John Mulaney’s had a tumultuous—and transformative—four years. In 2020, the baby-faced comedian surprised fans by checking into rehab for addiction to cocaine (and plenty of other pharmaceuticals). His marriage with Anna Marie Tendler ended that same year. He had a relapse, was the subject of an all-star intervention—featuring Nick Kroll, Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen and Natasha Lyonne—and stayed sober. He had a child with Olivia Munn and the two got married, in that order. Their second child—Méi June—was born in September.

Mulaney has addressed much of this in talk-show interviews and on his latest special Baby J already. Recently, he sat down with GQ’s Brett Martin for a long, detailed interview for the magazine’s Men Of The Year cover story. Occasionally joined by Munn, the comedian reflects on his journey from a Georgetown University improv group (which also featured Kroll and Mike Birbiglia) to global comedy superstar and Southern California family man.

Here are five of our key takeaways from the interview.

1. Mulaney’s Dad Sets A High Bar

Fans of Mulaney’s comedy will be familiar with his famously stern, straight-edge father. A corporate lawyer by trade, Charles W. Mulaney Jr is the very paragon of seriousness and responsibility, in stark contrast to his son. When Mulaney first told his father that he wanted to be a standup comedian, the response was dismay. “Best-case scenario, you’re like what, Steve Martin?” Charles apparently asked John, in genuine confusion.

Because apparently being one of the most well-known and beloved comic geniuses in the world is just not good enough. Are we sure there’s no Indian blood in the family tree?

2. Why He Loves To Wear His Suits

Ever since his 2012 comedy special New In Town, Mulaney has made it a point to appear on stage in natty, well-tailored suits. It turns out there’s more than vanity driving his sartorial excellence. The comedian tells Martin that he was performing at a club in Atlanta where all six comics on the bill wore the same “nerdy-white-guy” outfit as everyone in the crowd.

“I remember thinking, They paid money to see something. Why does it look like one of the audience members is standing onstage talking?” he told Martin. Indian comedians, please take notes.

With fatherhood, Mulaney now also has a more sentimental reason to wear suits to work. Soon after they decided to have their first baby, Munn says, Mulaney explained why the suits are important to him. “He said, ‘I want to come home and wear a suit every day. I want him to see his father come in and wear a suit and be proud of how he presents himself to the world. ”

3. His Random Drug Test Regimen

Mulaney’s hard-won sobriety has been good for him. He looks much healthier and happier, and many of the supposed “infirmities” that were his excuse for drug-taking have also disappeared—the light sensitivity he thought he suffered from, for example, or the ADHD he often mentioned in his act. But sobriety is tough to maintain. As part of his effort to stay clean, Munn gives him random drug tests. It’s a ritual they started when Munn was six months into their pregnancy, and their relationship was still new and nebulous.

 “It’s like a relief,” he tells GQ. “I like to be able to not even have that be a question in her or anyone else’s mind. Something about peeing in that cup is like, I’m walking this walk. It gives me confidence.”

4. Mulaney’s New-Found Love For Vietnamese Émigré Gossip

Mulaney has made no secret of his admiration for his mother-in-law Kim Munn, whom everyone calls “Miss Kim”. The 69-year-old—who escaped Saigon in 1975—is all over the comedian’s Instagram feed, and even accompanied him to an appearance on Seth Meyer’s talk show. It turns out, Mulaney and Miss Kim are like two peas in a pod.

“John has seamlessly fit in with my mom and aunts in a way that I have never been able to,” Munn told GQ. “They love the same movies. They love the same Vietnamese gossip.”

 “Every day I can be like, ‘Have you talked to Phung today? Have you talked to Hoan? What’s going on with her cataracts?’” says Mulaney. “It’s my own reality show. A series that never ends.”

5. He’s Bringing Back John Mulaney Presents: Everyone’s In LA

In May, John Mulaney put together and hosted John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s In LA, a six-episode live special/talk show with a star-cast of comedian guests, a bunch of man-on-the-street interviews, phone-in conversations, and pre-taped sketches. It was weird, zany and not without technical hiccups, but also a charming and endearing watch.

Mulaney is working on a new edition of the show, out on Netflix next February, this time with double the number of episodes. Mulaney says he’s keen on preserving the chaotic energy of the original run.  

“There’s a quote I heard about Edward Hopper, that he was a great artist but he was only a good painter,” he told GQ. “But if he had been a better painter, he would have been a worse artist. I sort of feel like if we tried to make the show better, it would be worse.”