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Rob Bryden
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Rob Bryden
dissecting the true meanings behind the newest
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Rob Bryden
for their bad takes or cringy stories, we always approach our topics with humor and just a little bit of side eye.
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Rob Bryden
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To find out more, just search up the Podcast with Knox and Jamie Wherever you listen to podcasts and prepare to make Wednesday your new favorite day of the week. ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere.
Rob Bryden
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Jamie Lang
Hello everyone. I'm Jamie Lang and this is Great Moments. Hey everyone. Welcome back to Great Moments. Really excited for this little episode today because it's with Rob Bryden.
Rob Bryden
Now.
Jamie Lang
I'm a huge, huge fan of Rob Bryden. Always have been. From Gavin and Stacy to the trip, which was Steve Coogan. It's one of my favorite shows ever. He's so Good. And when he came into the studio, I was kind of like overexcited because being a fan of him, it's kind of strange to interview him. And he talks a lot about how he's always been an entertainer, always wanted to entertain, which kind of I relate to a lot. He does his very famous small man in a box with which I try and replicate it. Doesn't go as well as he can do it. I'm not even gonna try and do it again because you gotta wait for the show for that to happen. But it's an amazing episode and if you like this little great moments, you'll love the full episode. So all you gotta do is click on the show notes and it'll take you to the full episode. Plus there are so many more episodes like this that you will enjoy. So check them all out. Okay, here we go. Enjoy this. Great moments with Rob Bryd. Rod, do you think you were, truthfully, do you think you were put on this earth to entertain?
Rob Bryden
I would never make so self aggrandizing a statement, but it's certainly what I like to do.
Jamie Lang
What do you love about it so much? What does it do to your body, to your mind to make you feel.
Rob Bryden
That's a great question. No one's ever asked me that.
Jamie Lang
Because, just, just a caveat, just for a second, I want you to.
Rob Bryden
Because Rob, I don't find you entertaining, but I know there are people who do and I just want to understand
Jamie Lang
it because every single situation, whenever I've met you, whether it's on a TV show, or when we go for our dinners that we go for,
Rob Bryden
or in rehab, all those times we've had to get sorry if you have been to rehab. I, I'm sorry, I'm saying it because I'm not a rehab, where we met
Jamie Lang
in rehab, all those places. But you, you love to make people laugh.
Rob Bryden
Yeah.
Jamie Lang
In such a beautiful way. And, and when you do, would I lie to you? And for lots of people know there are breaks and certain things like that that you have to reshoot something or do whatever, you even make the audience laugh. No, you really do. And so you have this innate ability firstly to entertain. But. So back to my question. Do you think you were put on earth to do this?
Rob Bryden
No, I'm not gonna say that.
Jamie Lang
You can say it though.
Rob Bryden
Then. That's a quote. I was put on this earth. No, but I do. You're absolutely right, I do. On that very basic level. Yeah. Like, and sometimes it's almost a dirty word, you know, to say or entertainer. I think it's very noble and I like that. And yeah, yeah, I do, I do.
Jamie Lang
What do you love so much about it?
Rob Bryden
I suppose how it makes me feel, you know, ultimately I suppose it's a selfish thing because that's how I like to be. I like to have that interaction. Although I suppose then when sometimes I think that, you know, we have a, we have a group of friends, my wife and I, and they're the parents with three other couples who are the parents of fundamentally our 13 year old son, our youngest, and we really hit it off with them and we have holidays, we hang out together with barbecues and stuff. And it occurs to me that, yeah, with them I probably don't. Other now and again I will try and be funny, but generally I sort of don't with them. I like just being, you know. Does that make sense?
Jamie Lang
That makes total sense. That's interesting because then I tell you what, I had for a bit because I did a reality show for so long which I don't know if you've seen it. We actor, we won a bafta. You haven't, but that's fine.
Rob Bryden
And you know what, that's true. Well done. Or like, what can I say? Well done. I'm still trying
Jamie Lang
but I, because it was so much, it was 160 days a year we were filming.
Rob Bryden
Right, 160 days a year.
