Comedy

By the end of The 40 Year Old Virgin, the title character had lost his virginity — and actor Steve Carell had become a star.

The actor, who was a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show for several years, has gone on to films including Little Miss Sunshine and Evan Almighty, and next summer he'll star as hapless secret agent Maxwell Smart in a Hollywood adaptation of the vintage TV series Get Smart. And of course he's got a central role on NBC's The Office.

Rob Corddry left his Daily Show correspondent gig in 2006 to star in his own short-lived sitcom, The Winner.

He's also had roles in recent movie comedies, including The Heartbreak Kid, Failure to Launch and Blades of Glory.

He is also a regular performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

This interview was originally broadcast on March 8, 2007.

Comedian Larry Wilmore frequently contributes to The Daily Show as the "Senior Black Correspondent."

A writer, television producer, and stand-up comic, Wilmore wrote for In Living Color and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and was a consulting producer on NBC's The Office.

This interview originally aired on June 5, 2007.

September 11, AIDS, the Holocaust — comic and actress Sarah Silverman has repeatedly proved that practically nothing need be off limits in a joke. Take the title of her Off-Broadway show, which later became a film: Jesus Is Magic. Or the music video, available on her Comedy Central show's blog, of "The Doodie Song."

Silverman has appeared in films including School of Rock and There's Something About Mary and she was a member of the Saturday Night Live ensemble in the early '90s.

Judd Apatow has been a writer for Larry Sanders and Ben Stiller, and he worked on the cult-favorite TV comedy Freaks and Geeks. But you'll know him as the writer-director of the hit film The 40-Year-Old Virgin — and the auteur behind this summer's Knocked Up. The film's out now on DVD.

Guest host David Bianculli talks to Apatow and to Knocked Up star Seth Rogen, who plays an oafish slacker confronted with the prospect of fatherhood after a one-night stand.

This interview first aired on May 31, 2007.

Comedian Demetri Martin is probably best known for his appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He's also written for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, for which he garnered an Emmy nomination.

He's released a DVD called Person — a version of his one-hour Comedy Central special, which aired earlier this year.

Executive producer and actor Jeff Garlin and actress Susie Essman discuss the upcoming season of the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Garlin plays Larry David's affable best friend and agent. Essman plays Garlin's wife and as such is known for her vitriol, no-nonsense attitude and foul mouth.

Actor, comedian, composer and musician Michael McKean is best known for co-starring in the spoofs This is Spinal Tap, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. He got his start playing Lenny in the 1970s sitcom Laverne and Shirley.

Actor, comedian, composer and musician Michael McKean is best known for co-starring in the spoofs This is Spinal Tap, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. He got his start playing Lenny in the 1970s sitcom Laverne and Shirley.

Actor, comic, and Howard Stern Show cast member Artie Lange stars in the film Artie Lange's Beer League, which makes its network TV premiere tonight on Comedy Central. Lange was a regular on the Fox network's sketch-comedy show Mad TV, and he's appeared in a number of comedy films, including Old School and Elf. Lange's personal life — namely his binge drinking and eating — is often fodder for Howard Stern and the rest of the cast on the daily Sirius Radio program.