Despite spending this week flying from the set of Star Trek in Toronto to the Tribeca Film Festival, Tig Notaro simply had to hop back on a plane and get to Los Angeles to say goodbye to Conan on Thursday night before the show ends its run. While joking that she chose host Conan O’Brien over her own children, Notaro couldn’t thank the late night host and his team for making her big break happen.
As Notaro tells it, she was struggling for years after getting either a “one shot” or “no shot” on late night shows. “I’d get feedback that my delivery was too slow– not enough jokes per minute, I heard. Too low-key, not mainstream enough.” But all of that changed after she made her first appearance on Conan in 2011 and was asked to return, which she said never happened. Via The Wrap:
“I remember leaving the studio and I got a call from my manager saying that your show had called to have me booked again immediately and that you wanted me to be a regular on the show,” she continued. “I couldn’t even comprehend that because of all the rejection I had gotten.”
“I feel like your show gave me this incredible opportunity to be myself, to try out weird things, and also, I’m certain, went hand-in-hand with me being welcome on to so many other talk shows,” the grateful comic concluded.
Of course, now, the shoe is on the other foot. Conan is lucky to have Notaro as a guest. The comedian/actor recently became a huge viral sensation thanks to her “badass” role in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead. But much like her success with Conan, Notaro couldn’t comprehend what was happening with her new viral fame either.
“My friends were texting me images of Twitter, like ‘You’re trending for being badass and sexy AF.’” Notaro told Jimmy Fallon back in April. “And I was like, ‘What is that?’”
(Via Team Coco)