Lil Rel Howery Gets Illusioned, Shares His Take On Comedic Legends & More

Elliott.

Elliott is gonna do something for us, and he was maybe we want to see something and to take my guests.

Let's go. So they just told me you were gonna be here like two minutes ago.

Look, look, look he's not impressed around.

I don't give a funk. He didn't even do anything yet. You have any money on you and you got something you got out of cash.

No, I don't know why. It was in the bottom of my person.

I don't want to make sure that's a real dollar. That's Andree's dollar. We got George Washington on the bill and I just pulled up a picture you real quick. But I want to I want you to personalize this. Yeah, so here's what I want to do. It's blue, it's a little tough to see, but I want you to uh press down on your face about it's all good. You did it?

Okay, then it went away.

Yeah, it's on the bill.

Mhmm, okay, what.

Is it your name?

My face?

Did you look at the bill before?

Yea, it was George Washington here to that?

Is that really on there? Is that your son? Bill?

Yeah? Yeah?

Damn straight.

Nah, come on, I mean no, breaking down, breaking down.

I'm usually shocked by things. I would have probably been more impressed now, I'm just being real now a hard one. If sleafers that took a selfie in that that happened today, then I would have been it. But you said you, I mean, I don't know when you pull that picture of but I don't know what you did. I'm just saying I got said, I know what you did. You know what I'm saying? Like, all right, okay, all right?

Is on George? Why where George Washington's face was? And this does not impress you.

We didn't know this was gonna be a tough crowd.

I am a tough because I love I love magic.

I didn't know.

That you make lists on your phone, a grocery list or anything.

Nah, not for really?

All right, so I do And do you have a favorite number? You have a number that means something to you? What number? Is it?

Four?

So here? Look go to my notes right there? Roll, yeah, go to word. It says groceries. He said four.

What's four oranges?

And there's no way I could have known you were gonna say four? Now, which is oranges? Remember that you said oranges? Open up that bag, ripping open, just tear it open.

I love magic.

M what is it?

Hmmmm?

Wait, here's what I want to wait.

Hmm.

Are we warming up a little.

Trying to do the map? So if I did the number I was in the phone, but you.

Pick, I'm gonna show I'm gonna show you how we're all connected. At any point, just say stop. Remember the card. It doesn't matter if I see it. Okay, So at any point, just say stop, stop right here? All right?

What is that a ten?

All right here, bro, do me a favor. Just rip the corner off and hold it nice and high. Okay, and hold the other piece in the other hand. Here's what I want to do. Watch carefully right here. When you take the big piece, I'm going to do this in front of your face. We're going to lose it into the pack of the big piece. Did you feel that? Mm hmmm, it's gone from the deck. You said you like magic. My hands have never left your sight, but your card is gone. You said oranges. There were oranges

Okay? Can I eat an orange and shake one?

This one, this is the important one.

Yeah, you held this one on? Yes, nah, well take that out. It steals for your protection. Unwrapped that real, nah, bra you said oranges. You stopped at the ten of hearts. You ripped off a corner. The corner disappeared. All the other oranges, by the way, empty, They're all empty, empty empty, empty, don't matter. Empty. Check this out.

I mean you really gotta.

I don't want to touch that. I want you to very carefully unwrap that. And you checked this out. Watch the tent of hearts with a corner missing. That is a one, one hundred percent perfect match. I'm here all night.

That was really I'm not even lying to that was impressive. Okay.

So before you came in here, I asked Angie to think about somebody important to her who passed away. And there's no way I can know. I haven't left the studio. Who you're thinking about is that true? So I went to an estate sale a few months ago, like I like going to and I saw this bell and this woman wouldn't tell to me. She explained that her husband did say once his and would only give it real to somebody who the bell rings for. I brought that bell with me today and I put it there a

B C? Holy shit?

Does that make sense at all? Think about think about the first letter of the second and the last thing. Okay, I'm gonna go rent J, L V C D K.

