Theater
The comedians new talk-of-the-town Broadway show returns to familiar themes.
And Im a character who is unwelcome in Ottos life, Birbiglia says.
Death comes up a lot in his work.
His topics are heavy but his touch is light.
Thats what I look for in art.
Below, Birbiglia talks with Bustle about truth-telling, a nightmare experience with Tom Hanks, and Anti-Hero.
Congrats on thesestellarBroadway reviews.
Youre like an overnight sensation whos been grinding relentlessly for 20 years.
How does it feel?
Im riding this bike really fast!
The moment you do that, you fall off the bike.
Was the Taylor Swift video a pinch-me moment?
Oh yeah, for sure.
I met her socially through my friend Jack Antonoff when she was writing that song.
Do you want to do it?
She sent me the script, and I laughed out loud and said, Absolutely!
Taylor as a director is such a joy.
The energy is from the top-down, and its either tense and un-fun or loose and fun.
That was a quintessentially really fun shoot.
And then the way the video came out, I just lost it laughing.
Has your daughter, Oona, whos 7, seen it?
We showed it to her once, [but] I dont show my daughter almost anything I make.
Have your parents seenThe Old Man and the Pool?
I generally shield my parents from my work because its so autobiographical.
I remember when my mom came to seeSleepwalk With Mein 2008.
I go, Did you like the parents?
And they just said, Yeah, they were funny!
Theyre nothing like us!
And its just funny, because the characters say literally exact phrases my parents have said.
Tell me aboutA Man Called Otto.
I havent seen the movie, but its possibly one of the best scripts Ive ever read.
I just had nothing.
And Tom was so nice.
Instead of being mad about it, he tried to feed me my line.
He goes, How do youfeelaboutme?
It was truly an actors nightmare and an actual nightmare.
When did your memory come back?
By the next take.
I was fine after that.
Under what circumstances do you lose your gentleness?
If my wife were answering that question, she would say that when Im overtired, Im irrational.
I feel like the most undervalued commodity in society is sleep.
How do you balance prioritizing your daughter and your wifes career while also working at such a high level?
I think total honesty is hell.
She has thiswonderful poetry career.
She expresses herself so beautifully.
Its fortunate that Im her biggest fan.
And Im sure shes yours.
Id like to think so, but I dont pose the question too often.
Does she have boundaries about what you’re free to and cant share about your family life?
We talk through it a lot.
I vet different things with her, like, Heres a line Im working on.
And shell almost never say, Dont say that.
But sometimes shell say, Well actually, it happened more like this.
Shell tell me her version of it, and Ill usually incorporate that into the story.
On your podcast, you ask guests, What do people like most about you?
What do they not like about you?
How would you answer?
Id like to think Im generally friendly in a way that isnt snobby.
Ive skipped the weddings of everyone I know in the last 20 years.
I work on nights and weekends.
When people are doing social activities, Im the person whos entertaining them.
Im not really on Facebook.
There are 14 people like me!
That was a huge epiphany for me.
You found your people.
Yeah, its true.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
This article was originally published onDec.
