5 Questions With Dan Schawbel Episode 37: Chris Kattan
An interview with Chris Kattan about the lessons he learned from his dad growing up, how he prepared for his SNL sketches, why comedy is important to our culture, the biggest obstacle he faced and his best career advice.
Welcome to the 37th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions.
This episodes guest:
My guest today is former Saturday Night Live star, comedian and author, Chris Kattan. Born in Culver City, California, Chris had an unusual upbringing. His father who was an actor, his mother was a model and his stepfather was a monk. He was raised on a Zen retreat outside of LA and lived in Bainbridge Island, Washington where he attended high school. Chris was a member of the improv comedy group The Groundlings in LA then moved to New York City to work on SNL from 1996 to 2003. With fellow SNL cast member Will Ferrell, he starred in the hit 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury. Chris also appeared in many other films including Hotel Transylvania 2, Superbad and Undercover Brother. In 2017, he was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and in 2018; he reunited with SNL alumni at The Tonight Show. His new memoir is called “Baby, Don’t Hurt Me”.
Video interview from New York City:
The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode:
- What lessons did you learn from your dad growing up?
- How did you prepare mentally and emotionally for your SNL sketches?
- How important is comedy to our culture day?
- What was the biggest obstacle you had in your career and how did you overcome it?
- What’s your best piece of career advice?
Follow Chris’s journey: