Comic Pete Davidson is known for making himself - and his life growing up on Staten Island - the subject of his comedy. Davidson mines that story even more in his new film "The King of Staten Island," which he says was a cleansing process, in an interview with Tony Dokoupil for CBS SUNDAY MORNING to be broadcast June 7 (9:00 AM ET) on the CBS Television Network.
The film, co-written with Judd Apatow, is three quarters autobiographical, according to Davidson. It revolves around a drifting twentysomething from Staten Island, who is struggling after his father, a firefighter, died in the line of duty. Marisa Tomei plays his mom and Bill Burr plays a firefighter trying to date her. "I just always wanted to show where I'm coming from," Davidson tells Dokoupil, co-host of CBS THIS MORNING. "Pretty much how a tragedy affects a family. And, I think, there hasn't been many of those movies that are, like, really honest and transparent." Like his character, Davidson grew up in Staten Island and still lives there. Also, his father, a New York City firefighter, died responding to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Comedy, he tells Dokoupil, became a way to cope. At age 20, he became one of the youngest ever cast members of "Saturday Night Live."Videos