Rick Mercer on pursuing your passions: 'You have to love your subject matter'

Rick Mercer vividly remembers one of the greatest moments of his life: watching the first episode of This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

Admittedly one of "the most intense times" of Mercer's career, this show he helped build was originally slated to be only six episodes longs. Clearly, that wasn't the case. 

In his many years at the CBC  —  including his long-running  Rick Mercer Report  — Mercer has become a star in both the worlds of comedy and politics.

"There's only two things that I've really been passionate about and that's comedy and politics," he says. "And somehow I was so very fortunate that I managed to bring the two together.

"And I love my subject matter, you have to love your subject matter," he continues. "I love my country and I love politics and I think that you can't fake that."