Episode 1553 - Julianne Nicholson
Marc:all right let's do this how are you what the fuckers what the fuck buddies what the fuck nicks what's happening i'm mark marin this is my podcast wtf welcome to it we've been doing it a while
Marc:How's everybody doing on this holiday?
Marc:A time for severe reflection and maybe appreciation of the true nature of the thing, of it being maybe the last relatively independent fourth that we might have in years.
Marc:The panic has already set in, has been for years now.
Marc:And I hope the fireworks can take you out of it for a minute.
Marc:Unfortunately, I'll not be going to any party this year because the one party I go to isn't happening.
Marc:But I'm sure I'll hear the fireworks and I'm sure I'll see my cats freak out.
Marc:And I'm sure I'll sit there and reflect.
Marc:But almost every day is like that.
Marc:A little a little shout out here, I guess it's not really a shout out, but I'd like everyone to take into consideration that you may want to foster a dog, a shelter dog, because I've been told by a good source.
Marc:kit that the shelters fill up with so many pet dogs that run away from home during the fireworks that uh you're needed and in general the shelters are filled up with doggies and you know it's hard to figure out whether or not you're capable of some kind of unconditional love or whether that kind of love is real but i'll tell you one thing
Marc:Loving an animal is a very rewarding thing, and most of you know that.
Marc:And there's animals in need right now.
Marc:The summer's a bad time.
Marc:So if you're looking to get an animal and to feel like, you know, that feeling of love that asks for nothing other than to be fed and you get it all back, this is the time.
Marc:Time to foster an animal, time to adopt an animal.
Marc:There's a lot out there, and it is rewarding.
Marc:It might be all you have eventually.
Marc:It's just your little doggie, your little cat, your little gecko, your big cat, whatever living thing makes you feel that love.
Marc:A birdie, maybe a little parakeet or big macaw that will outlive you.
Marc:Whatever it is, it's a very weird thing, though, to have a bunch of cats that are at the age they are now that I have and realize like, holy shit, these things might outlive me, but they'll be OK.
Marc:Somebody will take my cats, won't you?
Marc:Won't you take my cats?
Marc:So today I talked to Julianne Nicholson, who's an amazing actress.
Marc:Amazing.
Marc:Always amazing.
Marc:And I don't know if you'd know her by name, but you will now.
Marc:She's been in a lot of stuff, a lot of TV.
Marc:You've seen her in Dream Scenario, I, Tonya, Black Mass, August Osage County.
Marc:I love her.
Marc:And I met her once, apparently, she told me.
Marc:And I feel like I was very intimidated.
Marc:She won an Emmy for her performance in the series Mayor of Easttown.
Marc:She's in a new movie called Janet Planet, which is written and directed by Annie Baker, the playwright who I've had on.
Marc:And it's a fairly stunning, very poetic movie.
Marc:And I do get concerned.
Marc:about these poetic movies.
Marc:You know, I hope they don't exist in a vacuum because despite what anyone says about the movie business, I do worry about independent films and I worry about the type of films that this movie is, this Janet Planet movie.
Marc:Because they go to a different place.
Marc:Things don't always end with a bow or well.
Marc:There are certain risks being taken around the writing and the directing.
Marc:And there's a lot of space left for you to place yourself into the story in terms of how it makes you feel.
Marc:And I know there's always an audience for these movies, but it's one of those things where it feels like there should always be a bigger audience.
Marc:It's like...
Marc:There's a choir for this stuff.
Marc:And one of the reasons that, you know, I feel there's so much division outside of a orchestrated effort on behalf of the wrong minded churning id and exploitation thereof of the fucky fucks.
Marc:There is, you know, these movies are important because they engage our humanity.
Marc:I just saw that movie Daddy-O the other night with Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn, which is a very ballsy movie to just have an entire movie be a conversation between a guy driving a cab and his passenger.
Marc:But it was beautifully written and not easy to pull off.
Marc:And Dakota Johnson was brilliant.
Marc:An amazing performance.
Marc:Sean Penn is great.
Marc:You know, he did he he did this character.
Marc:And I know why he liked it, because it is a humbled male character who is not necessarily struggling, but sort of reflective on his own.
Marc:toxic behavior, you know, as one who gets older eventually reckons with, depending on what kind of person you are.
Marc:But it's kind of a stunning little amazing movie.
Marc:And there's all these little amazing movies that I don't even have time to take them all in.
Marc:But this one that Julianne is in is kind of amazing.
Marc:It's called Janet Planet.
Marc:And I recommend Daddy-O as well.
Marc:Those are my movie reviews for today.
Marc:I was going to go watch the new Yorgos movie, but it's like nine hours long.
Marc:So I have to put aside an afternoon to feel awkward for that amount of time.
Marc:But it's important.
Marc:You know, humanity, you know, figuring out where to put your love at this point in time.
Marc:It is the 4th of July.
Marc:This is America or what we know it as now.
Marc:And as we head into whatever is going to happen, it's a very difficult time.
Marc:uh, for this country.
Marc:And I'm not saying anything anyone doesn't know.
Marc:And I only know what I know and I only know how I, uh, engage with all of it.
Marc:And sometimes I, I just, uh, it's not that I keep it to myself, but I try, I'm trying to put it into perspective for myself and, and that might help other people, but we all know what we're up against.
Marc:We all know the feeling of, you know, what does it mean to feel like you're, you're losing the good fight?
Marc:What did the good fight ever mean in the first place?
Marc:How much did you put into the good fight?
Marc:Uh,
Marc:Is there a good fight?
Marc:Are you too specific?
Marc:Have you just sort of kind of cornered yourself and do a few different things that make you feel better about yourself?
Marc:The weird thing about the good fight and people that live humane and decent lives and try to do the right thing is that it's very easy to do it in your life and feel like, well, my life is just going on.
Marc:But unfortunately, the bulldozer of...
Marc:the wrong minded have been chipping away for about 50 years now to undo this whole goddamn thing.
Marc:And if I can recommend something to those of you who, who aren't fully kind of informed about the possibilities, which is many people in it, it's not an accusation.
Marc:I mean, a lot of times, how, how far do you need to dig?
Marc:You have your feelings, you know, what you're against, you know, what you're sort of for, you know, what you're afraid of, but there's a lot of nuance and there's a lot of, you know, pretty cold facts that,
Marc:about the possibilities of what we're heading into.
Marc:And I think if you would like a kind of a primer on what it could look like, there's an episode of John Oliver's show specifically about Trump's second term that'll just give you a little information.
Marc:Look, man, all I know is we're at this juncture where, you know, we're all just waiting for the right old guy to die.
Marc:And that is oddly a bipartisan joke.
Marc:And, you know, outside of indictments and the Supreme Court and everything else, we have a candidate, Trump, who's using a bit of Hitler in his speeches.
Marc:Just shamelessly using thinly veiled Hitler.
Marc:And look, I'm not...
Marc:Yeah, I already knew he was a racist and a monster, and it's not the racism that bothers me.
Marc:It's the plagiarism, to be quite honest with you.
Marc:How hard is it to cite your sources?
Marc:You know what I mean?
Marc:How hard is it to say, you know, as as Hitler said or to quote my hero Hitler?
Marc:How hard is that?
Marc:Man up.
Marc:Don't be a pussy.
Marc:Enough with the dog whistles.
Marc:We all know what's going on.
Marc:And as a Jew, I'm a little hypersensitive to it.
Marc:I will admit, you know, it's not a great time to be a Jew.
Marc:But, you know, how has it ever been really?
Marc:I mean, has it ever been was ever a time in history where a Jew said, wow, what an amazing time it is to be a Jew?
Marc:Maybe maybe the fourth season of Seinfeld.
Marc:But that that was the extent of it.
Marc:And look, you know, I don't know how to get my message out to people that don't.
Marc:You know, that aren't like minded.
Marc:It trickles out there.
Marc:And I, you know, I appreciate you guys.
Marc:I appreciate the audience.
Marc:But what am I going to do?
Marc:What am I going to go out and play at casino?
Marc:I don't do casinos.
Marc:I don't do a lot of the gigs that other comics do because I don't know if I'm, you know, I am the type of comic I am.
Marc:I am who I am.
Marc:I don't even know if what I'm doing can be categorized in a certain way.
Marc:I try to frame myself properly.
Marc:I kind of see myself maybe as an artisanal comic.
Marc:I think that would work.
Marc:Kind of like, I am the farm, you are the table kind of thing.
Marc:But...
Marc:I can't do casinos because I have no attraction to them anyways.
Marc:And it's not about money for me.
Marc:It's never been about money.
Marc:And a lot of times people don't think I comment on what I need to comment on or what you want me to comment on or what you feel that I should be saying sometimes.
Marc:But look, I am processing all this along with you.
Marc:And some of my process I'm public about.
Marc:Some of it I'm not.
Marc:But there's a certain amount of terror in my heart.
Marc:There's a certain amount of panic.
Marc:But there's also the part of me that's sort of like, all right, so if the worst happens, and I don't know if you found yourself in this area, and you ask yourself, like, well...
Marc:Because ultimately, people just want to be okay.
Marc:They just want to be okay in their lives and feel okay in their lives and what they do in their life.
Marc:They just want to be okay.
Marc:Okay is great.
Marc:It's great.
Marc:There's nothing wrong with being okay.
Marc:But sometimes it's a little...
Marc:There's a paralysis to it.
Marc:There's a lack of action to being OK.
Marc:And then you just have to bend your definition of OK.
Marc:I don't know how many of you are thinking like, well, if the worst thing happens, like think about other authoritarian countries, which happens to be most of them.
Marc:And you ask yourself, oh, yeah, is there someone who has my job in Hungary?
Marc:I wonder if they're doing OK.
Marc:How do dentists in Hungary do?
Marc:How does a massage therapist in Hungary?
Marc:Are they OK?
Marc:Are they getting what their needs are for their little lives?
Marc:Are they OK?
Marc:Is it going to be OK?
Marc:No, it's not.
Marc:And it's weird when you're a Jew.
Marc:Because, you know, over the last many months, you know, you're kind of Jew is a cultural identity.
Marc:It's a religion, but it's a broad cultural identity that involves a lot of people.
Marc:And if you're a Jew, you know, people will say to you, oh, you're a Jew.
Marc:Well, what do you think about what's going on in Israel?
Marc:Not good.
Marc:Not good.
Marc:Yeah, but what do you think about it?
Marc:Bad.
Marc:It's bad.
Marc:But where do you stand?
Marc:And that's a tricky question, right?
Marc:For a public person, because whatever I say will be taken out of context and used by whatever side wants to use it as propaganda, even at my low level of public profile.
Marc:So it's tricky because there's only three answers to that question.
Marc:Where do you stand?
Marc:Well, you can say, well, I think Israel has a right to defend itself however it sees necessary as a country.
Marc:Then people say, you fascist.
Marc:Or you could say, well, I think that the Israelis are committing genocide on the Palestinian people.
Marc:Well, then you're anti-Semitic.
Marc:But if you say something like, well, you know, I think there should be a ceasefire and some dialogue and some movement towards some kind of peaceful resolution.
Marc:Then people say, shut the fuck up.
Marc:What are what kind of coward are you?
Marc:Pick a side, you worm.
Marc:What kind of Jew are you?
Marc:Pick a side.
Marc:And it's not my job to pretend like I understand.
Marc:But I will tell you this, and this is just as a thought, that if Israel wants to follow America's lead, historically, what will eventually happen is this will all come to pass.
Marc:And at some point in the future, Israelis will be able to go into Gaza and spend the weekend at Palestinian casinos.
Marc:And that's a casino gig I'd have to take, you know, just to be part of the solution.
Marc:You know, I mean, it's still tricky, but I would have to take that gig.
Marc:I'll be in Tucson, Arizona at the Rialto Theater on Friday, September 30th.
Marc:I'm in Phoenix at the Orpheum Theater on Saturday, September 21st.
Marc:You can go to WTFPod.com for tickets.
Marc:And look...
Marc:I hope for the best.
Marc:I'm not being cynical.