What the fuck? What the fuck is that?

Send my love to Clark Kent.

I don't know what that was.

Oh, come on, man, you gotta go.

I almost forgot hold on. I asked you to think about a random word. What was the word constantly.

Come on, get out, get out, you gotta go, you gotta go, You gotta take your take.

Man, great job anyway, how are you real?

Hearts man?

Unbelievable by the way everybody roll.

How yo, let's get into Reil mode right now.

Let me put these you got get rid of all the one just because like now, let me get it.

When you they always put these things in front of me when I have my guests coming through.

And I'm looking at your your your list of films. No, it's a real list.

Yeah, I've done a lot of a lot.

Get Out, Legendary, bird Box, Good Boys, Fatherhood, The Photograph, Space Jam, Good Burger two, There's plenty more. That's just where it starts. And now, of course it's a new one on Friday to get ready to drop dog Man. But that's a quality list of films that you have been in my guy, you.

Know what I was thinking about? And dang, I guess because of the magician. Now, I feel like I'm just gonna be honest cause I want him to tell me what I'm thinking. I was. I was on the phone with Wifey yesterday and I think I was on Instagram laying down and I saw one of those portraits that have you know, they had like the portrait of the comedians. You know, everybody's on like the legends like Red Fox, Yea, Eddie Richard and Bernie and Steve Sidy, you know, everybody

You use that as motivation.

I don't. Am I motivated by stuff already.

Did no motivation for people to recognize I don't know if.

I want because if they haven't done it now to this point, because.

It's gonna take.

What is it gonna take? Because I came from the Chitlin circuit, Because you know, sometimes people are like, well, you can't no, I did comic view at twenty one. Yeah, so I don't. I don't know.

You don't know what else to do. I don't.

I have no idea what that is.

Maybe because your portfolio is so diverse that they don't put you in one box and.

Bring up the ghettos. I did every stand up show you can. Bill Bellamy's Who Got Jokes with TV one It was Bill Bellamy and the thing.

But who was in the thing that we saw?

It was called Bill, he went in, It was Bernie, it was said, it was Steve, it was Ked, it was Kevin, it was it's all older than you but me and Kevin the same age, are you Yeah, here we go. I'll say this again. For some reason, it's just so weird. I don't understand. I can't understand if y'all gonna have all these people in there, because I saw grading that to draw Carmichael, who I'm older than. Je Farrell was on there, Charlie Murphy, who didn't even do stand up for a long time, who was in

It's an interesting question.

Done these really cool things? Matter of fact, one of my specials it was number one in one year.

Yeah, but your profile, you lay low, at least you did for a long time.

And that's what me and wife he talked about. I had to own the fact that. And it's so damn this is a deep this gets still a weirdly deep conversation. But like I think, early as the stuff was happening, I was I was maybe a little afraid of the greatness, because with greatness it comes you got to do the prs. I didn't want to be on no magazine covers, and it comes with other insecurities I had that had nothing

Do you remember the first time we met? Kind of thing, So it might not be the first time we met, it was the first time I remember meeting you.

And I had just saw you and Get Out, and I.

Thought you you helped frame that movie in a way that, yeah, it was great movie and interesting in concept. Would you help frame that movie in a way that made that movie to me next level right, just because you added like the levity and the I don't know you just so I had just seen that and thought that of you, and then I saw you.

At the Oscars.

At the Oscars, I was at.

The Oscars because my good friend Mary J. Blige had just got nominated for mud Bound.

So we was all out there supporting my girl. I stumbled on tickets.

I got it. We were there to support Mary and I saw you. You were like quiet.

I was expecting comedians are usually so I thought I was and I went up to you. I was like, yo, and you were very quiet. I was like, oh, you don't he don't like me.

I thought you didn't like No, Well, then I realized you were just a little uncomfortable.

