“My mule, Fanny, is 1,500 pounds”: Tom Green is a farmer now

On the premiere episode of Tom Green’s new show, the former shock comic cleans gunk out of a horse’s hoof, has his hat nibbled by a donkey and rides around his 150-acre property on a majestic mule. The Tom Green Farm, premiering May 29 on Crave, introduces viewers to Green’s softer side. The outrageous antics that defined The Tom Green Show—namely humping a dead moose—are nowhere to be found. Instead, in their place are serene discussions of kitchen renovations and earnest meditations on the peacefulness of his bucolic new life.

In 2021, Green packed up his home in Los Angeles and moved to a remote farm in Frontenac County to be closer to his parents, Dick and Mary Jane, whom he notably terrorized throughout the late ’90s and early 2000s with stunts such as decorating his dad’s car in pornography and erecting a statue of them having sex on their front lawn. Now, he invites celebrity guests like Tony Hawk, Dan Aykroyd, Michael Cera and Kurt Vile to get a taste of the country life. We spoke with the polarizing figure about rural living, the diminishing appeal of shock value, and whether his rap group Organized Rhyme is primed for a comeback.

Wow, great shirt. [Editor’s note: Green is wearing a flashy black-and-white plaid western shirt with flowers emblazoned on it] Thank you very much. My wife picked it up for me. We got it at Nelson’s Western Boots and Apparel in Peterborough. It was a lot of fun.

Right on. So, when you came back to Canada in 2021, you could have moved anywhere, but you chose to be on a farm. What was it about rural life that appealed to you? After living in Los Angeles for 21 years, I wanted a change of pace. It wasn’t my intention to get a farm, necessarily. I just wanted to be outside the city, and life sort of led me in this direction. I wanted to be at home, near my family, who live in the area. I ended up getting lucky with this property, which has an old log farmhouse built in 1857 and a couple of barns. I thought, Wouldn’t it be cool to put some animals in those barns? So I ended up getting a mule and a donkey and later two horses. It’s been the best life-changing experience I could have ever hoped for.

Was the idea to leave Hollywood behind? I’ve been travelling constantly doing stand-up comedy for the last 20 years, so my house in Los Angeles was just a place where I kept all my stuff while I was off on the road. When Covid happened and everybody had to cancel their tours, I thought, Where do I want to live? Turns out I want to live in Canada. Once I got back, I restarted my Canadian television production company, and I’ve been busier producing and directing television than I’ve been in years.

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A lot of your previous comedy involved animal-related stunts. Have you found many opportunities for that on the farm? I’ve always had a good connection with animals. The best thing about being here is having new experiences. You don’t really have a lot of new experiences when you get to be my age. I’m learning to ride horses. I didn’t grow up with horses or donkeys, so it’s really a lot of fun.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve learned how to do on the farm? I think the craziest thing is just the fact that I get up in the morning and take care of four giant animals. My mule, Fanny, is 1,500 pounds. She’s turning 13 the day the show premieres, May 29, and I’ve had her for three years now. I will saddle her up and ride through all the trails on the property and off into Crown land and just go exploring. I really feel like I have a connection with her—you have to be able to trust each other.

How did you learn to ride a mule? Did you take lessons? A little bit, yeah. The people who bred Fanny, Twister Mule Company, are up in Thunder Bay. They’re these two sisters who breed mules and donkeys, and they came down and gave me a good series of lessons. When you start riding, you’re around a lot of people involved with the care of your animals: veterinarians, farriers who come and take care of the hooves. These people are very experienced, so I ask them a lot of questions. And I watch a lot of YouTube videos. My whole algorithm on Instagram right now is horses and camera lenses. If there’s one positive thing to say about social media and technology, it’s that if you have the desire to learn something, you can.

You welcome a lot of celebrity guests on the show. Who was the most fun to film with? Having Dan Aykroyd on the show was an incredible experience. I’ve known Dan over the years but have never interviewed him before. He’s had such a legendary career that I felt a real responsibility to do things properly. Tony Hawk is someone I’ve always looked up to. Priyanka, who I briefly met when I was a guest judge on Canada’s Drag Race, came out and rode the tractor.

The thing about getting people on the show is that they have to make an effort. We’re not super close to anything. There are no airports or major transit hubs nearby. So the people who actually do end up coming out, I have a lot of gratitude toward them because it means they really wanted to be here. I’m inviting people into my home. People relax once they arrive on the property. It’s a special place, with the wilderness and the woods and the fields. The general feeling here is very peaceful. We go out, do fun things, then sit down and do a nice interview.

You have a reputation for making some pretty extreme comedy, but the show is very earnest and low-key. Did shock value lose its appeal for you? I was 25 years old when I started The Tom Green Show on public access TV. There were no cellphones; there was no internet; there was no YouTube. Television was very structured. At the time, the idea of running around with a video camera and doing all sorts of anarchistic and off-the-wall things was new and exciting. The world has changed. Back in the day, I painted my parents’ house plaid. Now you can go on TikTok and see people doing all kinds of similar pranks. If I were to do another show where I painted my parents’ house plaid, it wouldn’t offer anything new and would therefore be ineffective and not interesting. What’s more of a surprise is to do something nice, heartfelt and honest. Look, if I thought shock value would work, I would do it. But I don’t think it works anymore. There’s enough of it out there already.

Have you done much self-reflection since moving to the country? Maybe this is something that comes with age and experience, but when I was living in LA, it was go, go, go, and there were a lot of decisions that had to get made. I think people can put too much importance on the day-to-day decisions that can drive you nuts. But, when you wake up in a peaceful place where everything slows down and you go out and spend time with animals, you find that a lot of good things start to happen. When you’re relaxed, that helps the people around you relax. If you’re making a TV show where everyone is relaxed and having fun, it produces good results.

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Lastly, any chance of an Organized Rhyme reunion tour? It’s definitely possible. I was talking to Greg, a.k.a. MC Pin, my friend from high school, and we’ll probably make some music together soon. I write all the music for the show, and we record it at the Bathhouse studio outside of Kingston, which was the Tragically Hip’s studio. With the success of Drake’s three-album drop, I think Organized Rhyme might have to make a comeback.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.