RACHEL PEGRAM IS A HOOT | Episode 241

The hilarious Rachel Pegram is on the show this week!! Drew and Rachel talk about doing standup in front of a railroad track along the LA river, why being a good singer is a curse, bombing on stage in New Zealand, getting an SNL tattoo as form of manifestation, hot Dr. Pepper, and so much more. Follow Rachel on IG: https://www.instagram.com/iamrachelpegram/ Follow The Comment Section on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thecommentsection/?hl=en Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Drew Afualo?

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• 0:35Speaker 01

  I was not good at writing. I didn't actually understand what a sketch was. It was really, if I, the way, yeah.

• 0:43Drew Afualo?

  How were you writing them initially?

• 0:45Speaker 01

  No. No.

• 0:47Drew Afualo?

  I don't really feel comfortable divulging details.

• 0:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, next question.

• 0:58Drew Afualo?

  Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Comment Section Show, starring me, your favorite, everybody knows me, who cares about me. Onto the guests. Today, we have the iconic, the legendary, the hilarious Rachel Pegram. Woo! Welcome to the show.

• 1:13Speaker 01

  Thank you for having me.

• 1:14Drew Afualo?

  Oh, my God, I'm so happy to have you.

• 1:16Speaker 01

  Oh, happy to be here.

• 1:17Drew Afualo?

  I think you're a hoot. All the clips I've seen, I think you're a hoot.

• 1:20Speaker 01

  Damn.

• 1:21Drew Afualo?

  So, obviously, I gotta have every hoot on my show.

• 1:23Speaker 01

  Oh, you're trying to collect the hoots.

• 1:25Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I gotta collect.

• 1:26Speaker 01

  Now, what about the hollers?

• 1:27Drew Afualo?

  I'm holler.

• 1:27Speaker 01

  Your holler?

• 1:28Drew Afualo?

  Yes, yes, so I need a hoot to my holler. You know what I mean?

• 1:30Speaker 01

  You gotta collect the hoots for your holler. Yeah.

• 1:32Drew Afualo?

  I'm so happy to have you. I think you are hilarious. We were just talking offline just now about you working with my producer, Amanda.

• 1:40Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:40Drew Afualo?

  Who I talk about often on the show, even though she's never on camera, I do talk about her often.

• 1:44Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:44Drew Afualo?

  Because at the end of the show, I will have some fun facts for you. And I always tell people, if they're not fun, I counted a strike against her. So, her job's on the line, no pressure.

• 1:52Speaker 01

  Okay, no worries.

• 1:53Drew Afualo?

  We'll get to that.

• 1:54Speaker 01

  No, that's all right.

• 1:55Drew Afualo?

  But I know you.

• 1:56Speaker 01

  I'll lay it down if you do. If somebody gotta get fired today, that's just part of the process. Yeah, that's okay.

• 2:02Drew Afualo?

  But we were talking about how you did stand up for one of her short films, right, Amanda?

• 2:05Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 2:05Drew Afualo?

  Short films, which was a very unique experience, you were telling us.

• 2:09Speaker 01

  Absolutely. It was sort of at a venue that was like by a river, but like, not the LA River, but maybe.

• 2:15Drew Afualo?

  But a river.

• 2:16Speaker 01

  Certainly. And then a lot of concrete, and then it was also, it was a by a railroad track.

• 2:22Drew Afualo?

  Yes.

• 2:23Speaker 01

  Behind it. And then the green room was inside a school bus. That was rocking a lot. And then people were also on top of the bus. And they were like, go on the bus, and that's where you're gonna hang out and meet everybody. And I was like, I am not gonna be in the bus.

• 2:36Drew Afualo?

  Well, see.

• 2:36Speaker 01

  I was on that show with Taylor Ortega, too, so I said, Taylor, what are we doing?

• 2:40Drew Afualo?

  Who we love. And she has also been on the show, and we love her dearly. That is.

• 2:45Speaker 01

  But I'll tell you what, the show was really fun.

• 2:47Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, but honestly.

• 2:48Speaker 01

  I genuinely remember having a great set, and I remember it being a fun time, but I was like, I don't know what this is.

• 2:54Drew Afualo?

  Well, you said, well, thank God, we're having a fun time.

• 2:56Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 2:56Drew Afualo?

  Because this is a unique situation.

• 2:58Speaker 01

  It could've been worse.

• 2:59Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and that's honestly, I feel like, the LA experience in show business.

• 3:03Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 3:03Drew Afualo?

  Sometimes you find yourself on a school bus.

• 3:05Speaker 01

  Sometimes you gonna be on the bus doing crowd work.

• 3:07Drew Afualo?

  With Taylor Ortega.

• 3:07Speaker 01

  Yeah, with Taylor Ortega, and you say, and I'm actually, ooh, I'm in the right place. And then you're sort of looking at your life, you say, this is beautiful, I'm crying.

• 3:14Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. Well, speaking of, I would love to know how you got into comedy in the first place. I know you're an improv girl.

• 3:20Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 3:21Drew Afualo?

  I know you're a tried and true, Amanda said, she's improv legend.

• 3:28Speaker 01

  Wow, that's incredible.

• 3:29Drew Afualo?

  UCSB, UCSB?

• 3:30Speaker 01

  UCSB, for sure, for sure.

• 3:32Drew Afualo?

  Improv legend. So, I'd love to know how you got into it, how you got into entertainment, comedy, acting, all of it.

• 3:38Speaker 01

  Well, I got started, I wasn't, I wasn't looking to do comedy, actually. I was looking to do musical theater.

• 3:45Drew Afualo?

  No way!

• 3:45Speaker 01

  Yes, that's what I went to school for.

• 3:47Drew Afualo?

  And you can sing?

• 3:47Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 3:48Drew Afualo?

  Oh, I love it. I love it, and it's just like, yeah, obviously.

• 3:51Speaker 01

  Well, yeah, well, yeah, I can.

• 3:54Drew Afualo?

  I'm so jealous. Oh, I love it.

• 3:55Speaker 01

  No, but it's nice. It's nice to not be able to sing.

• 3:58Drew Afualo?

  You think?

• 3:59Speaker 01

  I think so.

• 4:00Drew Afualo?

  You said, don't make me.

• 4:00Speaker 01

  I think it gives you a freedom. Once people find out, then they want you to sing for stuff. You know how many times people try and pimp me out to sing? They're like, Rachel, why don't you sing right now? Why don't you like, sing a little something?

• 4:10Drew Afualo?

  Do it, do it.

• 4:11Speaker 01

  I was at an Italian restaurant, there's a piano, and then I'm with my friends and her, and her parents, and her parents are like, Rachel, why don't you go sing something? I said, what, a jazz standard?

• 4:19Drew Afualo?

  Attention, attention.

• 4:21Speaker 01

  No. They're like, do you know any Frank Sinatra? I was like, every word? No, let me pull something up.

• 4:27Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, no. Yeah, it's heavy as the head. You know what I mean? Heavy as the head, I'm jealous. But, so you're a musical theater girl?

• 4:34Speaker 01

  I was a musical theater girl to start.

• 4:35Drew Afualo?

  Okay, too. Do you love Broadway?

• 4:37Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 4:37Drew Afualo?

  What's your favorite Broadway show?

• 4:38Speaker 01

  Company.

• 4:39Drew Afualo?

  Oh, that's a great one. That is such a good one. I'm me getting chills. That's such a good one, I love that one.

• 4:45Speaker 01

  I would say close second Into the Woods, but I'm a real Sondheim girl.

• 4:48Drew Afualo?

  Me, too. I like Sondheim. I know, you know what? He deserves more love, Sondheim. As if he's not one of those two. But there are a lot of people who hate Sondheim musicals.

• 4:58Speaker 01

  What do you mean?

• 4:58Drew Afualo?

  They just, they're not fucking with it.

• 4:59Speaker 01

  Why?

• 5:00Drew Afualo?

  I think they just find it annoying when they, like my sis, I'll use my sister as an example, I'll throw her under the bus. But she says she finds it annoying because it's like talking, singing, like, it's just like, every word is being sung as opposed to like.

• 5:10Speaker 01

  You don't like the human experience?

• 5:11Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. Oh, you don't like magic and whimsy?

• 5:14Speaker 01

  Oh, sorry.

• 5:14Drew Afualo?

  You're not a fan of that?

• 5:15Speaker 01

  You don't like the intern, looking in, looking within?

• 5:18Drew Afualo?

  Looking within, yeah. You don't like introspection, you're not a big fan?

• 5:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, ooh, thinking it out, figuring it out, that's what's happening in a Sondheim song.

• 5:25Drew Afualo?

  No, for real, I had to like bully her and my mom to come see Into the Woods with me when we went to theaters. And then, literally about 10 minutes in, my sister's like, they sing every word?

• 5:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:34Drew Afualo?

  And I was like, shh, experience.

• 5:38Drew Afualo?

  She did that to me with Les Mis, too, when we went and saw it, she's like, they sing every word. I'm like, you can't ask me this every time.

• 5:43Speaker 01

  That's okay, though.

• 5:44Drew Afualo?

  I know. Even like my mom, when we saw Dear Heaven and Hanson, which I know that movie got a lot of flack, obviously, because a 40-year-old man was playing a 10-year-old.

• 5:51Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 5:51Drew Afualo?

  Obviously, we know, we know, we know.

• 5:54Speaker 01

  And that was a choice.

• 5:55Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 5:55Speaker 01

  That was a choice that somebody made.

• 5:57Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. But when we watched, I remember my mom was like, is this a musical? But she was asking me so many questions, and we already missed my favorite song because she was late. And then I was like, you can't do this to me. You can't, you can't, otherwise, I'm gonna have to make you move a seat over, so I can watch the experience.

• 6:12Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 6:13Drew Afualo?

  That's just how serious I take Broadway.

• 6:14Speaker 01

  And you should, and I appreciate that.

• 6:16Drew Afualo?

  And so, you said Company, Into the Woods was your faves?

• 6:19Speaker 01

  Yes, yes.

• 6:19Drew Afualo?

