
Pad up your funny bones; it’s Shane Gillis. The ham gene, war history, workouts vs. naps, and serious movies with serious actors. There’s nothin’ lake about it… on another tickling episode of SmartLess.
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Jason Bateman
Hello, friends. Jason here. We are so excited that Smartless has officially joined the SiriusXM family. We can't wait to announce new surprise guests who we know that you'll love. And if you want to be the first to hear new episodes ad free and a whole week early, subscribe to SiriusXM podcasts plus on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today.
Sean Hayes
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Will Arnett
The weather's getting warmer, and Whole Foods Market has everything you need to have fun in the sun. All right, now let's ditch the announcer voice, because what I want to tell you to do is fire up the grill. With no antibiotics ever made in house beef burgers, perfect for Whole Foods Market. Brioche buns. Plus check out Amylou chicken sausage or chicken burgers. And uniquely flavored condiments to add a fun new kick to your cookout. The produce section is looking as vibrant and lovely as ever, with seasonal finds like cut watermelon chunks and cherries, robust heirloom tomatoes and grill ready corn. Back to announcer voice. Start summer deliciously at Whole Foods Market.
Jason Bateman
You know what the key is to these cold opens? You just start talking and stuff just tumbles out of the mouth. It's halfway interesting. Go ahead, Will. Give it a shot. Just start yammering.
Will Arnett
Oh, man. Tax season this year really got me in knots. But.
Jason Bateman
That'S pretty good.
Will Arnett
Thanks, man.
Jason Bateman
That's pretty good stuff.
Will Arnett
You think that's good? Wait till this all new Smart list.
Shane Gillis
Nice.
Jason Bateman
Welcome to Smartless.
Will Arnett
Smart, smart, smart.
Jason Bateman
Will, where are you?
Will Arnett
I'm at home.
Sean Hayes
Now I know. Why did you switch places?
Will Arnett
Because I was at my office as they were doing work here.
Sean Hayes
Oh, that's right.
Jason Bateman
Oh, that's right. Remember the office, Sean?
Sean Hayes
Yeah. That was extraordinary.
Jason Bateman
Yeah, that lasted for just one recording and now he's away from that work site.
Will Arnett
You know, it's so funny. You just have such a funny thing. Don't make me go deep on this. Your thing about work that you think that you go to office. Hey, I'm actor J. I'm. My new role is work. Look at his again. I Grew up. I did everything I could to not do that.
Jason Bateman
Right?
Sean Hayes
Yeah, yeah. You don't want to sit behind a desk. Yeah, yeah, right.
Will Arnett
This my dad. I mean, God bless him.
Sean Hayes
Yeah, we all. But we all sit behind desks during the day.
Will Arnett
Yes.
Sean Hayes
I mean, you did, right? We did everything.
Jason Bateman
Not Will, not me. Will sits on the couch and he watches the Toronto Maple Leaves win.
Will Arnett
I sure do.
Jason Bateman
That's all he does.
Sean Hayes
Oh, look at that.
Jason Bateman
I'll tell you who. I tell you who captures the camera really well. Is that Brendan Shanahan?
Will Arnett
He sure does.
Jason Bateman
You know when they. When they. When they. When they point that camera at him up in that power box.
Will Arnett
Yeah. Oh, I know.
Jason Bateman
They're looking like. Looking like the fox.
Will Arnett
He's turned into a real silver fox, hasn't he?
Jason Bateman
Yeah. Cameron loves him, by the way.
Will Arnett
By the way. He's gonna. He's gonna call me like, what do you mean, silver? You've got gray hair.
Jason Bateman
Salt pepper fox.
Sean Hayes
A silver fox in a power box.
Will Arnett
I know. How about the time that he tried to teach Sean. Sean asked Shanny when he was in town last year to teach him how to fight.
Sean Hayes
Yeah.
Will Arnett
At the Be Hills Hotel, out the back door. And Sean went at him. Shan's like, okay, well, what? And. And Shani's laughing.
Sean Hayes
Two seconds. Yeah, and two seconds got me in a headlight. Yeah.
Jason Bateman
And Sean was saying, wait, aren't you supposed to take this off me? Isn't the shirt supposed to come off?
Sean Hayes
I thought it's shirts against skins.
Will Arnett
No, I thought we're doing shirts and skins.
Sean Hayes
I'm always skins, by the way. In high school, didn't you fear. Well, hey, Will in high school.
Jason Bateman
Thank you, Sean.
Will Arnett
That's. Now. Now you're on board. Thank you, Sean.
Sean Hayes
In high school, didn't it freak you out or junior high when people, when you. The coach would say, okay, we're going to do shirts and skins and like, in basketball, I would always want to take my shirt off.
Jason Bateman
I know.
Sean Hayes
Want to take my shirt off.
Jason Bateman
I was always afraid of that.
Sean Hayes
It's traumatizing.
Jason Bateman
Why do people.
Sean Hayes
Why do they do that to kids? And then they made us take showers and like, 12, 13 years old, I'm like, I don't want to do that.
Will Arnett
I know. It's.
Jason Bateman
So Will likes walking around with his kid off, just kind of.
Will Arnett
Well, when I didn't, I never went to. I never stepped foot into a. Into a gym until I was about 24. So I was never like, really? Yeah.
Sean Hayes
But you played sports.
Will Arnett
But I played sports, but I was. I Just never. And then. But I went to boarding school, so I had to take showers, you know, Starting at age 12, when I went to boarding school.
Sean Hayes
It's so like, I can't.
Will Arnett
With other. Yeah, it was. It's weird.
Sean Hayes
I went to camp once, I think I said this, and we had a line up outside a music camp. Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan. And not a sports camp. No.
Will Arnett
Huh? Hang on, Let me just adjust everything I know about you.
Sean Hayes
And they made us line up outside to take a shower in front of. And one by one, we had to take a shower and you had to, like, take your clothes off in front of all of these kids, your peers. And it was so.
Will Arnett
Sean. When I was in seventh grade, age 12, I went from living with my folks to a place where they had four showers per side in a big, huge open room with no divider.
Sean Hayes
Yeah, that's weird to me. Yeah.
Jason Bateman
Torture.