I was overwhelmed. Yeah, a lot of a lot of stuff that I well. Also, I mean, I guess I don't trip about it neither, because I was taken in a lot at the time. Yeah, it was a lot like that. That run happened really fast.

Yeah, I can only imagine it. There was a lot of spotlight.

And then I had to like act like I knew that I was doing because right like get out what was happening and was popping. And then that's what I got a deal for my shoulder, and I did Don't Go Druid, and I did all these movies that resume really is have to get out. So there was a list of movies I've done, like thirty movies since get Out Wow, which is crazy nuts nuts.

But I've seen you again after that and you were like oh, I was just a little nerves.

I was like, oh, and you were great. You came over, you showed love.

I was like, oh, you do like you are cool.

You see I'm watching I watched random interviews with you know YouTube.

Was like, he doesn't know where it was.

He's too you know, and you do the best interviews like man, very honest.

No, you showed me so much love the second time I saw you. That's why I was like, wait a minute, you like nah, I was just in my own head. I was listening to had nothing to do with you. I was like, okay, I didn't like it was.

It was just surreal to actually be there. It was one of those sure for the gold party too. Oh yes, so that was That was a whole thing too.

I mean, what a dope career though, right.

I'm so grateful, Like I you know, I pinched myself, which is why once y'all I was having that conversation with wife, but it started it made me go back to how have I thought about myself and like, going into this next part of my career life, I want to make sure I really enjoy it and embrace it and pay attention to what's happening. Yeah, and be present, be present.

Yeah, for sure. The body at work is really amazing.

What about dog Man?

I'm so excited about that just because you know, a big, big fan of the books, you know, and it's something really cool about doing, especially with an animated movie or show where the voices don't exist yet. So it's just the book. So the first time you ever hear one of these characters talk from this very pop the book is my voice. So now my voice is Chief. So when you think about Chief from the dog Man, yeah, that's.

Your life is so different now too. You've had like these all these big changes.

I saw some of your tamer interview with you.

Given your therapy, it's props, which I'm a therapy girl too. I definitely advocate for everybody to get you some I like therapy even if there's nothing wrong.

In my life, even when I think it's nothing wrong. Yeah, you find something wrong because I go into therapy like with no, no, I don't know what I'm gonna talk about. Like I literally just go in there and we just it may start small talking. The next thing you know, it's like Damn, I ain't think about it like that and it be something I never thought about or something that was buried. It was kind of crazy and what so what did it do?

It?

You never had it before.

This before and it changed. It changed a lot, It really changed. I don't know. It just made me more accountable for things and even kind of just like it's people. I think I over defended too at times, which is crazy. So' it was. It's been a lot, and it's helped me, like help my friends.

You know what I mean, is it helped the acting.

What it does, it helps me get out of the like cause I can be method at times, so it helps me better at getting out the character or out that world.

Yeah, after you do something.

Yeah, because it's tough. Sometimes a couple of times it was tough for me to get out of it. Really, Like what bird Box was tough because the way we were shooting it, they had us like standing in the house the whole time, so like we would eat our lunches there. So when you by the time you left, it's dark outside and you really think that the bird

That's wild. That is wild.

Yeah, so it kind of could be tricky. You know, it's a movie. I did a meal, the last one. I kind of had that thing to me. What it's called the meal. It's a Hulu and it's basically just me throughout the movie. Is you gotta see? It's a sci fi thriller. And yeah, it took me about a month to get out of that a little bit.

Yeah, I can only imagine you.

Oh you got in the Kiki and one of them days.

Yeah.

Now when something like that comes up, do you do that because that's your people, or do you mostly?

I mean my it's my friend.

Yeah, so ill me anything, I do it, You do.

It, no matter the size of the role, no matter the movie.

She asked me to do. What I do it yeah, yeah, I love.

What about everything else? Do you still have to like, do you still have to like read for stuff?

No?