  If you could be in any Broadway show, which one would you pick?

• 6:22Speaker 01

  Okay, and so, this is gonna be a pivot, it's Carolina Change.

• 6:25Drew Afualo?

  Interesting.

• 6:26Speaker 01

  I really love that musical. I ran into it early on in my, like, time, and I was like, I just think it's so beautiful.

• 6:34Drew Afualo?

  Oh, I love that.

• 6:34Speaker 01

  And it's so, like, sad.

• 6:39Speaker 01

  But I love, but I love like a sad woman's journey.

• 6:42Drew Afualo?

  I agree. That's why I love The Color Purple, the musical, obviously. And specifically Cynthia Reba, when she sang at the Tonys.

• 6:49Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 6:49Drew Afualo?

  When she sang I'm Here at the Tonys.

• 6:50Speaker 01

  Incredible.

• 6:51Drew Afualo?

  In 2016, I believe.

• 6:52Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 6:53Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 6:53Speaker 01

  I was, I saw that, I saw that, I was, I got a rush ticket, I was sitting on the side, and I was just leaning over like a little toddler. I was like, oh, my God, this is beautiful.

• 7:04Drew Afualo?

  So, when you went into school, you were initially gonna do theater?

• 7:07Speaker 01

  Yes, I was gonna go do Broadway, and then, unfortunately, early on, I saw improv show, and that'll get you, that'll change your entire life.

• 7:16Drew Afualo?

  You said you're calling.

• 7:17Speaker 01

  I, honest to God, it was like, I gotta do something about this.

• 7:21Drew Afualo?

  Like a moth to a flame, you just immediately.

• 7:24Speaker 01

  Yes, immediately.

• 7:26Drew Afualo?

  What about it did you love?

• 7:27Speaker 01

  I just, I don't know, I think like, you know, it's interesting how there's like certain careers where you're like, well, that's a career, that's a job that you can have.

• 7:34Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 7:34Speaker 01

  And in my mind, it's like, well, Broadway's a job you can have. That makes sense. But I think for a lot of people, they'd be like, that's not a job, that's made up.

• 7:41Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 7:42Speaker 01

  Um, but to me, comedy was that. So, I was like, comedy's not a real job, you can't make any money doing that. And then it was like, well, also, it's interesting that I saw improv, and I said, you can make money doing that, because they were definitely not making money. But it was like, oh, that's like a thing that you can actually do. So, then I was like, wait, that's kind of fun. And then I kind of got into the sketch group. And I think the thing that I liked so much about it was that I had agency. And I think that something about musical theater, like, in terms of like just being a performer, it's like, you're just kind of stepping into roles. And unless you like, are so lucky to be the first one to debut a role.

• 8:17Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 8:17Speaker 01

  You're always gonna be stepping into something that somebody else has done.

• 8:21Drew Afualo?

  That's such a good point, yeah.

• 8:22Speaker 01

  And I was like.

• 8:23Drew Afualo?

  The mold's been created already.

• 8:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, and it's like, you maybe won't be able to make choices in the same way, because you might need to honor somebody else's performance. Like, with like Kristen Chenoweth in Wicked, it's like, well, there's like certain parameters now that we've set. Like, it's like, even Ariana Grande made a great performance, but like, Kristen Chenoweth made the mold.

• 8:42Drew Afualo?

  The skeleton is still there.

• 8:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and that's also, which is nice, but yeah, so.

• 8:47Drew Afualo?

  You liked that kind of like freedom?

• 8:48Speaker 01

  I think so. I think I found that really, really amazing.

• 8:52Drew Afualo?

  And then, so you did sketch comedy?

• 8:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:54Drew Afualo?

  And like, did you write a lot of your own sketches?

• 8:57Speaker 01

  I did.

• 8:57Drew Afualo?

  Did you enjoy the writing? Do you enjoy the writing or the performing or both? Is it kind of apples and oranges?

• 9:00Speaker 01

  It's definitely both now.

• 9:02Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 9:02Speaker 01

  But then, I was not good at writing. I didn't actually understand what a sketch was. It was really, if I, the way, yeah.

• 9:11Drew Afualo?

  How were you writing them initially?

• 9:13Speaker 01

  No. No.

• 9:15Drew Afualo?

  I don't really feel comfortable divulging details.

• 9:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, next question. I don't know, it's like, I would think of something funny, but then I wouldn't know how to like.

• 9:24Drew Afualo?

  Communicate it.

• 9:24Speaker 01

  Do it.

• 9:25Drew Afualo?

  I see what you mean.

• 9:25Speaker 01

  And so, I'd be like, I think that this is funny, and then a lot of people would read it and say, what is that?

• 9:32Speaker 01

  What does that mean?

• 9:33Drew Afualo?

  And what is that?

• 9:34Speaker 01

  Right, right, right. And I'd be like, don't you see it?

• 9:37Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you're like, okay, just watch me do it.

• 9:40Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:40Drew Afualo?

  Watch me do it.

• 9:43Drew Afualo?

  Were you someone who loved attention growing up?

• 9:45Speaker 01

  For sure.

• 9:45Drew Afualo?

  Me, too. I always like, I like to, I love to ask performers, because obviously, the answer is pretty much always the same. But you never know.

• 9:52Speaker 01

  Sometimes people are shy.

• 9:53Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and honestly, or just trying, or lying, right? Or they lied to me.

• 9:57Speaker 01

  Right.

• 9:57Drew Afualo?

  And say, no, I hated attention. But I like, I like asking, because I think when you talk to performers, you're like, well, yeah, obviously, I love attention. And I think that's important to admit.

• 10:06Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 10:06Drew Afualo?

  When you want to go into this business, like, obviously, I have to have some sense of vanity about me.

• 10:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm gonna need the light. I'm gonna need it or else I'll be sick.

• 10:15Drew Afualo?

  Yep, yep, give me about 10 minutes.

• 10:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, thank you. I'm gonna need that.

• 10:18Drew Afualo?

  I was like, telling my friend about this the other day, but I was watching, I have another podcast with my sister, and I was watching an episode that we filmed like three weeks ago, I haven't, I haven't watched it, obviously, so I watched it. I made myself laugh out loud with a joke I made, because I forgot I made it. I laughed out loud, I told my husband, come here, I rewinded it, played it again, laughed again.

• 10:43Drew Afualo?

  Like, that's the type of shit I'm on.

• 10:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but I think that's beautiful. I think if no one else is gonna laugh at you, you gotta be laughing at you. You gotta think it's funny. It's gotta be the funniest thing in the world. If it's not, it's not gonna be funny to anybody else. And if it's not, it's like, at least it's you.

• 10:58Drew Afualo?

  I got one person cracking up. It's me.

• 11:03Drew Afualo?

  But I love, and I, that's how I feel about your early sketch ideas. Like, you're like, listen, I get it.

• 11:08Speaker 01

  Right.

• 11:08Drew Afualo?

  You know what I mean? I just need the tools. I need to be able to flush it out a little bit more.

• 11:11Speaker 01

  Just give me a couple parameters and I'm gonna be able to do it. I'm gonna figure out final draft eventually. It's how I, I was like, I'm gonna get in there. I'm gonna be tabbing, I'm gonna be space, you know, I'm gonna figure it out.

• 11:23Drew Afualo?

  So, when did you start moving towards stand-up? Like, was it kind of a natural progression? Or did you do improv for a while, sketch and all that?

• 11:30Speaker 01

  I, I did improv, I mean, I guess I still do improv now, but improv was really like, the base for everything. And then I did sketch and I kept doing sketch after college and with like an indie team. And then I started doing stand-up after college. And that was, and it was just like, you know, like a little bit here and there, just like open mics. And then honestly, like, I feel it only got more consistent with it. Once I, like, right before I moved to LA, it's sort of when, when I was here. Like, I feel like that was really when it was like, okay, this is really what I wanna be.

• 12:04Drew Afualo?

  And what do you love about stand-up? Like, specifically?

• 12:06Speaker 01

  I mean, I think the same kind of thing that like drew me to comedy at large is like, the autonomy of like, taking your idea and trying it out and like showing it in that particular way. Um, I just like, I love the like connection with the crowd. And I feel like I, my favorite thing when I do stand-up, well, obviously is, is, is your favorite thing is to crush at large.

• 12:29Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 12:30Speaker 01

  You know, have a great show. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for everyone. But I would say maybe my second favorite thing is like when that's not happening. But there's, um, there's, there's like, three girls in the audience and they're having the time of their life. And I'm like, yes. I found them. I said, they're here. Cause like, sometimes you do a show and it's like, the, people haven't caught the vision. And I'm like, that's okay, that's okay. I know I'm not necessarily maybe fitting in the mold that you want. You didn't come up here and think that that's what was gonna be me. And so then it's like, when I see those girls, like, it's also, it's often a lot of little weirdo girls. And then so I say, I love that.

• 13:11Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 13:11Speaker 01

  There was an absolute little freak weirdo girl that I, and I mean that respectfully, that ran up to me after a show recently. And she was like, I'm not on Instagram, but can I give you my email? And will you tell me whenever you're around? And I said, yes.

• 13:25Drew Afualo?

  Sure, queen, why not?

• 13:27Speaker 01

  Yes, why not? I'll take it down. We'll do something with it.

• 13:30Drew Afualo?

  Sure, give me that email.

• 13:31Speaker 01

  We'll pass it along to somebody.

• 13:33Drew Afualo?

  That reminds me of, um, Kat Cohen.

• 13:35Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 13:36Drew Afualo?

  You know Kat?

• 13:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:37Drew Afualo?

  Um, I fucking love her stand-up too. Just like I love yours. And I, I love women with very unique perspectives on comedy especially. Uh, but just the world at large. And like, I did a show with Kat actually, where I was, I was on the card with her too, the ticket with her too. And she performed before me and she was cracking me the fuck up. And I really told her, I was like, girl, that room did not get you the way that I got you.

• 14:02Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 14:04Drew Afualo?

