Zach Galifianakis says he's hesitant to revive Between Two Ferns due to today's “meaner” culture
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The satirical talk show featured celebrity guests like Brad Pitt and President Obama, the latter of whom Galifianakis called “great at comedy”
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Galifianakis recalled Obama personally calling him after their episode, a moment he commemorated with a photo of an empty chair
There's one main reason thatZach Galifianakiswouldn't bring backBetween Two Fernsand it has to do with the times we live in.
OnThe Rich Eisen Show,Galifianakis, 56, was asked how long it had been since he filmed an episode of the satirical talk show and if he would ever bring it back.
“I feel like we're kind of living in meaner times right now and I'm not sure that that tonally might work at this moment. I don't know. I don't know," theHangoverstar replied.
Podcast host Rich Eisen, however, noted that he thinks “people are kind of in on the gag at this point," to which Galifianakis replied, “I guess so. Maybe that is the reason to do one.”
Eisen said that he occasionally pulls up bloopers from the show when he needs a laugh.
“I have seen those bloopers. I always say my career is a blooper," Galifianakis said. "Those bloopers are joyous. I've never been interested in pranking anyone. I always wanted to be a joint effort, but I never wanted the audience to think that. So then when we showed the bloopers, we kind of gave that up a little bit."
Between Two Fernswas a satirical talk show that started as a web series, known for its awkward interviews with public figures and Hollywood stars. The series was produced on and off between 2008 and 2018, featuring celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt and even President Barack Obama.
There was also a Comedy Central television special and a Netflix original movie,Between Two Ferns: The Movie, which came out in 2019.
There's a moment in the Pitt episode where theFight Clubactor spat gum in Galifianakis' face.
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“I asked him to do that,” he admitted to Eisen.
“I think he just put my gum in his mouth and spit it in my face. It was my gum. I think he took it out of me, I can't remember. Right. Yep. That's how that went down," he added.
Most of the guests, Galifianakis shared, “were pretty game," but emphasized that they didn't "get the questions ahead of time" — aside from one special guest.
"I think with President Obama, they did because we didn't have that much time with them, and then I don't want to give them the questions at all because that takes away the element of surprise that you need that honest reaction from them."
While they made an exception for the 44th U.S. President, Galifianakis said the politician showed up eager to participate and didn't give away any of the jokes.
"It's like Obama's from The Second City. He's really good at comedy," the actor said, admitting he was "incredibly nervous" beforehand.
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“We were in the White House, we went to him and I'm not a cool cat. He was great," Galifianakis recalled. "He called me after it came out. He called my cell phone. I'll never forget, I was at a construction site. He calls me. I'm with traffic cones and he calls me, we chat and then I hang up. I'm alone and I had no one and I just took a picture of the chair I was sitting on."
“I have a picture of an empty chair next to two traffic cones to commemorate the call I got from Obama," he added. "I actually got nervous when he called me because I didn't expect that. I didn't, he didn't have to call me."
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