Taylor Tomlinson Honored with Creative Impact in Comedy Award | Variety 10 Comics to Watch 2024
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00:00Thank you so much for being here and congratulations on everything.
00:03I remember meeting you when you were selected for 10 Comics to Watch and I have
00:07a very vivid memory of, you know, Judy Marmol calling me and...
00:12Yeah, and talking you up.
00:14And, you know, reps talk up their clients, of course, but there's something so sincere.
00:21And then right before we got off the phone, I'll never forget this,
00:23and I can't remember what I had for lunch, so it's impressive I remember this.
00:26She was like, she just said, she's really special.
00:29And I was like, okay, she's serious and she was right.
00:33So, thanks for making us look good back then.
00:35Oh my gosh, thank you.
00:36Yeah, I was on 10 Comics to Watch and let me just say, it is so nice that we did not
00:42have to go to Montreal for this.
00:44Oh, isn't it nice?
00:45We're all going to be in bed by 10.
00:51Well, again, I want to congratulate you on everything.
00:53And on After Midnight has already been picked up for a second season.
00:56Thanks.
01:00As our Variety Compact Impact...
01:03See, it's hard to remember, right?
01:05Yeah.
01:06Comedy Impact Award honoree.
01:08I'm sort of curious, who were the people who, you know, had an impact on your comedy
01:12growing up or even today?
01:15Oh, man.
01:15I mean, so many people.
01:17The person I usually reference is Brian Regan because I grew up really religious
01:21and so there's only so many people you can listen to in the car with your religious family.
01:25And I got to open for him in my early 20s and he was like, you know, just a god to me
01:30and also so personally and professionally kind and amazing to me and everyone else,
01:37like, at all these venues.
01:38So, that was, like, very impactful.
01:43Do I get extra points every time I use the word impact?
01:45Only if you say comedy.
01:46Okay, oh, great, great, great.
01:48It's impactful to your comedy.
01:49Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:52You mentioned, you know, the church circuit or coming from a religious family and you
01:56started at such a young age.
01:58Was there a point where you realized this could be a career or were you just sort of
02:01having fun?
02:02Yeah, just now when I got this award, I'm like, fuck it.
02:06Maybe I'll keep going.
02:09No, I think I started doing this in high school.
02:14So, I think, like, in college, maybe, I was like, once I could go up in clubs after I
02:19turned 18, I was like, oh, I think I could actually do this.
02:22But I don't know.
02:23Growing up really sheltered, I didn't know how someone became a stand-up comedian.
02:26I think, like, listening to, like, Maren's podcast was how I learned how people came
02:30up in comedy.
02:31Really?
02:32Yeah.
02:33I get he's been doing it for a while.
02:34Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:35Yeah.
02:36No, I'm just really young.
02:37Yeah, well, both.
02:38No, okay.
02:39Okay, you could have laughed more.
02:40They're like, you're 30 in Hollywood, you're ancient.
02:43It's over.
02:44It's so fascinating to me because I have such admiration for comedians because I could just
02:49never imagine being on a stage with a microphone, maybe a bottle of water and a stool.
02:54And you've been very open about having anxiety and stage fright.
02:58How do those two not contradict each other?
03:02I don't know.
03:03I think if underneath the anxiety you're like a narcissist, it sort of comes to the surface
03:11and pushes through the fear.
03:14And the need for attention sort of swallows the need for safety.
03:19No, I don't know.
03:22I mean, I think I just wanted to do it more than I was, like, afraid to do it.
03:29And then, you know, I think it was worth it.
03:31Like, once I knew how much I love stand-up, knowing how great it felt to be on stage helped
03:37push through the stage fright that I had for a really long time.
03:41And you started at 16, so I'm not great with math, but that means you've basically been
03:45doing this half your life.
03:46Yeah, just about.
03:48And how has your style changed and how have you sort of found your voice?
03:53You know, bearing in mind you started on a church circuit.
03:55Yeah.
03:56I mean, I swear now, it's pretty fucking cool.
04:00Yeah, no, I started, I was really clean for like the first six years that I was doing
04:07stand-up.
