Eric Andre hospitalized for concussion after John Cena threw him (exclusive)

For Eric Andre, getting injured is part of everyday life.

Over the course of six seasons of The Eric Andre Show, The 41-year-old comedian suffered several injuries.

“It happens quite a lot,” Andre tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue, recalling a Season 5 episode in which John Cena threw him through a shelf. “I got through the shelf fine, but we forgot to sandbag the shelf – the frame of the shelf – and the metal frame fell over and hit me in the head. I got a concussion and had to go to the hospital.”

Another time, Andre accidentally stuck his hand through a window while filming a prank in Brooklyn.

“I tried to bang on the window, but my whole hands went through,” he says. “I got cuts and had to get stitches. I had to go to the hospital for that.”

As entertaining as his pranks are, they are only part of what The Eric Andre Show one of the wildest and most entertaining shows on television.

The Adult Swim comedy series, which satirizes the decades-old talk show format, has hosted dozens of celebrity guests, including Jon Hamm, Jimmy Kimmel, Natasha Lyonne and Tinashe. Andre’s jokes can sometimes veer into NC-17 territory, but the comedian insists that even now his guests “have no idea what they’re getting into.”

“Even if they’ve done their research, watched every episode, are super fans, once you’re sitting in that chair and explosives are being detonated and flying African hissing cockroaches are coming out of my coffee cup? It doesn’t matter How “How well prepared are you?” he says.

“We’ve taken it to a point where it doesn’t matter how prepared you are,” the comedian continues. “Once the torture starts, everyone will react in an honest way. We don’t want people to ever play along.”

Andre’s special brand of comedy has earned him two Emmy nominations this year, one for outstanding actor in a short-form comedy or drama series and another for outstanding short-form comedy, drama or variety series. When he received the news from a Comedy Central employee, Andre tells PEOPLE he was “over the moon.”

“We’ve been doing the show for over 10 years, so it’s great to even get the recognition of being nominated,” he says. “But I’m a little superstitious about these things. I’ll celebrate when I get my hands on one of these trophies.”

Regardless of whether or not Andre wins the statuette at the 2024 Emmy Awards on September 15, he still has high hopes for the show’s future – and would love to have Ghislaine Maxwell as a guest one day. “She’s got stories to tell, man,” he explains.

Andre also aims to film an entire episode “underwater,” saying, “I think it would be majestic and surreal.”

When he’s not working on his show or performing as a stand-up comedian, the entertainer leads a balanced life that seems far removed from his hectic stage and screen persona.

For example, Andre prioritizes his mental health by keeping a journal, exercising every day, getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep, and going to therapy “several times” a week. He also has a passion for interior design.

“I think people think I’m crazy,” he admits, adding, “When they come to my house, they expect a lot of junk, but I’m a total cleanliness freak.”

Andre also draws attention to serious issues from time to time. On August 20, he uploaded an Instagram post with a video in which he discussed a disturbing layover at Melbourne Airport in Australia, where he says he was racially profiled. In addition to requesting a security escort through Melbourne Airport, Andre also asked his social media followers for tips on discrimination lawyers.

“I don’t want to cut my hair and wear a three-piece suit so I can be treated like a first-class citizen,” he said in the video. “I shouldn’t feel like I’m not accepted when I enter a country.”

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Seasons one to six of The Eric Andre Show can be streamed on Hulu.