Marlon Wayans Opens Up on Battling Depression “I Broke Down & Cried On Stage”

My mother's death shattered me into a million pieces. Really? Breakin' a Sweat Breakin' a Sweat of my life. I was rescuing myself with my comedy. The expression became different. Expression became therapeutic. I'm bleeding inside, but I'm literally pulling myself from depression.

I'm back with my buddy Marlon Wayans.

Actor and comedian Marlon Wayans has been performing stand-up since he was a teenager and has starred in dozens of popular series and movies. Please welcome Marlon Wayans. I got people cracking up right through 57 minutes and then And it hit me one stage at their pond, broke down, I cried, 'cause the reality of my parents being gone hit.

If you could hear a message from your mom, what would you want that message to be?

Big boy, you did good. You did right by our family. You made sure all the grandkids and the great grandkids, and everybody was good. You took care of your brother and your sister. Always me would.

What do you wish more people would ask you?

Probably what I'm afraid of.

What are you afraid of?

I'm afraid of... It's been so amazing. Last year was just a transformative, life-changing event. Team greatness is great.

My name is Lewis Howes. Thanks so much for being here. And before we dive into this special video today, I want to remind you about at the Summit of Greatness, our annual conference happening this September in Los Angeles. With David Goggins, Dr. Joe Dispenza, and many more incredible speakers and performers, there will be so many live attendees there that you can meet with, you can network with, and you can help transform your life. Make sure to click the link in the description to get your tickets, and I can't wait to see you at.

The Summit of Greatness here in Los Angeles. [ocr.

Error: 't'] Welcome back everyone to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We have the inspiring Marlon Wayans in the house. Good to see you sir.

Good to see you.

Very excited that you're here. Just for people that don't know, you are extremely talented, not only as an actor, but producer, director, creative writer, stand-up icon, and your films have done over a billion dollars. globally over the years. And we were just talking beforehand about you've been in this industry. I asked you, when did you start making your first dollars? And it's been over 30 years, three decades of you in this kind of world of entertainment, writing, creativity, and expressing yourself. And there's something I- It's crazy because.

I only look 30.

I do look 30. You were born, exactly. And something I read about you recently that I think is really cool because I think a lot of people think of you only as, well maybe not a lot of people, but I think a lot of people might assume that you're always out for the joke. You're always out for writing the best joke and getting the laugh and whether it be on stand-up and the movies that you're creating. But I saw something recently where you talked about wanting to bring spiritual growth to audiences. And I don't know if that's over the last few years that's come to you or if you've always had that, but when did that start to become a focus for you saying, I want to obviously bring laughter because laughter is healing, but how can I help audiences grow spiritually through my creativity?

I think that started for me. I think stand-up has developed me into that. I think that was always there, but I couldn't hear it because I was too desperate for the joke. But then life happened. and you understand, for 47 years of my life, 50 or 48 years, I had an amazing life. I say it to them. I'm like, if you people could die and come back as anybody, please come back as me for my first 48 years of life.

Really?

Magical life story existed. My mother will love me. My father who protected us and stayed with my mom and brothers and sisters when they wasn't trying to kill me. They were great, you know, great role models. And they poured into me, uncles and aunties that loved me. And I just had a beautiful time. I. A career. I had. I grew up in a house with my Legends. You know how crazy that is? Wow. The people that you want to be like, they're sleeping in the bed above you.

That's crazy.

On the movement, but underneath you, everybody you grow to be like, and then they become. Superstars. And then you meet Eddie Murphy when you're like 8 years old. And Robert Townsend when you're like 6. And guys like John Witherspoon, another comedian giant when you're like 12. And then you go on a... your brother creates a living color and you know Jim Carrey and Tommy Davidson and J. Lo and all these great... Dave Chappelle, all these great people. I had a great life. And then what happened was my parents died. and 57 people I love die. 57. 57.

Wow.

You know, and that's the sad part about getting to be my age is people die. It happens to. Yeah. And, you know, and not to be a hater, but you better hope that you watch people die because that means, like, you're still alive. You know what I mean? I'm gonna miss you, but I don't want to go. I want to be here forever, so. you know, I started having this.

Different.

Vision of myself because I was rescuing myself with my comedy. The expression became different. Expression became therapeutic. I'm bleeding inside, but I'm literally pulling myself from depression because my mother's death shattered me into a million pieces. Really. Break his heart, break up my life.

Yeah.

And my father's death, I started putting myself back together piece by piece. And with that piece, my dad was a very religious and spiritual person. I realized that when I did my last special, Good Grief, and even the special before that, God Loves Me, I realized that it's not about the joke. that it's about the story. If I could bring story to stand up, I can do something different that no, that would be my voice. Because I've been doing movies and TVs for 30 years, and now I'm like, oh, wow, I only been doing stand up 12. And I'm like, oh, wow. If I put all this knowledge that I have these together, I could create something that hasn't really been done. And then that's what left me with the spirit. Because when I do stand up, it's like a character that has in a movie, a hero, that has to find an elixir. That elixir for a lot of times is not the laughs. The laughs are the things that keeps you entertained. The elixir for me is always going to be love.

Right?

That is a universal thing, love. So if I put that, whether it's love of self, whether it's love of a girl, whether it's love of my family, whether it's whatever it is, healing, right? Those things, and that's what I'm trying to get at the end, then beyond the joke, because if I tell you a joke, I could change your mood, but I'm not going to change your life. Now, if I tell you a great story that affects you, now, I left you with a jewel that you can actually change your life with from watching me tell you these jokes and these stories. And that's how I think I'm gonna be a very effective communicator and brand. It's like a rebranding of myself. I have all this time. Me and my brothers did all these great things, and I realized the individual that I am, and I'm now I could do Marlon, right? Take Wayne's and put over there for a second. Let me fly around as Marlon and find my voice without having to answer to without having to, you know, do things that everybody, the older brothers say, I could just do me. And then when I learned all of me, I could come back to Wayne's and be like, guys, let me tell you how we can build this brand. And so that's why I, I, that, that's what I'm finding, that my, my voice is, it's more than just telling jokes. Telling jokes is the smallest part. Telling you a great story and changing your mood and changing your life.

Who taught you how to tell stories better? Or when did you start to really master the art of storytelling?

I'm still working on it. You never really master the art of storytelling. There's different kind of storytelling. Storytelling with stand up. And then there's just storytelling. I think the best book about writing and storytelling I ever read was probably the Writer's Journey. I think it was the Hero's Journey.

The Hero's Journey.

The Hero's Journey.

Hero's Journey.

You're right. But I think it was Chris Vogler.

Is that Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey or different?

No, Joseph Campbell did, I think he did. Hero has a thousand faces.

Yes, yes. Right?

Yes. I think, I mean, it was Chris Vogler. I think it's the same that did myth in movies, whatever. Heroes Journey, writers journey, sometimes they call it either. That book really made me look at, when I watch movies, I look at them differently. I see scripts, I see characters, I see journeys. What does he want? It made me look at, I'm not entertained by movies anymore. You're studying and so I'm studying. It's crazy when me, I'm watching a movie, you guys are. No, I'm watching the construction. I'm like, oh, my God. Good news, bad news, worse news. Indiana Jones is an hour and a half, two hours of good news, bad news, worse news. Something good happens, something bad happens, something worse happens. I escaped that. And good news again. And that's bad news. Good news, bad news, worse news. I get this, the thing from the statue, from this. this egg or whatever, it's a valuable egg, it unleashes a boulder. Oh my God, I'm running, I'm running, I'm running. I take and I jump and I get to safety. And when I land from escaping the boulder, I'm in a pit of snakes, right? My worst nightmare. I escape, right? So studying story, studying character, studying what a hero goes through, studying how other characters help the hero or try to hinder the hero from getting the elixir, right? Those are obstacles in his way, insurmountable odds, and every scene has to be like that. So I learned from that book, and I also think I took Robert McKee's story, story by Robert McKee. He had a seminar that he did, and I went five times. First time I went, I didn't understand the word he was saying. I swee-ty, I cut English, you know what I mean? Like, even when I write, I'm like, look, I'm not great with Ram, Ram, I'm not gonna work this good, but here, and then, and my writing partner, Rick, he's a stickler for that, so we work. I'm like, yo, here's this funny. Yo, make it work. What it was, this character with that kind of, let's write that, and then we collaborate on that. He is never gonna be able to give the flavor and them jokes like I could give. So we have a great collaboration. But taking that course the first time, I didn't know what he was saying, but I kept going. And now on the fifth time I took it, I was like, I don't even take it no more. I understand everything that man is saying. I understand everything that man is saying when it comes to writing a story. crazy enough parody of which I came up with in stories like the least important thing. Really, it's all about the jokes. The desperate media.

The story is not important.

A thin one. But the jokes, everything, the timing of.

The jokes, got to be funny. Really?

When you write a script, when you're in a parody, unlike any other genre, Right? Everything got to be funny. The slug line. Okay, where am I? What's funny about where the person is? What is the people doing? They got to be doing something funny. Who is saying something funny? Who is the character? They got to be funny. Their interaction with the next person got to be funny. The dialogue. What's funny about the dialogue? What's funny about the world? Everything the whole movie. It's a desperate medium. That's why not a lot of people can do parody the way we can do parody, because we have such a wealth and a knowledge of great characters and our experience and, you know, through Wayne's is telling jokes and for years and it's, you have to master the art of comedy. It's its own art, and there's different forms of Comedy within the art of Comedy. There's different Different genres, right? Sketch. I'm sorry, I talked a lot.

No, it's great. Outside of your own movies, what do you think are the three best parody movies that you've seen that have done it incredibly well?

Airplane, Hot Shots, Blazing Saddles. I think they did it great.

Why?

They, they, they. Those guys, the Zucker's, no Brooks, you know, they're the forefathers of the, of the genre. So, you know, respects, you know, without them doing it, we would have never, we probably would have come to it. Right. But they gave us the blueprint.

Yeah. And they showed you how it works.

Yeah. Yeah. We just remodeled the whole thing. He was like, that's, this is the old Ford car and runs on gas, and he was like, nah. Take all that off. We're gonna make it electric. We're gonna put the exhaust system on there. This car's gonna go zero to 103 seconds. Like we just changed it up. Yes. And put the flavor on it. Put our urban voices on a white genre, which gave it flavor. And it was like, oh, we never seen that before. And it's hard to replicate. because it's based on our experience. That's why we like, somebody wants to do Scary Movie 5. We're like, okay, go for it. It's not gonna do well.

It's hard.

Yeah, it'd be hard because you don't, you have to know what you're doing and nobody, you have to love the art of parody. All right? Parody is its own beast. Now, as a writer, I understand that story. So next time I write a parody, it's gonna be way better. than the parody as wrote in the past, because now I understand story.

But you said story doesn't matter as much as jokes and parody.

It doesn't. But I still think if you could marry the two, you've done something great. So that's what I'm looking forward to, is writing the next thing that's gonna be, I'm putting it all together. Everything is coming all together.

You're working on it right now?

No. Well, I have a couple ideas in my head. Right, right. And I think Rick and I are gonna lay into one and then we're just gonna let it rip.

That's cool.

I had one I was gonna do, but I can't. So I'm not gonna even go there. Because, you know. And then, so I think books helped me tell stories. Also, I think some of the great comedians tell great stories. Like Richard Pryor, great story teller. Dave Chappelle, wonderful story teller. Dave is masterful. You watch Dave, man. Dave is like, it's like going to school. Like, he's like a science professor, you know, I mean, our English teacher. Like, he's well, well, red, well spoken, knows how to put it all together. My brother Damon, great storyteller, great comedian, like this. So I'm I think you have to steal fire from the gods. Yeah. And what you learn is you don't steal jokes. I never want to tell anybody's joke. I will. You never got to accuse me of. I'm a writer. I'm a writer, not just for myself, but for others. You know what I mean? Like, I. I'm a Creator, so I don't want to hear you steal. No, no, I don't do that. I look at things that they do that are inspiring, and I go, I like this element, you know what I mean? Like I like that Dave can educate you with his humor. I love that Kevin Hart could sell you a joke. That's a great salesman right there. Well, this is good or bad. He knows.

It makes it sound funny either way. Yeah, yeah.

