B&T Extra: Comedian Ryan Hamilton

Summary

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The BOB & TOM Show Free Podcast

B&T Extra: Comedian Ryan Hamilton

Date: August 6, 2026
Guests: Ryan Hamilton (Comedian)

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Overview

This episode features comedian Ryan Hamilton in a lively, candid conversation with The BOB & TOM Show crew. The discussion covers Hamilton's journey in stand-up, his well-known clean comedy style, his background growing up Mormon in Idaho, surviving a harrowing bus accident, and what it’s like performing with legends like Jerry Seinfeld and Nate Bargatze. The episode is filled with witty banter, personal insights, and plenty of laughs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jerry Seinfeld Connection & Comedy Roots

• First Impressions: Tom jokes about Hamilton looking like a "goyish Jerry Seinfeld," which came full circle when Ryan opened for Seinfeld at Radio City Music Hall.

  “You look kind of like a goyish Jerry Seinfeld. And then… Jerry Seinfeld, opening act Ryan Hamilton.” – Tom (01:19)

• Touring with Seinfeld: Hamilton has worked with Seinfeld for about seven or eight years, joining a rotating cast of openers.

  “I get to go out once in a while, so it’s really fun.” – Ryan Hamilton (01:52)

2. The Bus Accident: Survival & Comedy Material

• The Incident: Hamilton recounts his accident in Los Angeles, where he was struck by a shuttle bus while in a crosswalk.

  “I got hit by a shuttle bus at the crosswalk with the light. This arm was broken. I got a titanium plate here and ten broken ribs.” – Ryan Hamilton (02:33)

• Hospitalization & Recovery: Despite serious injuries, Hamilton made a full recovery and found material for his act:

  “When you get hit by a bus as a comedian, you kind of can’t not talk about that.” – Ryan Hamilton (02:44 & 04:00)

• Ambulance and Hospital Stay:

  “They put me in this burrito thing... I was in LA for five days. And, yeah, the nurses were great. There was this nurse who had come in every night. She dabbed my face with a cold washcloth... This was the highlight of my day.” – Ryan Hamilton (06:47 & 07:18)

3. Upbringing and Personal Life

• Idaho Roots: Talks about the unique charm of small-town life in Idaho, with one main street and a community where half the town is in the parade and the other half watches.

  “In a town of a thousand people, we have exactly enough people to have a parade. If someone stays home, they kind of ruin the parade.” – Ryan Hamilton (05:13)

• Mormon Background:

  “I grew up Mormon in that world.” – Ryan Hamilton (03:30)

  • Discusses being single while many from his background marry and start families young, and the lack of family pressure:

    “There’s no pressure in my family. I’m very lucky that way.” – Ryan Hamilton (04:47)

4. Career Highlights & Stand-Up Evolution

• Early Stand-Up Sets:

  “The first late night gig I did was on Conan.” – Ryan Hamilton (12:00)

  • Signature joke:

    “I look like this. I look really happy all the time. I don’t feel like this every day.” – Ryan Hamilton (12:11)

  • First Netflix special:

    “The first Netflix special is called Happy Face…” – Tom (12:55)

• New Special:

  “The new Netflix show is called This Just Hit Me. We recorded it in Seattle at a theater called The Neptune… I lived about a five-minute walk from there when I first started doing comedy full time.” – Ryan Hamilton (07:54)

  • Filmed two shows in one night, with most of the special coming from a single show.

