Jon Stewart is on the other side of the interview desk these days, making the rounds to promote his directorial debut, Rosewater, which is in theaters now. The comedian, as you might expect, is pretty savvy at the talking game, having done thousands of interviews himself. But nothing can prepare you for Howard Stern.
But Stern was mellow (what his fans call boring) and when it came to comedy craft, the talk got downright serious. Stewart was reverential as he spoke about the experience of “bombing” on stage. (Stewart, by some accounts, bombed hosting the Oscars in 2008.) When you first bomb, you panic, Stewart confessed. But “one of biggest turning points of being a comic is learning how to steer into the bomb. In some ways the bomb validates you. Oh yeah, now I’m pushing things. Now I’m trying new things…and there’s something about getting the shit kicked out of you the next day that’s strangely validating.” Stern was less appreciative. He hates to bomb, he said. Thin skin, you know?
bombing segment at around minute 32.
