Brett Gelman

“I like to challenge the audience. I want people to feel discomfort.”

“We have to laugh at how hard life can be and how screwed up we can be at times.”

“I've wanted to be a comedian since I was a kid, and my parents were very supportive of that.”

“Nobody wants to see a woman onscreen who is a wreck. That is pure, unadulterated, systemic misogyny.”

“I get to live a privileged existence.”

“Talking is not action. Don't just look at what you say. Look at how you socialize.”

“At the end of the day, stand-up comedy is like acting when the audience are the other characters that I'm acting with.”

“I love 'Seinfeld.' That was not alternative. You can't get more in mainstream than that.”

“I'm not someone who shies away from darkness being funny. I think that life is very dark at times, and there are things that are very funny about that.”

“Loss is a part of life, unfortunately, and you've got to just deal with it.”

“Use your imaginations, and use your empathy. If you don't do that, you're limiting yourself as an artist, and you're hurting the world.”

“We live in a country whose government and many of its people support white supremacy and disintegration of basic human rights.”

“Deeper things, heavier things happen to you as you get older and makes you more open.”

“I love Lars von Trier and Michael Haneke, but if I'm not in the right frame of mind to watch their work, I feel upset after watching it.”

“I'm a straight white man - I have options, and I'm not blocked on a consistent basis when I wake up in the morning because of my race, sex, and orientation.”

“I really am not that hairy on my body. It's weird.”

“I've never gone to a bachelor party, where I didn't, no matter how much I loved the people there, hate them so much for their disgusting behavior.”

“What a great way to make some money is just fine somebody $300 if their phone rings in the theatre. That'll make them remember to turn it off.”

“I love taking on roles that other people have written for me just as much as I take on writing - just not as much of a, 'Oh, that guy.' I want people to start saying, 'Oh, Brett Gelman's new piece is coming out. That's a Brett Gelman movie. That's a a Brett Gelman show.'”

“A crazy action only works if there's a great reaction.”