From Waiting Tables To The Big Screen: Bridget Everett Says Key To Success Is 'To Follow My Heart'

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Bridget Everett is woman of mirth and song. The actress, comedian and singer became a sensation in New York after starting her own band and getting helping hands from such friends as Amy Schumer, Beastie Boys' Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and even Broadway icon Patti LuPone.

"I was waiting tables until about two and half years ago when I decided to really do things my way, take a chance on myself," she told CBS New York. "My life took a dramatic turn."

Everett's roots grow from her start as a cabaret singer, albeit a crazed confrontational cabaret singer who only wants to love you, or crush you, or both.

"I started a band just because I wanted to be in control of whatever it is I was doing," she said. "I had a bunch of wild ideas and I was trying to figure out a way I could bring more karaoke into my professional life."

Along the way, she founded an actual band, The Tender Moments, backed by Beastie's Horovitz.

"We just hit it off, he's a really funny, cool guy," she said of Ad-Rock. "He was the first person to join my band - I was like, you want to be in my band? He's like, 'Well I'm a professional musician, aren't I?' ... He was the one who really encouraged me to write, and I let the people I saw in New York shape the kind of performer I became."

Soon a scion of Joe's Pub ("there's no place like it"), Everett went on to perform with LuPone at Carnegie Hall and became a regular on Schumer's breakout TV show "Inside Amy Schumer."

"The really cool thing Amy did was every season of her show she had me close with a musical number," said Everett. "She believed in my that much. That's Amy to a 'T,' so generous she wants to see her friends shine."

Now Everett's out promoting not one but two feature films this year: the Geremy Jasper film Patti Cake$ and the ensemble comedy Fun Mom Dinner -- the later of which partners her with Katie Aselton, Molly Shannon and Toni Collette.

"Day one, I'm like 'Oh my god, I'm working with a team of really accomplished actors... I'm like, not an accomplished actor," she said. "I know how to get up on top of a bar and rip my shirt off, but like this is more legit.

"They were all really generous and super cool, treating me like a peer right away," she said. "I remember when Toni walked in, I'm like 'Oh my god that's Toni Collette.' I'm a great admirer of so much of her work. She just like glowed - and I mean, literally just glowed. I can't believe I get to work with her, but I did."

So what's her next milestone?

"I've just been trying to follow my heart, whatever I want to do because it got me to where I am right now."

Fun Mom Dinner is now in select theaters and available from on demand streaming services.