I'm just here I'm just here with you
whoa
[Music]
hey what's going on everybody from first
week Feast I'm Sean Evans and you're
watching hot ones it's the show with hot
questions and even hotter wings and
today we're joined by Rami Youssef he's
a Golden Globe award-winning actor
writer and comedian best known for his
lead ball and Romney Emmy nominated
Peabody award-winning comedy series
currently in its third season on Hulu
he's also the co-creator of Mo and
acclaimed comedy drama which is now
streaming on Netflix Rama Yusuf welcome
to the show thanks for having me how are
you around spicy food before we get
started I grew up with a lot of hot
sauce like it was a thing and I think
actually when I was a kid I would have
been
better at this because I didn't have
taste buds like I think my dad just
always put hot sauce on everything and I
was just down and then I think I stepped
away from it for a bit and so I'm
somewhere in the middle now so we're
getting right back into the game today
yeah this is yeah in a way my childhood
all right well let's relive it are you
ready to get started let's do it
okay right here
[Music]
oh yeah
that's really good hits yeah really good
[Music]
so Rami tells the story of a Muslim
American struggling to balance his faith
with the everyday Temptations of Being
Human which on the show can range from
porn and drugs to dating and family and
making Mo and Rami I'm curious what
stood out in comparing and contrasting
notes on the Arab American Experience in
New Jersey versus Houston
my favorite thing about getting to make
Mo was this idea of what does it look
like to have a guy who doesn't have his
papers you know this this whole idea of
people who work under the table was
really interesting to us and we wanted
to kind of figure out that's a totally
different experience than a kid like
Rami who is a citizen he's kind of
dealing with his higher self and lower
self and in a way he's almost privileged
even though his family has given up a
lot for the Immigrant experience
compared to Mo in his show you know you
you see that there there are different
challenges and I think we were really
excited to set something in the South
too to show how diverse it is there
[Music]
I like these better than the drumsticks
yeah the German state it feels Messier
this thing kind of yeah split the bone
easier like I like to well with the bone
like that yeah I see that's a little bit
of a pro move on the way that's somebody
who's been around and then you kind of
can you split it there
look at that no the Rami technique
that's nice
so shows like Rami Dave Curb Your
Enthusiasm they often portray the
protagonists as obnoxious and
self-absorbed even though they're
semi-autobiographical stories how do you
think about the likability factor when
creating a character like Rami for TV
I think it would be so crazy to make a
character named after myself and he's
just this amazing guy that doesn't make
any mistakes there's something about
that felt really off I like the idea
that I'm making something that is almost
it's kind of like my nightmare of who I
can become or who I might have been you
know in a different circumstance uh
without a passion without love uh so
he's definitely in that space for me
which is a lot more fun to play too and
talking about Larry David's TV
contributions what did you mean by even
if your favorite player isn't Michael
Jordan the game is influenced by Michael
Jordan hmm
a great quote I said that
I was like oh [ __ ] yeah I remember I
remember saying that it it's in you know
I think so much of the format whether
it's Seinfeld or curb I think every
modern TV writer is influenced by it and
so even if you're trying to do something
super subversive you're still you know
that that's kind of part of what's
happening in comedy right now is is what
he he put forward and yeah so I'm just
I'm a huge fan of his and and Michael
like here's the thing I am a LeBron guy
but but when it comes to when it comes
to Comedy no definitely Larry David yeah
when you see the game the game
influenced by Michael Jordan yes yes big
time
you put Tom Holland in the hospital I
heard you know what that's maybe news to
me but it wouldn't surprise me that
wouldn't surprise me given what he went
through that day
seems like a good man he is a good guy
he's a good dude I'm sorry if we did
that
stand up do you have any sort of guiding
ethics when it comes to dealing with
hecklers and then do you remember the
first time you got really savagely
heckled
um
I don't like making fun of hecklers
I think there's like there's a lot of
like
watching a comedian take down a person
in the audience and uh well yeah of
course like we should be able to take
them down there's a reason we have the
mic like yeah the comedian's funnier
than the audience member yes obviously
should be
so
I kind of try to uh yeah try to figure
