The history of Saturday Night
Live is filled with African-American
performers who failed to make much of an impact on the venerable comedy
institution, but subsequently went on to much greater success, from future
superstars Damon Wayans and Chris Rock to rock-solid comic character actor Tim
Meadows. But few black SNL alumni
blossomed as spectacularly or unexpectedly as Tracy Morgan, who morphed into a lunatic comic genius on 30 Rock, playing
a hard-living movie-star-turned-sketch-actor who's part Martin Lawrence, part
fearless self-parody. In a cast filled with brilliant comic performers, Morgan
tends to get the biggest, most consistent laughs, and his eminently quotable bits
have become catchphrases, like "Live every week like it's Shark Week," "mind
grapes," and "I love cornbread so much, I want to take it behind a middle
school and get it pregnant."
Morgan's 30 Rock buzz has helped secure him some high-profile film
work as well. He co-starred with Ice Cube in the churchy broad comedy First
Sunday and plays a prominent role in David O.
Russell's disaster-plagued upcoming satire Nailed. He's also, curiously enough, hosting the new season
of SCI FI's horror prank show Scare Tactics. The A.V. Club recently spoke briefly with the actor and comic about
pranking and getting pranked, playing a character whose asshole falls off, and
returning to Saturday Night Live to
endorse Barack Obama.
The A.V. Club: How did you
become involved with Scare Tactics?
Tracy Morgan: Oh, you know, I was always a fan of it. I watched
it. I love it. And besides, they called my people and they asked me, would I do
it? And I said, "Absolutely, yes." Cause I'm a big fan of The Twilight Zone,
too, so I see that as running along the same lines. So this was my chance, my
opportunity, to be like Rod Serling.
AVC: What did you like about
the show?
TM: It's funny. It's fun to watch other people get
frightened like that. It's fun. It's not happening to me. [Laughs.]
I enjoy watching it. It's great entertainment. It's good TV.
AVC: How do you see this
incarnation of Scare Tactics
being different from the older ones?
TM: Well, I can't say now. We just have to wait for the
results, you know? We just hope that the people love it. I don't want to
prejudge it or anything, but we have to wait for the people to watch it, and
enjoy it, and love it.
AVC: One of Scare Tactics' signatures is that they exploit people's worst fears. What are you
afraid of?
TM: What am I afraid of? The IRS. That's it. I don't
want those people knockin' on my door, man.
AVC: Is that something you're
worried about?
TM: No. But I just never know. People make mistakes.
There's writing errors, there's typos, and you know, you don't want them
knockin' on your door.
AVC: Are you a fan of prank
shows in general?
TM: Yeah. Well I was a part of Crank Yankers,
so it was an opportunity to be a part of that again.
AVC: And you got punked on Punk'd.
TM: Yeah, I don't know why that happened to me. So it
was my chance, my opportunity to get back at people.
AVC: What was it like getting
punked yourself?
TM: Well, it was real! I didn't know what was happening.
And then when I realized that I was being punked, I was happy. It was great TV.
An opportunity for my fans and people out there to see that I'm human too. It
was a chance for them to see that the crazy things that happen in this world
can happen to you, too.
AVC: For people who haven't
see that episode of Punk'd, could
you talk a little bit about what happened and how they set you up?
TM: Well I parked my car in the Valley, and then when I
came out, they said that my car was being towed like four hours away to a
tow-in. And they rolled my window down and put fake glass in it and made it
seem like it was real. It was real elaborate. They set me up good.
AVC: How much of Crank
Yankers was improvised, and how much
was written?
TM: It was all improvised. It was all improvised. It was
all me. We called people, we dialed the phone, they'd answer, and I took over.
AVC: Was there a lot of the
real Tracy Morgan in the character Spoonie Luv?
TM: No, that's not Tracy Morgan. That was just a
character I was playing. I don't get on the phone and prank people and things
like that on the phone with people, no.
AVC: Did you ever feel bad for
the people you were pranking?
TM: No, man! It's a TV show. It's a prank! Why would I
get emotional about things? That's just a TV show. It's fun. Why would I feel
bad or guilty about anything? It's just a TV show. Those people are on Crank
Yankers. They were famous for a little while. We gave them their
little 15 minutes in the spotlight.
AVC: You're scheduled to play
a major role in Nailed, David O.
Russell's next film. What's your character like?