Marc:I don't have a lot of hope, but I do want something to happen.
Marc:I don't think that anything that's going to happen from this point forward is going to be good, really.
Marc:But I imagine most people will adapt.
Marc:Some will run.
Marc:And what fighting looks like is, you know, that's on you.
Marc:And I have to feel like sometimes I say things that help people, but it's usually more with psychological things, with addiction things.
Marc:You know, a lot of the feedback I get is around things I talk about that I go through mentally, emotionally, psychologically, being a sober person.
Marc:And that seems to help.
Marc:And I do believe I didn't expect that to happen, but it does feel good to be of service in that way.
Marc:And, you know, I also beat myself up about, you know, whether or not I do enough.
Marc:But I guess that's a lot of us.
Marc:And and I'm not sure that that matters.
Marc:So, look, you guys, this conversation with Julianne was it's an actor's conversation because I'm in it.
Marc:I'm I'm now involved with the acting.
Marc:And, you know, it's it's it's my day to day to some degree.
Marc:Oddly, as because I'm on a golf show, I just got a full set of clubs.
Marc:from TaylorMade.
Marc:Good club, so pressure's on.
Marc:The pressure is on.
Marc:I've never played golf in my life.
Marc:I've been to a driving range twice when I was a kid, but now I'm going to be the most well-equipped beginner on the goddamn course if I go out there and take lessons.
Marc:I think I got all the clubs.
Marc:I mean, I think I don't know how many there are, but it seems like I've got most of them from TaylorMadeGolf, and they're not even looking for a plug.
Marc:They just came.
Marc:I got a fan over there, and now I'm feeling a lot of pressure from the clubs that I've leaned in the corner in my dining room.
Marc:OK, so as I said, Julianne Nicholson is a brilliant actress.
Marc:And I've been a fan a long time.
Marc:And it was a pleasure to talk to her.
Marc:Did I call her Julianne Moore before?
Marc:I'd like to talk to her, too.
Marc:But Julianne Nicholson is currently in Janet Planet, which is now playing in theaters.
Marc:And it's a lovely, provocative movie.
Marc:And this is me talking to Julianne.
Amen.
Marc:You know, you're one of those people for some reason.
Marc:Like, I feel like I met you, but I also feel like I know you anyways.
Guest:I feel the same about you.
Marc:But it's not just because of movies.
Marc:I don't know what it is.
Marc:I don't know if it's Boston.
Marc:I don't know what it is.
Guest:The Boston Connect is real.
Marc:It's heavy, man.
Guest:It's real.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So, okay, before I... I wasn't being very chatty out there.
Marc:I just got... I was in Vancouver.
Guest:Save it.
Marc:Save it.
Marc:Save it for the recording.
Marc:No, we're doing it.
Marc:I was in...
Marc:I was in Vancouver.
Marc:I did a night shoot last night.
Marc:I shot till like three in the morning.
Guest:Are you bragging?
Marc:No, I'm just telling you what I've been through.
Marc:No, who would brag about a night shoot?
Guest:I know that's a nightmare.
Marc:It is a nightmare.
Guest:I'm out at 9 p.m.
Guest:like I'm done.
Marc:But you have that choice?
Guest:No.
Marc:But here's my question because, you know, you're a professional and, you know, I act.
Marc:But I, you know, this job, all I'm trying to do is not be a dick in terms of like, what could be going on?
Marc:How long is this going to take?
Marc:I know.
Marc:And like in the guy, the director's a great guy.
Marc:And he knew that I was being, he knew I was like, I just, cause I'll say it.
Marc:I'm like, I really, I gotta get on a plane tomorrow.
Guest:Can we wrap this up?
Guest:I got places to be.
Marc:It's like, this is a two minute scene.
Marc:We're in hour five.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I don't think we need a closeup on this one.
Guest:I'm constantly trying to not do closeups.
Marc:You don't even have to cover me.
Marc:I'll go.
Marc:To have my standing looks good from the back.
Guest:I don't think I need to say these words.
Guest:In fact, there's definitely, I can just do it a different way.
Marc:Send the check to my house.
Marc:I'll be all set.
Marc:Can we just, that's the problem is eventually they'll get to a point where they're like, yeah, we don't need you.
Marc:We have the AI.
Marc:We'll just wedge you in.
I know.
Guest:It's scary, right?
Guest:It's very scary.
Guest:I've been having that conversation a lot lately and I'm trying not to go too far too quickly down the spiral.
Guest:Just the changing of the business and like not getting paid and people just not being able to provide for themselves.
Marc:Yes.
Guest:No one's working.
Guest:It's scary.
Marc:But you're here how long have you been here?
Guest:You're working.
Guest:I am.
Guest:I feel very lucky and happy.
Marc:What the hell shoots in L.A.
Marc:that you're here for for a month?
Guest:A new Dan Fogelman show.
Guest:He did This Is Us.
Guest:Oh.
Guest:So it's a new show for Hulu.
Guest:They're shooting.
Marc:Is it called This Is Them?
Guest:This was us.
Guest:Actually, they have a podcast called This Was Us.
Marc:Of course they do.
Marc:All the cast?
Guest:Yeah, I think so.
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest:It's called Paradise right now.
Marc:Oh, yeah?
Guest:Yeah, and it shoots at Paramount, which is— On the lot?
Guest:Yeah, it's so nice.
Marc:That's so nice.
Marc:Studios are so nice.
Marc:Everything's controlled.
Guest:I know.
Guest:And that one feels really special.
Guest:It feels like old Hollywood.
Guest:Every time.
Guest:And I rented a place around the corner, so I walk in, and I just feel so grateful.
Marc:Oh, so you don't drive through the gate?
Guest:Sometimes I do if I'm lazy or if I have to go somewhere after, but normally I walk.
Marc:How's that neighborhood all right?
Marc:Like, what is it, on Beverly?
Marc:Beverly, yeah.
Guest:Melrose.
Marc:It's on Melrose.
Guest:It's a little sketch.
Marc:It is, right?
Guest:Yeah, I just, like, walk quickly and carry a heavy bag.
Marc:How's the roll?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:It's good.
Marc:Yeah?
Guest:Yeah, it's really good.
Guest:It's different from anything.
Marc:Is it heavy?
Guest:Always.
Guest:Fuck.
Guest:I'm waiting for my big comedy.
Marc:At least you said it.
Guest:I know, I know.
Marc:I'm like, oh, there she is again.
Guest:I know.
Guest:God, don't give her another dead baby, please.
Guest:No, I'm trying to be conscious about looking for things that aren't just that.
Guest:Can you do comedy?
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:I've done it, yeah.
Guest:I've done it, and I love it.
Marc:Like when you were younger in the movies?
Guest:Well, I did, yeah.
Guest:Ally McBeal was a comedy.
Guest:That's funny, yeah.
Guest:I did a great movie called Seeing Other People with Wally Walidarsky and Maya Forbes writing and directing with Jay Moore, which was hilarious.
Marc:Jay.
Guest:Jay!
Guest:Do you know Jay?
Marc:Yeah, I've known him since he was a kid, I think.
Guest:He was, I haven't seen him in probably 20 years, but I loved working with him.
Guest:He's really talented.
Guest:He's really good.
Marc:Yeah, he's a very energetic, focused guy.
Marc:Very funny.
Guest:I went to see him in a, like he took me to like an, I don't know, one of the comedy clubs and he just did a set off the cuff and I was- In New York?
Guest:Crying.
Guest:No, here.
Guest:Okay.
Marc:Oh, yeah?
Marc:Yeah, I remember when he started because I was in New York and I was already doing comedy and he just showed up from New Jersey.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And he was like 16 or 17.
Marc:Oh, my God.
Marc:He was just like this cute kid.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And he's very quick.
Marc:He's still pretty quick.
Guest:He's so funny.
Guest:So I remember one of the things I first fell in love with him about was...
Guest:He had to take his shirt off in it.
Guest:So he was like, no, no pizza, like no carbs.
Guest:He was like trying to pay.
Guest:They bring in, literally we have like the read through or rehearsal and they bring in pizza.
Guest:Without skipping a beat, he just puts one slice on top of the other and picks it up and eats two pieces at once.
Guest:So I was like, yeah, we're going to keep it real in this movie.
Marc:Well, that's the other thing about sets where you're like, okay, I'm just going to.
Marc:I'm going to be shooting this thing for like three months and I come back every couple weeks to do these.
Marc:And I set up so I could cook and everything.
Marc:But you're on set and you're like, well, fruit's good.
Marc:Fruit was okay, crafty.
Marc:And then eventually you're like, I'll just have one of those chocolates or that cake.
Guest:Those Sour Patch Kids look good.
Guest:That's where I go.
Marc:Last night, because it was Friday, they brought in a food truck that only served smothered fries at 2.30 in the morning.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I'm pretty good at keeping away from that now.
Marc:It seems like the people that really do the acting for a life, they all have their food brought in.
Guest:I make my own food and bring it.
Marc:Yeah?
Guest:Yeah, I just feel better.
Marc:But what is it about catering?
Guest:I think, first of all, I don't taste love in that food.
Guest:That's true.
Guest:And I taste a lot of butter and salt.
Guest:That's what it is?
Guest:Also, it's not good quality ingredients.
Guest:They're trying to save money, and they're feeding all these people.
Guest:And so it's definitely not organic meat and processed everything.
Marc:So a good caterer is someone who can fool us into thinking we're getting good food.
Guest:Yeah, but I'm not even giving them a chance anymore.
Marc:I just never understand it because I'm like, I'm only eating vegetables.
Marc:I'm vegan now.
Marc:Like, how do I still feel pudge?
Marc:You know, and they just, they must just soak it in oil.
Guest:I think.
Guest:It doesn't matter.
Marc:It's not a big topic.
Guest:It's not a huge deal, but it is time consuming when you have to make your own food.
Marc:Yes, but I like doing it.
Marc:It grounds me somehow.
Guest:I agree.
Marc:You too?
Guest:Yes, and then you feel like it's fuel.
Guest:It's doing its job, and you feel good.
Marc:And you made it.
Marc:You know what's in it.
Marc:And I got home one night late at night, and I'm like, I'm just going to chop some garlic and get to work.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Just so I can focus, feel like myself.
Guest:Feet on the ground.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And also, I think I have a slight eating compulsion.
Marc:So, like, it's nice to be engaged with food as often as possible.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Definitely.
Guest:As much as you can.
Marc:So, okay.
Marc:Critics' Choice Awards.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So, I was there for I, Tonya, and you were there for Glow.
Marc:Okay.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:That was an exciting night.
Guest:That was an exciting night.
Guest:And I'm friends with Betty Gilpin.
Guest:And so, I went over to say hi to her at your table.
Marc:Oh.
Marc:Oh, was that – it wasn't the SAG Awards?
Marc:It was Critics' Choice?
Marc:It was Critics' Choice.
Marc:Really?
Guest:Yes.
Marc:There was one – I can't remember if it was SAG or Critics' Choice where it was very exciting.
Marc:And I had met – I think I met Tracy Letts in the bathroom.
Marc:Or I did –
Marc:And I love that guy.
Guest:He's great.
Marc:And it was a very odd thing.
Marc:Then he came on my podcast, but I thought we really built our relationship in the men's room.
Guest:Okay.
Marc:I was just excited to see him.
Marc:Because, like, I don't know what to do with it.
Marc:And Frances McDormand was nice to me and knew who I was.
Guest:She wasn't in there.
Marc:No, she wasn't.
Marc:Everyone was there.
Marc:Where were you?
Marc:It was a big night in the men's room.
Guest:Yeah, gosh.
Guest:Did you go to the SAG Awards?
Guest:No, I wasn't invited.
Marc:Oh, really?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Gilpin's great.
Marc:She's great.
Marc:Did you talk to her yesterday?
Guest:We did Marco Polo's.
Guest:I just recently Marco Polo'd her because we haven't seen each other in a long time.
Guest:So like actually by chance, like a week ago.
Guest:And then I might have Marco Polo'd her yesterday and said I was going to come to this.