So I have to get out, get out. Maybe with our last audition. Oh, Weirdly enough, Eric Andrey had me reef a bad trip and at the time I didn't want to do it, Like so I did terrible on purpose and he's still casting me.

Why did you do that?

Because I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a prank movie with Eric. You know, Eric's crazy, But.

I got the movie.

I almost quit the first day because we didn't have the security in the right place and we're doing something the hood with we had like that's when we did that in the movie. Our characters penises got stuck at a Chinese finger trap, and so we was like going down the street and people were loose. I didn't think that would make people.

Say upset, they don't like block it off.

It's like no, because it's a prank movie.

So it's all he know.

But I always think it's like no, it's not nothing was said up. We literally walking down the street. You get like it was like this homeless dude, like, man, they better not come over here with them dirty ass penises.

You know.

It was like so when people was like really upset that we was walking down the street and we was walking hold of each other because it was like fake petis and so it's stretching. It was, it was, it was, it's kind of wild. So we went into the wrong barber shop and we walked in there with it. I don't know what the conversation was before we walked in there, and the security wasn't in there, because a lot of times we would have security in the ahead of time.

I walked together, my god, because I was done.

I was like, man, we almost got killed. The first day, and that's when Tiffany signed on the new movie. I called Tiffany complaining, like tiff I'm gonna quit this movie. Eric is crazy, I ain't signing up for this blah blah too hard. And she was like, let me call you back. And she called Eric like, Eric, yo, did you almost get real cute? He's like, yeah, I feel bad. She's like, don't you I want to do this shit. Tiffany jumped to the movie and that's how she got out.

That's crazy. That's amazing, is it.

I was really scared for my life.

Yeah, but the fact that you're willing to do it and you know.

But what I learned was and just go back to the character work. I had to just stay in character. I could not be me doing the movie. So I became bub Malone and that was the only way.

How long does this go on?

Until we was done with the movie, so I can.

Just like at home and everything, even at the.

Hotel, I was just bub Malone, shut with your family alone for how long? It was about a couple of months. I had to be and he was. But it wasn't bad. But it was a good guy, so it was cool. I think it's probably my nicest ever was being bove Malone. He probably missed bood Malone.

What do you do that f usually for your movies, Like you go into character and you stay there.

I can yeah, yeah, if it's if it's that's wild, Yeah, because I like to do that just so I could stay in the world of it. You know what I'm saying, U, lets me give it. You know, I could do honest delivery that way. So yeah, I tend to do that. Yeah.

Are you like a a comedian who acts or an actor who's a comedian.

Mm, that's a great question. Damn. I feel like I'm both. But if you ever watched my stand up, I mean you knew I could probably be a good actor because I did a lot of character work on stage, Like I act out all my bits, so like if I'm doing my mom, I'm actually doing my mom. If I'm doing my dad. But that's from the Eddie Murphy school of stand up to me, Like, you know, every joke Eddie did, He'll set it up and then he'll act

Wow, that's I never thought about it like that. I'm gonna go back back and watch man.

That's what Eddie. Eddie's great at that. That's why you could just listen to him. You don't even have to watch Eddie stuff. You could just hear it and it still has the same effect.

You're like a student of the game.

I am a nerd of this.

Yes, who's your favorite?

Eddie Murphy?

Does he know that?

I hope so. I talk about it a lot.

Have you met him and told him?

No? I want to. That's one person. It's so weird because I've met everybody. I just want to have a I just want to sit down and have a conversation with him.

Why is this not manifested?

If you've said it, I don't know Eddie.

He's very rich, he's very you know, he's Tiffany said.

He knows who I am and stuff. He would have to attin invited to watch the fights with everybody else.

Just because he knows who you are doesn't mean you get an invitation.

I'm just happy he knew who I was, Like, you know that I exist as far as in this game. But Eddie is really my motivation. I mean that's why, Like the character is so many things I've done based off what Eddie has done.

What is if Eddie is watching?

Now?

