In his nearly 15-year career, Tom Green has worn more than a handful of show-biz hats. The talk-show host, comedian, writer, director, rapper, actor and Juggalo enthusiast made a permanent impression on MTV audiences in 1999 with the Tom Green Show. Comedic film roles in Road Trip, Freddy Got Fingered, Charlie’s Angels, and Stealing Harvard followed.
Green has also experienced his share of the not-so-funny. As documented in MTV’s The Tom Green Cancer Special, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2000. Green underwent surgery and was successfully treated. A short-lived marriage to actress-producer Drew Barrymore followed in 2001.
Never shying away from the unexpected, Green has ventured into the world of rap and children’s television/film (2005’s Bob the Butler).
He has been fired by The Donald and has played cupid on VH1’s For the Love of Ray J.
Green took creative control over his talk show career in 2008 by broadcasting the online program Tom Green’s House Tonight, shot from his Hollywood living room, on TomGreen.com. The unscripted, unrehearsed and uncensored live show has featured guests Jimmy Kimmel, Thora Birch, Brooke Shields, Pamela Anderson and Flavor Flav.
In a recent CL interview, the man who gave the world Glen Humplik and “The Bum Bum Song” discusses his stand-up world tour and his upcoming show at the Tampa Improv.
CL: You’ve done the hosting thing for a while, with the Tom Green Show and Tom Green’s House Tonight. Stand-up is a whole new ball game, because it is you, on stage, by yourself with your material. Did the excitement of that draw you back to stand-up comedy?
Tom Green: I do find it exciting, and I love doing. I’ve always loved getting up onstage and giving a live performance. On my television show, I had an audience, and I loved getting up in front of the crowd. It was always a big part of what I loved about television.
I’ve been on the road basically full-time for two years now. It has been a very intensive and exciting couple of years.
All over the world?
All over the world. I’m coming back to Tampa. I played Tampa a little over a year ago, as well. I had a great weekend there. A lot of fun. I don’t really look at stand-up as something I’m returning to now, as much as something I’m doing. I don’t have a feeling that I’m on tour. It’s just an ongoing thing that I’m going to be doing for the next 10 years, at least. I love it so much. I’m having a great time. I’m continuing to develop the show and write lots of new jokes.
You started doing standup when you were 15?
Yeah. When I was 15, I started in Ottawa, Canada.
With everything you have experienced up until this point, do you feel like this is the perfect time in your life for you to be doing stand-up comedy?
It’s definitely a lot more fun doing standup when you have a few years under your belt. I’ve been through a lot of stuff, and it gives me a different perspective on the world. I think I’ve been able to communicate more effectively with a broader audience. When you’re a 15-year-old kid, it is kind of hard to communicate with 40-year-olds, 30-years-olds and even 20-year-olds. I had fun doing it as a teenager, but it is much more fulfilling now. I have had the opportunity to focus on this, because I’m getting booked pretty much full time. So, I’m able to get up on stage every night and do this on a nightly basis. It’s been cool.
Do you thrive off of reacting to the audience and your surroundings at a show? The instant gratification of stand-up comedy? I can’t imagine that you would ever have two sets that are exactly the same.
Absolutely. I love it. Couldn’t say it better myself.
In your act, you talk about Facebook, and how technology has made us socially regress in some ways. At the same time, do you think it has some advantages, like the fact that your shows are so easily accessible? Someone can just pop on YouTube and tomgreen.com and watch your talk show.
Yeah, I think there are a lot of really exciting, great things about the Internet. How it’s really democratized the media for people like myself, and people that are just getting started, as well. To be able to film something and put it up online and broadcast it and connect with people around the world is amazing. I find a lot more comedy in the negative side of things. I make fun of things that can go wrong with technology and our addiction to it. Because I use the Internet so much, and I’ve been involved doing television on the Internet for a long time, it’s given me a lot of insight into some of the worst case scenarios. It is fun writing and talking about that, because it is something that is such a huge part of society today. The world is becoming so connected that there is a lot of mystery that is disappearing. You feel like you can talk to anybody instantly anywhere. It is not necessarily a good thing, I don’t think.
Have you felt that you’ve been able to connect with fans on the tour?
With my web show, I didn’t have that direct connect. People were calling in on Skype and it was fun, but it wasn’t that direct connection that you get with a live performance. I’m getting that all around the world and seeing interesting places. I’m going to Edinburgh, Scotland for the first two weeks of August. I’m doing a dozen shows over there and really looking forward to it.
People have thrown around the term shock humor throughout your career. Particularly with the Tom Green Show, were you just trying to make people feel uncomfortable?
Oh, yeah. I find humor in a lot of places. Certainly interacting with people and catching people off-guard in a traditional sense, like Candid Camera did. That was something that I loved. Shock wasn’t really what I did. If anything, we were mocking shock humor a lot of the time. But, there were certainly things that were surprising.
Some strange things have happened on Tom Green’s House Tonight. Was there ever a moment that made you uncomfortable? That was the fun part. It was very loose, and there were no rules. The structure of traditional television was not there. Anything could happen at any time, and usually it did. Every night, there would be something that caught me off guard. I had some really funny moments with really funny people, like Andrew Dice Clay and Steve-O. It’s always been cool. The footage of you at the Gathering of the Juggalos is probably one of the most magical things ever caught on camera. The Juggalos love you, man. Are you the only person on the Earth who can get an entire crowd of Juggalos to chant “chicken sandwich” and “corn on the cob?” … I had been getting pretty good at leading and audience and feeling their energy. I had some things up my sleeve. I know they like rapping, and I’ve done some rapping over the years. So, I did some rapping when I felt like I needed to get their attention. … I like the Juggalos.
Are you still rapping?
It’s not something I’m focused on, because I’m so busy with touring. But, I do occasionally make music, and I love doing it.
Have you noticed anything about the audience at the shows? Does it seem like a lot of people who have been fans for years and years, or is it also people who love stand-up comedy?
It’s both of those groups, absolutely. Especially in America. It’s a very stand-up savvy crowd that comes and sees me. I’m getting a lot of new people finding out what I do through this, people that didn’t necessarily know my old show, which is cool. Plus, a lot of people come out because they loved the show on MTV, and the Internet show and movies. It’s really cool, because I’m building a whole new audience. But, the people that have grown up watching my stuff are responding to my standup too, because it’s still a very silly and outrageous show that they’re getting to see. It’s in keeping with stuff I’ve done in the past. It’s just a little more of polished version. I am working specifically on the intricacy of all these jokes and putting it together in a way that is in the tradition of standup that I grew up watching and loving. Hopefully, I can do something that follows in the footsteps of people that I’ve been fans of myself. I’m driving towards a comedy special that I’m shooting Sept. 30 in Boston. I’m putting together some of my best material and refining the show.
Well, we look forward to seeing it in Tampa.
Definitely. Everyone should come out to the show, and let’s party.
This article appears in Jul 14-20, 2011.