Zach Galifianakis Feared Sean Penn Was Actually Going to Punch Him on ‘Between Two Ferns’: ‘I Told the Director We’re Done’ | Video

Zach Galifianakis’ brand of cringe comedy was the perfect formula for his mock celebrity talk show “Between Two Ferns,” but in conversation with the “Good One” podcast on Thursday, the “The Hangover” star remembered pushing one guest a little too close to the edge.

The actor revealed he cut his 2010 interview with Sean Penn short out of fear that the Oscar winner was actually going to punch him.

“I’ve interviewed one person before and I thought they were legitimately angry at me and I told the director we’re done. I’m not confrontational in that way, and they were like, ‘Well, you don’t have anything.’ [I said,] ‘Well, we have enough,'” Galifianakis said. “I thought someone was going to hit me.”

He soon enough shared that it was Penn, who any fan of the Funny or Die web series will remember as being particularly cantankerous toward Galifianakis’ brand of humor.

The episode runs under four minutes long and doesn’t quite get the rat-a-tat back-and-forth between guest and host that the show became known for. Penn mostly grumbles his way through a few answers and otherwise puts Galifianakis on ice.

At one point, after Galifianakis (playing his fictional twin brother Seth as a guest host) gets moody about Penn dismissing his movie pitch about a taxi-driving pug, Penn threatens to punch him.

“Let me tell you something, this country boy right here is not really intimidated. I’ll follow you home tonight,” Galifianakis says.

“I’ll knock you the f—k out right in your chair,” Penn responds, deadpan.

The episode doesn’t last much longer after that.

In 2012, “Between Two Ferns” producer Scott Aukerman remembered Penn as an especially difficult guest.

“Sean Penn, that’s a really uncomfortable one,” he told Vulture. “When he threatens to knock Zach out, things got really tense in the studio. I haven’t seen Sean Penn since then, but quite honestly, I’m afraid to ever see him again.”

Watch Galifianakis’ “Good Ones” podcast interview in full below:

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