Knights, Camera, Action: Comedian Mike Sweeney gets last laugh with another Emmy win

There's a lot of factors that go into telling a good joke and for Rutgers alum Mike Sweeney, it's been quite the journey finding his voice. From performing stand-up in the heart of New York City to writing jokes for TV, he made sure to get his reps in and wait for the right moment. After all, comedy is all about timing. 

So when the opportunity came to work alongside Conan O'Brien, he jumped on it. Now, three Emmys later, it's undeniable — he found the punchline.

In an interview with The Daily Targum, the veteran comedian reflected on his latest win, his time clowning around in the entertainment industry and going on three decades of collaboration with a late-night legend.

Before he became an invaluable member of Team Coco, Sweeney's career had humble beginnings on the Rutgers—Newark campus. Due to circumstances out of his control, he didn't have much of a say in where he went to college. Still, he made the most of the opportunity, commuting 30 miles every day from his hometown of Montvale.

Any commuter will attest to how lonely the lifestyle can be, but he made a valiant effort to put himself out there. He starred in school productions, including "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," hosted a radio show and wrote a humor column for the University's now-defunct newspaper, The Observer.

Most importantly, though, he got pretty good at navigating the Garden State Parkway and its tolls, way before E-Z Pass was a thing.

"Back then, they had exact change baskets," he said. "I got good at throwing the quarters in from the passenger seat, over the hood of the car, and going in the basket. That was a big, big life skill I learned."

In the classroom, he majored in History and minored in English and music. By the time he graduated, he was well on his way down the pre-law track, but he always had second thoughts. He wanted to pursue comedy, but his mother convinced him to enroll in law school, instead.

He would finish up law school and move to New York City, the comedy bug sticking with him along the way. For a while, he led a double life as a trial lawyer by day and a stand-up comic by night.

But, the two worlds would often bleed into one another, providing new life experiences that would pay dividends in his writing. He noted a specific instance when he did some crowd work on a jury that angered a no-nonsense federal judge.

"I remember, I kept joking around with the jury and he called me up to the bench. He said, 'If you make one more joke in my courtroom, I'm going to hold you in contempt,'" Sweeney said. "It was an interesting life experience."

As the better half of his 20s passed him by, he finally confronted an issue that he'd been internally struggling with for years. He didn't want to be a lawyer. He wanted to be a full-time comedian.

With his foot already through the door of the comedy scene, Sweeney now had the green light to completely kick it off its hinges. Seven nights a week, he took to the stages of various New York clubs, honing his craft to better stand out among his peers. 

One skill that improved with his consistency was his improvisational ability. Unlike the crowds in San Francisco, East Coast audiences were much less forgiving. He had to work hard to impress them and secure a recurring spot in one of the six major comedy clubs in the city, which required an unbelievable amount of dedication.

"I took two weeks off for the first time when I got married and we went on our honeymoon. And I came back and I was like, 'Ew.' Like your timing's off, it's kinda crazy," he said. "Most comedians, famous comedians, they just did it. You had to do it every night. Just had to keep doing it."

It was a grueling process, but it allowed him to network and get his name floating in the ether. At any point, a random executive or agent could walk into an open mic, discover an up-and-coming talent and jumpstart their career.

Eventually, Sweeney was able to leverage all his hard work for a warm-up gig on "Politically Incorrect." In this role, he improvised with the audience, brought out the band and introduced the host.

After welcoming a baby into his family, Sweeney sought greater job security. Fortunately, an opportunity arose that offered both stability and the chance to flex his creative muscles: a position as a writer for "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

It was another grind, five nights a week, hours spanning well past midnight, but, by now, Sweeney had proved he was more than capable.

"A lot of times, I'd be downstairs editing something for that night's show — I'd have to literally run up the stairs at Rockefeller Center to run out and do the warm-up, and then go back down and finish editing the piece for that night's show," he said. "It was kind of crazy. It was exciting."

Sweeney has stuck with O'Brien through his various eras, from his network talk shows like "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" and "Conan," to his recent travel programs, "Conan Without Borders" and "Conan O'Brien Must Go."

Their working dynamic, whether operating from a studio or the countryside of Ireland, has gifted viewers with countless iconic moments. For Sweeney, it's been an absolute pleasure working alongside O'Brien.

"He's the funniest guy I ever met — so smart and so funny," he said. "It's been fun. I mean, I said 30 years, but it's gone, it's rocketed by."

For his contributions to the small screen, Sweeney has amassed a decorated resume: more than 20 Primetime Emmy nominations and, now, three wins. After coming up short so many times and factoring in the steep odds of winning, or even being considered, the nomination was a win itself.

So, when he finally won his first two awards, the recognition truly sank in, leaving him feeling, "absolutely shocked," and surprised.

Today, Sweeney stands as a true Rutgers success story, exemplifying the good things that come from positioning oneself to realize their potential and dreams. It all began with a few bets on himself — small steps that, while seemingly insignificant at the time, built upon one another.

"(You) get in front of a crowd of strangers and sometimes you think, 'Oh, I'm never going to get better than this.' But you do," he said. "You're constantly getting better and you don't really realize. It's very incremental. So you just have to keep doing it. You have to give yourself a chance by doing it as often as possible."