The comedian said he has not made any decisions about his future, but frequently finds himself considering retirement.
Jimmy Kimmel remains an increasingly prominent voice in Hollywood, gleefully mocking Netflix at Disney’s Upfront events and using his platform to draw attention to America’s gun violence problem. But even at the height of his powers, the late night comedian frequently thinks about stepping away from it all.
“I wish I knew I was gonna do,” Kimmel said on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast. “I have moments where I go, ‘I cannot do this anymore.’ And I have moments where I go, ‘What am I gonna do with my life if I’m not doing this anymore?’ It’s a very complicated thing. And there are practical considerations, and there are family and friend considerations and coworker considerations.”
This is far from the first time the comedian has considered ending his ABC show. Kimmel has been open about his conflicting feelings about retirement for years, though he is adamant that he has yet to make a decision about his future.
“Eventually, I am going to have to stop doing this,” he said. “I’m not going to do this forever. I would not be honest at all if I said that I have decided one way or the other. I’m thinking about it a lot, though.”
Regardless of when he ultimately decides to leave, the comedian is happy that he recently checked a major item off of his late night television bucket list: trading places with Jimmy Fallon. The two comics pulled off a viral April Fools’ Day prank this year by hosting each other’s shows, with Fallon appearing on ABC from Los Angeles and Kimmel hosting “The Tonight Show” from New York City. Kimmel revealed that he came up with the idea years ago, and was eager to make it happen while the calendar allowed it.
“I thought it’d be funny to do with Jimmy Fallon because so many people confuse us,” he said. “I think I pitched this like four or five years ago. But for whatever reason, COVID being two of the big reasons, it didn’t work out. This year, I was like, we have to do this because April Fool’s Day is falling on a weekend next year. And we did get it done. And it was amazing that as many people who knew about it, it didn’t get out. It really is surprising that it didn’t.”
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