  Because the way that she makes jokes is so unique and so funny, just like yours. And that's why I think I love comedy like that. When it's like borderline isolating, but to whom? Cause I, I was like, I was, I'm hee-hee-ing and ha-ha-ing the whole fucking time.

• 14:20Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 14:20Drew Afualo?

  It's like, I, I, I love that you have little freak weirdo girls that you're, that gets you.

• 14:24Speaker 01

  One thousand percent. It's either them or it's absolutely strange simp men.

• 14:30Drew Afualo?

  What the hell?

• 14:31Speaker 01

  And I don't know where they came from, but they are diehard.

• 14:35Drew Afualo?

  Like, just big fans?

• 14:36Speaker 01

  They just be, they just be commenting on everything.

• 14:39Drew Afualo?

  And they just laugh?

• 14:40Speaker 01

  They, and they don't say anything strange to me, which I'll appreciate.

• 14:43Drew Afualo?

  Like a good boy.

• 14:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, kinda sitting to the side, they kinda know their place.

• 14:49Speaker 01

  And I'm like, thank you. Thank you. I don't want anything else. Don't do anything strange.

• 14:55Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, don't do anything. Don't bother anyone.

• 14:57Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 14:58Drew Afualo?

  And don't talk. Just sit there.

• 14:59Speaker 01

  Laugh.

• 15:00Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, sit there, laugh, enjoy.

• 15:02Speaker 01

  Have a nice time.

• 15:02Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 15:03Speaker 01

  Yep. Tell your friends.

• 15:05Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 15:05Speaker 01

  And tell them to do the same thing that you're doing. Pass it along. Yeah.

• 15:09Drew Afualo?

  What was, uh, like, uh, what would you say was like, a show you had where you're like, yeah, I think I'm gonna, I think I really love stand-up. I think I really wanna start doing this, like, more consistently. Did you have like a show where you're like, okay, this, maybe this is, uh, something I wanna really lean into?

• 15:24Speaker 01

  Well, it's funny that, like, this, okay, this is an early, well, no. Well, okay. You know what? Well, yeah. So, I, no, that was early. You know, I'm maybe not giving myself some credit. I, it was definitely before I moved to Los Angeles that I really started doing stand-up. Because I'm remembering some shows that I did in, in New York that were, um, there. I'd already been doing stand-up for a while. But this was like the first time that I had done like, a larger set. Like, I had put together an hour. And like, I, I think it was just at a time where it's like, I didn't know that I could do that.

• 16:07Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 16:08Speaker 01

  And I did, and I remember being like, cause also with that show, I incorporated some music. So I did like some comedic songs.

• 16:17Drew Afualo?

  Love.

• 16:18Speaker 01

  Um, and I remember that show really feeling like, oh, I think this, this feels like the kinda thing that I wanna do.

• 16:27Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, totally.

• 16:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, like, that felt like the path.

• 16:29Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's blending your two loves, right? Singing and also comedy.

• 16:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 16:34Drew Afualo?

  And I get what you mean about the freedom thing too, because Caleb, obviously, we have a mutual friend in Caleb. But he, he's been encouraging me to do stand-up forever. But like, I, I did try it. And it's, it's really fun and, but I, I feel like I have so many things going on that I'm like, I'm gonna put this down. Cause I love stand-up so much.

• 16:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 16:50Drew Afualo?

  Like, stand-up's been my favorite form of entertainment forever. Even more than like movies and TV shows. I love watching stand-up. I love watching comedy. Cause I love to laugh.

• 16:59Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 16:59Drew Afualo?

  And it's funny, cause one of my comic friends told me, they were like, telling you a funny joke is such a good payoff. You have such a good laugh. Like, it feels good. Like, when you get, get me for real.

• 17:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:08Drew Afualo?

  And I was, cause I just love to giggle and I love to have a good time. But I, even when I did a, a Baby Five, I was like so nervous about memorizing a lot of it. Like, I was like, so I don't even know how to, an hour is so unfathomable to me. Oh my god. Cause even with the five, I was like struggling to remember all of my jokes. And I think I were, I, when I talked through it with Caleb, I was kinda telling him. I think I, I liked more of the freedom I have with like, kinda just going wherever with it.

• 17:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:35Drew Afualo?

  But obviously with, with stand-up, you need the guardrails to at least be able to know in what order you're going, flowing. Cause I like comedy that flows into the next joke kinda thing. But that, that was so difficult for me. So I like, I give you like, all the kudos in the world for doing an hour. Like, holy fuck. But every, every comic is like a magician to me when they're able to do that. Cause I just felt so like, um, I just wanna, I think it's when I, honestly, it's probably my fault. Cause when I get in front of a mic, I just wanna ramble. And then that makes me start rambling. I'm like, oh my god, I have to tell my jokes. Um, and I have to like, keep going back to the material. Like, that's, that's what it feels like my brain's doing.

• 18:07Speaker 01

  But I think that that's important.

• 18:09Drew Afualo?

  You think?

• 18:10Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? Like, I think that like, sometimes when you're working out new material.

• 18:13Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 18:13Speaker 01

  Sometimes, at least for me, I like to like say it however, sometimes I'll keep telling a joke a little bit different for too long. But it's like, I think like, sometimes I find like, it's like you're doing it in front of a different audience or you're feeling a different way about it. And like, I don't know, like, cause a lot of, especially stuff that's like a story for me. It's like, I'm like finding the ebbs and the flows of it.

• 18:36Drew Afualo?

  The high points of it.

• 18:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I feel like there's something that can be good in, in the ramble.

• 18:42Drew Afualo?

  That's true.

• 18:43Speaker 01

  You know, like, in terms of like figuring out what it is that you want, like, what's really gonna pop? Or like, maybe something new inside of it that you wouldn't have done if you would like, just stuck like strictly to what you would practice.

• 18:54Drew Afualo?

  That's true. I think part of me too was like, uh, and I've said this before on the show many times, that like, I love comedy so much, like stand-up, that I didn't wanna find out the hard way I was bad. So like, I didn't want, I didn't wanna bomb. And every comic I've told is like, they're like, bombing's part of it. Like, that, that is like, it's part of the learning how to do it in the first place. Like, you, you can't make it if you don't bomb.

• 19:13Speaker 01

  Listen, and bombing, woo.

• 19:16Drew Afualo?

  What's been the worst time you've bombed?

• 19:17Speaker 01

  Oh my god. It's so, it's so vivid.

• 19:20Drew Afualo?

  Really?

• 19:21Speaker 01

  It's, it's as vivid, it's as vivid, it's as vivid as the railroad show. I feel it.

• 19:25Drew Afualo?

  As the school bus.

• 19:27Speaker 01

  As the school bus. I was in New Zealand.

• 19:31Drew Afualo?

  Ooh, okay.

• 19:32Speaker 01

  And I had been recommended by a friend for this like comedy club. Well, I didn't know, first of all, though, I didn't know it was a club. I thought it was just like a regu- like a venue.

• 19:43Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 19:44Speaker 01

  But it's like a club.

• 19:45Drew Afualo?

  Like a club.

• 19:46Speaker 01

  Like, I, yes, so it was like, so it wasn't just like a place where they do co- it was a clu- comedy club.

• 19:52Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy.

• 19:53Speaker 01

  I'm giving this distinction because he was like, this is like a alt theater and I was like, no. When I got there, I very much realized that it was not.

• 20:02Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you're like, um, no, it's not.

• 20:04Speaker 01

  No, and everyone's like really serious. Like, there's a girl that's in a corner, standing in a corner, and she's like reciting her set to herself. There's like people who, they're like going.

• 20:16Drew Afualo?

  Like they're performing for the golden buzzer or something.

• 20:19Speaker 01

  Oh, the stakes couldn't have been higher. Me, I'm kinda like, what's going on?

• 20:25Drew Afualo?

  Pretty nice room.

• 20:26Speaker 01

  It's nice.

• 20:26Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 20:27Speaker 01

  And everyone kept being like, who, um, who told you about, who got you on this show? And I was like, that's my friend. I don't know.

• 20:36Drew Afualo?

  You're being whimsical in there, everyone's in there like stressing beyond belief.

• 20:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, cuz I guess this is like a make or break it show. Come to find out, there's like a guy in the audience, people, everybody kept being like, oh, he's like the Jon Stewart of New Zealand. I said, what? Does that even mean? And also, why is he here? He's like a big deal and I was like, okay.

• 20:58Drew Afualo?

  I know, what is he here scouting for what?

• 21:00Speaker 01

  Right.

• 21:00Drew Afualo?

  Was he building a team?

• 21:01Speaker 01

  The Jon Stewart of New Zealand, I said, what role is that exactly? Political mostly or like, I'm confused.

• 21:08Drew Afualo?

  Like Jon Stewart of today because he's pretty serious now.

• 21:11Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 21:13Drew Afualo?

  He's not really telling jokes anymore.

• 21:15Speaker 01

  No, no, no, no, no, no. Honestly, he kinda fell off that train earlier than some of us might have realized. That's okay, that's okay. He did a lot for nine eleven victims.

• 21:25Drew Afualo?

  And we love him for that, thank you. Thank you, Jon Stewart.

• 21:29Speaker 01

  And we never forget, but, um, although it kinda snuck up on me this year, but.

• 21:35Drew Afualo?

  Right, I agree. I agree. I was also blown away. FX's American Horror Story returns for an unrivaled thirteenth installment with the iconic horrors you love to fear and an all-star cast reprising fan favorite roles. Light your candles, draw your pentagrams, and prepare for a supreme surprise. FX's American Horror Story thirteen, now streaming on Hulu.

• 22:01Speaker 01

  I'm doing the show and I was also doing some characters.

• 22:05Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 22:05Speaker 01

  So.

• 22:06Drew Afualo?

  Oh, it's never good when you bomb and you have characters in the show, huh?

• 22:11Drew Afualo?

  Tough.

• 22:11Speaker 01

  I go up on the stage, I'm going through my set. It's like, it's like, it's like co- comedic silence, like.

• 22:20Drew Afualo?

  It's like a laugh track thing.

• 22:31Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy.

• 22:33Speaker 01

  Silence.

• 22:33Drew Afualo?

