Bill Maher Says He’s a So-So Actor But Jerry Seinfeld ‘Was Even Worse Than Me’

Even though Bill Maher is the professional comedian, he acknowledged that Club Random guest Malcolm McDowell is a much better comic actor than he is. “Great actors do great with comedy because they play the reality of the situation,” Maher said. “If it’s written well, that’s enough to get the laugh.” 

McDowell, who plays Patrick on the sitcom Son of a Critch, agreed, especially with Maher’s caveat. “If it’s written well,” he emphasized. 

The key, figured Maher, is not working so hard to get the laugh. If an actor plays the reality of the scene, the laughs will come — a talent Maher didn’t possess. “I was just a guy who knew how to get a laugh as a comic does,” he said, explaining that his skill set only went so far. “I could do sitcoms and light comedy.”

McDowell got it. As an actor, Maher was “like (Jerry) Seinfeld,” he suggested, noting that his titular show was brilliantly written.

Like Seinfeld? “He was even worse than me,” Maher scoffed, despite his own lack of sitcom success. “I mean, he would fucking crack up in his own scenes and you could see it on his face.” 

“Well, that’s why we loved him,” exclaimed McDowell.

Maher conceded the point while damning Seinfeld with faint praise: “Part of the charm of it was this guy is like, ‘I’m not even going to pretend to try to be an actor.’”  

Once Maher was done trashing Seinfeld, McDowell asked him about another comedy favorite: Garry Shandling. “He's a genius to me,” McDowell said. “And I only met him once. I adored him.”

Once again, Maher agreed — while still finding a way to puff himself up. “Garry was a great guy,” he said, boasting about their friendship and all of the times Shandling had been in the very studio where they were taping the podcast. But it wasn’t all flowers. “Look, you could only get so close (to Shandling).” 

Understandable, said McDowell. “Isn’t that the same with you though? The same with me?” 

Nope. Turns out, Maher is a much more relatable guy than Shandling. “Not me,” Maher responded. “I let lots of people in as far as you go.”  Then, almost as if he could imagine the protests of previous romantic conquests, Maher put some limits on exactly how far he lets certain people in. 

“Now women are always going to think there’s another level,” he said, making a right turn into a bizarre conversational cul-de-sac. “Like, ‘I want more.’ It’s like, ‘No, honey, that’s all there is to me. I swear to God, you keep digging, and you’re not going to find anything. You’re going to go one level down and two levels — it’s still the same thing. And then there’s public parking.’” 

McDowell seemed at a loss for how to respond to Maher’s basement metaphor, seeing as it had absolutely nothing to do with Garry Shandling. “Wow,” McDowell replied. “Yeah. Okay.” 

Maher chuckled. “I never get tired of that joke.”