Andy Samberg
Appearances
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And we were like, we're cooked. That was our shot. And we were writing together, splitting a single writing check, working on the MTV Movie Awards for the second year in a row. The three of you? Yeah. Wow. And the first year we wrote for it, it was Lindsay Lohan. And then the second year we did it, it was Fallon. And so Fallon came in hosting and he brought all the SNL people with him.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And we just hung out with them basically for three or four straight weeks and loved them and hit it off. And Higgins and Shoemaker were there who were, you know, one is still a big producer there and the other now runs Seth's show. But they were high up there. And Jimmy was obviously.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
The SNL guy. And so we, me, Keevan Yoram, and some others were responsible for writing a few of the, like, pre-tapes where you put the host in the movies from that year. Right. And we wrote a Star Wars one and a Batman one that both got picked. So we were just hanging out with everyone on set, pitching jokes. And they were like, hey, these guys seem like they love comedy a lot.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
In a way that, you know, you sometimes are shocked to realize that people don't.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Invited to audition. I had done stand-up at that point for six or seven years, on and off, starting in college, and I'd been on Premium Blend on Comedy Central, which was a thing.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yes. I wouldn't say I was like... H-O-T in the biz, but... Yeah, H-O-T. I was at the edge of it, though. I had just gotten to the point where I went in for the meeting at the Improv on Melrose to be like, hey, you could come start doing real spots.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I auditioned first, and it went pretty good. And they said, we want you to come back. And then at that time, they asked Keeva and Jorm if they also wanted to audition. And so Jorm did, and Akiva said, no, I don't want to be on camera. And then the three of us also submitted a writing packet on behalf of the three of us. So we were kind of hedging our bets in all directions. Yeah.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
We weren't hired for that, interestingly. We had been doing it. Like we'd even made a few joke raps. Thank you very much.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
That's right. That's right. Forgive me. And Smigel? Much less frequently, but his were great, obviously.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
But tell people what Lazy Sunday is. Yeah, yeah. Lazy Sunday was our first hashtag comedy rap that we aired on the show.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
It was me and Parnell, the great Chris Parnell. Chris Parnell. Who everyone on earth loves.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
know we had done like i said we had done stuff on our own like that um for like thelonelyisland.com um and like tried to get it put on other websites that had bandwidth for streaming before youtube existed but you got you guys emerged at the same time you youtube was created which was yes phenomenal yeah and crazy it was very fortuitous for us where it was like oh youtube became a thing at the moment we had this song people wanted to share yeah
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Keevan Yorm had done one. on their own, which was an idea we'd had for a while, I left town to do some general meetings.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I mean, obviously, we're familiar with your work. Sure. Not going to say any of it because we're not.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
They're gonna call. Yeah. Anyways, they made a little music video thing called Bing Bong Brothers, which was a send-up of this song by the Yin Yang twins, and we showed it to Shoemaker and Higgins, and they were like, this is great, but we have so much cast right now. Our first season, I think we had, like, 17 or 18 cast members.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And they were like, if you can do stuff like this but put the cast in it, you don't even have to ask our permission. Just go shoot something. And if it's good, then we can try and use it at dress to change sets. Because we always need pre-tape pieces to change over sets during commercial breaks. And stuff is not enough always. And it can save other people's live sketches if you have a pre-tape.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, right. That was kind of honestly why they were pushing us to do it. And so then... We did one that was based on an idea Forte had had called Lettuce, where it's just me and him dramatically having a conversation and taking huge bites out of heads of lettuce on the stoop. And that was the first one that aired. Yes, yes. That's so good. Just the most Forte shit ever.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I forgot about that. I'm just going to be so serious. Yeah, that's his entire life. And then we did another one that was basically that one again called Peyote that didn't air until the end of that season. And then the third one we shot was Lazy Sunday, which was a dork rap about me and Parnell having a lazy Sunday going to see the Chronicles of Narnia.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Lazy Sunday was very similar to a song Keev and Jorm had done before we were on SNL called The Heist, which was about them, you know, talking about chamomile tea and stuff. So it was totally very like, this is our version of that, you know, which now we feel slightly guilty about because everyone and their mom has done that and still some are doing it. And it feels a little like, okay, we get it.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And then... Like Dick in a Box was Timberlake hosted and was like, we were chatting with him in our office and sort of realized we all had come up on the same music in the early 90s, like that early 90s R&B. And that we loved that style. And he was obviously capable of singing it really, really well.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
You know, I look back at it now, I'm like, oh, this is like almost fully back in style.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
