He’s one of the most successful stand-up comedians of his generation, with a Netflix special and an Emmy Award to his name. And now he has written a book about it all: The Top Part: Hair Secrets from John Mulaney (Grand Central Publishing).
In this interview, Mulaney shares what it was like growing up in Chicago as the child of comedian parents and how that shaped him for life. He also talks about the ups and downs of being a comedian – including times when he failed miserably on stage or lost gigs because he wasn’t funny enough.
He also talks about the ups and downs of being a comedian – including times when he failed miserably on stage or lost gigs because he wasn’t funny enough.
“I would be at my lowest point, down in some hole,” Mulaney says, “when I would feel like if only I could get one good gig as an opening act for somebody else’s show then maybe that will change things.” He shares these moments with humor but you can tell it took quite a toll on him; there were nights where he felt so low that he lay awake asking himself what’s next: suicide? Professional baseball player?
A guy who hits home runs off Carl Yastrzemski to win games for his team?
“I wanted to be somebody that was seen as a good comedian, and not just some guy who opened for other people,” Mulaney says. “That would have been the worst.”
At one point he quit comedy altogether in order to pursue acting full-time, but soon after realized it wasn’t what he wanted either. He had an epiphany while watching his favorite movie – The Graduate – on TV and said: ‘This is me! I want this!’ That’s when he decided to return to stand up comedy.
He shares these moments with humor but you can tell they took quite a toll on him; there were nights where he felt so low that lay awake asking himself what’s next? Suicide? Professional soccer player?
It’s not an uncommon feeling for many comedians, he says. ‘You’re doing a show and you feel like it went well but the audience didn’t react in any way,’ Mulaney recalls. ‘Or there are nights where they just laugh at everything – even jokes that aren’t funny.’ He remembers one night when he had to appear on Conan O’Brien’s late-night talk show, which was fun until the next day when his segment bombed with audiences watching online.
“I’m really lucky because I still get booked,” Mulaney says of his career today. “And if I do have a bad experience, I know how to handle myself now.”
John Mulaney Talks about the Ups and Downs of Being a Comedian
John Mulaney, one of the top comedians in the world today talks about his up and downs as an American comedian. He has had nights where he felt like it went well but audiences didn’t react to anything or when they laughed at everything – even jokes that weren’t funny. “I’m really lucky because I still get booked,” John says with regards to his career today, which is why he knows how to handle himself now if something goes wrong on stage.
This blog post includes affiliate links and we may receive compensation for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. We are committed to writing high-quality articles backed by evidence; please read our full editorial policy here before submitting your article for publication.
John Mulaney Talks about the Ups and Downs of Being a Comedian
John Mulaney has had nights where he felt like it went well but audiences didn’t react to anything or when they laughed at everything – even jokes that weren’t funny. “I’m really lucky because I still get booked,” John says with regards to his career today, which is why he knows how to handle himself now if something goes wrong on stage.
“Comics are always going through this weird phase of being so happy and then stuff will happen,” John said in a recent interview for the CBC News podcast Day Six… But every comic eventually gets over their fear.”
John Mulaney has been a New York City-based comedian for decades. His standup act was first broadcast on Comedy Central in 2012 and he is the creator of “Oh, Hello”. He also starred in “The Comeback” with Lisa Kudrow last year. In this interview with The Washington Post’s Emily Yahr, John talks about his life as a struggling performer trying to make it big and what goes into being one of comedy’s most successful writers today:
“It happens very quickly when you get ‘discovered.’ It happened to me at 27 or 28 years old,” says Mulaney. “And I remember thinking, ‘I just need some time off from doing this so that I can figure out
