50 Quotes by John Mulaney
John Mulaney, a stand-up comedian and writer, has carved out a unique niche in the world of comedy with his witty observations, clean humor, and impeccable storytelling. Born in 1982, Mulaney's comedic style is marked by his ability to find humor in the mundane and to craft relatable narratives that resonate with a wide range of audiences. His distinctive charm lies in his knack for weaving elaborate anecdotes, often drawing from his own life experiences, into hilarious and memorable performances. Mulaney's comedy transcends mere jokes, inviting audiences into his world and making them feel like old friends. His critically acclaimed specials like "New in Town" and "Kid Gorgeous" showcase his exceptional comedic timing and delivery. Beyond his stand-up, Mulaney's work as a writer on "Saturday Night Live" further demonstrates his comedic prowess, contributing to iconic sketches and characters. His impact on the comedy scene is defined by his ability to bring joy through clever, clean, and thought-provoking humor that stands the test of time.
John Mulaney Quotes
Excuse me: I am homeless. I am gay. I have AIDS. I'm new in town.
It is 100% easier not to do things than to do them, and so much fun not to do them - especially when you were supposed to do them. In terms of instant relief, canceling plans is like heroin.
The more you do stuff, the better you get at dealing with how you still fail at it a lot of the time.
Ill book a ticket on some garbage airline. I dont wanna name an actual airline so lets make one up, lets just call it like Delta Airlines
I was always the squarest person in the cool room, and alternatively, sometimes the weirder person at the mainstream table.
Why do people shush animals? Theyve never spoken
I have a lot of stories about being a kid because it was the last time I was interesting.
In terms of, like, instant relief, canceling plans is like heroin.
I'm a very lucky person. I'm an idiot, and I've shoveled through life rather nicely so far, so I don't feel like I deserve good treatment.
If you’re comparing the badness of two words and you won’t even say one of them [the n-word], that’s the worse word.
All my money is in a savings account. My dad has explained the stock market to me maybe 75 times. I still don't understand it.
I like to turn on the TV and watch whatever's on. Nick Kroll does that a lot. He doesn't watch important shows. He'll just turn on a documentary on Mia Hamm and watch it for an hour. Whatever's on, we watch.
I plan to join the 'SNL' band as a maraca player and stand behind saxophonist Lenny Pickett. That way they will at least cut to me before commercial breaks. I'll be sure to look right into camera.
I like when things are crazy. Something good comes out of exhaustion.
Comfort is everything. You start doing something and you want it to be perfect right away, but most babies are born ugly and then they shake it out and you get beautiful toddlers.
I think for many of us - speaking for just a pocket of the country - we trusted Obama. So when you leave your baby with your mom to watch, you don't run home and check the nanny cam. But now we've left the baby with Gary Busey, so we're going to be a lot more on it.
I like making fun of myself a lot. I like being made fun of, too. I've always enjoyed it. There's just something really, really funny about someone tearing into me.
I kind of thought, wouldn't it be funny to take a swing at being on the weird side of mainstream?
Occasionally you get that one person that says "I really like that one part of this joke" and you go, "Oh thank you that's my favorite part too." But no, in order for it to be authentic hopefully you have jokes that everyone can just get on board with and then you have a few things for yourself.
Stand-up for me is just my opinions on things, so it wouldn't be as fun translated into a sketch. Nor would a sketch be as fun if it were me standing there saying it.
Being president looks like the worst job in the world.
You can't always see both sides of the story. Eventually, you have to pick a side and stick with it. No more equivocating. You have to commit.
Things have to be funny first, and if they want to have a point, that's awesome.
I'm a very straightforward person. But that's fine for a comedian. Because a lot of times you're talking about everyone else.
Things don't exist until they exist.
I definitely look like a toddler. I feel comfortable and I have a lot of fun out there [John Mulaney Show]. And if I were to be extremely egotistical, I'd say I got a tiny bit better.
If I was at the Comedy Cellar at midnight you yelled at the back of the room. But you, for television, play it to the camera because yes you're communicating to the people at home using the studio audience that's right in front of you as a guide for that.
I stopped drinking when I was 23. I kind of started when I was 13, so it was a 10-year run. But I just became a bad, annoying drunk child, so when I stopped, I'd done a lot of things I wasn't proud of.
