-Our first guest tonight is the Emmy-winning creator,
co-writer and star
of the critically acclaimed show "Abbott Elementary."
The season finale airs May 22nd on ABC.
Let's take a look.
-Take your time and be safe.
But keep your momentum going so you don't get stuck.
-You know what? A little bit of help here.
-Alright. Here you go. -Okay.
Thank you. Phew.
You saved my life. -I don't know about all that.
-No, you did.
With my height,
that's the equivalent of a two-story fall.
-Okay, I guess I did save your life, then.
-Yeah.
-Please welcome back to the show,
our friend, Quinta Brunson, everybody.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
-Hi, Quinta? -What's up?
Aww, hey, everyone.
-You know, it's very nice to see you,
but every time I see you --
I remember the first time you were on this show.
I said, and this is exciting,
"You have a new show called 'Abbott Elementary'
that is going to get picked up at ABC."
Or maybe you were just shooting a pilot.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-It's been amazing to watch your journey.
It's so well-deserved and so exciting to see.
-Thank you. Isn't it nuts?
Look at us now.
-Look at us now. -You are renewed until 2028.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Because I got nowhere else to go.
-That's great.
You know how many people are looking for work?
-Oh, I know.
I know, I'm not complaining. I'm not complaining.
I mean, you received an Emmy, which is incredible.
[ Applause ] -Thank you.
-You would think the important thing is receiving an Emmy,
but there is this one extra sort of cherry on top
when you receive an award, which is who is the person
who's giving it to you? -Yes.
-Because that's a photo you have forever.
And you had the legendary Carol Burnett.
What a thing. -Too much.
-And she is not just a legend,
but she's also one of the sweetest people in the world.
-The sweetest woman.
I hope she takes this the right way.
She's so legendary to me that I thought she was,
like, a hologram.
Sometimes people are so legendary,
you forget they're real. -Yeah.
-And so just taking her in that night was a bit much.
-She told me afterwards, she was like,
"Quinta touched me so many times to see if I was see-through."
And I'm like, yeah, that's a weird thing.
She does that around legends.
-Carol,
it's just the technology these days.
You never know.
Yeah, it was crazy.
And I was just crying like a baby.
-It was great.
-Yeah, yeah.
-Also another honor,
you received an honorary doctorate at Temple.
-I did, yes. That's it. Yes.
That was cool. Yeah.
-It's very fun to receive sort of
an educational honor without having to go to class.
-Well, I went to school for 3 1/2 years, so that --
-Oh, gotcha.
But you never got to this place?
-No, I didn't.
I started working
before I graduated, and that just kind of took over.
And then my my career started taking off, fortunately.
But I always wanted to finish.
I always wanted to get that degree for my mother.
And so I was really happy to be able to get that,
because nothing else mattered to her.
When when I won an Emmy, she was like, "That's cute.
Let's get that degree, sister."
So I was happy about this.
-And when you came back, was Temple like,
"We knew you'd come crawling back"?
-I mean, they knew I was about to get that degree
from UCLA or something like that.
I said,
"Y'all better give me that degree before I --"
-You said that was all that mattered to your mom.
Your parents were not thrilled
with the idea of you going into comedy?
-No, they did not like this.
They didn't want any part of this.
They didn't like it. -Did you have to hide it
from them?
-I did, I would tell them that I was, like,
doing anything except for comedy.
I mean, I would be like,
"I'm going to stay at a boyfriend's,"
other things that should have been a problem.
I was like, "I'm going to smoke some weed on the corner."
Really, I'm at improv, doing "Yes, and."
They just didn't want any part of it.
They thought it was a career that leads to nothing.
-I like the idea that somebody would say to them,
like, "Our daughter's a drug addict."
They're like, "You think you got it bad?
Ours is an improviser."
-Kind of true. No, no, no, no.
-You've had a lot of, I mean,
you've done a lot of great things for Philadelphia.
Obviously, it's a nice relationship with the city.
You've had a lot of Philadelphia guest stars.
-I have. -Jason Kelce.
-Yeah. -You just saw him yesterday>
-I just saw him last night.
Yeah, I saw him last night at upfronts.
Yeah,
-So this was the sort of ABC Disney upfronts?
And this is a photo of Jason Kelce seeing you.
I'm going to say he seemed happy to see you.
-Yes. -Do you know how happy?
Did you had any sense of how he would show his happiness?
-I didn't. Yeah. -Okay.
-This is exactly how I think it would go.
[ Laughter ]
-Dude, guys, I am so short.
I haven't been this high off the ground in so long.