Guest:You're doing the podcast?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Because I got a random I love you out of nowhere.
Guest:Oh.
Marc:Just like I love you.
Marc:And I'm like, wait, how's that?
Marc:Like she does that sometimes, but it must have been.
Guest:She's nice.
Guest:She's nice like that.
Marc:Did you know her in New York?
Guest:Yeah, we did a play together.
Marc:Which one?
Guest:Sam Shepard play called Heartless.
Guest:Heartless.
Marc:I don't even know that play.
Marc:How do I not know this?
Guest:It was one of his last plays.
Marc:Did it involve a distant abusive father?
Guest:I'm sure the ghost of that was looming.
Guest:But no, just... Was he around?
Guest:Yeah, it was a new play.
Guest:So he was in the rehearsal room every day.
Guest:Oh, my God.
Guest:Yeah, it was really incredible.
Marc:How was that?
Marc:Was he reworking it while you guys were doing it?
Guest:No.
Guest:Not really.
Guest:Not so much.
Guest:Yeah, he felt like, I mean, honestly, I can't remember.
Guest:I can't remember anything anymore.
Guest:It was incredible for him to be in there.
Guest:I don't really remember.
Guest:I do remember one time we were both at the sinks at the co-ed bathrooms and like the water wasn't going.
Guest:It's the kind you put your hand in.
Guest:And I just thought, I'm always going to think of Sam Shepard now when I can't get water to run in a bathroom.
Yeah.
Marc:I can't get those automatic ones to ever work.
Guest:That's what it was.
Guest:Oh, nice.
Guest:He was getting really frustrated.
Marc:Yeah, it makes a fool out of everybody.
Marc:I know.
Marc:It's like you're the coolest person.
Guest:Yeah, if it can make Sam Shepard feel foolish, I mean, it's doing its job.
Marc:Yeah, that's the humbler.
Marc:It's called the humbler.
Guest:The great humbler.
Guest:That's right.
Marc:So, okay, so I met you.
Marc:I must have been pretty excited.
Guest:Well, you were playing it cool.
Marc:I was?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But that's all right.
Guest:Those things are weird.
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:I watch you and things, and I'm like, what the fuck is she doing?
Marc:It's so good.
Guest:That's so nice.
Marc:I watch Black Mass whenever it's on.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Marc:I watch Black Mass constantly.
Oh.
Guest:That's a good movie.
Marc:It's a great movie.
Guest:I feel like that was sort of a little bit of an underrated movie.
Guest:I thought Johnny Depp was amazing in that movie.
Guest:It was amazing.
Guest:And also the cast.
Guest:Great.
Guest:Jesse Plemons.
Marc:And Rory.
Guest:Rory.
Marc:Oh, my God.
Marc:He's amazing.
Marc:That guy.
Marc:Bill Camp.
Marc:Bill Camp's always good.
Guest:Yeah, always.
Marc:And he's also in everything.
Marc:He's contractually obligated to be in everything.
Guest:We need a role for him.
Guest:I'm not mad at that.
Guest:No.
Guest:I want to see him every time.
Marc:I see him everywhere.
Marc:And I guess for decades, I never saw him once.
Guest:That's right.
Guest:It's wild.
Guest:It's his time.
Marc:He's the character actor guy.
Guest:He sure is.
Marc:But that guy, Rory, I can't remember.
Guest:He's amazing.
Guest:I can't remember his last name.
Marc:When I interviewed him, it was not easy.
Marc:Because he's kind of an intense, dark dude.
Marc:Was he smoking?
Marc:Maybe.
Marc:I let people smoke if they have to.
Guest:Right.
Marc:But I'd never seen somebody play a killer, you know, with such authenticity.
Guest:In such a believable way.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I know.
Marc:Like just that dead eye thing.
Marc:I know.
Guest:I know.
Marc:Because I've met a couple in New York, a couple of mob guys.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And they have this thing where you're like, all right.
Guest:I believe you.
Yeah.
Marc:It was in passing, like at a comedy club.
Marc:One Italian guy who was involved with the club goes, this is my uncle.
Marc:And I'm like, okay, he's one of them.
Marc:But I think the reason the aversion was that the first time I saw it, I thought like, well, Johnny Depp is great, but he kind of looks like Nosferatu.
Guest:True.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Heavy makeup, you know.
Marc:But then as I let that, and I know I've met the director a few times.
Marc:Great guy.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And he's got a tone that he's locked in.
Marc:The guy's for real.
Guest:I think so, too.
Marc:You know what I mean?
Marc:He's like an auteur.
Marc:He knows.
Guest:He's got his vision.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Totally.
Marc:And you're so fucking good.
Marc:It's like a new suit, huh?
Guest:Thank you.
Yeah.
Guest:It's so fun.
Guest:My family loves that movie because whenever I can trot out the Boston accent, they're delighted.
Guest:And David Harbour's in there.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:That crazy scene about the steak.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:I know.
Guest:Some good scenes in there.
Marc:Oh my God.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I loved doing that one.
Guest:I loved going home and being able to do that.
Guest:It was so fun.
Marc:But so what is the, like, because you, I think I spent years in Boston.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Terrified of the Boston Irish.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:Smart man.
Guest:This makes sense.
Marc:And, you know, and I was just like this aggravated, you know, sensitive Jewish kid, you know, doing comedy for all, you know, like I had to do one nighters and I had to go to.
Guest:Did you move there for BU?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:And then you stayed.
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:You did some research.
Guest:You know things.
Guest:I went to BU.
Marc:You know, I went to, I went to, I actually went to Curry in Milton.
Guest:Okay.
Yeah.
Marc:which was this weird little college because I screwed up in high school.
Marc:Then I went to BU and I was there undergrad for like, I did undergrad for like five years.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:Moved out back home, then went to LA for a year and became a doorman at the comedy store.
Marc:Got fucked up on drugs, left, went back to Boston to start doing comedy.
Marc:So my experience of, I came in second in the Boston comedy riot.
Guest:Nice.
Marc:19, what was it?
Marc:88.
Guest:Amazing.
Marc:And you know who won?
Marc:Sue McGinnis.
Marc:You don't know her, but you know her.
Guest:Is the point of the story that I don't know her and you came in second?
Marc:I came in second to a person with a very Irish name.
Guest:Got it.
Marc:Yeah, I see.
Marc:She's nice.
Marc:But then I started working, so I had to do one-nighters all over.
Marc:Lemonster, Saugus, Taunton.
Marc:Yeah, so good.
Marc:Down the Cape, Johnny Yee's, the Chinese restaurant.
Marc:So I was playing...
Marc:And they weren't even real clubs.
Marc:Right.
Marc:So I had to really engage.
Marc:Wow.
Marc:Did you ever see that Casey Affleck thing from Saturday Night Live?
Guest:The Duncans?
Guest:The Duncans?
Marc:Of course.
Guest:Yeah, it's so good.
Guest:It's perfect.
Guest:It's amazing.
Marc:It's like the best thing he's ever done.
Marc:I know.
Marc:I know.
Guest:It's so good.
Marc:But you grew up in that?
Guest:So I lived there.
Guest:I was born there.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:And then I went out, lived in Western Mass with my mom from 7 to 11.
Guest:And then I moved back to Boston for sixth grade.
Guest:And then I was there from sixth grade through high school.
Guest:And I'd go back to my mom's in Western Mass for vacations.
Marc:But so is your mom from Boston?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:She grew up in Beverly.
Marc:Right.
Guest:My dad's family's from Medford.
Right.
Marc:Oh, so it's real.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Marc:Everyone sounds like you.
Guest:A lot.
Guest:It's so interesting.
Guest:Like, it's been a really interesting thing about doing accents, actually, because even in the same family, accents are not the same because it depends on your job, you know, a million things.
Guest:But there are a lot of strong accents.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And I don't even know what that accent comes from.
Guest:There's nothing like it.
Guest:I know, I know.
Marc:And you can't, like anyone who tries to do it.
Guest:It's really hard.
Marc:Unless you have it.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:There's nothing, like, I don't want to throw anybody out.
Guest:You don't want to out anybody?
Marc:No.
Guest:It pains me.
Guest:That's why I was such a relief when I got Black Mask, because it actually pains me to listen to bad Boston accents.
Marc:So how long did you last watch Mystic River?
No.
Guest:You know, I never watched that.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:Maybe I was sparing myself.
Marc:They were all doing it.
Guest:All over the place.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And, like, I get it, but it's a very weird, delicate thing, that accent.
Guest:Totally.
Guest:That's the other thing in Black Mass.
Guest:I thought everybody got it.
Guest:Like, Jesse Plemons got that accent.
Marc:He's another guy.
Marc:Him and Rory, like, they're very, you know, they're not easy to talk to, not because they're hard to talk to.
Marc:They just don't talk much.
Marc:Right.
Marc:But they have some inner working.
Marc:Totally.
Marc:I don't know what it is, but they're just gifted guys.
Guest:I agree.
Marc:You too.
Guest:I agree.
Guest:Hey, thanks.
Marc:But, like, that character in Black Mask, I mean, that's a real person, right?
Marc:Right.
Guest:Yeah, based on two people, based on both of his wives, John Connolly's wives.
Guest:It was sort of like an amalgamation of those two people.
Guest:And imagination and just knowing people from that area.
Marc:Well, yeah.
Marc:I mean, you had to know all of them.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And he did pretty good with it.
Guest:Yeah, he really did.
Guest:Joel Edgerton.
Guest:I thought he did a great job with it.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:But sometimes I hear people from, there's like an Australia-Boston thing that's not that far off.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:I've heard that before.
Marc:But it's weird when you go down the eastern seaboard and it all shifts because Philly's got a thing.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:New York's got a thing.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Providence has a thing, but it's closer to Boston.
Marc:I don't even know where that came from.
Marc:It must have been Irish somehow.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I guess so.
Marc:It was the weirdest thing because like, you know, having been in Boston for all that time and performing for those people and just being terrified of just rooms full of like sweaty.
Guest:Drunk Irish flat faces.
Marc:Mac!
Mac!
Guest:I know, but they're funny people.
Guest:Oh, totally.
Guest:They're hilarious people.
Marc:And can be very charming.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And very friendly.
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marc:But I was very intimidated by them.
Guest:Right.
Marc:And I remember the first time I went to Ireland, I'm like, oh my God, they're all here.
Marc:This is where they come from.
Marc:But the Irish are so nice.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:They're so humble.
Guest:No, it's different.
Guest:It's totally different, but they look the same.
Guest:It's the same.
Guest:Because where I grew up, it was all Irish Catholic and Italian Catholic.
Guest:So it was sort of, it was, you were either O'Brien or like...
Marc:Right, right, right.
Marc:One of them.
Guest:Bonsignore.
Guest:So it was always those.
Marc:So your school was all Irish and Italian?
Guest:Yes.
Marc:So what happened?
Marc:So do you have sisters, like brothers?
Guest:I have a full sister who's two years younger than I am, and I have a half sister and half brother.
Marc:So there's not like nine of you.
Guest:No, no, no.
Guest:No, my mom's the oldest of 10.
Guest:My dad's the oldest of seven.
Guest:So I'm the oldest of like 40 grand, literally 40 grandkids on my mother's side because there's 10 of them and most of them had four kids.
Marc:Really?
Marc:Do you know them all?
Guest:Of course.
Guest:I miss them.
Guest:They've scattered some now as people do.
Guest:But growing up like in the 70s and 80s and like the family parties were like my favorite thing because my aunts and uncles were all hilarious and...
Guest:You know, young and funny.
Marc:They're characters, man.
Marc:Really?
Marc:But they're, like, overwhelming sometimes.
Marc:You know, because when I was starting out, I don't know if you know who Lenny Clack is.
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:But there was Lenny Clack and Mike Clack and Matt Clack.
Guest:Were they all comedians?
Marc:Lenny was a comic.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:Mike was a manager and booker.
Guest:Oh, my God.
Marc:And Mac worked at the bar.
