I think the thing I had going for me is a good pedigree and joke-writing ability. But a good pedigree, for the audience, doesn’t matter past the first 90 seconds."

I get music from odd places that I assume are fairly typical at this point. I'll just go on iTunes, go to EDM and just look at the Top 100, or I'll go on the Beats app and look on the playlists that are sort of curated.

If you're into social justice it's hard not to be on black people's side.

I do have weird habits when I'm directing, or even think as a director, like when I move a cup, I make sure to put it back in the exact right place.

We actually found some home videos, some really funny footage of me when I was around 3 years old. I come up to the camera to do a Nixon impression. I don't know who taught me that, but I come up to the camera and said, 'I am not a crook.' I got a really good laugh. You see me register that bringing joy to people is a positive thing.

Academics tend to have wonderfully infantile senses of humor.

I have always wanted to do comedy.

Certainly situation comedy is harder than people who are good at it make it look, but it's fun to do something different.