Sean Hayes
Yeah, it's awful. And by the way, by the time I got in the camp thing, by the time I got up there, that all the hot water was gone. So I. I take it I was taking a cold shower and I couldn't breathe, it was so cold.
Will Arnett
If I'm being honest, you probably needed it. You're showering with all those dudes. I mean, that probably helped.
Jason Bateman
Just get anything, get things back to normal.
Sean Hayes
Anything to calm me down. Yeah.
Will Arnett
Oh, my God.
Jason Bateman
What, do you got some electrolytes going there, Sean? This morning. What happened to the milk? Is the cow dead?
Sean Hayes
No, I had milk already.
Jason Bateman
Oh, you're chasing it with some electrolytes. Good luck on the toy. Toy?
Will Arnett
What are you. Jesus, you're so obsessed.
Sean Hayes
Oh, my God.
Jason Bateman
Well, I just. I don't. He's creating a bomb. That electrolyte's gonna cut right through that milk like a knife.
Sean Hayes
Is it really?
Jason Bateman
Yeah.
Sean Hayes
Is it really?
Jason Bateman
Yeah, dude.
Will Arnett
Whenever I see people eating.
Jason Bateman
Get yourself over a toilet within the next 60 minutes.
Sean Hayes
Let's wrap this up.
Will Arnett
Whenever I see people eat, I'm never thinking about, man, that's really gonna come back to haunt them on the toilet.
Jason Bateman
It just doesn't occur, you know, When I see clips of that hot sauce talk show, that's all I think about.
Sean Hayes
I know. Same, same.
Jason Bateman
Yeah, your mind, you know, they should.
Sean Hayes
Do it from a toilet.
Will Arnett
Yeah.
Jason Bateman
You won't catch me on that show.
Will Arnett
No, of course not.
Jason Bateman
Once.
Will Arnett
No, no, no, of course.
Sean Hayes
Whose guest is it?
Jason Bateman
Yeah, it's a narcoleptic guest or something. Will.
Will Arnett
No, no, no. Well, he's. He's a great guest and I was I was about to get to it, and then I was thinking about you talking about shitting everywhere. But our guest, the only thing he. He has everywhere. All he's done is he's scored everywhere. This guy has been making everybody another word for it. He has been.
Jason Bateman
Scared me.
Will Arnett
He's been making people shit themselves. He makes me shit myself laughing. He's so fucking funny. He's such a great dude. I had the pleasure of kind of getting to know him over the last couple months. He's been very generous as I was going through the process on our film, and he. He has just been. His specials have been unbelievably well received. He's maybe the biggest touring comic out there. His new. His show T is about to start, second season on June 5th. He's a great writer. He's this incredible standup. He's the funniest dude. Guys, it's Shane Gillis.
Jason Bateman
Shane Gillis here on Smartless. Good morning.
Shane Gillis
There he is.
Jason Bateman
Hello.
Sean Hayes
I love you. This is so cool.
Jason Bateman
Easy.
Sean Hayes
Yeah. So funny.
Will Arnett
Hi, Shane. Hi, Shane.
Jason Bateman
Where do we find you today? Are you at home?
Shane Gillis
I am at home. I'm in Austin, Texas.
Jason Bateman
All right. And how is it in Austin?
Shane Gillis
It's all right. It kind of sucks. It's hot and humid a lot hot already. I don't love it. I don't love it. Yeah, it's hot. It's been hot. It's gonna be hot until December.
Sean Hayes
Wow.
Shane Gillis
It's the. One of the worst places I've ever lived.
Jason Bateman
Do you ever jump in that river that they call a lake and cool off a little bit?
Sean Hayes
Yeah.
Shane Gillis
Yeah. That's very nice.
Jason Bateman
Why do they call it a lake? It does.
Shane Gillis
I'm not sure.
Jason Bateman
Snakes around like a river.
Shane Gillis
It's literally the Colorado River. I don't know. They call it a lake. I have no idea.
Will Arnett
Oh, I didn't know that. Is that.
Sean Hayes
I didn't know that either.
Will Arnett
Yeah. Is that something that happens?
Shane Gillis
Yeah. It's just the Colorado River.
Jason Bateman
Yeah.
Shane Gillis
And it doesn't even look like a lake. It's just a river.
Will Arnett
Yeah.
Shane Gillis
There's nothing like about it at all.
Jason Bateman
You could throw a rock across it.
Sean Hayes
Wait, so, Shane, do you. Is it. You live there by choice? I mean, like, you. It sounds like you hate it. It sounds like a big forest.
Will Arnett
Like, is there somebody off camera with a gun?
Shane Gillis
Yeah, Joe Rogan. He's right here. He's got a gun to my.
Jason Bateman
He's down there, right?
Shane Gillis
Yeah, he's down here. And he opened a club here. And it was either for a Comedian. It's either New York, Louisiana or that was always the only two options. And then he opened a club here. So you can, you know.
Sean Hayes
Oh, that's great.
Shane Gillis
You can evade some taxes and do stand up here.
Jason Bateman
He was a stand up, right? And then I remember he was on one of the greatest shows ever, News radio. So he was an actor for a minute. Right. But he did start a stand up, didn't he?
Shane Gillis
He's. He's still doing. I mean, he's done stand up the entire time.
Sean Hayes
And remember Fear Factor? He did Fear Factor. I used to watch that.
Shane Gillis
Fear Factor.
Will Arnett
So. So, Shane. So Shane. I. I first met Shane at Joe's club in Austin.
Jason Bateman
Oh, no way.
Will Arnett
Yeah, I went down there and he was kind enough and gracious enough to let me have twice have like 10 minutes of his time on stage.
Jason Bateman
All right, Shane, give us a review on Will.
Will Arnett
No, he doesn't have to.
Jason Bateman
Yeah, no, I want to hear it. Right?
Shane Gillis
No, it's gonna be. Will doesn't want to hear it because it's flattering. Well, that's what I thought. I was like. So they asked me to help write on this. Write some for the movie. And I was like, if I write any material that's good, I need. You're gonna keep it because I have nothing.
Will Arnett
Sure.
