Name: Louis C.K. Talks Casting Louie Anderson as Mom Baskets in 'Baskets' TV Show
Uploaded: 2025-11-18T21:30:06.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Louis C.K. Talks Casting Louie Anderson as Mom Baskets in 'Baskets' TV Show' from Bad Friends Clips on Comedy Buff. Published 2025-11-18. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Louis C.K. Talks Casting Louie Anderson as Mom Baskets in 'Baskets' TV Show' from Bad Friends Clips on Comedy Buff. Published 2025-11-18. Transcript available.

- Can I tell you my favorite scene from your show
that to this day I watch all the time,
like over and over and over.
- Okay, is it the art room scene?
- Yeah, that's my favorite scene.
It's my favorite scene in the whole world.
- With you and Pam Adlon in the press a button.
It says press.
- It's the best scene.
- That's my favorite scene, dude.
- I love that one.
- Just be, here's, and let me ask you.
Dude, and let me ask you something,
because I get nerded out on those scenes.
I'll rewind a scene like.
- It's Jay, it's Jay, Big Jay Oakerson's voice,
if that's what you're gonna say.
- It is? - It is?
- Big Jay Oakerson, yeah.
I hope I'm not getting him in trouble.
- No, no, no, no.
- I mean, I've asked him to do it.
I said, I wrote him and I said,
can you please say this word?
Like for, you know, to choose one like five times.
- Right.
- Into your phone and text it to me
and I'll send you a, you know, a check, a SAG check.
- That's so funny.
- And he said, sure, and he did it and it's in there.
- Wow.
- On the first take, Pam turns her shoulder and walks away.
- Yeah, she just like, yeah.
- But is it, did she, it's an organic laugh
that you can hear in the audio.
I don't think like she laughs.
- Yeah.
- As she walks away, but I don't think she meant to laugh.
- She doesn't really laugh.
She kind of goes like, oh, like, mm.
- I hear, she goes, okay.
I hear her say, okay.
- Yeah.
- Did you surprise, was it a surprise when she first heard it?
Or you guys had already.
- No, we knew what.
- Oh God, it would have been so funny.
- No, sorry.
- If it was a surprise.
I wanted it so bad to be like,
'cause we, 'cause like there's a scene,
there's a scene that I've nerded out like this about
that I'll loop is in baskets.
- Yeah.
- And I know you could tell he knows the scene,
'cause I've watched it a hundred fucking times,
but Louie is drinking a Gatorade.
- Yes.
- Your scene, that scene,
it's the exact same comedy feeling in my soul where I go,
this is so fun.
And they knew it was fun.
Oh, dude.
- So I remember that day really well because,
so when we set up Zach's show.
- Yeah.
- We had this meeting, me and him,
and I don't remember who else was there,
but I started asking him about,
we were just trying to decide what the show's about,
and like it was just Zach, a show for Zach.
And I was working at FX at,
I had a show that was successful and I said,
I wanna make a different, another show.
So they're like, all right.
And I went to Zach first,
'cause nobody ever made me laugh that hard as Zach did.
So anyway, when we sat and talked about
what his show would be about,
this is, we had already made a deal,
he's gonna have a show.
I was like, well, what if your family,
what if you have family in it, you know?
And I, and he, so we're talking about it.
I said, what's your mother,
what about your mother, if you had a mother?
And he goes, yeah, maybe.
And I go, what's your mother really like in real life?
And he goes, she's always like,
ah, Zach, why didn't you do that?
And I, and I just said, your mother's Louie Anderson.
And we all laughed and then there was this pause.
And I said, what if we get Louie Anderson to play your mother?
And he was like, why does that sound like such a good idea?
Like, it just was to me, like, what a crazy idea.
And that's how it came about,
'cause I was making a flip joke.
And then I was like, this is,
I enjoyed this part of the work.
I was like, I just got on the phone and said,
get Louie Anderson on the phone.
I don't know him that way.
We've met in person a bunch of times,
always liked him, but I didn't have a relationship with him.
But I just said, get me Louie Anderson on the phone.
And a few minutes later, I get this call from Louie
in his car.
And he goes, hi, I go, hi, Louie.
It's Louie CK, yeah.
So I'm making a show for FX
and Zach Kalifanakis is the star of the show.
We're doing a pilot.
Okay.
And I go, we have a part in it.
It's a substantial part for you.
The thing is, we want you to play Zach's mother.
And I just hear the sound inside the car.
And he goes, I love it.
Wow.
And it felt like this,
we didn't know what he would do.
We gave him the job.
There was no, nothing written.
And there was no, it was just that day.
We gave him the job.
Wow.
We made a deal, right?
It was like, no, we're doing that.
So I didn't know how it was going to work out.
