it, doesn't know what the next steps
are or is just afraid to do it? Well, it's funny, like I in my
(37:27):
podcast is called Working it outand we work out, you know, at
this point there's 130 episodes.Seth Meyers was the guest last
week and and Ramy Youssef and all the, you know, a lot of
really interesting comic minds and we work out jokes in real
time on the show. And I feel like I'm trying to
convey that through the show. And it was something I was
(37:50):
always afraid of before the pandemic.
I never would have opened out myprocess to people because I
would thought, oh, that takes away the magic of what the
process is. But I think like, you know, I've
had a ton of people responded like the podcast was really
helpful for them, understanding that that essentially the, the
comedy isn't just magic, it's a magic trick, you know, and that
(38:13):
and that the craft of it actually is part of the
commitment to it. And so I feel like that if
there's one thing that comediansor or aspiring comedians should
know is that, you know, a majority of, of, of what you're
doing is, is stage time and writing to convey something that
(38:35):
you feel really passionate about.
If you don't feel passionate about it, or you don't want to
write or you don't want to perform, it's not for you.
But if you want to commit, you know an extraordinary amount of
time to to it that that that, that's the only way you can
really find out. All right, I have I have one
time for one more question, but I'm going to ask to the one can
(38:55):
just be a two word or one word answer.
Do you have a favorite Current TV show or or recent TV show
that you really, really connected with?
I would say I'm trying to think of what I've watched recently.
That is, you know, what's so funny is the, the, the thing
(39:19):
that I've watched like 10 times over and over again is the
documentary tennis series calledBreakpoint on Netflix.
And my daughter and I have essentially watched it over and
over again and it didn't get renewed for 3rd season.
And I'm, and I'm, it's so sad tome because I just love it so
(39:41):
much. I'm just a, I'm kind of a tennis
nerd. So it was like this incredible
kind of insight into behind the scenes of that world.
And I don't even know of that one.
There's so much content out there now, even if you think you
know you at all. There's everyone has their own
individual shows that they love that like Oh my gosh, I don't
even know if anyone else is watching it.
Well, it's funny because that, that that show to me is like
(40:04):
the, it's like the tennis equivalent of what my podcast
Working it Out is, which is like, you get to see the
unglamorous behind the scenes oflike what it means to be, you
know, ranked 85th or 121st in the world in tennis.
You're like, oh, wow, this is like a really, this is real
life. This is pretty this is pretty
intense. Yeah, I'm going to check that
(40:25):
out. I definitely have to check out
your podcast. I wish you had a chip you could
put in your head and say, OK, I've watched it.
It's impossible to keep up. And and the final question, if
you could live in one TV show, popping in and out whenever you
want so you don't have to give up your real life, you would.
Which TV show would you be able to access at any time and what?
(40:48):
That I could just watch. Intermittently no you no you
would be able to like open a door and walk into say like
cheers and hang out with. Oh wow.
Cliff and Norm or any any show. At all.
I think it's probably Curb, you know, 'cause it's like curb is,
is, is such a joyful group of like neurotic and funny people
kind of constantly over analyzing everything.
(41:12):
And I've always, I always find that show to be like, really,
really oddly grounded for being so absurd.
It's, it's really disappointing to see that that's it.
It's come to. Its.
I know, I know. Conclusion.
And you're like, wait, that's not right.
I know. It's a bummer to see it go, but
(41:32):
you know, at least we have, whatis it, 12 seasons, so.
But you know, it's probably going to influence a generation
of comedians, in my opinion. Oh yeah, yeah, true.
So thank you so much for your your time and for of course,
thank you topics. I really appreciate it.
And I'm going to give a listen to your your podcast and I, I
know most of your specials are now on Netflix, including the
(41:56):
Old Man in the pool. Thank you so much for your time.
All right. Thanks, Steven.
Be be well. Thank you so much to Mike
Birbiglia for being our guest onTV Topics.
It was a pleasure discussing allof his work and learning about
the inside and outs of his comedy.
Be sure to watch Mike's work on his stand up specials including
The Old Man in the Pool on Netflix and the Peacock Ducky
(42:20):
series about his comedy, Good 1Ashow about jokes and at venues
across the country where he is now doing a live comedy tour.
A big shout out to Emily A Yu who did our funky theme song.
And thank you to our announcer Kari Loya.
You can find him at kariloyavo.com.
The link is in our profile. You can also follow me directly
(42:42):
on Twitter, Letterbox and Instagram, all at Filmstone.
Thank you for listening and staytuned for more TV topics.
TV Topics is produced by StephenBrzezukowski.
ZAP.
Hey, where's the remote? It's time for TV Topics, where
those who love television discuss the series and
performances that should be on your radar.
Welcome back to TV TOPICS. I'm your host Stephen
Persikowski. Hanging out today on the TV
TOPICS couch, is a comedian and actor who played Miles in a film
he wrote, directed and starred in called Don't Look Twice.
