The Buzz - BuzzWorthy Radio

COMMUNITY's DONALD GLOVER ON BUZZWORTHY RADIO!

Donald Glover stars as Troy, a former high school football star trying to find his way, in the new NBC comedy series "Community."

Glover is a talented actor, comedian and writer. He was born in California on Edwards Air Force Base and moved to Atlanta when he was four. There, he studied drama and the process of writing short plays, which he continued to study at New York University's Dramatic Writing program at the Tisch School of the Arts for four years.

He also studied improvisation and comedy writing with the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre in New York and had the pleasure of improvising with the likes of Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz. Glover also performed on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" multiple times. He was hired as a staff writer on the show "30 Rock" while he was still a resident assistant at NYU. During his time at "30 Rock," the show has won two Emmys for best comedy, as well as a Writers Guild Award for best comedy.

Glover continues doing stand-up, sketch, and improv around New York City. His first feature, which he co-wrote, produced, scored and starred in, "Mystery Team," recently premiered at Sundance and will have a wide release this fall.

Duration:: 11m
Broadcast on:: 29 Oct 2009
Audio Format:: other

And good morning everybody, welcome to a new edition of Buzzworthy Radio. It's Thursday, October 29, 2009, we're going to be joined by Mr. Donald Glover, who is on the hit NBC comedy series Community, which is on the night, he's with us right now. How are you? I'm good, how are you man? I'm doing good man, thanks for joining us this morning. No problem, thanks for having me, absolutely, let's talk about the character you play on the show, it's driving for us a sec. I play Troy, Troy Barnes on the show, he was a high school football quarterback, he was like a star quarterback and he breaks both of his arms doing a keg flip and then he has to go to community college because he loses his scholarship. Oh, yeah, a kickflip, that's how he breaks his, a kickflip. Oh, not a kickflip, a keg flip, it's kind of like a keg stand, but you're trying to flip at the same time. It's something I made up, don't try and don't worry yourself about it, I made it up. Yeah, like it's something like you don't try at home kind of thing, yeah, oh no, don't ever try and do that, no, it's a bad idea, keg stand's already kind of kind of stupid, but keg flip, yeah, that's way worse, that's some circuits of life stuff. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, something that a football star from high school should not do, but, no, exactly, exactly. So how did you get started in Q, the whole acting thing? I went to performing arts high school in Atlanta and I was just, you know, there and I was writing and acting and just kind of doing that kind of stuff for fun, it was just like cool, I think my parents were there, he's like okay, he's there, you know, he's not going to get anybody pregnant, like, I think they just wanted me to, yeah, I think they just wanted me to be safe and I thought it, but I really got into it, I thought it was fun. I went to NYU and I was writing and I wrote for, I actually left NYU, wrote for 30 Rock for three years and got, you know, got, you know, chipped my teeth there and then I got to do this show, which has been a great experience, you know. Oh absolutely, you know, working with Jeff Joel McHale, who plays Jeff on the show and he's working with those two guys, that's got to be, that's got to be a thrill for you. Oh, it's awesome, you know, those guys are great, they're really nice and, you know, they, it is, I still feel like I'm learning a lot, so it's great to like watch them work and see how they, they do stuff, you know, like, I find a lot of, a lot of similarities between actually Joel McHale and Tina Fey, as far as like, how much, how hard they work at everything, like, Joel McHale's always working and so is Tina Fey, like, I've never seen either of them resting, yeah, so it's cool, yeah? Wow, that's great, that's, I think, like, the biggest compliment that hopefully you'll get is, like, ending on the suit, you know, end up on the suit, something that you missed. It's just like, there was a video tape out there doing your keg stand and, and, and crashing in there, whatever it was that you did, it should just end up on the suit right there and Joel McHale gets to make fun of you, and that, that's, like, the hugest compliment for you. I know, I love Joel McHale, I love the suit and I'm like, it's kind of, it's kind of made me say, well, and I was like, oh, does that mean he's not going to make fun of us? Like, you know, he kind of like, you know, like, like, like, you want him to make fun of you, like, a little bit, like, it's kind of fun, you know, he's kind of, like, our generations, uh, Don, uh, oh, I'm blanking on his name, the guys call everybody a hacky hook, um, Don, you, I'm blanking on his name, I'm going to feel really bad when I get off, because everybody knows what I mean, and anyway, yeah, uh, yeah, he's, he's really cool and, I, I learned a lot from him, he's like, really sweet and, you know, he gave me free sneakers the first time we met and, um, you know, I can't, you can't, you can't, once you get me free sneakers, that's pretty much it, like, we're best friends forever, like, you bought me already, you know, he really got me free sneakers, um, the first time, the first time I met him, Don Rickles, just remember his name, Don Rickles, okay, yeah, he's kind of like Don Rickles, you wanted to make fun of you, oh man, and he bought you new sneaks, um, I'm in the wrong business, dude, I'm in the wrong business, I don't know, you really have, I need to get myself on this shelf right now, so I can work with him, so I can find new kicks, dude, a lot of people always, they always ask me, they're like, oh, which one do you like more, writing or acting, like, and I'm always, like, I'm so quick, people