Shane Gillis
Yeah. So. So I was like, the only way to do it is just to actually do stand up. So he came down and we did stand up and I was like, he's gonna fucking bomb. This is a lot harder than he thinks. And he was so naturally funny right away, I was in the back of the room like, God damn it.
Jason Bateman
He does have Will. You do have that. Natural. And I mean, not as a pejorative. This sort of. This. Ha. Right. Like you are comfortable with the spotlight on you. You're comfortable giving a toast. You're comfortable. And I don't have that. I just don't. I don't like the spotlight on me. I don't like a lot of attention. Well, you're comfortable with it and it puts. Puts the audience at ease.
Sean Hayes
Yes. And it's a talent. It's a gift. It's a talent. Shane, you have it too.
Will Arnett
Oh, well, Shane. Shane's got. Here's the difference. I hemmed my way and hard my way through it. Shane, getting up there is so natural and good. And I know you've been working on it and you've crafted it, but you've got such a great way about you on stage and you kind of. You bring. What I love is you kind of bring the audience in with you and you laugh and you, I don't know, you kind of like. You don't really like, take sides. You kind of like, you. You play to a wide. You play to different parts of what people and you get to kind of just what's funny. So no matter where you land on any subject, you're like, you gotta admit that's funny, whether you're talking about politics or whatever it is. And I'm sure that that's not. I'm sure it's. That's something. That's a skill, right? Like, that's. To be able to do that. That's something you kind of work on.
Shane Gillis
I mean, I think it's kind of. I mean, yeah, it's a skill, I guess, but it's also like, that's kind of how I feel most of the time, you know, Like, I don't. I don't like picking a side on. I don't know, publicly picking a side on an issue. He typically comes back to make you look like a fucking idiot.
Will Arnett
Yeah.
Shane Gillis
I don't know. I mean, unless it's like a glaring thing that you should support. Whatever. But I want to go back to the Austin thing. So the first show we went up and it was fine. The second show we did like an hour later. It was great. And it was really frustrating how good you were at it.
Sean Hayes
Oh, with Will?
Jason Bateman
Yeah.
Shane Gillis
Yeah. And he was reading a script.
Jason Bateman
Well, it's. Cause he's using your funny. He's using your material.
Shane Gillis
No, he wasn't. They did it themselves. In fact, I read the material. Material first and I was like, I don't think this is gonna work.
Jason Bateman
So wait, so what. What type of.
Shane Gillis
I didn't want to say anything.
Jason Bateman
What was Will. What was Will's style? Was he like telling stories or was he kind of going joke to joke to joke?
Shane Gillis
It was. It was more storytelling, but it was. It was exactly how I like the stand up. It was. It was stories with jokes, with jokes within it, which was.
Jason Bateman
Do you remember any of it, Willie? Or have you deleted the files? Can you give us a taste?
Will Arnett
No. Well, a lot of it, as Shane knows, he read it because a lot of it is stuff that in the film. So we were working on it. So it's various stages of.
Sean Hayes
Yeah, because we didn't say it. This is the film that you just shot and that's coming out later this year.
Jason Bateman
What's it called? Will, the film.
Sean Hayes
Is this thing on?
Will Arnett
Is this thing on? Yeah.
Jason Bateman
Is this thing on?
Will Arnett
We can get that on a later date when I'm the guest on the show.
Sean Hayes
Yeah.
Jason Bateman
Are you gonna book yourself?
Shane Gillis
No, sir.
Will Arnett
No.
Sean Hayes
Go ahead, Shane. Sorry.
Shane Gillis
No. We were laughing. I was just at the Cellar this week and we were laughing because there's a comedian there, his name's Will Sylvain, and Will's playing a character on stage. And after the show, he goes on with the comedian and asks questions about the set. And I think he took the set very seriously and was like, man, I'm really sorry you're going through all that.
Sean Hayes
Really.
Shane Gillis
He did script, you idiot.
Will Arnett
He did the first time I did New Joke Monday over there around the corner with him, and he comes up on stage and he asks you questions and he was like, like, like Shane said. He was like, ah, sounds really rough. And I, I just kind of answered him as if it was all real. And he's like, hang in there, buddy.
Sean Hayes
Yeah, yeah.
Jason Bateman
And we will be right back.
Sean Hayes
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Jason Bateman
And now back to the show.
Sean Hayes
Wait, Shane. So doing what you do for a living, do you wake up and go to sleep constantly thinking of, like, I got it. Like, that was funny today. This is funny. Oh, I gotta write that down. Like, do you ever get out of that, or are you always in that mode?
Shane Gillis
Yeah, I would say, yeah. Although, I don't know, I used to be a lot better at it. Now I'm kinda just. I should be like that and I'm not.
Sean Hayes
Okay.
Shane Gillis
I gotta work on that. I gotta go back to only thinking about stand up.
Sean Hayes
Okay. For real?
Shane Gillis
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, otherwise, I don't know. I. You feel like you're not coming up with any new material.
Jason Bateman
Well, then how do you do what you do? Do you. Do you set us. You set aside some time to really focus on. On work?
Shane Gillis
No, I don't really. I don't really write that much. I just kind of. I go, this could be a good idea. And then I go on stage and try it. And if I go, great.
Jason Bateman
So you just figure it out on stage and it's all straight improv. You haven't really worked on any of it?
Shane Gillis
No, I mean, you. Yeah, you do that for, like. Like I'll do. If I did stand up tonight, I would do basically 10 minutes that I know I'm. I know. I just know every word to it. And then I'd maybe try five minutes and see what happens and probably abandon it. And then have one of my friends in, like. Like four or five months go, hey, that was a funny idea. Then I'll try it again.
Will Arnett
And so when you're putting together an hour, like, to do. To do a Netflix special, like, you know, are you. Is that something like that they set the date for? And they go, hey, man, we need you to deliver this special by this date. And so then that's when you kind of hone in and start working on actual stuff. Or.
Shane Gillis
I think they do that sometimes. I told them I didn't really. I wouldn't want to date on it. Maybe 20, 26. Cause I gotta. Right now, I'm doing arenas, and I don't think the best way to work an hour out is in an arena. Cause it's just different. I don't know. I think I'll do arenas for maybe the next. For the rest of this year, and then go down back to clubs and really try to focus on hammering out the hour that I'm doing right now. I don't want to rush a special.
