Ear Biscuits with Rhett & Link - Ep. 23 Mamrie Hart - Ear Biscuits

Episode Date: March 7, 2014

Mamrie Hart, one third of YouTube’s “Holy Trinity” and writer/co-star of the new film Camp Takota, sits down with Rhett & Link this week to discuss growing up on the set of a well-known TV show,... why something called 'Topless Tuesday' was the highlight of her college career, and her future plans to follow in Adam Sandler's footsteps...kind of. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 This, this, this, this is Mythical. Welcome to Ear Biscuits, I'm Link. And I'm Rhett. It's time for another conversation with an interesting person from the internet. This week it's Mamrie Hart, one part of what many fans are calling YouTube's Holy Trinity, which also includes Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart, previous guests on the show. She's got a popular weekly show, you may know about it, called You Deserve a Drink, but she also just released a feature film, Camp Dakota, which she wrote and starred in alongside her YouTube counterparts, Grace and Hannah.
Starting point is 00:00:38 So we talked to Mamrie about growing up with a television star as a father, founding the topless Tuesday Club in college, and we traced the path from arriving in New York with only $400 to finding a career on YouTube and writing and starring in her own feature film. And we talked about how her friendship with Grace and Hannah might affect her future plans. Of course, one of the things that came up in conversation a lot was camp. We learned that she draws on her own experience as a camp counselor to write and form the story of Camp Dakota. So, it got us thinking about our camp experience. Right. So, I don't know. How old were we
Starting point is 00:01:19 the time we went to camp together? This is fourth grade. Fourth grade. Fourth grade. Fourth grade. And I just remember the concept of camp. Even before we went, it was this thing that, oh, when you reach a certain age, it's summertime, you get to go away. In the woods.
Starting point is 00:01:37 And this is the kind of thing that, I gotta be honest with you, I looked forward to with great anticipation, which tends to be what I do anyway, I kinda build things up and I get really excited about them, but camp was this thing that, in my mind, it seemed like the ultimate experience because you get to go away for one whole week.
Starting point is 00:01:59 No parents. No parents. You don't know any of the other kids. You could do whatever you want to. We were going as friends. You know, I knew you and you knew me and that was it. And everybody else was going to be a new friend. Yeah, my mom took us, drove us to Western North Carolina to Camp Carraway. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:02:16 Now, Camp Carraway, that kind of sound, Carraway, it sounds more like a retreat place for adults almost. Like kids don't have cares or like a rest home or something. But it actually was a camp. I always thought it was like don't get carried away. It can't carry away. Well, that would be camp carried away. But you're saying it was there's no cares here. You have no cares.
Starting point is 00:02:42 Put your cares away. Like carefree. Camp carefree. Camp carefree. Camp carefree. That sounds like something for old folks. Camp care away sounds like, oh yeah, this might be for kids, for children. Now, the only reason I didn't cry when my mom dropped us off is because you were there. I was, I just remember being so anxious. A lot of my childhood is defined by anxiety. As I reflect on it now, I didn't put my finger on it at the time that I was an anxious child,
Starting point is 00:03:10 but I do see it now. You never told me because- I was playing it cool. I was nervous as I would get out. I had the time of my life. You know, I mean, now neither of us took a dump the entire week. I'll just go ahead and get that out there
Starting point is 00:03:23 because there's something about you just kind of pucker up a little bit when you go to a new environment. But it wasn't because I was anxious. It was just because I was in camp mode. Well, the facilities were, I mean, the actual toilets, there wasn't a lot of privacy. There was a stall, but there was no door. And I was like, I'm waiting until I get back home. Right.
Starting point is 00:03:42 So other kids could walk. I thought there was a door. Other kids could walk in front of it unless you were in the last stall. And then if someone came to check to see if anybody was in there, well, they would see you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was anxious about that personally. And when you're a kid, somehow you can hold it for a week. I don't know how that works.
Starting point is 00:03:56 I remember thinking when Wednesday rolled around and nothing was rolling out, I was like, oh, man, what's going to happen? You're going to explode. Thursday comes up, I'm like, oh, man, what's going to happen? You're going to explode. Thursday comes up, I'm like, man, Friday? Next thing you know, my parents are picking you up, and you're like, hold on, can we stop somewhere? No, I waited until I got all the way home. I mean, the things I remember about camp, I don't remember any of the other kids.
Starting point is 00:04:21 I don't remember making any other friends, but there were girls there. It was a co-ed camp, right? No. It was only guys? Yes, it was only guys. Are you sure? I'm 100% sure.
Starting point is 00:04:33 I guess that's why I don't remember any girls. It was a royal ambassador camp. It was an RA camp. Oh, the GA camp was across the lake or something? Yeah, I mean, there may have been a GA camp that was somehow... What did the GA stand for? Girl ambassadors. I something? Yeah, I mean, there may have been a GA camp that was somehow... What did the GA stand for? Girl ambassadors.
Starting point is 00:04:48 I don't know. I really don't. But no, no, definitely no girls. I remember a big swimming pool, and I remember going to that swimming pool and not being happy about that because there was a bunch of kids, and I felt like a lot of them were, like, dirty. Like, these kids have been running around in the woods, and now they're going to jump in a pool with me?
Starting point is 00:05:06 Why didn't you just, I mean. I don't feel good about that. Why didn't you just, you never told me any of this. I find all this out when we become adults. And plus I'm not buoyant. I haven't done a number two and it's been five days. So I'll probably sink to the bottom. See, I mean.
Starting point is 00:05:20 There's a lot of things in and outs of this thing. But see the thing that upsets me. Here's the thing that upsets me. here's the thing that upsets me, is that I had the time of my life and we never went back because you didn't like it. It's like when we go to a restaurant. This happens all the time now. We go to a restaurant and I'm like,
Starting point is 00:05:37 this restaurant's good. And then we get out and you're like, I don't want to go there again. And we never go back again. It's just Camp Carraway all over again. Yeah, I don't remember ever telling you that I didn't like it. There was a reason why when we brought it up the next year, it was just like, I don't think I'm going to do that this year.
Starting point is 00:05:54 But you wouldn't tell me why. You would be like, well, I was afraid of the pool and, you know. Everything, really. I didn't know where the GAs were. And so I didn't get to go. I think of all the summers that I missed out on. If my mom would have been a counselor, I probably would have went back. That's the sad truth.
Starting point is 00:06:11 I remember our counselor. His name was Jeff Cole. Oh, wow. Jeff Cole. He had a mustache. And like really short military hair. He was like 22, but he had a mustache, and so I thought he was 32. But now that I think about it, I realize he was like right out of college. And he was a weird dude. I got to admit, he was a mustache, and so I thought he was 32. But now that I think about it, I realize he was right out of college,
Starting point is 00:06:26 and he was a weird dude. I got to admit, he was a weird dude. But I appreciated his leadership. You didn't. You don't even remember his name. You just remember being anxious. Were you scared of his mustache? I was afraid he was going to leave us in there.
Starting point is 00:06:42 I don't know. I mean, I'd never been away from home that long and held it that long. Have I said that already? You know, just, I don't know, man. I'm sorry. I do remember that once your parents picked us up, we went directly from there to the Asheboro Zoo. And that's where we bought those matching gorilla purple t-shirts. Yeah. That is the picture that we posted online. one of the first pictures of the two of us together that has like survived all of these years. So in that picture are two young
Starting point is 00:07:12 boys who have been holding it for a week. We had full large intestines. That's crazy. I never thought about that when I see that picture. We looked happy at that point. I was just relieved to be with people I knew. But not that relieved. So I think, um, if I were to write a screenplay about that, it would, uh, you know, be pretty boring, be pretty, be pretty sad at least. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:37 If you think what we just talked about was boring, then yeah, I think the screenplay would also be boring, but I think Camp Dakota, they, uh, they f Dakota, they fared better than that. It has some more interesting plot points. Okay, Mamrie Hart's fan base, it continues to grow. She's got two YouTube channels, You Deserve a Drink. Where she makes drinks for you,
Starting point is 00:07:57 but also has lots of puns. And they're like themed around a celebrity or around an event or something like that. And then she's got Mametown, which is a more personal channel, and both of those are really taking off, continue to take off. And she also, I might add, made it quite possibly the most hilarious cameo in our video, Christmas Face, as the on-screen makeup artiste.