Jamie Lang
Yeah, 160 days a year we'd film. So what would happen was, is that I was in this constant like entertainment mode all the time. So then when I was off camera I would still feel like I needed to entertain. And so that became quite psychologically, I suppose, quite like exhausting in a certain way. And what I realized is that I just didn't feel comfortable that much being in my own skin. So if I could entertain, that made me feel more confident. Here we go now we're getting deep. Here it comes. So do you think that within yourself that when you are your true comfortable self you can sit back and relax and maybe that you find entertaining easier in a sort of social situation? This is where he doesn't like to go deep.
Rob Bryden
No, no, no, no, no, no. It's interesting. Maybe I, I, Well, you know, that's a, that's a big old question. It's a bigger, you can't just, you can't just rattle off. And I'm giving it some thought. I mean, I don't, I don't honestly don't know how to answer your question. I mean.
Jamie Lang
Well, I suppose the question is this, ask it again.
Rob Bryden
In a different way.
Jamie Lang
Okay, I'll ask it a different way.
Rob Bryden
You're asking am I comfortable in my own skin?
Jamie Lang
I don't know. Maybe I'm asking something different as a. Okay. When you were a child.
Rob Bryden
Yes.
Jamie Lang
Were you also. Did you realize that if you could make people laugh and entertain people, you could gain popularity and become friends with people?
Rob Bryden
I suppose I was aware of that, but it was the other way around. I think it was just who I was. And the things that you talked about were a benefit of being that person.
Jamie Lang
Got you.
Rob Bryden
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was never particularly judgmental or opinionated about things. I've always been kind of centrist, you know, but equally swayed by, you know, I mean, typically, I will hear a politician from the left talking and I'll say, well, that makes sense. And then I'll hear a politician from the right talking. And I honestly, I mean. And I'm very embarrassed by this. I'll go, well, I mean, that makes sense. Right.
Jamie Lang
I'm exactly the same. Yeah. I get swayed very easily.
Rob Bryden
I mean, I watch Questing Time and I go, well, yeah, yes, but. Yes, but that's always been in me. And in fact, the first thing I did that was any good was a show called Marion and Jeff, which was a series of monologues, A taxi driver, like an alter ego for me. And he has a line in it which I think is quite revealing about me because he says, he says, I will always see the other side. He said, if Michael Owens scores a goal, he was a footballer years ago. I'm delighted. But I will spare a thought for the goalkeeper. Now, that's a comic line, but at its root I can see a lot of me in that. So I find it quite hard to be especially opinionated about anything, really, because I go, well, there's always.
Jamie Lang
But that's a nice way to be, I think.
Rob Bryden
Yes and no.
Jamie Lang
I think. But even you saying that, Rob is so nice, we. I sat with Alain de Botton. Do you know who that is?
Rob Bryden
Yes, I do.
Jamie Lang
He's amazing, right? And he said, I. I wish I can ask you at the end, I said, what's your, you know, when you
Rob Bryden
ask, do you know who that is?
Jamie Lang
Yeah.
Rob Bryden
Is that because you think old lightweight Rob wouldn't be aware of modern day philosopher Alain de Botton?
Jamie Lang
Yeah, I thought that.
Rob Bryden
I bet you did, didn't you? I did, yeah, I bet. No, I bet you did. I bet you. Otherwise you wouldn't have asked me.
Jamie Lang
I was being polite. I was being polite.
Rob Bryden
I know you were being Patronizing.
Jamie Lang
It's not patronizing.
Rob Bryden
Have you ever heard Jamie of Sigmund Freud?
Jamie Lang
Have you ever heard of Siegfried Sassoon?
Rob Bryden
Oh, yes. Wonderful haircuts.
Jamie Lang
For me, the reason why I did a reality show, I always loved entertainment
Rob Bryden
more than anything, right?
Jamie Lang
I loved it. I loved being on stage. I loved making people laugh. I loved. Always wanted to be in tv, all these different things. And I think there's a part of me that wanted to do it because I think probably I thought I'd get the validation from the crowd or the people watching, and that maybe came from a small insecurity within me. And there's that kind of idea that most entertainers have, something that they're sort of harboring, I suppose. Talk about it.
Rob Bryden
Okay. Yeah, yeah, I understand how it works. Am I allowed to pause briefly?
Jamie Lang
Yeah, you can pause. Sorry.
