“It’s thenew
menow. I
have toget
laughs from
thenewme.”
TM:
Absolutely,man. I’mhere for a
reason.I’mstillmakingpeople laugh.
I’m still doingmy part tomake this
worldabetterplace.
H:
So letme ask you this:When you
gobackout on tour,people are going
to be thinking about the crash.Are
yougoing to address it at all?
TM:
Idon’twanttorelivethat.What’s
funny about that? I ain’t gonna talk
about the crash. Imight talk about
what happened around me—my
therapy and all that.Butwould you
want to relive that crash?
H:
Of coursenot,but—
TM:
Peopledon’twant tohear about
howmy frienddiedandhowIwas in
a coma. It’s not funny. I don’t want
to relive it. It was a horrible crash,
and somebodydied.There’snothing
funnyabout that.
H:
Fair enough.Was there amoment
during your recoverywhen youknew
you couldget backout on the road?
TM:
Ihad lostmymemory. I couldn’t
rememberwhoIwas.Anditstartedto
comebacktomewhenIcamehome—
whenIstartedwatchingYouTubeand
watching the oldme and theDavid
DANA EDELSON/NBC/NBCU PHOTO BANK VIA GETTY IMAGES
Lettermansandallthat.I’mstilltrying
to find it.AndnowIhave togetback
on stage and find it.Those are two
totallydifferent things:Finding it in
your living room sittingon thecouch
andthenfinding itonstage infrontof
800people.Getting laughs frommy
family is one thing, but now I gotta
actuallygetupthereandgetlaughs.It’s
thenewmenow. Ihave toget laughs
from thenewme.
H:
When you started watching old
clips,was it like lookingat a stranger?
Did you recognize you?
TM:
I recognizedme, but it was a
feelingof,
Howdo Iget back there?
H:
Now you’re heading back out on
the road.
TM:
Nowwe gotta take the funny
bus out for a run.We going topick
thefunnykidsup,thecoolkids,onthe
funnybus.Youonthefunnybus.You
have to see themagic. It will either
be a trainwreckor amiracle! People
started crying and all of thatwhen I
came out on that stage on
Saturday
Night Live
,man. I know I did too.
Theysaid,OK,thefunny isstillthere.
Now let’senjoy it.
H:
Speakingof themagic:A fewyears
back, youwere describing your stuff,
andyousaid,“Icut themonster.Idon’t
go too deep because I knowwe need
themonster.But I cut themonster.”
Iwaswondering,what’s themonster?
TM:
Ohyeah,Icutthemonster,butI
don’tgo toodeepbecause Iknow if I
go toodeepI’llkill themonster.And
Iknowweneed themonster.
H:
Yeah,butwhat’s themonster?
TM:
Sense of humor! Some people
hate to laugh. Some people hate to
have a sense of humor. They take
everything so serious. They want
to kill the dragon.But we need the
dragon ’causewemakehim talk like
he’smagical.
H:
It’s good tohave youback,Tracy.
TM:
Thankyou.
H:
Anything else youwant to add?
TM:
Nah, just tell the cool kids to
buckle up because we’re coming
theirway.
H:
Can thecool kidsexpect your shirt
to stayon this time around?
TM:
I can’t tell you.You gottawait
and see.
JoeKeohane
, aNewYork City–based
writer and editor, urges readers not to
kill the dragon.
COMEBACKKIDDER
Morgan during his October SNL appearance, alongside former 30 Rock
castmates Jack McBrayer, Tina Fey, Jane Krakowski, and Alec Baldwin
The Hemi
Q&A
with
TracyMorgan
54