5. Life on the Road & Performing with Friends

• Opening for Nate Bargatze:

  “Nate’s playing gigantic arenas... He does it in the round... you really, you know, and you've got different cameras that you're hitting. Nate has four cameras, one in each corner... you’re as you’re rotating in this 360-degree environment. You’re nailing punchlines to a camera.” – Ryan Hamilton (10:45–11:48)

• Adapting as a Comic: Comedians quickly adjust to new environments, even huge arena settings.
• Road Rituals with Jerry Seinfeld:

  “Every weekend we’re on the road. He has a routine... breakfast at the set time, and then from breakfast, we go see a movie that’s pre-set up... Then we go to lunch, then we go for a half-hour walk after lunch.” – Ryan Hamilton (15:20)

6. Personal Anecdotes & Humor

• Moving to NYC & Seinfeld Neighbor:

  “I learned that… I lived across the street from [Jerry Seinfeld] and I was really nervous to tell him because we just started becoming friends. Then I had to go, hey, buddy, guess who’s your best friend?” – Ryan Hamilton (14:35)

• Audience Observations:

  “People, they want to identify my look. They go mix between Jerry Seinfeld and somebody or I’ve been getting Sam Altman lately, a white Chris Rock every once in a great while.” – Ryan Hamilton (13:15)

• Driving in NYC:

  "I'd have to take a subway to pick up my car." – Ryan Hamilton (14:27)

7. Acting Ventures & Aspirations

• Acting Work:

  “Not a ton. I mean, I used to go out for auditions...” – Ryan Hamilton (16:40)

  • References a newly released cinematic trailer for his Netflix special that required acting.

  “We put out this little two-minute trailer you can find on YouTube. You go to my website, it’s linked there. It actually required a little bit of acting. So it’s like a scripted kind of thing that we used as the trailer.” – Ryan Hamilton (17:06)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being a single Mormon from Idaho:

  “It’s just me. I got a family of one over here, but I’m doing well.” – Ryan Hamilton (04:23)

• About Idaho parades:

  “If someone stays home, they kind of ruin the parade.” – Ryan Hamilton (05:13)

• On recovering from the accident:

  “They put me in this burrito thing... I was nailing it. I had access to information I didn’t. Normal.” – Ryan Hamilton (06:47)

• On adapting to big arena gigs:

  “Comedians, we get so used to a different environment every night, we forget how good we are at adapting.” – Ryan Hamilton (10:51)

• Describing audience comparisons:

  “A mix between Jerry Seinfeld… Sam Altman lately, a white Chris Rock every once in a great while.” – Ryan Hamilton (13:15)

• On Seinfeld's road discipline:

  “People… go, this is a dream. Because you don’t have to worry about anything... It really makes the whole experience of the road fun.” – Ryan Hamilton (15:20)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 01:17 | Tom recalls first telling Ryan he looked like Seinfeld | | 01:52 | Touring with Jerry Seinfeld | | 02:12 | Details of the shuttle bus accident | | 03:30 | Idaho, Mormon upbringing | | 04:47 | Family’s lack of marriage pressure | | 05:13 | Idaho town and parades | | 06:47 | Ambulance experience after the accident | | 07:54 | Recording "This Just Hit Me" in Seattle | | 10:45 | Gigantic arenas with Nate Bargatze | | 12:00 | First late-night gig on Conan | | 13:15 | Audience’s obsession with his resemblance to celebrities | | 14:27 | Driving in NYC and car stories | | 15:20 | Weekend ritual with Seinfeld on the road | | 16:40 | Acting experiences and cinematic trailer |

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Final Thoughts

The episode provides a warm, funny, and insightful look at Ryan Hamilton’s career and personal life. Whether discussing the rigors of the stand-up life, finding humor in a near-fatal accident, or the camaraderie of comics from small-town Idaho to New York City, the conversation stays authentic and lighthearted—much like Hamilton's own comedy.

For more on Ryan Hamilton’s new special, “This Just Hit Me,” check Netflix and his website for the cinematic trailer.

Transcript

[Christopher]

Welcome back. It's another Bob and Tom Extra. This is Christopher. Not only is the Bob and Tom show live every weekday morning, but every afternoon, we'll give you a little extra. In case you missed anything on today's big show, comedian Ryan Hamilton. He's coming up in just a minute.

