Actor's Roundtable: Bowen Yang, Michael Che, Jerrod Carmichael, & More
Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live), Danny McBride (The Righteous Gemstones), Jake Johnson (Minx), Jerrod Carmichael (Rothaniel), Michael Che (Saturday Night Live and That Damn Michael Che) and Will Forte (MacGruber) sit down The Hollywood Reporter’s Lacey Rose to talk about their respective projects and experiences.
“I’ve gone through a lot of personal things in the past couple of years. My stand-up was never really about me. It was kind of about everything else. I just couldn’t think of anything else to talk about other than me.”
Lacey Rose opens the discussion by asking the guests about a “wow” moment they recently had. Will Forte claims that every day is a “wow” day to him, and Danny McBride jokingly adds that watching the latest season of 90 Day Fiancé was a powerful experience. Michael Che states that “wow” moments occur to him when he sees other comedians being successful in their bits. Lastly, Bowen Yang says that watching Forte’s MacGruber film was that kind of experience, and Jerrod Carmichael claims he experienced that sensation while watching Chris Redd’s show Bust Down.
After getting a few laughs in, Rose moves the focus of the discussion to Carmichael. Regarding the “Drought Special” from Rothaniel, Rose asks Carmichael about what happened in his life that made him decide to willingly share secrets, like his sexuality, on the Rothaniel. Carmichael believes stand-up provides a space for working out personal things. He wanted to create Rothaniel with a sense of urgency to let out what he wishes to say. Now, Carmichael feels free after Rothaniel because before its premiere, he felt like he was hiding a part of himself. Coming out as gay has given him a feeling of increased space to work in stand-up.
“I think ‘live’ kind of makes it a different type of thing [comedy] because we find out at the same time as the audience if it was a hit.”
Continuing the discussion about stand-up, Rose then asks the guests if they have a good grasp of gauging how successful their material will land with the audience. Yang feels like he and Che have that opportunity every week on Saturday Night Live (SNL). Even then, Yang believes that only a third of his sketches on SNL landed well with audiences. Che agrees that a live audience helps gauge the audience much more quickly and effectively. He believes the same could be said for stand-up because both can observe and react to viewers in real-time. As such, Che is a firm believer in repetition and constant practice for comedy sketches, especially ones on SNL.
Forte believes comedians need to have a willingness to realize they’re wrong. It is necessary to determine what does or doesn’t work and allows the comedian to try new things. Finding what lands with the audience makes the sense of success feel even more fulfilling. Forte mentions the low box-office numbers of his MacGruber film as a success for the cast and crew because it was something they were proud to make, and it served as a learning experience for Forte.
Johnson claims to be able to gauge audience reaction by how the joke or skit feels to him. His lack of confidence in reading the room makes him dependent on self-evaluation for his material. McBride agrees with Yang and Che. He states that unless there is a live audience, there is zero understanding of what worked with people or what didn’t. For this reason, McBride believes comedy-based films and shows either fail or succeed upon premiere; jokes and sketches that lack a live audience receive little feedback.
“I think it’s always fun to keep them guessing because who knows who they actually are? If you describe yourself and somebody else describes you, it’s gonna be two different answers.”
Regarding the roles each of the guests have played, Rose asks them if they have seen a pattern in the types of characters they choose to perform. Additionally, Rose wants to know if the guests have ever stepped back and wondered about what their selection of roles says about them. Yang reveals that he has been told by numerous people the roles he plays on SNL typically involve an individual who is a media-obsessed person who wants to control their media narrative. This revelation initially terrified him because it made him wonder if he was like that in real life. Nevertheless, Yang has realized that all actors put a bit of themselves into their characters.
Johnson believes the perspective of his characters always comes across as weird, but he doesn’t see them as being weird. He is unable to play a role unless he can relate to it. Johnson likes to employ improv and discussion with the showrunners to make his character work for him. Che is the last one to answer Rose’s question, and he claims that when there are two different ideas of who you are, you can better find out who you are.
“I grew up watching TV and I loved it, so I wanted to be in TV. When things weren’t going the way I wanted to go, I’d watch Cheers and go like, ‘I want to be in that, and I want to live in that feeling.’ Then when I got out here, I was like, ‘oh, it’s a job.’”
Rose continues the discussion on roles by asking how their portrayals affect their loved ones. Che believes show business becomes a part of the family because people outside the industry are difficult to relate to. He recounts an example of when something didn’t go right for him and had caused an extreme reaction from his family. Johnson agrees with Che and adds that while he loves his family, he doesn’t look for their opinions. Rose focuses the conversation on Johnson by mentioning a time when Johnson claimed to have had a realization regarding the entertainment business. Johnson explains that he had an idealized view of Hollywood life that lasted until he experienced life in Los Angeles. Despite the hardships he faced, Johnson enjoyed what he was doing because he was living out his dream.
“I’m thinking of Kenan (Thompson) just because I don’t think I’ll stay there [SNL] for as long as he has. I think watching him and his sense of boundaries is very cool. I want to get to that place.”
Rose then asks the guests if there is someone who has a career that appeals to them. McBride was impressed by John Goodman while working together on The Righteous Gemstones and appreciated the choices Goodman made in his career. Che is awed by anybody who can do year-long comedy tours while also being able to pick projects that they like doing. Che claims he looks up to that type of person because he feels like he doesn’t have that opportunity. Carmichael vaguely states he looks up to anyone genuine, and Nick Offerman appeals to Forte. Forte is amazed that Offerman performs his roles while also taking time to finely craft furniture in his wood shop. Forte’s awe is due to desiring a better means of taking advantage of the time he has. Lastly, Yang looks up to Kenan Thompson of SNL. He appreciated how Kenan set his boundaries but at the same time, exuding a sense of warm generosity.
Rose ends the interview by asking what the guests’ dream gig would be to retire on and who they wish to collaborate with. Che believes retirement is more of a question of what else can you do, but not necessarily as a job. He looks forward to a position that would give him the power and freedom to explore his desires. Johnson, during the pandemic, rethought his life and realized that he desires to keep working with no plans on retirement. Carmichael is content with finding something that makes him happy and wealthy. As for collaborators, the guests make a big joke of the question with Che wishing to collaborate with Will Smith due to the controversy, Carmichael with David Geffen to ride Geffen’s yacht, and Yang with Kanye West due to his over-the-top personality.