{"id":70367,"date":"2014-11-04T21:22:14","date_gmt":"2014-11-04T21:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/0de2709a84.nxcli.net\/0-kjasnb\/2014\/11\/04\/comic-star-of-the-eric-andre-show-does-the-anti-interview\/"},"modified":"2018-12-18T03:56:06","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T03:56:06","slug":"comic-star-of-the-eric-andre-show-does-the-anti-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/comic-star-of-the-eric-andre-show-does-the-anti-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Comic Star of The Eric Andr\u00e9 Show Does The Anti Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Comic Star of The Eric Andr\u00e9 Show Does The Anti Interview<\/strong>by Brad Balfour<\/p>\n

November 4, 2014<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t take a lot of imagination to realize that a show called The Eric Andr\u00e9 Show<\/strong> is hosted by its namesake, the 31 year old American actor and comedian. Now going into its third season, the wacky talk show airs on the Adult Swim lineup of the Cartoon Network \u2014 which allows for the kind of offbeat freedom that this former Floridian has become known for, as well as the anti interviewing style that becoming a trend.<\/p>\n

Previously he co-starred as Mark Reynolds on the short-lived ABC comedy series Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, and guest-starred on 2 Broke Girls as Deke, Max’s love interest and fellow pastry student for a few episodes.<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/a><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s through his edgy show where he\u2019s gabbed with the likes of musicians such as Pete Wentz, Devendra Banhart, Chance the Rapper, Dave Koz to B-Listers such as Ryan Phillipe, Krysten Ritter, James Van Der Beek, Dolph Lundgren and Eric Balfour to various faux celebs like Rochard Hatch that he made his mark on the universe \u2014 or at least non-traditional television.<\/p>\n

Born of a Haitian father and Jewish mother, Andr\u00e9 graduated from Boston\u2019s Berklee College in 2005, where he had played upright bass having made his escape from hometown Boca Raton Florida.<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/a><\/p>\n

Hitting the Standard Hotel running, keeping Andre in the lounge seat long enough for this exclusive one on one in advance of his next season was a challenge, exposing me to the kind of manic energy that has kept his show running and thriving.<\/p>\n

You couldn\u2019t do certain things for your show in LA because of regulations, so you had to come to New York to do it. Have you thought to make more of a meta effort and just drop into people\u2019s apartments and record the show there or even go to the mayor\u2019s office for an interview?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eric Andr\u00e9:<\/strong> I\u2019m open to anything\u2026<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

You can come to my apartment!<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> It\u2019s time consuming, that\u2019s the only issue.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t break anything there though.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Okay, well then maybe your apartment\u2019s out. But it just comes down to how much time we have, because we have very little money and very little time.<\/p>\n

Could I do an interview with Eric Andre that\u2019s like an Eric Andre interview?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> I have received that challenge before. You\u2019re still special!<\/p>\n

When you talk to people, you need to serve the show, but are there things you just want to ask. Do you say to yourself, \u201cI\u2019m going to ask that because I want to know\u2014I don\u2019t give a fuck.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Oh, I\u2019ll ask whatever the fuck — I usually try to be the least competent interviewer of all time, not do any research. I just want to ask questions that it doesn\u2019t matter that they\u2019re like, a celebrity, anyone can ask, you could ask anyone. I\u2019m trying to be the worst interviewer of all time.<\/p>\n

I think Jiminy Glick \u2014 Martin Short\u2019s talk show host alter ego \u2014 has got you beat.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Ahhh, he\u2019s one of my idols. I love Jiminy Glick, I love Jiminy Glick.<\/p>\n

Who else do you think of as your idols? There\u2019s a lot of people who probably\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Besides Jiminy Glick\u2026.? Sacha Baron Cohen, Space Ghost, Tom Green, the Jackass guys, Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks.<\/p>\n

What about Bill Cosby? Bill Cosby has a talk show host quality.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Yeah, but not so much as the other guys, though Bill Cosby\u2019s in there for sure. I grew up watching \u201cThe Cosby Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s Fat Albert.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Fat Albert, for sure.<\/p>\n

Because you loved Space Ghost \u2014 that\u2019s the animated interviewer \u2014 have you thought about having animated characters be interviewed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> It\u2019s hard to create any stakes… We want the stakes to be high, so there\u2019s not really any stakes with a cartoon. We\u2019ve done a little animated ideas, but I\u2019ve never done animation. I\u2019ve done voiceover but I\u2019ve never like, produced animation. That\u2019d be fun.<\/p>\n

How random do you try to be? Obviously, you\u2019ve talked about random in terms of anti-preparing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Yeah, we got those fake guests from central casting, which was like, the most eccentric Hollywood freak-type people. But I think we\u2019re open to anything.<\/p>\n

Have you ever had interviewers come on to interview you while on the show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Well no, but I\u2019ve interviewed interviewers. I interviewed [Jimmy] Kimmel this year. He\u2019s the first talk show host that I interviewed. Well that\u2019s not true; we had Chris Rock on the show and he\u2019s had a talk show. He wasn\u2019t interviewed, he just had a random segment.<\/p>\n

Do you expect comedians to be as funny as they\u2019re supposed to be when they\u2019re not doing their [standup routine]? Do you think of yourself as funny as you are when you\u2019re not trying to be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> It\u2019s case by case. I wouldn\u2019t want somebody to like, ham it up offstage just for the sake of pressure of hamming it up, but I don\u2019t think people really do that as much as we\u2019re accused of being. Comics are also funny offstage and that\u2019s why they get into comedy. I don\u2019t like–I\u2019ve had people accuse me like, not accuse me\u2026<\/p>\n

