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Road Trips With Fellow Performers

During his early career on the college comedy circuit, Key often shared long drives with Jordan Peele. "He's a very calming influence. I'm a very talkative person; only as I've gotten older have I realised that I can embrace silence. I learned that from Jordan. [One time] – I think we had left St Louis and we were driving to Columbia, Missouri – and we were driving on the road and I just felt a real sense of brotherhood with him, but there were no words spoken. It was an epiphany for me. We had such a good time with each other. And sometimes those good times were times where we were just existing."

Dream Road Trip Crew

Key imagines traveling with legendary actors such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jane Fonda, and Christopher Walken, imagining their stories from decades past. "I'd love to travel with older actors, like Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jane Fonda and Christopher Walken. They'd go, 'I remember in 1968, I was here and we did this.' I like hearing about people's history and their stories, especially travel stories. But at the same time, I'd throw a wild card in there, like Jim Carrey. That would be fun."

Road Trip Essentials

For Key, some items are nonnegotiable. "Gotta have books. I'm a physical book person, I like to turn a page. Even if I don't crack it, I have to have a book just in case. And I do keep snacks in my backpack. I like to bring my own tea bags or my own chocolate mix so that I can mix my own drink for myself. I have a thing that has reishi mushrooms in it, for mental focus."

Memorable Encounters and Favorites

Road trips have also introduced him to colorful characters. "There was a guy who used to give ghost tours in New Orleans. He was very elegant and he had this very dashing Van Dyke [facial hair] and he kind of dressed like a pirate. He does these ghost tours at nighttime, but when I saw him during the day, he was dressed the same as he was at night. So I was like, 'Oh, this is him. This is his lifestyle.'"

When asked about his favorite road trip movie, Key cited Midnight Run. "It's Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, you can't really lose. They're leaving a big city and they end up in the West. They go into this little saloon and they're trying to get money and they pretend that they're FBI agents. Charles Grodin just looks at this one guy and says, 'Have you seen anybody suspicious around here?' and the guy he's talking to is the most suspicious looking person you've ever seen. Most of the people in that scene were locals, not actors, and it's just sublime. Midnight Run's a great caper, but it's also a good road movie."

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.