are, I think, always expect you to be like, I don't know, I love both of them, I'm like, acting, acting, like, writing great, writing great, I love it, but acting man, nobody was ever coming in the writer's room asking me like, hey, do you want some Pellegrino waters, do you like some cake that's left over, like, here's some business, have you gotten enough rest, nobody is, no one gives a crap if you're rested as a writer, you know, doesn't act in, doesn't matter to Peter and to you now, that is now that you're accurate, they're like, I'm looking at you, it's everywhere, like, waiting on you hand and foot, all right, it's just a little flossed, totally, because they're always worried about how you, it's all about how you look, so you have to be rested and feel good in order to perform as a writer, just like, I get back in your cage, get back in your cage, you know, like, it's all about like, it's all about just like putting out the work, but like, I love writing, but man, acting is pretty dope, like, oh yeah, oh yeah, I don't get that treatment as a host here, so, I wish, man, I don't wish, see, this just makes me now want to get a headshot done and just send it out and just appear on a show so that people can tamper me, and hit that up, hit that up, don't waste time, time's a waste, and you spend that out, man, oh man, absolutely, I'll give you a leg up, to send it to me, yeah, I'll give you a leg up, nice, all right, you got that, I got it, yeah, this is me, so, so, so, you also do stand up, sketch and improv around New York as well, right, yeah, you know, I live in LA now, just because of the show, but when I was in New York, and also here, I do a lot of stand, I started standing up, I guess, about a year ago, I did a lot of improv and sketch comedy too, I'm doing a half hour comedy show for presents this year, I'm really excited about it, yeah, turn off, now you got to, you started doing like, comedy work while you were still at NYU, right, yeah, I got involved in a sketch group called the Wicked Wicked Hammer Cats, which is still going on there, it's like the little sketch group, I got really into it, I was like, this is really fun, I never even really kind of thought you could, you know, do it as a job, as a career, or like, comedy and just be a comedian, I had an inkling, I wanted to be a Simpsons writer, I was like, oh, I want to, that was just like my dream, that was so far away, I was like one day, I want to write for the Simpsons, like that was it, but that was it, and I got involved in the sketch group and I started doing more and then I started directing it, you know, writing more and more sketches and doing it, I was just like, oh, this is, you know, becoming a bigger and bigger part of my life, you know, now, full fledged comedians, you know. Right, exactly, exactly, you and you've been on Conan, Brian as well. Yeah, I got to do that there, it's been great, you're cool. Can you see yourself, can you see yourself doing or writing an episode of Community? I would love to, I mean like, the writers on the show are amazing and they're really good and like I think like Dan Arman has a pretty much like a good hold on what he wants to happen in the series, but if they ever came up to me, it was like, hey, Donald would you like to write this episode, I would love to, that would be like a really big dream because I do miss writing every once in a while and I do love the show a lot and like it's a really fun show, it seems like it might be really fun to write for the characters and you know, if they ever ask me, I'd love to do it. Absolutely, you have like anything in mind how you would write it or like how you would go about it, Troy would have sex with like every girl, I think that's just where the characters heading, I think he, you know, like he probably, you know, he starts dating everyone, no, I don't know, I don't, I mean like it really would depend on that, I mean like, I think the direction the show is going into such a great thing, you know, like forcing those people to stay together, like and work together, I mean like, I think we're right now like, we're really seeing like Troy and Abed, you know, Danny Coody on the show, their relationship bloom, like they're becoming fast friends, you know, I'd like to do more with Jeff just because I think Jeff is such a fun character, also Pearson's hilarious, we just had a table read yesterday, I see I get to hang out with Britta, so I was like, oh, I was really, because like, I think she'd be only one, I've never had a storyline with me, really, on the show, so I'm, we're kind of still mixing it up, so yeah. Absolutely, absolutely, community here tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on NBC, so I'll go over, thank you so much for coming out this morning, it's great having you here man, oh thank you, thank you for having me, absolutely, come back in a job all right, all right cool, all right, take care guys, you too, bye. All right, you guys, we are done here for this morning, nice little kind of segment here, and we'll be back next Wednesday, next Wednesday, I believe, yeah, next Wednesday. For our two year anniversary show, John Driscoll will be joining us that night for two years making his seventh visit on the campus, seventh visit, yeah, seventh visit, and we'll have some clips playing and all that stuff, he'll be involved in that, so you know, why not have a new year for our two year anniversary, right, right, yeah, so make sure you guys check us out next week, on the next Monday, November 4th, 2009 at 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Nine, all right, we'll see you guys next Wednesday, take care, and make sure you always get the latest buzz with us with the radio, take care. Hey everybody, this is John Driscoll from Young on the Restless, the new Philip Chancellor of the Fourth. You are listening to Buzzworthy Radio right now with Nivelle, stay tuned for what's coming up, what's happening, what's going on, and what will be coming up, what drama to be expected on your favorite soaps, listen in.