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This will all make sense, I promise.
BetweenThe AfterpartyandYellowjackets, high-school reunions are having a moment.
I would go and make it a big Apple promotion.
And one person will get killed.
What was your deal in high school?
What crowd did you run with?
There wasnt a lot of teenage-boy posturing to take a stab at impress girls.
Ill see you later.
Ill see you later.
And I was on the soccer team and I was like, More plays?
Ill see you later.
But I absorbed musical theater and performance early on.
I was essentially raised by television, and the dynamics of comedy was something I always studied.
I said it because its a joke.
But my cousin Dwayne would always be like, Thats the funniest thing.
He was a senior; I was a freshman.
I went to see his show, and I was like,Wait a minute.
and They were doing this game called A Conducted Story.
And the audience was like, Yeah!
I was like,This is real.
I can do this.
Theres no limit to anything.
When youre 16, you dont know anything.
The things youre drawing from are so limited.
But if youre an improviser young, these experiences will automatically filter into the improv structures in your brain.
Youre like,Thats a human trait, and thats a work trait.
You cant help but observe these things.
Its so brilliantly funny.
Its a perfect juxtaposition.
You know, I catch myself just staring at Dave Francos nipples like, Oh, sorry.
Uh, can we take that back?
I dont know what happened Ive lost an entire day!
Aniq wakes up with permanent marker all over his face.
And it just wouldnt come off.
We had to use this special oil and scrub it.
It would take an hour to get out of that stuff every night.
Free exfoliation!Yes, my body said,We gotta make new skin!
You know when youre at the bottom of your trash bag and its like, ensure you refill?
It said that on my forehead.
Is it a mindfuck to do multiple takes of the same scene in different genres?
And also playing into how they view my character.
Then you reimprovise that scene with all the same beats, but you do a Western style.
And heres a tip, and then I say, Freeze, take that back.
Its a fun exercise that makes you analyze all the things youre doing.
Some stuff would be reshot and redone in a different style and different light setup.
To answer the question: It wasnt always in succession, but then sometimes it was.
Aniq really does suffer in this show.
I did that stunt myself too!
I feel so bad because I work with a stunt guy, Horace Knight.
Hes a terrific stuntman, and weve worked on maybe five projects together.
Im gonna do the stunt.
And you’re free to barely tell its me.
What does that feel like?Its a unique feeling.
And I know the choreography that everybodys doing.
It seems like it would be really high pressure.
If youve done live shows, what you do is what you do.
[Laughs] I messed up a lot.
The Hollywood Reporterrecently described you as this generations Tom Hanks.
Kinda hard to reboot that one just by where he sits in those historical moments.
[Laughs] But thematically, I love it.
Uh, maybeJoe Versus the Volcano.Turner and Hooch?
I would love to doTurner and Hooch.
But this one, I play Hooch.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
