Connor Wood

Connor joins me over Zoom, him in sunny California, me in rainy New York. Even through a computer screen, there’s an immediate warmth to him as we settle into a conversation that wanders through the people, places, and unexpected moments that make up his world. We talk about everything from the relationships that have expanded his life to the quicksilver pace of being on Dancing with the Stars, and to the cultural phenomenon of Eighth Avenue. Beneath his playful humour and comedic observations is someone who thinks deeply about the people in his life, the experiences that have shaped him, and his stories that rarely travel in a straight line.

These days, Connor has found himself in an entirely different kind of spotlight, trading his familiar for a pair of dancing shoes and sideburns on Dancing with the Stars. Alongside Rylee Arnold, he's learned to navigate the ballroom, embrace the unfamiliar, and discover just how much can happen when you allow yourself to be a beginner. And while the dance floor may be a far cry from his usual surroundings, perhaps it's not so different from the world he's built for himself: a little unpredictable, occasionally chaotic, and always full of stories. Week after week, Connor's journey is a reminder that the magic of Dancing with the Stars isn't about getting every step right, but about the determination, vulnerability, and heart it takes to put yourself out there, stumble along the way, and find joy in the process.

Vote “Connor” to 21523 on Tuesday night during Dancing With The Stars!

We have so much to talk about! Between stepping into the world of beloved Disney characters and taking on the team dance (Go Wildcats!), you had quite the week! Before starting Dancing With The Stars, you initially said there was no pressure because there were no expectations. Now that you've come this far, how has that mindset changed, if at all?
That was well said by me! I can't believe I said that. I feel like there are expectations now. It sucks when I start reading stuff like, "He's doing really well” and I'm like, "Don't say that. Anything could happen." I'm already stoked at how far I've gotten, how much I've learned, and how well we're doing. But my expectations have been blown to bits, and now whatever happens, happens. Expectations have gotten bigger as we go. It’s becoming more real.

Of course! I want to go back in time to your Dedication Night dance. You mentioned how a lot of your childhood was spent in the hospital visiting your dad, but your dad would never miss a tennis match or a vacation. I think, as kids, you don’t have the full picture of what your parents go through. Did Dedication Night make you think back on that time differently?
I just saw a video this morning of him in the ballroom high-fiving the people behind him. I'm like, “Who are those people that you're high-fiving?” Like, leave them out of this. It's probably another contestant's family. But his attitude is just phenomenal, and he gave me so much of that. It’s an overwhelming outward-facing positivity, which is so cool. I call it “the podcasting gene.” We talk to everybody. I admire that so much as an adult now, because I'm a complainer. I didn't get the “don't complain gene.” I'll complain about anything. What I appreciate is his perspective that anything I complain about is pretty small potatoes in comparison.

Going off of that, what qualities do you admire most in the people you're closest to?
Contentment. I don't know many outwardly content people, but when I see them, I think it’s really cool. And time management skills. I think contentment and time management skills go hand in hand. When you handle your day-to-day tasks, your mind is clearer.

I'm trying to be more Type A when it comes to time management.
Yes! I admire Type A people. Brooke always says that I'm Type C because she’s never seen anyone who operates the way I do. But it puts me in a lot of situations that lead to good stories. So I do appreciate it, even though [being Type C] is definitely not making my life easier.

So, I also want to talk about your friendship and partnership with Rylee on Dancing with the Stars. If you and Rylee had to compete in something completely unrelated to dancing, what would you choose?
I wouldn't say Survivor because we are both on DoorDash a lot, so that wouldn't work. I would say The Traitors, but I think they take you back and kill you if you mess up on The Traitors. She would be dead in a heartbeat. You know what? We would be on American Ninja Warrior. She's so ripped; I couldn't do much to help us. Maybe I could distract while she does the obstacle course. She's such an athlete. I feel like she could fly past those obstacles and the balls that throw you into the mud. That might be a different show. Whiplash?

[Editor’s Note: The show is Wipeout]

Other than dance, what has Rylee taught you?
She told me there's a laundry service that picks up your laundry from your apartment so you don't have to do it in your unit. Honestly, that's a big one. That sounds like I'm joking, but it's little life hacks that gave me more mental real estate to focus on dancing. You'd be shocked how exhausting it is and how much it takes out of you. I can't imagine doing all of this and then having a kid. I'm talking about my laundry; I can't imagine getting home and having so many tasks to do. She’s also helped a lot with what to do when I get home. She's like an influencer IRL. I’m like, “What are those things you have on your feet?” “What's that wrap you have?” She's a good influencer. Honestly…[Connor looks down] even these Summer Fridays eye patches, for example! They are sitting right at my computer. Rylee told me to get them, and now there are a bunch in my fridge too.

