Michael Schur speaks at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony
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00:00Thank you, everyone. This is truly a surprising moment in my life.
00:04To be honest, I was not aware that this was an honor that a writer could receive.
00:11TV writers get earnestly excited when the lunch order from Chipotle comes with free chips.
00:17So you can only imagine how overwhelming this was.
00:20So thank you, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
00:22Thank you, Perlina Abakwe, Aaron Underhill, Jim, Joanne, everyone at Universal Television.
00:27My continuous home since January of 1998.
00:3127 years consecutively.
00:36Mr. Beast was born in May of 1998.
00:41So my relationship with Universal TV is older than Mr. Beast.
00:46That is incredible.
00:48I think. I don't really know who Mr. Beast is.
00:51And I'm too old to learn.
00:54But it sounds incredible.
00:55Thank you as well to Bella Bajaria, Tracy and Andy from Netflix, also Matt Rice and Ken Richmond.
01:00My producing partners, David Miner and Morgan Sackett.
01:03And most importantly today, Ted Danson and Amy Poehler.
01:07Two first ballot Hall of Fame actors.
01:10And more importantly, two first ballot Hall of Fame people for speaking on my behalf.
01:16On the very first day of my professional writing life, day one, literally, at Saturday Night Live, I met my wife, JJ.
01:21She makes every day of my life better and more fun and more interesting.
01:27We have two dogs who love us unconditionally and two teenage children who kind of tolerate us.
01:34Being a parent is truly, of course, the most rewarding job of all.
01:40Last night I asked my daughter, Ivy, what I should say in this speech.
01:45And she looked me in the eyes and she said,
01:47Bro, you haven't written that already?
01:49Lock in.
01:50And then I asked my son, William, what I should say.
01:57And he looked up from his phone and he said,
01:59What do you think the Red Sox will do at the trade deadline?
02:03And I said, What?
02:05And he said, What?
02:07And I said, I asked you what I should say in my speech.
02:10And he said, Oh.
02:12And then he just kind of drifted out of the room.
02:14In the fall of my junior year of college, I was acting in a play.
02:20We were rehearsing a scene.
02:22I got frustrated.
02:23My friend asked me what was wrong.
02:24And I said, I know how the words should sound.
02:28But I just can't make my mouth say them the right way.
02:32And that was the first moment I understood that I was a writer.
02:36That's what a writer is.
02:37You know what the words should be and in what order.
02:39And then you let more talented and usually far better looking people actually say them.
02:45Writers hide in the shadows and untangle the story.
02:48Actors step into the spotlight and make those stories come to life.
02:51I am far more comfortable doing the former than the latter.
02:54Which means, if you think about it, I have spent the bulk of my life
02:59trying to avoid the exact situation that I am in right now.
03:05Standing on a famous street in a famous city.
03:07Everyone's staring at me.
03:10A single bead of sweat rolling down my back as I think about how uncomfortable I am.
03:17But yeah, there it goes.
03:20Ironically, I found it very hard to figure out what to say today.
03:23And I briefly considered getting a punch-up room together.
03:26Just throw a bunch of my friends in a room.
03:28Have them write me some good jokes.
03:30It would certainly have improved this speech a great deal.
03:32Because that's what comedy writers do.
03:34Clarify the premise.
03:36Write jokes.
03:37Make the script better.
03:39But comedy writers also then complain about the actors not delivering those jokes correctly.
03:44And since I'm the one delivering the jokes today, I didn't want you all judging me.
03:48People say that if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life.
03:54Those people are morons.
03:57I love what I do, and it's super hard.
04:00Riddled with self-doubt all the time.
04:02Everyone has imposter syndrome.
04:05You bang your head against a wall for months on end,
04:07and then ideas float into your brain seemingly from nowhere,
04:10with no indication where they came from or how you might go about obtaining another one when you need it.
04:16However, and this is why I believe TV writing is the greatest job in the world,
04:21you don't do it alone.
04:23TV writing, especially comedy writing, is a team sport.
04:28Without exception, everything I have ever written has been immeasurably improved
04:32by the work of other writers.
04:36I have spent the better part of 30 years in various rooms with dozens, hundreds,
04:41of the funniest people on earth laughing.
04:45Just straight up laughing.
04:48What a privilege to spend that time that way.
04:52The second that I learned that comedy writing was a job,
04:55it's what I hoped and dreamed my job could be.
04:58This odd and wonderful moment is as good a time as any
05:02to remember for the millionth time how fortunate a life I have led.
05:08I would not trade it for anything.
05:10I was, am, and will always be eternally grateful to everyone who made this possible,
05:16who taught me how to do the job, who took chances on me.
05:21And to any young writer out there dreaming of one day arriving at a moment like this,
05:26let me give you one piece of advice.
05:30Wear two undershirts.
05:33You're gonna look a little bulky,
05:35but when the beads of sweat soak through the first one,
05:38you still have a second one to hide the evidence
05:41of how truly awkward you feel when everyone is looking at you.
05:46Thank you all so much for this incredible honor.
05:48Thank you so much for your time.