Interview Ben Bailey

As the host of The Discovery Channel’s Cash Cab, Ben Bailey is one of the TV’s most recognizable good guys. On the show, he doles out money to unsuspecting passengers riding around New York City. Off camera, though, Bailey is a hardworking stand-up comedian who did over 250 dates last year. He’ll be in town Friday, Feb. 17, for the grand opening of Second City’s new UP Comedy Club. The A.V. Club talked to him beforehand about classic rock, insanity, and whether Cash Cab is really fixed.

The A.V. Club: What’s your schedule like these days? You’re doing comedy, two TV shows, and what else?

Ben Bailey: Our schedule for the last year has been pretty insane. I did a new season of Cash Cab, and then Who’s Still Standing for NBC, and then another show called Best In The Business for Discovery Channel, so a season of each. I also did about 250 stand-up shows, and those are all over the country so my schedule’s been insane in a good way. It sometimes wears you out, but I like it. 

AVC: Supposedly you can’t really take a cab because drivers are all, “Hey! Cash Cab guy!” to you. Is that true?

BB: I can take a cab but the drivers end up crashing because they’re like “Oh my God, the Cash Cab guy is in my cab,” and get excited. I’m not complaining about people yelling or any of it though. I don’t hate it. I just write about it because it’s happening in my life.

AVC: Do you have any ultimate career goals? Like, what would you really, really like to do? Do you want to be an action star? Host The Price Is Right?

BB: An action movie sounds great. I’ve often fancied myself an action star. I would love to play some kick-ass character in a cheesy action flick. I think what I’m going to do next though is either make a movie or record an album.

AVC: A music record or a comedy record?

BB: I’m a musician. I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12, and I play drums and piano too. I have a studio in my basement, which sounds fancier than it is. I love music and I want to record some of it. I’m always making my own stuff.

I have this production company I started a few years ago and I want it to be not just some company, but I want to produce things. I’ve done some little stuff, but I keep saying to myself, “What am I going to do? What do I want to do next?”

AVC: What kind of music do you make?

BB: I grew up on classic rock. I liked Led Zeppelin in 7th grade, and then I never stopped listening to it. As far as influences, I love all kinds of music from jazz to reggae. I like anything that’s good. That’s what I love about music is that it doesn’t have to be a specific kind. If it strikes a chord with you, you like it.

AVC: We did this story last year on our site about Cash Cab Chicago not being totally random and people…

BB: Got really pissed. I can’t speak for Chicago because I had nothing to do with that show, but in New York City we do as many random pickups as we can. In a shoot day, though, you need to get some footage you can use, so sometimes we interview people in advance. The surprise is always genuine, though.

AVC: So it’s still totally possible to hail a cab on a corner and land the Cash Cab?

BB: Absolutely; the dream is alive. We just have to make sure we get contestants every day that are sane, knowledgeable, and have a chance of winning.

It really upsets me when people say the show is fixed. It’s not fixed. To say it’s fixed makes it sound like Quiz Show. It’s not set up. People can get lucky and get picked up. It happens all the time.

AVC: You have this air about you, like Mike Rowe, that you’re just a genuinely nice guy. Do you think that’s fair?

BB: That’s interesting because before Cash Cab I had a reputation as not such a nice guy comic. My friends thought I was a nice guy and I try to be a nice guy, but I have a temper. When I was younger it was much worse. I never took any shit from hecklers. I had a very short threshold for putting up with shit. So, my reputation was the opposite.

I mean, I’m a nice guy, I guess. I’m not sure. I’m not as nice a guy as I appear to be on Cash Cab. Maybe I am if I see you at the grocery store, but not onstage doing stand-up. If you let me have it I’ll give it back.

AVC: What can people expect when they come to see you?

BB: To laugh their asses off and forget about their problems for a while.

AVC: Is that your comedic goal? To make people forget their problems?

BB: The writing that I do, I don’t like it to be easy, and people have to be listening, but that’s kind of how the writing is. That’s what I like about it. Ultimately, you want everyone to laugh until they feel really good even just for a minute or two. People don’t get enough of that in their lives. You’re running around so busy and you forget.

You know, when you’re a kid, you and your friends, regardless of what situation you’re in, rich kid, poor kid, whatever it is, you and your friends laugh until you almost cry on a regular basis. Then you get older and get caught up in life and you forget how important that is. That’s why people come to comedy clubs. I know, it sounds silly, like “oh really, do they come so they can laugh?,” but I look for that, that silly release that you get from a belly laugh. There’s really nothing better than laughing until your stomach hurts and forgetting your problems for a minute. My goal is to get everyone to at least one of those moments. That’s worth the price of admission.