-This is higher than the clip we just showed.
-No, it really was.
This was insane. Look at that air.
-Yeah. -He's like --
-It's like you said to him,
"I'm trying to get to the balcony fast."
-The last time I felt that way was on Tower of Terror.
The Guardians of the Galaxy?
I swear to you now, guys, my stomach went up and everything,
but he did ask for consent.
He was like, "Do you mind?" I said, "No, that's fine."
But I still didn't know I'd be airborne.
I really didn't. Yeah.
But he's he's so lovely.
And he was a guest star on the show along with Jalen,
and they were just wonderful additions to our season.
-That's really great,
You are about to start --
as we mentioned, the third season's wrapping up.
You're about to start --
You get a little bit of time off.
You go back into the writers' room.
You're obviously not just the star of the show,
you're the creator, tons of responsibilities.
-Yeah.
-Do you find that you,
because you have this wonderful cast,
and it's this great ensemble.
Do you like writing for the other characters
more than yourself?
Does it give you more of a freedom as a writer?
-I do. I absolutely do.
Writing for yourself, I think it's kind of hard.
I think if you're not naturally, like, a narcissist,
it's kind of hard to.
It's hard to just, you know, I don't know,
just be all about yourself.
I really love writing for the character Ava,
because she gets to say things that I wish I could say.
There have been things I've said in the room
that have turned into Ava's lines.
Specifically,
one time I told one of the writers, I said something,
and they were like, "You know that's not right."
And I said, "Yeah, girl, I know. I just be saying --:
Oh, I was going to curse.
"I just be saying stuff."
But we turned into a Ava line.
So I kind of have a lot in common with her.
I love writing for Barbara.
I like writing for every other character
more than Janine.
-And then, does your staff know
that it's their job to remind you at the end of the day,
you know, you also have to be in the show.
You're like the sort of glue that holds it together.
-Yes, I have turned in stories before our outlines,
and, you know, ABC has been like, "That's great.
Um, it's lacking in the main character of the show."
I'm like, "I don't see the problem."
And I also like to nap.
So I just try to find some time in there to nap.
-That is good. I mean, napping is so important.
-I talked about naps last time I was here.
-That's alright.
They didn't get less important.
-Yeah, you're right, you're right, you're right.
-I feel like not enough people are taking them,
so we didn't get through to them.
Justice for naps!
-Be honest, though, in a writer's day,
when you're actually in the room, can you --
How much of a nap do you need
for it to be valuable? Like, time?
-I don't get to nap. -Okay.
-So you can't go grab, a 5-minute nap?
-No. I'm not a baby. I can't get naps, no
Do you get naps? -No, I'm just saying.
Look, I don't know.
Nothing I say is right. I'm just saying stuff.
Do I get naps? I don't get naps. -Are you Ava Coleman?
-I am a little, yeah.
-I don't get naps, but I like to get, you know,
I like to try to get rest.
You know, I took one yesterday. -Yeah.
-I feel like I talk about naps so much.
I want people to know I'm not just this,
like, this sleepy girl.
-But again, we've shown,
we've talked about your accomplishments.
That was sort of the front half of this,
and now we want to talk about
how you also mail it in all the time.
[ Both laugh ]
-That's not true.
-That's not true at all.
Hey, we talked about your parents,
but obviously, they appreciate
that you've succeeded at this thing.
They must be incredibly proud of you.
They're very proud.
-Are there people you know through you
and through your experiences
that they've shared, that they've been excited to meet?
-Ha. Oh, sorry.
I have introduced my mom to mad people, you guys,
on FaceTime, including Patti LaBelle last week,
which was really, really cool.
Yes, it was.
She was so sweet, and it was incredible.
But you know who my mom freaked out over?
Like, dropped her phone?
Young Sheldon. -Really? The kid?
-I was with him at a WB mixer, and he's such a sweetie pie,
by the way, Iain is incredible, very talented, very sweet.
And you know, my mom, she loves the show.
I know she loves it.
And he wanted to, you know, we took a picture.
I said, "Would you mind if I FaceTime my mom?
This would make her day."
I didn't know that it would make her day so hard
that she would have to get a new phone.
She was like, tearing up and crying, and he,
it was so sweet.
I mean, I've never seen her react that way for anyone.
And he's, you know -- He's not 9.
How old is he?
-I don't know. -How old are kids>
-Well, in Hollywood,
I feel like every kid in a Hollywood show is like, 32.
-That's -- [ Laughs ]
But, you know, she lost it over him.
He's such a sweetie pie.
And then when I took the phone back,
she said, "Put Sheldon back on."