Starting point is 00:08:20 And she's making a cameo, if you want to call it that, on Ear Biscuit. So let's get right to it. Our Ear Biscuit with Mamrie Hart. Okay, so last time we saw each other was at the Camp Dakota premiere. Yeah! It was just like a party. The sneak preview.
Starting point is 00:08:39 Sneak preview, an excuse to all have adult beverages outdoors party. I think it's what the official name was. And we had a ball. We had our pictures taken with you. You guys were killing me. You were taking all the pics wrapped up in a blanket. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:52 Well, camp theme. It was real cute. We go with a theme. If anything, we go with a theme. You guys won that green carpet. Congratulations, by the way, on Camp Dakota. Right? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:09:02 Yeah. It's really exciting. Super exciting. It's really exciting. Super exciting. It's like more exciting for me as a writer even than an actress. Okay. To be like, oh, it's doing well. But Rhett told me that you told him a story that I didn't get to hear about leaving Christmas Face. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:09:18 So I wanted to hear that from you. Oh, okay. So when I left Christmas Face and I was in full on, what would you call her? She was a makeup artist by day. A little trashy. Lady of the night by morning. And so I had that crazy makeup done. And then as soon as I left, because I was running late, I had to get on a phone call. And I didn't want to go into the parking garage and lose service in the elevator. So I just walked around downtown for like 20 minutes and people, and then I got in the
Starting point is 00:09:50 car and like rear viewed and was like, oh, you didn't still just have the shirt on too, right? I had like a cardigan on over it. No, but it was still a, still a poison, uh, flesh and blood tour 1987. Yeah. Halter top. Halter to the top. Homemade halter top.
Starting point is 00:10:09 Well, it was perfect for what we needed. Oh, I loved it. And it was perfect for downtown. Perfect for parading the streets downtown. Me too. Got some new clients. It was great. But no one approached you to tell you that.
Starting point is 00:10:24 No, because I was on such an intense phone call. Like, they thought I was breaking up with my pimp. I can only imagine. Or setting up the next appointment. Exactly. It was pretty awesome. Wow. And the video looked great.
Starting point is 00:10:38 Oh, yeah. Your appearance was amazing. Thank you. The comments were raving. Oh, thank you. On your contribution. Oh, thank you. On your contribution. Oh, appreciate that. We should do more of that type of stuff.
Starting point is 00:10:49 I'm into it. More halter top. We got to come up with something else, though. Yeah. Christmas sweats, Christmas face, Christmas, you know. Yeah, what other Christmas areas are there? I don't know. I don't want to start thinking about it.
Starting point is 00:11:00 No, it's too early. It is a bit early. You got to wait until the weather changes. At least until July, guys. Come on. Yeah, okay. All right. It is a bit early. You've got to wait until the weather changes. At least until July, guys. Come on. Yeah, okay. Forget I brought it up. Now, I'd love to get into your creative process right off the bat.
Starting point is 00:11:10 Just, you know, in watching your videos, I love the bloopers at the end. Bloops. For me, that kind of, I find myself trying to analyze your creative process and find the clues of exactly how you do it in the bloopers. Like, okay, she looked down there as she finished this improv riff. Maybe she has written down some of her lines and then she's just kind of riffing off of that.
Starting point is 00:11:35 Obviously, there's stuff off the top of the head. So that's how I look at the bloopers. And also, they're hilarious. So, I mean, there's like two reasons. You're looking for clues to bust me. Bust you. I'm just fascinated with how it all comes together. Well, there is pre-written jokes.
Starting point is 00:11:54 There are pre-written jokes. Essentially, I think about some silly puns. Grace comes over. We have a pre-game cocktail. We think of a few more and then we just, we get up, we intro, make the whole drink, and then it's, we bump in for joke time. So
Starting point is 00:12:11 I have the prewritten joke time. Bump in for joke time. You know, I don't like go back and forth. It's just like, here's how I make the drink, and then it's like, alright, now we're just going to shoot jokes for like the next 15 minutes or so. Okay. So we have some prepared because some of them are, you know, pretty in-depth. But then it's me
Starting point is 00:12:26 just riffing and essentially trying to make Grace Helbig laugh. That's the ultimate goal is to get her to break behind the camera. And has she been there for every episode?
Starting point is 00:12:36 Every episode. Really? Every single episode. Grace and I know each other from New York and we were on our first sketch team
Starting point is 00:12:44 together like six years ago or so. And then we also lived from New York and we were on our first sketch team together like six years ago or so and then we also lived in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn so we would spend many a day
Starting point is 00:12:53 getting Bloody Marys at like two on a Monday and I wasn't doing any internet stuff yet but then I had the idea for YDAD and we lived you know
Starting point is 00:13:01 really close to each other so we just I'd walk up the long hill. So you shoot these now, what's this, your house, your apartment? Now at my apartment, yeah. So she comes over. She comes over, yeah. And it's just like, you only shoot one at a time, I assume.
Starting point is 00:13:15 Well, I mean, not always because of schedules and whatnot. You can kind of plan, like, if it's a pop culture one, obviously you're going to shoot it the week of, but if I'm doing a pop culture one and the next weekend is St. Patrick's Day, then we can go ahead and do a St. Patrick's Day one. So you can kind of tell how many we shot in a day depending on my level of drunkness. Because if we're doing like a three Y dad day, maybe number three is pretty loose.
Starting point is 00:13:43 We might not even find the footage. So you know these drinks. I know so little about mixed drinks. Are you inventing these? I'm inventing these. You're inventing these, right? Yeah, I bartended through college, and I also bartended for like seven years in New York City. So I'm using my like base knowledge and then kind of jumping off
Starting point is 00:14:05 traditional drinks or just making ones up and just seeing if they taste good. Because you have to have a bit of a palate for that. For sure. Yeah, with all different infusions and bitters.
Starting point is 00:14:17 I mean, how much of the how good of a drink this is going to be it goes into the process. Is it like, I want you guys to enjoy this. Oh, 100%. Because, A, I don't want to drink something gross.
Starting point is 00:14:29 And also, nothing makes me happier than when I see that people actually made the drinks at home. Which, the drinks that tend to be made are like the most white trash ones. Like, I had one for Amanda Bynes that's literally cupcake vodka champagne food coloring then it's dipped in funfetti icing oh yeah like that's the drink and that's the one that gets made the most well that's because everybody already has that stuff laying around exactly if I'm like we're gonna do walnut liqueur with you know cardamom infused bourbon they're like yeah I've got funfetti in my pocket right now. That's what the kids are calling it these days. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you'll bring out these bottles of stuff that's like,
Starting point is 00:15:11 whoa, the budget for this thing just went through the roof. But it's all tax deductible, right? It's all tax deductible. I didn't realize that the first year I did YDAD. And then the second year it was like, oh, my gosh, let me show this to the accountant. I'm like, I swear, I swear my drinking is a write-off. That's great. But I do have a kind of ridiculous liquor cabinet.
Starting point is 00:15:30 It's ridiculous. Describe it. Well, I just have so much crap. I'm never going to finish. I did a drink a couple weeks ago that had Galeano in it. Do you know what that is? No. It's like this crazy huge bottle.
Starting point is 00:15:41 I think I went to high school with them, though. Yeah, it looked like that building in San Francisco. Yes. I bet it does. high school with them, though. Yeah, it looked like that building in San Francisco. Yes. I bet it does. I don't know. The really skinny pyramid. Oh. Is that what you're talking about?