[Megan Klingenberg]

The US Soccer Podcast. I'm your host, Megan Klingenberg. And after interviewing so many dudes during this men's World Cup, I'm so happy to be back with my US Women's national team players. I know the US Men's National Team has changed how I think about myself, how I think about being an American, how I think about being on a team. It's one year out from that World cup, and we're going to talk about the brightest prospects in U.S. soccer. You ready? I'm ready.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Let's do it.

[Megan Klingenberg]

The U.S. soccer Podcast, presented by Henkel. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.

[Tom]

The alien who Just Discovered things here on Earth. My passport expired. I didn't know they were only good. For 10 years, this has been the alien who just discovered things. We're just waiting for the cast to

[Ryan Hamilton]

actually show up for work. Here's more Bob and Tom Extra.

[Tom]

There he is as a handsome man. Look at those white teeth.

[Christopher]

Hi, Ryan.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Oh, hey, guys.

[Tom]

It's. It's comedian Ryan Hamilton. And funny enough, years and years and years ago, I said to Ryan, you look kind of like a goyish Jerry Seinfeld. And then I was in New York City one day, I'm walking by, I think it was Radio City Music hall and Jerry Seinfeld, opening act Ryan Hamilton.

[Ryan Hamilton]

That's right. You called it. You called it, Tom.

[Tom]

Yeah, and I, unfortunately, I couldn't go that night and I was leaving town the next day. But that was. That was really cool. I know you work with Jerry Seinfeld a lot now. Am I getting this right?

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah, we've been on the road. I've been on the road with him for, I don't know, seven or eight years here and there. You know, he's got a bunch of guys, he kind of rotates through. And when I'm, it's when I'm pretty lucky. I get to go out once in a while, so it's really fun. Yeah.

[Tom]

Now, do you mind if I ask about the bus accident? Was it in New York?

[Ryan Hamilton]

It was in la. I live in New York. It was in la. I'm from Idaho, if you remember. And it just seems like the kind of accident that they warn you against when you leave Idaho. Yeah. Yes.

[Tom]

But are you okay?

[Megan Klingenberg]

What?

[Ryan Hamilton]

I'm, I'm okay. I had, I got hit by a shuttle bus at the crosswalk with the light. This arm was broken. I got a titanium plate here and ten broken ribs.

[Tom]

Whoa.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Long at the time. Yeah. So, you know, but I'm doing okay. I'm doing. I had a good recovery and. But when you get hit by a bus as a comedian, you kind of can't not talk about that. So.

[Tom]

No. So it's your left arm. Can you raise it all the way above your head like that?

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah, yeah. I got good mobility.

[Tom]

I'm doing good for you. So my right arm, I can only get it up that high. I've got a big chunk of titanium in my arm, too. So it was not a, not a bus. It was just gravity, asphalt, a golf cart and a motorcycle. It's a long story. Our guest is Ryan Hamilton. Great comedian. And I remember when you were first going out and you were, you'd stop by here occasionally. You were, you mentioned you're from Idaho, as I recall of the Mormon faith. Mormon.

[Ryan Hamilton]

I grew up Mormon. I grew up Mormon in that world. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tom]

Now are you still a single guy?

[Ryan Hamilton]

I'm a single person, yes. But I did the Tonight show last night and my opening line was, I'm single. I've never been married. I have no children. This is it.

[Megan Klingenberg]

And

[Ryan Hamilton]

pretty good. And then there's a moment at night when I say out loud to no one, well, I guess I'm going to turn in.

[Tom]

Is with your, with your Mormon background, does that make, let me, how do I word this delicately? Are most of your Mormon friends from back in the day, are they more likely to be married and have families.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Tom]

Than those of another faith? I'm not, I'm not trying to. I just, it seems to me that more family type oriented.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah, yeah, it's, it's. Family's a very important part of the, the religion and, and I really appreciate that. And a lot of my friends I grew up with and that I'm still part of that world. Yeah, it's, you know, so it's just me. I got a family of one over here, but I'm doing well.