Will Arnett
When did you start? I love. I mean, you've got so much good stuff that you talk about growing up. I love all that stuff. Going to Notre Dame games with your family.
Shane Gillis
That's my favorite.
Will Arnett
When you guys get in the van together and all that stuff. And you've got. You've got such rich. And your cousins and your. And your, you know, your family. You've just got such great rich stuff. When. What was the first moment? This is like, the question, like, how did you start in comedy? But, like, when did you start going, like, oh, the stories that I'm telling about my family, or the. That's going on. People are laughing enough that. That I should go to a club and tell it in front of other people. Like, what was that?
Shane Gillis
Yeah, I was washing dishes at my friend's restaurant, and I always thought I was funny, and I just had no idea how to get into standup. And then one of the. One of the cooks was like, I'm gonna go to open mic at the Harrisburg Comedy Zone tonight. And I was like, oh, you can just do standup? And he was like, yeah. So I went and I watched, and I thought everyone sucked. And I was like, I can do that. And then I went back every week for, like, two months, just watching. And then I finally got on stage, and I fucking bombed. I was like, I don't have to write any material. I'm just funny.
Jason Bateman
I just got out and talk.
Shane Gillis
It was crazy how bad it was.
Sean Hayes
Right? Right.
Shane Gillis
Yeah. Then stopped for a while after that traumatic experience, but I always still wanted to do it. And then eventually I went back and really applied myself and tried and did it.
Jason Bateman
And was there. Were you studying to do anything else? Like, was this always the career plan or did this derail something? Something else?
Shane Gillis
No, it wasn't really great. I was at Westchester University in Pennsylvania. I was studying to become a history teacher.
Jason Bateman
Oh, yeah.
Shane Gillis
And, wow. The first. I remember the first show I ever did. I. It was a road. The first time I ever went on the road, it was a hotel in. Outside of Pittsburgh in Mars, Pennsylvania. And it was in, like, a hotel lobby, and I bombed so badly that the club owner took me aside and was like, like, what are you doing with your life? And I was like, I'm a college student. I go, I'm studying to be a history teacher. He was like, why don't you just do that instead of stand up? I was like, all right, man. I kind of took it to heart.
Jason Bateman
Were you done with your set yet?
Sean Hayes
Yeah, exactly.
Shane Gillis
It was. I swear to God, it was in between shows. I still had another. I still had another set. That's really funny. I had to go up there, like, this might be it. This is my entire.
Jason Bateman
You know. Who loves history? Our host, Will Arnett. Yeah. Specifically World War II history. What's your favorite? You like the. The European or the.
Will Arnett
He knows it all. He knows it all, man. Right, Shane? You know it all.
Shane Gillis
Well, I don't know. I. I like World War II. I like American Civil War is great.
Jason Bateman
Yeah, right. Have you seen. Have you seen both the Civil War documentary and the World War II documentary that Ken Burns did?
Shane Gillis
I love them. I love them both.
Sean Hayes
Yeah.
Jason Bateman
Yeah.
Shane Gillis
I like the civil. The Civil War one I like better.
Jason Bateman
It's so powerful.
Shane Gillis
The West. Vietnam is great. His Vietnam documentary was great.
Jason Bateman
Yeah.
Shane Gillis
Yeah. Because I didn't know about Vietnam.
Will Arnett
I remember. What do you say about the Ken Burns documentary? You said that. That it's literally kryptonite for women. Yeah.
Shane Gillis
If you put it on, they're gonna fall asleep.
Will Arnett
I remember used to talk at fight with the other thing that really made me laugh. Used to talk about. About that dude, Shelby Foot, that historian, in the way that he would. Well, yeah, right.
Shane Gillis
I did that. I did a bunch of Ken Burns material at my SNL monologue, and everyone was kind of like, what the is he talking about?
Will Arnett
That was it. That was it.
Sean Hayes
That was recent.
Will Arnett
It was recent, right?
Shane Gillis
Yeah. Every time I. My monologue doesn't go great on SNL, I'm over 2 on those things.
Will Arnett
I love. I love it.
Sean Hayes
I love it.
Shane Gillis
I like it. Look, look, I like it. And I'm having fun up there. But it was, it was. Tate McCray was the musical guest. So the audience was like 20 year old. Yeah. Chicks just in the front. And I'm up there talking about Shelby Foote. Civil War, literally just some ogre walked out onto the stage and talked about Shelby Foote. They were probably scared.
Will Arnett
You literally referenced the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Jason Bateman
Hey, so with such a, with such a drastic. Like, are you happy with where you're at? Like, is this the. Like, you find yourself at the top of your career in this particular field, which is drastically different than this other path that you thought you would be on. Like, have you, have you adapted? Like, are you digging it?
Sean Hayes
Right?
Shane Gillis
It's. I don't know. You guys probably know what it's like. It's kind of uncomfortable.
Jason Bateman
There's definitely some weird parts to it.
Sean Hayes
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Shane Gillis
It's pretty uncomfortable, you know, with the imposter syndrome and depression and all that. But, you know, I just, I just drink a lot, so that helps.
Jason Bateman
Yeah, yeah, that'll round the edges.
Shane Gillis
That really makes things easier, you know.
Jason Bateman
Right. But I get. But like, we all have, we all have the option to just sort of get off the highway and like, you know, hide, I guess. And, you know, everyone forgets about you after a few years anyway, so we could find anonymity if we wanted it, right?
Sean Hayes
Like, did you have that, did you have that moment? I remember when, you know, you take in your case, stand up gigs or specials or whatever. In my case, it was a sitcom and you, this guy.
Will Arnett
We love that show.
Sean Hayes
It was. And the first time that it started, I took it because it was a job, right? You auditioned, you're just looking for a job, and then you have no idea what's gonna happen.
Jason Bateman
You're just looking to feed yourself and then you become famous, right?
Sean Hayes
And by accident, almost, right. You just kind of want to work as an actor. It's not like I want to be famous. I just want to work. And then it happens. And then in the moment and I remember thinking, I'm like, oh, this is what, this is what I read about. I read about. This is what I watch tv and this happens. So did that happen to you in that mo. Do you remember that moment where you're like, oh, shit, this is what it feels like to kind of come successful.