Starting point is 00:15:51 Earthquake-proof building. That is the right bottle. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And now, I'm never going to drink that, but I just have it. Because you had to mix a little bit in. A little bit in. So, yeah.
Starting point is 00:16:01 It's pretty impressive. I mean, you don't have parties where it's like alright just have at it but you gotta buy a ticket or something yeah a ticket I don't have open houses
Starting point is 00:16:11 with cakewalks and come to my at home carnival we're raising money for me it's my favorite cause I love those by the way when we were kids did your elementary schools
Starting point is 00:16:23 have them I want a fish you want a fish I didn't want a cake I schools have them? I won a fish. You won a fish? I didn't win a cake. I think that's irresponsible. I won a fish. And that fish got a growth and died. Ooh.
Starting point is 00:16:32 Wow. Yeah. Like a cancer? A very large cancer tumor. They didn't splurge for the good goldies at your elementary school? It was good for a while. I think it was something in the water. Now, you ask about our fall festival experience.
Starting point is 00:16:43 Yes. And we come from the same place, right? Yeah, North Carolina. Represent. Raise up, I should say. Oh. Right? Spin around your head like a helicopter.
Starting point is 00:16:51 Yes, yes. I'm very tempted to do that at this moment. But I'm not going to because, well, there's no cameras. Yeah, exactly. That's the point. So, like born and raised in North Carolina? I was actually born in new jersey and moved to north carolina when i was seven okay so you remember some of jersey i remember
Starting point is 00:17:11 like memories of jersey yeah like what what are your um jersey memories i've never been there you've never been to new jersey well i didn't live in the part of jersey where people think of i feel like people from the south when they think of new Jersey, they think of Hoboken or just somewhere really dirty. No offense, Hoboken listeners. I lived in super rural New Jersey. We had a meadow behind our house and old house, small town.
Starting point is 00:17:36 It was like a little township called Andover. The memories I have the most of Jersey is I lived in an area that had all these little independent theme parks. Have you ever been to one where it's like, oh, this is a family run little theme park? I think you mean Petting Zoo, right? Well, yes, there was a Petting Zoo with rides.
Starting point is 00:17:54 There was the Land of Make Believe. There was a place called the Gingerbread House that was like this big house that someone spent all this money turning into. Yeah. I feel like all those roadside weird things. Roadside attraction stuff. There was a lot of those where I lived my first kind of thing, yeah. Yeah. I feel like all those roadside weird things... Roadside attraction stuff. There was a lot of those where I lived my first few years in New Jersey. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:18:10 Okay. So did that make you sad to leave? I mean, is there a gingerbread house where we're going? There's barely a house where we went. Why did you move? What was the... We moved because we had family in North Carolina. And also at the time, my dad was an actor. And the show he worked on was in Georgia.
Starting point is 00:18:32 So we wanted to move to the south. But not all the way to Georgia? No, because my parents were already separated. So it was like, let's move closer so we're a five-hour drive. But let's be near to your cousins and stuff. Meaning you live with your mom, not your dad, but your mom moved you closer to your dad? Yeah. Okay.
Starting point is 00:18:50 Yeah. Well, that was big of her. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't like, yeah, they got along and everything. She didn't go all the way to Georgia or anything. No. Yeah. She was like, I'll go as far as North Carolina, but you're going to have to.
Starting point is 00:19:00 No, we moved to where her sister lived and all our cousins were. Okay. Yeah. Okay, so your dad was an actor. Yeah. I did not know this. Yes. In what?
Starting point is 00:19:08 At the time, was he working on? At the time, he was on an 80s cop show called In the Heat of the Night with Carol O'Connor. Yeah. Who was from All in the Family. Of course. That was his follow-up to that. Mm-hmm. I have a special place in my heart for Carol O'Connor because he reminded me of my grandfather
Starting point is 00:19:26 Clyde who passed away I might get sad he had a chair he looked just like him he does look just like him he had the flat same haircut and he had a chair the Archie Bunker chair in his house like no one else sits in it
Starting point is 00:19:41 and it was exactly like the show and he would sit down and watch it. And then so like everybody, my mom always loved the show and watched reruns because it was a connection with her dad. And so now we have that connection. Oh, goodness. Was your grandfather also a major racist? Like Archie Buck?
Starting point is 00:19:59 Yes. Yes, he was. Of course, yeah. I mean, yes. Yes, the fondest memory. He even hated being white just because it was a race. Oh, he was. Of course, yeah. I mean, yes. Yes. Big time. The fondest memory. He even hated being white just because it was a race. Oh, gotcha. He just wanted, his ideal was just to be a skeleton.
Starting point is 00:20:12 Yeah, right, yeah. So you moved to North Carolina and was this like culture shock? I mean, you had a meadow in your backyard in Jersey, but what do you remember about the transition? I remember hating that people called their moms mama. Oh, you hated that? I hated it. And now I do. Now it's about mama.
Starting point is 00:20:35 But, like, at the time, everyone sounded, like, so slow to me because I was, you know, I'd lived in New Jersey. Sounded slow. Not, like, intellectually. Just, you know, I just was really not used to the, I would get pissed off when people would say ain't. Like, I'd be like, ain't is not a word. Like, I was like a little sassafras. As a second grader. Third grader, yeah. In what part of North Carolina?
Starting point is 00:20:56 My town was called Boonville, and it was a one-stop light, and it's at like the base of the mountains. Okay. Yeah. So between like Boone and Winston-Salem. Got it. Yeah. Rural, one-stop light. Okay. Yeah. So between like Boone and Winston-Salem. Got it. Yeah. Rural, one stoplight. Oh yeah.
Starting point is 00:21:08 Once the elevation really starts changing in North Carolina, you know, that's when you really get into the good stuff. The real good stuff. So you were there with your mom and like her sisters were nearby. So you had like, you had aunts. Do you have siblings? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:21:23 I have an older brother and an older sister. And they were with you guys there. And you would hear about dad, the famous was like, Oh, I got a famous dad. Who's down in Georgia. Like telling your school friends and stuff.
Starting point is 00:21:36 No, I mean, that was kind of just, please. I'm from a town of like 1100 people. Everyone knew it before we even got there. Yeah. Because I mean,
Starting point is 00:21:43 going back to that time. Right. You know, you knew somebody that was involved in entertainment. I mean, that was very few and far between. I mean, I didn't know anybody that had any connections to any television show. That was a big show. That everybody knew about. It's like if you lived in the middle of nowhere, and then a guy from CSI was moving to your town. Right. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:22:04 Which is a dream of mine. I know. Yeah, that family, that family, the daddy. The daddy's only in the eight of the night. No, that dad is Parker Williams. Exactly. It was definitely like that. It was...
Starting point is 00:22:15 Georgia. Well, he'd come up like every month. Oh, so your parents did live together. They lived together until I was like three when my dad got the show. Okay. And then he moved, and then we moved to North Carolina, but he was still like come up, you know, all holidays. We'd spend the summer with him, so we'd spend the summer on the set of He The Night and stuff. So your parents were civil.
Starting point is 00:22:38 They weren't together, but they were friendly. Yeah, they're 100%. Yeah. No, just kind of like you know faded the marriage faded there wasn't like i've never seen my parents fight or anything like that and what did your mom do my mom is a high school teacher still is still is high school english yeah she was boonville well she has to commute there isn't a high school in my town yeah she's a high school English teacher in North Carolina.