Rob Bryden
All right. Okay. I think there's a lot to be said for introducing the pause into podcasts. There's another one. If yes, subconsciously, not consciously. I, you know, I just liked. Always liked making people smile or laugh. I had an ability to do voices, and of course, not everybody can. And when you can, you forget, like, not everybody can sing. Not everybody can make their voice do silly things and sound like somebody else. But I was always able to do that. So. Wow, how lucky. You know, we can do a thing. You know, I do that stupid thing where I go, I go, hi there. How you doing out there? Great to see you. Oh, I word. How are you today, Jamie? What an amazing place. And that's got such reactions from people, but it's just a stupid, dumbass trick that I'm able to do, you know? I mean, it's not a talent. You're not really a skill. You can slowly finesse it a bit, but I do that and I quite just. Just enjoy it, you know?
Jamie Lang
Do that one more time.
Rob Bryden
Hey, Jamie, how are you doing today? Great to see you. Oh, my word. Look at this voice. This voice is now even smaller than it was before. That's really tiny.
Jamie Lang
It's absolutely mad. You ready for me? Hold on.
Rob Bryden
Can you do it as well?
Jamie Lang
You ready?
Rob Bryden
Yeah.
Jamie Lang
Okay, here we go. Hold on. I've got this. Come on, Jamie. I'm. When it's Robin, I'm just sitting in a box. How on earth. Sounds like I need a poo.
Rob Bryden
Well, it does.
Jamie Lang
That's what it feels like.
Rob Bryden
It sounds like you were having a poo.
Jamie Lang
How so? That's your very sort of famous man in a box.
Rob Bryden
I call it Small man in a box. Yeah, just a Stupid thing.
Jamie Lang
How did you discover you could do it?
Rob Bryden
I was sitting around at home thinking about ventriloquists. I don't know why. I was thinking about how they. How they throw their voices and make them sound like they're coming from somewhere else. And I started going. And then all of a sudden I was doing that, and I went, oh. And, you know, the canny part of me. Not as canny as you, the Sweet Factory, but the canny part of me went, oh, that's a thing.
Jamie Lang
What was the first play you did or show you did as a kid?
Rob Bryden
Well, we actually put on a play. We did a stage production of Star wars because Star wars was the hit film. Honest, Honestly.
Jamie Lang
Who's we? Who's we?
Rob Bryden
I was the ringleader.
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Jamie Lang
How old are you at this point?
Rob Bryden
I think I'm. When did Star wars come out? 77. 78. Yeah, yeah. I'm 12, maybe 13.
Jamie Lang
Okay.
Rob Bryden
We write a script. I'm Luke Skywalker. Of course, we couldn't make an R2D2. It's a very challenging shape with the thing. So at the time, Doctor who was on, and they had a little dog robot called K9, which was a much more achievable shape. So we made that. We had toy lightsabers. We made a door on the starship out of silver foil. And the stormtroopers were dressed in white skateboard helmets, the plastic stormtrooper mask with the elastic and cricket whites to look like stormtroopers. And they. At the beginning, to make their entrance, they burst through the silver foil. It was quite dramatic.
Jamie Lang
That is dramatic.
Rob Bryden
I played Luke, and before we started, I went out the front, in front of the curtain and did jokes from the Two Ronnies joke book. So that was probably my first stand up, stand up on stage telling jokes. So we did that. And then. Then we. I moved schools and I went to Porthcall Comprehensive, and I met Ruth Jones there, and they had a superb drama department with a young, dynamic drama teacher who put on brilliant musicals every year. And that was me. That was. That was my life mapped out.
Jamie Lang
I heard a rumor that you stole money from Catherine Ceta Jones.
Rob Bryden
Yeah, well, there's some truth in that. Catherine Teeter Jones. I mean, every school I went to had a future star. Honestly, the first little school I went to, Eddie Izzard was at. Not when I was there. He was there two years before. Yeah, yeah. And then.
Jamie Lang
Love, Eddie Izzard.
Rob Bryden
Well, of course, everybody.
Jamie Lang
Unbelievable.
