Joe Rogan Experience #2187 - Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler (guest), Narrator, Narrator, Joe Rogan (host), Narrator, Guest (guest), Narrator, Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Adam Sandler and Narrator, Joe Rogan Experience #2187 - Adam Sandler explores adam Sandler and Joe Rogan Trade War Stories on Comedy, Grit, Aging Joe Rogan and Adam Sandler have a long-form, nostalgic conversation about their parallel paths in stand-up, film, and entertainment. They swap early-club stories, bombing memories, and how delusional confidence carried them through brutal beginnings. They dive into health and aging, the discipline behind training and touring, and the collaborative process behind Sandler’s movies and Rogan’s specials. Along the way, they reflect on legends like Kevin Meaney, Sam Kinison, Chris Rock, and rock bands, exploring how greatness in any field raises everyone’s game.
Adam Sandler and Joe Rogan Trade War Stories on Comedy, Grit, Aging
Joe Rogan and Adam Sandler have a long-form, nostalgic conversation about their parallel paths in stand-up, film, and entertainment. They swap early-club stories, bombing memories, and how delusional confidence carried them through brutal beginnings. They dive into health and aging, the discipline behind training and touring, and the collaborative process behind Sandler’s movies and Rogan’s specials. Along the way, they reflect on legends like Kevin Meaney, Sam Kinison, Chris Rock, and rock bands, exploring how greatness in any field raises everyone’s game.
Key Takeaways
Delusional confidence can be a useful shield early in a career.
Both Sandler and Rogan describe being objectively bad when they started but utterly convinced they were great; that irrational belief insulated them long enough to survive brutal bombs and eventually develop real skills.
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Bombing is inevitable, and it remains instructive even at the top.
They recount painful bombs—from early open mics to recent corporate gigs—and emphasize that each failure taught them tweaks in writing, timing, or mindset that made the next set better.
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Sustainable fitness comes from small, consistent habits—not heroic bursts.
Rogan stresses not overdoing it: start with manageable workouts, avoid injury, and gradually improve while tightening diet (e. ...
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Collaboration multiplies creativity in both stand-up and film.
Sandler credits long-term collaborators (like Tim Herlihy and young joke writers) and a stable, family-like film crew for sharpening jokes, scenes, and overall energy; Rogan similarly leans on strong openers and peers to elevate his sets.
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Over-preparation is the antidote to high-pressure live performances.
Rogan explains that for his live Netflix special he did the exact set for weeks, wrote every bit and transition by hand, and reviewed recordings intensely so he could perform without mental drift or panic.
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A tight, supportive circle makes success more enjoyable and sustainable.
Both talk about touring with friends, using trusted comics or crew, and building environments with no egos or toxicity so the work stays fun—even under heavy schedules and expectations.
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Greatness in others should inspire, not paralyze.
They describe watching killers like Chris Rock, Kevin Meaney, and Sam Kinison: instead of quitting, they used that awe to push their own writing, stagecraft, and ambition to the next level.
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Notable Quotes
“Bombing on stage is like sucking a thousand dicks in front of your mother.”
— Joe Rogan
“I told my friends in high school I was gonna be fucking big… so I had to do it.”
— Adam Sandler
“You gotta get better the same way you got sick—over time.”
— Joe Rogan
“I’ve never in my life killed as hard as Kevin Meaney.”
— Adam Sandler
“You’re basically telling all these people, ‘Just watch me for an hour… it’s worth your time.’ What a psycho of a human being could just go, ‘Come look at this.’”
— Adam Sandler
Questions Answered in This Episode
How much of Adam Sandler’s current stand-up persona is shaped by decades of filmmaking versus his early club years?
Joe Rogan and Adam Sandler have a long-form, nostalgic conversation about their parallel paths in stand-up, film, and entertainment. ...
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Can delusional self-belief be responsibly cultivated, or is it only ever visible in hindsight when it works out?
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What are the trade-offs between doing a special in a small intimate room versus a massive arena from a viewer’s perspective?
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How do comedians decide when to quit a character, style, or crutch (like Bobcat’s old stage voice) without losing their audience?
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In what ways has the fear of being filmed or going viral changed how comics work out new material compared to the eras of Kinison and early Rock?
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Transcript Preview
(drum roll) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.
The Joe Rogan Experience.
Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (energetic music plays) Hello, Alex. I'm with the Joe.
Good to see you, buddy. What's going on?
I'm happy to s-... I'm so happy to be here, buddy. Thanks for-
I'm happy to have you here.
I, uh, I was excited to see you. We know each other a long time. And, uh, and, um, I, I was ex- excited to come to Austin, of course.
We were just talking about how Zookeeper was 14 years ago.
I, I, it's shocking.
Like, how?
Yeah.
How? (laughs)
I, I know. I hate that.
Time just fucking flies by, man. (laughs)
It's terrible. It's terrible. It's, that, that was a fun time, though. That's k-
Oh, yeah.
KJ was so excited. That was a-
It was very fun.
Yeah.
That was very fun.
I re-
Yeah.
I, uh, um, you and KJ st-... With Sussie.
Yeah.
Right?
Yeah.
That's how you guys, that's, oh, you guys-
I've known Kevin for 30 something years.
Yeah.
I've known him forever.
Y- y- i-
You know?
... it's funny because even your standup, I watched your standup the other night, you guys remind me of each other. There's something, something, you, you take your time on stage. You set it up, you say your shit, and you live in it like y-... Uh, uh, it's, it's, it's, it's not the same, but they, you guys, you can tell you guys are buddies. There's something about it that's, that's, you feel like a, everybody feels like, "I, I fucking, I would hang out with that guy."
(laughs)
It's cool. But, uh, but, uh, did you and KJ start standup together or how'd that-
P- well, we didn't start together exactly. I started in Boston, he started in New York, but I met him when I was like, I guess two years in. About two years in.
Gotcha. Where, where did you guys meet?
In New York.
At The Strip or something?
I think we met at East Side.
East Side. I don't think I did. Uh, that's downtown?
No. East Side Comedy Club was on, uh, Long Island.
Oh, oh, oh, yeah. That, I used to go there.
Yeah.
That was in, like, Huntingtin-... Huntington.
Huntington. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Great club.
Yes.
That was a great club.
I fucked-
That was Richie Mantervini's place.
That's right. That's Mantervini.
Yeah.
Now, that's a funny bastard.
Yeah, he's a funny dude.
Uh, I, I, first, one of the first comedy clubs I watched, I think I saw Carol Leifer at the East Side Comedy Club, and my sister lived in Huntington. A- and, uh, she said, "Do you wanna go see a..." it wasn't my first, but it was like first couple, and she said, "Do you wanna see a comedian? Uh, there's a club around here." I said, "Yeah, yeah," and I sat in the back. I th- I think it, I think I might've been like 15 or something, 16.
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