STAND-UP GREATS: Sebastian Maniscalco on His Slow-Burn Rise and Working With Robert De Niro

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist

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4.7 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 22 November 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sebastian Maniscalco is a stand-up comedian and actor whose family-driven humor and razor-sharp delivery have made him one of the most recognizable voices in comedy. In this sitdown from December 2022, Sebastian talks with Willie Geist about the real-life moments that inspire his act, his stand-up special “Is It Me?” and the surreal experience of watching Robert De Niro portray his father in “About My Father.” Plus, he reflects on his long climb from open mics to arena tours, the influences that shaped his point of view, and why family remains at the center of everything he does.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for
0:07.5	clicking and listening along. Got a really fun one for you today with one of the biggest stars in
0:13.2	all of comedy. His name is Sebastian Manascalco. The guy sells out Madison Square Garden. He does
0:19.9	five-night runs at Radio City Music Hall. He set a record for the biggest attendance ever at the United Center in his hometown of Chicago. He's out now with his sixth Netflix special. This one is called Is It Me? And for this one, he takes his act to Vegas. If you don't know Sebastian, I think you're really going to enjoy it
0:39.0	and probably go to YouTube after you hear this conversation
0:41.4	and watch a bunch of his stuff.
0:43.3	He's from Chicago.
0:45.1	His father is an Italian immigrant from Sicily.
0:47.7	His mother is Italian-American.
0:50.1	All of that informs so much of his comedy.
0:52.5	It's about nostalgia.
0:54.0	It's about family. It's about family. It's about
0:55.8	little things that we all experience in our lives. And he has mined and put his finger on.
1:01.8	Great guy. We got together at Gotham Comedy Club in New York City, which is one of the places
1:06.7	where he kind of got going in New York. He moved to L.A. when he was in his 20s, started working
1:12.2	at the four seasons in Beverly Hills as a waiter because he figured if he went to a nice place,
1:17.9	he'd be rubbing elbows, maybe serving coffee to some of the people he looked up to, some of the
1:22.9	big stars in comedy. And he just, he grinds and he grinds and he grinds and he works his way up,
1:29.4	gets on a comedy tour with Vince Vaughn, gets his own Netflix special, all these steps in the
1:35.4	road that got him to this place of now these crazy popular Netflix specials, huge audiences
1:41.3	he takes with him wherever he goes, and all these sold-out runs at arenas.
1:46.5	Really great story of a guy who worked his way from Chicago to the top and just a funny
	...

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