TM: Well, I play a guy that has an anal prolapse. And
we're like a political version of The Wizard Of Oz. And I'm like the lion, and Jessica Biel is Dorothy, and
Kurt Fuller is the Tin Man. And we just head off to the government to get
health care for everybody. [Laughs.] All three of us have health problems,
health issues, and we couldn't get health care. So we travel to the government
to get health care. And things happen along the way.
AVC: What is an anal prolapse?
TH: It's where your asshole falls out. When you push too
hard, it prolapses, it falls out. I'm lifting weights and I happen to catch a
prolapse. Yeah. If you go online, you can see it. It's really crazy.
AVC: So are you trying to get
a new asshole? Is that what your character is seeking?
TM: Yeah, I want 'em to fix it.
AVC: Did you do a lot of
research into anal prolapses for the role?
TM: No, dude! No, my asshole's never really popped out. [Laughs.] It's a character, dude.
AVC: David O. Russell is known
for having unconventional working methods. Did you find that to be the case
when you were working on Nailed?
TM: Yeah, he can be. But we all had the same goal in
common. We all want great stuff. It's a great movie at the end of the day, so
we didn't mind. We went along with it, his methods. We went along with
everything he's doing. We know he's a genius, and that was all that mattered.
AVC: What did you do during
the writers' strike? How did you fill the days?
TM: I felt bad because it meant that everybody wasn't
working. But it needed to be done, and I just hit the road and started doing
stand-up. That's it.
AVC: As a performer, what do
you get out of stand-up that you don't necessarily get from acting?
TM: Stand-up is my foundation. That's where it started
at. And I love it because it's personal. It's mine. It's all me. It's my
experience in life. So I get to share with my audience. So I can be Tracy
Morgan from day to day.
AVC: You recently retuned to Saturday
Night Live to do your "black is the
new president, bitch" thing on Weekend Update. How did that come about?
TM: Lorne Michaels called me and asked me to do it, and
we did it, we wrote it, and it was great. And it was my chance to endorse my
candidate, Obama, cause of his policies and everything. I was glad to be able
to plug it.
AVC: What was Tina Fey's
response?
TM: She loved it. Tina Fey's my sister. She loved it.
She thought it was brilliant.
AVC: One of the running jokes
on 30 Rock is Tracy Jordan's
films. If you could star in any of Tracy Jordan's films, which would it be?
TM: Who Dat Ninja. 'Cause he's an action
figure. He's action!
AVC: Is that something you'd
like to do more in the future? Is that a genre that appeals to you?
TM: Yeah! I would love to try that genre. I would love
to try action films.
AVC: You had a little bit of
that in Superhero Movie.
TM: I think I got a little G.I. Joe inside of me. I
think I could get in shape. Take a month off and get in shape and get ready for
it.
AVC: Of the films you've
appeared in, which are you proudest of?
TM: Well, I wouldn't leave none of 'em out. I love all
of 'em. But I love First Sunday, 'cause I love Ice Cube and I got
to work with him. I'm a big Ice Cube fan. I love David Talbert, so I just got
to work with my favorites.
AVC: That was one of the only
films where you've had a lead role. Is that something that appeals to you?
TM: Well, I have a lead role in this David O. Russell
movie. And I had a lead role in a couple other movies, but that was my
favorite.
AVC: Tracy Jordan has some of
the most quotable dialogue in television history. Is there a specific Tracy
Jordan line you're particularly fond of?
TM: Yes. "I wanna take it out behind that middle school
and get it pregnant."
AVC: Why do you think that
line has taken off the way it has?
TM: Because I love the word "pregnant." The word "pregnant"
is funny.
AVC: Do you get people quoting
dialogue to you on the street?
TM: That's awesome! It's just, people recognize you for
your work, you know? They love you for your work, and they judge you for your
work. It's awesome to have people quoting you. I love it.
AVC: There's a great 30 Rock scene where Alec Baldwin is acting
out all the different roles in your life: He's your mother, he's your father,
he's all these different things. You're playing the straight man and he's doing
crazy voices. Can you talk a little bit about what it was like filming that
particular scene?
TM: Just me and Alec having fun. You know, I love Alec.
Alec loves me. That's my boy, and we were just sitting down having fun with it,
you know? We just relaxed. I love working with Alec Baldwin. He's one of the
five greatest actors ever to live.