Jenny Slate Gets Powerfully Intimate About Her Comedy Career: 'I Reserve The Right To Say This Is Not Important To Me'
Jenny Slate opened up about her fears in the stand-up comedy world during the first-ever Stand-Up Roundtable from 'The Hollywood Reporter.'
From her time on 'Parks and Recreation,' to her stand-up comedy routine, to her movie 'Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,' Slate has become a well-known force in the entertainment world. The roundtable featured a stellar lineup of comedians, including Mike Birbiglia, Taylor Tomlinson, Ramy Youssef, Alex Edelman, Jacqueline Novak, and Jenny Slate.
RELATED: Comedian Alex Edelman To Talk About His Hit Show 'Just For Us' at 92Y With Stephen Colbert
During the discussion, the topic of auditioning for The Comedy Cellar, one of the most prestigious comedy clubs globally, came up. Slate, 42, candidly admitted, "I haven't done it, too afraid."
"I can be overly concerned with having to do what's important to me within an environment that feels set. And sometimes — and I'm not saying this is necessarily true and it can sound like a cop-out but if something feels old-school male... And I'm not saying everybody that goes there is that way, but there is a part of me that's like, 'I reserve the right to say this is not important to me.' "
The Massachusetts native emphasized the importance of finding a stage where she could connect with her audience on a deeper level. She also mentioned that her therapy sessions are crucial for her to achieve intimacy and overcoming self-doubt.
"If you think part of yourself is essentially bad, you'll probably hide it, which means that then you can't be truly intimate," she noted.
RELATED: A24 Film 'Marcel the Shell With Shoes On' Is The Most Perfectly Simple, Heartwarming, Tear-Jerking, Emotion Inducing Film of the Year
She went on to explain that not only are there many ways to live a life in comedy, but there are many reasons that one gets into it.
"And everyone does whatever we're doing for different reasons, but for me, I'm like, I'm sensitive. I already feel bad enough," she said. "It's not because I'm undeveloped, it's just the kind of mammal I am. And I just don't want to go into a legendary place and feel like I'm not good enough."