out like why they're they're being so
loud I remember being in Jacksonville
Florida one this was my first real
Heckle and
I just I think I just said that I was
Muslim and this woman was just like oh
we don't do that here loud from the back
she's like we don't do that here and I
was like oh okay you're making it sound
like it's just uh like we don't have
vegan food like it's not it wasn't like
it wasn't even hateful it was just kind
of like oh we don't the air is like not
conducive to Muslim life form
and what it felt like
which was a funnier pre-famed job being
a camp counselor working at the Apple
Store
I loved working at the Apple Store there
was you just met all these different
kinds of people and I didn't know how to
fix the computers but I know how to sell
them and I and I think there's something
about there's something about selling a
a computer to somebody who isn't sure if
they should pay for it that's very
similar to pitching a show I think I
probably learned everything I did about
pitching shows trying to get people to
buy like the pimped out MacBook Pro
[Music]
nice this is great
so he mentioned in your intro but it
Bears repeating that you really are a
man of many hats I mean literally but
also metaphorically you know you not
only star in the show but also serve as
a writer serve as a producer serve as a
showrunner sometimes even a director is
there a scene that you most regret had
to be altered or scrubbed simply because
the production ran out of money
um there's always like a better solution
I mean we were uh we wanted to get a
tiger into a scene
and um we had this scene where yeah we
wanted this kind of Rich emirati dude to
have a tiger and then production said it
was too expensive but then they said it
was unethical but they said it was too
expensive first yeah and then all this
and then we can't afford it and I'm like
oh but it's been in the script and
they're like actually it's really
unethical and I was like okay and then I
read about it and it is unethical so
then we started talking about CGI and a
tiger and definitely didn't have money
for that but then it kind of turned into
a better storyline where we were trying
to think of something wild outside of
this tiger bit uh and then we got Mia
Khalifa would not like to do the same
thing the tiger was going to do was just
like a totally different storyline uh
that fit into something and that ended
up being one of I think my favorite
episodes we did yeah foreign
[Music]
there we go I hook a second bite
clocked it yeah all right Romney we have
a crane segment on our show called
explain that Graham we're gonna do a
deep dive on our guest Instagram pull
interesting pictures that need more
context so we'll pull the picture up
over here on the Monitor and you just
tell us the bigger story yeah all right
first things first
so you and I are similar in that our
dads didn't really understand what we
were doing with our lives until we were
on The Late Show if we asked your
parents what would they say has been the
highlight of your career so far I I
think they yeah they were really happy
that I did Colbert just because they
knew him yeah right and so I had been
working as a comedian as an actor doing
things but when they saw me with him
they were like oh wow like I don't know
they thought he was gonna like take care
of me or like keep sending me checks
and they didn't they were just like oh
he knows Colbert like he'll you know
he'll he'll just be able to call him
that that was a big that was a really
big one for them and then this is from
your directorial debut at 10 years old
who or to what do you credit with your
fascination with filmmaking at a young
age and then do you have a home movie
that you look back on and think that was
really my best work
yeah I was I was very obsessed with with
making my own uh I was trying to make an
End one mixtape here I really because I
thought but you kind of subverted it a
little bit you know like that bag of
like missing the shots all the time
that's kind of like a good gag for a 10
year old it was it was yeah it was
definitely elevated
um I think I I was like all right I'll
make it funny until I get my growth
spurt that was my whole thing because I
remember reading about Michael Jordan
like he grew six inches you know his
between his like sophomore and junior
year yeah and so I thought that was
gonna happen to me and so I thought
until then I'll just be funny then I'll
get the growth spurt then I'll play in
the league
and here we are I but the thing is my
favorite part of doing well in comedy is
getting quartzite seats so it's like
it's like all just to like be close to
basketball like that that's been the
best part of the whole thing I
understand what you're saying 100 like I
really think that my only goal in all of
this is to just infiltrate the teams
that I grew up with
I saw you announcing like a draft pick