Rob Bryden
Eddie and I have shared photos of the school sports day. Eddie was probably Eddie's Good at everything, and he's probably very good, but I've got me coming last in the. In the sack race. Then. Catherine Zeta Jones was at this school in Swansea, you know, very young, doing tap dancing and performing. And one day as I was arriving at school, her mama just dropped her off and said, oh, I've forgotten to give Catherine her dinner money. It was about a quid in change, I think, from memory. Would you give it to her? I said, yes. I took it, put it in my pocket, forgot all about it, and then we would go down to town at lunchtime and have fish and chips or whatever. And I remember coming back and we were at a sweet shop. Then I go, wow, I'm cash rich. What's going on here? Forgot. And I spent the money. So it wasn't really theft, that is theft. No, it's me forgetting. It's me forgetting even at that age. And then Ruth was then at this other school, and that began that sort of lifelong friendship with her. Everybody around me behaved to me as though I was talented and as though I was good. That's all I've ever known, really, in my life, from when I was a little kid, is people going, oh, he's very good. Oh, he's good. Oh, Robert's very good, isn't he, with the voice? Oh, he's good. That's all I've had.
Jamie Lang
So you had that inner confidence.
Rob Bryden
Yeah, I never had that. See, where I come from is this portal. But you all hear, don't you hear, actors say, oh, say, where I come from, there weren't any actors. So, you know. But I come from where Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins are from. So you could go, well, yeah, you can, you can become an actor from here. I mean, Tom Jones wasn't that far away and Shirley Bassey wasn't that far away. Catherine is younger than me, but Catherine Zeta Jones is down the road, Michael Sheen is. I mean, my God, you can't move.
Jamie Lang
So you almost feel like you were failing.
Rob Bryden
Exactly. Well, you know, it's just expected of you, isn't it? The people in Wales that don't become famous artists of one type or another are there. They stand out more than the ones that do.
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America's best network based on root metrics, best overall mobile network performance, US second half, 2025 portal lines and a limited welcome and autopay. See verizon.com for details.
Rob Bryden
Howdy, howdy ho, and welcome to Fantasy Fan Fellas. I'm Hayden, producer of the Fantasy Fan Girls podcast and your resident lover of all things Sanderson.
Jamie Lang
And I'm Stephen, your bookish Internet goofball.
Rob Bryden
But you can call me the Smash Daddy. And we are currently deep diving Brandon Sanderson's fantasy epic Mistborn. But here's the catch. Steven here has not read Mistborn before.
Jamie Lang
That's right.
Rob Bryden
Hei. Hei. So each week, you'll get my unfiltered raw reactions to every single chapter. And along the way, we'll do character deep dives, magic explainers, and Steven will even try to guess what's next.
Jamie Lang
Spoiler alert.
Rob Bryden
He'll be wrong.
Jamie Lang
Newsflash. I'm never wrong.
Rob Bryden
Episodes come out every Wednesday, and you can find fantasy fanfellas wherever you get your podcasts.
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Podcast: Great Company with Jamie Laing
Host: Jamie Laing (Jampot Productions)
Guest: Rob Brydon
Release Date: April 26, 2026
In this “Great Moments” highlight episode, Jamie Laing welcomes beloved comedian, actor, and presenter Rob Brydon for an intimate discussion about his lifelong passion for making people laugh. The conversation delves into the psychology of entertainers, the role of comedy and validation, childhood influences, and memorable stories from Rob’s career. The tone is humorous, self-deprecating, and peppered with warm anecdotes—offering insights into what drives one of the UK’s most cherished comic voices.
“I would never make so self-aggrandizing a statement, but it's certainly what I like to do.” (03:29)
“Sometimes it's almost a dirty word, you know, to say or entertainer. I think it's very noble and I like that… On that very basic level. Yeah. Like, and sometimes it's almost a dirty word, you know, to say or entertainer. I think it's very noble and I like that. And yeah, yeah, I do, I do.” (04:41)
Jamie probes into what Rob gets out of entertaining.
“I suppose how it makes me feel, you know, ultimately I suppose it's a selfish thing because that's how I like to be. I like to have that interaction.” (05:08)
On “turning it off” in private life:
“…with them I probably don't… Generally I sort of don't with them. I like just being, you know. Does that make sense?” (05:44)
“So what would happen was, is that I was in this constant like entertainment mode all the time. So then when I was off camera I would still feel like I needed to entertain. And so that became quite psychologically, I suppose, quite like exhausting…” (06:33–06:57)
“I've always been kind of centrist, you know, but equally swayed by… I will hear a politician from the left talking and I'll say, well, that makes sense. And then I'll hear a politician from the right talking. And I honestly… I'll go, well, I mean, that makes sense. Right.” (08:21–09:00)
“I suppose I was aware of that, but it was the other way around. I think it was just who I was. And the things that you talked about were a benefit of being that person.” (08:05)
“I played Luke, and before we started, I went out the front, in front of the curtain and did jokes from the Two Ronnies joke book. So that was probably my first stand up, stand up on stage telling jokes.” (15:06)
Rob demonstrates his famous “small man in a box” voice to Jamie—whose attempt at imitation leads to comedic results.
