Five years after Trainwreck, director Judd Apatow was now nearly two decades into his storied career as Hollywood’s leading comedy director. For his next film, Apatow would return to a now familiar formula: Collaborating with a young star-in-the-making to craft a deeply personal, semi-autobiographical character study that mixed big laughs with honest self-examination.

This time, his muse would be then-26-year-old Pete Davidson, a stand-up wunderkind turned Saturday Night Live superstar more well-known for his list of famous ex-girlfriends than his film and TV roles. But Davidson had a mission with his first big movie, emotional baggage he needed to process in order to grow not just as an actor and comedian, but a person.

In interviews, Apatow had often said his love of working with actors in their first projects stemmed from their hunger and passion for finally bringing their story to the screen, and in Pete Davidson, he may have found his ultimate collaborator. This is THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND.

No guests. Just vibes.

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