[Tom]

But does that, does that bother your family that you're not?

[Ryan Hamilton]

Oh, no, my family's great. You know, they're very. We have all sorts of diversity in my family in terms of thinking and beliefs and there's no pressure in my family. I'm, I'm very lucky that way that we all, we all are just kind of in the same world in terms of, you know, letting each other do what we do.

[Tom]

Get back to Idaho much?

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah, I do. I go back quite a lot. I'm hoping to get back possibly for the Fourth of July holidays. My favorite time to be there. We have big parade every year in the little town I grew up in. Every year. We have one street in my town, and it's big enough for a parade. We have 500 people in the parade and 500 people watching the parade. In a town of a thousand people, we have exactly enough people to have a parade. If someone stays home, they kind of ruin the parade.

[Tom]

We're speaking with the comedian Ryan Hamilton. Ryan has long been a favorite of ours. We just haven't seen you in person in a long time.

[Ryan Hamilton]

I know.

[Tom]

Do you mind if I go back to the bus thing? So you were obviously knocked to the ground, right?

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah, I stood up immediately, actually, which really freaked people out. People didn't like that at all. And, you know, it was. I couldn't breathe. I. I talk about all of this in the. In the set, but I was. I thought that I could see my hand, and I was holding my hand in front of my face, but I couldn't see it.

[Tom]

Wow.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Eventually realized that my hand was behind my back, which is the punchline to that little joke. Yeah. So, you know, I remember the whole thing. I didn't have any head trauma, anything like that. They were all. All the doctors were shocked by and.

[Tom]

Yeah, but did you get into an ambulance?

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah, I was in the ambulance. I was wrapped up tight. They put me in this burrito thing. When you're in an accident like that, I think they just go, we don't know what's broken. Get the burrito. And I got my neck breaked up tight, and they're asking me questions, and I just felt like I was nailing it. And I didn't know if it was the adrenaline or what, but I had access to information I didn't. Normal.

[Tom]

So were you hospitalized in Los Angeles then?

[Ryan Hamilton]

I was in LA for five days. And, yeah, the nurses were great. There was this nurse who had come in every night. She dabbed my face with a cold washcloth. And this one, she was a bit unorthodox, and she'd go, oh, baby. And this was the highlight of my day. That bus driver was a bad, bad man. I.

[Tom]

Once again, we're speaking with Ryan Hamilton. The new Netflix show is called this Just Hit Me. Where was it recorded?

[Ryan Hamilton]

We recorded it in Seattle at a theater called the Neptune, which, oddly enough, I had lived about a five minute walk from there when I first started doing comedy full time. I moved to Seattle for a year and this venue, I'd had some of the best shows of my life in this venue and they had the right date and so we just grabbed it. Yeah, I ended up doing it in Seattle, which I, I, I really enjoyed. We shot it way back in October, so it's just finally getting out now. It took me a while to edit it. I really wanted to make it right and so, yeah, those, those Halloween jokes

[Tom]

are not going to land very cool.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Exactly, exactly.

[Tom]

Did you record just one show or did you do multiple shows?

[Ryan Hamilton]

We did, we did two shows in one night. Most of the most, I would say 90 of it's all from one show.

[Tom]

Yeah, you're wearing the same clothes.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah, we just, we just.

[Tom]

Yeah, I mentioned that because we did something for Comedy Central and one of the comedians. Yeah, they couldn't use part of the second show because his armpits had gotten so soaked they couldn't cut back and forth. It just looked too weird. So they went and got gotta use the first show. It doesn't gets no laughs there. Once again, our guest, Ryan Hamilton, distinguished comedian. Are there any other fellow comics from Idaho out there?

[Ryan Hamilton]

Do you guys know Dan Cummins?

[Tom]

Yes.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Dan is from northern Idaho. I'm from Southern Idaho.

[Tom]

You guys. Does the north and south get along? It's contentious, isn't it? Yeah. Or do you have some kind of special weird, weird civil war.

