Conan O’Brien has a friend in Roy Wood Jr., and the feeling is mutual.

The Alabama-raised comedian recently appeared on the very popular “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast wherein he discussed his set for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, his parents, his Birmingham upbringing and his early standup career. Listen to the full episode.

But the main takeaway from their discussion was perhaps that O’Brien and Wood share a strong mutual respect, specifically for the impact O’Brien’s television show had on Wood’s standup career and, from the host’s perspective, Wood’s positive influence in the comedy world.

Each celebrity guest always opens the show by inserting a word into the following sentence: “Hello, I’m [insert name], and I feel ______ about being Conan O’Brien’s friend.” Wood chose “thankful.” But before the conversation could ensue, Wood wanted to express some gratitude to the longtime late night talk show host for inviting him to appear on his TV program to perform sets more than a decade ago.

READ: Roy Wood Jr.’s 10 best jokes at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

“I know you deflect compliments,”Wood said to O’Brien during the opening moments of the conversation. “You’re very good at dodging flowers when they’re thrown at you.”

Wood then noted he began his standup career in 1998 before praising O’Brien, along with “The Bob & Tom Show” radio program, for giving standup comedians exposure to the public when others didn’t afford them as many opportunities.

“There was a stretch of my career where you were the only show that would work me,” Wood told O’Brien, also referencing the show’s standup booker, J.P. Buck. “That was the only 4-and-a-half minutes I was on television … every year for four years was your show, and that single credit would get me another year in the college market, which got me enough money to stay in L.A. another year.”

Wood said college gigs paid the bills while road money was “negligible.” After moving to Los Angeles, Wood said, he would make roughly $1,200 per week minus commissions and airfare, so chances to perform sets on TV shows like O’Brien’s helped him land more paying gigs. O’Brien accepted the compliment but quickly turned the focus back on Wood, on whom he heaped praise all episode.

“First of all, I’ll take that,” O’Brien said. “I’m very appreciative that we were able to have so much comedy on. But I’ll tell you this, and this is true, I wasn’t doing you any favors because you were always funny. You’re always funny, and you’re so good.

“So when I could say, ‘OK we’ve got an hour of show to do tonight, but there’s six minutes or seven minutes at the end that Roy’s going to take over, and it’s going to be really good,’ you’re doing me a favor. So it works both ways. It’s one of those things where it’s just a two-way street. You always brought a lot of professionalism and really funny stuff to my show.”

O’Brien and Wood covered a wide gamut of topics, starting and ending with Wood’s recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner set, which earned widespread praise. O’Brien discussed performing the same gig under Clinton and Obama, as the two commiserated over the pressure to perform after the sitting president’s own set, which often overshadows the guest entertainer.

O’Brien also complimented Wood’s closing moments of the WCHD set when he pleaded with the news media to help young journalists in their industry and also shouted out his mother Joyce Dugan Wood, who was in attendance, saying she was amongst a group of Black protestors fighting for equality at Delta State University during the 1960s. He finished the show by honoring his mother, who works at Miles College, for helping “countless students in Birmingham have the opportunity to see a college degree and to see an opportunity to grow.”

O’Brien said the moment gave him “chills.”

“My mom has done more for people in the city of Birmingham than I could ever do, just from the countless students that she’s helped get across a graduation stage and into their careers, who are now prospering within the city,” Wood told the host. “I can be in public, and I can have people come up and go, ‘I love “The Daily Show,”’ but when I’m in Birmingham, it’s people coming up and telling me stories about my mom.

“She doesn’t get told ‘thank you’ enough, in my opinion.”

In doing the Correspondents’ Dinner, the Birmingham-raised comedian followed in the footsteps of O’Brien and other such as Sinbad, Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Wanda Sykes and his former colleague Trevor Noah. Like them he took on the tall task of roasting POTUS and the mainstream media directly to their faces.

The 44-year-old comic’s star has risen the last several years through his hilarious work as a correspondent on “The Daily Show” (which he guest hosted in April), several standup specials and a growing number of acting roles in film and television.

The podcast episode ended as the always-silly O’Brien turned serious in his praise for Wood, who had discussed “The Daily Show” and the landscape of late night comedy.

“I do sincerely feel really good that you’re out there,” O’Brien told Wood. “You’re a really good man. You’re very thoughtful and crazily talented. And I’m glad you’re out there, and you’re thinking about this. It makes me feel better about the whole world of comedy. I’m serious. I’m being honest with you. I’ve always been very impressed with you. The more you do, the more crazily impressed I am. Go forth, continue doing great work, and I know we’re in good hands.

“When I meet people much younger than me who are ethical and wise and creative, I feel better. I sleep better at night, so thank you.”

This didn’t mark the first time a comedy legend has lauded Wood’s work on a popular podcast. In 2022, Wood appeared on the “WTF with Marc Maron Podcast,” one of the most popular podcasts in the world, during which Maron spent much of it showering Wood with praise during his intro as well as in the interview itself.

“This guy’s one of the best. He’s one of the best,” Maron said during the intro. “He’s not afraid of taking risks. He talks about real things. He’s smart. He knows and understands policy, the subject of race from a personal point of view. He wrestles with things that we all wrestle with, but he’s got a delivery and a long-form approach that’s just so sharp and so funny and so deliberate.”

During his stint guest-hosting “The Daily Show” in April, Jon Stewart made a surprise appearance and told Wood he was doing a “fabulous” job in the role.

READ: Charles Barkley sent Conan O’Brien an appletini for this hilarious reason

More on Roy Wood Jr.:

Roy Wood Jr. on roasting Biden, showcasing Alabama and why he wants Kay Ivey on ‘The Daily Show’

Roy Wood Jr. thanks Birmingham while hosting ‘The Daily Show’, vows not to get canceled

Jon Stewart says Roy Wood Jr. ‘doing a fabulous job’ hosting ‘Daily Show’ after crashing set

Whatever happened to the TV show Roy Wood Jr. filmed in Alabama?