H. Jon Benjamin is an American actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his voice acting roles as Ben on Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Coach McGuirk and Jason on Home Movies, Sterling Archer in FX's animated series Archer, and Bob Belcher and Jimmy Pesto, Jr., in the Fox animated series Bob's Burgers. Benjamin also starred in his own series on Comedy Central, Jon Benjamin Has a Van.
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» All Comedian InterviewsMy new jazz album “Well I Should Have” is out on Subpop Records and its really unnerving
https://megamart.subpop.com/releases/jon_benjamin_jazz_daredevil/well_i_should_have
My Proof: https://twitter.com/HJBenjamin/status/673985571493122050
So are you not doing "phrasing" anymore?
It may come back. Phrasing. Well, there it is. it's back
I've seen you in Portland twice and both times the crowd was made up of a bunch of assholes screaming "DANGER ZONE" at you. Do you hate us? Because I hate us.
I actually like Portland very much. It's Philadelphia and Brattleboro Vermont I really hate
Hey Jon! Thanks for doing this.
How was working with Aziz Ansari in Master of None?
He is very nice and the show was fun do to except for the scenes with the biohazard suits, since my fan was not working- there was a fan inside the suit. But, now, at least I can empathize with Disney mascots
Hi Jon! What was it like being a Can of Vegetables? How was it working with the cast of Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp? Any funny stories/memories you can share?
It was a lot of fun. the only story i remember was bumping into Janeane Garofalo in a supermarket and I've never seen her happier because apparently she loves supermarkets
Hello H. Jon Benjamin. Just wondering how the hell you convinced the fine folks of Sub Pop records to release a jazz album when you don't listen to jazz nor play piano?
well, it's true that they should be more discerning with their choices, but that being said I know many of the folks there and I did pitch them the idea hoping they wou;d steer to a label that might do it and instead, they agreed to do it so I'm not totally to blame. That also being said, I'm very happy they did it and that they believed in the message
Hi, Jon! If you were cast as a cop in a buddy comedy and the producers allowed you to select the actor or actress who played the other cop, who would you choose and why?
that's funny because I did have an idea to do a cop comedy with Aisha Tyler but she was too busy. In real life, we look really funny standing next to each other
Hi Jon!
Out of all the fictional characters you have voiced, who's life would you most like to live and why is it Coach McGuirk?
well coach mcGuirk was a pretty sad character if you applied any reality to it. I guess Bob seems pretty happy most of the time. I wonder how Jason from Home Movies has aged. maybe him. i feel like he works in Silicon Vally now and makes a ton of money at some tech company
From which side of your family does your distinct voice originate or is unique to you?
Well, I'm not sure whose voice I share more with but I assume my father because he and I are both male. he has a prominent Massachusetts accent which I don't have though
How do you practice the "angry yelling" voices?
Wouldn't your neighbors be like "hey man, stop yelling?"
I'm commonly very soft spoken with my neighbors. As a matter of fact, last year I gently asked my downstairs neighbor to turn down the music and he shut the door in my face. I didn't even knock again
do you still have a van ?
No more van unforunately. Someday I hope to get a camper
Is the name of ISIS going to change on the show? also: next season of archer???
I'm not sure they officially changed the acronym. I think the spy agency is called DAESH now.
Hi Jon, i'm a huge fan. Do you have an plans for creating another one of your own TV shows, or would you like to?
I am working on a couple shows now. One is a comedy show with Leo Allen who I worked with on the van show on comedy central. i hope that works
Mr. Benjamin, what are your thoughts on FX's decision to drop the term 'ISIS' from the show, due to possible association with then-becoming-famous extremist group?
well, i think they probably didn't have a choice. It's an unfortunate association. I'm sure it's happened at some point with other shows. I think the Love Boat was originally called The Hitler
Hey Jon, any hints as to what this big Woodhouse plot is going to be in season 7?
Much like some of the Archer seasons, there are some momentous changes, but shoulnd't give it away now
Hi Jon, thanks for being here. Would you say that your relationship with your own mother mirrors Archer's relationship with Mallory?
Also, who is your favourite Archer character, and why is it Kazak?
Well, my mother I assume is spy for the government or maybe she just wore overcoat alot
How much alcohol do you consume on a daily basis?
I'm somewhere in between 3-17 glasses of a wine a day
Hi Jon, I just have to ask, who is the funniest person in the studio for Bob's Burgers?
I would say Mark Desimone, the audio engineer. He's a hoot and a half
Did you know Doug Stanhope growing up? He's from Worcester, Massachusetts and is about your age.
I have met Doug after Wrocester (A.W.) but I didn't know him in Worcester
If you could overdub any movie what would you choose?
I have always wanted to be the english dub in a Miyazaki movie. Maybe someday. I am going to Japan in a week so if they need me, i will be in town
Hey there sir, I listened to our local community radio DJ go on a thirty minute rant against your album and I got really upset by it. Then I heard the song he played from it and fully understood. Good on you for trying at least. Anywho.... Is there any talk of Dr. Katz coming back for a season on like Netflix or Hulu or anything?
well one of my goals was to annoy local community radio so good on me
Howdy, Mr. Benjamin. Longtime fan here!
Your repertoire consists of a fantastic array of vocal performances. Are there any that were briefer than expected, shows you wish had lasted longer?
yes. Freak Show on comedy Central only lasted one season and I was definitely hopeful that it would have lasted longer.
Will we be seeing you in season 2 of Master of None?
I'm not sure. Aziz I believe has not formulated an idea for what happens next but I hope they do they more. There's an endless number of all black movies my character can be the sole white guy in
Hi Jon! When will you be getting more Mystery Sacks in stock at your Flotsam General Store?
we are trying to make another round. opefully, we can coordinate something for next year. it's hard to exploit labor
The girl friend and I are huge fans, I started her on Bob's then we moved to Archer, when she saw you on masters of none she was super excited, so when I was in pure shock you were doing an ama I asked her what to ask, so here goes "what is your favorite sandwich?"
what's with all the sandwich questions? Everyone knows I can only eat soup
HI Jon, on twitter Steve Lehman said you approached his jazz group first about doing the session. Could you talk about what happened there? I love the vinyl!
yes, i got steve's name through Ira Kaplan and it was just a scheduling problem I think that prevented him from doing it, but he was interested as I recall
What kind of tea do you like?
I do drink a lot of tea. mostly black, some green. I can tell right now I'm drinking McNulty's Russian style
What kind of mindset did you have coming into the studio for recording and do you think you can beat what you've done in this record?
well, there was no preparation involved. we set it up where the trio would play and I would just try and keep up to capture that improv spirit that eptomized jazz and if you listen to all the songs in order (i don't recommend it) you can hear me getting progressively better. I actually think I can't play Piano part 4, i am not all bad
Will you smoke a joint with me?
oh no. no no
What is currently your favorite TV show that you have not worked on?
well, I'm just finishing watching The Knick which I like alot