Donald Glover says a conversation with Chris Rock inspired him to create new stand-up comedy material. During an interview with GQ, Glover, 39, recalled when Rock asked him about hitting the stage and wondering why he wasn’t writing new jokes for a special—especially at his age.
“So I was with Chris Rock, and he was like, ‘People aren’t good [at stand-up] until they’re your age,'” he said. “‘The only one who was better when he was younger was Eddie. Why aren’t you doing this sh*t?'”
The reveal followed writer Mark Anthony Green telling the multi-hyphenate that his stand-up is the one blotch on his resumé, a critique that stuck with Glover until they spoke the following day.
“I’m a sensitive person. And it scares me because I see it in my son. Glovers have big hands. Glovers have big feet. Glovers are angry men. I say to my son, ‘I’m letting you know your history a little bit so you understand this is what you’re gonna have to deal with,” he said. “Don’t react all the time because your anger swells up really fast.'”
Glover has only done one stand-up comedy special in his illustrious career, with the Atlanta native releasing Weirdo in 2009 exclusively on Comedy Central. Additionally, he has also performed on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham.
Elsewhere in the interview, Glover also revealed that Jordan Peele convinced actor Liam Neeson to appear in the third season of Atlanta. Neeson appears as a gag where he faces his problematic past towards Black people.
“Jordan thought it was hilarious! So Jordan talked to him,” the multihyphenate said, referring to the Atlanta scene. “Liam hit me back and said he talked to Jordan and his son and thought it’d actually be a good thing. But what was so funny is, like, I forgot to hit Jordan back. I was so excited about Liam doing it. So Jordan hit a friend of mine, and was like, ‘Am I on a prank show where Donald got me to forgive Liam Neeson? Was this a joke…on me?'”