Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • ("Dog on Fire")

  • - Last year, I played Horatio in Hamlet

  • at the public theater opposite Oscar Issac.

  • (audience cheers and applauds)

  • It was a dream come true.

  • It was like coming home

  • and a brand new dream come true at the same time

  • and I just want to be able to do more of that.

  • - That's amazing.

  • Speaking of dreams coming true,

  • my dream was to be in "The Lion King" and I'm not.

  • (Keegan and audience laughs)

  • And I see that you are,

  • you are going to be in "The Lion King."

  • - Oh, this one, oh, I am!

  • I am gonna be in "The Lion King."

  • - You're gonna be in "The Lion King."

  • How the (bleep) did that happen?

  • (audience laughs)

  • - Can I just say this for a second?

  • Those cards felt really comfortable in my hands.

  • - You know, many people, in fact,

  • tried to reduce you to just, you know, your fact,

  • so they went, oh you're getting successful

  • just because you're Asian, just because you're a woman,

  • just because you're pregnant.

  • - There was a guy, who, I won't name names,

  • he's not a very successful comedian,

  • so I don't even know if you would know who he was.

  • - [Trevor] No, I don't.

  • - You wouldn't know.

  • You're outta there now.

  • But he came up to me

  • while I was pregnant the second time

  • and he touched my belly with his fat, sweaty hand,

  • which is so gross to begin with.

  • It's like why don't you finger me while you're at it?

  • This is so not okay.

  • Just because I'm pregnant,

  • doesn't mean it's okay for you to touch my belly.

  • And he was like, oh, so this is your shtick,

  • this is your thing, now, right?

  • And I was like,

  • getting pregnant is not rainbow suspenders.

  • It's not a shtick and then he was like,

  • "You're so lucky, Ali, because you get all of this attention

  • "'cause you're both a female and a minority."

  • And I was like, "Yeah, 'cause you know,

  • "historically that's always been the winning combo

  • "for recognition and success."

  • (audience laughs and applauds)

  • And he was like, "You know what I mean,

  • "like me, I'm just another white guy."

  • And I was like, "Be a better white guy."

  • - Is there anything else you wanna tell us about?

  • 'Cause I just like chatting to you.

  • - Oh, I actually did wanna say

  • that I hope that the fact that

  • Between The Scenes has become like a whole (beep) thing

  • is something that you're happy about

  • and not like, I've gotta do bonus interviews now,

  • because Anna one time came after

  • in Between The Scenes and now it's like a whole thing.

  • - No, no, but you're the only person

  • who refused to listen to me when I said--

  • - It's not a thing?

  • - Between The Scenes is not a thing.

  • - But now it's a thing, so you're welcome.

  • - Yes.

  • (audience laughs and applauds)

  • Thank you, Anna.

  • - But I hope that's okay and not just more work for you.

  • - No, no, it's fine.

  • - I can tell in your eyes that you kind of hate it.

  • - No, these are happy eyes.

  • These are happy eyes.

  • These are eyes that enjoy doing more work,

  • that's what these eyes are.

  • - No, never, no, no, no!

  • - Congratulations on another season of Grey's Anatomy.

  • The show's been going, how many seasons has it been, now?

  • - We just finished 15.

  • - 15 seasons. (audience cheers and applauds)

  • - You've been doing it for so long

  • that I feel like you should have an honorary degree.

  • - I could be a fully credited surgeon by now.

  • - Do you think you know enough fake medicine

  • to do real medicine?

  • - I could slow your death.

  • (audience and Trevor laughs)

  • I could buy you a few extra minutes.

  • But, you know what's funny is that like,

  • and I think I've said this before,

  • I've definitely had at least two instances on a plane

  • where somebody has gone, is there a doctor on the plane,

  • and then the flight attendant looks directly at me,

  • and it's like, lady, the one thing you know about me,

  • I'm like anybody else on this flight,

  • the one thing you know about me is I'm not a doctor.

  • (audience laughs)

  • But it's like, you, you, no, no, please don't.

  • Fine, all right, just go through the motions,

  • I don't know what, this is how bad of a doctor I am,

  • I don't know. - Is that how you do?

  • - I'm just stretching is what I'm doing.

  • - That's your CPR?

  • - This is like a little cabbage patch or something, yeah.

  • - That was a very sexy CPR.

  • (audience laughs)

  • That was like, yo, I know you're not coming back to life,

  • but you're going out happy.

  • - I brought you a little present.

  • - You brought me a present? - Yes.

  • So I introduced a term.

  • - Oh, you brought me a little bag, I love bags!

  • I got a bag, I love bags! - A little gift bag.

