Spectator interviewed comedian-actor Tom Green, who will perform standup at comedy nightclub Caroline’s on Broadway Jan. 26 to 29 as part of his world comedy tour. Read more about Green in the Weekend issue. Here’s an excerpt from the end of the interview.

Lesley Thulin: Do you ever get nervous before you perform?

Tom Green: Oh yeah. I always get nervous before I go onstage and in fact I’m always nervous generally, in life. I’m full of anxiety all the time. I’m always flippin’ out about things and worrying about things and stressed out about stuff, and that kinda makes me who I am. And that’s why I like being a comedian because it gives me a chance to get up on stage and talk about all these things that stress me out. Before I go onstage I get definite strong sense of nerves and that’s really a big part of what makes standup fun. It’s the rush you get from releasing that nervous energy in front of a crowd. I think if you ever don’t get nervous before you go onstage, that’s usually not gonna be a good show. You got the nervous energy and the adrenaline. It focuses you and it helps you focus on everything that you’re gonna say and what it is you’re trying to accomplish. It gives you energy. It’s there for a reason.

LT: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done onstage?

TG: Hmm. I do a lot of crazy stuff. It’s almost impossible to say. You have to come down to the shows this week at Caroline’s and make that determination for yourself because it’s just A LOT of craziness going on.

LT: [laughs] My last question is a sort of word-association game. Tell me anything that comes to mind when I say the next three words. The first word is “yes.”

TG: [Pause] Yes!

LT: [Pause] Yes.

TG: Can I just say the same word or does that not count?

LT: That doesn’t count.

TG: What came to my mind instantly was, “Hey, I wonder what would happen if I just said the same word.”

LT: Okay, that works. So the second word is “game.”

TG: POP-O-MATIC TROUBLE. Or Hungry Hungry Hippo. I can’t decide.

LT: [laughs] The last one is “reality.”

TG: Um. [Pause] Reality, eh? [Pause.] Reality. Nothing came to mind when you said “reality.” I don’t know. My mind just went blank. Maybe just “…is hilarious” or something like that. “Reality is hilarious.” [Pause] I’m never good at word-association games. I get stressed out and I screw them up.

LT: I’m sorry. [laughs]

GT: [laughs] It’s okay. Actually maybe for “reality” I could say, “Reality is on Twitter @TomGreenLive.”