We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably did not know about Jon Stewart, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more fascinating facts about the former host of The Daily Show that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you find out!
Number Eight: His Comedy Developed as a Defense Mechanism. Stewart has said that his sense of humor originally stemmed from anything that made him different as a child – for example, the facts that he is both Jewish and short. He calls his original style of comedy “preemptive-strike comedy.”
Number Seven: He Doesn’t Plan Ahead. Rather than focus on future life plans, Stewart makes an effort to focus primarily on the present. He has said, “People who worry about where they’re going next generally don’t end up where they think they’re going.”
Number Six: He Dissed Oprah. In an interview with Oprah in 2005, she tried to analyze how potential pain in his childhood developed into his comedy. He shot back with, “If you look at anybody’s life, you could find the pain in it and say that what they do is born of that pain.” He went on to say that his childhood was no more remarkable than anyone else’s.
Number Five: He Is a Man of Extremes. Stewart has said that he has two speeds in his life – he is either going full-throttle or not at all. He admits that he needs downtime to balance his hectic lifestyle.
Number Four: He Is Not Very Social. Stewart has admitted that he shies away from many social situations, and once he even passed up the chance to pick up an Emmy because he didn’t want to attend the awards ceremony. He has been referred to many times as a “highly functioning hermit.”
Number Three: He Separates His Home Life From His Work Life. According to his wife Tracey, Stewart never talks politics or even world events at home. She says that while he is a little silly, he isn’t a full-on comedian at home.
Number Two: He Wants to Solve Problems. Stewart has expressed frustration in regards to the direction the United States is going on many occasions. Specifically, he thinks that most Americans “think about all the wrong things rather than solve the problems.”
Number One: He’s a Family Man. According to his wife, parenting comes easily to Stewart. She says that their relationship works because they both have the same values when it comes to family.