  You hear ice cubes in a drink, that's how silent it is?

• 22:37Speaker 01

  I'm hearing people like.

• 22:39Speaker 01

  I'm hearing us, I'm hearing a small shuffle, like I'm hearing like a tiny like ding ding ding ding. It was so bad. They did not, they, there was only one bit where I got some laughs.

• 22:54Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 22:54Speaker 01

  But I think they were mostly confused at that point.

• 22:58Drew Afualo?

  And whatever, I'll take it.

• 22:59Speaker 01

  And I just kinda plowed through and then finally just.

• 23:04Drew Afualo?

  Made my thirties, my thirty minute set a five minute set.

• 23:08Speaker 01

  I just, I was like, you know what, okay. And I was like, thank you so much. Guy comes out and he goes, she had some props, didn't she?

• 23:18Speaker 01

  Okay, that's America. And then like moving on to the rest of the set.

• 23:23Drew Afualo?

  Like, oh, did they laugh?

• 23:25Speaker 01

  Dear god, of course, they're dying at him. Cuz he just railed into me and he's like, and he's right.

• 23:32Drew Afualo?

  That was a layup and he took that.

• 23:34Speaker 01

  That was crazy.

• 23:34Drew Afualo?

  That's fucked up. That's fucked up for him to do that.

• 23:37Speaker 01

  Honestly, you know, he's never gonna see me again and I don't know who that man is. So honestly, take a job. Take a job out of me.

• 23:45Drew Afualo?

  And he was like the emcee, I'm assuming?

• 23:47Speaker 01

  Yup, yup, yup, yup. And so I did, it was so horrible. My mom was there, didn't add that in. This is maybe the second time, no, that was the first time she ever seen me do stand up. Second time she's ever seen me do comedy, period. I don't actually think she's seen me do comedy since then, so she has no idea. She's kinda like, oh, I hope this girl figures it out.

• 24:08Drew Afualo?

  Well, as long as she had fun.

• 24:10Speaker 01

  She had an interesting time, she was like, and I felt really bad and then days later.

• 24:16Drew Afualo?

  I feel bad for you. They made that so uncomfortable for you.

• 24:20Speaker 01

  I was at the airport, we're leaving.

• 24:21Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 24:22Speaker 01

  Guy comes up to me, he said, I was at that show. I said, oh, he said, that was incredible. You were so funny. And I said, oh, thank you. And my mom said, why the fuck you didn't laugh?

• 24:36Drew Afualo?

  I was gonna say.

• 24:37Speaker 01

  Why the fuck you laugh?

• 24:39Drew Afualo?

  So funny, you sat there in stoic silence?

• 24:41Speaker 01

  Oh, cuz you scared of everybody else not laughing, why don't you laugh? Be brave.

• 24:44Drew Afualo?

  Coward.

• 24:45Speaker 01

  Be fucking brave and laugh. You know what, they gonna look at you too and then we gonna be together.

• 24:50Drew Afualo?

  That's funny, I didn't know you found it funny cuz not one of you laughed.

• 24:53Speaker 01

  You didn't say anything.

• 24:54Drew Afualo?

  Did, was it like, do you think it was intentional?

• 24:57Speaker 01

  Of the not laughing?

• 24:58Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. Like, do you think they were just being haters?

• 25:00Speaker 01

  No, they didn't like me. No, they didn't like me, they didn't like the set, they didn't like what's going on. But I will say, I, did make me realize that my set feels, felt at that time deeply American.

• 25:10Drew Afualo?

  Oh, okay.

• 25:11Speaker 01

  You know, it was like a lot of American references and you know, you'd be forgetting that people don't know about Rosa Parks in other countries.

• 25:17Drew Afualo?

  They're like, who the hell is that?

• 25:19Speaker 01

  Who is that?

• 25:19Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, they're like, the Jon Stewart of New Zealand's here.

• 25:22Speaker 01

  Right, and he should know. You would think he would know.

• 25:25Drew Afualo?

  I know who this is.

• 25:26Speaker 01

  Right.

• 25:27Drew Afualo?

  I don't know who she is.

• 25:28Speaker 01

  Yeah. We don't know Rosa.

• 25:32Drew Afualo?

  When I was on that same, uh, show with Cat Cohen, there was another comic on there and I won't say who it was only cuz I don't know if she would find, like, if she thinks this is bad. I didn't, I thought it was funny. But like she was making a, a couple like bold jokes, which like, we'd get laughs here and there. But then she would make one that was so, such a softball and then, and then they would laugh like they've never laughed before. And at one, they did that to her a few times through her set and then at one point she goes, I don't fucking get this room, you guys are weird. You guys are fucking weird. Which was funny, like that made, that made me laugh, but then, then again, they didn't really laugh that hard. And then we talked after, she goes, what the fuck is the deal with everyone out there? I was like, I don't know, I can't get a good read on it either. So I was gonna ask if that was like, if you've experienced that a few times, like a weird energy in a crowd?

• 26:17Speaker 01

  Oh, absolutely.

• 26:18Drew Afualo?

  Do you have like some cities that you're like, you guys are weird every time I come here?

• 26:21Speaker 01

  I mean.

• 26:22Drew Afualo?

  Or do you have any faves, any places like fave to do stand up in?

• 26:26Speaker 01

  I will say doing, I did some, I opened for Caleb a couple of times, like in Texas. And I will say doing sho- doing shows in Houston was really fun.

• 26:37Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, Houston's fun, I've, I've done live, yeah, have I done live, yeah, I did, I did live comedy shows in Houston, yeah, they are fun.

• 26:43Speaker 01

  So fun.

• 26:44Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, they are fun.

• 26:45Speaker 01

  The energy, electric.

• 26:46Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it's true and it's like, it, I was in a really tiny venue too, so it felt like the energy was packed in there.

• 26:52Speaker 01

  They feel excited in a particular kinda way.

• 26:55Drew Afualo?

  I made a, I made a bunch of iron claw jokes at that show and it was killing because they're from Texas. It was fucking killing that crowd. And it was funny because I, I've said this before, but like this is when I was on tour with my sister, we were doing like live comedy. And we did three shows in, um, Texas, we did Dallas, Houston and Austin.

• 27:13Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:14Drew Afualo?

  And so we went in from Austin to Houston and then we went, ended in Dallas before we left Texas and I remember we kept watching Planet of the Apes on the tour bus for some fucking reason, it kept coming on the TV. I don't know what it was, but we loved that franchise, so we were watching them constantly. And we kept making this joke where like, when Caesar like unites the apes and he's like, apes together, strong. Like, and then they repeat it to him and it's funny. So like when I would open the show in Texas, for some reason, the Planet of the Apes jokes were killing. Like in Austin and Houston, kill, bitch, when I tell you killing, I mean killing. And then I went to Dallas and so it was an even bigger theater and I remember my joke was basically like, this is like apes together, strong, like that's me to you guys and you guys respond.

• 27:56Drew Afualo?

  And like I kept killing, I made one Planet of the Apes jokes in Dallas, not one laugh. Not one silence. Silence in the theater, I remember being like, put that joke on the shelf, not gonna use that again.

• 28:08Speaker 01

  Sorry.

• 28:09Drew Afualo?

  And I'm abandoning that joke here, no worries.

• 28:12Speaker 01

  Something that brought me joy, not, not into it. All right, no worries, no worries, no worries.

• 28:15Drew Afualo?

  Okay, so you guys hate fucking monkeys?

• 28:17Speaker 01

  Yeah. I got a little drunk, no worries, but that's okay, don't worry about that.

• 28:20Drew Afualo?

  Those animals hurt, hurt, hurt, received, received. That's why I was like, oh, not one, not one, it felt like. Like two.

• 28:27Speaker 01

  It's crazy.

• 28:29Drew Afualo?

  So you like Texas, so that's good. Houston is fun. Houston's a good time.

• 28:33Speaker 01

  And I'm from Texas, too.

• 28:34Drew Afualo?

  Oh, fun. Okay, so that must feel extra good then, that your hometown is fun.

• 28:38Speaker 01

  Oh, my people.

• 28:39Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 28:40Speaker 01

  Oh, thank God, my people love me. I die. Texans tough, you know?

• 28:45Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, hell yeah. That's why, do you, do you have any that you're kind of like, oh, this is terrible? Besides New Zealand, obviously, you know, New Zealand's haters, they're big haters over there.

• 28:55Speaker 01

  New Zealand is big haters.

• 28:56Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, Bob the Drag Queen told me that Italy is like, he hates that country and he'll never go back.

• 29:01Speaker 01

  Whoa.

• 29:02Drew Afualo?

  Italy, yeah. And he was like, doing stand up there is awful. They will not laugh at anything and they're so racist. I hate them. And I was like, okay.

• 29:07Speaker 01

  Right.

• 29:08Drew Afualo?

  Received, heard.

• 29:09Speaker 01

  I've heard that, though.

• 29:09Drew Afualo?

  And then Mateo Lane was on recently too, and he was telling us that he loves the Dutch, like the Netherlands.

• 29:16Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 29:17Drew Afualo?

  He's like, they're so fun because they'll laugh, even if they don't get it, they'll laugh.

• 29:20Speaker 01

  Wait.

• 29:20Drew Afualo?

  And they'll be like, that was so funny.

• 29:21Speaker 01

  Let me get over there.

• 29:24Speaker 01

  Let me get over there.

• 29:24Drew Afualo?

  Let me go see, what's going on?

• 29:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's pretty nice.

• 29:26Drew Afualo?

  Do you have any that you're like, never, no thanks, cities?

• 29:31Speaker 01

  Not really.

• 29:32Drew Afualo?

  That's good. I'm glad.

• 29:33Speaker 01

  No.

• 29:34Drew Afualo?

  There's nothing that's been too, too terrible.

• 29:36Speaker 01

  No.

• 29:36Drew Afualo?

  I love that. Okay, that's good.

• 29:37Speaker 01

  Other than New Zealand, other than Auckland.

• 29:40Drew Afualo?

  Auckland.

