‘SNL’ veteran Colin Jost talks comedy as craft and coping mechanism with Brown students

"Steve Martin and Martin Short had some of the best comedy careers in history - they're some of the funniest people I've ever met - and they're still worried about: 'Am I still funny? Am I still making good work?'" Jost said. "If you're a certain kind of person, whatever field you work in, that feeling never leaves you."

Apparently, it never leaves your mom, either. Despite decades of success in the industry, Jost joked that his mom still thinks he and his brother, who works on the television series "Impractical Jokers," should take the civil service exam to become firefighters - "just in case," he said.

The thought that he might have to swap a microphone for a firehose or another career passed his mind more than once or twice, Jost acknowledged, especially when he began work on "Weekend Update."

"'Weekend Update', when I started, was deeply, existentially stressful," Jost said, "I felt like I was really bad at it and failing super hard, and people noticed. Early reviews were, I'd say, 'politely scathing.' That was horrible, and it was for three solid years of my life. But it started turning. Eventually, I started not feeling that constant dread, and now [co-anchoring 'Weekend Update'] is genuinely something I look forward to at the end of every week."

As a writer on "SNL" for nearly 20 years, he is intimately familiar with rejection. Jost shared that he's had over 1,000 pitches rejected by his writing team, legendary "SNL" creator (and his boss) Lorne Michaels and even the television network censors. Jost shared some material that ended up on the cutting-room floor during a portion of the talk that got some of the loudest laughs and hushed "ooooohs" of the night.

After reflecting on his journey through self-doubt and eventual confidence, Jost shifted the tone to something a bit more personal - and often hilarious - by fielding questions from the audience. In his responses, Jost dished out life advice, shared "SNL" memories and musings and talked about his relationship with award-winning actress and six-time "SNL" host Scarlett Johansson.

"If you have friends who are funny, your life will be happier," Jost said. "And if you have a partner in life who's funny, it's going to get you through a lot of hard times."

As Jost continues his work on "SNL" he said he's overwhelmed by the prospect of what's next in his career. Between writing a television pilot, running an advertising agency, writing and acting in films, writing novels and filming a stand-up comedy special, he said there are a lot of unknowns in his future - but there's one thing he's entirely sure about.

"I can guarantee I will certainly say the word 'brown' in a joke slot," Jost said, responding to an audience question about the possibility of Brown getting a shout-out in an upcoming "Weekend Update" segment. "And when I do, you'll all know I'm talking about Brown University."