Shane Gillis
Yeah, there's a. Yeah, there was definitely some moments along the way. I mean, hosting SNL when I did, that was, that was, that was one of those moments because I had gotten fired from the show before and I.
Sean Hayes
Was like, oh, that's right. You were honored.
Shane Gillis
Yeah. For four days?
Sean Hayes
Yeah. Oh, my God, really? For four days?
Will Arnett
Yeah. I remember seeing when they announced that you were gonna host, and it must have been kind of surreal considering the history you had.
Shane Gillis
Yeah, it was. I don't know, but it was like, oh, great, we're gonna go through this again. There was pressure. Cause once they announce it, everyone's like, fuck him. Don't let him back that. And it's like, I was fine without it. I was, you know, I. I'm doing all right. But it was still awesome. And I was so happy they let me back on. And those people, the everybody there has been. They've been awesome. But it was funny. Back to the original. The question was those moments. I was with my friend Dan Soder. He's a. He's one of the best comedians. Chad, super funny dude, Dan Soder, he's unbelievably funny, but he was like one of the first people to take me on the road. And then he and I were doing an arena. We were doing like the Cleveland Cavaliers arena. And I was standing in the tunnel before I went out there. And I was, I looked at him and I was like, dude, I really just wanted to do a one nighter at the local comedy club. I thought that was the ceiling. I don't know what.
Jason Bateman
The hotel lobby would be nice.
Shane Gillis
Oh, I got here. Yeah.
Sean Hayes
Right.
Shane Gillis
This is going. This has gotten out of hand.
Jason Bateman
Wow.
Will Arnett
And did you have. And so you have that moment before, and if you do, you still have moments on stage where it kind of of out of body where like you, you, you land a joke and the place is going crazy and you're standing and I'm sure you're caught up in it, but you go, you look out and there are literally tens of thousand people of people laughing and going like, holy.
Shane Gillis
Yeah, Usually that happens when the joke doesn't land.
Jason Bateman
Yeah. Silence is even louder.
Shane Gillis
20,000 silent people.
Sean Hayes
You're standing there going, that's much more powerful.
Shane Gillis
Yeah, yeah, that's a real powerful moment.
Will Arnett
Well, you know, one of the interesting things about that I found in the. Just the short amount of time that I did it, just in the small clubs over at the Underground, at the Cellar, rather. And the one time in Austin is that like we went one night and we were working on something and we went to the Cellar in that main room downstairs, and it went great. And we were like, holy shit, that really worked. And then we went around the corner to the underground 20 minutes later, and it was like, like pretty good. It was the same material.
Shane Gillis
Yeah.
Will Arnett
Deliverance. And it was pretty good, right? It was a big room. And then we went to the fat black pussycat next door and it was.
Jason Bateman
Let's keep it clean.
Will Arnett
Absolutely bombed. And I remember at the time my buddy Bradley was there and my buddy Bob, who you met, and they were in the back and they're dying laughing because literally the same material that 30 minutes ago had killed. Silence.
Sean Hayes
Yeah.
Shane Gillis
Yeah, it's. It's the best feeling in the world watching one of your friends bomb. There's nothing better. It's the most fun possible thing. But yeah, that happens and it happens.
Will Arnett
But what's crazy. And that feeling was of which was. Was like, oh, you're. It's just you. There's nowhere to hide. You can't do. You're just up there. You can't just go. You can't start crying and drop the microphone and run off stage.
Shane Gillis
You know what I mean?
Jason Bateman
Talk about that, you guys. The. Because like I think an actor can ruin a good script and they can also, you know, make a bad script good just based on performance, whether it's good performance or bad performance. Do you find that it's the same way with, with, with. With stand up, like in your case Will, that you had the same material three different places. How much of it do you think was the audience or. Or was it you in the different way in which you were telling a joke Joke?
Will Arnett
I. I don't know. I don't have enough experience to. To really answer that. In that moment I have to blame the audience just to maintain my self esteem. But, but, but Shane, Shane, you have a lot more years of experience. I mean, what do you, what do you think it is?
Jason Bateman
Like, are there bulletproof jokes? You know that like any, you know.
Shane Gillis
Get them back there should be and you think you, you have one. Like a good example is the seller is a perfect example because it's like four different rooms. And so like I would do. There was one night I did the Village Underground, which is a great room downstairs. It's one of my favorite rooms in the country. But I killed. I was doing. It was crazy how I couldn't believe how good it was. And then I was on next upstairs. So I literally walked off stage and walked on stage upstairs. And in your head you're like, oh, I just. You go on with the same confidence. You just had momentum where you're like this crowd's. Wait till they fucking see this. This first joke doesn't work. And you're just immediately crushed. And so it's, it's kind of a mix of the crowd and you, you, you went up there kind of arrogant, and then as soon as they shut you down, you're like, I just shut down completely. And then at the end of my set, I did like a Trump joke and they all laughed and I was like, you guys, you guys hated me this whole time.
Will Arnett
You don't laugh now.
Shane Gillis
I hate you guys.
Sean Hayes
We'll be right back.
Will Arnett
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Sean Hayes
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Will Arnett
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Sean Hayes
And now back to the show.
Jason Bateman
Are you doing any acting at all? How's that?
Will Arnett
Well, he's got his show. He's got a second season of his show Tires that he created.
Sean Hayes
Oh great.
Jason Bateman
Okay. Gotcha. How do you like that where the words you've got to fit the words as opposed to the words have to fit you when you're doing standup.
Shane Gillis
I don't mind it. I really like acting, especially on tires because that's just me and my friends and it's all just our friends so we can kind of fuck around and you don't really have, you know, you can improv a little on that.
Jason Bateman
Gotcha.
Shane Gillis
I do have some kind of real acting coming up in a couple weeks and I'M pretty nervous about that. We'll see how that goes.
Sean Hayes
Oh, can you tell us what it is?
Shane Gillis
Not that my show's not real. I don't know if I can tell you. So.
Will Arnett
Okay.