[Ryan Hamilton]

I need to have a child so that it can marry Dan's child and then we could finally get a union together.

[Tom]

Isn't dad is, isn't Riggins. Yeah, Riggins. Ido. Didn't he. Is he the guy that lived in an RV for a year or something?

[Ryan Hamilton]

I wouldn't believe that. Yeah, I didn't know that about Dan, but I would not be surprised. But yes, he grew up in a little town. Riggins, I believe. I think he's in, he might be out of Spokane now, but he's an old. Which is in Washington, but right on the border. But he's, he's an old friend of mine and, and he's a fantastic comedian. But yeah, there aren't too many. There are not a lot that I'm sure there are other comedians, but those are the one. That's the one that I know.

[Tom]

We're speaking with Ryan Hamilton and Ryan is out and about often with Jerry Seinfeld and another friend of the show, Nate Bergazzi.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Tom]

And it's got to be weird because both, I mean, Nate's playing gigantic arenas.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Huge arenas. Yeah.

[Tom]

Does that affect the way you do your delivery? Is it. Or just get out there and go,

[Ryan Hamilton]

you know, it's interesting. He does it in the round. That's how, you know, so. Which is always fun. It's like an interesting. We adapt really quick. I always, I always tell Camille, they always go, how do you do that in the round? And comedians, we get so used to a different environment every night, we forget how good we are at adapting. So it's like, you know, the first couple minutes you go, oh, this is interesting. And then eventually you're just like, I know how to do this. But you're playing to the cameras a lot in a big arena like that, you really, you know, and you've got different cameras that you're hitting. Nate has four cameras, one in each corner. So you kind of want to make sure you're delivering punch lines. You know, you're timing it so that you're as, you're as you're rotating in this 360 degree environment. You're nailing punchlines to a camera and that helps, you know, but it's really fun. It's a new little thing, but it's

[Tom]

fun to go the other direction, to go back in time. What was your first national televised, perhaps late night gig or daytime talk show?

[Ryan Hamilton]

The first late night gig I did was on Conan and boy, I don't even remember what year that was Exactly. Probably like 2008 or 10.

[Tom]

Do you remember your. Do you remember the first joke?

[Ryan Hamilton]

It might have been. You guys might remember this joke. I look like this. I look really happy all the time. I don't feel like this every day. I look in the mirror and I go, this is inaccurate, you know, and it's, it's, it's difficult. I can't just show up at a funeral, you know, I'm so sorry for your loss.

[Tom]

Oh, that is so funny. No, but I know, but it's, it's. That's, that is so perfect. That's why, I mean, obviously the best materials, material you write about yourself, and that just, that just is you. That's so funny.

[Ryan Hamilton]

The first Netflix special is called Happy Face, which was also the thing. It's great of that special.

[Tom]

It's a great special. Can't wait to watch the new one. Once again, we're talking with Ryan Hamilton. What else is going on in your life? What? You're fit. You still, you do really resemble a slightly younger Jerry Seinfeld.

[Ryan Hamilton]

I get that a lot. I don't know. People, they want to, they, I see these comments once in a while. People just, for whatever reason, they want to, they want to identify my look. They go mix between Jerry Seinfeld and somebody or I've been getting Sam Altman lately, a white Chris Rock every once in a great while.

[Tom]

That's interesting.

[Ryan Hamilton]

I don't know why this is what people want to do with me, but they want to do that, so. But what else is going on? I, you know, this is it. My life has been getting this special out right now, and that's been, I've been so wrapped up in that. It's, it's been it. I'm looking forward to getting a little time this summer to create new material. Now I'm in the fun part of. I'm working on new stuff.

[Tom]

A couple real quick questions before you go. You live in New York City now?

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yes.

[Tom]

Do you drive?

