John Mulaney's overcoming his struggles to be a comedian
John Mulaney is a comedian who started as a writer and worked his way up the ladder to become the star he is today. It was a challenging road for John at times. At the beginning of his comedy start in college, he struggled with anxiety when going on stage, which he overcame by joining a stand-up tour. He would break through with his comedy special, New in Town, in 2012.
In December 2020, John went into rehab after an intervention with his friends. At that point, he was not in a good state, being addicted to cocaine, Adderall, Xanax, Klonopin, and Percocet. Sometimes, John wouldn't remember what he did, once giving a rambling GQ interview that he doesn't remember having. 2020 was not the first time Mulaney dealt with addiction problems; he started drinking when he was 13. He would go sober for a while during his early post-college career in 2005 before starting back up at some point after 2014.
Mulaney would successfully finish the rehab and release more comedy specials since. He would poke some fun at his addiction struggles in his 2023 special Baby J. As of October 2023, he mentioned on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that he has been sober for almost three years and is a happy person today.
Quotes
It’s weird to be a recovering drug addict. It was weird to be a drug addict, but at least I was on drugs. It’s strange sometimes. You know, like, I’m doing great. But when I’m alone, I’m with the person that tried to kill me.
John Mulaney
It gives me a strange kind of confidence sometimes, ‘ Cause, like, like, I…I used to care what everyone thought about me so much. it was all I cared about. All I cared about was what other people thought of me. And I don’t anymore. And I don’t because I can honestly say , what is someone going to do to me that’s worse than what I would do to myself? What, are you gonna cancel John Mulaney? I’ll kill him. I almost did.
John Mulaney
Related Media
John Mulaney: Baby J
John Mulaney's comedy special about his drug problems
References
-
John Mulaney
Discomfort and anxiety plagued John early on, but joining Birbiglia’s standup tour helped him overcome the awkwardness of being on stage. As John says, “Mike absolutely turned me into a comedian. The tour was life-changing; I wanted to do standup every night after that.”
Off Camera
-
John Mulaney’s Most Candid Quotes About His Addiction and Recovery Through the Years
John Mulaney is choosing honesty when it comes to sharing his struggle with addiction and his attempts to stay sober.
US Magazine
-
John Mulaney Confronts Addiction in His New Netflix Special
In “Baby J,” Mulaney describes the period in his life when addiction made him chaotic and out of control. But, stylistically, it’s a special that emphasizes just how measured and scrupulous a joke writer he is. At one point, about a third of the way into this uncharacteristically long eighty-minute special, Mulaney grows a touch sombre. He’s still talking about his intervention, and begins to explain how grateful he is to the friends who helped get him sober.
The New Yorker
-
John Mulaney Is “Never Relevant, and Therefore Never Irrelevant”
GQ hopped on the phone for a wide-ranging conversation: Mulaney talked about why he’s never felt more himself than when he’s voicing an animated pig, and a host of other ideas and projects that are never far from his mind. This conversation took place two weeks ago, before news broke that Mulaney had checked himself into a 60-day stay at rehab. GQ wishes him a speedy recovery.
GQ
-
John Mulaney Is More Than a Funny Guy in a Suit and Tie
He began drinking at thirteen—initially, he says, to deal with the awkwardness of adolescence, and then to excess, because “alcohol is addictive,” he says, and he didn’t want to stop. “I drank for attention,” he tells me. “I was really outgoing, and then at twelve, I wasn’t. I didn’t know how to act. And then I was drinking, and I was hilarious again.” Drugs soon followed. “I never liked smoking pot. Then I tried cocaine, and I loved it.
Esquire