I remember writing standup jokes without having done sets. But as soon as I did my first set, it didn't matter. Everything I thought would work didn't work. And everything I was iffy on was funny.
People having expectations maybe means they've enjoyed what I've done.
In every case, I find pre-planning noble, but not always that useful in comedy. You know comedy once you're doing it.
It was funny to be an emcee, because you're so at the mercy of the club. You can show up for the weekend hoping to get the $400 - and get fired. I had to prank whoever they told me to prank.
I really set out to do this traditional looking and traditional sounding multi-cam sitcom, but then make the world as elastic as an animated show could be. Make the world as surreal as we wanted it to be.
I've done festivals in the past where I'd be a guest, it was like, Wow, maybe someday I could play Town Hall - but that'll be a long way off. So it's very exciting.
I like that idea that what I do might be mainstream. Might be.
The best-case scenario is everything goes perfect and smooth, but we're also a new and weird show. So all my conversations were, "Hey last night didn't go perfect but we kind of know what we've got in store for everybody episode-wise."
I've always believed that you often need less. You don't need to hear why people are friends, you don't need to hear why people are roommates, you don't need to hear why someone would help a friend to do something.
There are a lot of great jokes you can sit down and write, but that's just a written joke, versus the comedy of the situation. Ideally, you're pulling as much comedy out of the situation as you can.
Understudies don't normally get invited to openings.
I do longer runs on things, a lot stories. I really like one-liners, I like a lot of different kinds of standup but I've always been long-winded.
Going on the road for long stretches can seem daunting, and I certainly miss being home sometimes, but the chance to see so many different cities, let alone perform in them, is something I am really grateful for.
I never turn on the crowd. Sometimes, you think it's a terrible show, and then afterward, sometimes people say they really liked it. So turning on the crowd is only going to alienate the few people who might like it.
You all have a relative who is an expert even though they really don't know what they're talking about.
That was an interesting thing I learned I think the first time I did a late night show or something. It was like, "Oh, this is for the camera and a performance that you're giving to the people at home."
It's important to remember that life is a joke and that outlook grants a lot of perspective, but I don't think comedy should change and become political due to other things. It should just laugh at that cosmic joke that life is all the time.
Everyone's very relaxed about brand names in television.
I had a lot of fun writing things that died during dress rehearsal. Sometimes I remember the crazy ones that died even more fondly than the ones that did really well.
Having done stand-up on television and in stand-up specials for like Comedy Central, you learn quickly that for that type of performance you're playing to the camera.
I always wanted it to be multi-cam from the beginning. In the first seeds of the idea, I wanted a live audience, multi-cam show. That was very important for me.
Maybe I just have high self-esteem, but I have a lot that I really enjoy.
I wish I could go tell 12-year-old me like I don't worry that you just fainted in front of all the girls, one day you'll be able to make this into an episode of TV.
As I got into high school and after puberty, I was a little more inward. I was a real extrovert when I was little, but I don't know, I just got quieter With my friends, I was still an extrovert.
"The Doula" was and is a very, very special episode to me because I think it's very funny and very weird and it also is 100 percent based on my life, in that I fainted three times during Sex Ed in real life the three different years.
I don't know if there's a strategy really so much as, like I learned doing standup and had to learn fast, you always just try to give your favorite, strongest stuff as early as possible and you start with what you like the most.
My standup persona is like I'll heighten things, but I'm observing the world as it is in sort of a heightened emotional state.
It's really fun to be writing and producing your own sketches. You almost have more control.
An episode that is near and dear to my heart is the entire cast in one room for the night because we get bed bugs in our apartment building so we have to stay with Martin Short.
If something is very, very funny but possibly controversial, if it's truly funny, then it's worth doing. Things aren't worth doing for the sake of being controversial.
I have tons of jokes with moments in them over the years in stand-up that don't get a laugh but I love them so they stay.
I was just trying to blend the standup that I do almost with like the visual sketch stuff that I did on "Saturday Night Live." And so in terms of how elastic in the world is, we'll see what we can get away with [in John Mulaney show].
Part of standup is being loose and having a good time yourself and that translates to the audience.
A lot of comedy clubs are set up with people sitting at little tables and you have everything from the way they are seated to them ordering or taking a sip of a drink, these can make a comedian go harder and faster in a club.
― John Mulaney Quotes
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
