Inside The Actors Studio: Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle's outstanding appearance onInside the Actor's Studiois certainly one of the high points on that long-running interview series. Not long after his surprising exit from a hugely-successful show on Comedy Central, followed by a trip to Africa that became shrouded in media speculation about the comic's sanity, Chappelle agreed to talk to host James Lipton. Appearing before one of Lipton's typically educated crowds of acting students and others in the performing arts (a flight delay forced the guest to keep them all waiting four hours), Chappelle talks about his early life as a reluctant student yet inspired and daring son of progressive academics. His discovery at age 14 of his life's mission—comedy—is actually thrilling to hear described, as are subsequent anecdotes about feeling the joy of an audience's goodwill (and surviving their collective animosity at times).  Chappelle talks about his early TV work and forays into film (he says cracking up Eddie Murphy on the set ofThe Nutty Professormeant more to him than awards ever could). He discusses his disappointment with the feature,Half-Baked, but how his partnership with co-writer Neal Brennan on that film eventually led to monster hitChappelle's Show. Most powerful is Chappelle's serious cultural commentary about the extraordinary career and media pressures that can make even the strongest people in showbiz do the unexpected at times—and then be dismissed as crazy. And, yes, he does go into the poignant reasons that caused him to walk away from a $50 million third season onChappelle's Show. A very funny, smart, and satisfying session.--Tom Keogh