Nate Bargatze Opens Up About His Wildest Year: 'I Don't Know If You Ever Feel Like You Make It' (Exclusive)

Nate Bargatze never knows where his day will take him. Long before he hit it big in stand-up comedy, he had a slew of odd jobs—manning a golf course, hosting at Applebee’s, even reading water meters. Little has changed since his early days pounding the pavement, except now he carries a briefcase.

“I think about being a briefcase person,” he says jokingly in an exclusive interview with Parade, adding that “there is no routine” for someone who makes people laugh for a living. His spontaneity has paved the way for success. Not only is he doing comedy, he’s writing a book and creating movies—and watching Bargatze’s hilarious stand-up routine is like getting a much-needed break from reality, though there’s still plenty of regular life in the stories he tells on stage.

He riffs on the struggles of getting his coffee order right at Starbucks. He muses over the petty squabbles he and his wife get into, like how they once argued for days over the meaning of the phrase “one fell swoop.” He details the perils of taking his daughter to Chuck E. Cheese, a restaurant chain that, as he puts it, looks like it’s trying to go out of business and can’t. (“They filed for bankruptcy and they’re still open. They called Blockbuster and they’re like, ‘How do you get out? We want out!'” Bargatze says in his Netflix special The Greatest Average American.)

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Whatever subject Bargatze explores in his comedy, he brings you around to an easy, honest perspective—most of regular life is worth laughing about, and it doesn’t have to be super-dark.

“I’m a clean comedian that people can watch with their grandparents or their 12-year-old,” Bargatze says. “I’m not making entertainment specifically for kids, but I want your family to come to this.”

If there’s a simple way to explain the Nashville native’s immense popularity, that might be it. He gets adults cracking up over life’s quirks and relatable stories, and many of us are laughing right alongside our kids. It’s the kind of family-friendly entertainment that’s made Bargatze, 45, Pollstar’s top-earning comic of 2024, and he’s likely to continue that trend with his latest comedy special, Your Friend, Nate Bargatze, premiering globally on Netflix Dec. 24.

Your Friend … marks Bargatze’s third hour for Netflix, and it’s the first in a two-special deal he inked with the streamer after making a brief jump to Prime Video. Last year his special Hello World broke Amazon’s record for the most-streamed original comedy special in its first 28 days—a top spot previously held by fellow comic Jim Gaffigan—so it’s no wonder Netflix wanted to lure him back. Bargatze’s in high demand—and he and his company, Nateland Entertainment, are expanding it into something bigger than just him.

Related: Get Your First Look at Nate Bargatze’s Upcoming CBS Comedy Special

“My goal is to eventually be producing and making shows,” Bargatze says. “Then hopefully get out of the way and let the next wave of comedians come up.”

Bargatze’s own family is involved in his comedy. His 12-year-old daughter, Harper, whom he shares with wife Laura Bargatze, can be seen introducing him on stage. Laura has guested on The Nateland Podcast, where she opened up about their marriage and supporting her husband’s journey as a comic. His father and longtime professional magician, Stephen Bargatze, frequently opens for him, combining illusions with humor. And his sister and brother work with him, too.

It’s all part of a family-centric vision that’s slowly been coming together since Bargatze’s early days doing stand-up in Chicago. He eventually moved to New York City, landed a Netflix deal and even earned a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album.

Bargatze was a household name by the time he hosted Saturday Night Live in 2023. His deadpan portrayal of George Washington in the SNL sketch “Washington’s Dream”—where he walks his soldiers through his plans for future America’s overly complicated system of measurements—has achieved almost legendary status. He reprised the Washington role when he returned to host SNL in October, this time floating along the Delaware River as he preps his soldiers on more forthcoming weirdness of the English language.

Bargatze recently wrapped up his live Be Funny Tour, which broke venue attendance records across America. As if that wasn’t enough, he also found time to write his first book, Big Dumb Eyes: Stories From a Simpler Mind, launching in May.

Parade’s Sara Silverstein spoke with Bargatze via Zoom, ahead of the taping of his CBS holiday special at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House. He talked about his comedic inspirations, what he wants for Christmas, and his dire need to develop a morning routine.

Sara Silverstein: Let’s start at the beginning: What’s your morning routine?

I don’t have one. I need one. I would love to talk to you about the morning routine. I want to find one. I don’t mind getting up early, but I can’t imagine being in a Zumba class within 10 minutes of being awake. As a comic, there is no routine. You don’t have a 9-to-5. You don’t have hours. So it’s hard to build one. But I am trying.

Do you have a pre-performance routine, something to get in the right state of mind?

Nothing crazy. I call my wife and daughter before every show and they say, “Be funny.” You don’t want to be asked a lot of questions when it gets close to showtime.

And is that why your tour is called the Be Funny Tour?

Yeah, it was exactly that.

Did you always know you were funny?

I would definitely make people laugh a lot. Although I did come in second place for class clown.

Where did you start out doing comedy?

I moved to New York City after I watched Comedian, which was a Jerry Seinfeld documentary about him doing stand-up in NYC. I knew that’s where I needed to be.

