Patton Oswalt
speaker
1,066 appearances
7 recordings
4 series
first heard Jan 2025
last heard 8 Jun
Patton Oswalt’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 5 in all, peaking in Dec 2025 with 2.
Appearances
I love it.
At that same time, I still do some theaters, but this past year and a half, I've rediscovered comedy clubs, getting into a sitting on a Thursday, doing one show Thursday, two Friday, two Saturday. And I'm getting so much writing done. And in these smaller rooms, because you're so much more wired to the audience, you're so much more present. I just shot my newest special in a tiny comedy club in...
Madison, Wisconsin, this place called Comedy on State, because I did it last year, and it was like, I had not had sets like that. I mean, when you're in theaters, you have good sets in theaters, but there's a moat of darkness, and in a comedy club, you're right there. It feels so immediate, and now I kind of crave that. So in between the theater gigs I have coming up,
You know, I'm doing the Union Chapel in London in May. I'm doing the Elm in Montana. But then after I do the Elm in Montana, I'm going to the Rialto in Casper, Wyoming. Two shows Friday, two shows Saturday. Little club wired in. You know, I'm going to go back to the Comedy Works. I'm going to go back to the Acme. Like now I can go do these comedy clubs and I get so much more writing done in those.
And I love it.
I think it's the same thing of I am searching for what is truly, deeply funny, and you can't do that by yourself. You always have to do it with an audience. It's like the truly great teachers are the ones who – I hate that phrase, well, those who can, can, and those who can't teach. No, some people teach because they truly love a subject, a book, a writer, a discipline, a science, something.
But the only way for them to get deeper into it, they've learned everything they can learn about it, is to learn. talk about it in front of fresh minds and see what perspectives come their way. And that becomes a search and there's something really beautiful and fulfilling in that.
And I don't know why that gets so vilified and attacked where when you see a truly great teacher, you're seeing a person who is on a deep, deep journey and they'll do it till the day they die. Comedy is one of those things where you, I mean, the thing about sports, and it's something also very beautiful about sports, is there is so much risk going on by these athletes.
They're basically going, I am betting my life on this body not breaking down and getting a few, profitable years out of this before, I mean, and hopefully I can do things after this, but they are really putting everything on the line. Like a true athlete, there is something amazing about watching somebody push a body to its limit, not just doing it for the cars and the money.
Obviously they should get all that, but I think it's the same thing, but you can't do that forever. Whereas with comedy, I saw the Seinfeld documentary with Maria Bamford. We saw it together and we came out. She was like, that's right, you can do this forever. And I was like, that's right. I can do this forever.
Because if I just keep being honest about whatever my point of view is, I was very honest when I was in my 20s. I'm never getting married. I was very honest when I was in my 30s. I'm married. We're never having kids. I was very honest about I have this daughter. She's awesome. If you're just honest with whatever is going on right then, you can always reach people. And you get to do it forever.
were you or did you know that you were built for parenthood did you think you were built for never thought that i don't think anyone truly thinks that they were built for parenthood i mean we're innately wired for it because otherwise the species would die out but um all of the the more esoteric existential about parenting i don't think anyone's ready for that but you go into it 70 or 80% ready.
And if you're willing to learn along the way and also tell your kids, ah, you know what? Good point. I fucked that one up. You'll be okay.
absolutely you're changed by everything you do or don't do you're changed by everything so to say that i don't know why people put such a big emphasis on oh your parenting really changes you everything changes you everything changes you big or small and small changes are just as crucial in the long run as big massive ones so everything changes you but how did this change you like how did you become less selfish for example
It's not that I became less selfish. I mean, in some ways I became even more selfish because I got to provide for my kid. I got to make things easier for her. I want to make sure. And also I get very selfish of like, I know I don't want to go do this shit. I want to hang out with her. Like I want, you know, I've turned, I turned down.
Turned on a very specific movie in a very specific TV show because they both would have required me being away For like nine months and it was during that time when she was like a year and a half old when she like every day She was growing and I'm like, I didn't I can't miss that chunk.
very much wanted to do, but the cost would have been missing this amazing chunk in her. And I'm not, it wasn't like it was an agonizing decision. I'm not making myself like, oh my God, I mean, no, it was just like, I'm not missing this. I'm not missing this.
You know, so, and the people who got those roles were so good that it was one of those things too where it's like, maybe that would have sucked if I'd been in it. Maybe it was good that I turned that down. So that's not, there's no regret there. But
Stuff that I used to think, there were certain things I used to think were very important, especially about status and stuff like that, that I'm like, that doesn't fucking matter. What matters is just showing up every single day. Some days, as a parent, the day sucks. You make a shitty breakfast. Let's go do this activity. The activity doesn't quite work out. You come back. Oh, shit, the car.
But the kid is like, I got to spend time with you. And you still showed up. And they saw you trying. And that's what matters. Just show up and try. Because some people just absolutely go, I'm not going to try. I'm not bothering you.
Showing 1001–1020 of 1,066 · page 51 of 54
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