I used to have terrible stage fright, the best way to get over it is to just get onstage so much that it becomes second nature and not at all a big deal.

I was about to interview him at the Open Your Heart In Paradise retreat in Hawaii in front of the entire retreat. We were back stage and he looked up at me and smiled and I said "I'm so nervous!!!" and he said "Me too!!!!!!!" and we laughed and it was just the best. I miss him so much!

Definitely. I kind of hate when I hear a performer who says they "never get nervous." I just don't believe that.

You have to really want it and/or believe deep down you can do it. And/or hit rock bottom with your alternate career choice. I was coming apart at college, sucking as a predental student, and I heard about a standup contest. I wrote an act and went for it, and if I had bombed I may have given up right then. Fortunately I won and the validation made me unstoppable, as far as knowing what I wanted to do from then on. Not that unfamiliar a story, insecure actor/writer is self-effacing, scared to assert himself, gets a little success and shifts in animal mode. I don't know how badly you want to do this for a living, but if you do, go for it hard, take chances, and if you're not as lucky early o...[Read more]

I do get nervous. And that's not a bad thing. What I try to do (and this sounds very cheesy, but it's helpful) is to acknowledge my fear, and then it doesn't dominate me.

Oh yeah. The thing is, you’re so scared, but every day you’re just dreaming of doing Conan or doing a special on Comedy Central, so when it comes, it’s terrifying but great. You know, as a guy you’re scared to have sex but you want it so bad, you do it. Also, as a comic, you realize how hard getting on TV is, that you’re not going to pass it up out of fear. When you’re at Conan behind the curtain waiting to go out, and they pull it open and say ‘you ready?’ you see the lights, the crowd—it’s crazy.