I chatted with comedian Adam Ferrara about his memories of “Top Gear” and his love of muscle cars and Andrea Martin.
When did you know you wanted to be in the Entertainment business?
Here’s what I know. I knew when I saw Richard Pryor for the first time, this was important. For the first time, something grabbed my FULL attention. When I would do Richard Pryor bits on the bus and not get beat up..that was good. And then when I got out of college, I told my parents “we tried one of your things, and now we’re gonna try one of mine.” When I got that first laugh, it was like “oh yeah! I want this feeling as long as I can.”
Which is more difficult – standup or acting?
Neither is difficult, it’s the bullshit you have to go through to get there.
Is it true you like muscle cars?
YES! I love cars a great deal because of my dad. My mechanic skills peaks when I hold the lights. That’s my contribution. I’m a muscle car guy because I LOVE the stories behind them. I just got back from Sima in Vegas where I see all these car builders. The work they do is amazing.
Do you have any fond memories of being on “Top Gear?”
Yes, I survived it! We were a fan belt away from death every day on that show. I’ll deny it but I love those two idiots. That show is a different type of show because we were all in it together. There were 30 of us. They flew us to Iceland and put us on a glacier with a bunch of trucks and cameras and said “Have fun, we’ll pick you up Thursday.”
I drove up a volcano in a non-Turbo diesel Chevy. There was no net on that show. There’s an emotional moment in every show because what we were doing was pretty fucking. There was one episode where we had to make an Armageddon car for the end of the world. I think it was a Camry body on top of a Ford Crown Victoria. Tanner was driving, Rut was in the passenger seat, and I was in the back. The bit was we came driving around the corner, slid the corner, jumped the ramp over a garage, landed on another garage, broke through it and drove away. We were all in the same danger together. That’s one of the most memorable ones for me.
What is it like being a part of the legacy of “Rescue Me?”
That show was a great experience. Denis, a bunch of the actors and crew came from another show I did called “The Job.” It was cool being with them again and being able to portray a firefighter in New York after 9/11. My character was thrown into a leadership role not having the life experience. It was a true story in a way because there were a lot of young chiefs after 9/11. It was important to represent that character well. The writing was excellent..we were able to comedy AND drama.
It’s funny this interviewed happened today because recently I saw your comedy film “Little Italy.” I loved that movie.
That was a fun movie to do. We shot it in Canada. We ended up all staying in the same small apartment complex. Alyssa Milano played my wife, Emma Roberts played my daughter..Danny Aiello, Hayden Christensen was in it. I think the reason people love it is because we had so much fun making it. It comes through.
Andrea Martin is so funny in it too.
How SWEET is she? There’s a scene in that movie where she hits me in the back of the head. We’re trying to work out a scene and I said “you play my mother. Hit me in the back of the head.” She says “Oh yeah” and does it and she loves it. She’s smacking me in every friggin scene.
I almost peed myself at the end of the movie when she compares herself to Beyonce.
She’s so good and so much fun. We’ve stayed friends to this day.
What is your podcast about?
I want to communicate a feeling. The best nights sleep I got as a kid was when I heard my parents and their friends downstairs laughing. I started the podcast with that idea. The show is me, my wife, and sometimes my friends, talking about an interview I’ve done with a celebrity or scientist or author. Like, any good group of friends, we talk about them when they leave. The cool thing is I get to talk to people I want to talk to. I’ve had Jay Leno, Nathan Lane, Steve Vai, Kevin James, Brooke Shields, Joe Buck. “The Beatles” movie is coming out around Thanksgiving, and I’ll have the photographer who shot the “Let It Be” cover. I was flipping out.
So you’re an actor, podcaster, comedian, host..what else do you want to do?
I’d love to be a trust fund kid.
Are you excited about your shows at Magooby’s?
I LOVE coming back there. It’s setup like a little stadium. The people are so nice when I come out..there’s like a nice East Coast connection with everyone.
Adam headlines Magooby’s December 2nd – 4th. Buy tix