Jimmy Carr & Conan Get Deep | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

I've really enjoyed your standup had you. on the show many times and you've made. these uh uh programs for Netflix these. standup specials I believe is this. correct that you were the first I think. the first UK I think UK just kind of. expanding I mean the incredible thing. about Netflix is it really has been I me. standups very new anyway really as a. medium and it's a great American medium. if you think about what America's given. the world Jazz the Western standup. comedy and standup comedy was the last. of them it was really I think you can. trace it back to you can obviously trace. it back trickster Gods back in ancient.

times but really Carlin and prior are. the are the kind of where most people go. to and then you go there with John the. Baptist and then everyone since has just. been standing on their shoulders yes and. it's kind of it's a very exciting medium. and then Netflix came along and thanks. to Ted surus and he's kind of love of. standup it feels like the world now has. opened up like I've done 45 countries on. the tour it's incred like you go. anywhere in the world and English has. become I think people speak better. English now because of YouTube and. Netflix than they ever used to I've.

really noticed a difference it's. extraordinary really I great time to be. in stand up I will tell you that I hear. this a lot you've been with me when I've. heard this we travel around I don't know. if you if youve heard it as well BL but. many people when I've traveled and done. specials around the world and shot. things around the world people will tell. me I learned English by watching you on. The Late Night show I always think a. massive mistake but but B uh that there. is something I mean you think about all. the countries that listened to.

they first listen to they listen to the. blues and then they listen to R&B they. listen to R&B records and in England the. whole idea of waiting for merchant ships. to come in and then trying to trade the. sailors to get a 45 to listen to what. Elvis Presley what's all this Elvis. Presley stuff because no one was hearing. on the BBC there's this cultural. exchange that happens and what I one of. the things that I love about streaming. is I watch a lot of UK comedians now I. watch I mean I I watch comedians. actually from all over the world now but.

I also watch television shows Mysteries. I'm very used to I'm very happy to watch. uh shows that aren't even in English it. is kind of extraordinary that thing. that's happened which I don't think. anyone in media saw coming no one saw. podcast coming no one thought podcasts. were going to be a huge thing that there. was a gap in the market that people. because people's attention spans you. talk to most people that go people's. attention spans getting shorter and it's. all about Tik Tok and you go yeah for. nonsense it's. shorter for good stuff it's longer right. if there's Game of Thrones and it's 60.

hours long you go all Breaking Bad yeah. great I'll watch 60 hours of that I've. got huge attention span for it because. it's brilliant or a podcast where people. having a long conversation you feel. engaged it's fantastic well I the the. thing is that for all those years that. you would come on my show and do. standup I loved it but I never got to. know you and what I enjoy so much about. this format after doing I I loved the. other format until of course in your. vernacular I was chased out um but uh me.

let's just call it me. yeah call me just get it get it done get. it out there son was it you yeah it was. me and. then yeah well hey it's a good living I. talked to every single outlet I was like. he's a monster he's awful she's the only. person who called in a me too and then. continued to work for me and got a raise. incredibly handsy he was in the the the. executive wash yes but.

genitals in my defense he own but still. my own I'm very hand but primarily with. myself I'm constantly all over. me and I somehow worse and I've had it. with this I've had it with this. treatment you you me to I got a. restraining order against myself you got. an I2 yeah I got I I didn't get to do. this with you you did panel on the show. Once which I thoroughly enjoyed but we. never could have done this but isn't. that a wonderful thing that you kind of. go it's it's a different format and it's. kind of it's more I think it's more.

authentic I me the great thing about. late night it's such a perfect medium. it's again it's so American it's so kind. of glamorous to me to go on those shows. it's such a a privilege to do them but. it's it's that thing I'm I'm quite close. with James cordon and Ben Winston who. produces him and you kind of go chat to. those guys you realize late night talk. shows the the the the kind of the whole. thing is let's try not to have a. conversation let's keep the games going. and something else happening rather than. actually you know you don't want to have. a late night discussion program whereas. these it's all about conversation it's. really it's lovely yeah and I what I.

