The Current: Hey Seth! We’re thrilled to host you at Northwestern this fall for Homecoming. How are you feeling about being back on campus?
Seth Meyers: I’m very excited. I have a lot of the guys I graduated with who are coming as well, but mostly I just don’t want to mess up the parade being grand marshal and all. Yeah, it’s probably that grand marshal title that’s the biggest deal because I know that the grand marshal really sticks with people.
The Current: What were your plans when you first came to Northwestwern?
SM: When I first came to school I pretty much had no plans at all. I was initially a Radio/TV/Film major and thought that I wanted to be behind the camera but then I ended up falling in love with improv. I would go downtown and take classes at ImprovOlympic, and once I got started, I knew it would be silly for me to be behind the camera when I found I loved performing so much.
The Current: How was your experience with Mee-Ow and the improv scene?
SM: Wow, Mee-Ow. Well, it was so much fun, which is really the short answer. The guys that did it the years before me were sort of my heroes and I didn’t think I would get a chance to be in the show, but then I joined and the year I did it was amazing. Being on stage in front of people – well, it was like a drug. That sort of sold it for me, and I knew it was what I wanted to keep doing.
The Current: What is your funniest memory at Northwestern?
SM: We once thought it would be a good idea to put a keg in an unmarked white van and ride around while Northwestern played Iowa. We definitely got pulled over, and we definitely got arrested. Okay, we didn’t actually get arrested. But we got a firm “talking to” from the Iowa highway patrol.
The Current: What was your favorite spot in downtown Evanston?
SM: Buff Joe’s was a big freshman place for me, and then Tommy Nevin’s was definitely another good one towards the end of school. Once you go there, you feel like an adult. And I’ll probably feel really old when I go back there now.
The Current: If you could tell the student body now one thing you took away from Northwestern, what would it be?
SM: In all seriousness, it was the people that I went to school with. I had great teachers and got a great education, of course, but as someone who is a performer, the other talent I was around was really amazing to me. I got so much out of watching people when I was 18 or 19 who I can still be inspired by, and that’s really incredible. Some of the people I know from Northwestern are still my closest friends. And hey, that made a case for my parents, showing them that I really did meet great people and didn’t waste all of their money.
The Current: What does Northwestern mean to you now that you’re a celebrity?
SM: My parents went to Northwestern, my brother went to Northwestern, I was born at the Evanston Hospital. And even though I grew up in New England, Evanston still has a really special place in my life even where I am now. The people that I met there have really helped me get to this point. I’m excited to be back because I’ve really been meaning to make a visit like this.
– Jacqueline Andriakos
Catch Seth Meyers in action this weekend by attending the Homecoming parade on Friday. Meyers will lead the parade, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at Lincoln and Sheridan and will continue southward on Sheridan to the Arch.
