Eric Andre Says He ‘Asked’ Audience Members to ‘Sleep at Their House’ When He Was Homeless Early in His Career (Exclusive)

Eric Andre will never forget the difficulties he faced on his way to success.

During a recent interview with PEOPLE, the 41-year-old comedian recalled a summer in New York when he had so little money he was homeless. “I would go up on stage and ask people if I could sleep in their house,” he said. he says. “I slept in the park for several nights. I’d have enough money for either whiskey or dinner. And sometimes I’d just drink some whiskey.” “I would sleep in Union Square or St. Vartan Park in Murray Hill,” continues Andre. “I would try to find safe parks to sleep in. Then I would wake up at 5:00 in the morning terrified. … It was a nightmare. I had toothbrushes all over town.”

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Eric Andre performs in Austin, Texas in October 2023.

Rick Kern/Getty

To make ends meet, Andre worked numerous odd jobs, including a three-day shift as a waiter.

“I was the worst waiter in the history of the restaurant,” he admits. “I lied on my CV and said I had been a waiter for seven years. I quickly realized that I had no idea what I was doing.”

The comedian also worked for a doggie daycare, which he says turned out to be a real “nightmare.”

“I was making seven dollars an hour, driving dogs in a van, kind of like the guy from Stupid and stupider,” Andre explains, adding, “I have to get the doorman’s key and go into that person’s house, and try to convince the dog that you’re not a robber… Then the dog, when he finally stopped trying kill you, you would have to leave the dog in the van, among 10 other dogs that shit——, throw up, attack each other in the back of the van and try to jump out into traffic.”

“I kept getting sick,” he continues. “Every time you’re dealing with so many dogs, you’d rub your nose, you’d kind of forget, you’d get an allergy attack, you’d rub your nose, and then all the viruses [would get you].”

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Eric Andre in the third season of ‘The Eric Andre Show’.

Trae Patton/Adult Swimming/Cartoon Network/Courtesy of Everett

Andre has come a long way since those challenging early days. The Eric Andre Show it earned him two Emmy nominations this year, one for Outstanding Performer in a Short-Form Comedy or Drama Series and the other for Outstanding Short-Form Comedy, Drama or Variety. When he received the news from a Comedy Central employee, Andre said he was “overwhelmed.”

“We’ve been doing the series for over 10 years, so even just to get confirmation of the nomination [is amazing]”, he tells PEOPLE. “But I’m getting a little superstitious about these things. I’ll be celebrating if I get my hands on one of those trophies.”

Adult comedy Swimming, which deconstructs the tried-and-true talk show format for decades, has hosted dozens of celebrity guests, including Jack Black, Jon Hamm, Jimmy Kimmel, Natasha Lyonne, Jesse Williams and Tinashe. Andre’s jokes sometimes veer into NC-17 territory, but the comedian insists that even now his guests “have no idea what they’re getting into.”

“Even if they’ve done thorough research, they watch every episode, they’re superfans, once you sit on that chair, explosives detonate, and flying African hissing cockroaches come out of my coffee mug? It doesn’t matter how you’re ready,” he says.

Eric Andre Says He Was Racistly Profiled, Searched By Police At Atlanta Airport: ‘This Is Racism’

Hannibal Buress and Eric Andre in Season 4 of ‘The Eric Andre Show’.

Tyler Golden/Adult Swimming/Cartoon Network/Courtesy of Everett

Andre recently had an unexpected conflict with authority. On August 20, he shared an Instagram post with a video discussing a stop at Melbourne Airport in Australia, where he said he was racially profiled. In addition to requesting a security escort through the airport, Andre asked his social media followers for help in finding a discrimination attorney.

“I don’t want to cut my hair and wear a three-piece suit to be treated like a first-class citizen,” Andre said in the video. “I should not be made to feel that I am not accepted by entering a country.”

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Seasons 1 to 6 The Eric Andre Show are available to stream on Hulu. The 2024 Emmys air Sunday, September 15 at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

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Source: HIS Education