-Benny, welcome to the show.
-Yes. Thank you for having me. This is exciting stuff.
-Uh, yeah. I -- If you don't mind me asking...
what, uh...
[ Laughter ]
W-What's going on? What's up?
-Well, it's just a simple -- You know, I was outside.
I knew I was coming to the show.
It's Rockefeller Center. A lot of tourists out there.
So I figured I'd take advantage of the opportunity
and just do some -- do some side work, you know?
-Oh, perfect. -And I just didn't have
a lot of time to change because you have to do
a daylight savings and all that stuff.
-I appreciate you making the time to be on the show.
-This is awesome.
-You've been part of some incredible films,
and before you were a director and an actor,
you were also a standup comedian.
-Yes. -Actually, you know, I have a --
I have a deep respect for standup comedy
because you really are out there with no net whatsoever.
And it really was kind of the first time.
In high school, I started doing it.
You know, it was really the first time
I was trying to express myself. -What was your act like?
-And I would -- I would go on as character.
You know, I had two characters. I started out as Zachary Malden.
That was the first guy I did. He was kind of --
-The name of your act was Zachary Malden?
-Zachary Malden. Yes. -Wow.
-And he was kind of just this -- He was more of a surreal comedy.
The first joke I came out with
was, like, a really big hit, actually.
I would come out with, like, a yarmulke and a big beard,
and I would say, "Hey, everybody, I'm Jewish."
And I'd take it off and go, "But I'm not that Jewish."
And then everybody would have that response.
-That's good. Zachary Malden. -Yeah.
And then from there, I developed this guy Ralph Handel,
who was somebody who was -- Handle with an "H."
-Yeah. That's pretty good.
-So, essentially he was kind of this businessman
who desperately wanted his life to be interesting.
And he would see all these standup comedians
go up and talk about their lives.
And he's like, "Hey, I could do that, too," you know?
And he would just go on and he'd be like,
"Hey everybody. Big movie out this weekend.
'Wish.' How many of you have seen it?"
Whoo! [ Delayed cheers ]
How many? Two. How do I know? Just counted.
So, um, after I -- after I saw the movie, I would --
-Wow! Wow. -Yeah.
-So it was really this kind of intense thing.
And I don't know.
-Was it hard to get booked?
-It was actually. -Wow.
-The thing is, is I started out at bringer shows,
which I don't know if anybody knows that,
but there's kind of a trajectory you go on as a standup comedian.
You start as a bringer show and you bring your friends.
They have to buy two drinks, two drink minimum, all that stuff.
And then I started out doing that as Zach Malden,
and then I kind of developed a new act as Ralph Handel.
I started doing that in college, too.
And I was really proud because I elevated from bringer
to still at the bringer show but I didn't have to bring friends,
so that was, like, a big deal for me.
And it was like I was like making it in a lot of ways.
And I guess it was kind of amazing.
At one point, I got a phone call out of the blue and I was like,
"Oh, my God, I've made it.
You know, this is me at my big standup moment."
They called me from a 212 number,
and this is at Stand Up New York.
I would do it at Gotham. I would do it at Comedy Cellar.
And I was kicked out of Comedy Cellar, actually.
I'm not -- I'm not allowed to go back
because Zach Malden plays the guitar,
but he doesn't know how to play the guitar.
So I got really caught up in it. I was singing.
I guess it was "Some Guys Have All the Luck" by Rod Stewart.
And I was really into it,
and I guess I went five minutes over, and that's not okay.
-Yeah. No. You can't do that. -You can't do that.
-So then that's probably why I created Ralph
so that I could go back into the clubs.
-Okay. Now I understand.
-And so then -- -Ralph is allowed.
-Ralph is allowed now.
So I got a call, though, from Stand Up New York.
They called me and they're like, "Hey, would Zach
be willing to come on the show?" And they gave me the time.
I'm like, "Oh, great." And I have to be in character.
That's the thing. I'm obsessed with realism.
And I would go into these performances
and I wanted everybody to believe
I was actually that person.
So in a weird way I guess it was like an acting exercise, too,
mixed in with trying to express myself. I don't know.
But then I called -- They called me as Zach.
I go on. Then as I'm getting ready to go --
like, I'm getting all my stuff ready --
they call me from a 917 number.
And they say, "Hey, is Ralph there?"
And I'm like, "Oh, my God. I got to switch it up.
And now I got to be Ralph Handel."
And so I call -- I answer the phone as Ralph.
Like, "Hey, it's me, Ralph. How do I know?
I just picked up the phone." That kind of thing.
And then they booked -- -That's Ralph's humor.
-Yes. They booked me on the same night.
Both of my characters.
So I'm like, "What am I going to do?
How am I going to get around this?"
And I decided, "I've got it."
I'll go on as Zach Malden,
and then I will do three minutes of the set.
And then I would say, "Hey, everybody, I do impressions.
This is my friend Ralph."
And I stripped down to my underwear,
slicked my hair back, put on a whole bunch of cologne,
dressed myself in a suit, put on the Bluetooth,
and then I just did a 3-and-a-half-minute set
as Ralph Handel.
Stripped back out of the underwear.
And as I stripped back, I heard everybody in the club go,
"Oh [bleep]."
It was, like, this whole thing.
-"The guy's the same..." -Yeah.
