Ike Barinholtz joins from London where he's attending the BAFTAs for The Studio, which earned a nomination for Best Foreign Show. He traces his comedy path from growing up a mile from Wrigley Field through bombing out of Boston University, doing improv in Chicago alongside Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers, moving to Amsterdam for Boom Chicago, and eventually landing five seasons on Mad TV — a trajectory he credits entirely to the mid-'90s Chicago improv scene.
Key Moments
Will Arnett
“Han told me a story. She um had Laura Durn's phone number and she would text Laura Durn sometimes and had like a little bit of a texting relationship with her. And then when David Lynch passed away, Han reached out and was like, "I'm so sorry uh about your collaborator. I know how much he meant to you. And the person said, "I don't think this is who you think it is."”
Will shares a story about Katherine Hahn accidentally texting the wrong person — someone she thought was Laura Dern — for years.
“I college didn't really work and then I went to the Improv Olympics like 10year anniversary show and I saw uh Amy Polar, I saw Adam McKay, Tim Meadows in particular was so funny that I was like I'm going to sign up for improv classes and I really just immersed myself in that wholeing the trifecta”
Ike explains the single live show that redirected his entire career toward comedy and improv.
“I went into Boston University hoping I would be a politician and then right away I went crazy where I was like, "Oh my god, if I had never smoke pot or done mushrooms before, that started happening quite a bit."”
Ike explains why college didn't work out, after Jason pressed him on briefly glossing over the topic.
“Literally on the way to the airport, my mom called and was like, "I just got a letter from BEu. They're kicking him out." And um that was problematic.”
Ike describes the moment his parents found out he'd been expelled from Boston University while they were heading to the airport for a celebratory Vegas trip.
SmartLess is a comedy interview podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, where one host surprises the other two with a mystery guest each episode. Known for its loose, brotherly banter and genuine friendships with guests, the show blends humor with candid conversation. It's one of the top-charting podcasts in the US and has spawned a documentary series on HBO Max.
Takeaways
1
One live show can rewire your career Ike Barinholtz attended the Improv Olympics 10th anniversary show, saw Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler, and Adam McKay perform, and immediately enrolled in improv classes. That single evening replaced his political-science trajectory with a comedy career. Deliberate exposure to excellence in a new field can be more directionally powerful than years of formal education.
2
Hiding failure from parents compounds the cost Ike told his parents everything was fine at BU for the entire semester while actually failing out — the truth only surfaced when the expulsion letter arrived as the family was heading to the airport for a celebratory trip. The cover-up transformed a private academic failure into a public, high-stakes family confrontation. Radical transparency earlier would have allowed course correction without the emotional debt.
3
Boom Chicago Amsterdam was a career launchpad Ike describes Boom Chicago in Amsterdam as the key transition from hobbyist improv to professional actor: you performed nightly, got paid, and dropped the day job. It was his first declaration to his parents that he was 'an actor now.' Structured residency programs that pay artists to perform full-time — rather than moonlight — appear repeatedly in the origin stories of major comedy careers.
4
Mid-'90s Chicago improv scene was unrepeatable Ike, Will, and Jason all converge on the view that the concentration of talent — Poehler, McKay, Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, Brian Stack, Tim Meadows — at Second City and Improv Olympic in Chicago circa 1993–1998 was a singular creative cluster. Ike notes it 'doesn't happen anymore,' and Will regrets never having plugged in despite being in New York at the time. Creative ecosystems with low barriers and dense peer networks produce outsized talent pipelines.
5
The Studio earned a BAFTA nomination as best foreign show The Apple TV+ comedy series The Studio, which Ike Barinholtz stars in alongside Seth Rogen, received a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Show — prompting Ike to fly to London. He notes the competition includes largely unknown BBC1 shows, making the nomination feel both validating and slightly surreal. For a show in its first season, a BAFTA nod signals unusually fast international critical recognition.