-It is now ten seasons of Curb. Congratulations. -I know.
-Thank you. Thank you. -Congratulations.
(applause and cheering)
I... I really am fascinated to know, like,
when you started the show... Because you've known Larry
-since, like, 1985, I think it is. -Yeah, around them. Yeah.
Right, you-you were in stand-up together,
-you shared stories your whole life. -Right.
That's why, I guess,
your chemistry is so good on the screen.
Did you ever think that the show would become the institution
-that it's become? -Absolutely not.
When we first started the show, we had no budget,
we-we had no trailers, we had no...
We had, like, Porta Pottis. We had... no dressing rooms.
It was this slapdash kind of... It was kind of like,
"I got a barn, let's put on a show," kind of a show.
-Right, right, right. -And we never knew
from year to year if we were coming back. It was just...
The fact that it's 20 years later...
-We started in 2000. -Wow.
20 years later, and ten seasons is amazing.
-It's amazing. -I-I remember...
And it's the greatest job ever.
What makes it the greatest job for you?
Well, for me, I show up.
-(laughter) -I-I'm with all my friends, you know.
I tell everybody to go (bleep) themselves.
(laughter)
Then they give me money, and I go home.
Sounds like a great... That sounds like an amazing job.
(applause and cheering)
-And... they love me for it. -Right.
You know, so... but, also, it's just...
I mean, we have so much fun. We laugh all day long.
It feels like that kind of show.
And-and you know, people always talk
about how Curb is created,
how, you know, the show is put together,
and you have a framework of what's going to happen,
but nobody knows how you're gonna get there.
-No script, yeah. -And there's no script.
Like, do-do you ever get used to that?
-Yeah, I'm totally used to it. -That's just the world now?
Yeah. Oh, yeah, I mean, when I have a script,
that feels odd to me, you know. Yeah, yeah.
I mean, it's improvising.
We know our characters so well.
-We know our relationships so well. -Oh, right, right, right.
We... And the scene is set out.
I mean, it's not this willy-nilly thing.
I mean, we know exactly what has to happen
-in each scene, so we're just... -Got it.
It's like what you and I are doing right now.
-We don't have a script. -Yes, but I mean...
But we're not trying to, like, get somewhere specific.
Like, you know what I mean? Like, there's not an episode...
Yeah, we're trying get to the end of the segment, Trevor.
-(laughter) -Yes, but...
True, but it has to tie up. Like, Curb-- that's what I love
-about Curb Your Enthusiasm-- every episode ties... -Yeah.
-Every little moment... -That's Larry. That's Larry's brain.
-That's Larry's genius. Yeah. -Well, it is genius.
But every moment ties into something.
You don't know what's going to tie into the end of the story,
and that becomes, like, an arc that takes you through.
-And then it'll come back. -Exactly.
And then it'll come back, yeah.
You've also developed a chemistry
on the show with each other. Like, what I love about Curb
is how differently each character acts
with another character.
Does that just come naturally, or is it who are you?
Um, I think that...
You know, I think that over the years,
we've developed kind of a dialogue of the unconscious,
if I may be deep.
-That is deep. -Uh, I think... We don't...
Like, Larry and I have never discussed our relationship
or my character, ever.
And we just... we never discussed it.
We just kind of had this trust and respect,
-which you have to have when you're improvising. -Right.
And it just developed.
All of us. We-we have this little family
that-that we work so well together.
It's really fun.
It really feels like a family, it looks like a family.
I mean, it's a very dysfunctional family,
-but a family nonetheless. -Yes, well,
what family is not dysfunctional?
That's true. That is true. Uh, one...
That's why, you know, I was so happy that you came to the show.
Because originally, J.B. Smoove was supposed to be on the show.
And then, he's on a production-- The Last O.G.
And then, he couldn't make it, and he was like...
I was like, "But I want to have someone.
I love Curb Your Enthusiasm."
And I'm glad you came, 'cause this is amazing.
So you really wanted J.B. Is that what you're saying?
-(laughter, groaning) -No, no, no, no, no. No, I'm saying...
No, I'm saying, like, 'cause I thought J.B. was coming,
-and I didn't know how this would go. -And it was...
-But I'm not J.B. -No, but you...
But sometimes second choices,
like, ends up being the best choice.
-Oh, there you go! -No! -(laughter)
No, no, no! No, no! No, I'm just saying...
Like, Will Smith was supposed to be Neo in The Matrix.
Then we got Keanu Reeves, and he's perfect.
-You're my Keanu Reeves. -(laughter) -There you go.
-No, no. -(applause and cheering)
You know what? You know what? It's fine.
Curb Your Enthusiasm returns for its tenth season
-January 19 at 10:30 p.m. on HBO. -Yes.
Susie Essman, everybody!