‘The Machine’ Bert Kreischer returns as the host for the Go Big Show season 2 along with returning judges Cody Rhodes, Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Nettles, and this season’s new host, T-Pain. The Go-Big Show is definitely going bigger this season with riskier acts that can go wrong at any moment but the ones that host, Bert Kreischer likes the best are the “hold my beer acts” that he feels the show is all about.
Screen Rant recently spoke with Kreischer about this season of The Go Big Show and he opened up about the type of acts he prefers to see and which judge he feels is the harshest. The Go Big Show host also talks about how he feels that the judges got the first season wrong.
Screen Rant: It’s great to see you, Bert. Listen, you keep the Go-Big Show moving and flowing as the host of season 2. We’ve definitely gone bigger this season. When you roll into work, what type of acts are you looking forward to seeing?
Bert Kreischer: I always like the hold my beer acts, the acts where it hadn’t always been thought and you can feel the energy of, “I hope this works.”
There’s a kid coming on soon. I just did his voiceover. He comes on next week. His name is Alan Parker, I think. And I mean, this kid will always have a special place in my heart. He’s an amateur escape artist, an amateur escape artist, an amateur escape artist.
He checks all the boxes of an amateur. The majority of the time, his mom and dad lock him up and throw them in the pool. I mean, this kid, it made me … I love this kid, and I love those acts. Horse, is a guy who breaks a vacuum over his balls. I love it. Those are the ones where I go, “This is our show.”
That’s amazing. That’s amazing. Now, is there ever a time where the judges have scored a contestant and you felt that they deserved the highest score and the judges got it wrong?
Bert Kreischer: Yes. All the time. In Season 1, I definitely was like, “They scored this one wrong,” the whole season, the whole season.
This season, they did a lot. In my opinion, they linked up more with what my interests were, what I liked. But there’s still, sometimes they get impressed over stuff that I go, “Eh, I don’t know.” As I said, I like the down-home stuff. I like to hold my beer ones. I like those. And sometimes, they like the more razzle-dazzle stuff.
I know you’re terrified of clowns and heights. This season, we’ve seen both already. What has been truly terrifying for you to watch this season so far?
Bert Kreischer: To be honest with you, anytime … Amazing Sadduck and Professor Splash, for me, were my two ones, where I was like, “If this goes wrong, it goes really wrong.”
They’re both, and I mean, this respectfully, they’re both men of the age. If they hurt themselves, it’s a game-changer. A broken hip at 60 years old is a game-changer. Those two ones specifically freaked me out. Those are the ones that really got me excited because there’s no net, there’s no nothing. There’s no safety. It’s just like, “Can he do it?”
Same thing. The Daredevil Daughter for me, when she was on top of that thing, jump roping and she tripped, my heart stopped. I was anxious for her.
Bert Kreischer: Dude, I’ve seen the video where the person falls on that exact same thing at a park, at a fair. And they fall, and they break their neck. I’ve seen that exact same contraption. When she went up there, I didn’t know she was going to stand on the outside of it. When she tripped, I was like, “Oh man.” My stomach dropped. I remember just going, “You’ve done enough. Get down, just get down.”
It’s crazy being in the room because we don’t know if something’s going to go wrong. Because it’s playing out live for us. when you watch it, you know chances are no one’s dead.
You get to stand to these contestants, as they’re seeing their fellow competitors compete while they’re doing their thing. Have you stood with any of those contestants and heard them just say the funniest stuff you’ve ever heard when they’re watching somebody else compete?
Bert Kreischer: I was sitting with someone one time, and I was like … I want to say it was JD Anderson. I was sitting with someone, and I was like, “If they catch on fire, you go to the next round immediately.” And they were like, “Oh, for real?” And I was like, “No, we don’t want them to catch on fire.” And he was like, “Oh, yeah. Yeah, you’re right. You’re right..”
Those guys, it’s so crazy, because they all kind of live together. All the contestants live in one hotel. I’m not sure I’m allowed to say that, but whatever. They all live in one hotel together for the whole month that we’re there.
They hang out with each other, so they know each other. In a weird way, no one’s ever talking trash about the other ones, they’re rooting for them, and they’ve seen their acts in rehearsals. These guys do their acts to warm up. They’re always super supportive. I’m always shocked.
Which judge do you think is the hardest to please? I mean, Cody Rhodes gave one of the lowest scores in an upcoming episode that I’ve seen.
Bert Kreischer: It’s Cody. Cody has a very discerning taste on what he believes the show to be and what he believes should be moving forward. Rosario gives out hundreds like their COVID tests. She’s like, “No, you need one. You need one too. You need one too.”
Jennifer is just rooting for everyone. T-Pain, I think T-Pain can get overcome by the razzle-dazzle, where he gets really excitable. Cody, man. Cody is brutal. He doesn’t mind telling you he doesn’t like you.
Yeah, he does not mind telling you. I also saw T-Pain catch a knife almost to the junk. That was intense to me as well. Kudos to him for doing that.
Look, one thing that I know about you is I know that you’re a big sneakerhead. I know that we’re switching gears here for a second, but I know you’re a big sneakerhead. I’ve seen you wear some of the coolest shoes I’ve ever seen, some Off-White Dunks by Virgil Abloh, which are incredible, and the SB Birdie Boy Dunks that you got from Dank & Co. Where did your passion for sneakers kind of come from? And have you had a chance to talk to T-Pain about his sneakers?
Bert Kreischer: Yes. Anyone who’s a little bit of a sneakerhead seeks out other sneakerheads. I have to say, I’m not a great sneakerhead because I just started getting into Yeezys. I just started appreciating Yeezys. I just got the Yeezy Boosts. I love them. Even the Off-Whites, I couldn’t wear the tag on them. So I was like, “That’s just too much.”
And then dumb me. I called my buddy Tom Segura, and I go, “Yeah, I cut the tag off.” And he goes, “Hey, you can unlace the shoe and slide it off.” And I went, “Oh, my God. I cut it.”
I got into sneakers and it was because of my specials. The first pair I got were black Jordan, black and gold Jordans, for Secret Time. Then I was like, I like the way they looked. And I was wearing these old Nike ACGs or whatever. And my wife was like, “You look like an old man in those.”
I started reaching out to other sneakerheads, Ron Funches is a sneakerhead, Chris Delia is a sneakerhead, Bernie Schaub is a sneakerhead. I started talking to them about certain shoes I liked, and I didn’t like. Then I fell in love with SBs. That’s what I’m wearing right now. I’m an SB guy. I love Nike SBs.
There are some pink and black Nike SBs that I was looking at that I really, really want.
Bert Kreischer: Dude, I want the Tiffany Dunks. They’re like $5,000. I got sent a fake pair, and I put them online. Dude, everyone hit me up. They’re like, “They’re fake, they’re fake. They’re fake.” And I was like, “No one can tell.”
That’s incredible. That’s incredible. Well, look, one last question I have for you. Speaking of T-Pain, he’s a new judge this season. What does he bring to the Go-Big Show this season around?
Bert Kreischer: I think wide-eyed enthusiasm. T-Pain literally is overwhelmed by every act. He is floored by everything we’re doing. Everything is not old hat to us, but we’ve seen a lot of stuff where we go, “Okay, I’ve seen a version of this.” T-Pain has not. And he is literally here for all of it. He’s like the racing heartbeat of the show. I love it. I love how excitable he is.