In our series finale, we check back in with Chris Gethard (Beautiful/Anonymous, Space Force) who recently came close to committing himself for the first time in almost a decade. We talk about being on the downslope of success, where he fucked up along the way, the surprising success of his podcast, and what he thinks supersedes the failure/success conversation. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/theneedtofail https://twitter.com/donfanelli AND PLEASE SU...
Aug 25, 2020•1 hr 33 min•Season 7Ep. 156
In our final episodes of The Need to Fail, I will be checking back in with my original guests from seven years ago. Next up: Lauren Lapkus (The Wrong Missy, Big Bang Theory) who talks about not booking 90% of the roles she goes out for, how her true humor came through in The Wrong Missy and how she thought she would suck in the audition, getting written off of Orange is the New Black, her current vision board usage, and the myth that things fall into place after getting to a certain point in you...
Aug 18, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Season 7Ep. 155
In our final episodes of The Need to Fail, I will be checking back in with my original guests from seven years ago. Next up: Abbi Jacobson (Broad City, Disenchantment) who talks about ending Broad City and the pressures of adapting an iconic movie to the small screen. We also chat about how success hasn't stopped the doubts from creeping in, the missteps with Broad City and how audience feedback helped grow the show, the difficulties writing her book, and what happens with goals when you reach t...
Aug 11, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Season 7Ep. 154
In our final six episodes of The Need to Fail, I will be checking back in with my original guests from seven years ago. Next up: Josh Patten (SNL) who talks about how things have changed over his eight seasons at SNL. We talk about craft related setbacks & trying to get better at his job, how it took time and experience to look past his analytical approach, not getting any jokes on an episode where his mother came to watch, and balancing the buckets of life. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL &...
Aug 04, 2020•43 min•Season 7Ep. 153
In our final six episodes of The Need to Fail, I will be checking back in with my original guests from seven years ago. Next up: Josh Ruben (Scare Me, Werewolves Within) who talks about his frustrating journey auditioning for SNL, the star-studded pilot he was cast in that didn't get picked up, his reflections on Sundance, and how his necessity with adapting and being in survival mode in the past is helping him cope with the pandemic today. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTE...
Jul 28, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 7Ep. 152
In our final six episodes of The Need to Fail, I will be checking back in with my original guests from seven years ago. First up: Benjamin Apple (The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, The Onion) who talks about how a year after our original conversation, he was let go from Jimmy Fallon. We talk about how the sketch that got him hired on the show did not fare well on national TV, the shame associated with publicly failing, being thankful for the obstacles that made him grow and how he is finall...
Jul 21, 2020•48 min•Season 7Ep. 151
Edgar Momplaisir (Culture Kings, What Just Happened) gets candid, opening up about his personal demons, regrets, and rock bottom moments. We talk about not fully processing his best friends death, his frustrating audition process for the Daily Show, and not getting onto Maude Night at UCB while writing for a sketch show series. We also chat about funny funerals, religion, suicide and how humans will do pretty much anything to avoid pain. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: ...
Jul 14, 2020•1 hr 53 min•Season 6Ep. 150
Anna Salinas (badcomixbyanna, Sugar & Toys) went from a kindergarten art teacher to an assistant in the Reality TV department of a big agency working with someone who no one wanted to work with. We talk about the origins of her comic, badcomixbyanna, and how she communicated her anxiety and depression for many years but never really confronted it until recently. We also chat about how The Artist Way was a game changer pushing her creativity, helping her to find her voice, and getting her pas...
Jul 07, 2020•1 hr 33 min•Season 6Ep. 149
Joey Greer (Good Night, Alchemy This) got screwed up taking on the business side of Hollywood. We chat about how he applied his degree in theology to his creative pursuits, being sick and tired of feeling like he needed the industry's help to create something, and how he spent 16 hour nights trying to craft his comedy album. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/theneedtofail https://twitter.com/donfanelli AND PLEASE SUPPORT TN2F ON PATREON FOR BONUS EPS &...
Jun 30, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 6Ep. 148
James T. Robilotta (Leading Imperfectly, TEDx) is now a life coach and public speaker, but it took a lot of ups and downs to get there. We talk about how writing his book was the most polarizing thing he has done in his life, why the brain always feels stupid for letting the heart steer, chewing on his own words about authenticity and vulnerability as his marriage was crumbling, starting the first hip hop improv team in NY - North Coast, and how his whole life he was taught to be kind to other p...