What are we saying to Eddie?

Eddie? I just wanted to sit down and talk.

Bro, what do you want him to know?

It's not what I want him to know. I just want to ask questions. What would you ask him? I really want to ask him how Harlem Knights really felt doing? Like what did it feel like being around Red and Richard? Like? What was the stories? What did you learn from that? Like? What did you hear? Like it's some visuals.

Hollywood Reporter should put that together, you know how they do the two people together.

Yeah, we should do that. Oh I say we.

I don't know.

I just inserted myself.

We should call Hollywood Reporter and get you and Eddie together for you to interview him.

Because I have some very specific questions for him.

Man, that would be amazing. Yeah, it would be Actually, I think I'm putting it in the air for you. I think it should happen.

And it's been close a couple of times for us to work together and it just didn't happen. So I don't know.

You work with a lot of great people, though. He so you love I know, I love Pete Davison's in the new movie.

Pete is so funny.

Have you known him before the movie?

Yeah? No, p since he's young and here Yeah?

Yeah?

Who else? I mean, whose favorites?

Lou Nell Is in the movie too, who's really funny? And dog Man Yeah, oh wow, Okay plays Milly. She plays the chief secretary.

I love Lounell.

She's so funny.

No, she's the truth.

And that's what I'm saying, even that voice of like just having like this movie is doing something really se sure and I hope it does well.

What do you want people to know about it?

I just want people to know that, first of all, it's a fun movie. It's gonna be funny. It's gonna have a lot of hard a lot of action. And I think the brilliance of it on the animation side is that it looks like the book coming to life. Like you know, sometimes you watch these cartoon movies and that kind of try to do something so different and so unique. Literally, they took the illustrations from the books and put it in this movie and made it move, and it looks so cool.

Though I can't wait to see it. How is this working in the movie business right now? I feel like it's so weird. I don't even know as a consumer. Like before it used to be like go see it this weekend for opening weekend numbers, and then it would be in the movie theater for X amount of time before we would get to see it anywhere else. I don't understand the rollouts of movies these days, like I feel like they go to the theater.

For two seconds.

Yeah, then I have.

To try to google it to find out what streaming platform is on.

Do you, I mean, just what kind of condition are we in? Is that just me and my loss?

No, you're not law. But I do think it's getting back to making movies again for a real movie going experience, and so I think we're starting to see that again. I think we're seeing one of them days. Is doing as far as for comedies is big because.

You know it's doing well in theaters.

It is doing well in theaters, and they've ran away from putting comedies in theaters. It has been going all the way to the streamers. Like most of my movies that are like Vacation Friends Wanting Too is on Hulu. It'd have been nice to go to a movie theater. But but what one of them days is doing is opening the doors to that happening again. So which is what we're doing now. Like I'm about to direct my first movie and starting it Wow. And it's a horror comedy,

And who wrote it? You wrote it too?

No, but you know it's all U. It's all a group thing.

Is that the future of real? Like you you want to make movies like you want to direct this?

Yeah, directing and producing like I wanted. I really want to take their brains on comedy. So I did a comedy festival last year in Chicago in September that was very successful.

And again this year too.

Yeah.

Always it's going to be crazy this and this year coming up. And we did that one last year, ninety days. We put that together Wow, over sixty five comedians seven days, all the shows. So that I shot my special, my last special, I did at the festival, and you know, we're shopping it now and that's really exciting. So I've been doing a lot of things from I'm just changing the way I see business. I've been very much focused on the business of our business.

That's how you get on the poster and the thing with the other guys, they want.

To know that and see you do that, yeah, I mean pressed, but they haven't done that either. So I mean, I think Kevin has his version of it. No, I'm joking.

Do you hate Kevin? Do you?

I love Kevin Hart? God? But you know what's interesting is it is one of the things. For a long time I was trying to wait on other people to do certain things. I'm like, why this person won't do this, and why this person don't do it because you know they have more capital than me. But really, you just got to do it.