And I didn't know what Zach,
so Zach hired John Chrysler, Chryster.
Yeah, Chrysler, what's wrong with me?
Please look it up, director.
Jonathan Chrysler, Chrysler.
Yeah.
Chrysler.
Chrysler, Chrysler.
I don't know why I'm going to say it.
Jonathan Chrysler had done this show, Portlandia,
which is one of my favorite things ever.
It's awesome.
Yeah.
And he just had this way of setting up improv,
setting up, setting this scene for two characters.
He knew how to shoot it, how to get,
how to shoot it well and how to just make it happen.
So these guys just, I went,
after this one meeting where we talked about everything,
I kind of went away and let them make the show.
And then I showed up that day and there's Louie Anderson in a dress.
And I'm like, we're really doing this, huh?
Wow.
Wow.
And I'm like, I don't know what, what is the character?
What are you guys doing?
And I sat and watched them shoot that scene, which just happened.
There was nothing to it.
Yeah.
They had something to argue about that.
He doesn't respect.
He's being a clown.
Right.
And Martha, that was like an introduction from Martha.
And then there was this obsession with this Gatorade.
And when that moment happened, I remembered,
I had just arrived a few minutes before with the Gatorade.
And that hits the spot.
I was like, I was like, what do we do?
This is incredible.
This is incredible.
And Louie and I got to really love Louie.
We got to know each other much better.
Yeah.
And then he won a fucking Emmy.
And it was such a glorious thing that Louie,
because I loved him when I was a young comic.
And he's such a sweet and good guy.
He's open for him.
Struggled with his health.
Yeah.
And it was really sad when he passed away.
But yeah, it was one of the happiest moments of my career
was him winning an Emmy.
Wow.
That was such a beautiful thing.
Because the way he did it, that character was fantastic
throughout the season.
Two seasons.
Great.
Fucking great.
I did a show on FX called Dave with Little Dickie.
And when I was on the show, I was in love with Baskets so much.
And I was like, hey, I don't want to get paid.
Like, can I just do anything in the thing?
I just was like, I'll do an anything, anything, anything.
And they were like, dude, you got to stop asking.
Because I kept asking my agent.
I was like, just tell him I'll fucking--
They were like, they don't want--
Does that work if talent asks?
No, but they said they don't.
They were like, they're not--
Unusually.
Because I've asked so many times.
They're like, nah, it's not going to happen.
I was like, I don't even want lines.
I just want to be in like a background of the Burger King.
I want-- I really wanted to be at the Burger King.
Right.
And I was like, just let me be in the thing.
And they're like, they don't want like an actor or comic.
They were like, they're not looking for that.
You're not-- you're in the wrong--
I was like, nah, I just want to be in the back.
Yeah, nah, you wouldn't have been right for it.
I know, see?
That's right.
There you go.
That's right.
He was like, no, you can't do it, dude.
So when people go, well, like, my agents
try to track projects.
Yeah.
Like when the crazy rich Asians were happening, like, we're tracking this for
you.
We're putting your name in the past, you know?
And it's like, it never-- I couldn't even get an audition at the end of the day.
No, yeah, it doesn't--
None of that works.
No, yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, I think it's good if you're trying to be an actor.
You go in for a lot of stuff because they remember you.
You go-- you just do the best version of you at the audition.
And then you just are memorable.
It doesn't matter getting that part, you know?
Like, if you read something, you're like, that's not my kind of guy.
And you try to be it, you're going to suck.
So you just do a weird-- your version of it.
Right.
And they'll go, that guy was good.
He's not-- he can't do this.
But that guy-- and they'll remember.
I mean, I've cast a lot of things in my past with people that I've seen in
other stuff
that are-- that I've seen in stuff that I had them cast, you know, come in for.
So go in for everything.
Go in for everything and do any part you get.
I say no so much.
Because that's where, you know, agents don't get you work, no.
No, they're terrible people.
Worthless.
I mean, they're just-- they are what they are.
They're terrible people.
They're terrible people.
Absolutely worthless people.
Some of the worst ever.
They give some of the worst advice.
They're snakes.
They've set you up for something.
And then when it goes bad, they're not there to back you up.
They're the worst.
I think they-- I think they're just-- they're just--
Terrible pigs.
They're out of-- they're--
Pigs.
They're out of their depth a little or they're not in the-- they're in the
wrong business.
I hate them.
They're on the backs of us.
They stink.
Yeah.
I can't wait to fire mine.
We're done with the business forever anyway.
Whoa, dude.
Why would you be done with the business?
God.
Yeah, me too.
We're out, dude.
We're out.
Yeah.
We're the last show in Hollywood.
This is it.
I think we're the last.
Yeah.
This is it.
It's over.
It's dying.
It's dying.
Yeah.
That's a shame.
Yeah.