Jun 23, 2020•1 hr 59 min•Season 6Ep. 147
Ellen Haun (How to Get Away with Murder, Cinderella & The Glass Ceiling) was never cast in a show in all four years at USC. An accidentally dropped headshot ruined her final chance. We also chat about how she moved to NY after two agencies were interested and wound up not getting signed by either, how her riffed monologue wound up in the How to Get Away with Murder pilot, and the importance of garbage drafts. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thene...
Jun 16, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 6Ep. 146
Michael Cruz Kayne (Late Night with Seth Meyers, High Maintenance) booked an off-broadway Stomp-like show called Hoopz, produced by Disney, and it was quickly cancelled after Michael Eisner saw it. We chat about testing for SNL, searching for validation in the UCB system, and dealing with the loss of his son. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/theneedtofail https://twitter.com/donfanelli AND PLEASE SUPPORT TN2F ON PATREON FOR BONUS EPS & MORE: https...
Jun 09, 2020•1 hr 35 min•Season 6Ep. 145
Charlie Todd (Improv Everywhere, Pixar IRL) tried for years to get Improv Everywhere on TV with lots of ups and downs along the way. We talk about how he wound up in handcuffs after an Improv Everywhere prank gone awry, seeing a network steal and produce one of his show ideas a year after he pitched it, being told by an agent how his show was a used car that he could not sell, and how this pandemic has been a gut check moment for a company that thrives on live human interaction. CONNECT W/ THE N...
Jun 02, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Season 6Ep. 144
Robyn Schneider (The Beginning of Everything, You Don't Live Here) sold her first book at 18. It was the best and worst day of her life. Straddling a life between writing and medical school, Robyn overcomes trauma, book flops, book cancellations, theft, and a slew of other setbacks on the road to becoming a best selling author. Robyn talks about how she got through it all, shares some writing tips and tricks, and reveals the latest leap of faith she took during the pandemic. CONNECT W/ THE NEED ...
May 26, 2020•1 hr 43 min•Season 6Ep. 143
In Part 2 of our conversation, Jordan Klepper (The Daily Show, Klepper) talks about filling in as host of The Daily Show when Trevor Noah was sick, the joys of getting your own TV show and the gut-punch of it being taken away, and the life changing experience of being arrested. Jordan also takes us behind the scenes of life as a Daily Show correspondent, what he learned about mindset from The School of Life, and talks about the time his boat capsized in the gator-filled bayou while covering a st...
May 19, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Season 6Ep. 142
In Part 1 of our conversation, Jordan Klepper (The Daily Show, The Opposition) talks about his decade of ups and downs in Chicago, what led him to NY, and auditioning for The Daily Show. We chat about how frustrations led to Jordan creating his own popular sketch show in Chicago, how after a failed audition, he wound up eating at the Universal CityWalk Food Court overlooking the red carpet of a Fast & Furious premier, and why getting the Daily Show was the best and worst day of his life. CON...
May 12, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 6Ep. 141
Julie Buxbaum's (Tell Me Three Things, Admission) worked on her third novel for over two years, after giving birth to her first child, and made the painful decision to shelve it because it was capable but not exciting. We talk about her transition from attending Harvard Law School to becoming an author, her continuing self doubts, her routines that make writing less precious, and the importance of recognizing the difference between procrastination and frustration. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL &am...
May 05, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 6Ep. 140
Sam Pancake (A Million Little Things, Arrested Development) got the dream call that he was getting his own TV show - but the deal was so bad he had to walk away, which actually opened up unforeseen acting opportunities. We talk about battling his addictions, his rock bottom moments, and his road to rehab and recovery, as well as what he learned about auditioning while working in commercial casting. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/theneedtofail https:...
Apr 28, 2020•1 hr 38 min•Season 6Ep. 139
Amy Spalding (We Used to Be Friends, The Summer of Jordi Perez) secured a literary agent, but it took another three years to get her first book published. We talk about the benefits of having a day job she excels at, burning her childhood novels in a family bonfire, the dangers of only participating in things you are good at, and why boredom is important for creativity and how the modern world is robbing us of it. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/then...
Apr 21, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Season 6Ep. 138
Mark McConville (SuperEgo, Talking Tom & Friends) went to college to study music and was denied after his audition freshmen year. We talk about the formation of SuperEgo, the value of intention, landing a job at Disney after working 16 hour days at Starbucks and a retail store, and the importance of creating your own work. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/theneedtofail https://twitter.com/donfanelli AND PLEASE SUPPORT TN2F ON PATREON FOR BONUS EPS...
Apr 14, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Season 6Ep. 137
Paige Weldon (Heathers, The Late Late Show with James Corden) had a humor website she co-created hacked and destroyed. Five years of writing and artwork from herself and her friends went down the drain overnight. We chat about how messing up in her Heathers audition probably helped book her the role, the difficulty of working meditation into her routine, being sick and having two days notice for her Late Night stand-up debut, and how agreeing to perform at a Laffy Taffy joke contest helped her g...
Apr 07, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Season 6Ep. 136
Hal Lublin (The Thrilling Adventure Hour, The Venture Bros.) flew himself out to NY to audition for Boom Amsterdam, positive he was going to get hired. He did not. We talk about how he wanted to quit the industry after his mother passed away and what brought him back, how he heard the possible worse thing you can hear from a casting director when he auditioned for Disney, and he shares some very helpful advice for people looking to break into the world of Voice Over. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL ...
Mar 31, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Season 6Ep. 135
Aaron Abrams (Lovebirds, Blindspot) had a panic attack in an audition after he thought the casting director had mistaken him for someone else. We chat about the role he didn't think he was going to book because he accidentally ate tacks in front of the casting directors, booking his first series regular role after being told he no shot at getting the part, and the two big things he learned from becoming a reader for auditions. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twi...
Mar 24, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Season 6Ep. 134
Atsuko Okatsuka (Room 104, Let's Go, Atsuko!) was new to stand up and flown down to audition for America's Got Talent. She was X-ed by Howard Stern during her set and booed by the audience. We chat about how being an immigrant influenced her early comedic style, why she works her standup routine out on a tree first, and how getting organized over the last couple of years has inspired her now more than ever. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/theneedtofa...
Mar 17, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Season 6Ep. 133
Todd Masterson (Gay Fat Friend, Fashion Police) got his dream job working for Joan Rivers and then it was all taken away. We talk about the origins of his GayFatFriend instagram account, almost getting to work at Family Guy, and how watching restoration and makeup tutorial videos helps him get over setbacks. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/theneedtofail https://twitter.com/donfanelli AND PLEASE SUPPORT TN2F ON PATREON FOR BONUS EPS & MORE: https:...
Mar 10, 2020•58 min•Season 6Ep. 132
In our first crossover episode, Don joins the boys of You're the Man Dog Podcast, Dan Lippert and Ryan Rosenberg to chat about personal setbacks and reflexions on their sketch/improv team Big Grande. We talk about how Ryan dealt with his three friends/teammates getting onto the same Harold team without him, how Dan was cut from his college acting program, and how Big Grande wrote a pilot that they sold but weren't proud of. The second half of our conversation can be found on You're the Man Now D...
Mar 03, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Season 6Ep. 131
After Bill Posley's (The Day I Became Black, Survivor) family filed for bankruptcy and his house was foreclosed on, he didn't have money for college. So he joined the Army after high school and graduated from basic training... on 9/11. He talks about how the army prepared him for failure, how he was escorted out of Sunset Gower Studios because he thought Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas had stollen a TV show idea of his, and getting lured into a sham production company which ended with him driving on th...
Feb 25, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Season 6Ep. 130
Daniel Shar (Scraps, The Onion) published an article called "You Miss 87% You Do Take if You Are Me in 2019" in which he documents over a thousand attempts at making money and furthering his career last year and breaks down all of the results. We talk about weighing his findings and his big takeaways, how he wrote three movies in 90 days, an embarrassing moment while directing his first film, and his failed attempts at being a background actor ina porno. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FAN...
Feb 18, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 6Ep. 129
Morgan Evans (Netflix, Disney+) had the worst year of his life when he moved to LA, after the movie he wrote was optioned. We chat about the struggles of drought years and money management, the frustration with not being able to transfer from the digital world to linear television, and how he learned a ton about directing from watching Adam McKay and Judd Apatow DVD bonus features. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/theneedtofail https://twitter.com/don...
Feb 11, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Season 6Ep. 128
Achilles Stamatelaky (Broad City, UCB) is in his head. He's been getting to the final round interviews for a ton of writing jobs and not landing any. We chat about why he thinks this is, his UCB journey, writing hacks, the struggles with having to be your own assistant, and how after overhearing a conversation between two veteran improvisors was the moment he knew he should focus on writing. CONNECT W/ THE NEED TO FAIL & DON FANELLI ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/theneedtofail https://twitt...
Feb 04, 2020•1 hr 46 min•Season 6Ep. 127