Chris Rock, I love his artistry. 'Cause Chris is a perfectionist, you know, and these are like guys that's been doing it before me. Like I just, I'm newer to stand up, so they're kind of like the big brothers. for me, even though some of them were younger or my age, I just started taking stand-up really serious the past 12, maybe 14 years.

Wow.

So I've been. But now I'm progressing at a crazy rate because I write, produce 30 years of material. I write the TV. I know how to direct. Like, I. So when all these things meet the stand-up comedian, and the reason why I started doing stand up, because I was a star for, like, 20 something years. I've been a star.

TV movies.

Yeah. I'm not. I'm not content, really. I want to be a superstar. In order to be a superstar, meaning when the best scripts come in, I want to be one of the 10 guys that they're sending those scripts to. I want to be one of the 10 guys that get the best scripts to work with the best directors because they want to collaborate and we get the best budget. And then I go on a worldwide tour selling out of this movie. But I need the fans to be like, I trust him. So, see, stand up has made me a professor in comedy.

Really?

Now I understand. And I know how to sell a joke. And I know how to. When I'm on these talk shows, I've been lighting them up. I like Jimmy Fallon up. Jimmy Fallon, go on the show. He's like, Oh my God, it's always a seven minute vacation when you come on. You're not gonna ask me questions. I just rolled and ripped, 'cause I got 300 people in front of me and I'm gonna make 'em laugh, and then I know how to make 'em laugh in the morning. So when I do Kelly and Ryan or Kelly and her husband, what's her name? Damn, I'm bad. Kelly and Mark, wanna do that show? I know how to, I'm appropriate for who's watching. So females in the morning, I'm not gonna curse, I'm not gonna be too edgy. you- read the room. Yeah. read the room. Know who's, you know, I mean, there's a morning talk shows in the afternoon drive.

Yeah.

If you're doing knowing who to sell and how to sell. So me doing stand-up I was like, I'm gonna get people to pay fifty dollars in ticket to come see me. And one day I'm gonna sell out the garden. And if I didn't get sell out the garden and they're paying 50 to 100 something dollars to come see me there, or maybe a couple hundred, I don't know. then when it comes to movies, they're gonna pay that twenty dollars to come see me in the movies because I have been working to be a huge International star. And everything is what is being created through just me working. I don't even look up and see what I've done. I just love to work. And now I'm starting to look up and go, okay, you have Pull out of the micro and you have to be macro. Now look at yourself and how do you build this artist into this wonderful business? But I have the knowledge and the skill set and I used to be very humble Because humble people want to learn I just gotten confident Really because I know I did the work. I can talk to you about how to write a you want to know something. I'm an I have an excellence in something I have a skill set. I have a knowledge of something that is like, oh, how did you put that together? Right? And I could sit there and I could tell you how I did it. I know the science beyond comedy. I know the math beyond comedy. I know this. I've done it my whole life. And now I'm learning sales and now I'm really want to learn business, you know what I mean? So I'm gonna surround myself with people that can Teach me about that so I can apply all those things to this thing called comedy and built out of Marley.

But for so many years you had movies that people were already coming to the movies and watching you. They're already paying 20 bucks to come. You're, you know, you're selling billion dollars at the box office globally with all your movies. Most comedian, most stand-up comedians, it seems to me, do stand up to try to get big enough to be able to then go movies. You started in movies and you're going backwards. Why go backwards when you've already been a star?

Because I don't want to be a. I want to laugh at a billion dollars in box office. I want 100 billion dollars in box office. Why do you want to hire Tom Cruise? Because I know I can do it. I have an amazing skill set, not just comedy like. drama. I went to film arts high school. I'm really, they don't even know. I'm a really talented, dramatic actor. I know it. I know it. And just got better. And, you know, this year I got Bella, I got two episodes of that, and then I have a movie with Jordan Peele, him and that Justin Tipping director, who's an absolute Visionary. And I'm telling you, man, I'm, I I I'm just in. I'm in my bag and I can finally say it, you know, when you.

Put the reps in. You got the reps.

I got the reps in. I did the work.

What do you think is holding you back from the next level of those results that you want?

God.

Why do you think God is holding you back?

Because I think in order to make the kind of sword that I'm going to be, I have to go through a lot of fire. I had to go through a lot of fire. So everything is building me. God is not breaking me. So every time, every milestone that I don't reach or I get close to, I'm still hungry and I'm still thirsty. But I'm better.

