Joe Rogan Experience #1493 - Steve Schirripa & Michael Imperioli

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   ... one. Steve! …

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:00

      ... one. Steve!

   2. SSSteve Schirripa0:02

      Yes, sir.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:03

      My man.

   4. SSSteve Schirripa0:03

      Good to see you, buddy.

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:04

      Good to see you, brother. Michael here.

   6. SSSteve Schirripa0:04

      Really good.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:05

      Pleasure to meet you, man.

   8. MIMichael Imperioli0:06

      Thanks for having us today.

   9. SSSteve Schirripa0:07

      Uh, s- yeah, really, thanks. Uh, it's been a while. I saw you, uh-

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:11

       The last time I saw you was at the old studio.

   11. SSSteve Schirripa0:13

       Three years ago.

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:13

       Yeah, we're-

   13. SSSteve Schirripa0:13

       But it looks exact- it's eerie. This is exactly the same place.

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:16

       Yeah, I'm gonna re- I'm gonna do it again the next place I move. I'm gonna re- rebuild this whole thing again. That's my move, just make it s- look like this.

   15. SSSteve Schirripa0:22

       Just make it, uh, comfortable, you know?

   16. JRJoe Rogan0:24

       Yeah.

   17. SSSteve Schirripa0:24

       You like what you like.

   18. JRJoe Rogan0:25

       It looks like the same thing.

   19. SSSteve Schirripa0:26

       Yeah, that way you don't get confused.

   20. JRJoe Rogan0:28

       Same desk, everything's pretty much the same.

   21. SSSteve Schirripa0:29

       Yeah, this is great. Good to see you.

   22. JRJoe Rogan0:31

       Good to see you too, brother. I'm bummed out, though, about your sauce.

   23. SSSteve Schirripa0:35

       Yeah, yeah, well, it was- we grew too fast.

   24. JRJoe Rogan0:36

       I was just bragging to somebody about it the other day.

   25. SSSteve Schirripa0:38

       We grew too fast, but you have two of the last ones left.

   26. MIMichael Imperioli0:41

       I know, what to do? Is it like wine?

   27. SSSteve Schirripa0:41

       That are inexistent. (laughs)

   28. MIMichael Imperioli0:43

       (laughs)

   29. JRJoe Rogan0:43

       Do I have to, like, like, let it sit on the shelf forever?

   30. SSSteve Schirripa0:45

       No, no, no.
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   (laughs) …

   1. SSSteve Schirripa15:00

      it kinda differently, obviously, than back then, you know. Back then, I was just trying not to get fucking killed, you know. (laughs)

   2. MIMichael Imperioli15:07

      (laughs)

   3. SSSteve Schirripa15:07

      But now, (laughs) now you're, you're watching it, and in, in one scene, right, there's some incredible scenes where he's happy, mad, furious. In, in one three-minute scene he goes through four different emotions. It's-

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:21

      Yeah.

   5. SSSteve Schirripa15:22

      He's amazing in it, you know. And I, I don't know if you remember this, but when I first got the job, uh, I had to go ... I, I got the job. I auditioned, I got the job, I had to go to a read-through. And I happened to see you. I think you were working in Vegas at the Riv. And I said, "Joe, what ..." I asked you and another comic, I think Bill Kurkenbauer. I said, "What, what, what goes on in a read-through?" 'Cause even though I had worked-

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:48

      (laughs)

   7. SSSteve Schirripa15:48

      ... I didn't know.

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:49

      Right, right.

   9. SSSteve Schirripa15:49

      And I said, "Do you do it, like, 100%?" And you told me, "You know, like, you know, 85, 90%. Like, don't go all in." You actually told me that. And-

   10. MIMichael Imperioli15:59

       For an audition or a re- read-through?

   11. SSSteve Schirripa16:01

       For the audition.

   12. MIMichael Imperioli16:01

       Oh, okay.

   13. SSSteve Schirripa16:01

       Uh, for the, for the read-through.

   14. MIMichael Imperioli16:03

       Read-through. Oh, read-through. Yeah.

   15. SSSteve Schirripa16:04

       I mean, do you fucking-

   16. JRJoe Rogan16:05

       When you got the part.

   17. SSSteve Schirripa16:05

       You know, you're around the table. I didn't quite know if you go all, you know, fucking start acting, you know. (laughs)

   18. MIMichael Imperioli16:11

       Oh, right.

   19. SSSteve Schirripa16:11

       Or you just read the lines, which some people do just flat, which is terrible.

   20. MIMichael Imperioli16:17

       Yeah.

   21. SSSteve Schirripa16:17

       I mean, that's not the answer. There's people that actually get fired during the read-through.

