Julia Sweeney

You know, like I can do that.

I can clean this room.

I can clean that room.

And I used to think, oh, it was so narcissistic in a way.

But I also don't blame myself either because I fill the needed spot.

And I just thought, I can do everything and I'll have enough energy left over to do the things I want.

And it's only now that I think, no, you didn't have enough energy left over to do the things you wanted.

Yeah.

It really took up all your energy to do that.

Yeah.

You've said that your instinct to make people laugh may have been tied to things not being directly addressed at home.

Oh, yeah, for sure.

When you think about that period now, how did those sort of two tracks of life and personality all track to each other?

Well, first I had a dad with an incredibly great sense of humor and a wonderful storytelling instinct.

And he exposed me to a lot of other great storytellers and comedians.

So I had good role models in that way.

But I now see me being able to either just rant to my girlfriends or to my siblings about what was frustrating me about our parents and then other siblings, too.

was the same level of relief that my brother got from doing drugs.

You know, you separated yourself from it.

You got the endorphins and the dopamine hit from people laughing.