Guest:Mac is the best name to say with the Boston accent.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Another good name is like when my girlfriend up there was living in Somerville, there was always drama at the building across the street.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:And there was always a girl on the street going, Jennifer!
Jennifer!
Marc:It was the best.
Marc:Like in the middle of the night, just screaming Jennifer with that accent.
Marc:So what part of Boston did you grow up in?
Guest:Medford.
Guest:Oh, it was Medford.
Marc:I was just out there at that theater.
Marc:There's a theater out there.
Marc:There's a big theater.
Guest:Where?
Marc:Yeah, I know.
Marc:I didn't know about it either, but I played it.
Marc:In Medford?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Like the Schubert's in Boston and then there's the Wilbur, but there's one now that they're booking in Medford.
Marc:It seats about 1,300.
Marc:Wow, big.
Marc:It's kind of old school.
Marc:Medford's right beyond Cambridge, right?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I know a guy opened a bagel shop there, but the theater was great and I couldn't believe it.
Marc:It was packed.
Marc:It was beautiful.
Guest:I'll ask my dad about it.
Guest:Hell no.
Marc:Yeah, I don't think he came.
Guest:He might not have, but he will next time.
Guest:Yeah?
Guest:Yes.
Guest:Yes, he's very up for it.
Marc:So, but your parents didn't stay together?
Guest:No, no.
Marc:What's your dad do?
Marc:Is he in a Boston type of business?
Guest:He's retired now.
Guest:He was a teacher.
Marc:Oh.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Well, that's nice.
Guest:I sold insurance when I was in school and then later career was teaching.
Marc:Yeah?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Nice guy?
Guest:Very nice guy.
Marc:Oh, that's good.
Guest:Big, nice, gentle giant.
Guest:Oh, yeah?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He's like six foot five.
Guest:Very Irish.
Guest:The noble brow.
Marc:Oh, yeah?
Guest:Yeah.
Yeah.
Marc:Is that what you call it?
Guest:That's what my husband calls up my family's four heads.
Marc:Where's your husband from?
Guest:The five heads.
Guest:England.
Guest:Oh, so he's got a... He has one, too, so it takes one to know one.
Guest:Oh, really?
Guest:He's Irish as well?
Guest:We all have big old heads.
Guest:No, he's English, but just big-headed people.
Marc:Have you gone to Ireland?
Guest:I've never.
Guest:been what are you talking i know to my great shame my uncle my uncle moved there like 40 years ago to northern ireland to belfast my mother just came back from there that's the most beautiful place in the world i know when i when there was a big wedding there i i chose to be a camp counselor instead so i missed that big trip and i have to go now it's easier in england i know right i yeah it's like an hour i know i know you can just go for the day i know
Marc:Go to Dublin at least.
Guest:It's going to happen.
Marc:Are you nervous?
Guest:No, I don't know.
Guest:I haven't made it a priority, but I am going to now.
Marc:You will just blend in.
Guest:I've heard that.
Guest:You just look at everybody else there.
Guest:It's like your people.
Guest:It's like coming home.
Marc:So wait, so, okay, so you live out in Western Mass, too?
Guest:I moved, yeah, from 6 to 6.
Marc:Why did that happen?
Guest:Because my mom and dad split up, and then my mom, the man who has now been my stepfather, he was living in Maine, and so they chose this Western Mass to sort of meet in this little cabin in the woods with no electricity or running water.
Guest:Whose idea was that?
Guest:In Montague, Massachusetts.
Guest:My mom and my stepfathers.
Marc:That had to be a Maine idea.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:I expect he suggested it, and she approved.
Guest:Who knows?
Guest:It was, like, 1978.
Guest:But actually, it was, you know, in hindsight, amazing.
Guest:An adjustment, but pretty special.
Marc:Mentioning all these states, like, triggers my... I know.
Marc:The idea of driving as a 22-year-old, you know, to do comedy in these places.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Would you take, like, the two out from Boston to Western Mass?
Marc:Well, Boston's the most confusing fucking city because west doesn't mean west.
Marc:Because it's not a grid.
Marc:And it's just like this crescent.
Marc:I know.
Marc:So you can't go direct west.
Marc:You got to know your fucking highways.
Marc:That's true.
Marc:But, no, yeah.
Marc:I did one of my first gigs in a gunk with York City.
Guest:Where is that?
Guest:Is that like south?
Guest:It's a beach town.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Agunque, York, Maine.
Marc:There was a gig.
Marc:I drove to the furthest point east in the United States, Machias, Maine, to open for a hypnotist.
Marc:It's like nine hours way up into Maine.
Marc:Oh, my God.
Marc:All right.
Marc:So you're in a cabin.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:And you're seven?
Guest:Yes.
Marc:So that's exciting.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:I mean, I don't know if it was exciting, but that's what we did.
Guest:That was it.
Guest:When you're little, you just kind of get on with it, right?
Guest:Like this is your situation.
Guest:It seems like a fun thing.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It's a lot of work.
Guest:Like a pump for water and water.
Marc:Bathrooms?
Marc:No bathrooms?
Guest:There's a bathroom, but you had to—there's an outhouse and a bathroom, but you had to, like, to flush it, to, like, pump this bucket and then pour it down, and that made it flush.
Marc:Yeah, that sounds like some sort of, like—I guess at that point, it was kind of hippie-ish, huh?
Guest:Yeah, I guess so.
Marc:I mean— Or whatever they call that.
Guest:Exactly.
Guest:I mean, I feel like— Living off the land.
Marc:Did you garden?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Oh, my gosh, yeah.
Guest:My mom's an herbalist.
Guest:We had a big garden.
Marc:She's an herbalist.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:Since then, she started, like... She's still an herbalist.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:She's a thriving company, actually.
Guest:Really?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:After years of, like, just doing it for the love as a business and, yeah.
Marc:Now, what is an herbalist?
Marc:Is that medicine?
Marc:Is she medicine?
Guest:Um...
Guest:Some.
Guest:Some.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I don't know if you call it medicine, but like, yes, for healing and well-being.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And now like so it all took off now?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And she grows it all still?
Guest:Most of it she grows herself.
Guest:She's like 12 people working for her now.
Guest:And my stepfather is in the business as well.
Marc:Is there a brand?
Guest:It's called Woodland Essence.
Marc:Really?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And she's in doctor's offices also.
Guest:She's not anti-Western medicine.
Guest:It's more in like support of.
Marc:But does she make oils as well?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Oils, tinctures, salves, creams.
Guest:And do you believe it?
Guest:I believe it.
Guest:Well, the thing is you can't just do one thing.
Guest:It's like a lifestyle.
Guest:But yeah, I believe it.
Marc:It's a lifestyle?
Marc:Yes.
Guest:I mean, you can't be eating Big Macs and smoking cigarettes and then doing like, why isn't this echinacea fixing my cold?
Guest:You know what I mean?
Guest:I see.
Guest:But yes, I believe.
Guest:I believe.
Marc:Yeah, I've taken a lot of herbs in my life.
Marc:But I think I was probably somewhere in the spectrum of not living the cleanest life.
Guest:Copy that.
Marc:So I wasn't getting the effect necessary.
Guest:Some of the other things might have been canceling them out.
Marc:Yeah, but now I live pretty clean.
Marc:I don't think I take any herbs right now.
Marc:Maybe it's somewhere in the pills.
Marc:I never could feel the difference.
Guest:Yeah, I don't take it generally, but she has, like, for instance, a salve that I love, a cryptolepsis salve.
Guest:Cryptolepsis?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:What is that supposed to do?
Guest:Cryptolepsis.
Guest:It, like, makes wounds heal faster, I find, or, like, little skin things, hangnails.
Guest:Yes, in my experience, yes.
Marc:So they built this business in a cabin in Maine.
Guest:Massachusetts.
Guest:In Massachusetts, yes.
Marc:Where, like, what's in here?
Guest:Amherst.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Guest:It's called Montague, Massachusetts.
Marc:Amherst?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:That's where all the little schools are.
Guest:There's a lot of schools there.
Guest:Good schools there.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It's a five-college town, I think.
Marc:What's the hippie school there?
Marc:Not Reed, but the other one.
Marc:That's in Oregon.
Marc:Hampshire College?
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Let the knowing laugh.
Marc:I'm majoring in not working.
Marc:It's my own major.
Marc:I designed it.
Marc:All right.
Marc:So you're out there.
Marc:You're herbaling and you go back to Boston.
Marc:So how do you get into this acting business?
Guest:So I moved to New York when I was 18.
Guest:I didn't go to college right away.
Guest:18.
Marc:So young.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And what years?
Guest:So that was I moved to New York in 1990, in February of 1990.
Marc:I was there.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Were you?
Marc:Down the street.
Guest:Wasn't it great?
Marc:It was kind of.
Guest:I loved it.
Guest:It was crazy.
Guest:It was crazy.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:It was like the end of the crazy.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I'm so glad I got a little taste.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Marc:I was in Alphabet City.
Guest:Same.
Marc:Where?
Guest:Well, I lived on... I mean, we would just hang out there.
Guest:Did you go to Benny's Burritos?
Guest:Sure.
Guest:Save the Robots?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I was on the same street as Save the Robots.
Marc:I was on second between... That was like on C, right?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah, that was a little further down.
Marc:I lived right next to, you know that thing that had all the weird sculptures outside?
Marc:It was like at 2nd and B?
Guest:Yes.
Marc:And I don't even know what it was, but I lived on right there.
Guest:I lived on 2nd between A and B. I was on 2nd between 3rd and 4th, but in 90 to 94, I was on Mott.
Marc:By the Hell's Angels?
Guest:Mott between Houston and Prince.
Marc:Oh, no, that's the 3rd.
Marc:Oh, that's nice.
Guest:That was fun.
Guest:When it was still Little Italy.
Marc:In that huge building?
Guest:No, it was right across the street from the church on the other side of the church.
Guest:An old tenement building.
Marc:Oh, okay.
Guest:Sixth floor walk up.
Marc:Yeah, it was pretty exciting then.
Marc:So fun.
Marc:A lot of heroin where I was living.
Marc:There was heroin.
Guest:Heroin was definitely around.
Marc:Heroin was everywhere.
Marc:I know.
Marc:Why did people kneeling over?
Guest:I worked in a restaurant.
Guest:Did you ever go to Sugar Reef?
Guest:It was a Caribbean restaurant on Second Avenue.
Guest:But I remember I was so naive when I first got there.
Guest:And I was working one night, and there was a girl who was on the nod over her plate.
Guest:And I was like, you guys, that poor girl has narcolepsy.
Guest:They're like, what?
Guest:No.
Guest:She's high.
Guest:I was like, no.
Guest:She's got narcolepsy.
Guest:She's sleeping right over her food.
Guest:They're like, oh, dear.
Marc:Go, go, go, go.
Marc:Time to educate the rural girl.
Guest:Go pick up the jerk chicken and just be quiet.
Marc:So when you're in New York, like, what are you doing?
Guest:So I first went there with a modeling agency from Boston, brought me and another girl there.
Marc:How is that local Boston modeling agency?
Guest:Well, that's why I went to New York.
Guest:But actually, it was, I mean, for Boston, it was like.
Marc:Who was running that thing?
Marc:What was that character?
Guest:Oh, God.
Guest:I think somebody, Kathy and somebody who had like a cane with a wolf's head on it.
Guest:Oh, good.
Guest:Yeah, sure.
Guest:Bill.
Guest:But anyway, I went to New York with another girl.
Guest:But I did that for literally about six months.
Guest:And I was like, no, no, I don't think I want to do this.
Marc:Modeling?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And so we went.
Marc:Were you good?
Guest:I wasn't good at it.
Guest:I was scared.
Guest:It was basically a way to get to New York.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So you're there, and you do it for six months.
Guest:Yeah, and then we got our own apartment down in Little Italy.
Guest:It's a great block.
Guest:It was so good.
Guest:It was so nice.
Guest:The guys were still sitting out, freckles!
Guest:They would look after us.
Marc:In front of the clubhouse?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:The social clubs?
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:They're like, what are you doing tonight?