(00:25):
He was also the wonderfully inline Danny Pearson on Orange
is the New Black and he's given the world lots of humor and lots
of himself in his stand up specials, including The New One
and The Old Man and the Pool. Of course, I'm talking about the
great Mike Birbiglia. Welcome to the show, Mike.
(00:46):
Before we dive into your work a little bit more, I want to start
with some TV topics. Remember, there is no pressure
here and there's no right or wrong answers.
It's just a bit of fun starting with this.
Looking back over the years, what is your relationship with
TV been? Are you ATV, junkie, watches
everything? Are you very selective?
Do you have go to shows? Man, it's crazy.
You know, I am like I was on Orange is the New Black as the
(01:13):
character Danny Pearson. And that was a weird one because
I was like a die hard for that show before I was on it.
So that was, that was like a show that I was kind of hugely
into. I get really into like a lot of
documentary series. Like I, I love the Steve Martin
(01:33):
documentary that was recently on.
I saw I watched the Mother God documentary.
Did you see that? I did not see that one.
It's called It's called Love Haswon the Cult of Mother God.
It was on Max. It's a three-part documentary
series chronicling like a cult leader who called herself Mother
(01:54):
God. Sounds like a family show, yeah?
I mean, I'd, I, I get really, I,I dig into a lot of like things
like that and then, and then, and then with, you know, the,
the Craig Mason series, I got really into both Chernobyl and,
(02:18):
and, and and. What The Last of Us?
Last of Us, sorry. Yes.
The the nerds are going to come not to me for having a pause on
that Craig Mason series, both ofthem, Chernobyl and Last of Us.
I don't know, I, I, I get reallyinto, I would say documentary.
I live in the space of like documentary stuff and and sort
(02:39):
of like maybe long farm dramaticstuff or sci-fi stuff.
Well, the Chernobyl and kind of played like a documentary and it
was probably one of the most terrifying things I've ever
watched on television to the point where I bought the pills
and the testers and everything else that you need just in case,
because that's what I I, I thinkyou're in Brooklyn, I'm in
(03:02):
Jersey City. So I think we're right down the
river from a potential life changing experience in the worst
of ways, which could be one of your specials.
You know, that's you know, you said you could ever predict the
future, but if that comes up, I'm sure there's plenty of
laughs, like when you had hair and teeth and then didn't, but
that was sorry, but that was really horrific.
(03:25):
And then the The Last of Us, I thought, you know, it, it didn't
have, it wasn't as horrifically,you know, so terrifying all the
way through, but there were little elements of it, even
though that cold open with a the1960s as like a a Dick Cavett
type talk show that he's like, Oh yeah, by the way, yeah, the
(03:46):
the fungus or whatever will evolve and wipe us all out.
And that's when we all die. I'm like Mason has a a real good
way of making taking the scienceand and scaring the life out of
you. Yeah.
And then what? And then, for that matter, in
the same vein as Last of Us, I think Watchmen was like that for
me. Oh yeah, yeah.
(04:07):
Watchmen, you know, yeah, a different a different kind of
like angle, I guess, but definitely, you know, definitely
very connected with you in like a way that you're like, this is
television doesn't isn't supposed to do this.
You know, you're supposed to laugh and turn it off half an
hour later and forget about it. Not go out and change your life.
But yeah, but both of those series were I mean, all three of
(04:30):
those are fantastic choices. Is there a a prime time show?
The first one like one that you first remember loving?
It's funny, like I, I'm, I thinkI was in the child of the 80s of
like that Friday night, kind of a full house, all those shows
(04:54):
like was like a full house. And I think Family Matters was
the show that followed it. And yeah, I just remember being
home on Friday nights and when Iwas a kid and just watching
those shows and, and yeah, that that was definitely a big part
of my life. And then also like, weirdly,
(05:16):
like when Seinfeld came out in the 90s, I was just super
psyched that there was a stand up comedian on television.
Like I was just like, oh, this, you know, I don't know.
I was really into it from jump. Yeah.
And then after that, then numerous, I mean, I can't
(05:36):
remember the the names of who who made the jump.
And they started like it seemed like every few months a new
comedian was getting a show and they lasted a few months.
But yeah, like through the late through the 90s, I'd have to
pull up. I'd have to pull up on Google
who. But well, I think Roseanne.
I don't know if Roseanne pre dated Seinfeld.
(05:58):
Yeah, it's weird like that. Yeah, there was a when I got
into comedy in the late 90s, thepath of quote, UN quote success
in comedy as a stand up comedianwas you become a comedian and
then you get a sitcom. And that was Ray Romano, that
was Roseanne, Seinfeld, etcetera.
And I actually was on that trajectory until about 2008 when
(06:23):
I shot like a sitcom pilot for CBS based on my life.
It was like untitled microbilia project.
And then it didn't get picked up.
And then that's when I went into, I kind of doubled and
tripled down on making these specials, you know, like, you
know, I made Sleepwalk with me, my girlfriend's boyfriend, Thank
God for jokes, the new one. And then the most recent one,
(06:45):
which is called The Old Man in the Pool.