   22. JRJoe Rogan16:21

       Right, right. Yeah.

   23. SSSteve Schirripa16:22

       After a read-through.

   24. MIMichael Imperioli16:23

       Yeah.

   25. SSSteve Schirripa16:23

       There's actually ... You know that, right? (laughs)

   26. MIMichael Imperioli16:25

       'Cause they're so flat.

   27. SSSteve Schirripa16:27

       I didn't know. I didn't ... I honestly ... If I would've known that-

   28. MIMichael Imperioli16:29

       Well, they shouldn't really be there then. They should've known that already. On an audition.

   29. SSSteve Schirripa16:31

       Yeah, but if I would've known that you could get fired after the read-through, I would've been shitting my pants. I was so naive-

   30. JRJoe Rogan16:36

       (laughs)
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   And it was, it…

   1. MIMichael Imperioli30:00

      and Steve was one of the leads.

   2. SSSteve Schirripa30:02

      And it was, it was great. I mean, you know, it was-

   3. JRJoe Rogan30:03

      What was it about?

   4. SSSteve Schirripa30:03

      ... all New York actors and, uh... What's that?

   5. JRJoe Rogan30:07

      What was it about?

   6. SSSteve Schirripa30:08

      Uh, you know, a-... five people that'll fucking lost, their life is lost. I, I, I, I played a guy that, uh, was a radio DJ-

   7. MIMichael Imperioli30:15

      Late night radio host.

   8. JRJoe Rogan30:16

      Oh.

   9. SSSteve Schirripa30:16

      ... that, that's a coke eye and drunk.

   10. JRJoe Rogan30:19

       You could be a great radio DJ with that voice.

   11. SSSteve Schirripa30:20

       Proble- problem with his kids.

   12. JRJoe Rogan30:22

       (laughs)

   13. SSSteve Schirripa30:22

       But, uh, it was great. We rehearsed at his, at the time he had a, a theater. We rehearsed 'cause we didn't have a lot of money at, at times. We rehearsed, we got out on the street, we did it. Uh, Michael was terrific. He knows what he wants. I mean, that, that's the biggest mistake a director could make. If they're hesitant, you know, they gotta know what they want before they come over and talk to you.

   14. JRJoe Rogan30:45

       Yeah.

   15. SSSteve Schirripa30:46

       You know what I mean? There's a guy hemming and whoring, you know, it's like what the fuck? But talking about line reading, there was a, an actor, a Broadway guy, that did the Sopranos. A small role. Uh, and I was, it was a scene with me and, and Uncle Junior, and, uh, and this guy. And they were actually giving him line readings. He was a Broadway actor, and he wasn't getting it. And they wind up dubbing his voice.

   16. JRJoe Rogan31:10

       Ugh.

   17. SSSteve Schirripa31:11

       They dubbed his voice.

   18. MIMichael Imperioli31:12

       Did they really?

   19. JRJoe Rogan31:12

       Yeah.

   20. SSSteve Schirripa31:13

       Yes. I forget the guy's name. When we get to the episode, I'll tell you. But-

   21. JRJoe Rogan31:16

       That's insane.

   22. SSSteve Schirripa31:17

       Yeah. But you know what else happened on the show numerous times? Like I did, uh, I did a scene with the rapper Fabolous, and he was great. It was a scene where I shot the guy in the ass. I don't know if you remember that.

   23. JRJoe Rogan31:30

       Oh, I remember that. (laughs)

   24. SSSteve Schirripa31:31

       Yeah. All right, uh, I'm supposed to shoot him in the thigh 'cause I'm a marksman and I get money from him, and I shoot him in the ass by mistake. But I shot it with Fabolous, and then a few weeks later they said, "Listen, you gotta re-shoot that scene." So right away I go, "What? What, I fucked up?" No. They changed Fabolous to Treach. Treach?

   25. JRJoe Rogan31:54

       Mm-hmm.

   26. SSSteve Schirripa31:54

       Naughty by Nature.

   27. JRJoe Rogan31:55

       Yeah.

   28. SSSteve Schirripa31:56

       Good guy. They, they said he looked too young. They just replaced him.

   29. MIMichael Imperioli32:00

       Hmm.

   30. SSSteve Schirripa32:01

       They just, they had the, the budget and the time, and they just got, brought in another actor. And they would rewrite scenes. If they didn't like the scene after they saw it, they would rewrite it, and, and, uh, numerous times they brought in other actors. There's two different FBI agents. Uh, Fairuza Balk, you know that actress?
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   (laughs) …

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      "Hey, are you okay? What's going on?" He'd be like, "You're not my husband. What is happening here?"

   2. SSSteve Schirripa45:05

      (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:05

      (laughs)

   4. SSSteve Schirripa45:05

      Dom Irrera 2.0.