Guest:Actually, one time I told them I worked at, my friend opened a club on Houston, and I happened to, this again, naive, that all changed.
Guest:But I told them I was working at this club on Houston, and later that night, I was cocktail wage thing.
Guest:I saw him and another couple guys.
Guest:I hid.
Guest:And I didn't tell my friend, like, hey, those are my neighbors over on Maud.
Marc:Who are those scary men?
Marc:I have no idea.
Guest:Are they gone?
Guest:Oh, God, get them out of here.
Marc:So what happens?
Marc:You move down there.
Guest:So I was waitressing, and then I started going to school at Hunter College.
Guest:And then I always wanted to act, and so I would sort of every once in a while try an acting class.
Guest:But none really, I didn't like them.
Guest:They didn't make sense to me.
Guest:And then when I was 24, I happened to, in the same period of time, meet a manager and an acting teacher, Sheila Gray, who made sense to me.
Marc:I've heard her name before.
Guest:She's in New York.
Guest:She does her own thing.
Marc:She worked with comics, I think.
Guest:Probably.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:She has a really interesting mix of clients.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:This is in the 90s also.
Marc:Yes, because a lot of comics, you know, when they tried to get TV deals would go to acting coaches.
Marc:One woman named Alice Spivak was one.
Marc:But I think Sheila Gray probably coached a couple people I knew.
Guest:Probably.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So you'd never done it before?
Guest:No.
No.
Marc:And she had a class?
Guest:So she had three classes.
Guest:And the first one was like a basic exercise class.
Guest:And you would go in.
Guest:It was two hours.
Guest:And you would go in on a Wednesday evening and do relaxation.
Guest:And then it was basically working on sense memory, on pulling things from your own life and trying to draw them up.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Do you use that?
Guest:Less so now.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Sometimes.
Guest:But it was a great way in.
Guest:It was a great way for me to feel like...
Guest:What's interesting to me is using my own real feelings.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Feelings, right.
Guest:If you can.
Marc:If you can access the feelings without the smell.
Marc:Do you have to go back to something?
Guest:No, I don't have to do that anymore.
Guest:I used to have to take time to create the space or remember the smell.
Marc:But working with your own feelings happens when you're in relationship with the material in another person.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:I think so.
Guest:Do you do that?
Marc:Yeah, but like, like I, you know, I don't I've tried to extract acting lessons from almost every actor I've had in here.
Marc:And, you know, I even had Martin Landau in here.
Guest:Oh, my God.
Guest:What did he tell you?
Marc:Well, most of it is listening, you know.
Guest:Yes, that's true.
Marc:Yeah, and then I was so funny because I had Paul Dano in here.
Marc:He's great.
Guest:He's very talented.
Marc:I wasn't being a dick, really, but I just wanted to pull something out of my head.
Marc:I'm like, do you do animal work?
Guest:What did he say?
Guest:He does.
Oh, okay.
Guest:Listen, whatever you can do, do it.
Marc:And I think for the most part, the difference between an efficient actor and a great actor is it's just genetic.
Marc:It's just innate.
Guest:You think so?
Marc:Sometimes.
Marc:Yeah, because I know there's definitely people that fit on screen.
Marc:There's people who don't.
Marc:I don't know why.
Marc:Yes.
Marc:You know, there's people who fit on TV and not in movies.
Marc:There's people who are in movies that are kind of like a little too big for TV sometimes.
Marc:And then there's people that are good, but they just don't translate.
Marc:There's some amalgamation of things that you can have a craft.
Marc:And obviously there's people who transform themselves into...
Marc:other people but then there's just people who you know they they're great actors but I think a lot of it is just a natural thing you don't no I think there's something to that yeah so but but let's talk crafts for just a second okay
Marc:Because I'm doing this guy now.
Marc:I've been hired to do this guy.
Marc:It's a comedy.
Marc:I'm working with Owen Wilson.
Marc:And the guys, they wanted a cranky guy with a good heart.
Guest:And what are you going to play?
Guest:Exactly.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:It's a real stretch for me.
Marc:And I really had to dig deep.
Marc:But I was really trying to continue to figure out why acting is rewarding.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Yes.
Marc:you know, especially, you know, TV or film acting.
Marc:I can't imagine doing a play now.
Marc:I did them in college, but it's just so much time.
Marc:But like, you know, when you're doing these bits and pieces and, you know, and it's not, you know, that's your, it doesn't matter.
Marc:I've talked about this a million times, but I put a lot in place for this guy, but I don't know, really know, you know, by, by the fourth day, I'm usually like, I'm just, I'm just being me.
Marc:What is this?
Guest:But that's okay.
Guest:If that's what that character calls for.
Guest:If you're doing it in a sort of relaxed way and you're listening and you're like following impulses, then great.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And I'm just like turning up the cranky.
Marc:I'm a little guarded.
Marc:He's, you know, kind of a sad guy.
Marc:And, you know, but it just I don't know what I'm looking for.
Marc:I don't know if I'm expecting total immersion.
Guest:Well, I was going to say, do you feel like you want to play a character that's wildly different from who you are?
Marc:I kind of did that in 2 Leslie.
Marc:I played a guy with the slight Texas accent.
Marc:I did okay.
Marc:I took a risk, but I thought I did all right.
Guest:I think you're really good.
Marc:Well, that's very nice of you to say.
Guest:It's true.
Guest:I think you feel really relaxed and alive in a great way.
Marc:I definitely have that.
Guest:That's, I mean, I don't know what percentage.
Guest:I was going to put a number on it, but that's a huge part of it, I feel like.
Guest:But when you act.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:And they say, we got it.
Marc:How many times do you think, like, do you...
Guest:Well, now I feel like actually just because I feel like I got it or didn't get it, that's not necessarily the truth.
Marc:Yes.
Guest:You know what I mean?
Guest:And I have to trust that if the people who are like creating the story, putting the thing together have got it.
Marc:Right.
Marc:They're not like what my my insecurity.
Marc:It's like if they only do two takes and they got it.
Marc:There's part of me that thinks like, I don't think they did.
Marc:And I just don't think they know what to do with me.
Guest:No, no, I don't think that's true.
Marc:They've made a mistake and they're just going to ride it out.
Guest:How are they going to tell me?
Guest:They don't want to waste too much film because they've got to get the other guy in.
Guest:I don't know.
Marc:It's fun.
Marc:I'm just trying to figure out where the satisfaction comes.
Marc:I think I'm getting it.
Marc:If you make solid choices in terms of if you're doing a comedy bit, I can know when that lands.
Guest:Well, that's like a timing thing too, right?
Marc:And also like Jeff Daniels.
Marc:The only thing that I'm thinking about in acting right now is
Marc:I talked to Jeff Daniels.
Marc:And, like, he's intense.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Have you met him?
Guest:I have met him.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Briefly.
Marc:And then, you know, he's going on.
Marc:He's like, you've got to learn how to use your face.
Marc:Film acting is all face.
Marc:Wow.
Guest:What does that mean?
Guest:It's almost always on your face.
Guest:I know.
Guest:But what about use your face?
Guest:What does use your face mean?
Marc:Well, I mean, realize that everything here, you know, when it's on a screen.
Guest:Is being captured.
Marc:You have to have some control over it.
Marc:Be aware.
Marc:Right.
Marc:in a way that you're acting with your face.
Marc:Oh God.
Marc:Sorry.
Guest:No.
Guest:It makes sense though, right?
Guest:It does.
Guest:I hate acting with my face.
Guest:Like if there's something like no lines, it's a reaction shot.
Guest:And like, I've done the thing and the camera's still rolling.
Guest:I'm like, shit, I feel my face.
Guest:I don't want to feel my face.
Marc:How are you with your hands?
Guest:I'm fine.
Marc:All right, good.
Guest:You know what?
Guest:I think I clench them a lot.
Marc:I use mine too much.
Marc:And, like, sometimes I'm like, dude.
Marc:But that's what I do in real life.
Marc:Right.
Marc:You know, but sometimes, like, I'm acting and there's my hands are going.
Marc:And I'm like, that's going to be on camera.
Marc:Your hands are going to upstage your whole head.
Oh, no.
Guest:I know we shouldn't we shouldn't know our own behavior.
Marc:So I've been doing a lot of reacting work.
Marc:It's like crazy because they're like, all right, I just isn't that hard.
Guest:I think that's the hardest thing.
Guest:Reacting work.
Marc:No, because at least but at least like it forces me to think about, you know, your face.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:That's all I'm thinking about.
Guest:So what are you?
Guest:Give me an example like of using your face.
Marc:Oh, like in a scene, there's a scene where, you know, the guy Owen's playing.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Who is my best friend.
Guest:I can't wait for this movie.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:But it's mostly about him.
Marc:It's a golf show.
Marc:You know, he plays a washed up golf pro who finds a kid.
Marc:On a driving range, this, you know, this cocky little kid who he wants to make Tiger Woods.
Marc:So I'm his old caddy.
Marc:So he wants to drag me on the road in a recreational vehicle to do tournaments with this kid to get him in shape.
Marc:And he's got the kid's mother there and we pick up another teenager.
Marc:So there's five of us in this underdog family.
Guest:Oh, my gosh.
Marc:But in the beginning shows...
Marc:Like the mother is with us.
Marc:She's great.
Marc:Mariana Trevino, Mexican actress, and she's great.
Marc:She was in that last movie with Tom Hanks where he plays the cranky guy, Otto or something.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:But the moment is like she's talking about her kid to Price.
Marc:Price is reacting like, why is he doing this or that?
Marc:And then, you know, she says, well, if you ever had a kid, you would know that.
Marc:And he had a kid that died.
Marc:And I know that.
Marc:Right.
Marc:So, you know, Dobkin, the director, is like, all right, I want you to clock that.
Marc:We're going to, you know, I want you to clock, you know.
Guest:That exchange, she's brought up this thing and doesn't know.
Marc:Yeah, and it beats in my face.
Marc:So I'm sitting off stage like... Working my face a little bit, trying to figure out, what am I going to go with?
Marc:You know, I kind of went with... And then looked at him.
Guest:Nice.
Guest:Nice work.
Guest:Nailed it.
Marc:But then when I think about it, but then you can get carried away, so I'm doing too much face.
Guest:Of course.
Guest:I remember in that show Entourage, somebody calls the actor, he just calls him an indicating motherfucker, and that is on a loop in my head a lot of times when I'm doing reaction stuff.
Guest:When I feel like I don't have the feeling anymore, but the camera's still rolling, and it's like, you just got to keep doing whatever the thing is you're supposed to do.
Marc:Yeah, I don't like that feeling where, like, you know, but...
Marc:Hopefully by the time they're doing coverage on somebody else and you're just kind of, you know, doing the lines for them.
Marc:You know, you can get a little more self-conscious.
Marc:You can disengage a bit.
Marc:But there are times where, like, I'm doing business, you know, where I had to be cleaning up a table and I'm coming around and I got a line over there.
Marc:And while I'm throwing the cups away, I'm like, okay, that line is, I remember it.
Marc:I got 12 seconds to make sure I know where I'm going.
Guest:Take my time over there.
Marc:But you're right.
Marc:They're connected to the feeling thing.
Marc:Because I think, if anything, I'm feeling that.
Marc:Because I'm feeling a little better about the time I do spend on screen, on camera, as being satisfying.
Marc:Great.
Marc:Because that's true.
Marc:And I think, if anything, when somebody says, I prepped and I put it inside, and then you just got to trust it, I think that's real.
Guest:yeah i agree yeah and it sounds i mean we've heard before but then you really just have to be in the moment and listen and i i think not having preconceived ideas about what's supposed to happen is yeah it's a good idea what about what about how are you with the uh with like like okay so when did this happen this scene oh yeah i do that yeah of course i so did i kill him yeah is this after the bloody thing
Guest:I know, it's bananas.
Guest:So much also is, it's done after the acting.
Guest:It's done in editing.
Guest:It's done with the music.
Guest:It's done with, like, the other actor's face.
Guest:Like, it's not all on us.