04:08Yeah, I think when I was like 22 was around the time I told Judy, my amazing manager,
04:14who's really, I don't know where she is, but I'm looking vaguely into the dark.
04:19I assume she's here.
04:20She's definitely here.
04:21I'm sorry.
04:22It'd be crazy if she wasn't.
04:24We're like, Judy Marmel.
04:25She's like, I'm at home.
04:27No, I think that's when I was like, hey, I can't do any more church shows.
04:32Like I'm not going to be clean 100% of the time anymore.
04:34So that's, it was definitely like 22 that I was like, we got to just say whatever we
04:40want.
04:41Do you remember the first time you cursed on stage or told an inappropriate joke?
04:44I don't.
04:45I really don't.
04:46No, because like churches, they'll fire you for saying anything.
04:49They won't fire you for cursing.
04:50They'll fire you for like saying anything even sort of like innuendo or like too dark
04:55or like too, like it's, it's not just swearing.
04:59So.
05:00Oh yeah.
05:01Well, the joke that got you banned, I guess, or fired from a gig was, was, was actually
05:03pretty tame.
05:04Yeah.
05:05Yeah.
05:06It was right.
05:07Yeah.
05:08I'm still mad.
05:09Would you like to tell it now?
05:10Oh God, no.
05:12It was one person yelling, tell it.
05:16Everybody else is like, let's wrap it up.
05:19We all have clients on the show.
05:23I know where I am.
05:24I know what this room is.
05:26No, the joke was, it was, I did it on my first Conan where I said, I'm like a wild animal
05:33in bed, way more afraid of you than you are of me.
05:36It's a great, thank you for the pity laugh.
05:39And it crushed eight years ago.
05:45What do you sort of consider some of the proudest or most memorable moments in your career?
05:49I mean, right now, hands down, no, I think, I mean, getting, getting quarter life crisis,
05:58my first special was like probably that and getting Conan crisis.
06:04Yeah.
06:05No, no one cares.
06:07Um, the, uh, I think getting that and then getting Conan for the first time were like
06:13the two huge ones for me.
06:15Yeah.
06:16And getting new faces in Montreal, honestly.
06:18And sure.
06:19And what about obviously joining after midnight?
06:23That's gotta be, oh yeah, that's your shit.
06:25Oops.
06:27Yeah, no, I think cause after midnight was just not something I ever thought I was going
06:30to do.
06:32Like I never expected I would host a show.
06:34Um, so I think when I think of like those huge moments for me in comedy, it's like the
06:40ones I thought about for years and years and years.
06:42And so that was like Conan first special new faces.
06:45Um, but yeah, after midnight was like this beautiful surprise opportunity that came up.
06:51Were you like a fan of its predecessor at midnight?
06:54Cause I loved that show and I was so happy when I heard they were bringing back a version
06:57of it.
06:58Yeah.
06:59I didn't have TV at the time, so no, I didn't have like cable.
07:02I didn't have comedy central, so I didn't watch it, but I did watch it when I was auditioning
07:07for the show and it was great.
07:09Um, it was so good.
07:11It was great.
07:12And obviously I was aware of it as a standup and, uh, saw clips and stuff online, but yeah.
07:17Where'd you go back and find old episodes?
07:18You have to buy them.
07:19You have to buy them on prime.
07:21You were serious.
07:22Yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:24I prepare for stuff.
07:25Yeah.
07:26And then once I got the job, they're like, we could have sent you a link and I'm like,
07:29well, I didn't want to ask.
07:30I didn't want to bother anybody.
07:32How do those old episodes hold up?
07:33I'm curious.
07:34They're great.
07:35Yeah.
07:36It's different than our show.
07:37I mean, it's half an hour, so it's like, I think a lot faster and I think our show just
07:41being longer, there's a little more room, but it's like, yeah, it's so good.
07:45There's so many jokes in it.
07:46It's great.
07:47It was really helpful to watch too.
07:48I love the show and I love this new iteration and what you've done with it.
07:52What do you think is sort of the reason for the enduring appeal, not only of that show,
07:57but what do you think as a host you can sort of bring to it?
