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Fan Forum Hero
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 66,648
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Hope so too!!
The one thing that interested me in this convo is to learn that Coach was gonna be white too.  And Jake is scaling back NG?
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Jake Johnson Talks to Chris Gethard About Failing and Succeeding at UCB, Letterman vs. Leno, and Wanting to Quit
Quote:
JJ: You took an interesting turn because I remember that show, and I remember thinking, Good for Chris. Then I saw it, and they were just using you incorrectly. So, you said, “I was used incorrectly, that’s fine, I’m not mad, but now I’m going to keep pushing.” The way the business out there works is it's peaks and valleys. For example, upfronts every year when I’ve gone, New Girl was the thing at Fox. So you go to the things and everybody’s shaking your hand first. Well, now there's Empire and all these sexy new shows, and we’ve been there for 100 episodes. So now it’s, "Hey, you guys are still here?" But I also [know that] if we were in our final season, there would be the big announcement and it would spike up again.
But what you did, which was interesting, was you said, “I’m out. I’m going underground. I’m doing my own thing. I don’t want to play. **** all y’all, I’m doing my own stuff and I’m still going to get opportunities. I’m still going to do my stand-up special, but I’m going to do it my way. I’m going to talk about my mental issues 'cause we all have mental issues,” but you’re the one who says, “I’m leading out with mine,” rather than what a lot of us do, which is say, "Yeah, I’ve had a little bout with alcohol and depression, but I’m going to put all that behind my eyes," like Bill Murray. I play a character, and they can see it behind the eyes, but the words will be like [to New Girl co-star], "Jess, will you come here?" but I'm really saying, "I feel really depressed, I haven’t left my room in six days, and sometimes I’m afraid I’ll never get out of this."
CG: Though sometimes I go a little too far in that direction and have the gall to refer to that as comedy. It has found a niche. There are some young kids. I don’t know what to make of it. I don’t know exactly what to make of myself. It’s nice to hear that there’s some level of respect for it.
JJ: What I would say to you as a friend and admirer from afar is keep pushing, because in 2015, with your show in Fusion as the example, and with the decisions I will make post–New Girl as the example …
So you’re thinking of scaling it back?
On Gethard's audition for New Girl and why it's okay he didn't get cast as Coach:
I am scaling it back. So I did Let’s Be Cops, and Let’s Be Cops for me was this thing where I didn’t love the script, but they said it could be you and Damon Wayans Jr. It was going to be me and Adam Scott for a second, and I was like, “I’ll do it for Adam Scott for sure,” and they were like, “Adam’s out,” and I was like, "Yeah, I think I’m out," and then they were like, “What about Damon?” And I just did the [New Girl] pilot with Damon. I just love the guy.
I don’t think I’ve told you this: One of the last sitcoms I ever auditioned for was New Girl. It was the last one where there were nibbles. I tested for Veep and then I didn’t get it, and the kid — it’s that Jonah part — is crushing it, ten times better than I could’ve done it. But then New Girl I got to try out for Coach, which is really weird.
Oh, you did? Well, Coach originally was supposed to be white.
And almost like a creepy nerd. When I do get traditional acting parts, they’re sort of "unsettling nerd."
[Laughs.] Yeah, they were going to go that direction.
I don’t think I tested, but I went back in front of Liz [Meriweather, New Girl's creator]. I’ll never forget, I never do this, I actually always hated the guys who do this, but I dressed up in the outfit for the part.
You wore the jumpsuit?
The sides for that Coach part at the audition were so funny, and it said he was wearing jorts. And I went to a Walmart in L.A.
And you got jorts?
Well, I got denim shorts and wore them. And I remember being so embarrassed, and I was leaving and Liz had been laughing — and she had been really kind and conversational the whole time — but she was like, "You know those aren’t jorts?" I was like, "They’re jean shorts," and she was like, "But jorts are kind of a more specific type than that."
So here’s a thing about the industry that’s funny. Going to the Coach role, I remember they were seeing a bunch of people and they really liked people and they were ready to test people. And then they got word that that part would be ethnic. So your audition could’ve been the one where they were like, “He’s the guy.”
Think about it, there could’ve been a world where you and I were on a show together. It’s that close.
Exactly. And then it was just, let’s see which way we want it to go, and then Damon came in, and they were like, great, we can give Damon the part, and everybody’s happy.
And he’s great.
But in that galaxy of, like, weird auditions, I don’t care how well you did, you’re not getting it because there was a mandate from above.
Well, when you come that close and then Damon Wayans Jr. gets the part, you’re like, "Okay, there’s a totally different element to this."
It wasn’t a dude who looked just like you who’s doing a similar thing but different.
Exactly, it’s more disconcerting when you’re like, "I wasn’t the best at me." It’s another thing to be like, "Oh, he’s super talented and very different from me and must’ve crushed it in a way that they like better."
You’re on a really interesting path. If you continue pushing the way that you’re pushing, with kind of honesty first and the question of, “Is this even comedy?" first, you’re going to continue getting shots. The way that entertainment is going is everything’s getting fragmented. Like, I didn’t grow up with cable. There were four channels, and I didn’t watch two of them.
Now there are 200 channels and a guy like me has a chance to survive.
A guy like you has a chance now to thrive because you can say, "This is exactly what I want to do, and I’ve got ten years proving I can do it. I’m sure this is an [obvious] comparison, but what Louis [C.K.] is doing at FX to me is the best.
It seems like the dream.
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Well it would have been hilarious!!! 