Guest:Like, taking that pressure off yourself is, I think, helpful also.
Marc:Yeah, no, I feel that.
Guest:Nothing doesn't, like, live and die on our faces.
Guest:There's, like, it's a whole thing.
Marc:I also like when, like, I don't, like, there's this idea, like, sometimes I think, like, this could be better, this bit.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:And sometimes it is.
Marc:But a lot of times they're like, you know, like, you'll lay down what they wrote.
Marc:And I'm like, I think we should try it like this.
Marc:And they're like, oh, yeah, yeah, go ahead.
Marc:And sometimes I think they know they can just use whatever one they want.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But some people actually mean that.
Marc:No, they do on this one.
Marc:They want it to be funny.
Guest:Yeah, great.
Guest:And then if you have something to say, I mean, nine times out of ten, probably going to be.
Marc:So when you did Mare of.
Marc:Easttown.
Marc:Oh, my God.
Marc:So good.
Guest:Thank you.
Marc:You won a prize, right?
Guest:I did.
I did.
Marc:That's fucking exciting.
Guest:That was exciting.
Marc:Oh my god.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I know.
Marc:Finally.
Guest:She's great though, right?
Guest:She's incredible.
Guest:She's incredible.
Guest:She's got an innate talent, as you say.
Guest:I want to watch her on the TV.
Guest:I want to watch her on the screen.
Guest:She's got some crazy access to like, I don't know, honesty or something.
Guest:There's a part in that show where she sees my son on the screen, like makes the connection, and she just goes like, makes a sound.
Guest:And I wrote to her and I was like, that's bananas.
Guest:Like it was just so, she was looking at a blank screen when it happened.
Guest:Like, it wasn't—she had to, like, make the whole thing up.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So, I don't know.
Guest:I think she's amazing.
Guest:I think she is so generous.
Marc:I interviewed her once, and it was during COVID on Zoom, and I was sort of like, oh, my God.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I'm talking to her right now.
Marc:And she's, like, so—brings you right in.
Marc:Totally.
Marc:And you're like, oh, my God, this is the best being seen by her.
Marc:I know.
Guest:I know.
Guest:She's incredible.
Guest:Right?
Guest:Yeah, huge fan.
Marc:And when you act with somebody that you respect at that level, you—
Marc:It ups your game, right?
Guest:Yes.
Guest:That was also really nice because we knew each other a little bit.
Guest:Not deeply, but it was really fun because we had history.
Guest:And so that was really helpful to creating that.
Guest:And then sometimes you just have a nice connection with a particular actor and you feel like you go deeper or something because of that.
Guest:Which is also like a little pixie dust or something.
Guest:You can't predict.
Yeah.
Marc:And a lot of times it's odd because Owen and I, I don't know him.
Marc:I didn't before.
Marc:But I get it.
Marc:We're supposed to play best friends.
Marc:So we hung out a few times.
Marc:I'm like, no problem.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:And you create a dynamic.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:When you hang out before, when you take that time to do that, it goes a long way, I feel like.
Marc:Yeah, because you understand how you as you engages with this person emotionally.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And if it needs to be deep, you can kind of choose to do that in a way, right?
Guest:Yeah, you have that there.
Marc:But you've done a lot of television and you like doing that work?
Guest:I've done a lot of television.
Guest:Yeah, I do.
Guest:It's also where I make money.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Are you sad that there's not more film work?
Guest:No, I wouldn't say sad, but I like being able to do both.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:When was your first big break?
Guest:I feel like there's been so many of them along the way.
Marc:Initially, when you were coming up in New York.
Guest:So I had a back-to-back.
Guest:I did a Stephen King miniseries called... Oh, gosh.
Guest:Now I can't remember all of a sudden.
Guest:But I did a Stephen King miniseries.
Guest:storm of the century yeah um and i went up to toronto for like three months so that felt like a big idea big deal because i could like put my shifts on could get somebody to cover my shifts at the restaurant yeah because i worked in a restaurant for 10 years in new york oh because you're doing the real work now finally yeah but then i came back from that yeah and went back to the restaurant and and uh that's rough right it wasn't great yeah and then i i remember one time i was like
Guest:Maybe I'll try to get unemployment.
Guest:And I went to unemployment.
Guest:I signed up for unemployment.
Guest:And then when I had to go to the, you know, City Hall or whatever it is to do, like, you have to do meetings.
Guest:Storm of the Century had aired, like, the night before.
Guest:And people were like, I was signing the back of people's resumes, autographing.
Guest:I was like, oh, my God, this is so surreal.
Guest:And then I was like, I'm not doing unemployment.
Guest:I'm just going to work at the restaurant.
Guest:It's all good.
Marc:So that was the first big TV break.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So it was that.
Guest:And then I did a movie, DreamWorks movie called The Love Letter, which felt like.
Guest:And after that, then I stopped working in restaurants.
Guest:And I did another TV show called The Others, which was for DreamWorks.
Guest:And then it's just been like.
Guest:So Spielberg liked you?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Did you hang out with him?
Guest:When we were making that movie, yes, because Kate Capshaw, his wife, was the lead in The Love Letter.
Guest:So I knew them a little bit.
Marc:Was that daunting?
Guest:Yeah, I mean, totally.
Guest:Actually, I saw him.
Guest:I went to the AFI luncheon a couple years ago for Mare of Easttown.
Guest:And this guy was like, Julianne.
Guest:And he had the mask on.
Guest:He's like, I don't know if you recognize me.
Guest:And it was him.
Guest:And I hadn't seen him in like 20 years.
Guest:I was like, I do.
Guest:I do.
Guest:And then he introduced me to...
Guest:Who wrote Angels in America?
Guest:Tony Kushner.
Guest:He was next to him.
Guest:And I was just like, mind blown.
Marc:That was like a... Did you do a lot of theater?
Guest:Not a lot.
Guest:I did some.
Guest:I didn't right away.
Guest:But then I started and I did like a little run of it.
Guest:I loved it.
Guest:But as you say, it's a ton of work for no money.
Guest:And it's like, I want to do it again, but it has to be like very...
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Something particular, good, interesting.
Marc:Now, let's talk about Annie Baker.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Because I love that movie.
Guest:Did you watch it?
Marc:I did, yeah.
Guest:That's so nice.
Marc:Why wouldn't I watch it?
Marc:You're kind of— I don't know.
Marc:We're going to talk— I don't know.
Marc:Janet Planet.
Marc:Janet Planet.
Marc:Janet Planet.
Marc:Well, I interviewed her years ago, and I went and saw her plays.
Marc:And, you know, she's kind of a really—
Marc:Interesting writer.
Guest:Totally.
Marc:Because she doesn't overwrite.
Marc:She writes like significant pauses in her dialogue, which to me is like, all right, well, she knows exactly what she wants.
Marc:Like she's got it's in the in the scripts right there.
Marc:It's coded.
Guest:I know.
Marc:Like long pause, short pause.
Guest:I read that.
Guest:And she even writes a note saying, if you don't adhere to these, you're not doing my play.
Guest:Meaning, that's not the play that I've written.
Guest:If you don't even, like, for the time that she's suggesting, if you, like, barge through that, not the same play.
Marc:Was the movie like that?
Guest:No, I mean...
Marc:Did she have pauses in the script?
Guest:Well, the script was only 70 pages.
Guest:So she knew, we all knew going into it, that a lot of what the film was going to be was like finding moments between and around the words.
Marc:That's the way she knew she had leeway.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Because she's directing and she's making a film.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:She knew what the story was, but she didn't need every detail of what was going to happen on paper.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Now, when you say she knew what the story was, I mean, I can see what the story is, but what did you see the story as?
Marc:What was that movie about to you?
Guest:I just thought it was a beautiful exploration of a parent and child that I've never seen before.
Guest:The sort of...
Guest:The combination of knowing someone so intimately, so deeply, and almost not knowing them at all is like a huge and common experience.
Marc:With children.
Guest:With children.
Guest:And it's big.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And so I thought – and I'm a huge fan of Annie's because I saw a bunch of her plays in New York, too.
Guest:I think she's amazing.
Guest:I think she's so smart and so particular and original.
Marc:So I was excited to – Yeah, there's some – like, the character, like, you know, when you live a certain life, you know those people.
Yeah.
Guest:Well, growing up there, I knew a lot of those people, knew people like that.
Marc:Growing up like in Western Mass?
Guest:Yeah, in Western Mass.
Marc:And what kind of people are they exactly?
Marc:You know, because there are people that live, you know, that decide to live relatively secure lives with jobs.
Marc:And you can sort of see that.
Marc:But then there are these other people that don't quite fit in and either they get lost or
Marc:Or their aspirations buckle or fail, and they have to figure out another thing that no longer enables them to really fit into society anymore?
Guest:I think a lot of people are lost, right?
Guest:And I feel like...
Guest:Our story takes place in 1991, but that part of the world feels sort of unchanged.
Guest:And I was there in late 70s and 80s and with my mom starting to practice with herbs and my stepfather was a woodworker.
Guest:A woodworker.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He builds houses.
Guest:Carpenter, woodworker.
Marc:What was your mom before?
Guest:She went to school to become a nurse, actually, and then ditched that and was more interested in... Eastern medicine or... Just, you know... Holistic?
Guest:More holistic approach.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And she since studied Ayurveda and all sorts of things.
Marc:She did study that?
Guest:Yes.
Guest:Yeah.
Yeah.
Marc:So it was familiar.
Guest:So it was familiar.
Guest:Not her, because they were married.
Guest:They were raising a family.
Guest:They didn't smoke pot.
Guest:You know, maybe they were, like, eating lentil loaf.
Guest:Like, being a vegetarian used to not be delicious.
Guest:I don't know if you know that.
Marc:Well, it used to be very heavy.
Guest:Heavy.
Guest:A lot of, like, loafs.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:A lot of loaves and alfalfa sprouts.
Guest:A lot of sprouts.
Marc:A lot of sprouts.
Guest:A lot of sprouts.
Guest:But I just remember people in their lives, some people that sort of came in and out of their lives.
Guest:My mom actually is a very beautiful woman and would attract people.
Guest:People would get like a bit latchy with her.
Marc:Like an empath kind of person?
Guest:Yeah, a bit empath.
Guest:And just she's very beautiful and sparkly.
Guest:And it just like people just are drawn to that, especially if they don't have things going on.
Marc:Right.
Marc:But does she have good boundaries to where she didn't get exhausted by... I think so.
Guest:That's good.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Because that's sort of the psychology of...
Marc:your character in the movie, you know, is kind of like this chronic codependency thing.
Guest:She's seeking to fill that void outside with other people.
Marc:And it's exhausting.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:You know what's funny?
Guest:When you read about yourself, like I read two reviews, and when people talk about how weary your character looks, I'm like, was I weary?
Marc:I think there's a difference between...
Marc:It's weary and sort of like the vulnerability of not being able to fix patterns.
Guest:Yeah, she is weary also.
Guest:I just mean it's funny.
Guest:It's funny to read about yourself sometimes.
Marc:But it's interesting because I didn't really see it as weary as much as when somebody is trying to change as a grown-up or has to make a big life change.
Marc:shift that you're in some sort of unknown thing and an unknown space.
Marc:And there's a vulnerability to that that's kind of crazy.
Marc:But you have to sort of commit to this wife that you built to yourself.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Even though you're not entirely sure of it, right?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I feel like she's literally at this moment in her life just still trying to put one foot in front of the other and hoping that it's going to bring her...
Marc:Somewhere OK.
Marc:At some point she got the what is she's a practitioner of.
Guest:She's an acupuncturist.
Marc:So like at some point she's like I'm going to do that.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And whatever the life was before that was not going great.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Correct.
Guest:Change paths.
Guest:I don't know what she did before.
Marc:But acupuncture is a big commitment.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:She had to study and practice.
Guest:Did you?
Guest:I did.
Guest:I worked with an acupuncturist and they brought Will Patton and I was like putting needles in him on her table and then in the movie, it's like, Will, don't move.
Guest:Don't move.
Marc:That guy's so good.
Guest:He's amazing.
