Likely on his way to his next punishment, Impractical Jokers cast member James 'Murr' Murray called in to talk with Audacy's Mike Adam in New York City about the comedy troupe's steady rise to stardom inside every single home in America since their TV debut just over a decade ago.
LISTEN NOW: Mike Adam talks with 'Murr' of Impractical Jokers
"It's weird," Murr admits of the love he and his high school pals from Staten Island Brian 'Q' Quinn, Sal Vulcano, and now former member Joe Gatto have received. "America has seen us get fatter, older, balder on TV... I think when you start a TV show you have no idea if it's gonna work, how long it'll last. Every other TV show I'm sold has lasted like two episodes and gotten canceled, so it's pretty amazing to be 12 years in now and still filming the TV show... it's wild."
After such a long time pulling pranks and driving each other crazy, Murr says looking back on the early days of the show, "we were just talking about it on set last night... there are things that we used to do that I don't know if we could even get away with anymore, or would we even try. I feel like I value my life too much these days to do some of the earlier things we did." Although, as fans will remember, it was only three years ago that he was strapped to an airplane for the Impractical Jokers movie. "I wasn't married yet," Murr confesses. "If I was married, which I am now, I would not have done it."
At this point, there's always a possibility in Murr's mind that anything good that happens in his life could actually be fake and a part of the show. "When I got married," he explains, "for a while I was like, 'Did they set this up and is my wife, Melissa, not real? Is she one day gonna reveal that she's an actress and this whole thing's been a scam?' I was worried for a little while, but thankfully there are some boundaries."
Now considered Staten Island royalty in a sense -- amongst greats like Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man, comedians Colin Jost and Pete Davidson and more -- Mike wondered if there was any bad blood between the Impractical Jokers guys and the latter duo, who apparently scooped up a Staten Island Ferry purchase from under them. "We're dear friends," Murr explains, detailing how when they were all at Colin's bachelor party, news broke that a ferry boat was for sale. "One single text went back and forth between the guys and I saying, 'Hey should we buy this?' And we're like, 'Naaah,' and then Pete and Colin bought it. Good luck to them; I can't wait for them to open it up as a comedy club. I'll be the first on line to buy tickets."
Murr also revealed that comedian Colin and his brother Casey Jost, the show's producer, have an intricate connection to the longevity of Impractical Jokers. Their mother served as the FDNY's medical chief when fellow cast member Brian Quinn was still a firefighter and needed to take a leave of absence in order to film. Initially rejected, Colin and Casey's mother eventually approved it, "and that's how there's an Impractical Jokers to this day," says Murr.
WATCH NOW: Mike Adam talks with 'Murr' of Impractical Jokers
Season 10 of Impractical Jokers saw the addition of celebrity guests in place of member Joe Gatto who left to focus on his family. "Joe is literally irreplaceable, so why try to replace him," Murr says. "Instead we kind of pivoted the show and season 10 is all of our favorite people in the world that are fans of Jokers that we just learned about over the years that we literally hand-selected to be on the show. Everyone from John Mayer to Post Malone, to Bret Michaels and Paul Rudd has a cameo in the show and so many others... It is epic, and I will say that we've had the cops called on the TV show twice in the past month," he says with a devious laugh.
Don't miss Mike's full interview with Impractical Joker James 'Murr' Murray above, and stay tuned for even more conversations with your favorite stars and artists on Audacy.com/Live.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram