Nobody Knew the Trauma Behind Paul Scheer’s Goofy Persona
With his delightfully silly roles on shows like The League, Veep, and The Good Place, comedian Paul Scheer has always projected a sense of unencumbered fun. That’s partly why, as he explains in both his new memoir Joyful Recollections of Trauma and on this episode of The Last Laugh podcast, he was so hesitant to divulge the very real pain that dominated much of his childhood.
Scheer talks about how comedy helped rescue him from the violently abusive household in which he was raised and has continued to be an essential part of his life as he raises children of his own. He also tells some unbelievable stories about his bizarre run-ins with celebrities like Christopher Walken and Bill Cosby, describes the unique experience of improvising opposite Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and explains how he was able to emotionally move past four unsuccessful auditions for Saturday Night Live.
The stories that Scheer tells about growing up in Joyful Recollections of Trauma are anecdotes that he has been telling “in a very happy way” for years. But at a certain point, he realized that many of them are “incredibly traumatic to everybody else hearing them.”