Sasheer Zamata - Getting Witchy in “Agatha All Along” | The Daily Show

Please welcome Sasheer Zamata. [APPLAUSE] N/A N/A N/A Sasheer. - Jordan. Oh my gosh. - Oh my gosh. - Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I see this-- is it witch season already? It's been witch season. It's spooky time. It is. It comes earlier every year. Is that because of, like, dark magic? - Money. - It's money. - It's money. - It's money? It's not climate change? - No, it's money. It's money. I think so. I feel like I saw, like, Home Depot skeletons in April. I think they're really just trying to, like, get you to buy more stuff. It is. And please buy my stuff. Please buy into my spooky stuff. People want to be a little spooked out right now. - Yeah. - Yes. I've been fearful for years prepping for this. Yeah. But that's more of my own issue, I think. Right, right, right. Now, I first met you a decade ago. - I know. - I know, right? - Yeah, doing comedy. - Doing comedy. Yeah. Back when there were things to laugh about in this world. And now my inner soul has died. Again, this is too much about me, Sasheer. But we were doing comedy at the UCB back in the day. And since then you've had SNL. You've had a plethora of TV shows. Now you're here in the Marvel Universe. Yeah, yeah. [CHEERING] N/A Do you miss those-- those sweaty basements doing improv comedy? I do. I'm so thankful for those sweaty nights doing comedy because I feel like you were in a incubated space where you can just try and fail and do whatever you want. And I do feel like it helped influence the rest of my career. Yeah. Do you feel the "Yes, And" ethos moving through it all? Yeah, truly. I mean, I do feel like I am pretty good at manifesting. And yeah, I think because of things like UCB, where you can be like, I just want to make this happen, I'll try it. And so, you know, I really wanted SNL, and I tried it, and then it happened. And I've been wanting to be in the Marvel Universe for so long, and it does feel like manifestation. You say it, and eventually it happens. Is that really how it works? I think there's other things in between, but like-- - Yeah. - Yeah. Because if it was just saying, "I want to be in the Marvel Universe," I say that kind of whenever I can, and it has manifested zilch up until this point. Well, you're not a witch. I need to be a [BLEEP] witch. Yeah. Well, you joke about this, but you-- you had a stand up special this year, The First Woman. Yes. And you talk about witches in it. And this is pre getting to be a witch in the Marvel Universe. Yeah, it's really-- it felt very kismet. I was already doing a lot of research on witch lore and history for my special, and I've just been a fan of witch culture. And then I got asked to audition for this show, and then I was like, did you guys know that you're hiring a witch? Like, it feels really appropriate. How witchy are you on a scale of zero to Salem? Like, where are you? [LAUGHS] Don't burn me. I would say like somewhere in the middle. I have crystals. I don't charge them. I wish I was that person. I wish I was a routine person. But I just, like-- I forget. But everything's in my house, I just don't use it all the time. I was given a witch candle that I had to burn every time I worked on a creative process. - That's great. This project I was working on. Yeah. Did it help? No, I wasn't able to write any jokes. But I don't blame the witchcraft. Again. I blame my own lack of willpower. Again, too much about me here. There's some nerve-wracking elements not only in the content of the show you're working on, but there's-- it's a great cast. Yeah. But you're also starring alongside Broadway legend Patti LuPone. - Yes. Yeah. [CHEERING] Wow. You have to sing in front of Broadway legend Patti LuPone. Yeah. Where does that rank on your stress level? I mean, she made us feel very comfortable. She's so down to earth, and she was so game to be a part of this team. And I feel like people were stressed about it, but she was like, oh, just sing, honey. You're great. It was so nice and refreshing. And it's funny because they didn't let us know that we had to sing for the show. Really? That was not a requirement for the audition. They just hoped for the best, and it worked out. That could definitely go awry. Yeah. But, you know, I can carry a tune, so it's fine. Yeah? My go-to is always like, could I Johnny Cash it? Yeah, just like-- Just talk deep as slow as I can. And usually they're like, no, we didn't even cast you in this, so please go back out there. Stop asking. Stop asking. You're in the Marvel Universe and the Disney Universe. Not your first Disney job. Is that correct? No, I have-- I have started way back in my college days. I did the Disney College Program where-- JORDAN KLEPPER: We have a picture right here. SASHEER ZAMATA: Yeah, that's me as a lizard. Yeah. What does that entail, being a lizard at Disneyland? - At Disney World-- - World. --in Orlando. OK. [APPLAUSE] And yeah, I walked on stilts in Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. I was a character performer. I was friends with Pluto. You have to say that. Disney will come get you. I was friends with Pluto and Eeyore and Mrs. Incredible. Wait a minute, you had to be friends with Eeyore? That guy is such a downer. [LAUGHS] But he deserves love too. It's true. It's just hard. We all have-- yes, yes. [APPLAUSE] Give it up for Eeyore. Yeah. A lot-- a lot of sympathy for Eeyore here. N/A Was that a fun experience working there? It was very fun, yeah. It was like-- you know, kind of like a boot camp for performing. And then you get to interact with the kids directly. And these kids would run up to me whenever I was Pluto, and they were like, you remind me of my dog at home. And I'd be like, what does your dog look like? I'm almost six feet tall. Yeah. The nose to body proportion is all off. Like, what? You should check on your dog. You knew your acting was just that good when you're convincing little kids. - I was very convincing. Yes. Yes, well done. Now if you had to pick-- you're in a coven in this show. If you had to pick your ideal coven of witches-- we got Wicked Witch of the West. You got Sabrina, Teenage Witch. You got Kellyanne Conway. Who's-- who's in your ideal coven? First, absolutely Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau. OK. Oh, I like that. Yeah. Yeah. Angela Bassett as anybody can absolutely be my coven. I do love Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. She just-- so many hijinks. So many hijinks. The Sanderson Sisters and the Craft girls. All the Craft girls. All of the Craft girls. Just a big, big coven. Was there-- there seems to be a bond on set in the coven that you had. Did that exist off set as well? Truly, yeah. I mean, we have a coven group chain, and we text each other when there's a full moon. And, like, check on each other during retrograde. It's really sweet. And I saw Patti in her play this week, and-- which you should also go see. The Roommates. I saw Joe on Sweeney Todd. You know, we still, like, bip and bop in and out of each other's lives. And it's really nice to have a group of people you can rely on like that. - That's very nice. That sounds lovely. [APPLAUSE] N/A I will tell you retrograde's not a great time for me either, so if you guys want to check on somebody else, I'm around. - Oh, OK. I think you still have my number. Uh, I think I may have lost-- it's been a long time. It's been so long. Yeah, it's been-- it's been a very long time. A very long time. It's so wonderful to see you here and how well you're doing. Sasheer Zamata, everyone. Agatha All Along premieres September 18 on Disney Plus with new episodes.