AVC: Did you have a good time working on Saturday Night Live?
TM: I had a great time working on Saturday Night Live. It was one of the important times in my life. SNL was very important to me. Of course I had a good time. I wouldn't have been there if I wasn't having a good time. I had a great time every day of my life there.
AVC: Really? Every day?
TM: Yeah, it was hard work. I mean, the schedule was grueling, but we had a good time. So Saturday night was all fun. Shits and giggles.
AVC: Do you watch the show now?
TM: Most of the time, I'm at work. I'm on the stage when it comes on. I do stand-up when I'm not working. I'm on the road, so I don't get to see it much. But I still support it, and I love Saturday Night Live.
AVC: Would you ever want to host it in the future?
TM: Absolutely. Who wouldn't? That's a dream come true, you know? That's one of my goals, is to host it. I think people would want to see Tracy Morgan host Saturday Night Live.
AVC: How does it compare to doing 30 Rock?
TM: Oh, it doesn't compare. It's two different vehicles. First of all, Saturday Night Live is shot later at night, and 30 Rock is in the morning. You know, it's prime time. So it doesn't compare, it's two different things. Saturday Night Live is live television. Nothing can compare to that.
AVC: Did you feel like you were underutilized on SNL?
TM: No, absolutely. No, no way. I was used the amount I thought I was supposed to be used. I had total fun. I had enough to bite and chew on. I loved the people that I worked with. I have nothing negative to say about Saturday Night Live. It was very important in my life. I was used the way I was supposed to be used. And I wasn't there because I was black, I was there because I was funny.
AVC: How did you come up with Brian Fellows?
TM: It was a friend that went to school with my wife. And she told me about him one day, and I just started doing him around the office, and some of the writers picked up on it, and he occurred. People love Brian Fellows.
AVC: You had a show on NBC, The Tracy Morgan Show. What's the difference between working on that show and on 30 Rock?
TM: Well, two different characters, you know. On The Tracy Morgan Show, he was a family man. I wanted to show that other side of me. They were used to me in my outrageous characters, and I wanted to show something different. And on 30 Rock, it's showing more of the entertainer side of me and the business side of me. So that's the difference.
AVC: Why do you think The Tracy Morgan Show didn't work?
TM: I just don't think they were ready for me. I don't think they were ready to see Brian Fellows with a family. I was coming off of Saturday Night Live, and people were used to seeing me doing crazy outrageous characters, and they weren't ready to see me doing that subtleness, that family-man thing.
AVC: Which would you rather be doing?
TM: I love all of it. I don't mind doing the family thing. I just think it was too soon for me to come from Saturday Night Live to prime time. Maybe. You know, we didn't give people enough time to make the adjustment.
AVC: Is it true that the character of Tracy Jordan was in part also based on Martin Lawrence?
TM: No, no, it has nothing to do with Martin Lawrence. Don't believe what you read on the Internet. No, that character was based on other people. Not just a black comedian or a black entertainer. It's just a fun character, that's all. I'm not making fun of Martin Lawrence. Martin Lawrence is one of my comedic heroes, and he's a genius.
AVC: Martin Lawrence was sort of your mentor, wasn't he?
TM: Yes. I love Martin Lawrence. Martin Lawrence is one of my favorite comedians ever. I met Martin Lawrence during Def Jam back in '92, '93. And we've been friends ever since.
AVC: You still perform stand-up quite a bit…
TM: Absolutely, every chance that I get. But it's hard to do when you're doing television and stuff.
AVC: Why do you enjoy it?
TM: I get to do me. It's personable. I get to show my side of my life, what I go through in my life. It's not anybody else's words. It's my words. I love stand-up. Stand-up is the foundation to my career. It's what I started out doing.
AVC: What would you like to do that you haven't done?
TM: Produce my own movie. Direct my own movie.
AVC: About what?
TM: I don't know. The idea would come to me. It's something I know I'd love to do, but I don't know.
AVC: It would be a comedy, though, right?
TM: Yeah, absolutely. That's what I do. I don't do drama. I'm a comedian.
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