Starting point is 00:23:05 Hating every second of it. No, I'm just kidding. Do her students know of Mamrie and her channel? That, I don't know, because my mom remarried, so we don't have the same last name. So I don't know if my mom brings me up. I doubt she kind of mentions me in class considering my subject matter. Right. She doesn't want to be like, hey, everyone, go listen
Starting point is 00:23:25 to my daughter say p*** jokes. Probably not ideal. It's funny because my dad is a law professor. Oh, wow. And has been since we moved to North Carolina in 84. And he does talk
Starting point is 00:23:43 to his law students about me because somebody figured it out and was like, Dean McLaughlin is Rhett's dad. And then once somebody found that out, my dad just rides that wave all the time. Oh, yeah, but also, like, let's get real. Our content is very different.
Starting point is 00:24:03 Okay. You know what I mean?'s what's your mom like and is it oh i i watched your video and you know is there is there a dynamic there with your mom's like i can't show this to my no my mom doesn't really bring it up my mom's just stoked that you know i'm being able to make a living being creative. We don't like, you know, go back and forth on my jokes. Does she have a similar sense of humor? No. Or are you like a departure?
Starting point is 00:24:31 Definite departure. My parents are both super funny, but they're not like crass whatsoever. So we don't like go over the latest Y dad. But she's super stoked about Camp Dakota because that isn't filthy. Yeah. Or even my second, I started a second channel, Mame Town, and it's super stoked about Camp Dakota because that isn't filthy. Yeah. Or even my second, I started a second channel, Mame Town, and it's just like really goofy. So she likes that too. Things she could possibly, you know, have my nephews watch and she wouldn't be terrified.
Starting point is 00:24:58 Right. So she, but she gives you positive feedback. She focuses on that. Yes, exactly. At this point. Oh, she's super stoked. She loves it. I mean, my mom and dad met when they were in they were both in the theater department in college. So my mom loves, you know, in a different world
Starting point is 00:25:16 she would have been an actress. And so, yeah, she couldn't be prouder that I'm doing it. Guys, I'm f***ing doing it. Yeah, you are. So, from a age, did you want to follow in? And it sounds like both of their footsteps in terms of this kind of entertainer actress, Ben. When I was 10, I was begging for an agent. Really?
Starting point is 00:25:37 I was like, please let me, like, there was a hot minute where I was like, let me go live with dad. Let me go, like, I need an agent. I need to do this. I was like, let me go live with dad. I need an agent. I need to do this. But, you know, I'm so glad that didn't happen, A, because there's nothing worse than seeing kids rejected in the entertainment industry or like crazy stage moms. Right. But also because I really enjoyed the upbringing of living in the middle of nowhere.
Starting point is 00:26:02 So what were you doing that was evidence of this desire? Were you like performing on street corners? Oh, yeah. The one at the one stoplight? No, I remember me and my friends, I was like, you guys, let's just cheerlead. Let's just cheerlead on the street. So I'd be like cheerleading. I remember I was like, I cheerleaded.
Starting point is 00:26:20 Cheerleading what? The traffic? Yeah, cheerleading the traffic. I remember someone pulled over once and was like what are you raising money for? and I was like nothing I'm bored and then
Starting point is 00:26:31 we had do you remember any of the cheers for the traffic? no I mean they were probably they were probably just about me
Starting point is 00:26:37 I'm not sure I remember there was one time we had like a piano and I took violin for a few years when I was little. And my mom came home and I had taught my next door neighbor how to play like two songs on the piano. And then I was going to accompany it.
Starting point is 00:26:54 I can't say that word. With violin. And she came in and my like three old lady neighbors were sitting in our living room as we played and I had charged them. You had sold tickets. I think I charged a dollar. Wow. But probably my... Well, if it's worth seeing, it's worth paying for, right?
Starting point is 00:27:14 Right, but probably my favorite me performing money-making schemes that I ever did was my sister and I and another guy on In the Heat of the Night's Daughter decided that summer while we were on set that we were going to make our own horror movie. And so we made our own horror movie called Night Fright. And I was the killer and they were two house sitters that I was trying to murder. And the film, I'll call it a film, was about 15 minutes long.
Starting point is 00:27:41 And during the In the Heat of the Night rap party, we made programs. Like with our actor bios, we had a separate room. It was at someone's house, so we had a screening room in the living room. We charged people $5 to come watch our movie, and people, you know, they felt pressured to because they were at a party, and we were kids,
Starting point is 00:28:00 and we were cute. And in the program, it said, all proceeds will go to D.A.R.E. Drug Abuses Rental. To keep kids off drugs, yeah. We made a hundred bucks and we went to Six Flags. Well, you know what? It was a diversion.
Starting point is 00:28:14 I mean, in one way or another you didn't do drugs that day. Exactly. You went to Six Flags. We just abused their money. D.A.R.E. to keep us three off drugs for like a six hour period. Exactly. To feel like we're on kid drugs.
Starting point is 00:28:30 And wow, were there any pangs of regret for that? No, it's a pretty great story. It's totally worth it. You're still cashing in on that one. I mean, Dippin' Dots had just come out, so my ass was getting to Six Flags.
Starting point is 00:28:45 That's the way it was, the ice to Six Flags. Oh, yeah. That's when it was the ice cream of the future. Yeah. Right now, it's just of the present, I guess. And a little bit of the past. Yeah, I know. Okay, so you would go to the set in the heat of the night during the summer? Is that?
Starting point is 00:28:57 Yeah. What is that like? It was cool because while they were, first of all, craft services, as we all know, that's the best. I mean, just a dream. I would go to the makeup trailer and make them give me makeovers. They were, first of all, craft services, as we all know. That's the best. I mean, just a dream. I would, like, go to the makeup trailer and, like, make them give me makeovers. I mean, in a very sweet way. I wasn't like a bratty kid.
Starting point is 00:29:12 Like, we were all friends. And then, huge soundstage, all these different sets. So, while they're shooting in the police station, me and my brother and sister are in the fake courthouse pretending to have a trial. Or in the fake diner pretending to be waitresses. It was basically just – Your playground. Yeah, running around the different sets. Did you ever weasel your way onto the show? No.
Starting point is 00:29:35 I actually did some background work, which, you know, when you do a background actor, let's say you make like 80 bucks for the day, 100 bucks for the day. I was like, I'm loaded. Like, I couldn't believe it. But it was between me and another daughter on the show to get one line
Starting point is 00:29:52 that was, hey, mister, can we get our Frisbee back? And they gave it to her and I was pissed. She got like 500 bucks. Hey,
Starting point is 00:30:01 mister, can we get our Frisbee back? Did she also get the Frisbee back? Yeah. Yeah. It was part of the script. She got it all. She got it all. But you were at least standing next to her. I was standing behind her with hair down to my butt, parted in the middle, huge glasses, looking like Joan Baez in a tie dye shirt. Like I'm getting a hundred today. Getting a cool hundo. I'm getting a cool hundo.
Starting point is 00:30:24 Wow. Yeah. So what was it like for you growing up besides the summer trips? I played all the sports, even though I was terrible at it. Like I still played every sport. I remember convincing my parents to send me to basketball camp at Georgia Tech once. And it was like, God bless them for not crushing my dreams. Because like, why did I need to go to an expensive, it wasn't probably expensive,
Starting point is 00:30:54 but why did I need to go to a basketball camp when I like rode the bench? I was so bad at sports, but I played them all. And then I also danced. Also big. What kind of dance? Ballet, tap, jazz. Yeah, I danced growing up, and then I taught in high school.
Starting point is 00:31:07 And then when I did the summer camp thing, you know, Camp Dakota's based on, I did dance instruction there. Really? So that was kind of close to your heart, actually, being a counselor or a teacher. Oh, yeah, for sure. So what do you think it was that made you want to get involved in
Starting point is 00:31:23 so many things? Because there was nothing, I mean, there was really nothing to do in our town. You know, it's not like you could even walk somewhere and get a slice of pizza and play a video game. Like there was literally nothing to do. So I feel like everyone was kind of always doing any extracurricular activity they could. And was it kind of like, oh, I'm going to get out of this town one day? I'm going to be in entertainment? Yeah, I just wore that leather jacket and just stared into the horizon. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:31:55 Yeah, I wanted to go to college. I just wanted to get the hell out. I wanted to go to college. Yeah, I had a really great time. I love that area, but there's like zero way I could live there. So where did you end up? So I went from there to UNC Chapel Hill. Ooh.
