A big part of what makes Nathan For You so delightfully weird is how Nathan Fielder interacts with his also-awkward accomplices. But perhaps the social discomfort applies more to Fielder than anybody, and that’s kind of what Nathan Bowers, the ghostwriter of the faux workout book The Movement that was featured in the show, told us recently: “I wasn’t readily responsive to the dry, witty humor, given some of my slower responses to his jokes.”

So it’s not surprising, then, that when Fielder interviewed the main cast of The Night Before, it was super uncomfortable.

Given, the interview is obviously a bit, and Seth Rogen has known Fielder since they went to high school together, but the awkward energy is still potent. Unlike in the show, Rogen, Anthony Mackie, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt actually try to return the favor and catch Fielder off guard in unsettling moments, but it only goes to show Fielder’s ability as an improviser–assuming the bit was improvised at least somewhat.

For example, Fielder asks the three about how active their sex lives are, and when they say the question isn’t helpful in promoting the movie, Fielder insists that he wouldn’t have to ask questions like that if the movie was more interesting.

He also cuts to the heart of somewhat real issues in his typical dry manner: Fielder calls out Rogen for playing another drug-using character in the movie, asking if he’ll ever play a guy who reads a book. He also asked the three how much money they earned for making the movie, then calling out Gordon-Levitt and Rogen as not wanting to answer the question because they know they made more than Mackie… especially since Rogen is the executive producer and he knows how much everybody makes.

The whole thing is very uncomfortable, even for us watching it, and therefore, is Fielder at his very best.

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HT: Consequence of Sound
Featured image courtesy of Comedy Central