And those were those, those became weirdly, those became
what I, I do. And then, and then the rise of
Netflix coincided with me writing all those specials.
And so previous to that, there wasn't really a universe for
that. It was more like Comedy Central.
But my specials don't really. I was on Comedy Central, but I
(07:08):
don't really fit into the mold of what Comedy Central hours
were. And so that that was just a
fortuitous timing thing. Yeah, I mean, it's everything
keeps evolving, especially this last 10 years so quickly.
You know, I'm kind of wondering where does it all go?
You know, it started in clubs. And then I, I know one of your
(07:28):
specials you're mentioning your DVDs.
I'm like, does anyone do DVDs? Anymore.
Yeah, sure. You know, I watched several of
yours on on my phone, couple on the TV and it's just like, and I
when I first started listening to comedy, it was how has it
affected your comedy? Like the the constant evolution?
Like do you have to reinvent yourself in any way or are you
(07:50):
pretty stand, you know? I feel like the last, I want to
say, yeah, since, you know, the last 15 years or so, I've just
really leaned into these kind ofsolo autobiographical shows
where there's some kind of narrative arc.
And I merged things that I studied in playwriting and that
(08:11):
I learned coming up at as a doorperson at the at a comedy club
in Washington, DC, the Washington, DC improv.
And I've kind of merged them into these shows that, you know,
there's an audience for now. Like when I started doing them,
there wasn't, there wasn't really an audience for them.
And, and my kind of Comedy Central audience kind of came
with me for the journey of this thing.
(08:32):
And, and now, you know, like I'mon tour, I'm on like A50 city
tour right now with the next show, which is currently called
Please Stop the Ride. And like, it's funny, 'cause
people are, you know, I'll have shows where it's an hour, an
hour and a half of jokes and stories.
And sometimes people will literally be like, oh, I was
expecting an arc at the end, youknow?
(08:52):
And, and so that's sort of part of the tour that's in process
right now is finding an arc and an ending for it.
I'm going to get into a little more of your work, but I do have
a couple more of the TV topics questions.
What show or shows make you laugh most?
And like being a fan of comedy, you can probably name several
over the decades, but like, whatdo you stand out?
(09:16):
Like, I think Tim Robinson's show I think you should Leave
probably makes me laugh in an embarrassing way.
Like, like, like it's, I mean, I'm screaming, laughing watching
that show and and I think like I'm trying to think like I've
(09:39):
always been kind of a die hard for even since I was a kid for
SNL. Like, you know, Seth Meyers was
on my podcast working it out recently and we're we're talking
about how this thing I've heard him say before, which is like
with SNL, people criticize it over the years, but it's
actually always been the same, which is some of the sketches
are great, some of them are bad,some of them are OK.
(10:02):
And that's every week since since the beginning of time and
the beginning of, you know, the show in his 1970s.
And that's, I mean, I, I still am a stand for SNL.
Like I just love it. I love the new cast.
I don't know. But his show does not seem, I
mean, it's so guy caring, gutsy,I guess it doesn't seem like it
(10:26):
should work. And how do you pitch this?
And how do you say we're going to shoot this and hope that
people are going to laugh and people are loving it.
I do as well. But it just seems like it
shouldn't work. That's amazing hitting
percentage that he nails. It's amazing.
And I I felt the same way about Portlandia, Carrie Brownstein
and Fred Armisen's show where like I think there's something
(10:49):
to be said for these shows wherethere's kind of no grown-ups in
the room. I mean, not the Carrie and Fred
aren't grown-ups, but like that there's it weirdly feels like
there's no kind of like executive pull in some shows
like that. Like I don't when I watch, I
think you should leave. Like it doesn't feel like anyone
(11:11):
is saying what we need to appealto blah, blah, blah or whatever.
Like it's just true. It's just oddly like unhinged.
Yeah, that, that that's a good word for it.
Unhinged. And and you just like every time
you watch it, you go in knowing that you won't know what to
expect and it's still somehow defies any kind of expectations,
(11:32):
if that makes sense. I think any, I think that if you
pitched Coffin Flop to a group of people, I, I, I don't think a
majority of those people would say that's a great idea.
Let's film that. I can't imagine like I've told
people to watch it and they saidwhat's it about?
I'm like just watch it because anything I tell you will not
(11:56):
play a a fraction as well and will only ruin the element of
surprise. But there's just no way to say,
oh, you have to watch, you know,a coffin flop.
It's. Impossible.
It's. One of those shows I think
people come up to you like, oh, did you see this crazy show?
And then that's about. That's all you need.
Yeah, I agree. Is there?
A Are you a crier? Yeah, definitely, yeah.
