Isaac Kozell

The Kyle Dunnigan Interview

(Originally published in the April 2013 issue of Savage Henry Magazine) 

Kyle Dunnigan just taught Savage Henry how to avoid cooties…using math. This sage advice was dispensed via one of Dunnigan’s characters, Craig, who maintains dual residencies in both The Internet (Dunnigan’s YouTube Channel) and Reno (911!). Dunnigan’s work spans many mediums: stage, screen, web. He’s done festivals like Just for Laughs, late night television shows like Jimmy Kimmel, and currently co-hosts the science-y podcast Professor Blastoff. Carl Sagan said, “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.” Kyle Dunnigan isn’t hardly anyone. Suck it, Sagan.

Isaac Kozell: Kyle, welcome to the Science issue of Savage Henry. As co-host of the Professor Blastoff podcast, what are some of your favorite scientific subjects, and why?

Kyle Dunnigan: I am fascinated with questions about where we come from. How stars are formed. The fact that we come from stardust blows my mind. That atoms in one of your hands could have come from a different star than atoms in your other hand. I think if that doesn’t blow your mind, you’re not thinking about it hard enough.

IK: I’m kind of terrified by the concept of The Singularity. Please say something that might make me feel better about it.

KD: Fear not young one. You have always been experiencing the singularity. It’s only space that was added. We were all one and we continue to be.

IK: Your friend and podcast cohort, Tig Notaro, has had an improbably wild year and you have been along for much of the ride. How does tragedy and triumph affect a friendship?

KD: Having to consider her possible death was so upsetting to me, that I feel like I soak up the fun that we have more.

IK: What have you taken away from the whole experience?

KD: The fact that we die is so covered up and turned away from in our society. More so here than anywhere else in the world. The downside to not contemplating your or a loved ones death is, it puts what’s important into focus. People who have near death experiences, like Tig, get their shit together. Tig always lived her life well in my opinion, but I think this last year has really put her on track.

IK: You started out doing improv and then made the transition to stand-up. What prompted the move?

KD: I actually started off doing stand up. I did it once in high school and I got suspended. It soured me to it for a few years and I found improv and sketch. I went back to stand-up because there was zero money in improv.

IK: I’m going to kill our fact-checker. (Editor’s note: Isaac Kozell is his own fact-checker.) Tell me about how you developed the character of Craig, who is a both YouTube favorite and a recurring face on Reno 911!

KD: I’ve been doing that character for as long as I can remember. I have no idea where it started.

IK: My current favorite of your characters is the elderly Vaudevillian, Del LaRue. How would you describe Del to the uninitiated?

KD: Thank you! I would describe him as sweet/soaks up life and those around him/terrible tapper but loves to do it.

IK: You were part of Howie Mandel’s hidden camera prank show, Howie Do It. He’s a legendary germaphobe. So, scientifically speaking, which parts of Howie’s body have you touched?

KD: Back left shoulder, on a Christian side hug.

IK: That’s hot. Let’s talk about relationships. Do you feel that attraction between two people leans more to the scientific, or to the spiritual?

KD: Scientific. I think everything spiritual is just something we don’t understand scientifically yet. That disturbs some people. But I think those people would feel better if they understood how magical science can be.

IK: The UK Daily Mail published a paparazzi photo of you and girlfriend Sarah Silverman eating lunch. The caption said, “Kyle sported a grey hoody over beige trousers and wore trainers on his feet. Although his hair looked freshly cut, he clearly hadn’t put a razor to his face in days.” If you could rewrite that caption, what would it say?

KD: Haha! What a sharp dresser! I wouldn’t rewrite it. I would just write before it: “Not that any one should give a shit , but…”

IK: A young man by the name of Dyllon recently wrote on your Facebook wall, and I quote, “good ideas for a whole lot of funny jokes. i am a young commedian, and you inspire me. hit me up.” What advice would you give to young, aspiring commedianz?

KD: Get up on stage a lot. Do what makes you laugh. Both not easy to do.

