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“MY MOM STILL TALKS TO EVERYONE’S MOM, SO I KNOW WHAT
EVERYONE’S DOING. SHE HAS LIFELONG FRIENDS FROM MONTCLAIR.”
CHRIS D’ELIA
THE MOVE TO LOS ANGELES MUST
HAVE BEEN QUITE A SHOCK. WERE
YOU UNHAPPY ABOUT LEAVING
MONTCLAIR? I was going to miss
my friends, but I was also excited.
I was like, “Ah! I’m gonna be like
Beverly Hills 90210!,” which was a
big show then. I remember I did
my hair all like Luke Perry.
YOU’VE BEEN TAPING A
WEEKLY PODCAST CALLED
“CONGRATULATIONS” FOR ABOUT
A YEAR. HAS ITS SUCCESS SUR-
PRISED YOU? It really took off quick-
ly. I wasn’t expecting that. I love
doing the podcast because it keeps
me thinking; that’s how I come up
with material, and I don’t do that
enough. I just sit around for an hour
and start talking out my ideas. Some
of them become bits in my act.
YOU SOMETIMES WORK DIRECTLY
WITH YOUR DAD, TV PRODUCER
AND DIRECTOR BILL D’ELIA. DOES
THAT HAVE ANY PITFALLS? No, it’s
just kind of awesome. He’s my dad
and we love each other; he knows
me and my act better than most
people. I’m really lucky to have him
direct my stuff. He’s directed my last
38
FALL 2018 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
CREATIVE CASTMATES Actors Rhea Seehorn, Whitney Cummings, Zoe Lister-Jones, Maulik Pancholy,
Chris D’Elia and Dan O’Brien attend the NBC Upfront at The Hilton Hotel, New York City, in 2011.
three stand-up specials. I ask him,
and he says OK, but if I were just
some guy, he’d have to think about
it. And it’s also not what he does; he
directs TV [shows]. It’s cool because
the stand-up stuff can be cookie-
cutter. They don’t do them wrong,
they’re just locked into the way they
do it. But my dad doesn’t do it, so
he comes with a separate kind of
idea about it, and it looks a little
different. And to me, it looks bet-
ter. It’s exactly what I want. I’m not
going to use him every time, but it’s
really fun, and we’re really close.
YOU’RE A FREQUENT GUEST ON
CONAN AND SEEM TO HAVE A SPE-
CIAL RAPPORT WITH HIM. DOES
THIS COME FROM A PERSONAL
HISTORY OR RELATIONSHIP, OR
IS IT JUST A MEETING OF FUNNY
MINDS? Some of the late-night guys,
they have to interview a lot of actors
— not funny actors, but dramatic
actors — and they can be boring
to interview. I think Conan really
appreciates an actual personality
who is silly like him.
YOU’VE BEEN CRISSCROSSING THE
COUNTRY SINCE THE BEGINNING
OF THE YEAR, AND YOUR STANDUP
TOUR CONTINUES INTO 2019. HOW
DO YOU COPE WITH BEING ON THE
ROAD AND AWAY FROM FAMILY,
FRIENDS AND HOME? The worst
part is always the night before you
leave. I think how I’m gonna miss
everyone. Then, I tend to forget
about it when I start interacting with
a couple of thousand people. And I
travel with an opener. If I had to do
it alone, it would be really hard.
YOU PLAY A SUPPORTING ROLE
ON THE ABC DRAMA THE GOOD
DOCTOR AS THE AUTISTIC YOUNG
SURGEON’S NEIGHBOR WHO
TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE DOC-
TOR’S INABILITY TO UNDERSTAND
SOCIAL CUES. THAT SEEMS SOME-
THING OF A DEPARTURE FOR YOU.
I wanted to do the role because it
was different. Also, I get a lot of
offers for TV shows, but they would
take me away from stand-up for a
few weeks or a month. With this
role, I can still tour. I would rather
do standup. ■
THE WELLMONT THEATER WAS
STILL A MOVIE HOUSE WHEN YOU
WERE GROWING UP HERE. WHAT
DO YOU THINK ABOUT PERFORM-
ING THERE? I’ve heard it’s a great
theater; I probably went to the mov-
ies there but I don’t remember. I
haven’t been to Montclair in a long
time; maybe I was there 16 or 17
years ago, when I was in college. I’m
very excited. I mention it every year
— “I gotta go there.” I can’t wait to
ride around and see everything. It’s a
great time to come — a homecoming
show. It’s going to be a great week-
end. I couldn’t be happier.