(12:16):
What? What's the last show that made
you cry last? Show that made me cry I would
say, you know, I think, I think I think it's possible Chernobyl
was that like it's there's certain there's certain shows
(12:39):
that kind of go to such an intense place that it's it's and
it's so vivid that it's hard notto feel and that you know and
then in terms of like a drama that made me cry like the last
one I'm thinking of is like Friday Night Lights, like Friday
Night Lights like really made mecry and even like, and even like
(13:00):
like I think it's the same creators or some of the same
collaborators. Parenthood made me cry and and
parenthood the movie. I mean, I I cried that too.
Before we had our daughter. I showed my wife the movie
Parenthood because she had neverseen that and and we just cried
and cried. Do you cry more after being a
(13:20):
parent than you did beforehand? I think similar like I think
like my aesthetic is like the things I'm drawn to are things
are in that kind of like James LBrooks kind of funny, but then
the the tears of it kind of sneak up on you kind of thing,
which is that I think that's what I think parenthood does did
(13:41):
so well as ATV series. Go into some of your other work
your your special the old man inthe pool and you have a a
Peacock special like good ones, which kind of shows how the
sausage is made and then breaks down a little bit of your
process. But you know, in in one of your
specials, you mentioned that youstarted telling jokes because it
(14:06):
got the attention of a girl and essentially you made her pee
yourself. And how did it go from there to
a life in comedy? Like where's it's a big jump.
Yeah, that was from that was from my girlfriend's boyfriend
and and it was I, I think somewhere, I want to say I was
(14:26):
maybe 15 or 16 years old. My brother Joe took me to see
Steven Wright live, who was, if people aren't familiar, just
this amazingly brilliant and is amazingly brilliant deadpan one
liner comedian. And that sort of sent me into
kind of a rabbit hole of like writing my notebook, like random
thoughts, you know, because because it would it it performed
(14:48):
the what Stephen Wright does so well.
He performs this magic trick of here's some things that I was
thinking about and they're, I'm just reeling them off of the top
of my head and you and it's an illusion because it's, he's
written them and workshop them and he knows they'll get laughs
in these different places. And so, you know, I started
(15:13):
writing a ton of jokes. And then when I was in college,
I entered like the funniest person on campus contest.
And then, and then I won and I won the opportunity to perform
at the Washington DC improv. And I was taking improv.
I was in the improv group at Georgetown University.
And then it became my, it becamemy love language.
It became my way of communicating with people.
(15:34):
I was like, oh, these are my best friends.
My best friends are improvisers.And you know, which is what if
you see, I, I made a movie called Don't Think Twice.
It's about a, a group of best friends.
It's a fictional movie that's a group of best friends who are
improvisers. And it's about how one of them,
Keegan Michael Key, gets cast ona Saturday Night Live type of
show and how it breaks up the friendship between these group
of people. But like, in a certain way that
(15:57):
reflects the type of friendshipsthat emerge from doing comedy.
And, and so I, I feel like that's what kind of drew me in
and, and, and that's what weirdly like that's what still I
think keeps me interested is like, I love comedians and I
love hanging out with comedians and I love performing for
audience of people who love comedy.
(16:19):
You know, like I, I'm, I'm a comedy nerd too.
I love going to comedy shows. Yeah, and you know, I, I love
stand up and I have a hard time laughing when I don't feel like
there's a certain amount of authenticity to it.
You know, someone, my wife and Ialways said that didn't happen.
And like, but with yours, there's a, there's a ton of true
emotion in there and that you'rereferencing key parts of your
(16:42):
life. I watch your specials and like,
oh, I, I read chapter one of thehigh school years.
Then we go to the early days of,of marriage and, and parenting.
And then you have now the the old man in the pool, which
touched upon the health, well, some of your health issues.
And I'm wondering you're, you know, is, is there ever a time
(17:04):
that you worry that there's like, what's next?
Like, you know, it, it, it is your job.
You know, you do have to help support a family.
So, you know, does that ever keep you up at night?
So they can. Yeah.
It's just not, not landing. Nothing's coming up as as
organically as you'd like. Definitely crosses my mind.
I think that, you know, the solve on that front is that, you
(17:27):
know, the old expression comedy is tragedy plus time, I think is
pretty much true. And and and there is really no
escape from tragedy in life and existence.
And so sometimes it's honestly waiting long enough for your
life to smack you in the face toto write about it later to find
(17:51):
the comedy in it. So it's it's actually kind of a
sadistic way of looking at it, but I think it actually is true.
And I think it really comes downto like a commitment to wanting
to continue to be better, get better, and not being complacent
about, you know, 'cause you can get complacent if audiences are
(18:12):
coming to see your sense of humor and then you give them a
subpar version of that sense of humor.
Like the audience might kind of grade on a curve.
And that that can, I think that can hurt people's shows.
But I'm actually, I feel like I'm so intensely self critical
about my own work that I, I don't, I don't feel like that's
(18:35):
a concern right now, at least right now.
Are you constantly like planning?
Do you have like a schedule in your head like in, in in X
number of years? I'd like to do another show.
Or is it, is it, you know, is itorganic or is it more of like a
something more scientific, I guess?
