GREEN SCREEN
Comedian talks about his time in ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house
OK, so comedian Tom Green didn’t win “Celebrity Big Brother.”
But fans of the CBS reality show, which ended Wednesday night in a victory for Tamar Braxton, did vote Green “America’s Favorite Houseguest” — thanks, he says, to the show’s 24/7 live Web feed.
“I was doing silly things at night and having no idea what people were thinking in the outside world,” says Green. “I was thinking maybe this wasn’t coming off too well. I was playing with [show mascot] Orwell the Owl, taking him on tours throughout the house . . . and I was going around doing these silly routines like the ‘Cereal Box Osprey,’ where I would take a cereal box and flap my arms and pretend to be a bird. But I did sort of get a sense it was going well because the cameras would pan on me in the middle of the night doing these [routines].
“Not to toot my own horn, but I won ‘America’s Favorite Houseguest’ — and the reason was that late-night Internet feed.”
The former MTV talk show host, who’s returned to his standup roots, answered questions about his stint in the “Celebrity Big Brother” house, his standup act and ex-wife Drew Barrymore (they were married from 2001-2002). What’s it like in the “Big Brother” house?
They take your cellphone away and I was out of contact with friends, family, loved ones — the outside world. No Internet, no TV, not even reading or writing materials. I couldn’t have a pen, so if I
thought of a joke for my
standup routine, I couldn’t write it in a notepad. You’re really forced into an alternate universe that’s foreign to us in the modern world. How competitive was it?
I don’t want to say people are desperate to win because of the prize money [$250,000] but . . . it became intensely competitive, more than I would have ever imagined. I knew that half the house was gunning to get me outta there. I had to go win competitions and fight for my survival, which I did, but that made them even more angry and it became intense and personal. It was more than competitive, it was per
sonal — I’ll leave it at that. What did you miss the most from the outside world?
I’m a news junkie. Political news. It’s something that’s a big part of my conversation with friends. And to have that taken away for a month, I found out . . . Maybe I don’t need to look at my phone for every single detail about what’s going on in Washington on a minute-by-minute basis. Maybe I can read the news once a day or three times a week and put my phone down. Maybe I don’t need to be so panicked in my life, always worried about what’s about to happen. I missed my girlfriend, friends and family but I became friends with new people. We made food, talked and forgot about the stresses of the outside world. Tell me about your standup act.
I think I’ve grown as a comedian in the last 20 years. I’m a different person and persona than I was as a 28-year-old on MTV. Being young and not necessarily sure how to behave in that whirlwind experience, not to mention my [testicular] cancer, I’ve had a lot of time to think about everything. I’m alone on stage, no props. I focus on my feelings about the world, have a conversation about human nature, a little bit of politics, not a lot, technology, social media. People get to know me as person. It’s a much broader, nuanced performance. A lot more adult. But I don’t like to say I’ve “matured” — I’m very silly onstage. Do you discuss your marriage to Drew Barrymore onstage?
I made a conscious choice not to talk about that, just out of respect to her. It was a very intense period of time in my life and probably hers, too. Things didn’t work out with us and I always wish her well. I don’t want to use that personal experience as the basis for a joke.