Jason Bateman
No, but that's. But it's. But it's. It's. But it's probably material. It's material that you haven't written and you can't improvise, so you've got to, like, study these lines, learn these lines, and play your character in such a way where it makes sense that these lines come out of that mouth. Right. I mean, like, it's a different.
Shane Gillis
Yes. And it's. It's a serious director. Yeah. It's scary.
Jason Bateman
Yeah.
Shane Gillis
And it's with real actors, and that's gonna be. Yeah.
Jason Bateman
Oh, boy.
Shane Gillis
I'm not. I mean, not real act. I'm not like on my friends, but.
Will Arnett
Yes, you are. Yeah, you are.
Shane Gillis
Yeah.
Will Arnett
And they deserve.
Shane Gillis
This one's real. It's not that.
Will Arnett
What is your. What does your family think about? Because you talk about your family sometimes in your, in your stand up and you. And. And you're obviously really close to them. What do they. What's their reaction been to all of it? Are they, like, caught up in the whirlwind? Do the. Are they. Are they freaked out?
Shane Gillis
Yeah, it took them. It took them a while. They. Yeah, they weren't on board for a long time. And then especially early, like, I, I did a. A. A YouTube special was like, the first thing I put out. And in it, I talk about my sister and her addiction. They're like, I talk about my sister doing Heroin on a YouTube special. And she was like, what the. Trust me, trust me, it's gonna work for us.
Will Arnett
Trust me. It's gonna pay off for me.
Sean Hayes
Yeah, right.
Shane Gillis
No, she got an apartment in a Chevy Cruze. Out of it. She's.
Will Arnett
All right. Okay, sure.
Jason Bateman
Chevy Cruise. There you go. How do you like life on the road? How do you, like, you know, what is that, like, from a social standpoint, you know, I'm sure you're not meeting a lot of new friends out there, you know, like, what's dating, like, and all that kind of stuff, or. Are you married?
Shane Gillis
I'm not married. I have a girlfriend. She lives here with me in Austin. She comes on the road sometimes. If it's like a cool venue, she'll come, like this weekend. I'm going to. Tomorrow I gotta go to Knoxville, Tennessee, and then Birmingham, Alabama. So I think she's gonna sit this one out.
Jason Bateman
Okay.
Shane Gillis
She's not Coming.
Sean Hayes
How do you get your. How do you get. Cause when you're not in the mood, you know you're set to go on at a certain time. It's kind of like Broadway or theater or whatever. It doesn't. You can't have a headache, you can't have a stomach ache. You can't have like. You have to go on, you have to deliver. Right. So how do you get by that? Like, how do you prepare yourself if you're feeling salt?
Will Arnett
And Jason also has a follow up question for sure. What happens when you have to take a shit? Depending on what you eat, Jason, we'll get to that in a second.
Jason Bateman
Cause if you have an emp, you know, the.
Shane Gillis
Goes away right away, the adrenaline. The adrenaline of the stand up, the goes away, the headache, goes away, the nausea, like. Because I've done shows, a lot of shows, hungover and I've been like, oh, this is gonna be terrible. And then as soon as you get on stage, cures it.
Sean Hayes
Yeah, yeah. Isn't that interesting?
Shane Gillis
Other than one. I had one show. I did Crypto arena in la and it was. I did the Forum the night before. It was the best week ever. I did the Greek the night before, then the Forum, then Crypto.
Jason Bateman
Wow.
Shane Gillis
It was incredible. But after the Forum, I'm buddies with Post Malone and he came to the show, we're hanging out and He's. It's like 2am after the show. I have to do Crypto in the morning. But he was like, do you want to come to my studio and listen to my new album? And I was like, yeah, definitely. So then he kept us there. We drank till like 6am and the whole time I was looking at my watch like. Like, oh, yeah. So then I wake up and it's. I wake up at like 4pm the car is outside to take me to my next show. And I was like, all right, this, this hangover will go away. I've done this a million times. The hangover just didn't go away on stage and I kind of bombed at Crypto.
Sean Hayes
Oh, really?
Will Arnett
Oh no.
Shane Gillis
Yeah. It was like the biggest show of my life.
Jason Bateman
Did you let the crowd know?
Shane Gillis
They could see it. There's a jumbo truck.
Jason Bateman
Smell it.
Shane Gillis
They could see just.
Will Arnett
They could smell it on the jumbo truck.
Shane Gillis
They could smell light beer.
Sean Hayes
So, Shane, do you have anything like, you know, for endurance when you perform on stage? Like, do you work out? Like, how do you keep up your energy?
Shane Gillis
I, I'm. I just, I literally just started a trainer. I'm on Week two. I got to go to that today.
Sean Hayes
Good for you.
Shane Gillis
Yeah, I saw some photos and I was like, all right, it's time to.
Jason Bateman
Yeah, yeah. How do you. How do you like that? An appointment for. For working out.
Shane Gillis
I. I need it. Otherwise I would, you know, after this, I would go that. Well, that was tough. That was a long day. I'm gonna take a nap.
Sean Hayes
Right? I'm kind of the same way.
Will Arnett
Well, Sean. Sean, I was gonna say. And Shane, I'll pose it to you, too. You know, obviously, diet is such a huge thing, like the things that you put in. And Sean, Sean. We always say, Sean eats like he's going to a 12 year old's birthday party. Every meal, every day.
Sean Hayes
It's true.
Will Arnett
It's true. He. Right, Sean?
Sean Hayes
Yeah. Yeah.
Will Arnett
What did you have? What have for today, if anything?
Sean Hayes
Well, it's so funny. You said I did have a Pop Tart, but. But then after. I'm just saying, I really did. But then I had a bowl. Like, I had yogurt with berries. Because I was like, I have to balance it with something.
Will Arnett
You have to offset it.
Sean Hayes
But then, like, I'll. But my brain works in the way that, like. Well, I did that. So I can have spaghetti for lunch.
Jason Bateman
Do you have dessert at lunch? You do?
Sean Hayes
Sometimes I do.
Will Arnett
But jb, like, we'll play golf and he'll be like, hey, can I just get a couple slices of apples and a handful of nuts, please? And then that's all he'll eat. And this I'm not making. I'm not even exaggerating. That's what it'll have. And I said to him one time, I said, you know what? You're doing all this eating nuts in the thing, and you're still. You're gonna fucking die at 65, and I'm gonna be standing at your bed, at your hospital bed, eating a sundae with 30 years to go. You know what I mean?