It's definitely organic, like I'm on this tour right now.
(18:55):
It's like a 50 city tour and it's called Please Stop the
Ride, but by the end of it, it probably won't be called Please
Stop the ride. Like, I don't know, like that
was an idea I had and that was based on a joke.
I have. And, but you know, by the end of
it, it'll probably be called something else.
I, I, I'd like to, you know, my brother Joe, who collaborates
(19:19):
with me and he always describes comedy writing as letting your
mind go for a walk. And I think like ideally that's
what happens when you're writingan hour of comedy is like
you're, you're letting your subconscious kind of explore
like where the whole thing is going.
And yeah, you, I don't, I don't think you, I don't think it's
(19:42):
wise to force it. Yeah, I was looking at your
tickets, you know, for your, your tour.
And I was seeing like a title onsome of them, you know, a name,
the police stop, the ride. And I was like, yeah, wait, does
he have a new? I thought you were working on on
this is kind of like working through it and coming up with
your next special. And I was like, but then certain
(20:04):
dates didn't have in certain states.
Did I was wondering is everyone getting the same show or is it
you know, does it vary? Basically everything I've been
doing for the last year and probably for the next the next
year at least, if not more, is all of the same group of
material. Sometimes you know, it's it's
really honestly venue dependent.Like sometimes it'll be have a
(20:24):
title, sometimes it won't. Like in New York City, I'm
playing the Beacon and I'm not going to give it a title because
there's so many people in the theater community here.
I don't want people to be like, oh, that's the finished show,
you know what I mean? So I think I called it like one
night only or something like that.
Do you, do you have like when you're doing this, like do you
have jokes that just you're trying your best and you're
(20:47):
working them and working them and they just like get to the
point you're like, OK, I got to give up and part ways with it?
Or do you always like, continue to push and say, I know I have
something here and and, and build it up and and work it,
workshop it until you get to that point where like, OK, I've
nailed it. I think there's like this there.
You know, when I was starting out, I, I would listen to like
(21:07):
hours and hours of interviews ofcomedians.
And one of them that I always remember is there's a interview
from the 1980s with Jerry Seinfeld and, and he says this
thing and I'm paraphrasing, but he says, you know, the audience
tells you what's funny about youand if you're smart, you listen
to them. So I, I, I don't believe in this
(21:28):
idea of like, if something isn'tworking over and over and over
again, that you should just keeppushing it on the audience in
some way. Like I think there's, there's
something about that that's kindof wrong headed.
And, and, and so I, I always tryto, I always try to keep an open
mind to like what might be funnythat I'm not considering.
And and I and it generally all abandoned stuff if it's just not
(21:51):
working with a crowd. And you mentioned working with
your brother Joe, but you it's like kind of a family affair.
Your wife is involved, your brother Joe, your sister, I
read, got you an interview with with Conan O'Brien years ago.
How did they come to be? And does any of that typical
sibling stuff get in the way? Yeah, my, my, you know, I've,
(22:13):
I'm, I'm from a, a funny, you know, funny family.
I'm youngest of four, which is always like an attention seeking
number in the rotation of familymembers.
And my sister Gina got me into comedy when I was really young,
like in, in the late 90s, you know, I was a teenager and she
(22:34):
would sneak me into places like Luna Lounge or something like
that, where, you know, it would be like Sarah Silverman and Zach
Galifianakis and all these kind of, you know, all comics from
the 90s. And so I think that really
shaped my taste. And, and then, you know, same
with my brother Joe. He was really into comedy
writing satire. And my sister Patty's very
(22:56):
funny. Like I, I, I'm lucky that I'm,
I'm from a really funny family. I, I think like, I think I, I,
you know, and my wife Jen is a poet.
So I, I'm surrounded by a lot ofcreative folk and funny people.
I think like for me, the being alone, so to speak, is like
(23:19):
being at the Comedy Cellar or being at like a, in a small
comedy room. Like the Comedy Cellar in New
York seats like 150 people and it's mostly tourists in the
audience. Like it's a huge tourist
attraction. And, and so people are from all
over the world often. And, and I, I find that that's
like a really enjoyable place for me to just work out stuff
(23:41):
without people evaluating it foris this, is this ready to be a
special, is this ready, you know, is this done kind of
thing? And you mentioned your father
had the SNL dream that he revealed to you at one point.
Yeah. It was kind of news to you.
Did you ever share that dream? You know, I know you're, you're
(24:01):
you're good friends with Seth Meyers.
So. Yeah, and, and, you know, and
Mulaney's close friend and, and he wrote for the show for years
and yeah, I know, you know, the the Please Don't Destroy guys
came on the my podcast recently and and yeah, I I think it was
my dream in high school. And then when I was in college
(24:25):
and I did improv, it became clear to me that other people
are much better at that type of comedy than I am.
And I was, oh, OK. And it's that thing where you're
kind of finding, figuring out who you are.