  • She always leaves a party giving people gift bags.

  • So back when we checked in in the dressing room

  • I taught you a term, the term is gender (bleep).

  • - All right, I've never heard of that before.

  • - Yeah, and it's not what it sounds like,

  • it's like playing with your gender

  • and having a damn good time.

  • And so I brought you some clip on earrings.

  • - Oh wow.

  • - Because I figured you could use.

  • - So I get to wear these? - Yeah, so you see this is--

  • - You know what kills me with clip-ons all the time

  • is they give me headaches.

  • But these one's aren't tight, I promise.

  • - Are you sure? - They're good ones.

  • - 'Cause a lot of the times they'll give you headaches.

  • - No, they're gentle! (audience cheers and applauds)

  • Look at that, wow!

  • Trevor, this is, I mean like,

  • I don't wanna be your stylist right now

  • and I don't wanna like, you know, but I just,

  • this is a look, you realize this is a look, right?

  • - You know what's interesting for me,

  • to your ideas of gender and how we identify it

  • and what signifies gender around the world

  • is in South Africa and many African cultures

  • men will wear earrings like this and to your point,

  • it doesn't, like no one would be like,

  • oh, that man is not man or is, do you get what I'm saying?

  • - Yeah. - It's funny,

  • 'cause like this I'm like, oh, I look traditional right now.

  • (audience laughs) - Yes!

  • - Like that's what I'm thinking right now.

  • Like if my grandmother saw she'd be like,

  • "Finally, he's connecting with his roots!"

  • Do you ever get bored of people

  • asking you to freestyle in real life?

  • 'Cause let's be honest, you have become the hip hop guy

  • and now you have the freestyle show

  • and it's like so it's freestyle and it's hip hop

  • so I feel like everywhere you go people are just like,

  • "Oh my god, Lin, how are you?"

  • It's a coffee mug, a boo boo chee, a boo boo chee

  • ♪ A boo boo chee, a boo boo chee

  • ♪ I love coffee and I wanna say

  • You drink it every day, come on, Lin

  • Be honest with me, how many people do that to you?

  • - Well, only reporters.

  • (audience laughs and applauds)

  • My new thing that I've done,

  • and you could probably do an amazing super cut on this

  • 'cause you guys are wizards at that is like,

  • my new things is I say, I will freestyle if you beatbox.

  • So you could do a super cut of reporters beatboxing

  • just to get me to freestyle and it's a lot of like

  • little white ladies being like (beatboxing).

  • (audience laughs)

  • - You are a Palestinian Kuwaiti Muslim

  • traveling the world with no passport and you were like,

  • "Yeah, I wanna try to do this in more countries."

  • - Yeah. (laughs)

  • Well, I'm born to Palestinian parents.

  • - How many times did you get stopped?

  • - Every time, no, it was every time

  • to the point to when I became a citizen

  • and I was reentering America

  • and he was like, "Okay, go ahead."

  • And I was like, "No, are you sure?

  • "I think there's another... (audience laughs)

  • "There's something else that needs to happen here.

  • "I feel awkward, can we just talk for a little while?"

  • (audience laughs)

  • I'm serious, they did.

  • I was like, "What's goin' on?"

  • I was like, "No, we need to chat a little bit."

  • Like Japan was my favorite interrogation I ever had,

  • it was just an hour of them

  • trying to figure out what I did for a living.

  • The entire hour, for real, consisted of,

  • "So, what is your occupation?"

  • I was like, "Oh, I'm a comedian."

  • He's, like "Comedian?"

  • I'm like, "Yeah, yeah, I do stand up comedy."

  • "Stand up comedy?"

  • I'm like, "Yeah, I'm a... (audience laughs)

  • "I do comedy", "Comedy?"

  • "Yeah, I do, I'm a comedian", "Comedian?"

  • I'm like, am I bein' roasted right now, what's happening?

  • (audience laughs)

  • Finally his buddy walks in, his partner, he's like,

  • (speaking in foreign language) comedian.

  • And he goes, "Oh yeah, he's like Bill Cosby."

  • (audience groans)

  • And that's what got me off was Bill Cosby.

  • I mean, not literally, not literally.

  • (audience laughs and applauds)

  • - A lot of people who are refugees

  • or maybe came to the US as immigrants

  • had this connection with Trump where they were worried.

  • You had a different connection with Trump

  • which is one of the reasons you came into prominence,

  • really insane story where you found yourself on a plane

  • seated next to Eric Trump.

  • - That's, yeah.

  • You know, bein' a frequent flyer helps sometimes.

