What was it that first sparked your interested in comedy and did you always want to pursue the career you have now?

I always loved comedy growing up, but I never harbored any idea that I could do it professionally... like I couldn't even really fathom that it was a career choice. I loved comedy the same way I loved basketball, like I appreciated watching it, but it never occurred to me to become a professional basketball player either. My comedy career kind of happened by accident. I needed to take an arts class in college, so I took an improvisational theater class, and that lead to me doing sketch and improv around the school, and that lead to me starting stand-up, and Chelsea Lately's talent booker saw me doing stand-up, and that lead to my first appearance on the show and THAT lead to my first job.

The Herald: Eddie Izzard to play Monmouth

 

Did you have any major influences?

Eddie Izzard, and I'm not just saying that because he isn't American. He's been my biggest influence by far. I was 13 years old, on vacation with my family in Mexico and I was badly sunburnt and had food poisoning. I was wrapped up in blankets on the couch like a mummy. Then, like a sunburst through a cloud bank, Dressed to Kill came on the HBO in the hotel. That was the first time I saw it, I've probably seen it or listened to it 200 times since then. Also, Kyle Kinane and Matt Braunger have always been huge influences on me. I wouldn't be the comedian I am without them.

 

You're from Portland and won the award for "Portland's funniest person" in 2011; how did it feel to win that?

At the time it felt like the most important thing in the world. It was the first time the city had that contest, so I got to be the first person to win it, which felt extra cool. Now, looking back, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but you need those moments in comedy. You need those moments to pop up like "You're on the right path, keep going, keep pushing." That's what that was for me.

 

Was it a difficult decision to leave Portland for Los Angeles?

Incredibly difficult. I don't love Los Angeles and Portland is a utopia. Also, all my friends and family are back in Portland. Still, if you want to work in comedy in America it's pretty much here or New York.

 

How did you find the enjoy working on the Chelsea Lately show?

I loved working on Chelsea Lately. Chelsea Handler is incredibly fucking funny and she's the most generous person I've met sine I started working in show business. She also put three stand-up comedians on television every single night on her panel. I think she's under appreciated, especially amongst comedians. They think "Oh, she just jokes about sex and getting drunk, and she gets by on her looks" which is incredibly unfair. I've worked with a bunch of funny people, and she's right up there at the top. I loved working there, I wish I could have been there longer.

 

You now write for The Late Late Show with James Corden, still a relatively new show on the late night scene. How have you found working on the show and how do you think the show has progressed since it first aired?

Working with Corden has been fantastic. Three of us writers have been there since day one, (Sean O'Connor, who is still on the show is one of the others, James Davis, who left the show, is the other.) We got to help build the show up from nothing, which is incredibly rewarding. When I got to Chelsea Lately, it was already what it was going to be. When James Corden hired me, the show was just a bunch of crazy ideas floating in the air. I mean really, we had some crazy ideas... we STILL have some crazy ideas, so I can't really share them with you, because they might be on the show next week.

I think the progression of the show has been interesting. You start with these huge, lofty ideas - and then the reality that you actually have to write these ideas and make them funny, and economical, and able to appeal to people outside of the writers room, and you realize that all the big, important people at the network are paying attention to every thing you do, and you come back down to earth a little bit. Which at times, as a writer, can be frustrating - but then you realize what a blessing it is, because you learn how to be funnier within those parameters, and then you start to get these huge, lofty ideas again, but ones that you can actually pull off, and I think that's where we're getting to again now, six months after launching the show.

The Herald: James Corden to visit Yeovil

In the UK, James Corden is a very well known and popular star; how has it been for you to work with him and what do you think the American perspective on him is?

James Corden is a fucking powerhouse. Seriously. I know he's my boss, so it seems like I have to say nice things about him, but really - the dude is something special. He has all these old showbiz skills, he can sing, he can dance, he's incredibly charming, and all that is wonderful and necessary. However, he's also the most gifted comedic actor I've ever been around. He can take an average script, and believe me we give him some average scripts sometimes, and through sheer talent and force of will, he can milk every laugh possible out of it. As a writer, it's a goddamn joy to write for someone like that, because you know they're going to sell what you write.

I don't know what America thinks about James, yet. We're still such a new show that I think a lot of people are still just getting to know him, and we've only been following Colbert for a few weeks now. Our job, as writers, is to keep coming up with ways to showcase this wonderful dude and once America see's that, they're going to fall head-over-heels for him the way the rest of us have. Mark my words, America will be spooning with James Corden in no time.

 

Not only have you written for the show, you've also now performed stand-up on it. Was it a strange feeling to step out from behind the camera to do that on a show you work on? And what was the reaction like?

The reaction was great, the crowd was really hot and James and the rest of the staff on the show were super supportive. It wasn't really that weird to step out from behind the camera, I still consider myself a stand-up comedian more than a writer, so it's pretty easy to get out there and do a five minute set on your home turf.

 

You also performed on Conan. Do you have any preference at all for writing or performing and how do you feel the two differ?

I prefer performing. I'm a stand-up comedian at heart, and I'll always be. There's a certain something you get from getting laughs in front of a crowd, it's a satisfaction that I've never gotten from any other pursuit. I can limp up on-stage with a sprained ankle, and if the set goes well, bound right off like a gazelle. James, and our producers Ben Winston, Rob Crabbe and Mike Gibbons have been very supportive of my stand-up career, and have given me time off to go perform at festivals and at comedy clubs around the country. Honestly, I didn't want to go back into writing for television after Chelsea Lately was over, but the opportunity to work with these guys was too good to pass up.

When you're writing for yourself, your primary concern is "Do I believe this to be true?" and then you think "Okay, but is it funny" and when you're writing for someone else you think "Okay, is this funny?" and then you think "Could I see them saying it?" and then "Does it fit in with how they're selling themselves as a performer?" And that can be an arduous system of checks and balances to put a piece of comedy through. Luckily, with Corden, our comedic sensibilities line up in a big way. It never feels like I'm writing for Corden, it feels like I'm collaborating with him, and I think that's true for most of our writing staff. That's a good place to be.