"Colin Jost"

The SmartLess hosts—Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett—chat with longtime SNL cast member and Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost about his Staten Island upbringing, improbable purchases, comedy career trajectory, and current projects. Recorded amid casual banter about asbestos-laden offices, Lorne Michaels' documentary, and post-theater binges, the conversation traces Jost's path from a late-talking kid to Harvard humorist and TV staple.

Staten Island Roots and Family Ties

Jost grew up in a family of firefighters; his mother was chief medical officer for the New York City Fire Department and survived the South Tower collapse on 9/11. He didn't speak until age four, sounding like Carmela Soprano from The Sopranos when he finally did—his first words were "no shit," as his parents recall. No diagnosis followed; he walked on time and communicated nonverbally. For high school at Regis (a free Jesuit school on Manhattan's Upper East Side), Jost commuted 90 minutes each way daily from age 14 to 18 via bus, the Staten Island Ferry (often the decommissioned JFK), and subway. He used the time for homework, viewing it as routine rather than burdensome once in Manhattan with friends.