A sweet time with comic Pete Holmes

The Largo regular's ideal off day includes a pancake, doughnuts and 'blue couch time.'

- BY KAILYN BROWN

Illustrations by LINDSEY MADE THIS; photograph by ASTRID STAWIARZ Getty Images for SCAD aTVfest 2018

Pete Holmes understands the art of conversation — especially the way to get people to open up about their secret weird tendencies.

It’s what helped Holmes, known for his youth pastor aesthetic and wholesome jokes, build his more than 20-year-long comedy career (his next show is Jan. 21 at Largo at the Coronet) and create his semi-autobiographical HBO series “Crashing.”

In 2011, Holmes launched “You Made It Weird,” an interview-style podcast that delves into topics like the meaning of life, mental health, art and everything everything in between.

More than 1,000 episodes later, he is celebrating the 14th anniversary of the show and has recently signed with podcast network Lemonada Media (which is also home to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ “Wiser Than Me,” “The Sarah Silverman Podcast” and “Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know”).

“I've never for a second considered stopping, which is a good sign that you're doing something you’re supposed to do,” says Holmes, whose guests have included John Mulaney, Maya Rudolph, Anna Kendrick, Kenan Thompson and Henry Winkler.

Once a week, Holmes co-hosts the show with his wife of eight years, Valerie Chaney.

His nervous system also assures him that he’s found the right project. While Holmes says he feels "tense" before his stand-up sets, there's a sense of comfort in sitting face to face with someone and simply having a conversation.

"When I'm doing my podcast, especially in person, there's very, very little tension," he says. "It's the thing in show business, I've found, that winds me up in a bad way the least." Here's how Holmes would spend an ideal Sunday in L.A. with Chaney and their 7-year-old daughter, Lila.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.

8 a.m.