I remember watching Dancing with the Stars growing up, and every week it was a huge deal to watch it with my mom. I would stay up past my bedtime and call in to vote. So, for you, how has it been to be a part of a show that is so nostalgic for so many people, while also creating your own memories along with it?
It's been massive. Sometimes, it feels like a completely different show. I had a moment up on the stage during my Halloween dance, where I was like, Oh, I'm on that show. I am on Dancing with the Stars. I still feel like we're moving so fast. The pace of the show is so ridiculously fast, and the inbound information going into your brain is happening so fast. We are doing two dances a week now, and when we're not dancing, we're filming pre-show and post-show stuff. I don’t have a second to soak in that I have been on the show for nine weeks, and only three weeks left. And the weight and scale of the show haven’t sunk in. I think it will take one month following the show [for it to sink in]. I don't even watch my dances when I get home; I go straight to bed. I'm sure I'll do a little marathon when the season ends, if I can stomach it.

And it’s all online too, for example, the best Halloween dances from the last ten years!
Yeah, I keep telling Rylee I think we’ll end up in one of those compilations because of her Halloween dance; I think it might have bought us a spot.

I’ve been saying that! It’s because of that jump you did over the couch. Switching gears a bit away from Dancing with the Stars, you said in an interview with Grace O’Malley that it took you a long time to put ‘comedian' in your bio because you felt like the title really had to be earned. Is there a specific point where you felt like you earned this title?
Yeah. I think it was when I finished my first leg of the tour, which I just wrapped. [Laughs] The three-year tour that I just finished. During the first leg of the tour, I think it was forty shows in a row that sold out. I can put it in my bio because what am I doing on the road at all these sold-out shows if it's not comedy? Spoken slam poetry? Genuinely, for easy navigation to my account, I just put it in there. A comedian can look like anything. I came to terms with that too. For example, you look at Will Ferrell and say he’s a comedian, but he doesn't do stand-up. So I thought that ‘comedian’ could be an all-encompassing blanket term that I fall under, whether I think my stand-up is up to par with other people calling themselves comedians.

I've been listening to your podcast for the last four years, and you are both so down-to-earth and hilarious. It's amazing watching you both do such big things now. I am so happy you put ‘comedian’ in your bio.
Thank you! I really appreciate that. That’s so sweet.

If you could go back in time and give your younger self a piece of advice, what would you say to him? And on the flip side, is there anything you think your younger self could teach you now?
No, I don't think my younger self could teach me anything genuinely, and he's still with me right now, 100%. People are always like, "Oh yeah, my younger self." For me, he’s still here. He’s very present. I don't take advice very well. I hate when people give me advice. I have to find the advice myself. I hate it when their advice is right. I hate when people are like, “If you work out four days a week and you get sunlight and an adequate amount of water, you look better.” And I'm like, “Get out of here. I don't want to hear that.” I find that annoying now because they are right. The biggest piece of nothing-burger advice is to trust the process because it is easier said than done. The most annoying thing is that “The Process” seems so shady, but “The Process” is a freaking trustworthy asshole. The path to success is very squiggly.

It's tough. You don't really want to do something because someone's telling you to do it.
Yeah, I'm sure it's related to pride, and I don't think that I have a ton of pride, but I just find it so annoying when people give me advice. That's probably the most Larry David thing about me. I always want to find a cheat code, which probably plays into that Type C personality. Even if they're offering me a shortcut to my final destination, I'd rather find a different shortcut, which will ultimately take me longer. But I found it, so maybe that's what I want.

If you could ask future Connor a question, maybe he's in his 40s or even his 80s, what would you ask him?
No, ew! I don't want to think about that. “How are you alive?” I don't think I would ask a question because what if he gives me advice and then I hate my future self? That would suck. Pass!

[Laughs] Okay, going back to Brooke, your friendship with her highlights the importance of having people in your corner through all of life's ups and downs. What do you think makes your friendship so special, and how has having her in your life shaped you?
I think our friendship is special because we have nothing in common. I don't know how we ended up hitting it off. She's introduced me to so many different sub-interests and cultural things that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. I've watched and been exposed to a lot of Broadway because of Brooke. Brooke said on the last podcast we recorded that if you were to have me guess, out of the two of us, who would be performing Disney Night on Broadway in a High School Musical number, she would have said, "Wow, I can't believe I got the balls to do that on stage." My first exposure therapy to the Dancing with the Stars stage was Brooke showing me her Pinterest board.

Aw, I love that. Speaking of performing, you did a rom-com short film, Met My Tinder Match IRL. It is about modern dating and how it can be lonely and very awkward too. Do you have any really strange stories from running into someone unexpectedly, just like what happened in the short film?
When I moved to LA in 2019, I was kind of having one of those Eat, Pray, Love moments, and all I did was move from Texas to L.A. I didn't know anyone, so it felt like a big new world, and I was the girl who was going to be okay. I went to a farmers market and bought a plant, which I couldn't afford. It was so expensive. I was just like, “You know what? That's okay. We're in this new adventure of life. We're gonna get this plant.” I put it in, and I turned around, and I'm just face-to-face with this random older gentleman.

He was like, "How's the day?" I was like, "It’s a beautiful day." We talked for a second, and then he was like, "You want to get a piece of pizza?" And I was like, "You know what? Yeah, old man, let's get a piece of pizza." We're sitting there, and he had all these pearls of wisdom. He seemed drunk, but it was still cool. Drunk words, sober thoughts. I saw him two days ago. It’s been seven years. It was such a full-circle moment because I was in such a different stage of life then. Seven years ago, I moved to LA and started my tech job, and now I’m on Dancing with the Stars. He didn't remember me, but he was wearing the same thing. I have a picture of us that I took.

