I jump between TV and film for that reason. I felt fried after 12 years of Family Guy so I left to do Ted. At some point maybe I'll wind up writing for Family Guy full time again.
Like I said, yes, it feels good [to be getting more popular]. I didn’t strive to have a TV show. I come from a sports background. I come from a work ethic background — a grinder, if you will. My goal was never to be on TV. My goal was not to have my own TV show. My goal was to be the best standup comedian I can be. Because I knew being a standup is the foundation to go into radio. I mean, back in the day, it was radio, go into hosting, go into being an actor. So I really focused on that. Of course you’d be on TV. I wouldn’t say no. If you’re a comedian and someone comes up to you, whether you’re doing comedy for a month or 10 years, most likely, for the most part, you would say yes. But that...
For me, it’s not really about weight loss. Training just makes me sharper and mostly increases my endurance. let me put it to you all this way: Trying to be a standup comedian for a living, or beyond that, trying to pursue a life in comedy that has longevity and bredth, is crazily hard.
Lots of folks say it takes 15, maybe 20 years to make a great comic. Lots of people start out with a lot of talent but by the time they hit that many years they’ve given up, become bitter and crusty or have died from ill health and depression. Outside of all that, it seems to me that if you’re trying to do something extraordinary, which succeeding as a comedian is, if only by virtue of the fact that...
ups and downs are all part of it. you have doubts all the time. bad, bad shows early on are rough on you, but there's a balance to it all. you just try not to get too down after a shit show or too high after a great show.
once I started working i was all in. it was terrifying at times but with any of the arts you have to go all in or there isn't a prayer it will work out for you.
Actually most comedians who's success really sticks come to it late in life. It takes a long time to make a really successful comedian and I've known that from the start, truly. I always expected that I'd work in obscurity for a long long time. It's waht it takes and to me it was worth it. I have also alway found new and fun ways to make a living, writing for others, ect.
Seth MacFarlane