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Well, you can’t do this job without believing that you’re going to get somewhere…but there were a couple of times. Not many. But there were a couple of scary times out there, on the road, when I was wondering if I was going to get anywhere. It’s all part of it, though. You have an awesome supporting role on Breaking Bad. How does it feel to be involved with such a massive series?
I don’t know how important I was, I was just happy to be there. In a lot of ways it was like being a small part of Chappelle’s Show. My IMDB page is a real quick read—but I’ve somehow paratrooped into some really awesome stuff.
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I was rooting for Walt and I was rooting for Hank, too. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to Hank. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to Mike. I got to be honest to you, when he threw Jesse to the dogs [that fucked me up]…Even when he let Jesse’s girl choke to death…yeah, she was a nightmare. She made the aggressive move first. I look at it like if you’re in that business then you know where an aggressive move is going to leave you. She tried to do smart fake-out move. But she didn’t fake anybody out. She left everybody alive. Yeah. There’s no half-stepping. The drug game is definitely life or death.
Yeah, well, so is the corporate game. They don’t whack you, but they’re doing other things. That’s one thing I’ve learned through the little reading that I do. The name of the game is to get on the legal side of stealing, ‘cause then you don’t have to hire all these thugs to do your dirty work. You have the law on your side. And you can do just as much stealing. You don’t have to hide your money and buy a bunch of car washes. You can have offshore accounts, scams. They’re just on the legal side of it. And they have use of the cops. [Laughter]
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[Laughter] I’m never doing that. I like being on the outside looking in. At this point you’ve met a bunch of celebrities that you’ve idolized and looked up to, like Pacino and Christopher Walken. Is there anyone left that you’d freak out if you met? Or that you’d really like to meet?
Oh yeah, oh my God, yeah. Anybody who played professional sports between 1970 and about…1986. There’s a zillion musicians…Who’s at the top of your sports list?
I have an overall respect for Irish athletes—like most people should. You know something, obviously there’s bigger names like Walter Payton and guys like that. But I would be just as thrilled—and it’d almost be cooler—to meet Mark van Eeghen or Kenny King—I used to watch the Raiders a little bit. I used to collect football cards, back when kids were still doing it. And then I tried to start up again when I was in my 30s. When you had those cards as a kid, you knew all the stats and you knew everything about the players. It was really cool.By the time I came back to it, there were a bunch of adults doing it. And I was standing there at a store with a bunch of adults with these football cards, and they threw out all these cards they called “common cards.” And those were people who weren’t big stars and their cards weren’t going to be worth anything. And I just remember thinking, ‘those are the best guys!’ Everybody kept bringing up Tony Dorsett or Roger Staubach. How about John Fitzgerald? That’s what happens when you’re hanging out with your friends and you start bringing up the old teams. You don’t throw out the stars—you throw out the guys that blocked for them.
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It seems to be doing pretty well. They’re up on things, as far as what’s going on. Just being a human being is enough of a connection there, even if some stuff doesn’t work. If there’s one thing I’ve learned through travel is that people are the same. People want to find love, they want to find shelter, they want to make sure they have enough money for their family—that’s pretty much it. There’s that foundation. People want to be respected. People don't like to be scared. People don’t like feeling stupid—it’s all the same thing.Even if I’m talking about something where there’s a few references they don’t understand, they understand the situation. You know, you learn a couple of words from their language, you toss them out, they appreciate it—you’re good to go.Do you feel like you have any regrets in your career?
You know, you always think, Where would I be? Should I have done this, should I have done that? But overall, no, I don’t. Because…you know, it’s like that “Monday Morning Quarterback” shit. ‘Oh, I should have done that, now that I have the answers.’ You know what I mean? If I had just coasted to the top, I don’t know if there would be a feeling of satisfaction.
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I feel like I'd continue what I'm doing right now—making specials that I'm proud of and getting some acting work. You know, do really cool TV shows and movies.I’d like to maintain a certain level of quality control. You never know how things are going to turn out when you sign on, there’s so many other hands involved. But I have to be honest with you, to be able to be on Chappelle’s Show and somehow get on a show as good as Breaking Bad—I’m pretty good. [Laughter]. I’m pretty good, man. To be able to do stand-up and have people come to my shows and making the rent…I’m good, man. I’m good.About ten years ago, I was happy with where I was at. And I know you’re not supposed to do that. People say, ‘Oh, you’re going to lose your drive and lose your fire.’ But I’m happy as hell, so I don’t care. I mean, obviously I had goals, but the goals they’re not…like, my goal is to top my next hour. Keep pushing myself. There are a few things that I’m trying to learn how to do on stage. Those are my goals. Rather than, I want to be fifth lead in an epic. Or something. I don’t know the terminology.
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I’m good, you know. With doing stand-up and my podcast and occasionally getting some acting work, I have more than enough to keep me busy. And anything more would affect the incredible amount of free time I have, which I feel like everyone is really working for.I’m trying not to fuck that up.Bill Burr is appearing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto as a part of JFL42, Saturday September 21st at 7:00 and 9:30PM.Follow Jordan on Twitter: @jordanisjosoMore interviews from Jordan:Talking About Life With Ghostface Killah Nobody Can Hurt Nathan Fielder’s Feelings We Spoke to Nick Kroll about TV, Feces, and Weirdos