And I was like, "Um, okay,"
So I did, but it was --
she freaked out over him.
-This is another cool thing you have coming up,
which proves the point that you do not take as many naps
as I believe you deserve.
You're going to do a new "Cat in the Hat" movie as well.
-Yes, I'm really excited about that.
It's animated, guys. But that's super tight.
Honestly, I think it's really going to be fire.
With your old castmate Bill Hader.
-Oh, well, there you go.
He's the best in the biz. -He's the best.
He's such a sweetie pie, too.
I really enjoyed working with him.
-Well, that's very exciting. -Yeah.
Thank you so much for being here.
-Thanks, Seth. This is always the best.
-We'll be right back with Bobby Moynihan, everybody.
Our next guest is a funny actor and comedian
you know from his work on "SNL"
and movies like "The Secret Life of Pets," "Monsters University,"
and "Unfrosted."
His latest movie, "IF," is in theaters May 17th.
Please welcome back to the show,
my very good friend Bobby Moynihan, everybody!
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Bobby! -How are you, man?
-So good to have you here. -It's so good to be back.
It's so nice.
-Since the last time I've seen you, you've added a child.
You have two.
-Correct. I decided to do that.
-Yeah. It's great. -Yeah. Thank you so much.
-6 and 1. -6 and 1.
-Are you enjoying your time with them so far?
-I am, I am. It's wonderful.
It's going really well.
-Does the six-year-old have any sense
of what it is you do? -Just now.
We took her to go see "IF" a couple days ago,
a little family and friends screening,
and she got to meet a couple of the actors in the movie,
and was very, like, the girl who plays young Bea,
she was very excited to meet her.
And when she sees me, she's just like --
-There's a lot of a famous voice work in this.
You actually get to play a real person.
-I'm a real boy.
-You're a real boy. Yeah, yeah.
-I'm a real boy in this.
-But you obviously have to do a lot of work,
because this is a movie about imaginary friends.
-It is.
-So you're doing a lot
of real pretending in the scenes.
-Always. -Yes, yes.
-I play a guy named Jeremy who's having a really bad day.
-Yeah.
Here's Jeremy with his imaginary friend.
-Aw, look at him.
-And his bad day is, he's very --
he has a lot of anxiety.
-I did not realize that thing was behind me until just now.
I did not. This is news to me, I apologize.
-I hate when people find out via art card.
-I don't know what's more shocking, this or that
Wally has a mustache.
-By the way, Wally just showed up one day with a mustache.
Didn't think he had to email the staff or anything.
-What are you thinking?
Reckless behavior. -Reckless, Wally. Shame.
-You know what the worst is?
We said, "You got to shave the mustache,"
and he goes, "This is my imaginary friend."
-And it's voiced by Chris Pratt.
-And we all can hear it.
It's bad.
And all it ever tells Wally is like, "You need a raise."
We're like, "Oh, my God, tell your mustache to be quiet."
But your character was very anxious
about a job interview with 30 Rock,
so that must have been very easy to plug into that.
-Very much so.
I was just saying to a couple of people backstage,
I get really filled with anxiety
when I see the carpet in the elevator.
-Yes. -Isn't that weird?
-Oh, sorry. Oh, gosh.
Yeah, that's my trauma.
-I think the carpet in the elevator,
I think I have the reaction to it
that people have when they see the carpet
in the movie "The Shining."
-Haunting. -One billion percent.
It's a pattern that elicits a response.
-Because I feel like, I mean,
how many years were you with the show at the end?
-Nine.
-So I was there for like more. I was, like 12 years.
-I mean, you want to fight? -The amount of times --
Is that...? Is that? That is more?
-Yeah. -12 is more than nine.
Yeah. So I was there longer.
-Wow. -Uh, no.
But like, the times
that I was in the elevator going up
where I had the feeling of like, "Yes,"
Or going down and being like, "Yes."
-"I gotta go tell Gwyneth Paltrow she's a pirate."
Just that that feeling comes into you.
-You also were in the film "Unfrosted."
You got to play Chef Boyardee. -Yes, yes, yes, yes.
-Perfect casting. -Thank you. I agree.
-And you had a ravioli that was a puppet.
So you got to act with a practical ravioli.
-Yes.
The same people that did Grogu on "The Mandalorian,"
made Eric the ravioli puppet.
Both equally adorable.
I'd like to see them fight, to be honest with you.
-Is it true that you
studied puppetry back in the day?
-Ehh. Is it true?
I just became Anthony Crispino.
I took a bunch of puppetry classes at UConn.