Starting point is 00:32:11 Ooh, I know. I know. I was actually texting with DJ Flula before I got here, and he was like, are you watching the UNC Duke game? And I was like, no, I'm going to go record with Rhett and Link. He was like, of course those NC State Wolf Packers would make you record during UNC Duke game. I was going to ask you, is this something that you would, apart from Flula's influence,
Starting point is 00:32:30 would you definitely be watching it right now? You know, it would probably be a toss-up. Okay. Yeah, I wouldn't be at home watching it by myself. Because you know,
Starting point is 00:32:38 it wasn't going to be on Thursday until it got snowed out. I know. It was going to be last week and then it got snowed out. I don't know. I wouldn't intentionally because I would actually, I hate to admit it, I do watch that game. Yeah, I know.
Starting point is 00:32:49 Even as an NC State fan. You have to just as a North Carolinian. But I will say, I pull for Duke. I'm sorry. I just, I don't know what it is. I just can't like it. I cannot like UNC. But I like you.
Starting point is 00:33:01 It's been fun. And my wife went to UNC. Oh, really? So, you know, I can overcome a lot. Okay. Yeah, so Rhett's wife went to UNC
Starting point is 00:33:09 and going to NC State, we have to hate UNC forever. Why? But we can still like you. But it's just no contact. Okay. As long as we disassociate. We're just going to
Starting point is 00:33:21 disassociate that. I'm just going to pull out my metaphorical men in black thing and just pretend I didn't know that. Also, because you have trouble liking us now, too? No, we're good. Okay.
Starting point is 00:33:33 We're good. Good. You were probably actually at UNC, probably like a year crossover with my wife. Yeah. Not that, you know, not that it's a small school. I experimented. Is that what you know, not that it's a small school. I experimented. Is that what you meant by crossing paths? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:33:51 That's the other term. Yeah, that's what Mayberry was thinking about. So what did you go to UNC for? What was the mindset at that point? With that, it was just I knew I had to go in state, and so that was the school I wanted to go. When I went to college, I really that was the school I wanted to go. When I went to college, I really didn't know what I wanted to study. Okay.
Starting point is 00:34:16 Like, it always been in my head that I was going to be a performer of some kind, but I definitely did the whole, like, oh, you don't have to have a major. You're not going to know what you want to do until your sophomore year. So I ended up doing drama and communications but you had to be I mean obviously you were involved in a lot of different sports and stuff but you obviously had to be a good student to get into UNC so you were an overachiever? or just an achiever?
Starting point is 00:34:38 I think I was an achiever I had good grades and stuff but yeah I wasn't like studying all night or anything I don't like studying all night or anything. I don't know. What was your high school? I'm flipping the tables. No, it sounds shitty to be like, I just got good grades.
Starting point is 00:34:52 I didn't like try very hard. That's okay. Yeah, I don't know. You're just smart. Some people are smart. I'm smart. No, I lost it all in college, by the way. Oh, really?
Starting point is 00:35:03 All of it. I was the worst student in college. The fact that I graduated on time is shocking. What contributed to that? I never went to class. Like, ever. I went five weeks without going to a class once. Okay, hold on.
Starting point is 00:35:19 How does that happen? Because I took classes that didn't have attendance policies. And then... Like like it's bad I don't don't do that kids I still have I still have recurring nightmares
Starting point is 00:35:30 that I'm I realize that I have to take a final for a class I haven't gone to all semester
Starting point is 00:35:36 and then it's like like besides a bad grade it's more like I can't believe I have to walk into this classroom and people are gonna be like
Starting point is 00:35:43 who are you and it's because of that but well it's I can't believe I have to walk into this classroom and people are going to be like, who are you? And it's because of that. But, well, it's a common anxiety dream. I have it all the time. You do too? I need to take the final exam
Starting point is 00:35:51 and I haven't gone to class, but, but I actually did go to class. Okay, nerd alert. You're just having a flashback dream. You're not having an anxiety dream. You actually live that.
Starting point is 00:36:03 That's just my nom. So what are you doing for these five weeks? Are you like a hard partier? Like a woo? Yeah. You know. Oh, yeah. The classic hard parties.
Starting point is 00:36:18 Yeah. I lived in a house with my really good friends. Our really good guy friends lived beside us. We shared a yard. I mean, it was— How crazy did it get, Mamrie? Give us a point of reference here. Point of reference?
Starting point is 00:36:34 Okay. I mean— Case in point is what I'm actually trying to say. It was just really— It was silly collegiate. We had three beer pong tables in the back. I threw a party once with six kegs. We like— It was— I threw a party once with six kegs.
Starting point is 00:36:48 I had a club called Topless Tuesday. Tell us about that. It was women getting together and learning a new skill or craft or whatnot on Tuesdays as they smoked cigars, drank bourbon, and did it all topless. This sounds like a fabulous idea Yeah it's great because you know what I saw so many girls Become comfortable with their bodies When they joined that club
Starting point is 00:37:12 Topless Tuesday What was your This was your idea Yes me and my friend Melissa What was your What made you think of this idea? What was your motive? Just the two of us one day just had a great day, just topless doing something.
Starting point is 00:37:32 And we were like, we should invite other girls along. You were just like, just hanging out, topless? Is that a joke, Link? It's a pun. When they re-listen to this Ear Biscuit They'll drink at that point I think we were just crafting or something I don't know You know
Starting point is 00:37:48 College was weird You were crafting topless? Yeah, it was like With your friend Yeah Okay Yeah It wasn't sexual at all
Starting point is 00:38:00 But you weren't thinking Hey, we'll invite a lot of women And they can grow comfortable with their bodies That was a side effect. The next day it was like, that was so fun, like getting drunk and smoking cigars and crafting. We were topless and it was Tuesday. That's got a ring to it. We invited a few girls to join and then people had heard about it.
Starting point is 00:38:21 They were like, oh, yeah, no, you guys have that club. I want to come to it. So then the next year or like the next semester, me and my friend Melissa who founded it, we invited people to be in the club. Like they got formal almost like you would in like a sorority bid. Oh, wow. We like bid. We brought you like an invitation and a glass of champagne. Not everybody gets in. Well, I mean, it wasn't like – it's not like people applied and didn't get into Topless Tuesday.
Starting point is 00:38:46 We were just like, hey, you 10, you come now. Yeah, exactly. It was one of the highlights of my college career. I want to hear, okay, so you were at UNC. You were majoring in drama. Drama and communications and media production. And so at what point were you like, okay, I kind of think I need to go to class and figure out what I'm going to do? My senior year, I finally actually auditioned and did a play, which is actually Rocky Horror Picture Show, which was awesome.
Starting point is 00:39:16 So my senior year, that's kind of when they lay the things out that you have to go to. There was a class where you have to work in the wardrobe department for six weeks on a production and you're just going to live there. So once I had to be there, I really enjoyed it. And that's when it solidified that, oh, I'm moving to New York from here. But up until that point, it was like, who's going to get the beer? Like, I just wasn't thinking about my future at all. So New York, was that for theater or just acting in general acting in general? But I I figured you just had to start with theater. And so what was your approach? Did you?