What was your backup plan if professional comedy hadn’t worked out?

I was a water meter reader. All my jobs, the title was just the description of what you do.

When did you feel like you really made it?

You know, I don’t know if you ever feel like you make it. There were always little baby steps. When I first started, I did a couple late-night shows and I performed on some cruise ships. That was a moment of, “All right, worst case scenario, I can do these cruise ships.” So you just hit those markers … you just feel it’s getting bigger. You’re more confident when you go into rooms.

What were the best and worst financial decisions you made as you became a successful comedian?

I built a golf simulator at my house.

Was that the best or the worst?

I think it’s probably both. I added on a room and made it like a mother-in-law suite and then put my golf simulator in there. I was happy because the value that we spent on the golf simulator and the construction of the room, we will get back as office space.

The worst?

You know the Jack Nicholson movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? One night I decide I’m going to try to watch these movies that smart people watch. And so I bought it on Apple. But it was already on Netflix and I didn’t notice it. I could have watched it for free. It was $5, but it’s just the idea that I have it on this computer for the rest of my life, and I’m just like, Why would I not check Netflix first? So that’s a tough one to get over.

From your golfing sketch on Saturday Night Live, you look like you have a really good swing. Do you golf a lot?

It’s hard. I have so much on my mind in golf, really. You have to be in the moment and I get distracted. It’s hard to play on the road because you play, like, five holes and then you kind of start to think about the show. And so you just kind of start playing terrible. But I love golfing and I was happy that people noticed [my skills] in that sketch.

Tell us about the creation of the iconic SNL George Washington sketch. Was that your idea or was it a collaboration? And were you nervous going back to that well when you returned to host again?

Streeter Sidell and Mikey Day created and wrote it. I was just able to sync it up very well with my rhythm. I was worried about doing it again, but when I saw the new one, it felt like he had different enough parts and I realized it was just fun to be George Washington.

Related: The Best ‘SNL’ Sketch of Last Season Made a Welcome Return Last Night

When you’re on the road, what’s your favorite order at a fast food restaurant or chain restaurant?

McDonald’s No. 1. No onions, Diet Coke and a little Filet-O-Fish sandwich. That’s pretty much my go-to. I actually had McDonald’s last night. DoorDash at a hotel is embarrassing. You’re going to the door and you’re like, “Let me meet you in an alley. I don’t want these people seeing this.” I’ve got a big problem.

You’re in early development of your first feature film, The Breadwinner. What inspired you to move into movies? Is this something you want to do more of?

It is. I’ve always just done stand-up. I want to be able to create movies that hopefully the whole family can come out to. I was never great at auditioning for other people’s movies. So I kind of figured I would have to just make my own.

If you could go back and star in a remake of any old movie, what would it be?

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. I love Don Knotts. I don’t think I could do what Don Knotts does. They would probably still go with Don Knotts, to be honest. Even though I traveled back in time, they would go, “Nonetheless, we’re going to stick with Don Knotts.” But you know, that’s the stuff that I loved. It was just super fun and silly.

You have a holiday special, Nate Bergatze’s Nashville Christmas (Dec. 19, CBS) that was shot at the Grand Ole Opry. Do you intend for it to be an annual event?

I would love it to become a tradition. I believe people still want to go to movies and still like appointment-type television.

Tell me what it was like writing your book, Big Dumb Eyes: Stories From a Simpler Mind (May 6, 2025, Grand Central Publishing).

It was very fun. It’s nothing heavy. It’s just telling stories that have happened to me, stuff that sometimes doesn’t always work in stand-up. I read Paul Reiser’s book when I first started comedy, and I remember really laughing at it. I was just reading it in his rhythm and his voice and I liked it so much.

What’s the story behind that title?

I have a joke … my eyes are big, and, so people talk to me easy because my eyes are so big.

Is there a favorite story that you couldn’t make work in stand-up that shows up in this book?

My first car. That was something that I almost never really talked about in stand-up. But I had a 1985 Mazda 626, nicknamed Old Blue. There’s a lot of stories about Old Blue that I never really told in stand-up, but with the book, I was like, “Oh yeah, I can tell the story in a much different way.” So there’s a whole chapter about that car.

We’re around the holidays. What do you hope your wife gets you this year?

You know, it’s hard when you get older—I don’t know what I need. I like weird stuff. You know? Someone got me a briefcase. I think about being a briefcase person. I’m trying it out right now.

And now you’re an author. Authors have briefcases.

Authors have briefcases. I mean, my morning routine is a mess, but I have a briefcase sitting right there, so there’s something.

Now that you are so successful, is Walmart still your favorite store?

Yeah. We go. I mean, I still go in, but you know, it’s like a lot of ordering to your house and stuff. But Walmart’s kind of got everything, you know? “Let’s walk around this once more.” I love to walk around a mall. I could be a mall walker. That’s a good morning routine. Show up early, walk with these people in this mall, and then start the day.

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

Related: How to Watch Every Nate Bargatze Stand-Up Special