No. Yeah. Not me. I mean, High Rod, you know all about because you're in it. Sure. And you're fantastic in it, and we were so grateful you did it. Yes.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yeah. I mean, we were psyched, and we knew that it was a window that had opened and you got to go through it, but it was also like... I mean, I had been on someone's desk like a year and a half before that.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Dreaming of this happening. And then all of a sudden it's like, boom. And it's happening so fast. This is the thing I've really thought about more as we've gotten older is it never occurred to me how anyone else was perceiving us because we were so in it and like shot out of a cannon. And now I'm like, oh, if that happened to someone now, I'd be like, who the fuck are these guys? Yeah.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yes. Also, we were still, like, not just actually young, but, like, young in the industry. So for us, we still had the, like, no, man, we're going to make it this.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And we wanted, like, Wet Hot American Summer. Right. And I think Hot Rod ended up somewhere in between.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
That must have been... But, you know, we had shot... Keeve had directed basically everything we had done for five straight years leading up to that. Like, we moved to L.A. together and just started shooting stuff because we both went to film school.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And that was the plan. Like, we're just gonna keep shooting stuff and show people why we're funny and not try to tell them.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, it couldn't be more serious. He's like, say babe three more times.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And I feel like I'm a creative producer if that's a thing. For sure. And it's not for everyone.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Like a hardcore producer-producer is the person who's actually talking to all the production heads and putting together a movie or a show and dealing with the studio or network on a daily basis. And it's a grind and it's a specific skill set and it's a specific personality type that is really valuable and rare to find someone that's great at it. And then for me, I'm like...
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I am heavily involved in the creative decisions of everything I'm in, basically.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
If whoever I'm working with is amenable. Right. But like, that to me is, that was my role with the guys, with Keev and Jorm. So that's kind of how I developed.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I mean, I was technically directing, but I didn't enjoy it because it's just so much multitasking. And I also wanted to be acting in stuff. I mean, I don't know. I am blown away by people like yourself that can act in it while directing. That to me is such a head fuck. I don't know how.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
But the one thing that worries me more than anything is giving notes to the actors I'm in a scene with.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Like, I have this, like, insecurity as soon as I'm like, can you do it more like this? And they're like, what you do wasn't so great. Yeah, you do it more.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yes, we did eight seasons of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, for example, and I was a producer on that. And as the show went on, I would definitely be on set as a producer, not just an actor, a lot creatively and making sure scenes were working and being a big part of editing with Dan Gore and knowing like... we're going to need like some alts on the end of this scene because this isn't playing.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
You can just feel it in the room. It's not landing right. And then you powwow and you pitch a couple extra jokes and then you have each cast member try a different thing and then you know you have options and blah, blah, blah.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Well, thanks. I grew up in a house that music was always playing. And me and one of my two sisters were both kind of just always obsessed with music. I... I don't know exactly why. I think, you know, I had a father who had a great appreciation of it, had a big record collection. And then when I hit like junior high and high school, I pretty much just went to the record store all the time.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I grew up in Berkeley, California, where the first Amiibo music was built. And I was at Amiibo Records in high school two or three times a week. Just DITC, which is Digging Through the Crates.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
You can go backwards, actually. It was definitely all kinds of music. I mean, I think a lot of people that grew up in the Bay Area would say the same thing, which is music is just a big part of the culture there for no matter who you are as a kid there. So like there were definitely people who were like, we're punks and we listen to punk and like we're backpackers and we listen to hip hop.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
But most people were like, I listen to 12 genres of music and I love the history of all of them. And we were certainly that. And my friend group was that where we'd be like super into dance hall and reggae, but also super into contemporary hip hop and punk.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
old hip-hop and old funk soul because of hip-hop because we chased down the samples from our favorite hip-hop songs and yeah yeah but also like i love bob dylan and grew up listening to bob dylan and wore my mom's purple scarf to try and look like bob dylan in high school that's
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
did as kind of just like as like a side project because yorm was unavailable so we didn't want to do a proper lonely island album without him uh concept album and then we did like a visual poem kind of like lemonade and very quietly released it on netflix and it's really funny he was mark mcguire and i'm jose can say go and the whole thing is an album of if the two of them had made a rap record in the late 80s that they're during their heyday what would it sound
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Those summers were so fun. And everyone, the coolest thing about it was how much space we had, and we just put out, like, everyone in comedy come over.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And it really happened. Like, we have photos of so many of the people that are just the biggest names in comedy now that swung by because they were like, hey, I heard those Lonely Island guys have this stupid house in Encino. Oh, that's great. And we would just drink and have fun and then record songs and knew we were banking them for the next season of SNL. That's so cool.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I don't know that we'll do another house rental ever unless it's like a compound for all the kids to run around in. Do that. Right. But I definitely think we're going to try and make more music. I don't think we're done.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Can we get a time check on how long it was since the last dick joke? I just want to point out, I didn't start that one. That was not me. I was not the instigator. I jumped right in. How hard is it for you to not talk about dicks?
