It was my second show as a writer, and Justin Timberlake was just coming off boy-band stardom. People were rolling their eyes, but I used to watch the Mickey Mouse Club, and I knew all those kids were talented as hell. Justin was as comfortable on camera in that first episode as any of our cast members.

When somebody listens and laughs, you're always in better shape than when you're with those folks who just kind of look at you when you say something funny. You wonder if they're looking at you because they're mad that they didn't say it or something. It's hard to handle that.

I was a straight man long before I knew what it was called. I was just the boring one.

One of my oldest friends from Kansas, his sister was married to Ben [Folds] and wrote lyrics on his first couple of albums. I got to meet him the first time I saw them in concert at The Bottleneck, a great bar in Lawrence, Kansas. Then, he was the musical guest my first or second week as a writer on SNL. I was like, "I don't know if you remember me?" And he was like, "Oh my god, yeah!" He's a big photography fan, as am I.

A lot of it comes from tiny things, like not eating barbecue sauce with my pizza at two in the morning. I think it's all a manifestation of being happy and wanting to treat myself well. The truth is, I'm not getting up an hour earlier and walking on a treadmill. I have the greatest workout partner in the world. And you don't need a gym membership for that kind of workout.

I think people who live in the worlds that movies are based on end up disliking them. Unless they're from a different time and era.

It's the journey, not the destination. I truly believe that.