june-2011

THE HEMI Q&A: Louis C.K.
» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 48
“ If you take reason and logic out of a
statement and leave in the passion and
confusion, that’s really funny to people.”
though I’m not as famous as most of the
other guests on the show. It’s usually
a big star that opens, and then I get a
few minutes of people going, “Who is
this guy?” It’s not the end of the world.
I know there’s success beyond that if
you can stay cool, if you can keep your
confi dence and keep your heart rate low.
Like boxing.
HEMISPHERES: You do a bit of boxing
yourself. You used to train with Mickey
Ward, the guy who inspired The Fighter.
C.K.: Mickey is such a decent person. He
boils all these mythical things people are
addicted to—like making your dreams
come true and being The One, the
American Idol stuff —into a lesson about
hard work, responsibility and things like
courtesy and decency.
HEMISPHERES: Do you think that part of
the reason you’ve had so much success
is that you’re willing to say unspeakable
things aloud? Like how you have absolutely
no interest in single people because
their lives have no stakes? Or how unfair it
is when your daughter makes up her own
hide-and-seek rules, because it’s clearly
just cover for how bad she is at the game?
C.K.: Comedy is a license to remove reason
from a situation. If you take reason
and logic out of a statement and leave in
the passion and confusion, that’s really
funny to people.
HEMISPHERES: You seem more bemused
about contemporary life than angry.
C.K.: I never think of myself as angry. I’m
open to any idea. I want to be in a state
of constant reanalysis of everything,
because life’s more interesting that way.
Once you make judgments and rules for
what you’ve decided to believe, you’re
missing out on discovering things you
might not have any idea about.
HEMISPHERES: You say amazingly funny
stuff about your kids, but it can be savage.
I assume audiences let you get away with
142 JUNE 2011 • HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
it because they believe you are actually a
kind, loving father.
C.K.: I’ve done sets where people tell me
that those bits work because they just
know what a good dad I am. And I’m like,
“How do you know that?” But look, both
of my kids know that I talk about them
onstage. Most of my act is not okay for kids,
but I’ve told them some of the bits that I do.
HEMISPHERES: Do they think you’re funny?
C.K.: They do. But the reason why they
think it’s funny when I rail and yell
about them onstage is that it’s not what
I’m really like. If I screamed at my kids at
home and then joked about it, it would
be horrible for them. Also, my kids and
I are honest about what’s tough in life.
We’re able to laugh about it. We’re not all
polite in the house.
HEMISPHERES: So are you their boss
or are you their pal?
C.K.: I don’t believe in this idea of the godlike
power of a parent, because it doesn’t
really help kids in the end. I give my kids
their day in court and let them talk to me
about what we’re dealing with. I always
tell them that crying ain’t going to get
you there, and saying ‘please’ fi ve times
isn’t going to get you there, but if you
have a reason, I’ll listen. They don’t o en
fi nd a way to change my mind, but I do
think it’s worthwhile to let them sharpen
their ability to reason.
HEMISPHERES: Your show on FX got
renewed for a second season. That must
feel pretty good.
C.K.: I see everything as a challenge, but I
don’t see anything as a reward. I just see
it as an extra challenge. I work out with
boxers when I’m really trying to get in
shape for standup. When I did my fi rst
special, Shameless, I worked with this
boxing trainer in L.A., and I told him that
this was my title fi ght, the big one. And
he said, “No, your big one isn’t your title
fi ght. It’s your fi rst defense of your title.”
HEMISPHERES: Meaning when you’re the
challenger no one sees you coming, but
when you’re the champ, everyone does.
C.K.: That’s right. The fi rst time you go
out there to defend your belt they know
what you’re capable of and they’ll throw
everything at you. Right now, FX has
said, “Yes, the show works, go ahead and
do it again.” But I still think of it as a
challenge. Can I sustain the show? Is it
still going to be good? Is it worth watching
more than 13 times? Can it be be er?
And if it’s not, there’s absolutely no one
to blame but me. I get an enormous
amount of help from everybody on my
crew, but these are my decisions. If the
show stinks it’s precisely my fault.
HEMISPHERES: So, let’s have a little speed
round. Least favorite kind of heckler?
C.K.: Selfi sh ones. Dumb hecklers are
just being dumb, but selfi sh hecklers
want to suck up all the a ention.
HEMISPHERES: If you’re having a night out
for fun, what is it?
C.K.: I am a night out, so when I have
time to relax, I usually just stay home.
HEMISPHERES: Are there things that
are always funny and things that
are never funny?
C.K.: If something was always funny
I’d be a billionaire. And I don’t believe
there’s anything that’s never funny.
HEMISPHERES: The funniest person alive?
C.K.: I doubt it’s a comedian. It’s probably
some guy in a rice paddy somewhere in
Vietnam who keeps his fellow workers
laughing as hard as they can all day.
HEMISPHERES: Or maybe it’s just a
determined car mechanic from Boston.
You know, some guy just wrenching
away and dreaming that some day he’ll
take over the world. But that could never
happen, of course.
C.K.: Of course not.
DAVID CARR, who covers media and
culture for The New York Times, always
seems to laugh at the wrong time when
other people tell jokes.