Wow.

I'm better and more skilled. Like now, God, I was too young to headline movies. I couldn't get the girl and save the day. I just started putting muscle on my body and getting the beard and. Knowing having the poise to stay still in the scene and be charming. Not funny.

You were the funny guy.

Yeah. And now I'm the friend. No, no, no, no. Now I know how to be both. Now I know how to be Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool. I'm ready for those kind of things because this is what I have a s-- insane. Like, there's only-- Jordan Peele told me, he said something funny to me. He came to set and he was like, let me take 15 minutes and just talk to you about how special you are. Yes. He watched my performance, watched my daily. Like, I gotta say, there's nobody like you. So you're one of one. Anybody that's like you is either dead or crazy, but. the world you can come from dramatically and comedically and comedy at the same time. He's like, there's only been like Robin Williams, like Jim Carrey, like there's not a lot of guys that can hit that high note. The high note. There's one thing like Will Smith can do both.

But he's not a stand-up guy and.

He can hit the low point, the drama.

But he wasn't a stand-up guy, though.

Yeah, but that's what I'm saying. See, Will and it comes to the comedy, not that he can't do it, but he would have to study a little bit more to hit the high notes that Eddie Murphy has hit. That high note. Yeah. I mean, it's different. It's like Beyonce versus Jennifer Hudson. It's that high note. Beyonce Superstar, right? And she's amazing. Damn high note. Jennifer Hudson is. I can never. right. That's the level of funny. Like a Jim Carrey. That's the high note. Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, you know, Martin, those are the high notes. Like, you know what I'm saying? For me, Marlon, I'm trying to hit the high notes like Dave Chappelle. High note. And then they hit every level in between. And so I'm not comparing myself, and I. have nothing but respect for all those mentioned and love for all those mentioned, including Will. I think Will has been an amazing star and an example for years. I could look at that and go, yeah, he broke the mold. Eddie Murphy, he broke the mold. You tell me black don't travel and black ain't overseas, but yet the box office saying different.

Yes.

And same thing with us. They was like black and comedy don't work. Yeah, we give them a movie called Scary Movie and that makes 300 million dollars worldwide.

Mom.

And we get part two makes 100 and something million dollars worldwide. Then we do white chicks and makes 100 and something million dollars worldwide. And you're telling me black don't travel. All my movies on Netflix have been number one in every territory around the world. Number one. They don't tell you this, but it does travel. And now I know I want to be able to do it all. So I want to be able to do the Romantic Comedy. I want to do the action. I want to do the action comedy. I want to do the buddy action comedy. I want to be able to do You know, a drama, I want to be able to do all of it. And I want people to go, that's the guy. And I want to sell the out of it in every market. And along the way, align myself with great brands. And, you know, I've managed myself pretty good. I grew up in the projects, trouble all around me my whole life. I've never been to jail. I had fights. I could scrap. I never been to jail. I never got a DUI. I don't do dope. I never disrespect women because I know where I'm going. And in order to get there, I gotta keep it clean. So, you know, I behave myself. I'm appropriate. But, I mean, I talk a lot.

No, I love it, man. This is beautiful. You know, you mentioned, like, I don't know if you said God is like holding you back or you still need more connection to God to get to the next level or whatever that is.

God made me, I have to do the work. Do you think God is-- God is--.

What do you think? What is God speaking to you about how to get to the next level of service through your creativity to be able to create the results you want?

Keep working and keep building and keep stay on your path. You're doing great. And I see it now because my last end of good grief was about my parents dying. about how to grieve, how to get through it. Minute 57, I'm making people laugh, talking about changing my pampers, my daddy's pampers, my mom's pampers, talking about that private parts. I got people cracking up, I got all right for 57 minutes, and then it hit me. I was running from my own pain. And I was talking about my mother, and I just started I broke down on stage after a part broke down. I cried. I was just like, because the reality of my parents being gone hit me.

Yeah, I didn't hit you until then.

