Ferrara talks George Carlin, comic influences before Raleigh show

Landing roles on hit shows like Rescue Me and Nurse Jackie, and hosting BBC’s Top Gear US, was at least partially the product of Ferrara’s quest for knowledge of the craft. That search began not long after Ferrara secured his first acting job, which he said probably wouldn’t have happened without stand-up.

During a Tuesday night phone interview, Ferrara and I discussed his start in stand-up and acting, meeting George Carlin and Richard Pryor, why the truth is always funnier and more.

Then, I got very fortunate. The comedy gods smiled on me. I went out to (Los Angeles) and auditioned for this sitcom called Flying Blind with Corey Parker and Tea Leoni. I got the gig. I was a guest star. When I did it, I realized I really liked (acting) and I really wanted to learn how to do it. I did a good job (on Flying Blind), but I knew there was a lot there that other people knew that I didn’t. It was something you could study.

There’s a weird thing about stand-up. I don’t think you can teach it. You’re either funny or not. You can learn craft. You can learn how to put a set together. You can learn (joke) construction and stuff, but you’ve gotta really be kind of bent to do it.

Acting, there were books on it. There was theory about it. I started studying with my acting coach, Stephen Book. … Stand-up came first and then acting came quickly after that.

There used to be a Catch A Rising Star (comedy club) in (Las) Vegas. … He was in the club the week that I was there. I didn’t know he was there. I don’t know if he watched my whole show or not while he was there, but he gave me tickets to his show. “You wanna come to my show, be my guest. There’s a booth set up for you. I’ll put your names on the thing.” So, I sat right there watching George Carlin as a guest.

Then I bumped into him on a plane after that. I told him (about the Vegas experience). He got a big smile on his face. When I bumped into him again, he said, “You’re funny,” and I said, “You’re Carlin.” [interviewer laughs] We started talking and that was the best part of that story of when I opened for him. I had that weekend relationship with him, but I think he did that with all the comics when he was in Bally’s (in Vegas). I think he was aware of his position and it was a very kind thing to do.

(Richard) Pryor was another one of my heroes. I got to meet him. There was this thing called the American Comedy Awards and I got nominated a couple years in a row for Best Male Stand-up. (Pryor’s) table was near mine.

They showed a clip of me and everyone laughed. People are going up to him to say hello and I was a little nervous. It’s Pryor. I can’t just talk to him.

(Ferrara’s friend and fellow comedian Maryellen Hooper) said, “Putz, he just saw you. What bigger invitation do you need? Go up and just shake his hand.” [interviewer laughs] I went up and said, “Mr. Pryor, the Santa Monica concert changed my life when I was 12 years old. I saw it on VHS.” He goes, “You’re (expletive) funny! That was great.”

I’ve been very fortunate that the people I have met, that I’ve connected with, for the most part were really good human beings.

It’s a fluid thing. I’m a professional comic so I can tell when things in my life aren’t going well because I would use the stage to find out. One thing I did learn through all of this is, just because I’m crazy doesn’t mean I can’t monetize it. When I would write a bit, I’d write about something in my life. I can’t fix that (thing) but I can fix a joke. I can come on stage with an idea and let it show me where it wants to go.

It’s like sculpting and the audience is like a chisel and once you find the truth in it, you make the joke or the bit work and it might be different than the idea you started with, but that’s the ultimate truth. If it’s true, the audience is gonna laugh. If you’re not quite there yet, they’re really not gonna laugh. They don’t know why, but they’re not. It’s a great lie detector test, the audience.