  • I didn't know this was gonna happen,

  • like I was upgrading to first class

  • and I ended up sitting next to Eric Trump.

  • I didn't even know I was gonna get upgraded

  • 'cause I put my name on the list way to late,

  • you know, comedians are, you know,

  • the best procrastinators in the business

  • and I didn't know I was gonna get upgraded

  • much less sit next to Eric, but I do know one thing,

  • the lady that upgraded me is probably a Clinton supporter,

  • you know, let's be real.

  • She was probably sittin' there like,

  • "Oh, Eric Trump is on my flight, okay, uh huh, uh huh."

  • I don't know why she has a mustache but okay, mm-hmm.

  • (audience laughs)

  • "Oh, there's an empty seat next to Eric?

  • "Let me take a look at this upgrade list,

  • "see who's standing by patiently here.

  • "Oh, Mohammed Mustafa Amer, upgrade!"

  • (audience laughs and applauds)

  • - I often wonder how much normalcy

  • there still is in your life?

  • Like, how many normal random things happen to you.

  • Like, when was the last time

  • your phone ran out of battery while you were speaking?

  • Has that ever happened to you?

  • - No. - Okay.

  • (audience laughs)

  • So for instance, have there ever been a moment where

  • you're in the bathroom and then the toilet roll is done, no?

  • - Oh, no.

  • - What is the most?

  • - No, you know why?

  • Because at my house, I don't know

  • if this happens at your house,

  • but at my house when the toilet roll is checked regularly

  • and when it's been checked,

  • like after you're going to the bathroom,

  • somebody will come in and it's folded

  • into a little triangle. - They fold a little triangle?

  • - Yes. - Like you live in a hotel?

  • - It's like folding into a triangle every time.

  • - Okay, okay, we'll take one from each side.

  • - I will tell you though, some things very normal

  • that you wouldn't think. - Okay, let's go.

  • - I travel with my own bread and I bring my own avocados.

  • - Are you serious?

  • - Yes I do.

  • So I have an avocado orchard so I think it's--

  • - Oh, the story got not normal, Oprah!

  • You just said, "I'm gonna tell you something normal",

  • then you said, "I have my own avocado orchard."

  • (audience laughs)

  • - But, so I think it's ridiculous to pay for avocados.

  • - Which is why you bought your own orchard?

  • Are you kidding me?

  • That is not a normal story. - Okay.

  • - You sailed from Europe to New York City.

  • New York City is quite an assault on the senses

  • when you come from anywhere else.

  • What is the biggest thing.

  • that has stuck out to you in New York City?

  • - I mean, just everything, all the impressions,

  • everything is so much, so big, so loud.

  • (audience laughs)

  • People talk so loud here as well.

  • (audience laughs)

  • Because when you're on that boat,

  • when I was on the boat there was nothing,

  • there was just the ocean

  • and of course the sound of the waves crashing

  • but that's it, no smells,

  • (audience laughs) apart from sweat.

  • So I remember the first thing I noticed

  • when we came into the harbor was I woke up and suddenly

  • it smelled something. (audience laughs)

  • And of course it was pollution, but still something

  • and that was,

  • it was undescribable

  • to go from this extreme environment,

  • you're disconnected from everything and everyone,

  • you only have yourself and the ocean,

  • and the boat of course, to New York.

  • (audience laughs)

  • - That is an accurate and brilliant description of New York.

  • (audience laughs)

  • It is undescribable and it smells.

  • (audience laughs)

  • You work in Australia but you live in the US

  • and your father lives with you in Los Angeles,

  • or does he come and visit you quite a lot?

  • - No, no, no, he lives with us and yeah.

  • (audience laughs)

  • The reason I'm pausing is my dad,

  • when we lived in the UK we lived in houses or apartments

  • that we didn't have a yard.

  • L.A. as most people know has a lot of space

  • and my dad has become obsessed with leaf blowing.

  • (audience laughs)

  • - Are you being serious?

  • - I'm absolutely serious.

  • - So your Nigerian dad is obsessed with leaf blowers?

  • - It's crazy.

  • If you knew Nigerians you'd know that that was really weird.

  • What am I going to go and do the gardening for?

  • But the problem is he never just does

  • like the constant (imitates leaf blower),

  • because then you kinda go, okay, daddy's leaf blowing.

  • He goes, (imitates leaf blower),

  • (audience laughs)

  • So for the hour that he's doing this.

  • - Oh man, oh man.

  • It's just like one leaf at a time.

  • - He's so happy when fall comes.

  • Ah, here are the leaves!

  • (audience laughs and applauds)

  • ("Dog on Fire")

("Dog on Fire")

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it