And and that was that was definitely one of those, one of
those things I realized. It's got to say something about
(24:46):
yourself, you know, to to be, I guess, self assured enough to
say, OK, this is I'm not like I feel like if I feel I don't fit
into something, I'm like, all right, that's a flaw.
But they say, OK, well, I just go, I ride this lane, you know,
like your your comedy is very, you know, it's very unique in
(25:07):
and it's it's Mike Perbiglia comedy, which is great.
It's not just like, OK, this is like you said, a bunch of jokes
and who says it could be a different?
You can't remove you from from it.
And but at the same time, it's like you didn't want to force
yourself into lanes that you aren't comfortable in, which is,
I guess something admirable instead of, you know, constantly
(25:32):
trying to say, well, I'm going to I'm going to be this when you
that's not you. So it's very cool.
Just an interesting thing. And I was wondering about your
acting. Is that a bypower product of
your comedy, or was that something that evolved, you
know, and came about at the sametime?
I wasn't, you know, I was actingsince I was in high school, you
(25:52):
know, even middle school, really.
But yeah, in high schools and plays and stuff and then, and
then when I was in college, similar, I was in plays and, and
improv and stuff like that. And then I basically, I, I
wasn't, I auditioned for a ton of stuff, didn't get cast in my
20s a lot. And then when I was 30, I made
(26:12):
Sleepwalk with Me as a movie. And then that led to Judd Apatow
asking me to be in Train Wreck. And that led to, you know, Jenji
asking me to be in, you know, Orange is New Black and Lena
asking me to be in girls. And so that's sort of where that
came from. And I and I think that that led
to things like Man Called Otto and and stuff like that.
(26:36):
Is it something you want to keeppursuing or just something that
kind of like, well, if it's something, if something
approaches you, you'll, you'll take it, but you're not out
there. I love doing it.
It's mostly, you know, what I get out of it the most is, is I
just like working with people who I admire as directors, who,
where, where I'm learning something, you know, like, like
(26:58):
when I was working on train wreck, like I love working with
Judd just because I'm, I love Judd's movies.
And so I, I'm learning, you know, I've directed 2 movies and
I want to direct, you know, I want to direct 10 more.
And I, I, you know, I always view it as like a, a learning
process. Even when I was working on
Orange is the New Black, it was always like a different
(27:18):
director. So I got to work with like
Nicole Holofcener, who whose work I love and you know, so a
lot of it's that even with like,even with like pop star, like
working with Yorma Kiva and Andy, The Lonely Island was kind
of a dream. I can't see any better way than
getting that opportunity. Like even when I have these
(27:40):
conversations, I mean, I get theaccess and I get to ask
questions and tap into parts of people and and their work and
and their craft. Some amazing access, but to be
on set with like a, a Judd Apatow or you know, and and be
able to see them work through itand work with you directly has
got to be, you know, beneficial and and also probably a a great
(28:02):
high. Absolutely no.
And I, and I hope that, you know, I, I hope to keep doing
it. Yeah, well, I.
Mark Forester was Mark Forester was like that too.
You know, just seeing how he works is was fascinating to me.
And a lot of your comedy, you, you stay pretty positive.
You know, you're, you don't get too dark and, and you touch upon
(28:23):
some politics, but you don't dwell on them.
Are you a political person? Like, are you watching the news
daily or? Yeah, I mean, I, I read a lot.
I, my inclination is that, like,John Oliver and Seth Meyers and
all these folks who are doing weekly or nightly shows with a
(28:44):
full staff of writers can do it considerably better than I can.
Like, I'm just me. And so I'm not going to top John
Oliver in the political space or, or Jon Stewart.
And so that I'm just, you know, I always think of like, well,
the best thing I have to offer is, is my own story.
Yeah. 'Cause I mean, you know, this
(29:07):
kind of political climate we're in, even if you are someone who
stays on top of the news and politics, I mean, I figured you
have an audience all, all the time.
And I wonder if it's tough for you to not, you know, to avoid
keeping keeping to your ACT. Are you very disciplined with
what goes in? Is there like, you know, how
much room for improv do you have?
(29:27):
I always think about like if youlook at old man in the pool,
nothing in it is something that you couldn't imagine seeing 10
years from now, 20 years from now.
I always think like, how will this joke age?
And because I want ultimately what I'm doing to be Evergreen,
the same way that, you know, Judd Apatow movies or Evergreen
(29:49):
or, or, or camera Crow movies or, you know, any number of of,
of directors who I, who I, who Ilove.
I, I want, I want them to have that kind of endurance.
Like, people still watch My Girlfriend's Boyfriend and have
an experience with it. And, you know, that was a show I
(30:10):
wrote like 14 years ago, you know, 13 years ago.
And I I that that always gives me a real sense of pride.
Yeah, when I listen to them, youit's hard.
You know, there are some references like Phil Collins
came up and. Yeah, yeah.
Every now and then. Every now and then, yeah.