IK: And now, it’s time for plugs! What can we be on the lookout for in the not-too-distant future?

KD: I’m writing a Nickelodeon cartoon I created and I’m writing a pilot for a cable channel, but I don’t think it’s been released to the press yet so they might get mad if I say. Also I try to post new videos on my youtube channel youtube.com/kyledunnigan.

IK: Thanks, Kyle! Mind officially blown.

KD: Byyyeeee.

The Johnny Pemberton Interview

(Originally published in the March 2013 issue of Savage Henry Magazine) 

Comedian and Actor Johnny Pemberton’s IMDb page tells, in incredible detail, that he is 5’ 9” and…wait for it…loves gardening. Ok, so maybe the IMDb bio leaves something to be desired. Fear not. We donned our ascots, poured a cup of the finest Earl Grey, and had a deliciously refined conversation with Sir Pemberton of Rochester.

Isaac Kozell: You’ve been in Los Angeles for about eight years but where do you hail from?

Johnny Pemberton: I grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. “The ROCH!”

IK: Was heading to LA part of the dream?

JP: I was going to move to Chicago to study Improv at Second City. But I couldn’t get a job there. I had some friends who lived in LA. Somehow, I was able to get a job at Fox in the web department doing basically nothing. That was about six months after I graduated from college. I moved out here for the job. I was trying to do something creative but I needed a job where I could get health insurance. I just couldn’t do that thing where you’re like, “Oh, I’m just going to live on someone’s couch for six months while I figure out how this all works.” But it was such a weird thing. They didn’t ask me at all if could really do that sort of work. All they want, I think in these entrainment biz jobs, is someone who is easy to hire. Like a friend of a person who already works there who hasn’t stolen anything or killed anybody.

IK: Were you already doing comedy and acting back home?

JP: I was always fucking around, making fun of things and not taking anything seriously but as far as actually doing comedy, no. I didn’t think it was an option, a thing that a person could just do.

IK: How did you get your start? Did you get acting roles first or was it the other way around?

JP: It was definitely comedy first. I didn’t think about anything other than that. Initially, I didn’t want to be an actor because I felt like that was such a different thing, like doing comedy and then saying you’re an actor was something disgraceful. But you asked how I got started. I had this weird opportunity at Fox where they were making a web talk show, one of those things that got made but no one will ever see. It was made just to internally promote Fox shows. I was like, “I’ll do warm up for this paid audience! I’ve got jokes that I’ve been working on.” I hadn’t tried them out at all. I was just thinking that you could live inside of a vacuum of comedy and do fine, you know, because I’m so smart. So I did it and it was terrible, like the worst thing in the world. I didn’t know how to do comedy. I thought I knew. It was fucking hideously bad. The host used the entire show to make fun of how shitty I was. The show was better because of how bad I was.

IK: You’ve come a long way since then. How would you describe your on-stage persona?

JP: That’s one of the hardest things to answer. I do a lot of things that involve misdirection. Playing off of people’s expectations. I also like to do things that involve music. I like to talk about things that are ridiculous, starting with making fun of myself. I guess I like talking about things that are not your normal subjects. Animals are always funny.

IK: You mentioned misdirection. You’re a super youthful looking dude. Do you find that to be an asset?

JP: Absolutely. I use that all of the time. People have an expectation of me. At least I think they do. But you can only do some much material about that because people get to know you. It’s not so much about the youthful thing but more about innocence. A lot of people think that I look like an unassuming, non-threatening sort of person. Lately I’ve been talking about murdering people after the show. I like taking that as far as I possibly can. Like, “I’m just joking. But really, I could not be joking and you would have no idea.” I like to do anything that has an element of theatrics as opposed to just words.

IK: You’ve been in a rather respectable amount of films including, This Is 40, 21 Jump Street and The Watch. As an actor, do you ever get starstruck on set?

