Adam Scott recalled the “most deeply embarrassing moments he ever had in his comic career.
The actor is opening up about a moment from his past that still makes him feel cringe.
During a recent episode of SiriusXM’s podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, the Severance actor, 51, reflected on an awkward late-night joke that he once believed would be a comedic success—but instead, it got wasted.
The conversation began when host Conan O’Brien mentioned having to cut one of Scott’s bits from a past appearance on his show. Scott immediately recalled the moment, admitting it was one of the “most deeply embarrassing” experiences of his career.
“It ended up being one of the most deeply embarrassing moments I’ve had, and it’s also confounding to me from beginning to end why I did this,” Scott shared.
The actor remembered that the fail happened while he was promoting Big Little Lies Season 2 and that he had come up with what he thought would be a hilarious bit.
“I just had this confidence in this bit and didn’t really slow down to think about it before. … It’s also interesting because it’s so bad from so many different angles and there’s nothing about it that works. Nothing,” he added.
Scott’s idea was to compare the Big Little Lies cast to the legendary 1980s supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, featuring Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne.
He even created a mock album cover with his co-stars, including Reese Witherspoon as Bob Dylan and Nicole Kidman as George Harrison.
But the moment didn’t land as expected.
“When I said the first line, ‘It’s like the Traveling Wilburys of actresses,’ it was silent. Silent,” Scott recalled.
O’Brien chimed in, “You could hear the air condenser!”
Scott continued, describing the audience’s lack of response as he shot the fake album cover and tried to justify each comparison.
“So I say it, silence. Show the record cover, silence. And then I start going through each member of the band.”
While co-host Matt Gourley admitted he found the joke hilarious, O’Brien made it clear that the live audience did not.
“The crazy thing is, I was so sure that this was going to… it would create a tidal wave of comedy that you and I would just be able to surf through each member of the band that I never came up with actual jokes for each one,” Scott admitted.
Although the moment didn’t play out as intended, Scott and O’Brien found humor in looking back at the ill-fated segment, turning an awkward memory into an entertaining podcast discussion.