08:02I mean, the thing that I loved about it and I loved about the fact that I got to be a
08:06part of it is that it's just a great format for comedians at every level, but especially
08:12like up and coming comedians, like it's such a great way to introduce people to your new
08:16favorite comic.
08:18I grew up watching Last Comic Standing and stuff and just having those places on television
08:24for comics to, especially now with how much material you have to spit out all the time,
08:31for them to go on a show where you can get a bunch of clips of them being funny about
08:35topical dumb internet stuff and not burn any material and have your hair and makeup done
08:40and all that shit.
08:42There's just not a lot of opportunities like that anymore, so that's why I wanted to help
08:46bring it back for sure.
08:48You mentioned it's a great showcase for comics, it's also a great showcase for people I didn't
08:52know were funny.
08:53Oh yeah.
08:54I saw the Joe Manganiello, sorry if I butchered that, episode.
08:56Yeah, Manganiello I think.
08:58Manganiello.
08:59Yeah.
09:00He just whipped out this Mark Wahlberg impersonation that blew me away.
09:03I know, I know.
09:04Who kind of surprised you on that show?
09:06Oh I mean, that's such a trap, that question.
09:08Like, who did you think was gonna suck?
09:13Who surprised you by being kind of okay?
09:16No, I'm always surprised when someone super hot is funny.
09:20So that's a great example, honestly.
09:23Yeah, no, there's been people I just didn't know too, or people I was a fan of or people
09:31I vaguely knew, and that's what I like so much about doing the show, is I get to become
09:35a fan of people as well.
09:38People I wasn't familiar with necessarily, or have wanted to meet, or all those kinds
09:44of things.
09:45It's a great opportunity for me as well.
09:46I swear this isn't a trap, but always a good way to start.
09:50Yeah, no, that's exactly what someone with a trap would say.
09:54But who or what makes you laugh?
09:56What makes me laugh?
09:57Yeah.
09:58Oh, really dumb shit, I feel like.
10:00I mean, honestly, I have laughed so hard on After Midnight.
10:04I think in the last six months, I have laughed so hard I cried five times, which doesn't
10:09sound like a lot, but as a stand-up comedian who's dead in the eyes, that's so many times.
10:16Truly weeping on the floor, I've laughed so hard.
10:21Because as a comic, we don't watch stand-up specials anymore.
10:25Even comedy movies, you're just sitting there going, well, my script didn't get made.
10:30Everything feels like work.
10:32I did see Babes.
10:34Babes made me laugh really hard.
10:35Oh, man.
10:36Yeah, if no one's seen Babes, you should see Babes.
10:37It's really fucking good.
10:39Yeah, the closest thing I've seen that felt like Bridesmaids to me, which was huge for
10:44me in high school.
10:45And then, I don't know, my siblings make me laugh really hard.
10:47Yeah, like my friends from high school, not to give such a sincere answer.
10:53Do they think you're funny?
10:54Because I talk to a lot of comics.
10:55I hope so.
10:57We'll never really know, will we?
11:00I don't know.
11:01I hope so, I think.
11:03I just spiral.
11:04I ruin the whole night.
11:07I talk to so many comics who are like, yeah, lots of people find me funny, but not my family.
11:11Oh, well, new fear unlocked.
11:16No, I mean, I think me and my siblings are, I have three siblings, and we're all really
11:21close.
11:22And I think, like your friends from high school, you just have such a specific language you
11:27only have with each other.
11:28And it's like the way you talk to each other is an inside joke.
11:30Right, right.
11:31Well, again, I want to congratulate you just on the last 14 years.
11:35I can't wait to see what's ahead for your next chapter.
11:39Cancel me.
11:40Cancel me.
11:41I'm tired.
11:42Do it.
11:43And before we move on, I actually want to invite your reps up on stage, because I believe
11:48they're all here.
11:49I want to prove it.
11:50Oh, sure, yeah.
11:51Just to do a quick photo, and then we'll move on to our Take Comics to Watch presentation.
11:55Thank you so much.