I'd tell my teenage self he did the right thing never getting a proper job.

Oh God, I've done telesales. It doesn't get much lower than that, really. That's the job I enjoyed the least.

I always come back to the gentler stuff like Simon & Garfunkel and the Fleet Foxes' first album - that's quite an odd one.

I've never had a plan for any of this: there was never a plan for, 'Right, I must get on the TV,' 'Right, I must have my own show,' 'Right, I must be a movie star.' I don't think like that. I haven't ever had that sort of interest.

When I was a kid, I would make kung fu movies with the kids in the neighborhood, and I would be the guy behind the camera directing everybody, but they were all very silly little shorts and comedy bits.

A lot of times, comedy writers will go for the gay joke, and I've been vocal about saying, 'Go for the smart joke.'

In the household in which I was raised, the themes were pretty simple. 'Work hard. Don't quit. Be appreciative, be thankful, be grateful, be respectful. Also, never whine, never complain. And always, for crying out loud, keep a sense of humor.'

My mother was very wary at first. And now she's come around 180 degrees. She's, like, one of my biggest fans now. Like, she'll come over to my house, and she'll be like, 'OK, listen. I need two T-shirts from the comedy show, and give me three DVDs. The neighbors are asking for them.'