Damon Wayans Says ‘In Living Color’ Was Fox’s 'Dirty Secret' (Exclusive)

Decades after starring in one of the most beloved sketch comedy shows of all time, Damon Wayans told Men’s Journal why In Living Color felt like Fox's "dirty secret." He also shared other behind-the-scenes details about what it was like to work on the show, including an interesting fact about Jim Carrey.

During the interview, Wayans also spoke about his cult classic movie Blankman and about working on The Last Boy Scout with Bruce Willis and Halle Berry.

Why ‘Blankman’ Is Still Special to Damon Wayans

Men’s Journal: I'm a huge fan. I have to ask you about one of my favorite things ever. I loved this movie so much when I was growing up, and that's Blankman.

Damon Wayans speaking in the voice of his character from Blankman: You wouldn't understand. (Laughs)

Men’s Journal: When J-5 dies in that movie, it just broke my heart when I was young. Do you take pride in that movie?

Damon Wayans: I love that movie. I loved making all the movies I have made. But Blankman is special. I made it for my children, who are actually in the first scene, Damon and Michael. In hindsight, you know, as an actor, you have to understand the audience's perception of you versus your perception of yourself. I felt like I could do this movie. This is going to be a great character, and people will love it.

What I should have done is make it about Handi-Man from In Living Color. Tell the exact same story, but with Handi-Man. It would have been a huge movie because people had already seen me as an edgy guy. And I think Blankman was such a 180 from what they knew me as. I don't think people wanted to see me as a nerd. But it's a cult classic because it is really is funny. But the box office, I think people would have seen it if it was about Handi-Man.

Men’s Journal: I’m sure your career and your bank account probably would have enjoyed that a lot more, but selfishly, I have to say that I love it the way it is. So I’m happy you didn’t change it.

Damon Wayans: I have no regrets. I got a chance to work with David Alan Grier, Jon Polito, and Robin Givens. All those people were just like special, and it was a very fun, fun movie to do. Prince did the theme song. I was like, “This is insane.”

Why ‘In Living Color’ Felt Like “College” to Damon Wayans

Men’s Journal: I have to ask you about In Living Color as well. I grew up watching that show. I loved it so much. Do you have any behind-the-scenes memories that really stick out to you from your time working on it?

Damon Wayans: There are so many because it was like going to college. Right? We were on a lot, and we were the only show being shot on that lot. We were like the dirty secret for Fox. There was the Fox lot. And then it was just the WPIX. And it was just like a little lot that had a news station, and then it had this little soundstage. We would spend the night there.

Jim Carrey had an iguana that grew to be like an alligator, and he would scare everybody with it. He just thought it was the funniest thing in the world. This thing was big. After a while, we just played with the crocodile. We just had fun. There was never a dull moment. There was never yelling and screaming about “This sketch sucks.” It was always about, “Well, how do we make it better?” Everybody always had an idea to make something funny. Keenen had this thing where he was like, “I don't care if it's the prop guy or the guy who's making the sandwiches. If you have something funny to say, tell me, I want to hear it. And if it's good, we'll put it in there.” That's what In Living Color was like, the tone that Keenen created.

Like I said, it was just like the college of comedy. To this day, you know, I don't see Jim Carrey every day. Sometimes I don't see him for years, but when I do see him, it's all laughs. It's all love. It's like people who went to war together, you know what I mean? You always got the war stories. I don't think about In Living Color on a day-to-day, but when we get together, it’s like, “Hey, remember the time?” and it's just so much fun to go down memory lane with it.

Men’s Journal: I can only imagine how much fun that would have been to work with all those incredibly talented and funny people.

Damon Wayans: And the Fly Girls. Let’s not forget the Fly Girls. Being around them every day.

Related: Damon Wayans Urges Fans Not to Ignore This Hidden Diabetes Risk (Exclusive)

Men’s Journal: I watched In Living Color a lot as a kid. Then I grew up and watched it again as an adult. As a kid, I picked up on the fact that it was saying something in addition to trying to make you laugh, like Homie D. Clown. But once I watched it as an adult, I felt like there was a lot more going on. Did you take pride in being able to deliver commentary on topics that matter while also bringing viewers laughs and joy?

Damon Wayans: Well, what's interesting to me about that is Homie was just a clown that didn't like to do anything that he thought was degrading to him. There's a comedian named Paul Mooney who used to say, “Homie this.” and “Homie that.” That was the birth of Momie. The clown was Paul Mooney. I would tell him, “Come on, we've got to pitch.” And he would say to me, “No. Not in front of the white people.” It would be like, “But Paul, your job. You're a writer. You've got to pitch.” But, he’d still say, “No, not in front of the white people, homie.” So, these guys like Matt Wickline came up with Homie D. Clown, and I gave him the voice of the angry clown.

But people would read stuff into Homie D. Clown that I never intended. I have people coming to me, “Man, I like what you’re doing with the clown, man.” You know, “That red around the mouth with the white, like you took a bite out of whitey's ass. I love it.” And I’d go, “Wait, that's not what this is, man. It's just a clown. He's a mean clown.”

What Damon Wayans Learned Working With Bruce Willis

Men’s Journal: Another one of your projects that I absolutely love is The Last Boy Scout. I have to ask how much you enjoyed working with such incredible people as Bruce Willis, Halle Berry, Danielle Harris, and Tony Scott. Was that an awesome experience for you?

Damon Wayans: It was mind-blowing because it was like my first co-starring role in a major movie like that, and there's a huge difference. I went from doing I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and Hollywood Shuffle, which were movies where I had to be the actor and the caterer. Then, I was working on a movie where you have lobster and steak every day. You had options. Then there's Halle Berry. I got to do a love scene with Halle Berry. What?!

While I was working with Bruce Willis, I learned what a star is. I remember one night he sent his jet to New York to get some pizza for the whole cast and crew because we were working like a 14-hour night. So, he sent the jet, and it came back, and we had Ray's pizza at like three o'clock in the morning. And it's like, “Do you know how much money you spent to get his pizza? That was crazy.”