You gotta get it done.

You gotta get it done. Yeah, for sure.

So today everybody's gonna go to the theaters and see dog Man.

Yes, what else do you want people to do for you?

I mean, go see dog Man? Continue to see one of them days and look, just be on the lookout and just support. I'm literally trying, and it's so funny you say that, Like, you know, I used to always think, oh, maybe I need to be on the list of comedian grace. But that's when I'm like, baby, it's gonna be different from me because I really want to change and I want to be the George Lucas and Steven Spielberg of comedy and every which way you could think of.

Yes, So maybe that's why you haven't been putting another.

Bune because it's a whole nother thing I'm supposed to be doing. I'm learning. I'm like the business part is like the mogul of comedy. I had a dream that I was on a magazine cover and it wasn't because I was the number one comic. Is because they called me the king and give comedy and it was like no, and they would produce a director, actor, this and that, so it wasn't one category. Oh so that's coming, that's what's happening. That's coming.

Yeah, I love that for you real. Go get it all, Go get it all all right, guys, Well go see the movie today. It is out.

The Comedy Show will be back this.

Year, The Comedy Fest, wast Comedy fl will be back and.

Hopefully the special will scene.

It's in some great conversations with it. And then it's some more movies too, actually, which is crazy, Like I still got like I'm always working.

I love that for you. Yeah, and congrats to I know things are going well with the family. Got a big old, happy, blended family right.

Now getting ready and we may have a reality show that you might as well.

How many kids is it?

It's seven kids, but it's gonna be about the love story. It's not gonna be about the kids right away, total of seven. But we want to tell we want to tell this very beautiful, uh black love story. I love it and want to be honest and hopefully it helps other couples and people because I think Danella's so fascinating it and I believe a show that we're pitching our

I'm so excited for that. That's very strategic. By the way, business the business of weddings, and I'm on the business business. I heard you. That's why you're gonna have that plaque. That's why it's gonna be you, and you're gonna get that cover.

Yes, me and Tyler Perry gonna be so.

Funny because when you were saying that, that's the thing I had.

That's my thought. That's who I think. It's so funny. It was a time and I'll wrap it up, but it was a time where I didn't you know, it was all a part of some of the group that was like Tyler need to do better with this and better with that and all the other blah blah blah, and honestly, this is honest got you. I remember praying about it, and God basically was telling people that's who you should be looking up to.

You know what is the prayer though, Like you're praying for.

And I'm glad you said that. I'm praying for God, show me, show me who I need to be looking up to who should be And that's when I started, you know, reading more about George Lucael. I started saying, that's the direction I want to go in after the career. Even because it was on strike without that prayer.

Think about how different that is. So everybody's everybody's snapping on or judging or criticizing Tyler Perry and you say, he let me pray, Let me pray on this.

And God was like, look, I gave you all an example. He's doing literally what he wants to do, you know what I'm saying, And art should not be And that was another thing even within that prayer, about learning about how we shouldn't judge art the way we do. Everybody got their own voice. And if he's able to make his capital and do whatever you want with his money to entertain people that loves his.

Stuff love it, Oh, I'm one of them.

So that's what it's like, Who are we to judge it's his art, It's just creativity. We shouldn't be over judging each other creativity like that. That's all I'm saying.

I would only judge it if every single person was only making Tyler Perry content. That's the only thing that was being fed to us. Then I could understand all the harsh judgment. But when there's a world where there's a little bit of something for everybody, you want to do, Yeah, for sure.

You know it's we always let it tell people what to do. Day money, right, I ain't mad at them.

Well, congrats on everything. I can't wait to see what the next five ten years looks like.

For real, it's gonna be crazy. I believe you, it's gonna be crazy.

And I can't wait to see your wedding on television.

Well you're gonna see Le's go to a court house on television, get hitched

For all everybody talk man today in theaters, go to the theater.