-Okay, gotcha. -Yeah. Right. Ladies?
[ Cheering ]
-You mentioned Grogu -Yes, I did.
-I feel like you were setting me up for the transition.
You're in the Star Wars Lego show.
-I am. Can you believe that? I'm a little Jedi.
-Jedis, always have like, really cool name.
Like Grogu is a perfect example, right?
It's like only a name that could exist in sort of space
in a galaxy far, far away. -It sounds mystical.
-So it must have been so exciting
when you found out what your name was going to be.
-Yeah, I'm Jedi Bob. [ Laughter ]
-Jedi Bob? -Yeah.
Can you believe it?
-Are they worried you're not going to know it's you
if they give you a different name?
-No, no, it's like, a reference.
There's an old,
like, a figure, that came out in between "Return of the Jedi,"
like, when the Star Wars movies weren't happening in that period
between "Jedi" and "Phantom Menace,"
Lego put out a figure just called "Jedi,"
and and Lego fans started calling it "Jedi Bob."
-Oh, so it's a --
It's a shout out to the fan base.
-Yeah. -I got you.
I'm assuming, how quickly after you played it,
did you go buy the --
-I had it way before.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
-You brought it to the audition.
-Yeah.
They were like, "There's this character Jedi --"
And I was like, "Bob. I got four of them.
You want to buy one?"
-I feel as though I know you enough to know
the answer to this question.
But when you play a character
and there is merch for that character,
how quickly do you get out and get the merch?
-It's a problem.
-Yeah.
-I have "Awesomes" action
-Yeah, you were many voices on our animated series.
Is your six-year-old,
does she think it's cool that her dad has
a lot of stuff of people who he played?
-No, she thinks -- No, she does, she does.
Ben Schwartz is a really good friend of mine.
-Yeah, the best.
-Yeah, he's the greatest.
And she likes that he is Sonic.
She thinks like I'm friends with Sonic.
-Sure, that's a cool thing for a kid to be.
-Oh, very much so.
And Ben was very kind enough
to send over some "Knuckles" stuff.
Shout out to Adam Pally, Knuckles.
And he sent over some "Knuckles" stuff,
and Dorothy was like, "Can I send a message back to Sonic?"
-Your daughter wanted to?
-She wanted to send a message back to Sonic.
-Because Sonic had sent her some merch.
-Yeah, had sent her, like, a sweatshirt and,
like, she likes putting on little Sonic sneakers
and running around the house.
But I think you have the message.
-Now, we do.
But before we play it,
did you ask her to rehearse a couple times,
or is this just like, go?
-We were going to bed, she had the stuff on.
She said, "Take a picture of this
and tell Sonic I'm wearing it to bed."
I did, I sent it, he said, "Aww."
She said, "Now send him a message."
And I went, "Okay."
And I pressed record.
-And this is your six-year-old talking to Sonic.
-Sonic, I got your Nike kicks. You want to see?
I'll send you a picture. [ Footsteps pattering ]
I love you, Sonic.
Good night. Have a fun day.
My butt's on fire!
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
-[ Laughs ]
I like that she knew, "My butt's on fire,"
you can't follow that.
-No, out. -That's got to be last.
-That's the out. Yeah. Unlike her father.
-Yeah. [ Laughs ]
You're also going to be in "Inside Out 2"
this summer, correct?
How about that?
How about that? Another merch opportunity!
Who will you be playing in "Inside Out 2"?
-I play Forgetter Bobby.
I was in the first movie as well.
-So this is the second time
that they've given you a character with your own name?
-Oh, yeah. I'm realizing I play a lot of Bobbys.
-Jedi Bob, Forgetter Bobby.
-It's probably because of my range.
-Chef Bob-ardee.
-Who are you in "IF"?
What's your character's name in "IF"?
-Jeremy.
-Oh, thank God. -It took me a second.
Just Jeremy.
But my middle name is Bob.
-Okay.
You always say, you're like, "I know it's not in the script,
but I do want you, the director, to know my middle name."
-Before I audition, I say,
"May I ask the middle name of the character?
Oh. That's it? I'll take it."
-It's a very exciting time to be Bobby Moynihan.
And it's very nice to have you back here.
-Same here, man.
-Having you in this building and sitting right here,
it does remind me you were, as I've said,
oftentimes you were one
of my favorite "Update" guests of all time.
Anthony Crispino, Drunk Uncle.
-The best part.
Where I felt most comfortable.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Well, thank you for being here.
I love seeing you. Love to your family.
That's Bobby Moynihan. "IF" is in theaters Friday.
We'll be right back.