We’re impressed with writer, actor, podcaster, and comedian Brian Posehn, but when we heard that during the pandemic he figured out how to coordinate his weed and food delivery, we needed to learn more. Was the story more impressive than reality? Only if you think you can get the timing down on your first try.
His newest special, Posehna Non Grata, is out on Moment.co right now and while the pandemic shook up his original taping date, Posehn used the time to rewrite his hour and to eat some Taco Bell. Hey, we all did some stuff. I’m not sure what the material was going to be for Posehna Non Grata originally, but what came out of his revision is relatable, a little nerdy, and profoundly hilarious. When it comes to Brian Posehn, his resume might be one that hopes and dreams are made of, but off paper, he’s just like us. A junk-food-eating, TV-watching stoner.
Watched and loved Posehna Non Grata. You were all set to tape it, and the pandemic hit. How much of your material did you end up changing between then and now?
Brian Posehn: Oh, it all got thrown out! The special is all brand new, with the exception of one joke. I do this joke where I talk about weight loss, and this really happened—I scared this woman at one in the morning at the hotel gym. The lights were off where this woman was working out and I walked in, but there was this motion sensor so it turned the lights on. The lights flash on and she sees me in the doorway, and I actually said this to a stranger, “Don’t be scared.” That was the only joke in the special that had been around pre-COVID. Everything else is new.
The part about The Rock, that just happened recently?
Yeah, that was the first time I went on stage after COVID, and it just happened that day, where The Rock responded to an old thread from six years ago. The first time I went on stage I brought the phone up like, holy shit! You guys are not going to believe what just happened! The joke just wrote itself from there. I have tags I change with it, but it’s just one of those things where I really have fun doing it, so I just add more jokes to it.
Have you and The Rock stayed in touch?
No, not really at all. That was the last response I saw. It could have been just a random person responding or it could be two people because he fired the last guy. I like to think it was really The Rock.
I like to think that too. Whenever tweets are extra funny, I hope it’s actually him. I like that you kept the screenshot as a trophy.
The most embarrassing thing is the only reason it became a screenshot for me is because every night before I did the joke, I’d have to go on Twitter before the show and find the old thread. Then I had a younger comedian go, “Hey, you know you can just screenshot that, right?” I was like, yeah totally. How do I do that? I’m so old.
Did you learn to do anything new during the pandemic? Not mentally, but skill-wise.
No, I just gained weight and watched TV. I watched the same shit I watched my whole life and binged movies. You know, comfort movies. That’s what I turned to a lot, old shows. So no, nothing.
I heard you mastered delivery timing and I think that’s pretty impressive.
Oh yes! The key is ordering the weed first. Some days the weed guy must be close to me though because sometimes, it gets here in 15 to 20 minutes. I mastered it pretty fast though, like, on the first time.
Do you think there is any correlation between this skill and some fat shaming you mentioned in your special?
For sure! I grew up with garbage fast food stuff so I eat more Taco Bell than I care to admit. It’s not even Mexican food, I don’t know what it is. I think it’s Soylent Green. I think we’re eating people! Now I’m losing weight, but I still smoke. People ask me how I get super high and walk and it’s like, I just do.
You mentioned getting high with strangers and some people are so sketchy…
I think I have a pretty good sketch detector and I’m pretty streetwise. I figure I made it this far. Post-COVID I don’t really smoke with people anymore or if I do, it’s my own stuff. I’ll usually have my own pre-roll with me. It feels like people across the country are reluctant to pass joints, or that’s been my experience. Back then, everyone had something and it was cool. Now people are like, do you wanna suck this? And I’m like, not really.
Are you doing any mushrooms? They’re all the rage these days.
I’m not, but it’s funny because I’m finding out that all of these parents are. I wasn’t even aware that it was a huge thing. One of the dads I know microdoses and it changed everything for me. Now I’m looking at him like, dude this guy is high as balls right now!
He’s probably a better dad. More tolerant like, sure, draw all over the walls; you’re as great as Picasso.
I’ve never done what everyone is doing so this one is like, ehhh. I got too in my head with acid and shrooms back in the day. I feel like it was more available in California than anywhere probably. Practically everyone I knew tripped in some way. The nerds, the stoners—I would just get too in my head. One time I was at this party and a girl turned me down at a party. So I just walked all the way home, in San Francisco, tripping balls.
I think it’s an age block because we grew up with weed and mushrooms being illegal. Now there are weed stores everywhere, and it’s so great, but mentally I’m like, this is nuts.
Yes! At first those places would get raided and shut down so even when it went completely legal, I still had this fear of it being raided when I was in the store. I don’t know why but I do think it comes from growing up with it being illegal your entire life.
I blame Nancy Regan.
I blame her for a lot of things. I get diarrhea and I blame Nancy, but it was really Taco Bell.