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yes. I mean, I have said forever, and it's really genuinely true, that at eight I just said that I wanted to be on SNL specifically. Oh, my God. That's great. I love that. That's amazing. I was into WWF wrestling, and there was that show called Saturday Night's Main Event, which was on once a month.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
But yeah, so the nights that it wasn't on was SNL. So I found it by accident as a kid and watched it. And it was, you know, Lovett's Carvey era. And you wrote a letter saying doing, like what, of goals or something? Oh, no, I think it was like a school assignment where it was like fill in the blank thing. And it was like, when I am older, I will be. And I was like, a comedian, obviously.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And now I'm friends with people that I would meet in my dreams. Right. That were cast members on the show and then I got on the show and they were still working there because we watched every episode. It was my absolute obsession. That's so great. And then now I'm like, oh yeah, now I just like chat with them whenever.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I think it was similar to what I was expecting. Yeah. because I had read so much about it. But the thing I wasn't expecting was for it, and I genuinely mean this, for it to go so well for us.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Like having watched it and having seen how hard it is, especially in terms of like how quickly, because the thing about SNL generally, unless you're like one of 10 people, is you have to like ingratiate yourself to the SNL audience and give them time and space to figure out what you do that is funny and why.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And so for us, speaking to what we were just talking about with Lazy Sunday, that was a crazy shortcut to the path I thought we were on. Like when Lazy Sunday aired, Will, you asked, and I didn't answer it, what was it like when you guys were in the studio when that aired? We were not thinking like, we did it! We were just like, oh, we got something on. I'm so relieved.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
We're not going to get fired. Right. Because we're halfway into our first season.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yes. And the press part of it. Like, we immediately were, like, in touch with the NBC PR people. Wow. Which I was like, oh, I don't know anything about this world. And they're like, hey, New York Times wants to talk to you. You guys free right now? We were just like, okay. Jeez. Sure.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
for me nick cage because he came on and did it with me yes i remember that and the cage thing and he you know he was so cool about it and he did not have to be because we were like doing a psychotic character and saying it was nick cage you know what i mean it was like right and i was and and still am and we all are a massive fan of nick cage and i've seen so many of his movies and that's how it ended up being something i could do because i was like i've seen him talk so much
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And by the way, when you're on SNL, this is the thing I always think about because I'm like... I never got into comedy to, like, do impressions or make fun of anyone. Obviously, amongst my friends, we'll talk shit about literally anything. Sure. And anybody. But, like, when you're on the show, impressions are such a... It's such currency, right?
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And you know it plays, and you know it'll get on, and you're just desperately trying to get on. So if you do one that works and everyone's laughing at, it's hard to be like, no, I'm not going to do that. I don't feel good about it morally. Did you have to do it for your audition? Did you have to do impressions? Yes. For your audition, they asked you to do characters and impressions.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And when I got asked, by the way, I had been doing stand-up, but I had no impressions or characters. So we wrote them all leading up to the audition.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Honestly, by chance, it was Fallon, because I did the temp Fallon voice on the movie awards for the storyboards of the pre-tape we wrote. And then Jimmy, who is, you know, the nicest and was so nice to us. He really helped put us on.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
But he heard me, like, in the temp VO of the, like, animatic, which is, you know, the storyboards of, like, whatever it was, and it was me being like, oh, my God, we gotta go, Batman, you know? And he was like, who's doing my voice?
