Welcoming Charley Crockett onto his podcast, Joe Rogan bonded with the country singer over their mutual love for classic horror films and an Adam Sandler movie that was a major hit with audiences and critics.
Rogan’s entry point to the episode’s film discussion began with the 2024 sensory horror hit The Substance, starring Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore. Rogan, despite enjoying the film, discussed how much the viewing experience had stuck with him long after the credits rolled. Crockett revealed that this was the exact reason why he’d avoided the film thus far, citing a preference for classic horror.
But despite avoiding The Substance and similar films, it prompted Crockett to ask Rogan about an unusual entry in Adam Sandler’s filmography. A fellow standup comedian, Sandler appeared on Rogan’s podcast the previous August.
While still overwhelming and stressful like The Substance, Crockett found the Sandler-starring movie far more accessible. For Rogan, it was a highly relatable cinematic experience because of his upbringing and early years living in New York.
“Well, I grew up with a lot of gambling addicts,” began Rogan. “So that movie really hit home for me. I was like, ‘Oh god, jeez, the anxiety.’”
The anxiety-inducing film the pair were discussing was 2019’s Uncut Gems. The film follows Howard Ratner (Sandler), a New York-based jewelry store owner with a severe gambling addiction. The film was met with critical acclaim, earning Sandler a number of notable awards.
Rogan was particularly praiseworthy of Sandler’s performance. As a standup comedian who pivoted into comedy film roles, a move that made Sandler a household name, Rogan was surprised by the American comic’s dramatic chops.
“He’s great in that movie too. I never knew that he could act dramatically,” added Rogan. “He’s always been great in comedies, but he’s incredible in that movie.
“But Uncut Gems, the gambling aspect of it, that sickness. The gambling sickness is a wild sickness… For some people, that’s their juice, man. That’s what keeps them going in life,” he continued.
“I grew up around a lot of pool halls when I was in my early 20s. And I was just around so many people who lived for gambling. They would go straight from track betting right to the pool hall, and they’d bet on anything,” the JRE host revealed.
Rogan claimed that there were guys who would win pool tournaments worth $10,000, flip a coin, only to lose everything. According to Rogan, gamblers like that needed ‘heart’ since being willing to bet was part of the culture.
“The only way it’s fun is if money’s constantly flowing,” he noted.
Rogan at home with NY gambling scene
While the hard and fast New York pool hall scene might have seemed self-destructive for its horde of gamblers, it provided a source of comfort for Rogan in his early 20s.
“As a comedian, I never felt like I fit in in normal society. And then I’m around those dudes and I’m like, ‘You guys are just like me.’ You don’t fit in either. You’re a bunch of f**king weirdos,” he asserted, getting a little nostalgic.
A period of hard work and financial instability, Rogan’s coming-of-age on the streets of New York saw him hold a number of jobs before discovering his identity through the beginnings of his standup career.
Dropping out of college and moving to New York in a bid to make it in the cutthroat world of standup comedy, like the pool hall weirdos and eccentrics, Rogan took a gamble. And as we can see now, it paid off.
