Judah Friedlander

Show business always tries to stereotype you, so that is something you have to fight against no matter who you are. A lot of actors who are of a minority background complain that they only get stereotyped roles, and they are 100 percent correct. However, it's also true that, no matter who you are, you get typecast as well.

I had not met Tina Fey before I auditioned for '30 Rock'. Some people think we're old friends from 'Second City' days. I had always been a fan of Tina's. But I actually never planned on being in a sitcom.

Soccer and ping-pong are my two favorite sports to play.

No, don't learn at karate schools. They overcharge you for karate uniforms. They make you pay, like, fifty or seventy-five bucks just for a karate uniform, and you don't wear a uniform in everyday life, so why train in one? Most fights take place outdoors, not inside with perfect lighting and mats.

I've done all kinds of movies, but I wanna do some more independent films that are not your run-of-the-mill type movies like 'American Splendor', which I had a big part in, that are really trying to do something unique.

I started doing my own animated movies when I was in ninth grade; that's when I got the filmmaking bug. When I was about 16, I started writing jokes for doing stand up, and then I was 19 and started doing stand up.

I think some people's comedy IQ's aren't as high as other people's, so they don't really know what's going on. Or they think they know what's going on, but they don't really.

I sort of have to self-censor sometimes.

I think I've proven with my career that I can play a wide variety of characters. Yet, I still get typecast as the crazy slob guy. That's how it always works.

You can literally walk into my apartment and sit on a hat; you can step on a hat; you can probably open up the refrigerator and find a hat tucked under some rotten food. I have a lot of hats.

I actually went to film school, but I didn't like it. I'm basically self-taught.

If you are doing stand-up comedy, you have to be confident in what you are doing. That doesn't mean just because you are confident you are funny.

You jump on a bike and start peddling. You fall down and you get up again. I've always been a 'learn by doing' kind of guy.

I've been doing stand-up just about every night since I started in 1989. It's my home base. But I'm into doing comedy in all mediums, platforms and situations.

Math and reading are my only weaknesses - other than that, I'm perfect.

I do uphill skiing; I don't do downhill skiing. I think that's for nerd amateurs.

I don't consider lacrosse a sport. To me that's just a frat activity that got out of hand.

I get hecklers all the time!

I like hanging out at non-showbizzy places.

I don't live in a fancy neighborhood.

I've been driving in the city for years because, as a stand-up in N.Y.C., you can perform at more comedy clubs a night if you have a car. Getting from club to club by subway is too slow at night and too expensive by cab. So, many comics live far out from Manhattan and drive in every night.

Tina Fey is really cool. She's so mellow and laid back.

I'm a big Pacino fan. He's a great actor: so much passion and intensity.

There's a lot of thought that goes into every single thing I wear.

My shirt and my hat always say 'World Champion' in some language. English, Spanish, Chinese, 'Star Wars' language, which is also known as Aurebesh, mermaid language.

I'm not one of those kind of people who does the observational 'Hey, don't you hate it when you're at the grocery store and the line's long and the cash register starts taking too long.' I don't really do that kind of stuff. I'm heavy on persona, and I do a lot of interacting with the audience.

Stand-up comedy is the most relaxing thing I do. If I want to unwind and de-stress, I go out and do stand-up, often several shows in a night.

It wasn't like I just woke up and said, 'Here's my gimmick; I'll wear a hat and put something weird on it.'

I am the greatest marital artist in the world.

As a comedian, I think you need to keep things real.

Let's say there was a fat guy heckling me. I would rip him to shreds, but I would never go for the obvious, never talk about how he's fat or anything.

I'm actually banned from the Himalayas, because I'm too good at yoga.

I never got into things to be famous. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's annoying.

I need to get a wife. But it's hard, you know, it's hard to find a girl you can trust. Some of these girls, they want to go out with you so they can blog about you.

I had one girl send me an e-mail saying she wants to go out with me, but it's like a two-pronged deal because she wants to blog the date. And I'm like, No! I don't want to be on a reality show.

In Manhattan, I often do two or three or more shows a night, so I'm always working on new material.

Before I started doing '30 Rock', I did about 25 movies. I'd always been doing stand-up every night, and then I would do, like, two to four movies a year. So I really liked doing that, and I want to get back to that, but because of the time commitment to '30 Rock', there's not much time to do that stuff.

I never really planned on doing a television series.

I watch a movie or a T.V. show or whatever; if it's good, I like to watch it more than once, and it's always fun to catch something you didn't see initially.

I'm an extra dark black belt in ping pong.

My act's not heavy on pop culture or stories, just lots of jokes.

Stand-up is kind of like my home base, and doing stand-up in New York is what I like doing most.

When I'm not filming anything or on the road doing stand-up, I'm usually doing stand-up shows every night - usually a few shows a night at different clubs in the city.

I became a wrestling fan in college. So, I was more of a wrestling fan as an adult than when I was a little kid.

I'd like to work with John Waters. I grew up in Maryland, so I'm a huge Waters fan.

Paul Verhoeven might be my favorite director, and I'm serious.

I'm a massive Steven Seagal fan. I know his movies are horrible, but I've watched all of them over and over again. I'd want to do a movie with him and Van Damme.

Sometimes '30 Rock' was a struggle because I'd be doing the show and still be doing stand-up full-time.

I've been doing stand-up since '89.

As the World Champion, every day is pretty much like Valentine's Day for me - as far as hooking up with the ladies.