Starting point is 00:39:52 hitting the ground and Um, big apple big apple. I I moved there very very poor. I moved to New York with 400 bucks Uh, did you know anybody? Yeah, I knew I moved up I moved in with a girl that I had actually been a camp counselor with and another friend of hers, but everything was just, I didn't understand what safety deposits were
Starting point is 00:40:14 or like what is it, the person who rents it out, like the fee for the person who shows you the apartment. I'm really bad with words right now. An agent? Like an agent. They have like different words. There's a different name for it in New York. I can really bad with words right now. An agent? They have different words. There's a different name for it in New York. I can't think of it. Anyway, so after all that was said and done, I moved up there with like 400 bucks and an air mattress. So hitting the
Starting point is 00:40:37 ground running was hitting the ground trying to find a job. So I found a job. My friend, still a very good friend to this day, runs a post facility recording studio. And so I was front desk. So it was cool because I got to see actors coming in to do voiceovers and bands coming in. But then meanwhile, I was just surviving off whatever bagels they put out that morning. And then once I got kind of my feet wet, about nine months there, I started just trying to find auditions for myself. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:41:11 And that was, and they were terrible. They were, it was a terrible experience. Did you have an agent at the time? No. What made them terrible? It was just, you know, when you don't have, when you don't have an agent or a resume and you're just applying to everything, you know, forget even being paid for it, like totally free work, but just the actual work they were putting up, I always compare it to.
Starting point is 00:41:33 It's my go-to comparison of – do you watch the little show Friends? I'm familiar with it. Have you seen it? I have. So Joey Tribbiani would also always be in these terrible productions where it would be like Freud in space like that. I felt like those were the auditions I was going on
Starting point is 00:41:52 and they were just so embarrassing that I wouldn't even want my friends to come that I decided alright, I'm going to have to be able to create my own work and that's when I signed up for my first comedy writing class and from that class is when I signed up for my first comedy writing class.
Starting point is 00:42:07 And from that class is when I got put on the team with Grace Helbig. And so that was UCB? That was the People's Improv Theater. So I was on a house team there and I did a two-person show there. And then I moved to UCB and did UCB for four years. So UCB is, I mean, that was the step up. You just couldn't step into UCB and say, hey, I want to be here. You had to audition. How does that work? shows and so I cultivated this two-person show called both best of friends with my friend Steve and we were like you know what let's submit a script to UCB and see if they'll give us an audition show even though neither of us had taken classes there which is like kind kind of not common
Starting point is 00:42:57 to do a show there unless you've been through the ranks okay and we got in and we did a run and from there I did several shows. And then I hosted my own show for like three years. And I really just snuck in through the back door. I never took a class at UCB. Sorry, UCB. So at UCB, they have classes where they teach you improv. Yeah. But then you can just be on one of the teams.
Starting point is 00:43:21 We have to audition. It's like crazy. They audition like, I don't know the real numbers, but let's say they have, let's say there's 80 people on their improv teams. They probably have like 900 people audition. Like it's crazy. So you made that team where on a certain night. I was on a sketch team. Yeah. I was an actress on a sketch team. Okay. Yeah. And so you learned the ways of improv, not by class, but by actually doing in front of people. Yeah. Well, improv isn't super my jam.
Starting point is 00:43:48 I'm really into sketch. I'm really into written comedy. Okay. I love improvising on stage, like with friends and as a host, but I don't do traditional. I don't do improv teams. Like I'm not going to, I would be terrible if I had to just walk on stage and be like, hey, you're 30 minutes late, Joe. We got to get to the theater.
Starting point is 00:44:08 Like, I can't. That was pretty great, actually. Well, I only do 1800s improv. Yeah, so sketch comedy has always been my love. I love the writing process. I guess that's the thing about improv. It's so fleeting. When did you discover
Starting point is 00:44:25 that the writing was something you were interested in? I think it was on that first team, on that very first sketch team. It was the first time you really write something and then hear people laugh who don't know you. That was the first time. It was like, oh, I want to do this all the time. that was the first time I was like, oh, I want to do this all the time. Yeah. And how did you, I mean, did you know from the beginning that, okay, comedy goes without saying? No, when I moved to New York, it was to be a serious actress. Really?
Starting point is 00:44:53 Yeah. And then when I had the, I had the emotional breakdown and, you know, my friends and such were just like, why don't you, what do you do? Like your face, you have a Lucille Ball face. Like, no offense, you can probably act very well, but like your face isn't made for drama. And I was like, you're right. I should give it a shot. Cause I've always been like the goofy, ridiculous person, but I really enjoy dramatic acting. So I was kind of, you know, suppressing the comedy side. And then I was like, let's give it a shot. And it felt right. So do you feel like, you know,
Starting point is 00:45:29 now that your comedy thing is really starting to take off, can you see down the road, there's, oh, and then I'm going to surprise them with that dramatic performance. I'm pulling a Sandler so fast. You have no clue. A Sandler, yeah. That's not exactly who I was thinking about.
Starting point is 00:45:46 Okay, yeah, he did that. Punch Drunk Love. Punch Drunk Love, man, yeah. He did that. Yeah, lots of people. The Robin Williams. Right. All of those.
Starting point is 00:45:52 Well, actually, I cry in Camp Dakota. Well, I know. I was going to bring that up. First of all, great performance. Thank you. At every turn. Thank you. But then there's that moment towards the end that, you know, we don't want to spoil it.
Starting point is 00:46:04 Listen, it was very compelling. Oh, thank you. And I was like, we didn't stop to talk about it at the time, but I was like, she's doing that thing where she's actually making herself cry. That's for real. She's doing that acting thing where she's actually crying. No, I'm making the assumption that you didn't do the whole, bring in the onions. Because it definitely didn't seem like that. It seemed for real.
Starting point is 00:46:36 Yeah, we shot that scene three times. And you cried every time? Wide, medium, and close. So, okay, well, what is your thing? Do you think about a sad thing? Yeah, that's kind of, you Wide, medium, and close. Yeah. So, okay, well, what is your thing? Do you think about a sad thing? Yeah. That's kind of, you know, you learn all the different methods when you're in acting school or college for acting. And that's my go-to is just to think of something just really, really, really sad in your own life.
Starting point is 00:47:02 Well, can you tell us what you were thinking? Well, I'll tell you, I also get teary during a, no spoilers, but a fight with Grace and Hannah, that one. And so we each had to like get to that level. And so then I just thought, I said, I just thought about if you guys came up to me tomorrow and were like, we've decided we don't want to be friends with you anymore. And I was just like, And I would just be crushed.
Starting point is 00:47:26 So in that scene, against them, you were actually feeling the rejection of... Yeah. Okay. Well, I'm kind of being rejected. It's really tough
Starting point is 00:47:35 to talk about a movie without saying what happens in the movie. Yeah. Yeah, it's difficult. But it's intriguing. You got to start figuring that out.
Starting point is 00:47:41 So do we. We're like baiting you. And then also, with the crying scene at the end, it was towards the end of filming the actual movie. We had like two days left. And I was just really sad about like leaving the crew and whatnot. It really did feel like camp when we were shooting the movie. So that was really just like, this has been so great.
Starting point is 00:48:01 I don't want it to end. I get it. I didn't have to like dig super deep and be like, this is about my uncle in 1991. Well, I mean, you've helped me discover all I got to do is think about Carol O'Connor. Yeah. And I start tearing up about my granddad. There we go. Oh, there you go. Yeah, you find your triggers.
Starting point is 00:48:16 In the heat of the night. Beautiful. I can't tell you how many times that's been sung to me. It's pretty catchy. I have a friend who, we've probably been friends five years now, and every time he emails me, he attaches the YouTube video of the opening song. Every single time. Well, it's a good one.