It did, but it wasn't supposed to hit me in a show. Right. Well, I'm filming a special, and it did. And I was like, all right, cool. And I was gonna cut that out, but I was like, no, keep it in because I need people to understand that. I like you, I'm hurting. But life goes on and we still look for smiles. And I get so many messages in my inbox about good grief on Amazon Prime about how it affected them and how it helped them, helped them grieve, they lost their parents too, we're in the same club, gang gang, and how they cried with me. And they thanked me because they were in a place of depression I helped see, help them see their way out because I showed myself my way out. So that's healing.

Yeah.

That's why doctors make a lot of money. That's why. That's why pharmacies are the a huge business because they help people feel better. Well, so can comedy. I want to help people feel better. I want to heal. so the stories I'm telling now, my next one that I'm working on, I have a trans child, daughter turned into a son. And I talk about the transition, not their transition. I talk about the five stages of grief, storytelling that I learned from those books, the five stages of grief to get to acceptance from Defiance to accept.

Resistance, frustration, anger, upset.

I was fine. I was like, no, you're not doing that. And then I went through the five stages of grief. Now, I'm proud to say it only took me one week. I'm sad to say that there's a lot of people that it may take them a lifetime and they'll never get to this. beautiful place called acceptance. And so I find God speaks to me. I need to talk about this in a funny way with truth because there's people out there that need some healing.

Yes.

There's people out there that need to hear this to know that, oh, I identify with you. I got people coming up to me crying. Oh, my God. I mean, my child is going through the same thing, and I just want you to know. once again, I'm taking my art of Comedy, and I'm helping the heel. And I think that's something different. Different. I want to make you feel good, not just on some silly. I don't want to punch down on nobody. When everybody feel good, I'm gonna punch down on me, right? I'm the joke. I'm the butt of my jokes. And if I'm gonna tell you a good story about how to be better.

I was telling my friend this morning at the gym, 'cause he was asking me, I lost my father a couple years ago as well.

Sorry.

And thank you.

Gang gang. Yeah. You lost your dad?

Yeah.

Mom's still here?

Mom's still here. Man, yeah, yeah.

Lover.

Yeah.

Lover. Let me tell you something. I love my daddy, but if I had to choose between him and my mama, bye, howl.

Bring your mom back. Yeah, yeah.

Mothers or something. You see, your dad always prepares your boy for, you know, when I'm gone, you know, your dad, which, especially if you're close, your dad gives you those lessons of. And that, that, the guide on how to be a man. When your mother goes, it rips your heart. Passion. My mother died, Blended my heart into pieces. And she went first. And so love them. If you don't, at once a week, go take your mother. on a date. Go take her on a date. I took my mother once a week. I ain't care where I was. My father too, take him out for a drink. I don't care where I was in the world. If I'm doing, if I'm in Ohio, I'm flying to New York because they live separately. I fly to New York, hang out with my dad, take him to dinner, laugh with him, have some wine, and I get on a plane. Tuesday, pick my mother up, go take her to dinner, go on a date. And I did that because I knew one day they weren't gonna be here. And so it's important to give them that time, 'cause when they go, yeah, you're gonna be sad, but I have no regrets. Yeah.

Yeah.

I have no regrets. I was a great son.

That's cool.

As I was a great brother, as a great friend and titles that really mean something to me. Yeah, yeah. I've been grading. And so make sure you- that's beautiful. Yeah. Go take on a date.

Since their passing, what's been the biggest lesson is you can reflect back that each of them taught you about life?

My mother taught me to always learn, try different things, find joy even though your situation may be bad, whether it's poverty, whether it's, you know, grieving, always find the funny, right? And to love hard and, and, and to be affectionate, to let it all out and not be afraid to be vulnerable, let it all out. And some of it, I learned, is from watching her, is not letting disappointments or failures make me bitter. negative and too afraid to be vulnerable. Right? So really watching the journey, the good, the bad and the ugly, you can't, I think people spend so much time worrying about what their parents did wrong. I study what they did right. When I watch movies, I remember one time we was watching Men in Black and my brother was like, you know what's wrong with this movie? I said, it made $400 million. Nothing. It's perfect. Right. So here's what they did right. so. And my dad. So that's what my mom taught me. My father taught me, and I will say he would be so proud to hear this. My father taught me God.

Really?

My father taught me the importance of God's Journey, the importance of that Bible. And I need to read it more. I need to study it. My dad could tell him.