While Whoopi Goldberg graces the set of The View every weekday morning, she insists that her role on the show is markedly different from her performances as a standup comedian.

During today’s broadcast of the popular daytime talk show—which also happens to be the last live episode before a two-week holiday break—comedian Kumail Nanjiani joined the Hot Topics panel. He was there to discuss his new standup special, Night Thoughts, which impressively secured a Golden Globe nomination even before its release on streaming platforms.

{EDITOR’S NOTE: The View is currently on a break and will resume airing new episodes on Monday, January 5. Today’s program is a rerun of an episode that originally aired on December 19, the same day this article was first published.}

Nanjiani expressed his astonishment at the nomination, stating, “I was really, really surprised because it’s a very personal special. I didn’t do standup for about 10 years and came back to it. For me, it was really nice to get nominated for something that’s so close to me.”

The Only Murders in the Building actor shared that his return to standup comedy was prompted by the 2023 actors’ strike. He explained, “I was just sitting at home, feeling creatively frustrated, and I was like, ‘Let’s see if this is something I still like, and something I could still be good at.’”

Nanjiani was certainly in good company, with both Goldberg and Joy Behar starting their careers in standup comedy. While Behar said she hadn’t done any standup “lately,” Goldberg told him that she will “occasionally” hop back on the stage.

“How does it feel?” he asked, to which Goldberg replied, “Weird. Because where I am doing it, I’m a lot safer. It’s a muscle that, if you stop using it, it’s just a little weird. But you get back into it and then you’re done and you think, ‘Alright. I did that.’”

Nanjiani pointed out that Goldberg gets “to do a live performance often,” referring to her daily moderating duties on The View, which airs live every Monday through Friday.

“Well, yeah, but when you’re doing it in a standup thing, you’re doing a whole different thing,” Goldberg said. “Here, you’re an adult. In your standup, you don’t have to be. You get to be a kid.”

The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.