have found is when I talk to people come. up to me all the time and and not just. in the United States but uh around the. world and they'll tell me oh I was just. listening to you on the podcast and they. really have a flavor for my relationship. with Sona and with Matt uh and they they. can kind of I mean I'll hear about that. they can sense you hold them in contempt. yeah oh absolutely oh I am. definitely very One open about it well.

please yeah come on you know will you. help. me I don't know how I can I'm seeing. Mark Maron later on are you being kept. for parts it feels can you smuggle me. out of here it feels like you it's like. Mark Mar's just got you sort of you you. you're just holding some kidneys. anything happens he is he is here. because I need a spleen and you know. what he was hired because he's a direct. Blood match for me yeah so this is a. this is basically an organ bag stem.

cells this is my this is these old stem. cells yeah this is my organ. bag and orgon bag Matt gy Matt how are. you how are you feeling by the way. Matt I get very upset when he goes out. drinking because those are my organs. he's I'm trying to kill you come. okay I I must I must know more about you. because I'm I'm curious a lot of my. favorite people in.

comedy we all it's rare that I talk to. somebody who I really like who just knew. when they were very young and got. started very young uh a lot of us myself. included we were interested in it but. didn't quite know how to attack it you. were a bit of a late bloomer I think. yeah for comedy I didn't start comedy. till I was about maybe 25 26 yeah I had. a proper job first which is it's very. useful in Show Business I think if you. go straight from school into into. Showbiz then it's very difficult to be.

grateful it's very difficult to. appreciate how great it is right and how. kind of how fun life is just kind of. messing around and your previous job was. working. for like a big Oil Company yeah so that. was good yeah that was good you've never. looked back once you never tempted those. guys yeah they're still they're still. doing great right I haven't looked in on. them recently but I imagine they're. doing great can I ask you something. until Mother Earth says her safe word we. can we can keep screwing her right is. that not right oh no I don't know I. don't know much about environmentalism.

but I know a thing or two about BDSM and. I'm I'm pretty sure I'm picturing now. Earth with a ball gag mouth um no and. chill Earth says it's it's safe word uh. yeah we're GNA take it right up to the. line I think we did that a while ago um. so yeah came to it late I think the. thing with Comics I mean I don't know. what your your go-to is when I meet sort. of comics that I've met before if we're. in a car ride or whatever Green Room my. question is always which of your parents. was sick mhm MH that's I always think.

there's one parent that was either. physically or mentally sick and you had. to be the thermostat for mood and then. the pathology of most comedians I know. and most comedians that I love is they. have to be able to change the thermostat. of mood in a room because really when. you think about what we do in a rooms. you you come in and uh you you change. the we're drug dealers where dopamine. and serotonin those are the two drugs. we're dealing in so that constant. surprise if you don't quite know where. the joke is coming you know there's a. joke but you don't know when and then. the serotonin of the feel good it's it's.

great and they'll never Take Me Alive. because the drugs are already on you. right it to me it's uh it's I wouldn't. sick is a big. word uh and so I don't know if I'd be. prepared to say that in my experience. but what I will say is that there's a. sensitivity. to um want wanting everyone in the room. to be okay and uh and.

as you say being the thermostat so if. something's off or if someone's unhappy. or if there's any sort of U you know. repeated um. unhappiness uh that that that runs along. you want to you want to try and lift. that mood so that's where that it's a. little bit of it's a magical trick. because you can you can't see that even. when you sort of slow down there it's a. really interesting thing that you have. this ability to to do that where it's.

that kind of classic thing of like what. do you find easy that everyone else. finds difficult most people in the world. find that incredibly difficult right and. you just have a natural ability to walk. into a room and go oh we're on I'll just. light this up yeah it's it's. extraordinary and it's weird and very. few people have it and yet and somehow. and it took you a while to find well. what's the career what's the way for me. to do this and and if you're like me I. I've talked about this but I knew that I. could do that.