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And so they were like, even Higgins was like, hey, when you audition, you should do Jimmy. And I was like, oh. Oh, yeah. Really? So I did Jimmy Fallon at a funeral, but he was like, oh, my God, so sad. LAUGHTER
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And I made up a few other ones that were like, I knew I couldn't do them, so the joke was that they were one word. So I did like, this is like Alan Rickman in Die Hard. And I just went, McClay and... And you're like, okay. This guy can't do impressions.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
um we don't work on music together because yeah yeah mine's pretend and hers is arguably amongst the best ever yeah in my opinion she's tell me about her what what is it did she's is she playing innocent in an orchestra No, no, her name's Joanna Newsom. She's a singer-songwriter who plays harp and piano and sings at the same time. Yeah, Jay, you would love it.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yes. I mean, we met because I was at her concert with Fred and our friend Matt Murray because I was obsessed with her music.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yeah. Wait, who's the panther? our writer friend matt murray i forget who dubbed him the panther maybe like spivey or someone somebody like that or dratch possibly that he would sit in the corner quietly and then yeah when somebody goes like oh that's the panther like that but because he would lay in the cut and wait and then strike with his joke that would kill everybody after right so funny yeah
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
No, it wasn't. She, uh, we just met and hung out all together that night, just friendly style. But Fred had met her and her friends at a, at a music festival that he had been at, I guess in the summer previous. And, uh, And it just worked out. I had been listening to her albums for years and been to her show before even.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
But when I met her, it turned out she and her siblings had watched Lonely Island stuff. So it was very comfortable and not as creepy as I was.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
the the main part of the bleachers like the main walk that you do towards the main stage and seinfeld was on i think he did really with seth on update and he stopped and started talking to me and i was like holy so we were just chatting and i was like oh yeah it's like yeah this and that and then i was like i looked up at you know they have monitors all backstage showing you what's airing and i just like casually look up and i'm like
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
oh, I'm in this sketch and it just started. Oh my God, no way. I was like, I'm so sorry. And just like took off running. And it was a courtroom sketch. I missed getting on before it started. They stopped me and said, no, because I was going to try and run on. Totally by fortune's fucking hell, who knows.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I had had one line at the top of the sketch, and they had cut it between dress and air, and no one had told me. So I actually didn't screw up the sketch. But I did have my nightmare that I had had every week that time working there and still now have where I'm backstage and I can't find the set.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I can't find stage and I'm in a sketch and I can't get there and I see it on the monitor and it actually happened. But I got very lucky.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Well, me and Keev and Jorm forever, especially during COVID, and we didn't jump on it like you smart guys... We're like, we should do one. It'll make it that we get to see each other and talk all the time. We should do one where we talk about the digital shorts and every episode can be a digital short and what was going on in our lives and at SNL that week when we did the digital short.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And then because we're us, we kind of just let it drift. And then Seth called us and was like, hey, I just had an idea. How would you guys feel about doing a podcast where every episode is about one of the digital shorts and what was going on at the show that week? And I'll host it and my team will organize it and you guys just show up and do it.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yeah. Yeah. And he'll take, yeah. He's got his good 80%. But I mean, he's late night. No, but it's late night. He's a good guy. Like when other people aren't around, he's nice to me. I love that.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I'm on a boat, I think, is the biggest selling song we ever did. Is it really? Yeah. I'm on a boat. What's your personal favorite? Double platinum or something stupid. That's incredible. My favorite, if I had to just pick one out of thin air, probably Jack Sparrow with Michael Bolton. Yeah, sure.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And the reason I would give, and we do generally say this one, and the reason is because it's sort of a confluence of all the ones. So it's like people who really love comedy ride for it. Like I've been told that like writer's rooms have watched it all together and enjoyed it, which is the highest compliment.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And then also it sounds pretty good and the video's big and slick and it feels like big business, which is something else that we were able to pull off for a short while.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Dear Sister was an idea that we had started shooting before we got SNL. Oh, wow. Yeah, me and Jorm, I think, and my friend Chester, Chester Tam. Because it's originally based on this moment from the end of an episode of that show, The O.C., which we loved. Of course.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Where the character, Marissa, shoots someone and it cranks into slow-mo and that song comes on and it's those slow-mo shots of everyone's face being shocked that it's happened and someone falls out of frame and you're like, oh my God, what just happened? And a slow reveal. And I remember us being like, that was fucking good TV. And what is that song? So then I was like, you know, what do we do?