That’s such a beautiful run-in.
I do have some crazy weird stories. I always run into Matthew Gray Gubler, even though he’s Brookes' celebrity crush. I see him so often that he knows my name, and he knows things about me. Last time I saw him, he had accidentally been given two smoothies instead of one, so he gave me one. He was asking about the podcast and how everything's going, and I asked him to take a picture because Brooke would be so mad, and she's his biggest fan. He's always so nice, but it's fun when I send that to Brooke. She's like, “How does this happen to you?” The next person who will come across my desk before Brooke’s desk is Joe Keery. He and I run into each other all the time. We've never spoken, but I'm always crossing the street with him. When I see him in the West Village, I always think, This is definitely the young man of Brooke’s dreams. Last time I saw him, we made enough eye contact to say “Hey,” but we didn't chat. Maybe next time.

What is the most irrational hill you are willing to die on?
I don't think you should blow your nose at a restaurant, and I don't think you should blow your nose at a table at a restaurant. I don't think you should blow your nose into a cloth napkin. This seems really obvious, right? Are you agreeing with me?

Yeah, 100%.
I actually had a decently close friend I stopped speaking to for over three months, like a summer season of life, because I was so turned off by his blowing his nose into a cloth napkin and putting it on the table. Don’t come to lunch. We’ll DoorDash something.

If you could have a lifetime supply of one very specific thing, what would you choose?
A lifetime supply of something like red pepper flakes, I think. They go on everything I eat. It's probably why I have heartburn. I can't eat without some levelled-up bit of spice. I put them in mashed potatoes last night, which is kind of crazy because mashed potatoes, I think, are pretty perfect the way they are. But you put in some red pepper, and it really takes it south of the border.

What is the guilty pleasure song that you dance to when no one is watching?
I love dubstep so much, especially in the gym, at home, and in my car. If I'm in a good mood, it’s a lot of dubstep and Celine Dion. “It's All Coming Back To Me Now” is my guilty pleasure song. I don't really want to listen to it with anyone. That's not because I feel shame. It's just because I don't really want to share that with anyone. That’s a moment for myself.

I totally respect that. The people in your life understand it's your song and your song only. Okay, I want to bring up a question, but I am not going to beat a dead horse with “I saw you on Eighth Avenue…”
Hit me with it!

At the New York City Marathon, there were so many people quoting you. How does it feel to have made such a cultural impact, especially in a city like New York, where the marathon brings out so much community, spirit, and collective excitement?
That's such a good way to put it. It's the coolest thing ever. I'm so online. I'm so involved. I did a smoothie with Smoothie King. In Austin, on my former college campus, they had a Wheel of Fortune-style thing, and so many passersby would say, “I saw you on Eighth Avenue.” It is kind of unifying to have everyone in on a joke. This is the part of the internet that I really like. The NFL is involved, the SEC is involved, and the WWE just posted it this morning. The Texas Longhorns posted it on their page. People are cross-stitching it into their crafts, and baking it into bread.

Speaking of fascinations, what is your Roman Empire?
Well, here's the thing: I haven't seen the new Nathan Fielder movie with Elizabeth Holmes. But every time Elizabeth Holmes has come up on our podcast, I cannot stop talking about Elizabeth Holmes. I haven't had three hours to see a movie in a few weeks, so I'm really looking forward to that. I'm guessing that it will be my Roman Empire because it seems like it's everybody else's right now. But I love talking about the Elizabeth Holmes conversation because it really seems harmless until she, you know, did all the bad stuff. But it seemed like her heart was in the right place. I'm learning now that she might be a psychopath based on the movie. Have you seen the movie?

I am seeing it sometime next week!
Take this with a grain of salt; until she started giving false hope, I was with her. She seemed like she truly created this new technology that made things easier. Billionaire companies offered her a ton of funding; she lied to them, but I think she thought they’d get there by the time they asked for concrete proof. I kind of like this mentality: ask for forgiveness, not permission. Granted, she did end up becoming the villain. But I liked that narrative there at the beginning. She did lose me. Look at me, I already cannot stop talking about it!

Wait until you see it, then it’s going to be a whole new Connor.
Just note that I have NOT seen the movie yet.

[Laughs] Of course! Is there any process within comedy writing that you really appreciate that an audience wouldn’t be aware of as part of the process?
It’s funny; I think of it the same way that I think of a TikTok video. The stand-up is just a longer TikTok video. Sometimes I have a tweet that becomes a ten-minute joke, where I start with the punchline and work backwards. A lot of what I talk about is stuff they hear on the podcast. I will tweak punchlines to fit my joke. People will be like, “Didn’t you talk about that?” But comedy isn’t always going to be the complete truth. Even with what I was talking about with Elizabeth Holmes — I don’t have 100% truth, but that’s what makes it really good. You tweak it until it works.