But otherwise, they are very Evergreen, which is great, you
know? And then that goes back to, you
(30:31):
know, some of the comics I always loved, like Steve Martin,
you know, some of his stuff. It's, it's still funny Now it's
you know what we're looking at 30, I mean, 40 years later now
and, and you're like, oh, you can still play that and still
entertain young and old looking internally and having, you know,
accessing these moments, I guessin your life that, that you tap
(30:53):
into and, and mind for, for comedy.
Yeah, and with Old Man in the Pool, like the goal was like,
how do I write a show about death that makes people feel
better about life? Because I feel like if I could
pull that off, it, it would accomplish something that people
would want to kind of share withtheir friends and they might
watch, you know, again and, and maybe watch years later.
(31:15):
And, and you know, that, that that's, I think that if it's
done well, like that's comedy, that that's the service comedy
can provide. It's like showing a a real
struggle, a real the reality, which is is death and illness
and decay and and find humor in a way that people can take with
(31:35):
them in their own lives. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of
healing in a way, 'cause you, you, it puts it out there
because when someone gets I'll many friends and family back
away and they disappear and the person who's left there to deal
with it is left alone. And by having these shows like
the Old Man in the pool, you invite everybody in and say, you
(31:58):
know, you can come on my journey, as painful as it was
for me. And you're not alone.
You know, it's like, I, I mean, I get to the end of I believe it
was, it was that one and that itends.
I'm like, it's just like almost like profound moment where
there's like very emotional and you're like, again, like I said,
I'm feel like I'm reading chapters in your life.
(32:19):
And then I when I'm done, I'm like, oh, I know Mike, wait,
wait, no, I don't know you at all.
I just watched, you know, 8 hours of your specials but.
Sometimes people say that to me,they'll be like, it's so funny
that you've never made ATV series because if you watch your
specials in sequence, it's like a, it's like a, it's almost like
the British documentary 7UP. It's like a comedic, it's like a
(32:41):
comedic 7UP. Yeah, it truly is.
And I, I think it's I, I listen to your work, you know, you know
how comedy gets delivered these days on Sirius.
You get bites here and there andlike, get a YouTube clip, but I
listen to them chronologically and I, I really, I enjoyed the
(33:01):
ride. It was like I, I, like I said,
I, I felt like I read a book or I felt like I watched, you know,
more of like a documentary 10 part series and, and watched you
grow and your relationship grow and your willingness and ability
to, to father and then your, your health issues and, and how
(33:22):
you tackle those. And even just within your
special the the old man in the pool, the you know, just the arc
of you. They say you know, like, but
working out or swimming five times a day, You know what's his
name doesn't I'm. Not going to call a swimmer.
Yes, doesn't do you know, and you and you tackling the idea
(33:43):
that do I you know, what do I need to do to to improve myself
to get healthy into it and and what's your motivation behind
it? And by the time it's all said
and done, it's like you feel like you can write a thesis
about it. Yeah, I mean, that's definitely,
and that's where I mine a lot ofmy material from.
It's like, it's like journal entries from years ago that I
look back on and sort of see what, you know, where, where my
(34:04):
head is about what happened in the past.
Can you ever turn your your comedy brain off?
I know you said it again on on one of your specials.
You've no on deck circle for ideas.
So does that make it difficult while you're standing there?
I know that, you know, I'm one of those like type of guy to
laugh in a funeral because there's a joke processing in the
(34:25):
background that I don't want, but it's happening.
Does that happen to you as well?Yeah, I don't, I don't think
once you once you are a comedian, you know, you've
performed 10 or 20 or 30,000 hours of stand up.
I don't think it's possible to shut off the the over analyzing
(34:47):
side of your brain that creates jokes.
So I think, yeah, you're, there's constantly, yeah, you,
you have the, you have yourself.And then you have the person
outside of your, the brain outside of yourself analyzing
yourself. And you know, comedians are
stuck with that. Does it does it ruin a lot of TV
(35:10):
shows and like moments that you are too busy writing a joke in
your head to instead of experiencing what's going on
right there in front of you? I don't know, I think it's
something that we, you know, we,you know, all of us have to an
extent, right? If, if you're, if you're hyper
analytical, you're hyper analytical regardless of your,
(35:32):
if you're a comedian, I, I thinkit's just something you, you
that you know, you just live with.
And did you ever ask yourself the question why you need to
tell jokes? You ever like self analyzed and,
and tap into like I'm, I'm, yeah, I'm always considered the
(35:55):
joker and I'm, I've been, you know, since I was a kid and I
can't turn it off. And I'm like, is this some kind
of big self? So I need therapy.
Is this like a big self-defense mechanism that I'm unaware of?
But is do you know why do you? I don't, I don't know.
(36:15):
I don't know why I think that you, I think it comes down to
sometimes, you know, you find whether it's a movie or play or
TV show or, or a book or whatever it is you, you love a
format so much that you, you, it's not even a choice.
(36:40):
It's like all I have to do that 'cause I love that format.
