Paul Feig recalls how he and Robin Williams were once rivals on the stand-up comedy circuit.
Talking to Jesse Tyler Ferguson in a brand new episode of Sony Music Entertainment Dinner is on me podcast published on Tuesday, October 8th bridesmaids the director, 62, recalled a time before his fame when his career was almost “sabotaged”.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Paul Feig.
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment
“I was in the era when Jay Leno was out and [Jerry] Seinfeld was out and, you know, me, and Robin Williams, I mean, yeah, Robin Williams sabotaged me a few times when I was finally going to be a performer at The Improv,” Feig said of his early days in the Comedy Club franchise that was born in New York in 1963.
According to Feig, while he was getting his foot in the door, he still “wasn’t one of the main guys” during that time. “So you’d have a place later,” he added.
Feig then recounted how the late actor allegedly blew his chances one night.
Paul Feig; Robin Williams.
Michael Simon/Getty; Robin Marchant/Getty
“I remember once it was time to get up, and the auditorium was full. I was like, so excited and they came to me like, ‘Oh, you know Robin just wants to get up and do a quick set first.’ I said, ‘Well, great,'” Feig said.
“He worked for an hour and finished it. Everyone left except for one woman who was waiting for her husband to come back from the bathroom,” he added.
While things may not have gone as planned for Feig that night, he made up for it later.
Director Paul Feig explains how turning Steve Carell’s character into a “delusional idiot” was saved Office
During the conversation with Ferguson, 48, Feig recalled the moment that changed his life when the project he was working on got the green light.
“It was huge, I mean life-changing,” he said of the NBC takeover Freaks and nerdsadding that he was in London when he received the good news.
Paul Feig.
Michael Rowe/Getty
“I remember I was on the subway and I had this little notebook and I wrote in the notebook, I think I’m going to get everything I’ve ever wanted out of my life in my life,” Jackpot explained the director.
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“And it was like I couldn’t believe it because I had been fighting for so long. So, it was great. I remember when the first episode came out, the reviews were incredible. They were just great, great reviews.”
Feig went on to direct 14 episodes Officeand earned two Emmy nominations and a Directors Guild of America Award for his work on the sitcom.
Before ending the conversation, Feig said that his latest project, Simple service 2, is “almost done”.
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