• 29:41Speaker 01

  Literally Auckland is on my list.

• 29:43Drew Afualo?

  What's been the coolest show you've done? Like where you're like, wow, this was fucking awesome.

• 29:48Speaker 01

  Oh, man. No, that doesn't make sense to bring up because that's, that's from, no, that's strange.

• 29:54Drew Afualo?

  You can bring up whatever you want.

• 29:56Speaker 01

  No, no, no, no, just kind of thinking through what's, what's been a really, what's been a fun, what's been a nice? Who, who's been, yeah, um, no.

• 30:11Drew Afualo?

  I love your external processing.

• 30:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's good, could be, yeah, New York, I mean, New York in general is lots of really good, yeah.

• 30:19Drew Afualo?

  They're fun.

• 30:20Speaker 01

  Like Bell House and Union Hall, these are all places I like.

• 30:24Drew Afualo?

  I watched Caleb at Bell House, yeah. It was, that's a great venue.

• 30:26Speaker 01

  I love the Bell House.

• 30:28Drew Afualo?

  My first time ever going to Bell House was watching Caleb and, and his whole show, and it was so fun.

• 30:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:33Drew Afualo?

  And that was when I, at that same show, I bought all of Caleb's merch and like, let everyone have it. And he was like, why the fuck would you show me up at my own show? Why would you do that to me? And I was like, well, you did too good. I had to do something.

• 30:45Speaker 01

  Right.

• 30:46Drew Afualo?

  I gotta pull focus in some way.

• 30:47Speaker 01

  Uh huh.

• 30:48Drew Afualo?

  If you'll, just like if you get married, I'm gonna announce I'm pregnant at the wedding.

• 30:51Speaker 01

  At the wedding.

• 30:51Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 30:53Drew Afualo?

  Obviously, I'm gonna do it then.

• 30:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, titty, titty, titty. It's like, oh, Drew hasn't been drinking.

• 30:59Drew Afualo?

  I don't know if anyone's noticed, but.

• 31:02Speaker 01

  Actually, guys, I have a bit of an announcement.

• 31:07Drew Afualo?

  This is like, first dance is happening.

• 31:10Drew Afualo?

  I too would like some, to say something, if that's okay. Uh, what's a, what's like a big dream you have in, in comedy, entertainment, all of it? Like what, this is, I always say this is where we manifest.

• 31:21Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 31:22Drew Afualo?

  Like, this is the place to manifest because a lot of my guests have had dreams come true.

• 31:26Speaker 01

  Whoa.

• 31:26Drew Afualo?

  That they've spoken life into here.

• 31:28Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 31:28Drew Afualo?

  So do you have any dreams, like, like big comedy dreams or movies, TV shows, whatever it is?

• 31:33Speaker 01

  Uh, I mean, yes.

• 31:36Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I'm glad to hear it.

• 31:37Speaker 01

  Uh, I, and I really, and I do believe in, in manifesting. I will, I will, a quick.

• 31:43Drew Afualo?

  Me too.

• 31:44Speaker 01

  This is at a time when I wouldn't, okay, but I was, I was really into SNL. I was a big fan. And I like, wanted to get a tattoo with my friend. I had this idea. I said, oh, what if I get this SNL tattoo? And she was like, yeah, I love that. That's awesome. And she said, and I'll pay for it because it was, I was eighteen. And I was like, great, so you're gonna buy me this SNL tattoo? And then, um, I, I got it, but when we went to the parlor, the tattoo artist was like, I think it should be in this font that I created. And I was like, oh, okay. I kind of was thinking in this font that I was interested in.

• 32:24Drew Afualo?

  That I picked for my tattoo on my body.

• 32:27Speaker 01

  And he was like, no, I think that this will be better. And I was like, okay, but I was really like, you know, kind of like, ah. And, and then, uh, my friend, she was also getting a tattoo, Trouble Club.

• 32:39Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, oh, yeah, typical.

• 32:41Speaker 01

  She's getting a Trouble Club. Yeah, she's into music. And so she, I show her the stencil on my body, which I had chosen to put on my pelvis.

• 32:50Drew Afualo?

  Obviously.

• 32:51Speaker 01

  And.

• 32:52Drew Afualo?

  Lorne Michaels would want nothing different. Honestly, that's what he would want.

• 32:55Speaker 01

  And she was like, yeah, that's perfect. It looks amazing. And I was like, okay, no, for sure.

• 33:03Drew Afualo?

  Two dumb bitches saying exactly back and forth.

• 33:06Speaker 01

  That's, you like it? I like it. I like it. You like it?

• 33:09Drew Afualo?

  I love it.

• 33:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, and I was like, okay. I mean, I wanted the tattoo, but this just particular, and I was like, and I was like, you don't think it's too big? She was like, no, I think it's a nice size. It's huge, by the way. And it says, live from New York.

• 33:21Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 33:21Speaker 01

  And it's massive.

• 33:23Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 33:23Speaker 01

  Got that tattoo on your pelvis. On my pelvis. I also said, well, I'm an actress. That makes sense.

• 33:30Drew Afualo?

  Your thought process is very interesting to me. How you decide things, very interesting.

• 33:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, let's just say, you know, years later, did get hired at SNL as a writer. Incredible.

• 33:43Drew Afualo?

  Period.

• 33:44Speaker 01

  So that's how that worked.

• 33:45Drew Afualo?

  Very.

• 33:46Speaker 01

  So that, so.

• 33:47Drew Afualo?

  So I don't want to say I'm, I'm, my, my poor decisions are always right, but sometimes.

• 33:51Speaker 01

  Sometimes you just gotta be fast and loose with it.

• 33:54Drew Afualo?

  They're right enough to reaffirm that it's working.

• 33:56Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 33:57Drew Afualo?

  Like they're, you're right enough times to affirm that it's working.

• 34:00Speaker 01

  That could be, that could be something. Let's keep going with that. Let's tattoo the next thing on my body.

• 34:05Drew Afualo?

  How'd you like working at SNL?

• 34:08Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 34:09Speaker 01

  Yes, but, okay, I will say, uh, I, big dreams. Definitely to write and star in my own movie.

• 34:21Drew Afualo?

  Love.

• 34:22Speaker 01

  As well as TV show.

• 34:24Drew Afualo?

  Oh, period.

• 34:25Speaker 01

  And that's, that's the big, those are the bigs.

• 34:28Drew Afualo?

  You're so me. Do you have a, do you want it to be comedy, drama?

• 34:31Speaker 01

  I think for the TV show, definitely comedy.

• 34:35Drew Afualo?

  Love.

• 34:35Speaker 01

  And definitely comedy, like hard comedy and like, definitely. I mean, I guess this feels like a relationship based, but it's like, I feel like the characters matter so much.

• 34:47Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 34:48Speaker 01

  Uh, sometimes it's like the, the premise matters more and to me, I care more about the people and the world that we're creating than it like being like a.

• 35:01Speaker 02

  Hi, it's Danny Pellegrino from Everything Iconic. Twelve celebrities, one Don, and cold, hard cash. From the producers of The Traitors comes The Mob, a new Hulu original series. The iconic Parker Posey hosts this unique reality competition show where twelve celebrity contestants shake down in an Italian villa to win a share of up to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Watch the new Hulu original series, The Mob, premiering October twenty sixth on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.

• 35:36Speaker 01

  I'd be like.

• 35:37Drew Afualo?

  Me too.

• 35:37Speaker 01

  And then someone was murdered.

• 35:39Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah, no, me too.

• 35:40Speaker 01

  Figure it out.

• 35:41Drew Afualo?

  I agree. I think those are the shows I love the most when they have very like, complex characters.

• 35:46Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 35:47Drew Afualo?

  I was just talking to my man about this yesterday because I was like, one of the many times I just start rambling about stuff and he's like, yes, listening to me. I'm like, perfect. Um, but I was talking about morally gray characters and how I, I find them a lot more interesting.

• 35:58Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 35:59Drew Afualo?

  That way, like, and, and you don't need crazy things to happen when you have really interesting people.

• 36:03Speaker 01

  I agree.

• 36:04Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I agree.

• 36:05Speaker 01

  Like nuance within people is important.

• 36:08Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 36:09Speaker 01

  I feel like.

• 36:09Drew Afualo?

  It's more realistic.

• 36:10Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 36:11Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, totally.

• 36:11Speaker 01

  It's like very easy to be like, this person is like, not a good person.

• 36:15Drew Afualo?

  This person's bad.

• 36:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, they're evil because of this. And then it's like, well, no, maybe this person is a complex person. It's like, why does like, you know, Walter White on a breaking back?

• 36:24Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, totally.

• 36:25Speaker 01

  Complex individual.

• 36:26Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 36:26Speaker 01

  You know, maybe you don't like everything about Walter White.

• 36:29Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 36:29Speaker 01

  But that's okay.

• 36:30Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 36:31Speaker 01

  You know, like, but we're still locked in.

• 36:32Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, exactly. It's so incredibly interesting and far more relatable, I feel like, to audiences.

• 36:39Speaker 01

  I agree.

• 36:40Drew Afualo?

  That's really cool. How fun. What about your movie? You said you want your movie to be more like drama?

• 36:45Speaker 01

  I think more comedy, drama.

• 36:48Drew Afualo?

  Okay, too.

• 36:49Speaker 01

  For sure.

• 36:49Drew Afualo?

  Love.

• 36:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 36:51Drew Afualo?

  I think that's so cool.

• 36:52Speaker 01

  Because I feel like the kinds of movies like that I like the most, like the things that I'm inspired by is like, stuff that, um, well, I guess it's a mix, but it, things I've been drawn to currently are, um, kind of claustrophobic movies.

• 37:04Drew Afualo?

  Ooh.

• 37:05Speaker 01

  So movies where you feel like, oh my God, what's the Rose Byrne movie that came out? It's like, if I kicked you.

• 37:10Drew Afualo?

  Oh, if I had legs, I'd kick you.

• 37:12Speaker 01

  Yes. I love how like.

• 37:15Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it feels like suffocating almost.

• 37:17Speaker 01

  Like Uncut Gems, kind of.