I love that. I love the way that makes me
feel when I see, you know, a comedy special or a solo play or
whatever it is that makes me laugh and then feel something.
And I feel like at some point along the way that bit me and
(37:02):
there's not much I can do about it sort of out of my hands.
You're infected. Yeah, exactly.
And do you have any advice for anyone who you know, has that
inkling of an idea that they want to get into comedy but
like, doesn't have you know it, doesn't know what the next steps
are or is just afraid to do it? Well, it's funny, like I in my
(37:27):
podcast is called Working it outand we work out, you know, at
this point there's 130 episodes.Seth Meyers was the guest last
week and and Ramy Youssef and all the, you know, a lot of
really interesting comic minds and we work out jokes in real
time on the show. And I feel like I'm trying to
convey that through the show. And it was something I was
(37:50):
always afraid of before the pandemic.
I never would have opened out myprocess to people because I
would thought, oh, that takes away the magic of what the
process is. But I think like, you know, I've
had a ton of people responded like the podcast was really
helpful for them, understanding that that essentially the, the
comedy isn't just magic, it's a magic trick, you know, and that
(38:13):
and that the craft of it actually is part of the
commitment to it. And so I feel like that if
there's one thing that comediansor or aspiring comedians should
know is that, you know, a majority of, of, of what you're
doing is, is stage time and writing to convey something that
(38:35):
you feel really passionate about.
If you don't feel passionate about it, or you don't want to
write or you don't want to perform, it's not for you.
But if you want to commit, you know an extraordinary amount of
time to to it that that that, that's the only way you can
really find out. All right, I have I have one
time for one more question, but I'm going to ask to the one can
(38:55):
just be a two word or one word answer.
Do you have a favorite Current TV show or or recent TV show
that you really, really connected with?
I would say I'm trying to think of what I've watched recently.
That is, you know, what's so funny is the, the, the thing
(39:19):
that I've watched like 10 times over and over again is the
documentary tennis series calledBreakpoint on Netflix.
And my daughter and I have essentially watched it over and
over again and it didn't get renewed for 3rd season.
And I'm, and I'm, it's so sad tome because I just love it so
(39:41):
much. I'm just a, I'm kind of a tennis
nerd. So it was like this incredible
kind of insight into behind the scenes of that world.
And I don't even know of that one.
There's so much content out there now, even if you think you
know you at all. There's everyone has their own
individual shows that they love that like Oh my gosh, I don't
even know if anyone else is watching it.
Well, it's funny because that, that that show to me is like
(40:04):
the, it's like the tennis equivalent of what my podcast
Working it Out is, which is like, you get to see the
unglamorous behind the scenes oflike what it means to be, you
know, ranked 85th or 121st in the world in tennis.
You're like, oh, wow, this is like a really, this is real
life. This is pretty this is pretty
intense. Yeah, I'm going to check that
(40:25):
out. I definitely have to check out
your podcast. I wish you had a chip you could
put in your head and say, OK, I've watched it.
It's impossible to keep up. And and the final question, if
you could live in one TV show, popping in and out whenever you
want so you don't have to give up your real life, you would.
Which TV show would you be able to access at any time and what?
(40:48):
That I could just watch. Intermittently no you no you
would be able to like open a door and walk into say like
cheers and hang out with. Oh wow.
Cliff and Norm or any any show. At all.
I think it's probably Curb, you know, 'cause it's like curb is,
is, is such a joyful group of like neurotic and funny people
kind of constantly over analyzing everything.
(41:12):
And I've always, I always find that show to be like, really,
really oddly grounded for being so absurd.
It's, it's really disappointing to see that that's it.
It's come to. Its.
I know, I know. Conclusion.
And you're like, wait, that's not right.
I know. It's a bummer to see it go, but
(41:32):
you know, at least we have, whatis it, 12 seasons, so.
But you know, it's probably going to influence a generation
of comedians, in my opinion. Oh yeah, yeah, true.
So thank you so much for your your time and for of course,
thank you topics. I really appreciate it.
And I'm going to give a listen to your your podcast and I, I
know most of your specials are now on Netflix, including the
(41:56):
Old Man in the pool. Thank you so much for your time.
All right. Thanks, Steven.
Be be well. Thank you so much to Mike
Birbiglia for being our guest onTV Topics.
It was a pleasure discussing allof his work and learning about
the inside and outs of his comedy.
Be sure to watch Mike's work on his stand up specials including
The Old Man in the Pool on Netflix and the Peacock Ducky
(42:20):
series about his comedy, Good 1Ashow about jokes and at venues
across the country where he is now doing a live comedy tour.
A big shout out to Emily A Yu who did our funky theme song.
And thank you to our announcer Kari Loya.
You can find him at kariloyavo.com.
The link is in our profile. You can also follow me directly
(42:42):
on Twitter, Letterbox and Instagram, all at Filmstone.
Thank you for listening and staytuned for more TV topics.
TV Topics is produced by StephenBrzezukowski.
ZAP.
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