Jason Bateman
But I'll look nice and thin there in the box.
Will Arnett
Jesus Christ.
Jason Bateman
Oh, he died without any water weight. Look at him. Beautiful. Beautiful.
Will Arnett
Shane, what do you think? What do you. So now you're gonna go do this serious movie with these serious actors and again, no. No offense to your buddies.
Shane Gillis
Hopefully. Yeah.
Will Arnett
Hopefully. Right? Hopefully. Hopefully. Hopefully. But is that for you? Is that the target for you? Is that what you want to do? Are you doing it just because you have opportunity and it's coming at you? Like, where do you see yourself? Do you have a plan for the next five years or are you just like it? Whatever Happens. Happens.
Shane Gillis
I think it's more. Fuck it. Whatever happens. I'd like to just kind of work with my friends, kind of. If I could. The goal would probably be like the Sandler. Sandler route, which is just putting out movies with me and my friends. And then stand up. I'll always. Stand up's always number one.
Will Arnett
Yeah, just stick with that. Would you consider stand up like your job and your hobby in a way? Like, you just love doing it when you have time.
Shane Gillis
Time, yeah, for sure. People are like, yeah, that's the only thing I do. Really. People like, what do you. What do you. What else do you do? It's like that. That's kind of it.
Sean Hayes
That's it. So your days are filled with maybe getting a. Going to the gym with a. With a trainer.
Shane Gillis
Maybe go to the gym. Lot of Xbox then I'm sure pretty pathetic.
Jason Bateman
What's the current. What's the current Xbox favorite?
Shane Gillis
Right now? I. There's a game called Hell Let Loose. That's. It's pretty awesome. It's just a World War II.
Jason Bateman
What's it called?
Shane Gillis
Hell Let Loose.
Jason Bateman
Hell Let Loose. Is there a headset involved with this?
Shane Gillis
There, there is. People take it very seriously, which is pretty funny. Like guys, it's.
Will Arnett
It's like you do multi. Are you in playing multiplayer?
Shane Gillis
Yeah, it's multiplayer and guys take it very seriously. It's like a World War II like, simulation. So, you know, there's no radar or anything. Like it's. It's very funny. There's guys like, you'll hear, you'll turn your headphone on. Guys will be like, I need ammo on this hill.
Jason Bateman
Where are the. Pretty funny.
Shane Gillis
It's really fun.
Will Arnett
So that sounds so crazy. And also. How do you spell that?
Shane Gillis
Yeah, no, the game rules.
Will Arnett
Who are your guy. Who are your. Did you have stand up idols, Shane, or do you.
Shane Gillis
Yeah, I was. It was always Louis and Chappelle and. Yeah.
Sean Hayes
Yeah, for sure.
Will Arnett
Was it surreal when you started doing it and then you started seeing those guys out in the world? Was that surreal as hell?
Shane Gillis
Hell yeah. Now I'm like, I'm friends with both of them. It's. It's crazy. I was just in Ohio. I was just at Dave's house two weeks ago.
Will Arnett
Wow.
Shane Gillis
And he built a club and he basically owns the entire town. He does this thing where he brings in like mu. Like music to this small town like an hour outside of Columbus, Ohio. Where like I was there a couple weeks ago and it was like Wu Tang was there. There in a.
Will Arnett
What?
Shane Gillis
Tiny 200 seat room in an old firehouse in Yellow Springs, Ohio. I mean, it's crazy what he's doing.
Sean Hayes
That's amazing. That's pretty cool. Do you ever want to do anything like that? Like, if. With as. As you go on, did you want.
Will Arnett
To build your own.
Jason Bateman
You want to do a hip hop band?
Shane Gillis
I don't think.
Will Arnett
Do you want to be in Wu Tang?
Shane Gillis
Good enough to build a town. Yeah, I do want to be in Wu Tang.
Jason Bateman
You're the best.
Shane Gillis
I don't smoke weed, but I had to smoke weed.
Sean Hayes
No, I mean, wouldn't that be. Wouldn't that be cool? I mean, your.
Will Arnett
Your.
Sean Hayes
Your star is rising so quickly and so great and so, you know, incredible that. That, you know. Do you ever aspire to be like those guys, to have that kind of ability to do things like that?
Shane Gillis
I think that would require a lot of longevity. And we'll see.
Sean Hayes
We'll see if I. I think you have it. I think you have it.
Will Arnett
You're not. You're not really bullish on your. On your. On your future, on your mortality right now.
Shane Gillis
It rose. It rose too fast. And now people are going to go, all right, that guy, Bud Light commercial guy, get him out of here.
Will Arnett
I love. By the way, I love your Bud Light commercials. I. They're. They're hilarious. I'm not. I'm not joking. They're really funny. What's the one where you're standing behind the guy and they're asking him and then you just start drinking? I'm like, that's. This is funny. It's hard to make a funny commercial, man, because it's a very short amount of time. That's a very tough medium. Yeah, we know. We do it, too.
Jason Bateman
Yeah.
Shane Gillis
And you guys did great.
Sean Hayes
Thanks.
Will Arnett
Yeah, I don't know. You ever seen that dog one that Sean and Jason did? It was terrible.
Jason Bateman
Listen, you know.
Shane Gillis
Which one's that exactly?
Will Arnett
Which one's that? They made so many dog commercials. Jesus.
Jason Bateman
I love you, Sean.
Sean Hayes
I love you, jb.
Jason Bateman
You're such a great work partner.
Will Arnett
Oh, God, you guys are the worst. Shane, listen, man. You're such a great dude. You're such a funny dude. You've been so kind and generous to me personally, so I appreciate it.
Sean Hayes
It.
Will Arnett
Thanks for coming to do this. We wish you all the best. You Got Tire. Season two premieres June 2nd on Netflix.
Shane Gillis
Fifth.
Will Arnett
June.
Sean Hayes
Sorry, fifth.
Will Arnett
Is that right? June 5th. Yeah. Good for you. Thank you. Sorry about that. June 5th. Now we got to say it a few times, so. June 5th on Netflix. You, you're on tour right now. You're touring like internationally on arenas. You got your podcast, you've got a tremendous amount of success.