JP: Not really. I think you kind of learn after a while that being starstruck is the quickest way to be disappointed. The more you hold someone up to a certain level, the easier it is for them to disappoint you with even the slightest bit of dickishness. I just don’t expect anything from anyone and then I’m surprised when my expectations are exceeded. Like Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. Those guys are exceedingly famous. Really nice people. But working with them is almost boring. Cause they’re just who you would expect them to be as regular people.

IK: What’s the most fulfilling thing you’ve worked on so far?

JP: Man, I don’t know. Maybe In the Loop, which was a long time ago but it was so cool because Armando Iannucci is someone whose work I liked for so long. Getting a chance to do that was so fucking cool, even though it was a small part. A lot of movie things and TV things aren’t that fulfilling because of the nature of production. I feel like it’s more fulfilling to do standup. When I got to do Montreal (Just For Laughs), I had a great set that I was happy with. That was very fulfilling. I get a lot of enjoyment out of making stuff with my friends. This podcast I started in July, I find that to be more fulfilling than anything. No one is telling me what to do. I can do crazy stupid shit. I feel like the most fulfilling the stuff is often the stuff that people care the least about. The things that people notice the most and give the most compliments on are the things that I tend to feel like are inversely proportional in terms of what I put into it.

IK: Let’s talk about your podcast, Twisting the Wind.

JP: I wanted to do one for a long time. Duncan Trussell is one of my best friends and I love this podcast. He told me I should do one. I batted around ideas for a long time, looking for a theme. But I realized I didn’t really need a theme. It is always going to be secondary to what actually comes up.

IK: Music is a big part of your podcast and your comedy. Where did you get your taste in music?

JP: I never thought I was going to do comedy. I wanted to be a musician for a living. I played piano and cello for a while. Then, in 7^th grade, I started playing the bass. My friend Steve started a band and we played Smells Like Teen Spirit at talent show and that was basically it. Later we got heavy into jazz. We would just drive around Rochester listening to Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell. We started a jazz trio. Me and my friends, we would just hang out, smoking weed and listening to music. Music was a way to feel connected to something bigger when you were living in a shitty town.

IK: So this is our “Fancy” issue. Your last name bodes well for this, you know.

JP: Do you know my middle name?

IK: No.

JP: It’s de Jarnette.

IK: Shut up.

JP: Yeah. It’s an old French name. I didn’t find this out until I was at the DMV in Los Angeles but I am John de Jarnette Pemberton III. How elitist does that sound?

___

Check out Johnny’s podcast, Twisting the Wind, listen for Johnny’s voice in upcoming episodes of Adventure Time and Bob’s Burgers and look for Johnny on the new TV comedy Family Tools, premiering on ABC in May.

Haste

“So, those are the basic details. Any ideas?”

“Because kids blow up so fast!” said Bill, realizing immediately that this would be his last day on the international landmine safety marketing team.

The Lisa Lampanelli Interview

I interviewed Lisa Lampanelli for www.NakYouOut.com. She was a goddamn delight to chat with.

_____

Isaac Kozell: I read an interview with you where you said that the word “cunt” is the best word on the planet. Do you still stick to that and if so, why?

Lisa Lampanelli: Oh, yes! I’m very proud to have made the c-word an acceptable term. I take full credit for that. I feel like the only word you can’t call a woman now is “fat.” That’s the word that any woman, small, big, whatever, will cut you for. So yeah, I love the c-word. The more harsh the word, the better it is.

IK: I think we can embrace the cuteness of it. If you say it with a smile, it’s got a sharp, quirky little attitude.

LL: Yeah! It doesn’t even have to be a literal smile. It can just be an internal smile, like the kind I do comedy with, so that people would know I wasn’t serious about it. I think it’s terrific.

_____

Read the full interview here.

On Racism

Look, I don’t mean to sound racist but have you ever noticed how much pigeons like stale bread?

Hey, relax. It’s cool. When I was a kid, two of my best friends were pigeons.

Hell, my cousin is pretty much engaged to a pigeon and I’m like totally fine with it.

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