• 37:19Drew Afualo?

  I was just about to say.

• 37:20Speaker 01

  Like I, or like a, um, like, uh, John Cassavetes movie, uh, the, uh, woman under the influence with Gina Ral-. Oh, like, I just, I like, I think also like depictions of like womanhood in that way are so interesting.

• 37:34Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, totally.

• 37:35Speaker 01

  The complex, um, feeling of like trying to do better for yourself, but then like, kind of being a fuck up. But then like, constantly trying to figure, I don't know, like being on that hamster wheel.

• 37:47Drew Afualo?

  Totally.

• 37:48Speaker 01

  But I think there's also, I think it also could be funny.

• 37:50Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 37:51Speaker 01

  And I think

• 37:52Drew Afualo?

  There's room for a laugh here and there.

• 37:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 37:54Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, that totally.

• 37:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 37:55Drew Afualo?

  I think that's, uh, that's so, such a good point too about women and, and the depiction of them. And I think especially now with like the moral policing of everything on things like TikTok.

• 38:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 38:06Drew Afualo?

  They, they moral police women, like these characters in these shows that like Sex and the City, for example.

• 38:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 38:12Drew Afualo?

  Like obviously Carrie Bradshaw is like unlikable in a lot of ways, but like she's also extremely relatable in those ways.

• 38:18Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 38:18Drew Afualo?

  Like, and that's kind of one of those things that you learn like as women, like when you make, I, I've talked about this before where I'm like, when people are super judgmental of women, even if they're fake characters, they make very judgmental decisions, like things that they feel like they can be hypocrite or critical of.

• 38:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 38:34Drew Afualo?

  I'm like, well, women are so complex. And I think that's why like, you know how many things I've loved my friends through? Like the kinds of decisions they've made where I'm like, girl, why would you ever? And then it's like, you learn to love them through it.

• 38:49Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 38:49Drew Afualo?

  And then love them so they come out the other side of it. And then when they do, they look back and they're like, I was fucking nuts.

• 38:55Speaker 01

  Yeah. It's like, yes, you were.

• 38:56Drew Afualo?

  Yes, you were, you were, you were. Hey y'all, this episode is brought to you by Sephora. Some days I barely want any coverage at all. I just want my skin to look like my skin, girl, just a little more even. That's when I've been reaching for the merit minimalist stick. It's a foundation and concealer stick in one. So it's super easy to throw on when I'm running errands, grabbing coffee, or meeting up with friends. It gives me that really natural skin-like finish without feeling heavy. But when I'm filming, going to an event, or I just want a full glam moment, I need a concealer that's actually going to show up. So the Hourglass Vanish Concealer is one I always reach for because it gives me that full coverage, airbrushed finish. I also know I'm not the only person who struggled to find the right concealer shade.

• 39:41Drew Afualo?

  It can be so frustrating trying to guess what'll actually work for you. That's why I always shop at Sephora. They have the best brands all in one place with so many shades, coverage levels and finishes. So you can actually find what works for you. And if you need help, Sephora makes it super easy with expert beauty advisors, free samples and shade matching tools, both online and in store. So whether you're looking for barely there coverage or full glam, Sephora can help you find your match. One of my really good friends, she was like ranting to me about something and it was like the most, it was, it was the most nothing burger issue. Like it was like, it was something that was insane and crazy, but also she didn't need to care about that much, but I, I got why she did. And so she was rambling to me for like maybe an hour. And then after she goes,

• 40:26Drew Afualo?

  do I sound insane? And I go, I mean, yeah, but I love you.

• 40:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:30Drew Afualo?

  I was like, I'm loving you through it, girl. You do sound insane. Yes. But like, it's okay. Who doesn't?

• 40:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:35Drew Afualo?

  Like I was like, who doesn't? When I talk about stuff, sometimes I sound insane.

• 40:38Speaker 01

  Uh huh. Sometimes you just gotta be talking.

• 40:40Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. It's like.

• 40:41Speaker 01

  Sometimes you just gotta be letting it out, saying it. And then it's like, and that wasn't.

• 40:44Drew Afualo?

  And then look, she found her way to the end.

• 40:47Speaker 01

  Figuring it out. But you had to get there by yourself.

• 40:50Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. But I love watching women like that on screen.

• 40:52Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 40:52Drew Afualo?

  Like ones who could be perceived as like unlikable at a certain point. Like you're like, that, that is like real life. Like that's very human, I think. And I think, uh, like Fleabag, for example, is like a great example of that. Especially when you find out the twist and you're like, oh my God, I've been rooting for her this whole time.

• 41:08Speaker 01

  Right.

• 41:09Drew Afualo?

  And then you find out like you, it's just real life. I feel like it depicts it like parallels. I think that's wonderful.

• 41:14Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 41:15Drew Afualo?

  I think if anyone can make it hilarious, you could.

• 41:17Speaker 01

  Thanks. But you know, it's like, it's, I think in anything comedy happens. Like I think it's unrealistic to think that like even in your worst times, you're not cracking a little joke.

• 41:28Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 41:29Speaker 01

  Laughing a little. Somebody's saying something inappropriately. Somebody's done something a little, you know, and you're laughing.

• 41:34Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. I love that. I'm, I'm gonna look, I'm gonna look out for it. I'm gonna manifest it for you.

• 41:40Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 41:41Drew Afualo?

  Alongside you, and then I'm gonna look out for your big movie.

• 41:43Speaker 01

  And be on the lookout.

• 41:44Drew Afualo?

  Yes. I'll be on that. And then I'll invite you back when the movie comes out.

• 41:47Speaker 01

  Oh, there it is. There it is. And I'll be different then.

• 41:51Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 41:52Speaker 01

  I want you to know I'll be different.

• 41:53Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 41:53Speaker 01

  I won't be, I won't be goofing off like I am now. I'm gonna be serious. I'm gonna be like, oh yes, very good to, yes, how good to see you.

• 41:59Drew Afualo?

  Just so you know, I'm gonna be different.

• 42:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 42:01Drew Afualo?

  I'm gonna blow up and act like I don't know nobody. That's literally how I feel.

• 42:04Speaker 01

  I might, I might come in here and I might say, hey, so nice to meet you. And be like, oh, you did so good.

• 42:10Drew Afualo?

  It's like that meme when they're like, I'm gonna let the money change me. Like when I get it, trust and believe I will be a different person. I will forget about you.

• 42:17Speaker 01

  Oh, 1,000%. Reintroduce yourself. Cause I'm a new person. I go by Ray now. Don't worry about that.

• 42:26Drew Afualo?

  I made that joke on here once when I was talking, I did like, um, I'm, I'm venturing into acting.

• 42:31Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 42:32Drew Afualo?

  Um, so I've been like doing reads and stuff, haven't booked anything yet, but when I do that, I'm like, I, yeah, I'm like, I haven't booked anything yet. And obviously, cause I'm still doing here, doing this. I'm still here, clocked in here, bitch. Like that's how you know I haven't made it yet.

• 42:45Drew Afualo?

  This is, this, this is what I'm doing still.

• 42:47Speaker 01

  But that's okay.

• 42:48Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. And I was like, cause I do plan on forgetting everybody as soon as that happens for me.

• 42:51Speaker 01

  The second you book.

• 42:52Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 42:52Speaker 01

  This is in, this is in the garbage. Spotify, goodbye. I don't care.

• 42:57Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. See ya. Sorry.

• 42:58Speaker 01

  Yeah. Contract. Sorry. Talk to my lawyer.

• 43:02Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. I'll have my people call your people. Okay. So that's a, a good transition actually into your fun facts.

• 43:09Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 43:10Drew Afualo?

  Are you excited?

• 43:10Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 43:11Drew Afualo?

  And you'll let me know if they're fun, obviously.

• 43:13Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 43:14Drew Afualo?

  Okay. So this first one says that, uh, you cry during movies because the quote, existence of cinema makes you really emotional.

• 43:23Speaker 01

  Okay. And I gotta be honest, me doing this, this, this.

• 43:28Drew Afualo?

  That's a fun fact about you.

• 43:30Speaker 01

  This is not the first time this has come.

• 43:32Drew Afualo?

  That's, that's come up?

• 43:33Speaker 01

  It's, somebody, it's a pull from like a, a bro, vulture article I think I did in like 2018.

• 43:40Drew Afualo?

  You getting embarrassed?

• 43:43Drew Afualo?

  You getting embarrassed at that corny thing you wrote?

• 43:45Speaker 01

  I can't believe, I can't believe that's what I said.

• 43:50Speaker 01

  I can't believe I said that. And I didn't know it. You know, you said the, I didn't know it'd be here.

• 43:55Drew Afualo?

  I didn't know you guys would be quoting me.

• 43:56Speaker 01

  I didn't know it'd be 2026, it'd be here.

• 43:59Drew Afualo?

  It'd be for years to come.

• 44:02Speaker 01

  I mean, I am an easy cry for a movie. If a movie is trying to get me to cry, I can get there, especially on a plane.

• 44:10Drew Afualo?

  Oh, yeah. On a plane. Yeah. Time's not real up there.

• 44:14Speaker 01

  I'm crying over everything.

• 44:16Drew Afualo?

  Oh yeah. I watched, um, Raya and the Last Dragon on a plane once. I was like, I literally, I, that was when we had to wear masks on the plane too. And I was like wearing, I was wearing my mask. I soaked through my mask like as I was open mouth sobbing on the fucking plane.

• 44:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:33Drew Afualo?

  It's not that serious.

• 44:34Speaker 01

  No, but it feels that way.

• 44:36Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it was. It did feel that way.

• 44:38Speaker 01

  It's heightened. It's heightened up there. I watched The Beekeeper recently on the plane.

• 44:42Drew Afualo?

  Oh, man.

• 44:42Speaker 01

  Jason Statham.

• 44:43Drew Afualo?

  I've, I've never seen it.

• 44:44Speaker 01

  Cried. That movie is not a movie you were crying.

• 44:48Drew Afualo?

  When you said Jason Statham, I said.

• 44:49Speaker 01

  Right. Oh, something's off.

