Conan On The “Hacks” Scene That Made Him Tear Up (Feat. Carol Leifer) | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

I was gonna pay you a compliment and. I've said this to the producers of Hacks. and I've said this to the stars of Hacks. that I have found it to be one of the. more accurate representations. of the comedy process. We all know that there have been many. times where people have tried to capture. what it's like to be sitting around. thinking of funny ideas and it's never. right. No, it's never right. Hax is the closest. I've seen when they're riffing off of. each other. When when Hannah and Jean.

Smart are riffing off of each other or. going at each other that it feels to me. like, oh, people that that write comedy. are accurately portraying what it's like. to try and come up with stuff. Mhm. I mean, do you remember that movie. Punchline? Yes. I was going to where standups all. have their own locker. Yes. Right. Exactly. when uh I saw the show. for the first time. Also, Jean is the first actor I've seen.

who is convincing as a stand-up. Yeah. I mean, completely because there are so. many actors who've tried it and you can. just sense something is off, but she. goes out there when she does her standup. on the show and you totally buy that um. she's Deborah Vance. The episode where she fills in for the. late night host at the last minute. Yeah. and really scores and at the end. of the night everyone's leaving and. she's running her hands over the desk. I don't tear up at anything. Anything.

Wow. I start to tear up and my I'm on a. flight and my wife is looking at me and. she thinks I'm watching a dog get put. down or something and I show her what. I'm watching and I just said I know. that completely caught me by surprise. It really got it really got me. the feeling of uh I love being behind. this desk and this I think I finally. found I'm like a snail that finally. found his little shell. This is this is my home.

That killed me. Absolutely killed me. And um. but I I salute you. I mean the the. writing I mean I got to I got to the. privilege of doing an episode of Curb. one of the last episodes and it was. really funny. I know I was saying I would in between. takes. I'd go and we would chat in between. takes and it was so funny because my. experience was. it's this Larry's the same. It's not. like and cut and Larry drops it. You.

know, if you if you get a bite to eat. with Larry or Larry's been over to my. house. at a Christmas party and he's like, "Uh, you ever notice and he's doing the same. stuff and he's being the same guy and. you think I'm just waiting for the wa. he is the same person. He is the same." Yes. So, he actually just built a show around. who he is. Exactly. And he's always he's always.

Larry David. Like I asked him when I got. married if he would do a speech and of. course he was like, "Yeah, cat, you. know, ruin my golf game that day." Yeah. No, I can't do it. You know, it's so. Larry David. Yeah. Yeah. I've not One thing I've. noticed about him is if he's really. laughing, his Yes. His teeth move, but his jaw doesn't in a. weird way. So he'd be going like. And he's not doing a bit. No, it's like a little Jerry Mahoney.

Yeah. the little It's like a little. ventriloquist stall like. and I'm the first time I saw him do it, I thought, is he making fun of me? No, that's how he laughs. It is. And he was. making fun of me. Yeah. Um. but he does have a great laugh, doesn't. he? Great laugh. Yeah, when you make him laugh, there is. no better feeling in the world. Yes, it's a very nice thing. Uh I'll. experience it one day. Do you. And you were great on the show. Oh, thank you. Yeah, I had a lot of fun. I I like whenever there's an opportunity. for me to be. um I figured out doing the episode of. Curb. I looked over the script and I.

realized, oh, I see what this is. The. assignment is because there's a lot of. improvising, too. Yeah. Whatever Larry wants, make sure he. doesn't get it. is really the and that is the essence of. curb, which is a lot of times he wants. something. Is it okay if I just and. someone will say like well no actually. it's it's two per customer and that. would be a third. Just deny him the. thing that he wants. Don't give him what. he wants. So with me it was just is it. okay if I.

can we hang out? And I'm like you don't. have clearance. Don't give it to him. And anything he would then they were. just riffing and he's asking me about my. dog and. shut down everything he wants. Just be a. dick. Yeah. And who knew I could be a dick? Right. Uh yeah, that's called acting. You were being method all these years, right? You were preparing for this role. I was preparing for this role of Conan. O'Brien, which I think I I did really well. Um I.

want to bring up. also Oh, sorry. Go ahead. Go ahead. His. genius that he would take things like he. and Larry from Seinfeld, they always. loved real life ideas and Larry loved it. on curb. So when I pitched to him um. this true story that I um had this great. fold up umbrella that I loved like it. just opened perfectly and closed and I. just and then I lost it and I thought I. lost it. Um it was from the Omni Dallas.

Hotel. and um I thought I left it at a Japanese. restaurant. So, um, of course I went. back and the owner was like, you know, I. was like, "Have you seen a, you know, a. black fold up umbrella?" It's like, "Yeah, I have 3,000 of them back here.". Um, yeah, but mine says Omni Dallas. And. it was like, "No, we don't have that." But the genius. of Larry David is. he creates that he's in a fight y. with the owner of the Japanese. restaurant. So that not only can he not.

get the umbrella back, but then it. becomes also about, well, it's really. the Omni Dallas's umbrella, so why. should I give it back to you? So he. takes it like six steps forward, which. is brilliant. It's so oppositional. Every he's in he's. he's opposed everyone's opposed to him. and he's opposed to everyone in the. universe. And uh I think one of the. things that's magic about the show and. also you can see how much of it is uh. the George Castanza character in.

Seinfeld. is constantly creating his own misery. in this particular way separate from the. other characters. He's creating his own. misery constantly which is very Larry. Exactly. and he really latches on to. small things. Like the first time I went. to pitch for Curb, I went in and my. first idea was when um you're a funny. person, a comedian, and a regular. person, you tell um something funny, say. something funny, and someone goes bump.

to it. How much you hate that? Yeah. It's so insulting. And Larry Me was. like, "Yes, yes, I like that." You know, so um so we use that. To me, it's like. if you came up with a comedy idea and. someone would go like, "Yeah, that's. cute." That that that was uh like being. shot in the groin. and not in a good way.