fairly young as a kid that I could do. that and I could make my friends laugh. and if someone was sad I could lighten. the mood and if there was tension I. could break the mood and make everybody. happy never thought that that could be. connected to a career ever I didn't. think the two could be linked yeah I. mean I think who thinks it can be a care. you don't know anyone in show business. as well your sort of childhood you go. well those are magical people on the TV. that's a different I don't that happens.

no it's like saying your aspiration is. to be in the royal family that doesn't. happen those are people that are Liv in. another world that's how I looked at it. as well you said I remember uh when I. got a job as a comedy writer and I was. quite young thinking well I can't do. this because I can be funny but I don't. know how to write comedy and having to. think about it for a really long time. really think about it and repeatedly try. it and make mistakes in order to realize.

no there is a way to take this thing. that I do. naturally and make it into words but it. was not uh it's interesting though isn't. it because we live in a I think standup. is very new I'm kind of working on a. thing at the moment working on a book. about this because it strikes me that. music has a language right music is. everyone knows how to read music you. could go from here to Legos in Nigeria. and you could you could have a musician. and they could play together with. written music there's nothing in comedy. comedy is like it's it's trying to turn.

sort of alchemy into science and the. idea of going well there are different. kind of joke types and you you sort of. stumble across it but you have to find. your own way everyone getting into. comedy has the same story as us of kind. of having a machete and getting through. the jungle and I found this path and I. managed to make it through and I'm very. happy I did but it feels like you need a. highway it feels like it'd be better if. people kind of knew how to write jokes. and there's there's a lot of kind of uh. you know huers out there trying to sell. something and they' got no idea how to. do it yeah I've always been suspicious. of the idea that it can be tart I've.

always really again that's the that's. the the magical sort of well I don't. want to it's unconscious competence so. you have this incredible ability and. you're not quite sure how you do it but. I don't think you being able to read. music would take away from your innate. ability I think it would just it would. be you know you be able to focus it. maybe a little bit a bit a bit easier. right uh but I don't think it would take. any of the magic away in the same way as. musicians some musicians can't read. music I mean I think Paul McCartney. didn't learn how to write read or write. music until he was in his 50s or 60s but.

and then it didn't take anything away. he's still able to he's still got away. with a. tune um he writes Jingles now for. commercials I wondered what happened to. him yeah just for the money he needs the. money yeah sure but um he's an old the. guy no but I think uh I think there's a. lot to it which is uh it always has to. be play it it has to be fun there has to. be a sense of play and whenever I sense. I'm trying to think of comedy and it's.

getting uh morose or it's feeling like a. term paper I've got to walk away from it. and then reapo it because it comes from. well that's the Flow State that's the. kind of place where you want to be where. you kind of go well if you can do a job. where you you're in a flow State that's. fantastic where you're just you're not. aware of time and you're messing around. and you're giggling and it's it's. exciting that's the best the the best is. and I'm sure you know is is uh just. being in front of people and it's. supposed to be your job and you're just. screw around and amusing yourself and.

everyone's with you and enjoying it and. you're all in the same place yeah that's. I mean to me that's magical that's the. that's the the high I think I I go back. to kind of the Chuck Close CH you know. the American artist that the point list. uh he was used to say uh inspiration is. for amateurs the rest of us go to work. so I think there's something of there's. something of that of like when it can be. play and finding in the moment is. beautiful oh but you have to do a ton of. work to get there yeah it's the. inspiration is the reward for turning up. every day yeah.

the uh oh we went serious didn't we no. no don't worry we we'll take all that. out um we're going to just put after. you're gone I'm going to do 20 minutes. of berating you and that will be. inserted and we'll just use uh defensive. squeaks for your voice okay and you. people say well you know Conor really. got the best of Jimmy there didn't he if. you're interested the in insertion was. the reason he was me. tooed attempted it.