[Ryan Hamilton]

I don't. I had a car, I got a car during COVID I was in Idaho for Covid, and I drove my car back to Idaho, back to New York, and I kept it here, but I sold it. I wasn't using it enough. I'd have to take a subway to pick up my car.

[Tom]

That is such a New York scent, right? Yeah. Did you ever, do you ever get to drive with Jerry in one of his Porsches?

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah, I mean, we drive, you know, every once in a while. It's interesting. I, I, we became friends and I was just moving into this new apartment and I moved into this place and we were friends. And then I realized, I learned that I, I lived across the street from him and I was really nervous to tell him because we just started becoming friends. Then I had to go, hey, buddy, guess who's your best friend?

[Tom]

Have you ever. I heard Larry Miller talking about how when he works with Jerry, sometimes Jerry will rent out a movie theater earlier in the day. And then they go and watch a movie, just, just them and get popcorn and so have you done that with them?

[Ryan Hamilton]

We do it every weekend we're on the road. He has a routine and it's really great. Yeah, we have breakfast at the set time, and then from breakfast we go see a movie that's pre set up. And then we go. People. I tell the schedule to comedians and they go, this is a dream. Because you don't have to worry about anything. You know exactly what you're going to do. It really makes the whole experience of the road fun, and it kind of releases your mind to get ready for the show. You don't. You're not making any decisions. So it's really great. Then we go to lunch. Then we go for a half hour walk after lunch. Really great. Yeah.

[Tom]

Well, there's a reason Jerry is so good. I know. He's disciplined and he sits down with a pad of paper and no distractions and writes all the time. Ryan, it's such a pleasure to see you again. And don't be a stranger, Ryan. Come by the next time.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Yeah, I would love to. Yeah, I check this out.

[Tom]

We'll make sure that we run a movie theater for you so you're. So you're comfortable and big time R. The limo has to be a Porsche, as Christie said. Geez, this guy is demanding. My God. I promised I had no more questions. I do have one more. Do you do any acting?

[Ryan Hamilton]

Not a ton. I mean, I used to go out for auditions just when they would come up.

[Tom]

I'm, I'm.

[Ryan Hamilton]

I like it. I'm open to it. I, you know, if anyone's really wanting

[Tom]

to, if they wanted to. The Jerry Seinfeld. The Jerry Seinfeld story.

[Ryan Hamilton]

No, you should go in and read

[Tom]

for like a super bad guy and see what they'll say. Oh God, you'd be a great bad guy. Happy.

[Drake Toll]

Yeah.

[Ryan Hamilton]

But I did that a lot actually. Yeah, yeah.

[Tom]

The happy hitman. Yeah, he couldn't be guilty.

[Ryan Hamilton]

We put out a little trailer for this that was really interesting and it actually required some acting. The trailer is really interesting. I tell the story of what happened before the accident, which is not in the material. So we put out this little two minute trailer you can find on YouTube. You go to my website, it's linked there. And I'd actually required a little bit of acting. So it's like a scripted kind of thing that we used as the trailer. So that's the first thing I've done in a while, but if you're interested in checking that out, it was kind of a we shot it very cinematic line.

[Tom]

Shut up, Tom is your line. Hey, Ryan, we'll see you.

[Ryan Hamilton]

Thank you.

[Tom]

Thanks.

[Christopher]

Thank you. That's it for another Bob and Tom show. Extra. Catch us on itunes, Google play and Stitcher for Bob and Tom. Extra. This is Christopher. Take care, everybody.

[Tom]

Start your day with the morning jolt of Drake Toll.

[Drake Toll]

See, now it's on demand. My podcast is kind of a radio thing, I think, but also it's a bit of a TV show and it's about whatever I want it to be. It's listening live as it happened when it happened with the instant reaction.

[Tom]

Your home for talking sports.

[Drake Toll]

We go back the Dre Toll Show, Westwood One Sports Network. And there will be on demand on your radio anywhere in the country. I'll see you there.

[Tom]

Westwood One Sports talk, your home for Drake Toll. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.