you may remember him
from Playing by Heart or
Death to Smoochy he was on Caroline's Comedy Hour
and he performs all around town also the New York mental state Division
that's one of his gigs without further due let's welcome
Mr. Jon Stewart
thank you how are you?
I'm good better now you're here - very nice
do you feel like when you made your announcement that you're retiring
fell like a zillion Jewish moms are like what are you doing
what he says he is eating what he is eating what will he have for the next meal should I prepare the next meal?
you know I had a thousand moms before I announced anything
that whenever you do a show about current events that's
you know everybody will is that really what you think about Israel
It's just something that we came up with
I'm just saying I mean you should educate yourself from the settlements
I mean you are not educated I noticed you worked on Yom Kippur
I mean I didn't say anything I don't know why he did it
it's just you have children I know you wife got forbid Catholic but
the important thing is lovely
after he made your big announcement ware there a split second when you thought well
what are other Comedy Central hosts brilliant comedian also done after they made a major announcement
did you feel like I should split and go to Africa?
hi no I mean I'm not concerned you know I've got
an great opportunity I'll be a featured blogger on the Huffington Post so
you know I'm really excited about that they said I was gonna be
automatically like one of top 150
you know for me blogging is just an outlet
it's a lifestyle -it's a lifestyle
so I'm excited about it
outside Arby's have you gotten any other exciting job offer?
so far just Arby's the Arby thing is just
we do you think about Arby's just in general we say things like
this segment bought to you by Arby's
because your memory is not as strong as your hunger
Arby's you know just terrible things about Arby's
and people say what are you have against the truth is we didn't even eat in there
I think it's just a comic trope it has nothing to do with anything
and they're the nicest people in the world and they consistently send us food after that
yeah it's the weirdest now I start mentioning Shake Shack nothing
I got nothing so Arby's for some reason they
they just like they shit on us send them some sandwich it's very interesting they're lovely people
now before the Daily Show you have a illustrious career in acting and hosting
also say waiting I'll say that
and now modeling also
oh for god's sake yeah that's before now if you saw a picture like that
you think I was in odder I become slightly more suit
as the time has gone on there'd be a a large Russian man with a club
trying to hit me over the head and take my belt yeah that was for
the original MTV talk show which was 1990 some thing like that
right after Marky Mark had so Marky Mark it done his big ad campaign and I thought what's he got
that I don't have other than a body that
doesn't look more amorphous and pear shape so
why not - you more like an apple
do you think that's an Apple I appreciate that I see it more as a pear
or in some respects an apple on top of a plant
you know really either way
not a good luck - before the Daily Show you were already very political
now I'm very nervous what gonna happen behind me
a girlfriend from high school would be like he can't fuck for shit
every time something happened I just gonna turn around
hey look at that - is that true?
it's everyone that I ever failed It's beautiful
look that - is that true - probably nobody gonna tell you
I lost my It's a interesting story I lost my
virginity in 1981
the girl appealed I got it back
I wonder you date catholic - didn't lost it again until 1983 so
to the same song
as perfect transition a perfect segue to
before the Daily Show your comedy already be very political
I was curious like how Far in before you like I'm gonna in
really focus on politics here really think we can I have this as a knish
I never feel like that I never
really follow along those lines you mean before the show in terms doing stand-up
in terms during the show when do you like you know what
I think we can really make this more a knish
that was from the get-go well that was the first thing
that I that I wanted to try to do is sort of
shift the focus of it slightly towards more of the
political systems and cable television and cable news network that sort of thing it was just
that at advents of those networks and things and they just become a more
potent force in the dialogue and inserted generating the news cycle
it used to be and it's still interesting exercise to do
read the front page in the New York Times and then watch
what the cable news organizations are talking about it's as though there in two completely separate worlds
so it was looking at what
the more traditional newspapers had found relevant
verses what this new cycle
that its sole purpose was to
you know these these networks they are
geared to catastrophe to a 911 that's
that's when 24 hours at New somewhat serves a purpose - yeah
without that they have to turn the banal into the urgent so they
you know they have to ratchet everything up so that it was just at the advent of that cycle
and for those of you don't read you can just turn on New York One cuz they read the headlines to you
I love New York one - who can not
it is to me it's like what you would want news network to do but they watch and like
fuck it we aren't gonna do that it's like it's like news ads
it's news like you can have it on the elevator like guys are going over just like
if the only channel that Time Warner like it works is the only one that ever works for me
they fuck you the Time Warner its there some sort a package like you can only get it
if you get time warner if you try and get any other cable systems they won't give you new York one
I think it's the way that they they hold you
I think pack here they had like a special deal with them
I'm just kidding you can have a special deal
my favorite is the lady who does the kids