Marc:Like, everything he's in, it's crazy.
Guest:He's incredible.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He's a really interesting man.
Guest:And to sit across, talk about listening, you just know, like, he's just paying attention when you're sat across from him.
Guest:There's no difference in, you know, before action and after action.
Guest:He's just all ears.
Guest:He's amazing.
Marc:And that character, like, barely talked.
Guest:I know.
Marc:And, you know, when he's howling outside, you're like, that guy.
Guest:I know him.
Guest:Seen it.
Marc:But that was the interesting thing.
Marc:The one moment in the movie that I think about a lot for some reason is when you're with your friend who's in the cult.
Guest:Sophie, yeah.
Guest:Regina.
Marc:Regina.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Great actress.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:But there's a moment where you kind of feel like...
Marc:Okay, she rescued her and she's getting back on.
Marc:But then when she's gone and other cult members come to clean out the bedroom and that just goes by.
Marc:Like there's no describing anything.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:There's just people taking the pictures of the wall.
Marc:Right.
Marc:But then your character dates the guy.
Marc:I know.
Right.
Marc:Because you're you're that lost.
Guest:Yeah, I think so.
Guest:I think she's.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:But you didn't buy into it.
Marc:No.
Marc:And that's the moment that gets me is where you realize when when he's reciting his poem that he's a fucking child.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:This is not going to help.
Guest:This is not going to help the situation.
Guest:And why would you?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I really feel like there's a shift at the end of this story, at the end of this summer, that it's not an immediate fix, but maybe they are going to make little changes in their lives.
Guest:Maybe they are going to be okay.
Marc:Well, I think the little girl is great.
Marc:She's amazing.
Marc:And also those kind of kids that are put in a position to be more grown up than they're supposed to be.
Guest:Totally.
Guest:Well, parenting was different in 91 than it is now.
Marc:Wow.
Marc:I can't even, like, I can't isolate 91 as a significant.
Guest:Well, that time, I mean, how were you parented?
Guest:I bet differently than people are parenting.
Guest:Barely.
Guest:Right.
Guest:That was more of the vibe, you know, and I feel like we've just gotten more and more and more sort of intense with our kids.
Guest:And it was much more free-flowing, I think, in the 90s and in the 80s.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And you're saying things like I just I remember my mom asking her if I could do something and she would say, well, you know, well, what do you want to do?
Marc:Right.
Marc:And then you'd be like, well, I want you to tell me what to do.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So I don't have to live in this anxiety.
Guest:Right.
Marc:And then she'd say, like, do you want me to say no?
Guest:Oh, God.
Marc:And then it'd be like, what a head trip.
Marc:It's a negotiation.
Guest:Forget it.
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marc:I'm just, I'm not even going to think about it.
Marc:I'm not going to go.
Marc:I'm not going to even respond to whatever I was asking you.
Marc:But that was, yeah.
Marc:But that kid seemed like had been through enough of your relatively bad decisions to kind of find a sense of self, right?
Guest:Yeah, I think so.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:That's the other thing where you have these, you know, I mean, and I know Annie must have known that, that these are, as they're presented, they're strong women, really.
Yeah.
Marc:But for some reason, they're suckers.
Guest:Still making bad choices.
Marc:Right.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Because of whatever.
Guest:Yep.
Marc:And what do you think that was?
Marc:Well, I think that... When you think of the woman you were playing, what are they honoring?
Guest:I think that was also a different time.
Guest:I think she was raised with the idea that you find your happiness or being complete with a partner, with love.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Which I feel like, thank God, is not still... I feel like that narrative is changing.
Guest:I don't feel people are still feeling like they have to... That being with a person is the end-all, be-all.
Guest:Thank God.
Guest:Or kids, end-all, be-all.
Guest:Thank God.
Guest:You can make a choice, and that doesn't mean anything.
Marc:You can live life how you want.
Guest:Exactly.
Guest:It's not expectation, exactly, for the next couple weeks.
Marc:I know.
Marc:But you're in England.
Guest:Yeah, but, you know, no one's safe.
Yeah.
Marc:I guess that's true.
Guest:But I will be happy to go back to England and at least not have the, like, constant barrage.
Marc:Oh, yeah, even in Canada.
Marc:When I go to Canada, right when you get off the plane, you're like, oh, it's not here.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It's different.
Guest:It's really different.
Guest:Totally.
Guest:Yeah, I can feel, I can't wait to go back and just my, like, cortisol levels.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Come down a little bit.
Marc:Well, that's because everything's jacked here.
Guest:Fucking jacked.
Guest:Driving here.
Guest:It's like, oh, my God.
Guest:It's so intense.
Marc:I know.
Marc:I say that when I'm in Canada when I do stand-up up there.
Marc:I'm like, you know, the menace isn't here.
Marc:Whatever that is, that psychic chaos, it just isn't up here.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And they come by, but we got our.
Marc:No, you don't.
Guest:You don't.
Guest:Not the same.
Marc:No.
Marc:Nothing's like this.
No.
Marc:I know.
Marc:And even England, I know people are like, well, the politics here.
Marc:I'm like, yeah, but they've, England's been through everything.
Guest:My husband compares it to like, it's like depression versus psychosis.
Marc:Right.
Right.
Guest:Like, it's not great in England, but it's kind of like depression versus here, which is just like madness.
Marc:Yeah, but like in England, you can go look at a wall that was there before Christ.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:They've been through it.
Marc:Yeah, everything.
Guest:And you feel that there, I think.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:There's like, you know, there's just this, like, I just watched that Hitler documentary, you know, the six parts of it.
Guest:Oh, my God.
Marc:And just like two generations, three generations ago, Britain, England was devastated, leveled.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And there's still family memories of that.
Guest:Yep.
Marc:Here we can't even get through 200 years.
Guest:I know.
Marc:But I don't know what's going to happen.
Marc:But it's not.
Marc:It's just like, it's just fucking this, the phones.
Marc:It's making people crazy.
Marc:I agree.
Marc:People interface with it and they don't realize that this is like 100 times more powerful than your dumb brain.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And you're just letting it rewire it.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And I'm guilty of that.
Guest:Of course, everybody does.
Guest:Now, I think at least they're sort of making, they're coming out against phones for children and in schools.
Guest:There's at least some arguments for that, which is like, hallelujah.
Marc:How do you get those kids whose parents just throw them an iPad when they're four?
Guest:I know.
Guest:It's so bad.
Marc:How'd you bring up your kids?
Guest:Not like that.
Guest:They didn't have phones until they were teenagers when we moved to England.
Guest:So my daughter was 13, my son was 14 when they got phones.
Marc:So now do you get to be a citizen over there?
Guest:No, I have a visa.
Guest:I think, don't you have to give up citizenship to... To marry into the other citizenship?
No.
Guest:I mean, I'm married, but you don't get it.
Guest:You have to, I don't know.
Guest:Apply for it.
Guest:Learn things.
Guest:Maybe give this one up.
Guest:I don't want to give up my U.S.
Guest:citizenship.
Marc:I applied for permanent residency in Canada.
Marc:Like about two and a half years ago.
Marc:Just so like, you know, I could be the refugee with his papers in order.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You're ready for the big one.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:When I'm at the border, you know, in British Columbia or whatever the borders, Washington up there, you know, I'll be there with all the other L.A.
Marc:Jews who are holding their pilot scripts and I'll have my...
Guest:You'll get fast-tracked.
Marc:Yeah, I'll have the nexus of refugee visas.
Marc:But it's like you don't give up your citizenship.
Marc:But if you live there a certain amount of time, like two years every five, you can work and get health coverage and be on the path to something.
Guest:In Canada.
Marc:Oh, that's good.
Marc:Yeah, I mean, it's like, I don't know.
Marc:I just did it because I wanted to feel better.
Marc:Or that I'd done some prep other than buy a gun.
Marc:You know what I mean?
Marc:To go down shooting.
Guest:Oh, God.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I feel sad, though, a little bit about that.
Guest:Because I know so many people were making their exit plans.
Guest:And I just feel like, shit.
Marc:Are they really?
Guest:I mean, I know a few people who are getting their citizenships in other countries.
Guest:Like Portugal.
Guest:They're buying their way in.
Marc:People with Italian relatives.
Guest:Because through family.
Marc:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marc:Well, I think then you can carry two passports, I think.
Guest:Yeah, you can.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Well, I guess it's... I guess it's the idea of people jumping ship, even though I've already done it.
Guest:I find it a little sad and worrying.
Marc:Well, I mean, there's only a certain type of person at a certain level of economic ability that can do that.
Marc:True.
Marc:My fear is it's like not that...
Marc:I don't think most people will jump ship.
Marc:They'll adapt to whatever, you know, they'll just shut up.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I guess that's worse.
Marc:I mean, it already happens.
Marc:You know, you go to some states, you're like just, you know, it's like the fucking 60s only, you know, you know.
Guest:Don't mind the concealed weapons.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:You know, it's just like maybe, you know, don't don't wear that shirt here.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:You know what I mean?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:But I mean, I guess I don't know why we're talking about politics, but there is.
Marc:But but to bring back coming back to the movie.
Marc:Is that like there's the thing that scares me the most is that there there's so much real and good art still happening.
Marc:you know, that engages in, you know, taking creative risks and vulnerability, you know, both in acting and screenwriting plays and theater and stuff, that, you know, sadly, because of the way the media landscape is and the way that culture doesn't have a center anymore, like, I just wonder if it has the impact that it could.
Marc:Like, there's some part of me that thinks, like, well, I was going to watch the movie.
Marc:How are they going to see the movie?
Marc:How is it going to bring a message to people who aren't kind of insulated in the type of people that would see that movie?
Marc:How's the poetry going to work?
Guest:I know.
Guest:You don't have an answer?
Guest:I don't, I'm afraid.
Guest:No, I, yeah, I get that's a valid question.
Guest:I'm sorry, I don't have an answer.
Marc:Well, God damn it.
Guest:I know, but I agree.
Guest:How do people even find out about certain things?
Guest:I mean, that's, we don't have to live in this, but like, you know, with the phones and just, we're fed only the things that, the algorithm and all this, so your mind is not opened to other people's experiences, other movies you might not have seen otherwise, and...
Marc:Or any sort of collective experience that is beyond your particular bubble.
Guest:Totally.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I mean, like, I've been working on a bit about how, like, if you're in a relationship, you're really probably in some sort of, you know, there's probably four emotional entities involved.
Marc:There's you and your partner and your phones.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And where you're getting your emotional relationship, you know, you might want to think about it.
Yeah.
Marc:Because I can lay in bed and scroll for 10 minutes, and by the time I've gotten out of bed, I've cried twice, and I'm exhausted.
I know.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I'm thinking about doing a tech-free day over the summer.
Marc:You're planning that far in advance?
Guest:Well, it is the summer, basically when this job stops, which is Wednesday.
Guest:It's like tech-free Friday.
Guest:For me and my kids and my husband, everybody put their phone down.
Marc:It's so funny because it's such a drug addict thing to say.
Guest:Of course.
Guest:I'm just going to have a little.
Marc:Well, no.
Marc:Or I'm like, next month I'm going to stop.
Marc:At least I'm going to take a week off.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Exactly.
Guest:I'm going to try this on Friday.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I've gotten scared about it because I'm so compulsive with it.
Marc:And it's gotten worse.
Guest:I find it's bad when I'm not at home, when I'm working, because I'm lonely.
Guest:Also, like you have more time to yourself.
Guest:And it's also like when you spend so much time not with your people after a while, like cumulatively, it's I'm suddenly it was great in my 20s, even 30s.
Guest:And now I'm like, am I having another fucking dinner out by myself?
Guest:And I like my company.
Guest:I'm very, very happy on my own.
Guest:I love, like, my own time.
Guest:But there's, like, an accumulation of just, like, new cities.
Marc:But what about your head?
Marc:My giant head.
Guest:Coming back to that, what do you mean?
Marc:I mean, like, because I'm experiencing that.
Marc:The detachment, right?
Marc:And I don't mind being alone.