• 44:52Drew Afualo?

  And you got emotional?

• 44:52Speaker 01

  What's going on with her? Yeah. Well, you know, it's, it comes out the gate kind of strangely swinging. Felicia Rashad's in that movie.

• 45:00Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 45:02Speaker 01

  Felicia Rashad, Jason Statham, uh, Josh Husherson, Jeremy Irons.

• 45:07Drew Afualo?

  That's a very interesting lineup.

• 45:09Speaker 01

  Mini Driver.

• 45:10Drew Afualo?

  Damn.

• 45:10Speaker 01

  Two stacked.

• 45:11Drew Afualo?

  That felt like Mad Libs for actors. You know what I mean? Like, I'm like, I need an actor.

• 45:17Speaker 01

  For a action movie that's about beekeepers, but it's actually a secret society. Yeah.

• 45:22Drew Afualo?

  One thing about Jason Statham, he's gonna play a secret agent. One thing about that bald guy, he's gonna be kicking ass and taking names.

• 45:28Speaker 01

  I'll tell you what, I feel I'm on the train.

• 45:30Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 45:30Speaker 01

  I wanna get on the Jason Statham train. I'm here to stay.

• 45:33Drew Afualo?

  Hell, yeah.

• 45:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 45:34Drew Afualo?

  I think so.

• 45:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 45:35Drew Afualo?

  I, I feel very like, I love when actors just kind of do what's like, they're like, yeah, that like makes sense.

• 45:42Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 45:42Drew Afualo?

  Like they're like, yeah, it's, it's kind of like that joke they've made about Dua Lipa, which I don't feel this way. Dua Lipa, if you ever see this, I don't feel this way. But like, they're like, Dua Lipa's gonna make the same song and put it out every summer.

• 45:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 45:53Drew Afualo?

  Till the end of time. And I'm, and I'm gonna play the fuck out of it.

• 45:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 45:56Drew Afualo?

  Like that's how I feel about that. That's how I feel about Jason Statham. I'm like, when he's just like killing people and beating people up. I'm like, well, that makes sense for him.

• 46:03Speaker 01

  You're in your bag. Why would you get out of it?

• 46:05Drew Afualo?

  Exactly.

• 46:06Speaker 01

  Stay in there.

• 46:07Drew Afualo?

  You found the formula that works. You found what works.

• 46:10Speaker 01

  You're make, oh, you're gonna make a, a, a, just a nice little song of the summer, every summer?

• 46:14Drew Afualo?

  A chart topper?

• 46:15Speaker 01

  Come on.

• 46:15Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 46:16Speaker 01

  Who cares?

• 46:17Drew Afualo?

  Twist my arm, sure. I'll listen to it.

• 46:18Speaker 01

  Something that I wanna dance on the, dance to on the dance floor? Something that gets me throwing a little ass in the middle of the day, middle of the night?

• 46:25Drew Afualo?

  Sue me.

• 46:25Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah. Lock her up. That's crazy. Yeah. Lock her up in the studio. That would make a few more hits.

• 46:34Drew Afualo?

  Well, I'm glad to hear that you're so emotionally connected to cinema.

• 46:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:38Drew Afualo?

  I'm happy for you.

• 46:39Speaker 01

  I gotta delete that. I gotta get that article removed from the internet.

• 46:43Drew Afualo?

  Take that shit down.

• 46:44Speaker 01

  You're gonna be like, eh, huh, please.

• 46:48Drew Afualo?

  Okay, for the, this one says for your twenty eighth birthday, you wished for hot Dr. Pepper?

• 46:53Speaker 01

  I did?

• 46:54Drew Afualo?

  I don't, girl, I don't know, you tell me.

• 46:56Speaker 01

  My twenty eighth birthday, I wish for hot Dr. Pepper?

• 46:59Drew Afualo?

  If that's in quotes, hot Dr. Pepper.

• 47:02Speaker 01

  Twenty eight? What was twenty eight? What was I up to?

• 47:06Drew Afualo?

  How old are you now?

• 47:07Speaker 01

  Thirty three.

• 47:08Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 47:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:09Drew Afualo?

  That's not too long ago then.

• 47:10Speaker 01

  Well, but it feels.

• 47:12Drew Afualo?

  Do you like, do you like Dr. Pepper?

• 47:14Speaker 01

  Love Dr. Pepper.

• 47:15Drew Afualo?

  Do, you want it hot?

• 47:16Speaker 01

  Hot. I want a hot Dr. Pepper?

• 47:19Drew Afualo?

  You know, I would think.

• 47:20Speaker 01

  I have brain damage.

• 47:21Drew Afualo?

  I would think.

• 47:23Drew Afualo?

  You have a TBI. I, I would think that this is like, an insane, random thing, but based off everything I feel like I've seen, the way your brain turns, this would make sense.

• 47:33Speaker 01

  This is probably something that I said.

• 47:35Drew Afualo?

  This is one of those things you didn't realize you said.

• 47:37Speaker 01

  But I didn't say, but I don't stand by it now. I could not, I couldn't run for president.

• 47:42Drew Afualo?

  That statement.

• 47:43Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:44Drew Afualo?

  It's not a representation of me now.

• 47:45Speaker 01

  I know, I've changed, and I no longer, those reviews no longer reflect who I am at this time. Um, and I just wanna shout out to the community.

• 47:56Drew Afualo?

  Thank you for your support. Hot Dr. Pepper, that's very interesting.

• 48:00Speaker 01

  I don't remember.

• 48:01Drew Afualo?

  I don't, I, I love diet Dr. Pepper.

• 48:03Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 48:04Drew Afualo?

  Delicious, I do love that. I know, I know a lot of people are, are very anti diet soda, but.

• 48:09Speaker 01

  No.

• 48:10Drew Afualo?

  I honestly think that's the only. That's just honestly the only, that was what I was raised on, was diet soda, so that's why it's my favorite one. It's not like a calorie thing. I could give, I could give a fuck about calories.

• 48:20Speaker 01

  No.

• 48:21Drew Afualo?

  Like, in a drink, please.

• 48:22Speaker 01

  But it's got that kick.

• 48:23Drew Afualo?

  It does.

• 48:24Speaker 01

  It's got a particular, I was never into diet soda growing up, but then Diet Coke grasped me. And now, I can't get away.

• 48:32Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah, it's got you.

• 48:33Speaker 01

  Get away, and I think that's maybe what's in there. It's in there, it's actually doing it to me.

• 48:37Drew Afualo?

  It's that aspartame.

• 48:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, aspartame is, is doing something to me. Cause they don't have Diet Coke in all of the countries outside of you, you know?

• 48:44Drew Afualo?

  No, they have that like Pepsi Zero, Pepsi Max.

• 48:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 48:47Drew Afualo?

  When I went to Ireland in, uh, uh, December of last year, they only had Pepsi Max everywhere. Whatever the hell that is, get rid of it.

• 48:56Speaker 01

  Yikes.

• 48:56Drew Afualo?

  Disgusting.

• 48:57Speaker 01

  Yeah, pour it out.

• 48:58Drew Afualo?

  I just started drinking regular Coke because I was like, that's just better.

• 49:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 49:01Drew Afualo?

  That, it tastes better than whatever the hell this is. Well, I'm glad, I'm glad that doesn't reflect you anymore.

• 49:05Speaker 01

  It doesn't reflect who I am.

• 49:06Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I'm glad, I'm glad we could take that off the table for you.

• 49:08Speaker 01

  No problem.

• 49:09Drew Afualo?

  Okay, this, that says, in, uh, twenty twenty-three, you were Burt from Sesame Street for Halloween.

• 49:13Speaker 01

  That's true.

• 49:15Drew Afualo?

  Who was Ernie?

• 49:15Speaker 01

  Uh, my friend Karen. Karen was Ernie and I was Burt, but I, I was like, I'mma be, I'mma be sexy. I'mma be sexy. And it was like, kinda not, I just had a skirt on. I couldn't figure out the top to be hot.

• 49:30Drew Afualo?

  It was just Burt in a skirt?

• 49:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was just Burt in a skirt. It was Burt in a skirt, and I, but because I was like, oh, I think it's because I, often in my head, I'll be like, ooh, I could craft it.

• 49:41Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 49:41Speaker 01

  I could do it, I bet I could sew amazingly.

• 49:44Drew Afualo?

  Oh, that's easy.

• 49:45Speaker 01

  I just haven't tapped into that potential. You know, I know how to sew.

• 49:49Drew Afualo?

  You're so mean, you're so mean. I'm always like, I'm like, if you gave me like ten minutes, I bet I could figure it out.

• 49:54Speaker 01

  Well, of course I didn't figure it out. Of course I get the shirt in the mail and I say, well now what the hell am I supposed to do? Cut a V into it?

• 50:01Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 50:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, so it was just, it was just normal.

• 50:05Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 50:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 50:06Drew Afualo?

  Got it.

• 50:06Speaker 01

  With the skirt. Yeah, and then I put my hair in a little bun.

• 50:10Drew Afualo?

  Oh, cute.

• 50:12Speaker 01

  Didn't even paint myself yellow or nothing.

• 50:14Drew Afualo?

  Did you do face paint or anything?

• 50:15Speaker 01

  No, should've. Should've.

• 50:17Drew Afualo?

  Now that I'm thinking about it, I really should've.

• 50:19Speaker 01

  In many ways, it was just kinda like, oh, Rachel kinda got a strange little outfit on, huh?

• 50:23Drew Afualo?

  You just have a striped shirt on.

• 50:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, without my, uh, cause I was Burt, without my Ernie, kinda, kinda.

• 50:30Drew Afualo?

  You'd have no idea.

• 50:31Speaker 01

  Certainly not. Sesame Street? No.

• 50:34Drew Afualo?

  Probably cause I'm not yellow and I have the skirt.

• 50:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 50:37Drew Afualo?

  You're throwing people off with the skirt, that's why. You're gender bending, Burt.

• 50:41Speaker 01

  And people weren't ready for that.

• 50:42Drew Afualo?

