Judd Apatow On: Panic Attacks, His Creative Process, And Why Comedians Are Often So Neurotic

Why the man behind “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” is a self-help junkie.Judd Apatow is one of the most prolific comedic minds in the industry. Recently, Apatow produced Peacock’s buddy comedy Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain and Universal’s romcom, Bros, starring and co-written by Billy Eichner. Apatow also directed, produced, and co-wrote with Pam Brady, the Netflix comedy The Bubble and produced and co-directed HBO Films’ Emmy®-winning documentary George Carlin’s American Dream with Michael Bonfiglio. His Netflix comedy special, Judd Apatow: The Return, released in 2017 and premiered to critical acclaim. Previous director credits include the Emmy®-award-winning documentary, The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and The King of Staten Island. He produced Academy Award®-nominated The Big Sick and Bridesmaids, as well as Superbad, Pineapple Express and Anchorman. For television, he executive produced Crashing, Girls, and Freaks and Geeks. Off screen, Apatow authored Sicker in the Head, a follow-up to his New York Times best-seller Sick in the Head.In this episode we talk about:The role of his parents’ bitter divorce in his life and workThe balance between creativity and ambitionWhy so many comedians are so neuroticHis creative process, including some gems from the TV writer David MilchHis relationship to panic, and a hilarious story about freaking out on weedThe way he’s started to understand the different voices inside of himHis recent experiment with ayahuasca, and what he learnedAnd the role of comedy when it feels like the world is on fireRelated Episodes:Bill Hader on Anxiety, Imposter Syndrome, and Leaning into DiscomfortDuncan Trussell on: Being a Spiritual Omnivore, Whether Psychedelics Are a Bridge to the Divine, and How the Gates of Hell Are Locked From the InsideSign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter hereFollow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTokTen Percent Happier online bookstoreSubscribe to our YouTube ChannelOur favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular EpisodesFull Shownotes: http://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/judd-apatowAdditional Resources:Download the Happier app today: https://www.happierapp.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.