All-purpose Adam

Adam Carolla is always up to something, whether it be his record-setting podcast, starring in independent film, dancing with stars, selling his celebrity home, competing in celebrity car races, hustling on “Celebrity Apprentice,” or simply finding time to goof around with his kids.

In this interview, Carolla talks about all of the celebrity hub-bub and why it’s making him miserable.

IJ: You hold the title of the “Most Downloaded Podcast in the World” by the Guinness Book of World Records. How were you so able to succeed at something so many have failed at?

AC: I like to talk. And I knew from all of these traffic counters that I was getting over a million hits from all over the place. I started the thing out of my garage and it just mushroomed from there. 

IJ: You tried your hand at film a few years back, co-producing and starring in an independent film called “The Hammer.” How was that for you? Do you anticipate making more movies?

AC: I always thought it would be cool to make a movie. And I scratched that itch. But I don’t have any desire to do that again. Hollywood is really kind of an exclusive club. Unless you’re friends with Adam Sandler, you don’t have a chance of starring in a comedy. I knew I wasn’t going to star in anybody’s film and that if I was going to star in a film it would have to be my own. And if everybody thought it sucked, then it sucks, but if people say it’s good than it’s good. Fortunately a lot of people liked the film.

IJ: Do you really believe that? What about standing by your art regardless of what people say. 

AC: I know when I read a review and it starts off with, “Oh, the jerk from the ‘Man Show’ is going to try to make a movie,” then I know to expect a bad review. If the critics come to the table with preconceived notions that the film is going to be bad, that’s all they are going to see. But now we have Amazon, and Rotten Tomatoes, and all these things, and if all of these people say it sucks, then it sucks. I’m not the type to say, “Oh, no, you’re all wrong. I’m right and all you people are wrong.” No one sets out to make a bad movie, they just do it. Here’s the thing, you can spend just as much time and money, maybe more, making a bad movie as you can making a good movie. Everyone who has seen Michael Jackson dance says he was a great dancer. No one says, “Oh, that guy can’t dance.” Now if you see me dance, no one is going to say I’m a great dancer.

IJ: What about “Dancing With the Stars” then, which you did back in ’08?

AC: That’s exactly what I’m talking about. I’m not a good dancer. When I get out there and I start dancing around, no one mistakes me for Michael Jackson.

IJ: You recently starred in “The Adam Carolla Project,” where you helped renovate and sell your boyhood home. What was that like for you to revisit your youth in that way?

AC: It was a lot of hard work. But it was an experience. It was also good to go back through my boyhood memories. But it really makes me appreciate my own kids. I don’t get to spend enough time with my kids. I have twins, one of each, a boy and a girl.

IJ: What is it like to raise twins? How do they react to you being gone so much?

AC: They get that daddy goes to work and that daddy has a lot of jobs. But I’m not raising them. I’m paying for them. I go to work and do all these things, then I come home at the end of the night and we wrestle around. I like being physical with them. The other night we wrestled and then we had a dance party and that was it. We danced to some Katy Perry and it was great.

IJ: What about the Toyota Celebrity Race, how did you get into cars?

AC: Once I finally started making a little money I got into racing vintage cars and I really love it. I just love the mechanical aspect. I love racing them, too. It’s a lot of fun.

IJ: How about “Celebrity Apprentice,” how was that for you?

AC: Not fun. It’s 14 to 16 hours per day. It’s an experience. But it is not fun. But I think it’s more important to have an experience than it is to have fun.

IJ: You do so many celebrity projects, celebrity this, celebrity that, how do you like being a celebrity?

AC: I hate being a celebrity. I’m miserable. You picked the wrong day to ask me that. I’m running around doing all of these things and everybody wants something. Somebody always wants money, or time. It sucks. But you don’t have to feel sorry for me. It sucks. But it’s my life and I chose it. I made my bed and I’ll sleep it in. And I’ll keep sleeping in it because I like racing vintage cars.