“I do that stupid thing where I go, I go, 'hi there. How you doing out there? Great to see you. Oh, I word. How are you today, Jamie? What an amazing place.' And that's got such reactions from people, but it's just a stupid, dumbass trick that I'm able to do, you know?” (11:26–12:33)
“How on earth. Sounds like I need a poo.” (13:12) “It sounds like you were having a poo.” (13:17, Rob Brydon)
Origin of the Voice:
“I was sitting around at home thinking about ventriloquists… started going [makes noises] and then all of a sudden I was doing that, and I went, oh… that's a thing.” (13:28–13:54)
Peers Included Eddie Izzard and Catherine Zeta-Jones:
“One day as I was arriving at school, her mama just dropped her off and said, 'oh, I've forgotten to give Catherine her dinner money.' … Would you give it to her? I said, yes. I took it, put it in my pocket, forgot all about it… I remember coming back and we were at a sweet shop. Then I go, wow, I'm cash rich. What's going on here? Forgot. And I spent the money. So it wasn't really theft, that is theft. No, it's me forgetting. It's me forgetting even at that age.” (15:49–16:08)
On Growing Up in an Environment That Expected Greatness:
“Where I come from is this portal. But you all hear, don't you hear, actors say… But I come from where Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins are from. So you could go, well, yeah, you can, you can become an actor from here… The people in Wales that don't become famous artists of one type or another are there. They stand out more than the ones that do.” (17:26–17:57)
On the lure of entertaining:
“I think it's very noble and I like that. And yeah, yeah, I do, I do.”
— Rob Brydon (04:41)
On validation and confidence:
“Everybody around me behaved to me as though I was talented and as though I was good. That's all I've ever known… from when I was a little kid, is people going, 'Oh, he's very good. Oh, he's good. Oh, Robert's very good, isn't he, with the voice? Oh, he's good.' That's all I've had.”
— Rob Brydon (17:24)
On imitating the “small man in a box”:
Jamie: “How on earth. Sounds like I need a poo.”
Rob: “Well, it does… It sounds like you were having a poo.”
(13:12–13:20)
On the tolerance for seeing multiple sides:
“Typically, I will hear a politician from the left talking and I'll say, well, that makes sense. And then I'll hear a politician from the right talking. And I honestly… I'll go, well, I mean, that makes sense.”
— Rob Brydon (08:21–09:00)
| Timestamp | Segment / Highlight | |------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:29 | Rob’s view on whether he was “put on earth to entertain” | | 04:41 | The nobility of being an entertainer | | 05:08 | How entertaining makes Rob feel (“the interaction”) | | 06:33 | Jamie on the mental strain of “entertainment mode” | | 08:05 | Comedy as an inherent trait vs. a popularity tool | | 09:00 | Rob’s centrist, empathetic worldview | | 11:26 | Rob’s “small man in a box” party trick described and performed | | 13:28 | How Rob discovered his signature voice | | 13:57 | Childhood Star Wars play and early stand-up | | 15:49 | Catherine Zeta-Jones’ lunch money story | | 17:24 | Confidence found in constant encouragement from others | | 17:57 | Growing up in a region with high expectations for artistic success |
The episode maintains a light, bantering tone, alternating between genuine introspection and playful ribbing. Jamie is open about his own insecurities and admiration, while Rob delivers a masterclass in self-deprecation, wit, and storytelling. Their chemistry is evident, particularly around shared experiences in the entertainment industry and their reflections on the deeper reasons behind why they seek laughter and connection.
This episode is an insightful, entertaining, and at times touching look into the mind of one of Britain’s funniest men. Whether you’re a Rob Brydon fan, an aspiring performer, or simply curious about what drives comics to the stage, the conversation spotlights both the joys and vulnerabilities of those who make us laugh.
Recommended listening for fans of comedy, performance, and candid celebrity interviews.