stuff who should has to go to a puppet show that come back tell you about she's like
50 she like your children will love it then she like a wacky picture with the guy
in a giant rhinos suit or something it's awesome
sound like that the beginning of the death to smoochy - that hurts a little bit
that is an example when you have a lot of brilliant people working on something and may not pan out
well it's like any you know party where there's a bong you start talking you know
everything's a good idea when you're high and you wake up in the morning you look at once wrote down to go chicken butt
I don't know what that is
by the way Death to Smoochy which is my favorite things work on Danny DeVito who directed it
is one of the most wonderful inventive guys to be around but my favorite part is
so we were on the set it's Ed Norton Robin Williams Catherine Keener
brilliant brilliant actors and me and Danny
is so get so mad at me cuz I can't do with
these like these other people can do all sorts of things but like in a scene I'm supposed to look mad
so we're in this big scene with huge cast of extras we do this scene I got this ridiculous fucking hair cut
I'm trying you know you get smoochy now you know and I hear cut and Danny
would come from where the camera is up to the stage but Danny is tiny so you don't see anybody you just see like
like bushes are moving like the extras are moving in parting like
like e walk through the forest like
so finally you see the rustling you know something's coming finally you see his head pops out
and he yell at me and then head back into the forest
you always shit on yourself as an actor why don't I play a clip because
I would shit on myself for a lot of things
you will play - we will move forward
we'll go back to other clips we gonna show this - I'm beginning to hate this cream
I will tell you something -oh for god sake
that doesn't beginning with attract to a nice guy
the problem I have with you
It hurts it hurts
we have problems?
he's a Jew go away
the truth is out there he's a Jew
I don't deal with passion well
I don't like lose control
you know there's a terrible fire in the room we should get out of here we are dying
we will be overcome by CO
come on tell me do I look like David Duchovny just a little bit?
don't you wanna make out with you know NO NO NO
I love - NO NO nooooooo
come on that's
I remember that in high school boys will take you chin
yeah the chin act that's an actor
I observe human condition and people kissing
and some time they touch the chin so I try that
what was like when you were directing actors
who you thought were phenomenal and yeah we talked about rosewater
what was it like to direct actors who are phenomenal - yeah cuz
it gave me a tremendous sympathy to people who have to direct me
you know its what what what's anytime you can you can create something and
the people that you need to you fill our these specific positions
elevate that material in ways that are surprising or interesting It's
you be very gratified for you because you you know you may write something
a certain way or you may vision a certain way
but they bring a certain inspiration to her from a different direction
that you would not realize so that's the beauty of the collaboration at the collaborative process
but you depend on that and I think whenever I was acting I never felt like
I was able to give that to the director to the writer
and so whenever I was in those positions I felt
you know that its perfunctory you know no one likes to be in a job
where you know the other people who were working there like when they're done they just ah
do you know what I mean it's not that it's terrible but it's not
you can't elevated that - but it's very rare that comedians
can cross over into acting cuz it's inverse skills - that's correct
and so what I can do is you know in terms of acting
be myself like 10 percent madder or 10 percent happier
you know I did I don't have that gear I don't know how to do it so well so
I used to say no matter how many movies I have been in any of that I had never been an actor
because there is a very specific quality and craft to it that
I i don't have the language for the facility for that's not that's not a
self-deprecation or a shitting that's what I like to call
cold hard observation -
but you give a good head shots we have your early head shots
oh I thought I said hand job - That we don't know the evening is still young
okay so hmm my mother's friend
my mother had a friend whose son was a photographer and he said
he will do you head shots it'll be nothing you give a hundred dollars and he'll do it
just don't expect the the top your head to be in the picture
do so that was it I was probably 23 maybe in that and still working the Jew-fro
yeah that's good - yeah
did acting at all influence when you're directing out all seriousness - no
what influence me when I was directing was the process of doing the Daily Show much more than it is
the acting process because again it's about it's about the collaboration it's about understanding you know
doing a show taught me this kind of process of clarity of vision but
sort of flexibility a process so know your intention know where you're wanting to go
with the scene with a a the way that you wanted to go the momentum ships the
emphasis where you want it to be but then be flexible enough to
one of the great things about the show is it's disposable in the sense that you're going incredibly fast
she you have to do never be precious for the material you can't claim ownership over ideas and things you have to
you learn to read and react very quickly and that served me a thought well on the set
to be able to see is seen that I design very meticulously with writing
see it come alive with really good actors and know that it's not working
and be able to say okay fuck this let's throw that out
and try the next iteration of it move in
where you feeling it where you know tuning yourself to everybody else's ear
let's show clip of rose water for the you have not seen it yet
this is again Gillian Anderson in prison in Iran
(end of 1st half)