Amy Schumer on her new Comedy Central show
You may recognize her from NBC's "Last Comic Standing" -- she came in fourth on the fifth season. Perhaps you remember her recurring roles on Adult Swim's "Delocated," or her biting and self-deprecating roast of Charlie Sheen in 2011, or possibly from her numerous stand-up shows on Comedy Central. Or maybe you don't recognize her at all. But as of Tuesday, when Amy Schumer launches her own series on Comedy Central, there will be no avoiding this open and cutting comedienne.
We spoke to the 31-year-old actress as she gets ready to launch "Inside Amy Schumer" and prepares herself to be stopped in the street -- one of the things that scares her most about becoming increasingly famous.
When we asked what intimidates her about getting her own show, Schumer's answer was the opposite of most stars, who aspire to become more well-known: "Being more recognizable on the street, I'm definitely getting stopped a lot more. It's something to adjust to, and lately it's been kind of intense. I dress like s**t when I just walk around... so it's just added pressure being on TV." Well, if her biggest worry is her increasing recognition, then she's probably on the right track.
See what else Schumer has to say below:
About her new show, "Inside Amy Schumer": "It's like 'Chappelle's Show' meets 'Louie.' It's me doing stand-up and talking to people intimately on the streets of New York. It's funny. "
What's she's asking people on the street: "I loved those 'Real Sex' interviews on the street, those interstitials, real people talking about how they really are behind closed doors. So I would ask people, 'Have you ever had a threesome, and what happened,' or 'What's the biggest lie you ever old?' 'Have you ever cheated?'"
The craziest answers she's gotten: "One guy had never had a one-night stand -- that was pretty crazy. Also, we're doing a parody of 'I Survived," called, 'I endured,' so I say, 'have you ever almost died?' and it turns out everyone has almost died. Everyone I talk to on the street has some crazy story about how they almost died."
Where she won't go (if anywhere): "Some interviews went a little too dark, or a little too sexual. This show's very personal to me; it's very intimate and honest, and unapologetic. One of my writers on the show had cancer and beat it while we were writing the show, so I have scenes with me and her, where I use her cancer to get out of a lot of stuff. Things that you would think wouldn't fly, but we find a way to make it digestible."
What makes her uncomfortable: "Even though I do the 'Roasts,' in stand-up and in my show I don't like the idea of hurting anyone's feelings. I make myself the butt of the joke just as much as anybody else, if not more. But hopefully it's a victimless show. This show it is dealing with subject matter that may not be for everyone. There's a reason it's airing after 10 p.m. But if you like that kind of stuff, then I think it'll be your favorite new TV show. "
Her career idols: "I love Goldie Hawn, and I love the career Janeane Garofalo's had. I want to get to act and get to do stand-up and just perform."
Her career non-idols: "Most of the little starlets on TMZ."
How close the show is to her real life: "Most of it's really exaggerated. You know that one-night stand scene... it just gets really exaggerated, I go and buy us burial plots together because that's how long I think we'll be together. But it does come from some part of reality, it just exaggerates the man and the woman. It's [the show] funny and it comes from a real place for me. People often characterize my stand-up as blue, but I'm really coming for someplace honest and unapologetic."
"Inside Amy Schumer" premieres Tuesday, April 30 at 10:30 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.