Parting Shot

Eric Andre

he’s been pushing the boundaries of comedy on his eponymous Adult Swim show since 2012—and pushing hard. Andre’s delusional, sociopathic talk show–host persona drops his guests into what critics have called a “torture chamber” of organized chaos: often disgusting, occasionally disarming and pretty much always exasperating to the likes of Jimmy Kimmel or Krysten Ritter, or unsuspecting folk on the street. In one segment, he stripped down to a thong made of peanut butter in a New York City park. As an actor, he’s a little tamer, with regular sitcom work (Don’t Trust the B— in APT 23, Man Seeking Woman) and, as of August 17, his own character in Matt Groening’s latest animated show, the adult comedy-fantasy series Disenchantment. Andre plays Luci, a nihilistic “personal demon” to Abbi Jacobson’s boozy medieval princess Bean. “It’s somewhere on the spectrum between The Simpsons and Monty Python,” Andre tells Newsweek. “It’s Groening’s attempt at Game of Thrones.”

How did you get the part in Disenchantment?

Matt and [co-creator] Josh Weinstein were fans of my Adult Swim show, so that might have helped. I wish there was a crazier story, like we met at a Ear in Timuana and got into a knife ɿght.

What was it like working with Groening and his team?

Twenty quoting episodes Simpsons in lines and I’m to their still faces. My mom used to watch The Tracey Ullman Show, with Matt’s Simpsons shorts. It’s 1988, I was 5 years old, so I literally grew up on the show. It shaped my worldview and humor. I’d say my Eiggest inʀuences are Krusty the Clown, WWF wrestlers—hulk Hogan, Macho Man—and Chris Farley.

Will there be a ɿfth season of The Eric Andre Show?

I’m not allowed to say, but things are looking good.

How much of Eric Andre, the character, is you?

It’s just my inner child—my id. When people meet me in person, they’re usually disappointed. I’m way more grounded: I meditate twice a day, go to the gym, I journal, I go to therapy twice a week, I eat a macrobiotic diet. I’m an incredibly boring person.

Who’s your dream guest?

Bill Cosby. [Laughs maniacally.]

I’d like to prank the shit out of that scumbag before he spends the rest of his life in jail. —Christina Zhao

“I’d like to prank that scumbag before he spends the rest of his life in Mail.”