They're like, "This is who's been doing this to us
for four years?" -I love that you put cologne --
I love that you put cologne on. -Yeah. I don't know why.
I would, like, turn away
and just, like, pour Aqua Velva, you know?
Because you got to smell a certain way, right,
if you're that person. -Did it work? It worked?
-It did. worked. It worked.
But then I kind of went back into Zach and then left,
and then they never invited me back.
-Unbelievable. -Yeah.
-Well, here you are as Benny Safdie.
And congratulations on everything you've done.
I want to talk about "The Curse."
-Yes, yes. -It's a fantastic premise.
It's a fantastic, well-performed show.
Explain how you came up with the idea.
-So, I guess I had been a admirer of Nathan for --
for his show, "Nathan for You."
-"Nathan for You" is brilliant. -There we go.
Well-deserved. You know? I really loved his work.
And it was just kind of --
He contacted us after he had seen some of our movies,
you know, me and my brother.
And then I met with him, just myself.
And it was just like -- Oh, I had a good time.
And the next time I was in L.A, I was like,
"You know what? I should reach out to that guy.
You know, I had a fun time in New York.
Let's see if it goes by coastal."
And it was really just kind of trying to be friends, you know?
I just wanted to get to know him.
And as we were talking about his first time in L.A.,
he said, "I went to go buy a cellphone
because I had a Canadian phone.
And on my way to the store,
somebody said, 'Hey, can you spare some change?'"
And he's like, "I'm sorry. I don't have anything."
And they looked at him and said, "I curse you."
And he was just like, "Huh. That's strange."
And he went on his way to the cellphone store.
And it bothered him. You know, there was something
about being cursed that was really just not nice.
And so... -"I curse you."
-And he decided to go to an ATM,
take out some money, and then he went back
to the place where the person was,
gave them the money and asked, "Is the curse lifted?"
And they said, "Yes," with a smile on their face.
And I immediately said, "Well, what if they weren't there?"
You know? Then what?
Your whole life is over because now you've got this curse
and there's nothing you could do about it, right?
Anything that happens to you can be attributed
to that thing. -To that moment.
-And that moment. And so that was the kernel of it.
And then also, at the time,
we're both interested in realism and reality TV.
You know, I think I'll come at it
from more of a fiction side,
trying to make fiction very real,
and he'll make real life feel like fiction.
And so it's kind of a perfect marriage.
But we realized we knew we wanted to talk
about the reality-TV area.
And I at the time had been obsessed with HGTV.
Obsessed, you know. I would go to the doctor
with my wife for our first son,
and I would sit in the waiting room
and I would just watch this stuff.
And I became obsessed with
"Property Hunters," "House Hunters."
-"Fixer Upper."
-Yeah. "Fixer Upper," "Flip or Flop."
You know, all of these ones.
And you kind of, as you're in this weird mode,
you start paying attention to the people who are the hosts.
What are their problems?
And there were some behind-the-scenes stuff
that I started seeing where the kids were involved
and they didn't know, and there was all these things.
And one time, I remember I was on a plane going to see Nathan
because we were going to do some more work on the show,
and I saw the tagline for HGTV, and it said,
"If you don't like your neighborhood, change it."
And I was just like, "Whoa. That was unexpected."
-That's a little extreme there. -Yeah.
-Yeah, so I was like, "Maybe you could..."
There's something there, you know?
And then we just kind of dove in,
and then that's kind of where the show came to be, you know?
-And Emma Stone. -And Emma Stone,
who's one of the most incredible...
-Fantastic. [ Cheers and applause ]
-Gets it. Gets the joke. -Gets it.
And I want to -- I have to say I think it's one
of the greatest performances I've ever seen.
Just because it's crazy to see her as Whitney,
because she's operating on such a crazy-high level
because that character is really complicated.
And in any place, she's constantly thinking
about five different people who may talk to her.
And, "Oh, I have to be this way with you,
this way with this person, this way with this person..."
And that's a lot to take on as an actor.
And she just destroys. -It's brilliant.
-And I don't know.
It was a lot of fun to do it, the three of us together.
And there's a whole meta level that you can get to.
Like, all three of us going down to Española in New Mexico
and making this show and -- I don't know.
It was an awesome experience together.
-Congrats on the great reviews. I want to show everyone a clip.
Here's Benny Safdie in "The Curse."
Take a look at this.
-Look. you can go crime for crime
if you want, right, 'cause I don't care.
My life's over, essentially.
Anyways, he looks like a young man, young boy
who wants to go to college, right?
I don't think -- I don't think a college
is gonna want a criminal record on there.
Alright? So you think about that
because the only school he's gonna be able to get into
is Albuquerque Community College, alright?
May have that good -- I hear they have a good janitor program.
-Calvin, do you know where your car is?
-Cleaning up [bleep] for the rest of his life.
Excuse my language. -Do you know where your car is?
Thank you. Thank you. -You're welcome. You're welcome.
I appreciate the thank-you, but you're welcome.
I'd like a thank-you from him, please.
-Thank you. -You're welcome.
Alright? But my morning is already ruined.
Okay? Believe it or not, I have a job to do.
I'm a TV producer, okay?
And my show just got picked up for 10 episodes to series.
-[ Laughs ] -There you go.
-Benny Safdie, everybody.
New episodes of "The Curse" are available Fridays
on the Paramount Plus app with Showtime.