Eric André Talks Jackie Chan, Mob-Run Stand-Up Venues, New Netflix Comedy ‘Little Brother’ & Penning ‘Film Scores For…

There’s an interesting paradox at the heart of Eric André‘s career: Here’s someone whose brand is built on raunchy, chaotic unpredictability whose work is made possible by a very different set of qualities.

Sure, André admits: A good percentage of his work comes down to “the stupidest poop and pee jokes you’ve ever seen in your life.” But getting to where he is in comedy has required a level of craft and discipline that you’d might not expect, if you’re just going off the version of André you’ve seen on screen.

Best known for The Eric Andre Show — a manic deconstruction of public access talk shows — and the hidden camera comedy Bad Trip, André’s breakout success with these projects was something he had to fight for, aggressively, over an extended period of time. He threw everything he could at The Eric Andre Show — putting blood, sweat and tears into a pilot that many passed on, which later made him a cult icon at Adult Swim as the show aired for six seasons, attracting one A-list guest after another. While he garnered rave reviews and topped Netflix‘s charts with his follow-up project, Bad Trip — reuniting him with Eric Andre Show collaborator Kitao Sakurai — he ultimately earned less than $20,000, all told, for a project he spent eight years carefully cultivating, beat by beat.

Admittedly, show business was never easy to crack — and it hasn’t gotten easier with time. “It’s a difficult time to traverse [the industry], but it’s not insurmountable,” André says in today’s episode of our Comedy Means Business podcast.

Over time, the comedian says, he’s come to “like the pain and the challenge” of it all. And his efforts do continue to be rewarded — most recently, with Little Brother, a Netflix comedy directed by Ingrid Goes West‘s Matt Spicer that was written specifically for him.

Releasing June 26, Little Brother originated as a concept from The White Lotus producer David Bernad and is pitched by André as What About Bob? meets Parasite. The story centers on a reality TV-famous real estate agent (John Cena) whose tightly curated life is thrown into chaos when his eccentric “little brother” (André) suddenly reappears.

A self-professed superfan of Cena — even after getting concussed by the retired pro wrestler, in an Eric Andre Show stunt gone wrong — André found in Little Brother the chance to deliver more hilarious, crude, balls-to-the-wall comedy, even while relying on a stunt double so that he wouldn’t have to take the brunt of a dump truck collision or wheelchair fall down the stairs.

A month ahead of Little Brother‘s release, André released Film Scores for Films That Don’t Exist, a sometimes wacky, yet also generally sincere album of classical music, reflecting the years he spent honing his craft as a musician before turning to comedy. In conversation with Deadline, he delves into both the film and his latest musical output, discussing his punk rock ethos, his love of Jackie Chan, and his process in crafting a singular career.

Elsewhere, André talks about his encounters with mob-run comedy venues and “harsh personalities” in comedy, his pride in Nate Bargatze and “little sister” Sarah Sherman, mentorship from the likes of Jeff Tremaine and Mike Lazzo, the idea that comedians are “homeless” now with few platforms — and fewer comedy-specific platforms — to sell projects to, his next creative chapter, and more.

Check out the entire talk above.