Marlon Wayans says the emotional openness at the core of his latest special Good grief has continued to help not only himself but also many fans who have also suffered losses.

In a recent interview with Lewis Howes for The School of GreatnessWayans, who played George Raveling last year Airspoke passionately about how he had known for a long time where he wanted his career to go and had worked hard to keep a cool head while avoiding “doing stupid things.” This prompted Howes to ask Wayans what a higher power might tell him when it comes to how best to “serve through creativity,” to use the host’s phrase.

“Keep working and building and staying on your path. You’re doing great,” Wayans said about 27 minutes into the interview. “And I see it now because my last standup, Good griefwas about the death of my parents, about grieving, about coping. At minute 57, I’m making people laugh. I’m talking about changing my dad’s diapers and my mom’s diapers and talking about their private parts. I’m making people laugh. I told all of that for 57 minutes. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was running from my own pain.”

Wayans recalled “breaking down on stage” while talking about his late mother, but ultimately decided not to cut that part from the final footage.

“I broke down. I cried,” Wayans said. “Because the reality of my parents being gone hit me. It has (before), but it shouldn’t hit me on a show when I’m filming a special. And it did and I thought, OK, cool. I wanted to cut that out, but I thought, no. Keep it to myself. Because I want people to understand that I, like you, am suffering. But life goes on and we’re still looking for a smile. I get so many messages in my inbox about Good grief on Amazon Prime, about how it affected them, how it helped them, how they were able to grieve. They lost their parents too, we’re in the same club, Gang Gang. And how they cried with me and thanked me because they were in a depression and I helped them find a way out because I showed them my own way. So that’s healing.”

As the conversation continued, Wayans was asked to look ahead, including using a specific hypothetical scenario about what he would want to hear from his late mother, Elvira, on his last day on Earth after he’s “lived as long as he wants.” Understandably, this question stirred Wayans, who paused to process the emotions it evoked, leading to a remarkably vulnerable moment from the actor and comedian.

“Big boy, you did well,” he said from his mother’s perspective. “You made me proud, your father proud. I look to God, he’s smiling. You did the right thing for our family, made sure the grandchildren and great-grandchildren and everyone were OK. You took care of your brothers and sisters that I told you I created for you, and you were an honorable child. You made the world laugh. I always knew you would do that.”

At this point, Wayans began to cry, but soon continued, switching back to his mother’s voice.

“Your father and I are waiting for you up here,” he said, adding, “I close my eyes and wake up hugging my parents.”

Elvira Alethia died in 2020 at the age of 82. Three years later, Wayans’ father Howell died. Now, Wayans says, he “doesn’t cry for her as much anymore,” but has entered a new phase in his relationship with this eternal grief.