Actor R. Lee "Gunny" Ermey joins Adam for this episode of Take A Knee. Adam and Gunny opens the show talking about the value of hard work, especially when working towards a goal. Then Gunny talks about his troubled youth and eventual enlistment into the U.S. Army by order of a judge. That leads into Gunny's experience fighting in Vietnam during the late 60's and Gunny’s thoughts on the middle east & the crisis unfolding in that part of the world. Gunny also gets into his time living in Okinawa and opening a few bars and restaurants before coming back to the U.S. to act and advise filmmakers. Before they wrap, Adam & Gunny discuss the importance of getting successful before starting a family, as well as the importance of climbing ladder in one’s career.
NBA legend Jamaal Wilkes joins Adam for this episode of Take A Knee. Jamaal opens the show talking about his time playing basketball at UCLA, as well as his inspirational coach John Wooden. After that, Jamaal talks about how the lessons he learned from Wooden were implemented into his future business ventures. Adam asks Jamaal how he was able to maintain focus while playing for the Lakers Dynasty. Then Jamaal talks about growing up in Santa Monica and Ventura, and about the depression that comes along with having to reorient himself after the NBA. Before they wrap, Jamaal talks about the businesses he started after retiring from the NBA.
Dexter Holland, lead singer of The Offspring joins Adam for this episode of Take A Knee. Adam and Dexter start of the show talking about the business of business, and what it takes to crate and run a successful business of your own. Then, Dexter talks about starting his band at 17 years old, and finally getting their big break ten years later in 1994. After that, Dexter talks about his piloting endeavors, including flying around the world in 10 days, as well as getting his doctoral degree in microbiology. Before they wrap, Dexter talks about how the music business has drastically changed over the years, and how he had give away his music for free before his band made it big.
Joe Mantegna joins Adam for this episode of Take A Knee. Adam starts off the show talking to Joe about his charitable endeavors in fighting autism, as well as his personal ties with helping his daughter battle the disorder. Then Joe talks about his early life growing up in a lower-middle class family in Chicago. Joe talks about gravitating towards the arts after seeing West Side Story for the first time. Adam and Joe get into a discussion on having talent vs a long resume or connections when going out for a job in the entertainment industry. Then the two talk about the importance of having a side talent you can use to pay the bills while also working on your main career and passion. Before they wrap, the two talk about doing whatever you want to do and not making any excuses as to why you can't.
Larry Miller joins Adam for this episode of Take A Knee. Adam and Larry open the show discussing people who force themselves into careers they don't even want to be in. This leads to a conversation about finding your passion, building your career based on that as opposed to making a career and then trying to focus on your passion later. Then Adam and Larry talk about what it takes to be a successful comedy writer, and the amount of work and dedication it requires. After that, Larry talks about his journey from growing up in Long Island to eventually making his way out to LA to become a writer, actor & comedian. Before they wrap, Larry and Adam talk about how vital it is to put in the time and work if you really want to be successful in whatever you do.
Nate Adams, producer of Road Hard and Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman, joins Adam for this episode of Take a Knee. Adam starts the show talking about Nate growing up in Montana and being on the wrestling team. Nate talks about the tragedy of losing two of his brothers at a young age, and how the fallout from those events led him into becoming a troubled youth. Then he gets into his college days, and how afraid people were of him in theater class, which eventually led him to take a more inward look at himself and turn his life around. After that, Nate found out he was much better at writing than he was at acting, which eventually led to his decision to move out to LA to pursue a career in the entertainment business. After explaining some of his initial jobs and projects, Nate gets into what it takes to build a project from scratch. Before they wrap, Nate and Adam talk about their Paul Newman documentary.
Writer, Director, Producer, and Actor Paul Feig joins Adam for this episode of Take A Knee. Adam opens the show with a bit of Paul's background growing up in Michigan to a religious family. Paul talks about his first creative project making a commercial for his father's Army surplus store. Then Paul looks back on his early days doing stand-up comedy and honing his craft. Adam and Paul then riff on comedy in general and what it takes to improvise on set while making a film or TV show. Before they wrap, Paul explains how he got from doing stand-up to creating & directing some of the most successful TV shows and comedy films in Hollywood today.
Good friends of Adam's Kevin Hench and Nick Santora join Adam to talk about their experiences working as show runners in Hollywood. They also talk about Nick's relationship with the movie 'Get Hard' out now and Hench's experience co-writing and co-directing 'Road Hard' and much more.
Adam sits down with Oscar winning screenwriter John Ridley (of 12 Years A Slave Fame) to discuss growing up in Wisconsin, his start in stand-up comedy, and his multifacated career that led to an Oscar win and now a hit network television show in ABC's 'American Crime'
Attorney to the stars Mark Geragos joins Adam this week for a one on one discussion about his path to success and the traits that people should be instilling in their children to foster success later in life. Mark and Adam also discuss some of Adam's path to success and they compare the portions of their stories that are extremely similar. Mark and Adam also talk about the challenges and rewards involved in owning and running a small business.
Co-founder of 'The Chive' John Resig joins Adam today to talk about the origins of the website and how it has evolved into a multifaceted internet presence with a booming e-commerce business and a significant charitable presence as well.
This week Adam is joined by comedian and television host Byron Allen to talk about his extensive history in comedy & entertainment. Byron takes Adam on a journey from starting comedy at age 14, being on network television by age 18 all the way up to his successes of today and plans for the future. The pair also discuss Byron's current pending lawsuit dealing with racial and economic inequality in media, an injustice Byron is striving to correct.
Adam Carolla is today’s guest on Take a Knee with his assistant Matt ‘The Porcelain Punisher’ Fondiler interviewing him. Matt asks Adam questions about how he defines success and satisfaction and weather or not they are truly achievable aspirations. Matt also asks Adam about his early role models, given that Adam has adamantly said that his parents were not inspirational. As the show wraps up, Matt has Adam explain how he broke out of the cycle that his family and friends were stuck in living check to check and eventually became independently wealthy and successful.
Art Alexakis joins Adam for this week's episode of Take A Knee and the pair open the show discussing the numerous things they have in common such as both growing up in Southern California and not necessarily having the most involved parents. As the show goes on they touch on topics including the differences between raising boys and girls, how decisions made by parents when children are young can have lifelong implications and much more.
Actor and Producer Jason Hervey joins Adam for this week’s episode discussing his rise from child actor to very successful TV and film producer. Jason also talks with Adam about his upcoming docuseries ‘Outlaw Country’ following a federal task force as they try to bring down a pair of suspected criminals who also happen to be brothers. The pair also discuss the evolution of media and how screens shrinking in the cinema and growing in homes has fundamentally changed the way people consume various forms of media today. Upon learning the Jason similarly has a set of boy/girl twins, Adam turns the conversation to the idea of grit and how important Jason thinks that is to instill into children.