Starting point is 00:48:34 It's unforgettable. Yeah. Okay, so you began to get some traction with comedy writing and the sketch thing. And where was that headed? Pre-YouTube. You're right. Were you thinking, all right, I'm going to break into a sitcom
Starting point is 00:48:51 or what was the goal? Are there people around you who were or are kind of, oh, that person's on the sitcom now or that's kind of the path with UCB, right? That's totally the path. Who else were you seeing? Were there other people that you were thinking about? They did it. So can I, um, well, if they did it, so could I, well, like when, when we were at the people's improv theater,
Starting point is 00:49:12 um, Ellie Kemper from the office and whatnot, like she got it from people's improv theater and, uh, Kristen Schaal was there and there were people who are starting to make that leap. And then at UCB it was, you know, once, once a year, two people go to SNL. And I had peers who were getting, you know, late night writing jobs and things like that. And I just, yeah, I'm very driven by like peer success, not in a jealousy way, but just like, yeah, that looks, that's so awesome that you get to do that. I want to do that too. Let's all rise up together. And, and there's also just the migration of New York to LA and you start to see people do that. And when they're in LA, things start really going for them. Okay. So I knew that that was going to have to happen. So I'm curious how there was kind of this, there was maybe a fork in the road for you that has now
Starting point is 00:50:12 led to the YouTube traction, whereas with other people, it's the writing gig on television or the sitcom starring role type of a situation. Well, I thought the fork in the road for me, or what I thought was going to be the fork, is that I thought I was going to have to choose writing or performing. Okay. So I would bounce back and forth of, you know, oh, well, I just, I really want to perform. I need to do more of that too. Man, I really enjoy the writing process. I think I might be better at that. And what I think YouTube did was be able to kind of converge those two. So you're like, wait, you can do both.
Starting point is 00:50:46 So how did that happen? How did the YouTube thing start becoming a factor for you? It started becoming a factor. We started doing You Deserve a Drink and I was still doing a lot of stuff at UCB. But it's weird. And was Grace at UCB too? No, Grace was People's Improv Theater still. She does traditional improv as well. So she was on like a Friday night team
Starting point is 00:51:05 and would do that. And I was all in at UCB. But I guess when it really became a factor is just the numbers game of, this sounds probably really traditional comedy, but it's like I can beg and promote and grind to get 80 people to this show next week, or I can put up a video. And this is like early days where it's just like, or I can put up a video and like 5,000 people saw it.
Starting point is 00:51:34 Like that's five times my town I grew up in. And so I started to kind of put more focus on it than I had before. So what was the genesis of the first YouTube video? Because right off the bat, you had the show, right? Mm-hmm. So how did that work? Was it the writer mindset bringing together the bartender thing? Because were you bartending too?
Starting point is 00:52:00 Yeah. You said you did that for like five years. I bartended until two years ago. Okay, so you were like, I'm putting these two things together. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Grace was doing Daily Grace and she was killing it. You know, she was a few years in.
Starting point is 00:52:13 I think it was just when she started to really like have people like show up at her theater that were fans, things like that. Like she really started to be like, oh, this is a thing. This is a thing outside of our little life in New York City. People know who you are. And like I said, we were hanging out during the day all the time. I was like, you know what? I have an idea for a silly video, You Deserve a Drink, where I can actually teach you how to make drinks but with really bad jokes.
Starting point is 00:52:42 And the first one was for Charlie Sheen like during his meltdown right tiger blood gimlet um and my rationale was always because I know how cruel people can be on YouTube was well even if people think I'm an idiot and hate my jokes they're still learning how to make a drink so that was my crutch of like and I still to this day get comments that are like god I hate your face but hey that mojito looks delicious well at this point do you I mean do you start to think I'm going to not do the drink part and I'm just going to do me I mean you have the second channel that's just that's I guess that's what that is right but but it's more of just kind of a side
Starting point is 00:53:23 project kind of a thing in terms of YouTube. How do you see that? I really, really have fun doing Mame Town. And I feel like all the other things I'm working on or trying to develop are more in that sense of just me, I guess, and just doing weird stuff. I always want to keep doing the drinking thing. I can see – I mean, there's definitely certain limits. It limits things. It limits age, you know.
Starting point is 00:53:51 It limits some people just don't drink. But I love it, and I f***ing love drinking. So I always want there to be an element of that in my work, really. I'm writing a book, and there's going to be recipes throughout it. Yeah, it's what I really enjoy. What's the book going to be called? That I don't know. I mean, I'm hoping it could be You Deserve a Drink, but who knows?
Starting point is 00:54:16 Topless Tuesday? Well, there is a chapter on Topless Tuesday. Oh, there is? Yeah. Okay. I hope I wet all your listeners' whistles, which sounded gross in that context. So with the success of what you're having on YouTube and then, you know, with being able to write and act in a feature film. Awesome.
Starting point is 00:54:40 Has the focus changed? has the focus changed? You know, because I think that still a lot of people who have the talent that you have that you could easily see you getting
Starting point is 00:54:49 snatched up into a sitcom or something like that. Right. Is that still like, oh yeah, that would still be really awesome
Starting point is 00:54:56 or is it like, you know, this internet thing has sort of become a thing and we can do these independent projects like Camp Dakota. How does that change things?
Starting point is 00:55:04 I still totally want to do television and film. The thing is I always want to continue doing the YouTube thing, 100%. That is my main focus. But figuring out like everyone is trying to do how you can find that happy medium because like old habits die hard. If I'm eight years old wanting to get an agent to be on TV, I still want to be on TV. It's just, you know, you have to check that off.
Starting point is 00:55:35 But I don't think it's, a lot of people are like, oh, well, you know, the internet, are you using it as like a stepping tool? And it's like, no, it's one of the blocks I want to have to build whatever my life is going to be. I always want it to be there. You know, how has the, you talked about how the fans kind of recognize that, okay, you had formed this friendship with Grace and Hannah,
Starting point is 00:55:58 and then you guys were making videos because you're friends and you all do the same thing. Yeah. Once people kind of start recognizing that this is a thing yeah was camp dakota a reaction to that or was that was it a plan all along interesting um we met michael goldfein who's the producer of the movie he actually met hannah and grace and they were he wanted to create a project didn't know what it was but wanted to create a project with youtubers and know what it was, but wanted to create a project with YouTubers. And they were like, you should meet our friend Mamrie.
Starting point is 00:56:28 And, you know, at that point it wasn't like, because she's on our level. You know, they have much bigger audiences with me, but I love the writing aspect of it. So we got together and met. And I actually, I had 20 pages of Camp Written in its first form. And I was like, I have this idea for this movie, a woman, blah, blah, blah, life falls apart. And Michael, who was a camper through and through growing up, was like, I love it. I've always wanted to make a camp movie. Yes, let's like make this movie.
Starting point is 00:56:58 So that was already a thing in my head, but it wasn't a thing starring three people in my head. my head, but it wasn't a thing starring three people in my head. So it was, it was breaking it out to where it could be this, like this story about these three girls friendship, but still the whole, the whole way she gets there and whatnot was, was the same. Right. So it was, it was, it was your friendship with them that kind of led to your involvement in the project, but it was your idea that ended up changing because of the friendship. So, I mean, how is that? Do you guys now, you know, because with the two of us,
Starting point is 00:57:33 obviously we've been best friends since we were six years old. It's a given that any entertainment project that we're going to work on, we're going to work on it together. Yeah, of course. Now that you guys have this, you know, relationship and you're working together,
Starting point is 00:57:48 is it like, you know what, we should, you get together and you talk about what should we do next as the trio? As the trio? I mean, we're definitely working on some things and we had, the thing is, is that making the movie was just so much fun and like like my goal is just to continue to find ways to get paid to goof off with my friends on a set
Starting point is 00:58:14 essentially um and so we definitely want to do things together but you know they're busy girls too we all have our own things going on so um I'm trying to think of someone else who always ends up doing movies together. Or let's say, like, you know, like the three amigos. Like, Steve Martin had other films and things. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah. But then when they come together, it's really fun. That's what I would love to do with Grace and Hannah is be able to do our own things, come together, have a blast, you know, and just
Starting point is 00:58:45 interweave through each other's careers, I think would be fantastic. But it is funny now that people are aware. I'll see things on Tumblr that's just like, I think Grace and Mamrie are pushing Hannah out since the film. And I'm like, it's been four days. And also like, we got lunch yesterday. We just didn't Instagram. Like, they just need
Starting point is 00:59:07 their dose to make sure that we're still friends. And it's like, guys, we're still really good friends. We just don't always record it. It's okay. Well, I think it's, you know, we experience that in doing Good Mythical Morning every day that we get comments, I think that
Starting point is 00:59:23 I sense tension. Yeah, what? No. I hope that they're okay. Yeah, we get that. It's all think i sense tension yeah what no i hope that they're okay yeah we get that it's all the time it's very frustrating for us but i guess in the end it's very it's a very good sign that someone cares so much that like their their connection to us hinges on our friendship with each other right that they care so much about it. But it's also nice, too, because especially the age, a lot of the age that people are watching, it is kind of when you're still figuring out how to be friends. You know, you have that time where, like, you know what it's like to be eight and ride bikes, but, like, when you're really figuring out how to be friends as, like, a teenager, out how to be friends as like a teenager, you have like good friendship models to kind of look up to and, you know, try to emulate.
Starting point is 01:00:10 And so if there's tension, like, all is lost. Right. Exactly. Yeah. They can't pull it off. How am I supposed to, you know, but we're all fine, guys. We're all friends. There's fan fiction that when you guys would do the No Filter Tour, you guys would act out fan fic.
Starting point is 01:00:28 The extremely suitable for work fan fiction because there is otherwise. Oh, yeah. You didn't act out any of the sexual stuff? It was an all-ages show. Okay. So we'll save that for our Amsterdam leg of our tour. Yeah, there's some stuff. There's some, yeah.
Starting point is 01:00:47 Hey, you know what I say? It keeps kids writing. I'm on board. It's so creative and a lot of it is really well written. Well, I enjoy writing. I mean, I can't. Oh yeah, I saw your one the other day.
Starting point is 01:01:01 Two hearts beat as one. You're reading my work. Three hearts beat as one. Yeah. We get a little bit of that. Do you get fan fiction? Yeah. I've heard about it, but I haven't read any of it.
Starting point is 01:01:14 Yeah, exactly. I can't bring myself to... It's so funny. I love it. And then people, all the different ships that people do, they get really intense about it, like to a kind of ridiculous degree. I mean, do you know about all this? Like shipping wars?
Starting point is 01:01:28 Yeah. And like people get pissed off when other people ship. And at the end of the day, it's like, hey guys, none of us f*** each other. Spoiler alert. We're all friends, so slow your roll. So now what? I mean, you're still kind of on the crest
Starting point is 01:01:47 of this initial wave of Camp Dakota. Oh, I haven't been sober in a month. It's pretty exciting. Pretty exciting. Yeah. But you said that there's other things in the works. There's other things in the works. Right now I'm doing the whole going on auditions and writing the book. But then I'm definitely, you know, hit the ground running to get another.
Starting point is 01:02:07 As we know, movies take a long time to make. So I want to start making one ASAP. And I just want to like ride the coattails of Camp Dakota to try to get people to, you know, believe in another project. And that's, I just want to use it as leverage to be like, people will come. People will watch it if we build it. So, yeah, I want to make more movies. I want to develop more things with my own voice.
Starting point is 01:02:34 Well, we're excited to hear the voice and see the eyes. It's going to get weird. It's going to get weird. I can't wait. Yeah. Well, thanks for making an ear biscuit with us. Thanks for having me. This biscuit was delicious.
Starting point is 01:02:49 It was no Bojangles, but it was pretty good. We should get some of that shipped here. Yeah, definitely. Okay, there you have it. Our Ear Biscuit with the one and only Mamrie Hart. I think it's cool and, you know, getting to know her better and kind of hearing her story. Just the fact that from a young age, she knew that she wanted to be an entertainer.
Starting point is 01:03:21 She was inspired by her parents, by being on the set with her dad. And then, you know, she steps out with only $400, goes to New York to pursue her dream, seeing one path. But then in a lot of ways, I guess, due to her friendship with Grace and the traction that Grace was getting on YouTube, she kind of switched tracks and now finds herself being able to make her own right and star in her own movie. I mean, that's where we are in the industry. And it's just cool that someone who felt like they were made to do this is able to do it and has unprecedented opportunity. And she did it without the help of her father, too. You know, I don't know
Starting point is 01:04:05 what his status in the world of entertainment is now, but I, you know, when she said, I went to New York, just like anybody else, no one that had a dad that was on a TV show, just went to New York with $400, uh, and kind of made it happen. And, you know, she's a truly talented individual and, uh, just very funny, great actress. You know, I was really impressed with Camp Dakota. And, you know, I'm excited for her that she's able to do this and she's got this big push and then can think about writing a book and all this stuff on top of it. And now we've talked to all three of them, though, you know.
Starting point is 01:04:42 That's the thing that I thought about. We talked to Grace. We talked to Hannah. We talked to Hannah. We talked to Mamrie. We've got to find another group of three. Amigos, as she called it. Yeah, we've got to find another trio. Do you know where to start?
Starting point is 01:04:56 No. We could add somebody to us, and we would be one, I guess. Maybe that's what we actually should be thinking. Not who should we talk to, but do we need a third person? That's not a bad idea. And then how would we go about taking applications for that? It might, maybe just a pet. Maybe we start small.
Starting point is 01:05:11 Like if we got like an entertainment pet, you know how people get pet. Even Mamrie has a dog. I got it. How about like a monkey? Oh gosh. Because a lot of these- That's not even a pet.
Starting point is 01:05:21 That's like an actor. A lot of these YouTubers- These monkeys are smart. A lot of YouTubers are doing things. I'm going to get this cat or I'm going to get this dog and put him on my Instagram and everything's going to be great.
Starting point is 01:05:31 I don't want that kind of pet. You're talking chimpanzee or monkey? No, a chimpanzee is a primate. I don't want to... I know the difference between a monkey and a primate, but I think... You've got to start with a monkey.
Starting point is 01:05:42 Okay. You don't want... I mean... Chimpanzee. Chimpanzee is like 99% The DNA matches us So that would be like Just having like
Starting point is 01:05:50 A third person around Well that's what I'm getting at I know but I don't I think that's too much To take on All at once And they'll turn on you Oh yeah
Starting point is 01:05:57 And they'll rip your face off Oh gosh Unless they're young A monkey will Throw his feces on you I definitely heard about How they'll do that But that could be entertaining.
Starting point is 01:06:05 There could be a whole channel of him doing that. I mean, you don't even know how many times I've come close to doing that to you. So you're not as far as you think. How often does that cross your mind? Yeah, it's just I don't have any on hand. All right, so anybody that's a monkey out there that listens to Ear Biscuits, if you're thinking about potentially getting on YouTube or having a career in entertainment,
Starting point is 01:06:25 we'll dress you up in anything you want. You can play an instrument that's even better. We've reached a new low. Not only are we thinking about having a monkey as part of our comedic duo, but we're also addressing them as if they listen. This is sad. Hey, listen, there is a less than 1% chance out there
Starting point is 01:06:43 that there's a monkey out there listening to us right now. Really? He's probably not in control of the audio, but he's somebody's pet monkey right now, and they're listening, and he started looking at them right now, and he's like, they're talking about me, George. I said George because I was thinking about a monkey.
Starting point is 01:06:58 Right. Curious George. The man in the yellow hat is listening to this Ear Biscuit, and George is looking at him. Okay, I'm shaking my head right now in disgust and apology. This goes out to all of you non-monkeys out there. Thank you for listening. Thank you for leaving a review on iTunes.
Starting point is 01:07:17 It makes a difference. And tweet at Mamrie. Her Twitter handle is Mametown, M-A-M-E-Town, and let her know what you thought. Also, tweet at us. Give us the feedback. We do this every week for you, Friday afternoons. And we will be back again next week.
Starting point is 01:07:35 We promise.

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