  No, they weren't ready, the world wasn't ready at the time, that's right. Okay, last one back, that says that at NYU, you were accepted into a highly competitive sketch comedy group called The Hammer Cats.

• 50:52Speaker 01

  Oh, that is true.

• 50:53Drew Afualo?

  It's highly competitive sketch comedy group is interesting, praising.

• 50:57Speaker 01

  It is, yeah, it is.

• 50:59Drew Afualo?

  I bet it's extremely popular though.

• 51:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's one of those things.

• 51:03Drew Afualo?

  What was that process like to get in, was it like, just a regular audition, was it like SNL probably?

• 51:08Speaker 01

  No, it, yeah, you had to submit sketches.

• 51:10Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 51:10Speaker 01

  And then you had a in-person audition.

• 51:12Drew Afualo?

  Ooh, tea.

• 51:13Speaker 01

  And I was good at the audition.

• 51:16Drew Afualo?

  Okay, nice.

• 51:16Speaker 01

  But like I said, I did not know how to write a sketch, so my sketch was really strange, but the performance was good. And so then when the, like, directors, they were like, they interviewed people.

• 51:26Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 51:26Speaker 01

  And they're like, so would you be willing to learn?

• 51:29Drew Afualo?

  How to write?

• 51:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, would you be willing to learn how to do this? And I was like, yeah, I know one hundred percent.

• 51:34Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 51:36Speaker 01

  I can.

• 51:36Drew Afualo?

  You're literally, I feel so like, kindred spirit with you because I feel very the same in the sense that I'm like, I'm, I know I can do it.

• 51:46Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 51:46Drew Afualo?

  And even when I don't really know how to do it, I still kinda know how to do it.

• 51:51Speaker 01

  You can do it, yeah.

• 51:51Drew Afualo?

  Like, I still can kinda do it.

• 51:53Speaker 01

  Right.

• 51:53Drew Afualo?

  So.

• 51:54Speaker 01

  That's what I'm saying. It's like you, it's like, it's all in here.

• 51:57Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 51:57Speaker 01

  The only block is you. Stand out of your way.

• 52:00Drew Afualo?

  It's belief.

• 52:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, just keep going.

• 52:03Drew Afualo?

  I, that's so true because I've said like, it's, um, I make this joke about myself all the time because I watch, I have watched many things, but I've also not watched a lot of things, if that makes sense.

• 52:13Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 52:13Drew Afualo?

  So I always.

• 52:14Speaker 01

  I feel similar.

• 52:15Drew Afualo?

  I always joke that I'm like, I got the gist.

• 52:17Speaker 01

  Uh huh.

• 52:18Drew Afualo?

  So like, like when I was, uh, they came out with a new Gladiator, right? The original Gladiator, Gladiator, I've never seen. And I was telling my dad about this and I was like, I think I'm gonna, I, I should go see that new Gladiator movie. Like, I was like, oh, that looks interesting, I should go see it, and he goes, why have you seen the first one? And I go, no, but I got the gist. And then he's like, what do you mean the gist? And I was like, well, like, I know it's like guys fighting. That's enough, I'm like.

• 52:43Speaker 01

  You don't need to see the social media for that.

• 52:44Drew Afualo?

  I'm watching to enjoy, I'm not watching to critique.

• 52:46Speaker 01

  This is Lord of the Rings, you know, it's like, you don't need to like, oh, then this character and then that, it's like, I know what's going on.

• 52:52Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, cause even like, something like Stranger Things, right? Like, I watched all of season two. I did not watch season one, I did not watch anything else after that, I watched all of season two.

• 53:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 53:03Drew Afualo?

  Locked out. And then season five obviously ends, and then in Ireland, uh, like, my sister and other friends we were with were like, oh, let's watch the season finale of Stranger Things. They watched it, I watched it, I cried.

• 53:14Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 53:15Drew Afualo?

  I laughed, laughed with them like I was there, I don't know anything that's fucking happening. And then I was like, wow, that was incredible, that was so awesome. And then my sister's like, you gonna go back and watch like all of it? I go, no, no, I had, I had the experience.

• 53:29Speaker 01

  You know what's going on.

• 53:31Drew Afualo?

  Like, I got, I got it.

• 53:32Speaker 01

  You're getting, like, what you needed was the characters, you know? And you, you were connected to them because you'd watched the season. You knew their arcs, you knew their flaws, you knew what was going on. Yes. And then you hopped in and you got to, oh, you get to experience it in a real way. You know what, that shows that somebody did their job.

• 53:49Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. Yeah, I, I enjoyed it.

• 53:52Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 53:52Drew Afualo?

  You're just like me. That's why you're like, you're, and honestly, that's how I know, that's why I know you're successful and gonna continue to be successful. Cause honestly, ninety percent of this business is confidence.

• 54:01Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 54:02Drew Afualo?

  And just, like, I can do it.

• 54:03Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 54:04Drew Afualo?

  And no fear, like, no, no fear being perceived, yeah.

• 54:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:07Drew Afualo?

  Which leads me to my last question, I was gonna ask you like, what are some tips you have for aspiring artists? Cause obviously, you wear many hats, which I love, and I'm jealous of the singing. I, I always joke that I, I think the universe didn't give me singing because they knew I would just be unbearable. I would be like the most agonizing person to be around, so they were like, funny and that's it, bitch.

• 54:24Speaker 01

  I feel you would be popping out with some songs.

• 54:26Drew Afualo?

  I, I would've dropped at least, I joke, but this is not a joke, like, if I could sing and I, I have the platform I have now, I would've dropped at least one EP.

• 54:33Speaker 01

  Oh, one thousand percent.

• 54:35Drew Afualo?

  At least one.

• 54:36Speaker 01

  You would have three tracks popping off right now.

• 54:39Drew Afualo?

  Obviously, obviously.

• 54:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 54:41Drew Afualo?

  So I, I would love to know if you have any advice for any aspiring artists that are like, maybe going through it right now or going, like, in the grind of it all right now? Uh, do you have any advice for them?

• 54:52Speaker 01

  I mean, I do think that the most like, important thing is to keep going, is to continue. And not be like, judgmental of your own work. It's like, if you're standing in your own way, then it's like, you're not gonna be able to bring other people into it. There's like a Martha Graham quote that I really like.

• 55:09Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 55:10Speaker 01

  That like, uh, she just talks, it's mostly, it's actually kind of like, um, uh, being an, like, talking about how being an artist is a lot of dissatisfaction.

• 55:20Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, that's so true.

• 55:21Speaker 01

  And it's a lot of like, you not being completely like, I don't know, I'm somebody that likes to keep tinkering with something or like, keep having, like, if it's like I'm working on something, I feel like it's not ever finished.

• 55:31Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 55:32Speaker 01

  It just has to move to the next stage.

• 55:34Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 55:34Speaker 01

  Um, and I feel like, the quote is kind of like about how there's is a bit of a dissatisfaction and you just have, and it's like an unrest, but it keeps you alive and that what you have is a creative channel and you have to keep the channel open. Because like, even if you have a similar idea to somebody, it's not gonna be the same coming from you versus somebody else.

• 55:58Drew Afualo?

  That's so true.

• 55:58Speaker 01

  And so, I think it's just important to be open to your craft and like, let your ideas out. And don't be scared if they suck, too. You know, like, if it doesn't work, like, that also is valuable.

• 56:13Drew Afualo?

  You can't soar.

• 56:13Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 56:14Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and it, and it is true, like, it's very like, I think a lot of it, like, you, we're joking about like, it's, the only obstacle is me.

• 56:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 56:20Drew Afualo?

  But it's true, like, especially when it comes to art. Like, in putting out art, it's like this fear of being judged or critiqued, which I think is natural, obviously, it's natural to it, but like, art is also subjective.

• 56:31Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 56:32Drew Afualo?

  So, like you said, it's like, what's hilarious and awesome to one may not be to the other, but as long as it is to you.

• 56:38Speaker 01

  That's what matters.

• 56:39Drew Afualo?

  Really all that matters.

• 56:40Speaker 01

  That's what matters, if you're playing back your jokes and you're laughing, that is what matters. Literally, that's what matters, you're making yourself laugh, that's what matters.

• 56:48Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, my husband after I did that, he goes, you're laughing again.

• 56:52Drew Afualo?

  Like, you didn't hear me, like, I didn't hear, you didn't hear me laugh the first time?

• 56:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 56:56Drew Afualo?

  I was like, yeah, I had the nerve to rewind it, watch it and laugh again.

• 56:59Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. I love me, I'm supporting me.

• 57:03Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, obviously.

• 57:05Speaker 01

  That don't gonna get me, cause I got me.

• 57:07Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 57:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 57:09Drew Afualo?

  Well, thank you so much for coming on the show, I think you're a fucking delight.

• 57:12Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 57:13Drew Afualo?

  You are the hoot to my holler, I love that. That's perfect, we're match made in heaven.

• 57:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 57:18Drew Afualo?

  Thank you so much for coming on the show, I adore you. Uh, for those that are not familiar with you, where can everybody find you?

• 57:23Speaker 01

  Um, online at IamRachelPegram on all platforms. And then, I'll tell you what, I also got a new podcast coming out.

• 57:32Drew Afualo?

  Yay, how exciting.

• 57:33Speaker 01

  In the winter, yeah, so when you're bundled up.

• 57:36Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 57:36Speaker 01

  That'll be a little something. Yeah.

• 57:41Speaker 01

  That'll be something nice.

• 57:44Drew Afualo?

  Oh my gosh, how fun, you really are a jack of all trades. Look at you, you're doing everything. I gotta keep up with you. Thank you so much for coming on the show, I think you're amazing. Make sure you all go follow Rachel everywhere, she also performs live too, so I'm sure, if you just follow her, you'll see all of the many, many amazing things she's doing. So thank you all so much for tuning into this week's episode, don't forget, new episodes in the comment section drop every Wednesday. You can stream the audio on all streaming platforms, but the video is free and exclusively on our favorite platform, YouTube. Thank you so much to my amazing guest, Rachel Pegram, and thank you all so much, and I'll see you next week, bye.