That woman you were eyeing earlier might be accusing you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Oh yeah, that girl stopped thinking about me the moment I walked away. But you know, sometimes I\u2019m joking around offstage and people are like, \u201cAlright, funny man, you\u2019re not onstage anymore!\u201d Like, what do you want me to do? Just be completely like, vapid and boring when I get off stage? I goof around and that\u2019s why I got into comedy, because I\u2019m a goofball. I\u2019m not doing it because I\u2019m starving for attention and I need to be funny at all times.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not doing it because you\u2019re starving for attention?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Well, that\u2019s not true, I am doing it\u2026 I also think comics get accused of starving for attention a lot, but I think that\u2019s like, a negative reaction. I think people are jealous and envious of our freedom. It\u2019s not like, a behavior disorder. I think what\u2019s more satisfying than making other people laugh, making other people happy? I think we get accused of starving for attention, but for me, I crave attention from the opposite sex, definitely. Like in high school, I learned once you can make a pretty girl laugh, you will want to keep doing it. That\u2019s not the only reason. I think there\u2019s genuine, positive reasons that comedians perform.<\/p>\n

Of the comics, who was the most un-comic? I\u2019d say Steve Martin. He was not unfunny but he truly gave really serious answers. Sadly, the funniest on an ongoing basis, was Robin Williams. He would do great bits, and then give the serious answer. He was just amazing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> He was the man. He was the most spontaneous, he was the best.<\/p>\n

Chris Rock was pretty damn great, too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> We had him on the show this year, he was amazing. And he was so sweet and supportive and he called me up and was like, \u201cI love the show, I wanna fly myself out and put myself up to be on it.\u201d He was so gushing and supportive and he\u2019s like, one of my idols.<\/p>\n

Have you thought of actually going to a public access station, like Manhattan Neighborhood Network, and do the show there?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> That\u2019d be fuckin\u2019 awesome. I\u2019d be so fucking thrilled to do that. I would love to do a one-off public access special for a real live [audience], to tape.<\/p>\n

Why did you throw out the analog side of it \u2014 in the first season you made it look like the \u201880s low rent shows?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> From the network, they were just like, \u201cYou know, we love it. We know you guys love it. Comedians and writers, we show it to them and love it.\u201d But the reference is lost on the 16 year-olds watching at home that didn\u2019t grow up in the \u201870s and \u201880s and didn\u2019t know New York City public access like we know it and grew up with. They were like, \u201cI feel like it\u2019s hurting more than it\u2019s helping and they wanna just see you. The Eric Andre Show\u2019s about you.\u201d But I do miss that old, dusty\u2026<\/p>\n

I was reading some articles on your show and it\u2019s like, you do a meta talk show, but the the problem about being called a meta talk show is how meta can you get about being a meta talk show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Question as old as time, my friend.<\/p>\n

How do you pick your guests?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Some of it\u2019s not random, some of it\u2019s through personal connections, through talent bookers, it\u2019s a cornucopia.<\/p>\n

So after this, I can recommend people to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Yeah, absolutely. If you have a celebrity\u2019s phone number, I\u2019ll fucking harass you for it.<\/p>\n

[Laughs] I might have a few for you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Anything to juke publicists. Those are the fuckers I avoid! [Laughs] Except my own, who\u2019s the best in the biz!<\/p>\n

How much do you decide on the balance between celebrities and non-celebrities?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Oh my god, so many stunningly beautiful women in this city, I fucking hate it. Ugh, I want to kill myself.<\/p>\n

The difference between LA and New York is that LA women are not as approachable. New York women are \u2014 you can meet them\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know why I don\u2019t [live here].<\/p>\n

Why do you stay in LA, then?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> I\u2019m going to Chinese castrate myself. I\u2019m going to cut off my balls and penis.<\/p>\n

You have had a lot of music people on the show.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> My god, do I wish [we could have more]. I would love to, we can\u2019t afford to fly anybody out. [Laughs] If you don\u2019t live in LA or you\u2019re not willing to fly yourself out, you\u2019re probably not going to be on the show.<\/p>\n

You grew up in Florida?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Boca Raton, Florida. It\u2019s the worst.<\/p>\n

Well, thank god you got out of there. I drove through Boca Raton once. That was enough. When did you end up in LA?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> 2009.<\/p>\n

Was LA always the destination?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Really, New York was the destination. I was here in New York for five years after college. Florida, Boston, New York, then LA.<\/p>\n

Where did the standup begin? Here, I guess.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Yeah, finishing college in Boston and then here.<\/p>\n

Do you regret that the TV series, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, your ABC show ending, or are you glad that that sort of kicked into this place where you\u2019re at now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Well, that\u2019s out of my control, if something I\u2019m on gets cancelled. I can\u2019t really be bummed about it. It was a great learning experience, it was a great group of people. They were a really nurturing and creative environment. It was a great place to like, get my start because I had no idea how to be on camera or act.<\/p>\n

In terms of the issue of being serious as opposed to being unserious, do people not assume that have this serious side and you wanna have this serious side be known? Besides the drug-taking side?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> I\u2019m open to whatever, I guess I\u2019ve never really thought about it. I\u2019m down to be seen as serious.<\/p>\n

Do you think we\u2019ll ever reach a post-racial time not just on television or in entertainment but in general?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> Perhaps, I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m bluish. I\u2019m Black and Jewish. My director is Jew-panese. She\u2019s Japanese and Jewish.<\/p>\n

I like that. We\u2019re going to keep those coinages.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA:<\/strong> For sure.<\/p>\n