too yeah yeah I did I did uh I did the
Chicago Bears second round pick shout
out Jaquan brisker defensive back Penn
State actually having a great year but
that's the only reason I do any of this
really
just to do that shout out
yeah it's very exciting
[Music]
kind of a step up here yeah
oh yeah
six kind of comes out of nowhere
you know I'll say when we put together
this you know it's kind of complicated
putting together the lineup right
because you gotta get there you know
that's why people are tuning in yeah but
you can't
totally smoke people out like in the
first half you know so then what I find
ends up happening in the back half is it
really is like exponentially yeah going
up and up with each sauce but I think
this is the first one that really no I
know we were just talking about my
childhood and then six is like yeah it's
a big jump big jump
okay
so pitch stories fascinate me for one
because they can make or break a project
but two just because they're good
old-fashioned Show Business closed-door
Affairs thinking back on when you first
started pitching Romney to now what
would you say are the biggest lessons
you've learned about the art of the
Hollywood cell
I think they want to hear that there's a
way in for everybody yeah so it's like
those things are are the reason why I
kind of yeah Zone in on them is because
it it does feel like you could get a
different
culture and you could get a different
experience in but it's also everybody's
experience and I think that's what what
everyone's looking for they want it to
be super specific and they want it to be
the broadest thing on earth and those
things totally clash and I think most
shows that don't work or that you watch
that you don't like you're like oh yeah
well that it's because the ask was
impossible like they wanted it to be for
everybody but also different
um so it's a tough thing to look for
it's a tough thing to deliver but I
think the right people in the right
stories you can kind of you can find it
okay
[Music]
and then this one kind of sweet up front
but then
wow yeah
yeah it's all right it's too crazy it's
like the more the time goes on it gets
worse it's like everything's really
tingling you know and who knows how
these things are all working together
against you with it at this point you
know like what what what had this active
ingredient or whatever to create this
cumulative effect to this thing that
we're going yeah it's like the opposite
of momentum yes it's getting uh
ah more resistance more resistance but
still we endure yeah we march on
I kind of don't want to use the milk
yeah I know I'm trying to be strategic
about the milk okay because I feel like
I don't want to get um
this is crazy this is so hot I don't
want to get used to the milk I kind of
want right like when you get it it'll be
like like you've been wandering the
desert for days and days and days and
then you find like an oasis or something
like you want that milk to hit like that
the milk like going in the milk now
would feel like uh like breaking into my
retirement too early you're right yeah
where I'm like I gotta save that for
when it gets real bad like I think I
could just let me let me wait it out
look at you with a hot sauce analogy too
here it's like now turning into this um
yeah well the thing in the in the desert
inspired me I was like I was like Wow
Let's Build on this if we make this
poetic it'll hurt less and maybe that's
what all poetry is just not feel pain
that's what they've been writing about
and that's why it's short because
they're they're in pain four lines
that's all I can do because everything
hurts
what goes through your head when you get
listed on gq's list of the most stylish
funny men alongside Jonah Hill and Seth
Rogen like when you see that kind of
press does that make you feel good or is
it just put more pressure on you every
time you leave the house uh when they
say most stylish funny men I'm like yeah
that yeah because you're like in the
yeah I mean where's the competition yeah
come on
comedians yeah if it's I'll wait for
what is most stylish men yeah
okay but if you're gonna put that funny
asterisk I better be on the [ __ ]
cover that's how I feel
I gave that one a smell yeah that one
usually I wouldn't recommend that's the
smell because then it gets into your
head and I really wish I didn't do that
actually I know everyone told me to not
touch my eyes but no one told me to not
smell I think we might have to add that
you know has a line item don't touch
your eyes don't because I actually don't
I feel what I smell already
mm-hmm
okay
[Music]
right
people does anyone enjoy eating this or
was it just made for this no no just you
know this it's like you're supposed to
enjoy food ah
and we're back yeah we're back
there we go so you once said I probably
have just as hard of a time defending
New Jersey as I do defending Muslims so
