Julian Edelman Details Intense Preparation for Netflix’s Tom Brady Roast

Patriots

“I needed reps, a preseason game, and then I wanted to get in the game.”

Julian Edelman is no stranger to playing under pressure. However, before taking the mic during Netflix’s “The Roast of Tom Brady” on Sunday, the former Patriots wide receiver admitted to feeling a bout of stage fright.

“All the athletes were pretty nervous,” Edelman said Thursday on FOX’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” “Just because you’re going to go on stage, you’re going to speak in front of a lot of people, and you’re also speaking with professionals. Or take on professionals – these guys do this for a living, they’re comedians.

So Edelman, never one to be overshadowed — especially by his former costars — took his acting preparation to the next level. In an attempt to learn from the best, Edelman and his team of editors connected with “Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross’ team for a brainstorming session.

However, the meeting was becoming “overwhelming,” Edelman said. Even though he was clear about the type of jokes he wanted to make at Brady’s expense, he didn’t know how to present them to a live audience (and a live audience of two million people).

“Jeff could kind of sense that from me,” Edelman said of his growing nerves. “He says, ‘Hey, I’m going to do the Comedy Store next Thursday. Why don’t you come and I’ll have you at the back of my set?’

Edelman’s response: “Great, let’s do it.”

The three-time Super Bowl champion played a 12-minute set, treating the concert the same way he would a football practice before a big game.

“I needed step-by-step reps, I needed a preseason game, and then I wanted to get in the game,” Edelman said. “So the traveling reps were with my team where I was playing in front of them… We were in full roast mode for two weeks.

The Comedy Store concert was the perfect “preseason” game for the former Patriot, he said. It was there that he was able to perfect his timing, cadence and effect on stage.

And although he was exhausted by constant mischief during those preparatory weeks, Edelman’s practice paid off.

“It was nice to have that reputation,” Edelman told Cowherd.