Jerry Seinfeld still thinks about a heckler from 30 years ago: 'That was a tough one'
"It was mean. It was true."
If you ever think you have trouble letting something go, don't worry, you're not the only one.
In a new interview with Graham Bensinger, Jerry Seinfeld revealed that he still thinks about a heckler who got under his skin at a stand-up show all the way back in 1993. Yes, that's nearly 30 years ago. Seinfeld was doing a show in Boston, following Adam Sandler as his opener.
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Jerry Seinfeld"I had this amazing bit about weddings," he recalled. "It was fantastic. It was so long. It covered everything. And I worked on it and worked on it and worked on it. It takes me forever."
Seinfeld explained how comedians sometimes spend years honing jokes, testing out bits, and refining them until they feel they've perfected something. "I start into the bit and somebody yells, 'Heard it,'" he continued. "And that was a tough one. I still think about it. It was mean. It was true."
The comedian surmised that such a response may not happen as much today because audiences are perhaps more aware of the work that goes into building a comedy set. "I think now audiences are a little more sophisticated," he said. "These are pieces that we work on for months and months and months; you don't do it once and works. Every scene you see in a movie, they did that 18 times — one time it was good. Same with comedy. I've done it 100 times, now I finally got it."
Seinfeld had a wide-reaching conversation with Bensinger, delving into everything from his writing process to why he loves stand-up so much. "Things happen on stage that do not happen anywhere else in life," he reflected. "You're in hyperspace. The brain is sped up because you're in a fight or flight condition, which is what makes it so addictive. It's very adrenaline-fueled."
The full interview debuts in broadcast syndication across the U.S. this weekend on In Depth With Graham Bensinger. It can also be found on Bensinger's YouTube channel.
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