Maybe I was just lucky and got him at the right moment. On the other hand, if I had been the HR interviewer, I probably would have asked better follow-up questions and maybe, at some point, have said something like, "Gee, your answers are pretty curt. Am I asking the wrong questions or is something else going on?" I…

That's probably true. When I interview someone, my goal is to get them to talk about things I'm curious about. My questions can be very challenging, but the interview isn't a contest that one of us wins and the other loses.

I had a great interview with Lewis just a few years ago. He was pretty darn brilliant in his observations about show business — and very articulate. I don't share his views on certain things (some of my favorite stand-ups are female, for example), but I found little ways to let him know that I understood the context…