Marc:You know, I travel a lot.
Marc:But I don't usually stay away for this long, you know, from just the patterns of my life.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:And then, like, I find that my brain starts, like, oh, let's go over it.
Marc:Let's look back.
Marc:You know, who are we?
Guest:Like, why are we here?
Marc:Well, not we as a collective.
Guest:What about this?
Guest:No.
Guest:Me.
Marc:Right.
Marc:Right.
Marc:You know, what is your life?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:But I think probably if you have kids, it's a little more substantiated.
Marc:But, like, I get a little drifty.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And then, like, I'm like, oh, I got to fix that.
Guest:I know.
Guest:You don't.
Guest:But that's how it makes you feel.
Marc:It's wild.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah, that's why, like, I immediately, I'm like, I have to buy all the things up here.
Marc:And you realize how small your life is.
Marc:Like, all I need is a coffee cone and some chickpeas.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And a place to get.
Guest:And a cheese grater.
Guest:Oh, no, you're vegan, so you probably don't.
Marc:I'm vegan right now.
Marc:But no, but, like, just these basic weird things.
Marc:You really realize how small your life is when you travel somewhere else and you have to set up?
Guest:I used to love Whole Foods.
Guest:I don't anymore.
Guest:But when I would go to other cities, Whole Foods would be my happy place.
Guest:I'd just be like, in Atlanta, I'd be like.
Marc:Whole Foods.
Guest:I'm home.
Marc:I do that, too.
Marc:I was so excited to find the good Whole Foods in Vancouver.
Marc:Like, I went to one near me.
Marc:I'm like, this is not a good situation.
Marc:They don't have all the stuff.
Marc:It's not.
Marc:And there's some stuff I don't recognize.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And but then I found out there's another one across the bridge.
Marc:And I'm like, I walk in.
Marc:I'm like, OK, we can work with this.
Marc:Here we go.
Marc:This is all familiar.
Marc:The people look a little different.
Marc:And they're close to what I'm used to.
Guest:Yeah, you look for those things.
Marc:All I think about is, you know, nicotine and food.
Marc:Because I'm back on the nicotine.
Marc:I don't know how that happens.
Marc:Did you ever smoke?
Guest:I did.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:For a minute.
Marc:You're hiding something.
Guest:No, I did.
Guest:I didn't start until like, well, I quit drinking.
Guest:And then I used to like dabble with cigarettes, but I never was like a smoker smoker.
Guest:And I worked in restaurants in New York and all the waiters would be smoking.
Guest:I'd be like at the computer and they'd be like blazing cigarettes at the computer and I wasn't.
Guest:And then when I stopped drinking, I did smoke for a little bit.
Guest:And then I had to go to Hypnotist to stop.
Marc:Really?
Marc:In Boston or New York?
Guest:Here.
Marc:Oh, here.
Guest:In L.A.
Marc:And it worked?
Guest:It did.
Marc:Oh.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah, I haven't smoked in years, but I do, like, something.
Guest:Of course.
Guest:Can we not be sober for a second?
Marc:Can we have some?
Marc:So shaky, the sober thing.
Marc:Totally with nothing.
Marc:But, well, the loneliness thing, it's real.
Marc:Usually when I'm here, like, I like being by myself.
Guest:Same.
Guest:Same.
Marc:But then when you really, there's something about not having the multitasking life of just doing shit around your own house where you're like, ugh, watching a lot of TV.
Marc:But that's where you get into the phone.
Marc:You do the scrolling.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:For me, it's always like, oh, they saved a cat.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I know.
Guest:Or someone's reunited with his father after 30 years.
Guest:Forget it.
Marc:Or like, that guy couldn't have lived.
Guest:I know.
Guest:It's a nightmare.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:And now I'm noticing how many of them are just fucking fake.
Yeah.
Guest:What do you mean?
Marc:Yeah, sorry.
Marc:A lot of them are fake.
Guest:See, now it's going to make it easier for me to put the phone down on Friday.
Marc:Well, they're good.
Marc:I saw a shark save a turtle, and I was so excited about it.
Marc:He pushed the turtle to the boat because it had a net around it, and then someone was like, nope, that's a mashup of two or three videos.
Marc:And I'm like, God damn it, jerked me around.
Marc:There you go.
Guest:That's what it is now, right?
Marc:There's a lot of that.
Guest:People making stuff up.
Marc:A lot of that going on.
Marc:You want to believe...
Marc:So this project and then what?
Marc:You're going to be done.
Marc:How long are you here?
Guest:Wednesday.
Guest:I mean, I leave in a couple of days.
Marc:Are you psyched?
Marc:Yes.
Marc:Do you not like LA?
Marc:Do you not like show business town?
Guest:No, no, no.
Guest:Got friends here?
Guest:I do.
Guest:That's been actually the nice thing.
Guest:I've reconnected with people that I haven't seen in a long time and been able to see them.
Guest:That's been lovely.
Guest:I did a BBC series before this in Cardiff, Wales.
Guest:And so I've just been away a lot this year.
Guest:And that's not normally...
Guest:That's not been my experience.
Guest:And so I just miss, I miss my family desperately.
Marc:Do they come out?
Guest:They did.
Guest:They came and I went back twice, but it's still just, it's just the like, it's that thing of like one show would have been fine.
Guest:Either show would have been fine.
Guest:But the back to back thing, I just feel like I've missed this whole school year.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And it feels bad because they're teens and they're only around for a few more in the house, like school thing.
Marc:I don't know how you guys do it with kids.
Guest:It's really hard.
Marc:I was concerned this morning whether my cats would know me or not.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:That's all I got to deal with.
Guest:I got no kids.
Marc:Yeah, of course they do.
Marc:As much as you can recognize excitement in a cat.
Guest:Right.
Guest:They're happy to see you.
Marc:For a second.
Marc:And then it's just back to usual.
Marc:But it's just, they're not dogs.
Marc:You have to project a lot onto cats.
Guest:Yeah, I know.
Guest:I had one when I was growing up.
Marc:Yeah?
Marc:You don't have any pets now?
Guest:No, it's too hard.
Marc:And your husband's an actor?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:How's that?
Guest:Good.
Guest:I mean, it's good and challenging.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Have you ever worked together?
Guest:We met on a job.
Guest:Oh.
Guest:On a pilot that did not get picked up.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Called Marriage for HBO.
Marc:And how are you now with, like, do you, like, I could never really pursue acting because I just couldn't handle the, you know.
Guest:What do you mean?
Guest:Aren't you pursuing acting?
Marc:Yeah, but I'm 60.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So it kind of came about later.
Marc:I always wanted to do it, but I didn't set out to do it.
Guest:Yes, yes.
Marc:You know, I kind of did, but I just couldn't handle the rejection or the auditioning.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Or reading other people.
Marc:I'm like, how is this something someone would say?
Marc:Yes.
Marc:You know, that kind of stuff.
Guest:Yeah, okay, all that.
Marc:Like at some point you developed a pretty tough skin around that?
Guest:I guess.
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:I must have.
Marc:It seems like people who just know it's a job, they're just kind of rolling through it.
Guest:I always thought like, okay, if I did good work in the audition or I felt good about the audition, then like I could be disappointed, but it wasn't a reflection on me if I didn't get the job.
Marc:Oh, because you knew that you showed up.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I didn't always.
Guest:I didn't always feel good after an audition, but that was sort of the goal.
Guest:And I felt like I'm going to work with the people who want to work with me.
Guest:That's who I want to work with.
Marc:So I don't know.
Guest:I had some sort of like mental.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Are there people you want to work with now?
Guest:Um, yeah.
Marc:Like who?
Guest:Um, Yorgos, of course.
Marc:You'd be good in one of those movies.
Guest:I know.
Guest:We should tell him.
Marc:Yeah, tell him.
Guest:Um, Iñárritu.
Guest:I think he's amazing.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:Uh, did you watch Triangle of Sadness?
Guest:What's that?
Guest:Yes.
Guest:What's his name?
Marc:Yes.
Guest:I don't know his name.
Guest:Oh, it's so bad.
Guest:My memory is awful.
Guest:But Triangle of Sadness was my favorite movie that year.
Guest:I think he's amazing.
Guest:Um...
Marc:Yeah, you could bring the heaviness.
Guest:I bring the heaviness for days.
Guest:Please, please.
Guest:Can I just show up and giggle somewhere?
Guest:That's maybe my next job.
Marc:Yeah, do a broad comedy.
Guest:Love it.
Marc:No, you don't want to do that.
Guest:No, maybe not.
Guest:No, something in the middle, though.
Marc:Yeah, no, your gift is... I thought Janet was funny, though.
Guest:There's moments of humor in there.
Guest:It's not a comedy, also.
Guest:I mean, the movie, not necessarily.
Marc:No, there's definitely moments of comedy in there.
Guest:Did you see it in theater or home?
Marc:No, I had to watch it on the screen.
Guest:Right.
Guest:It's I feel like it benefits from a theater viewing because I feel like I think all movies do, actually.
Guest:But I've had this before where it's like you get permission or like that shared experience sort of informs what you're watching.
Guest:It happened with August Osage County.
Guest:Speaking of Tracy Letts.
Marc:Yeah, you were great in that, too.
Marc:That's a hell of a play.
Guest:Thank you.
Guest:That play was amazing.
Guest:And so it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.
Guest:And, like, the audience was howling, laughing.
Guest:Because Meryl's hilarious in it.
Guest:That character's hilarious.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:I had a number of people be like, that was depressing.
Guest:Like they don't know.
Guest:It's like you need to be sort of.
Marc:Well, yeah, because the comedy is woven into balance of things.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:But if you can't read it as comedy because there's no one laughing around.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So did you get to know Tracy?
Marc:Was he around?
Guest:He was not around then so much.
Guest:He was there for the read through, but he was doing Virginia Woolf on Broadway.
Guest:So I met him at the read through, which was a thrill because I saw that play on Broadway and it knocked me out.
Marc:He's a powerhouse.
Guest:He's amazing.
Guest:And then I actually I was thinking about him because we filmed.
Guest:I played his wife in the Knicks show.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Winning time.
Guest:And we filmed in Pasadena.
Guest:So I was over.
Guest:I was just thinking about him a few minutes ago.
Marc:Like when he acts like that scene.
Marc:Did you see Ford versus Ferrari in the scene where he plays Henry Ford III?
Guest:I didn't.
Marc:And they take him for a ride in that Corvette and he's just crying.
Guest:Is he face acting?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Got to be aware.
Marc:It's all about the face.
Marc:It's all on your face.
Marc:Good talking to you.
Guest:Nice talking to you.
Guest:Thank you.
Marc:Janet Planet is playing in theaters now.
Marc:And I love talking to her.
Marc:Hang out for a minute, folks.
Marc:Hey, people, to hear more of my conversation with Monday's guest, Paul Scheer, sign up for the full Marin.
Marc:We've got another half hour of conversation between me and Paul, posted exclusively for subscribers.
Guest:Again, I had a great experience with Nick Cage.
Guest:When I was working with him, he would do things where he'd be like, ah, I was over at the Home Depot this weekend and I was buying some paint and I was like, and I'm just trying to be...
Guest:oh great and talking to him and then it then the director's like action and i'm like oh you were acting like you were playing this character talking about going to home yeah so i like was so lost at certain points i'm like but then he would talk to me about his son which i knew was real but then sometimes we're talking to his character and i'm like i just was never i never knew what footing i was on i was like yeah i was like i just i'm just gonna keep it in this level where i'm just gonna be always friendly asking questions but i don't know yeah if this is nick or this is this guy
Marc:To sign up for the full Marin and get bonus episodes twice a week, go to the link in the episode description or go to WTFpod.com and click on WTF+.
Marc:And a reminder before we go, this podcast is hosted by ACAST.
Marc:I'm going to play Rolling and Tumbling again.
Marc:I think you have to revisit it.
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Thank you.
Thank you.
Guest:guitar solo
Marc:Boomer lives.
Marc:Monkey and La Fonda.
Marc:Cat angels everywhere.