   5. GUGuest45:06

      That is wild.

   6. SSSteve Schirripa45:07

      There should be Dom Irreras all over the country. We'll send him out.

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:10

      Yes.

   8. SSSteve Schirripa45:10

      Headline everywhere.

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:11

      Yeah. There's Gallagher 2.0.

   10. SSSteve Schirripa45:12

       Look, which one's which?

   11. JRJoe Rogan45:13

       I don't know which one's which.

   12. SSSteve Schirripa45:15

       I'd s- I'd say on the right.

   13. JRJoe Rogan45:16

       I think that's... On the right is 2.0.

   14. GUGuest45:18

       Yeah.

   15. SSSteve Schirripa45:18

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan45:18

       So the guy on the right, he had to grow his fucking hair the same way and wear the same clothes and do the same thing.

   17. GUGuest45:23

       What, was he... Was one better than the other? Or was basically the same thing?

   18. SSSteve Schirripa45:26

       I never saw it. (laughs)

   19. JRJoe Rogan45:27

       I'd like to see a review of his performances.

   20. SSSteve Schirripa45:28

       Have you had Gallagher on the show?

   21. JRJoe Rogan45:29

       No, I haven't. No. He's a, he... I've heard him on Stern before though. He's an interesting guy.

   22. SSSteve Schirripa45:34

       Uh-

   23. JRJoe Rogan45:34

       Very opinionated.

   24. SSSteve Schirripa45:35

       ... hey. (laughs)

   25. GUGuest45:37

       (laughs)

   26. SSSteve Schirripa45:37

       But I gotta tell ya, he took that prop thing to another level.

   27. GUGuest45:41

       That's true. Yeah, he did.

   28. SSSteve Schirripa45:42

       (laughs)

   29. JRJoe Rogan45:42

       Well, him, him... Between, like... Carrot Top, I say, just... He ru- he... I don't wanna say ruined the genre of prop comics, but he defined it to the point where no one else could be a prop comic anymore. When I was starting out in '88, there was prop comics. There was all these guys. Like, some guys would have music. Some guys would have props. There was... Some guys have, uh, had a puppet, you know?

   30. SSSteve Schirripa46:02

       Yeah.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:06:28

   Yeah. Well, w- when…

   1. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:00

      you know, before the pandemic, anyway. That's the spot in the whole United States, right?

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:04

      Yeah. Well, w- when I came back in 2014, we had already been talking about it for so long on the podcast that it kinda had a little bit of a ramp up before then. But then when I came back and we were basically telling everybody, "Hey, I'm at The Store. We're there. We're there, you know, five nights a week."

   3. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:17

      Yeah.

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:17

      It just became mobbed again. I mean, it was mobbed every fucking night. It was sold out hundreds of days in a row, three shows, one in the ami- uh, one in the original room, big show in the main room, belly room just packed.

   5. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:29

      Just packed.

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:29

      Every night.

   7. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:30

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:00:30

      You couldn't get in there.

   9. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:31

      They had the, uh, you know, they were at the Dunes.

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:00:34

       Mm-hmm.

   11. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:34

       They were before the improv, you know?

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:00:36

       Yeah.

   13. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:36

       And there was, like, five headliners, you know. They would have, like, Dom and, uh, you know, Kinison or Mitchell Walters or ...

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:00:44

       Mm-hmm.

   15. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:45

       You know, and they, they were at the Dunes Hotel in the big room. And Mitz- Mitzi four-walled that.

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:00:51

       Ah.

   17. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:51

       So she made all the money.

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:00:53

       Oh.

   19. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:53

       And she was very smart. Obviously a smart businesswoman.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:00:55

       Yeah.

   21. SSSteve Schirripa1:00:56

       She didn't go for the sh- you know, guaranteed money. She took a shot and for years that was the spot to be, you know?

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:01:02

       When did that place go under? That was before my time.

   23. SSSteve Schirripa1:01:05

       And then ...... I wanna say in the '90s, early-

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:01:08

       Yeah.

   25. SSSteve Schirripa1:01:08

       ... '90s, they, they knocked The Dunes down.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:01:10

       Mm.

   27. SSSteve Schirripa1:01:11

       But I think it started in '84.

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:01:13

       Ah.

   29. SSSteve Schirripa1:01:13

       The Improv opened in '86 and they would have five outline- uh, headliners. Johnny Dark, uh, you know, all, all, you know, all the, uh, headliners from The Comedy Store. Jimmy Walker, you know.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:01:26

       Mm-hmm. Well, Vegas is making a comeback when it comes to comedy. Like there's clubs-

Episode duration: 2:33:09