My mindset is of the person who is still unsure whether they have enough money in their ATM to go to another bar. I lived that way when I was unemployed, when I was a snowboard instructor, and when I was at NYU. A lot of my personality is stuck in those five years, and I don't know if that's ever gonna change.
Everyone has a different path. I knew no one in the acting industry growing up. I never did a play until college. I was not outspoken when I was younger and I hated being the center of attention. But I had a dream of being an actor. I went to NYU and studied theatre. I learned a craft. And began my career straight out of college.
I only worked theater jobs, but they were all really silly when I first graduated. I was a line monitor at 'Spamalot,' which means I got there at 8 A.M. and told people how much the tickets were for standing room. I was an NYU Medical School fake patient, to teach doctors how to talk to patients.
I took a clown class at NYU - that's where I met June Diane Raphael, my writing partner and best friend.
I decided I would go to NYU so I could get into the comedy world and have legit housing, and my parents would not have trusted investing in a straight-up comedy career.
I did my undergrad at Florida State, got a Bachelor's, and then I got my Masters in Acting at NYU. So I've spent a lot of time in the classroom.
Children are amazing, and while I go to places like Princeton and Harvard and Yale, and of course I teach at Columbia, NYU, and that's nice and I love students, but the most fun of all are the real little ones, the young ones.
I really like Los Angeles - I had a good life out there. But the reason I choose to live in New York is because when I'm between engagements, as they say, something creative always comes up for me, like 'Julian Po,' or helping teach at NYU, or helping stage a show at Juilliard.
I went to NYU undergraduate, then for a Master's in English, and got a summer job at St. Vincent's. I was a ward clerk handling everything in an intensive care unit.
Since I got out of grad school at NYU, I've always done as many plays as I can.