Jim Belushi Talks About the Double Edged Sword of Being John’s Brother on Grown Ass Men Podcast
Appearing recently on the podcast “Grown-Ass Men” Jim Belushi shared stories about John Belushi, “SNL40” and his sitcom. Jim may have emerged from under the shadow of his late brother, the legendary John Belushi, but has since built his own strong career, as an SNL performer, actor and the star of one of the longest running sitcoms in TV history, the nine-season “According to Jim.”
Belushi said the SNL 40 special was the best thing he ever did. “I can’t remember a time that I had more fun since the opening of “About Last Night” in 1986,” he said. “It was great because there was no award being given. It wasn’t an awards show, so it was just fun. People seeing each other who hadn’t in a long time. I met Emma Stone. I sang with Paul McCartney at the party. Taylor Swift got up and we sang: me, Danny [Aykroyd], Taylor Swift, and Paul McCartney—a Beatle! And he was like “What key do you sing this song in ,Jim?” And then Prince got up at the end and closed the night. The food was great. And Emma Stone! Standing there. And they know me!”
He also talked about his relationship with John. “My brother John was a big, big, big deal,” he said. “He made this international name and I’ve been riding his coattails ever since. And I’ve been doing great with it. I’ve been having a great career and a great life and I’m always grateful to him for opening the door for me. I always look at it like, being in his shadow. But think about what a shadow is, the metaphor of it—it’s shade. I’m in the cool of the day.”
There were of course benefits and the drawbacks of being John’s brother. Yes it opened doors, he said, but then it would create challenges. “The image of me had such a huge overlay because of John that I had to work double and in five minutes break that image and create my own and get cast,” he told the guys. “It was a real challenge to get gigs, because it almost…John was so big that it kinda crushed you. I just had to dig down like a tackle in football and push through the hole. So, it worked both ways.”
Later in the podcast Jim shared some advice that he recently shared with his daughter about success. “You gotta commit. You gotta submit to a commitment and anything that takes you off that path, you have to walk by,” he told her. “If you are focused on what you want and walk past the things that distract you, you’re gonna get there. And I mean, I’ve missed weddings, I’ve postponed two of my weddings for work! I made the births. We wrapped at 10:45 on According To Jim and made it to the hospital, and my son was born at 11:41. I just made it.”
“Nothing can get in your way,” he continued, “including, by the way, drugs, alcohol, women, gambling. Any of those things you use to distract yourself from purpose, purpose, commitment, commitment. From 16-23 I just wanted to be at Second City and everything I did supported that. I started my own improv groups at school, I observed human behavior constantly. I read the paper. I was constantly practicing in my head, in my mind. When I walked in for that audition, they put me right in. I went from there…and it helped to have John’s name. Thank you John, you did good!”
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