Shane Gillis
Us.
Will Arnett
Wish you continued success. You're a great dude. Hilarious guy.
Jason Bateman
Shane Gillis, everybody.
Shane Gillis
I'm a big fan. Big fan of all three of you guys. You guys are awesome. Thank you, thank you.
Sean Hayes
Thanks for being.
Will Arnett
Thank you. You're a great dude. Thanks, bro.
Shane Gillis
Thank you.
Will Arnett
Shane Gillis, he's super fun.
Sean Hayes
That guy's really funny. Yeah, he's got that real chill thing going on where it's just like, he's real, like he's really low temperature.
Will Arnett
Yeah, he is. He's really cool. Jb, remember we watched a bunch of his beautiful dog special at New Year's, right?
Jason Bateman
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's got that really unique delivery that I find. Really, it pulls you into a stand up where they just, you kind of get into their rhythm. Like that's what I'm saying about Steven Wright. Like that guy just like, he's like Mike Myers in Halloween, you know, he always walks towards the victim, never runs, you know.
Sean Hayes
Right, right, right. Yeah, that.
Will Arnett
What a strange analogy. But you're kind of right.
Sean Hayes
But he does, he pulls you in. He's, he's, he's great. I mean I've always been, I've always.
Will Arnett
Thought, yeah, he's like, he's like alacino and Godfather 3, right? They just keep pulling you back in. You know what I mean?
Jason Bateman
Did they make a third one?
Will Arnett
They? Godfather three?
Jason Bateman
Yeah, it's a joke, cuz it didn't.
Will Arnett
Underperform you back in his life.
Jason Bateman
Jeppy loved that one.
Will Arnett
I love a Godfather.
Jason Bateman
Where is number four?
Will Arnett
We waiting on the number four.
Sean Hayes
You guys, when you talk like that, you really sound like you speak two languages.
Jason Bateman
Really? Like, what would you call that?
Will Arnett
What would that, what would that make us, Sean?
Sean Hayes
Bilingual.
Will Arnett
Smart.
Shane Gillis
Less.
Will Arnett
Smart. Less Smartless is 100% organic and artisanally handcrafted by Bennett Barbico, Michael Grant, Terry and Rob Amjarf. Smart last.
Jason Bateman
Hey, friends. Jason here. We're so excited the Smart list has officially joined the SiriusXM family. We can't wait to announce new surprise guests who we know that you'll love. If you want to be the first to hear new episodes ad free and a whole week early, subscribe to Sirius XM podcasts plus on Apple Podcasts or visit siriusxm.com podcasts plus to start your free trial today.
Sean Hayes
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SmartLess Podcast Episode Summary: "Shane Gillis"
Release Date: May 26, 2025
Hosts: Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett
Guest: Shane Gillis
In this episode of SmartLess, hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett welcome comedian Shane Gillis, delving into his life, career, and personal experiences. The conversation is marked by genuine camaraderie, humor, and insightful discussions about the intricacies of stand-up comedy and life on the road.
Shane Gillis begins by sharing his current living situation in Austin, Texas.
The hosts humorously discuss the misnomer of "Lake Austin," which is essentially the Colorado River, adding light-hearted banter about local landmarks.
Shane recounts his foray into stand-up comedy, highlighting his initial challenges and gradual improvement.
He reflects on his first performance at an open mic night, emphasizing the harsh reality of comedy's early stages.
Despite early setbacks, Shane's perseverance led him back to the stage, where he honed his craft and developed his unique comedic voice.
Shane opens up about his tenure with "Saturday Night Live" (SNL), including being fired and later rehired.
He shares the pressure and surreal experience of returning to SNL, highlighting both the challenges and his appreciation for the support received.
The discussion delves into Shane's creative process in stand-up comedy. Unlike some comedians who meticulously write their material, Shane prefers a more spontaneous approach.
He describes the trial-and-error nature of testing jokes live and relying on audience feedback to refine his act.
Shane cites influential comedians who shaped his comedic style, emphasizing the importance of storytelling within his performances.
He admires comedians like Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle for their ability to blend humor with meaningful narratives.
Shane discusses his venture into acting with his show "Tires," which is in its second season.
He expresses excitement about the show's upcoming second season, set to premiere on June 5th on Netflix, and shares his nerves about upcoming acting roles outside of his usual comedic environment.
Shane opens up about his family's reactions to his comedy career, particularly addressing sensitive topics like his sister's addiction.
He discusses the balance between sharing personal experiences on stage and maintaining his family's support.
Shane shares insights into his life while touring, including maintaining relationships and dealing with the challenges of constant travel.
He recounts a memorable experience with Post Malone that led to a challenging performance due to a severe hangover.
The conversation touches on the importance of maintaining physical fitness and mental health while juggling a demanding career.
He acknowledges dealing with imposter syndrome and depression, using humor to discuss coping mechanisms like drinking.
Shane expresses his desire to continue working with friends in the comedy scene, drawing parallels to Adam Sandler's career path.
He remains open to opportunities, emphasizing a flexible approach to his career.
The hosts commend Shane for his humor, authenticity, and generosity throughout the conversation. They highlight his ability to connect with audiences and his natural comedic talent.
Shane reciprocates the appreciation, expressing admiration for the hosts and their work.
The episode concludes with enthusiastic support for Shane's ongoing projects and future endeavors.
Will Arnett [07:52]: "He's a great writer. He's this incredible standup. He's the funniest dude."
Shane Gillis [19:59]: "I don't want to rush a special."
Shane Gillis [22:33]: "I love the civil. The Civil War one I like better."
Shane Gillis [24:38]: "I just drink a lot, so that helps."
Sean Hayes [47:08]: "That guy's really funny. Yeah, he's got that real chill thing going on where it's just like, he's real."
This episode of SmartLess offers an in-depth look into Shane Gillis's life as a comedian and actor. Through candid conversations, humorous exchanges, and thoughtful insights, listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of Shane's journey, challenges, and aspirations. The hosts effectively draw out Shane's personality and experiences, making it an engaging and informative episode for both fans and newcomers alike.