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
We do the same thing over and over again and then make it go faster and faster. So we started doing it, but never even finished it. And then I love that that is one that you like, Will, because for us that week, it was like out of desperation, we said... Oh, man, let's just try that, and then we'll just write an ending for it."
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And we wrote, like, way more and actually ended up, like... Well, the cast, first of all, the cast, if you look at it on paper, is insane.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
This has been life-affirming, frankly. I wasn't expecting it to be this nice.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Well, guess what? We didn't talk about the box office on Hot Rod. We just skimmed right past that. Oh, we didn't. Yeah, that's true. You know when you set out to make a cult classic?
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Thank you, guys. You're the greatest. Yeah, keep on keeping on. You are this. And let's just be friends now and hang out, Jason.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I'll put you guys in touch. Please do. Yes, please. I will. Yes, please. Definitely will. Okay. And Sean, love you.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Oh, so you knew. The retelling. Yeah. This is a major Rashomon. That's pretty true.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
You said something like... No, I said, hey... First off, hadn't seen you in years. I know. Right? Yeah. Hey, I'm about to be on your very successful podcast. That's literally what I said. And you went, no! You're not supposed to tell me! And stormed off. Going like this, la, la, la, la. And I was like, all right. You have a foot on me, first off. Very intimidating.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
And then I spent the rest of the night at the Vanity Fair party, like, sulking because I ruined your night. You were there? I didn't see you there. I was there. I saw you guys all together promoting the show.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Nice to see you. When I was five, I changed my name to Andy from David. My middle name... It was my first name was David, and then... And we get it.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I mean, my mom was just cool about it, is basically the short version of the story. Why do you hate David so much? What's wrong with David? I don't know. I just felt like an Andy is the... Are you serious?
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
But honestly, like, when you look at me, the first name you think, personality-wise, obviously, is Adam. That's what everyone calls me on accident. But then... Then after that.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
By the way, everyone has someone that they get the name of that person for. And I always think you get big enough and it stops. But then everyone I talk to has someone.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
jason and will and one of them is notorious for having like a massive wang yeah that's it old 50 pound yeah unit yeah that's pretty good that's how long it took me to bring up dicks wait so let's talk about i'm all what if you hit a stopwatch as soon as you said it in my defense i was i was on ice for a while while you guys chatted about t-shirts and stuff
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
This is nice. It's thrilling to have you. If you could just quiet down, Will. Sorry, Will, we're talking, dude. Just give us one second.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
That's true. I think probably your kids are older than mine, so that decreases our odds.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Andy, go. No. I think it was me and Cross, right, Will? Yeah, it was you and Cross. Which, first off, Arrested Development was our favorite show. Like, me, Keith, and Jorm sat around talking about it.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
It was how it was like, this is the first time ever on American television that comedy has been allowed to move this fast and be this funny, and every single person on it destroys, and we were obsessed with it.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Which showed, but like... It felt super different. And we were super big fans of Mr. Show also. So like the cross pollination of those things was making our brains explode. So I was not in SAG. Really? I was doing stand up and we were shooting our own videos and sort of like trying to cobble it together. And then I got the call to come do this like one line.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
I think I was an usher at Blue Man Group. No way. And it was the like next week on the show thing that's not real. Right. And it was me talking across. I think I had one line.
SmartLess
"Andy Samberg"
Yeah. And my hair was just massive. Seth Meyers said when he first met me, it looked like my hair was trying to eat my head. Yeah.