on that note what I want to do is Bounce
a few Garden State Hallmarks off of you
just to see if you can craft defense and
these most bizarre of circumstances
sound good
yeah
Wawa
wow is Iconic Wawa is amazing it's like
a gas station store but it's really it's
a culture it means I think it means a
lot to a lot of people
um
great logo
adorable stop there
you know you get all you need yeah Joe
Budden
Joe Budden I'm a fan I'm a fan and I
think you just got a Joe Budden you just
gotta sit with his work it doesn't hit
you all at once I think it's it's waves
it's kind of like the kind of kind of
like this Jon Bon Jovi oh my God legend
legend uh Bon Jovi I I would listen to
him as a kid I walk up and down the
block just like
emotional
good good man I think
excuse me I kind of wanted to burp yeah
Joe had you know yeah but I suppressed
it
I actually feel okay for a moment yeah
like I have like uh
there's like a quiet
calmness yeah you know like sometimes
you can get like a little light-headed
off of it a little bit yeah
Transcendent experience the hot ones
Gauntlet each and every time every time
right every time
[Music]
I'm kind of not feeling a lot right now
I'm just here
I'm just here with you
whoa
that headlight I'm sorry no that was it
was kind of like oh my God I wish I
didn't do that I kicked it all up to the
yeah
it sounded like
there might have been something coming
with that one
see once stolen Romney executive
producer drag Carmichael I want to make
something where God isn't cheesy what
tropes or cliches bother you the most
about the way that religion is depicted
on screen
um
yeah it always feels like there's he's
like
big gates in Heaven
or uh
or like um
like a man in the sky you know God's man
in the sky you know and I you know I
love Morgan Freeman but like I I wanted
to make something that feels like that
rattling guilt that's inside you that
kind of follows you and then also that
feeling of hope you know that even
though there's a dead end there could be
something more
I think like now this is that's what's
getting me through In This Moment is
that hope that there could be you know
that there will be later
like I'll make it to level 10 because of
God you know yeah that's that's why I'm
that's the only thing that's kind of
getting me through right now because I
definitely feel
this isn't good oh
Living on a Prayer
I have never understood like that is if
we were directing this
we've been on a Prayer right now needle
drop this is the score of what's
Happening Now
[Music]
I'm gonna do it I don't want to give up
on tradition
but just be careful
there's no stopper on this bottle I put
so much more than a dab I know I'm gonna
do it there we go wow digging our own
Graves here on this you see how much is
on this yeah that's a significant yeah
cheers
cheers thank you
[Music]
so to close things out what I want to do
is hit you with a quote that is just so
quintessentially in New Jersey some of
the most important conversations I've
had in my life have been at a diner
counter that's what you do if you're
from Jersey you make a decision at a
diner at three in the morning what is
Your Love Letter to Jersey diner culture
like why is it important to you
you know there's something about
something that's that's open all night
where you can go and just get a hot meal
like a warm
uh meal not this
and they're there and and there are
people who there was this guy George at
the Candlewick Diner
I talked about every I talked about him
before I you know before I dropped out
of college I talked to George I go to
that Diner Booth my buddy Mohammed
just talk about everything we were going
to do was in that Booth 3 A.M I think I
decided I was gonna get married in a
diner Booth I'm pretty sure I was there
late night and I was like yeah talking
it out with my buddy I'm like yeah this
is this is what I'm gonna do it's uh
it's kind of like a Pew in a church but
with food
beautifully said and look at you Robbie
taking on the wings of death living to
tell the tale and now there's nothing
left to do but to roll out the red
carpet for you this camera this camera
this camera let the people know what you
have going on in your life
uh Romney Season Three is out right now
on Hulu
um
start there and then yeah and then you
can just um
they'll get it you'll get it you get it
you get
you get what's happening
you just type my name in the I mean this
it's getting so bad it's so bad right
now
but you made it thank you
wow
well there's a lot of sauce on that tend
that you took
how'd it feel to relive your childhood
I'm I feel like my dad prepped me for
this oh yeah I do yeah I feel I feel
like he put me through it and got me
here
wow
foreign
[Applause]
hey what's going on hot ones fans thank
you so much for watching today's episode
and I have an important announcement to
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