Episode 838 - Jennifer Jason Leigh
Marc:All right, let's do this.
Marc:How are you?
Marc:What the fuckers?
Marc:What the fuck buddies?
Marc:What the fucking ears?
Marc:What the fuck nicks?
Marc:What's happening?
Marc:I'm Mark Maron.
Marc:This is my podcast WTF.
Marc:How are you?
Marc:How are you?
Marc:Huh?
Marc:How are you?
Marc:That was annoying.
Marc:What was that?
Marc:Where did that come from?
Marc:How are you?
Marc:Anyway, how's it going?
Marc:You all right?
Marc:You hanging in?
Marc:Look, you know, folks, I know that some days are a little heavier than others on this show lately in terms of this monologue.
Marc:But Jesus, what do you want from me?
Marc:I'm just a guy living in the world.
Marc:If the world is coming through me in a certain way, I got to put it out there.
Marc:I am recording this a couple of days before it airs.
Marc:So given the world we live in, I don't know.
Marc:I don't know what's happened.
Marc:And I'm just letting you know that the world is on fire more than it is.
Marc:And you're wondering why I didn't talk about it is it's probably happened after I record this.
Marc:All right.
Marc:You dig.
Marc:We good.
Marc:I do want to tell you a few things.
Marc:Get you up to speed on some shit about my life.
Marc:They picked up Glow.
Marc:the gorgeous ladies of wrestling show on netflix that i'm in uh they picked it up netflix is going to do another season we start shooting in october there's some news so for those of you who like that show it's coming back and i'm going to challenge myself even deeper as an actor that's my plan and my guest today jennifer jason lee i'm going to pester her uh for tips
Marc:A little bit.
Marc:A little bit.
Marc:All right?
Marc:It just, I had to.
Marc:She's a great actress.
Marc:I was happy to have her here.
Marc:She's in an amazing new movie called Good Time.
Marc:And I want it to be annoying.
Marc:Yeah, that's what I set out to do.
Marc:I wanted to annoy her for some wisdom, for some acting wisdom.
Marc:What's been going on?
Marc:What have I been putting in my head?
Marc:Oh, there's some good news.
Marc:The Lee Morgan doc that I talked about, I called him Morgan, is now on Netflix.
Marc:If you want to learn about Lee Morgan, I'm sort of still down that rabbit hole.
Marc:I'm mad that I can't see Kamasi Washington and Herbie Hancock at the Hollywood Bowl on the 23rd because I'll be away.
Marc:What else?
Marc:I watched the entire 10 part documentary.
Marc:I got a I think I told you this of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's Vietnam in preparation to talk to them.
Marc:I did talk to them.
Marc:You will be hearing that soon.
Marc:And that blew my fucking mind in a good way and in a fucking horrifying way.
Marc:Oh, yeah, Mississippi Records, a label I had no idea anything about sent me a care package, and there's some fucking amazing records in there.
Marc:There's a Jessie Mae Hemphill record, just fucking raw, boogie-ass blues, like John Lee Hooker style, didn't know anything about her, love her.
Marc:And then there's this beautiful record, Blind Owl Wilson, Alan Wilson, the singer of a lot of Canned Heat stuff, the harp player and guitar player, one of the prime movers in the old Canned Heat band.
Marc:This is an album of just his stuff.
Marc:and uh it's beautiful and i'm watching movies and i saw that i just watched that movie good time that with my guest in yeah i've seen most of her movies but this is the new one that she's in it's a little part what a fucking movie man oh i wanted i told
Marc:I told you I'd read this.
Marc:I'm going to read this.
Marc:So some of you remember, if you listen to it, the dream I had about my house, there's a party going on at my house.
Marc:Everyone's in costume, but me, but I may be dressed as a younger me.
Marc:I leave through the back door of my house.
Marc:I walked down the hill and there's a swampy, disgusting pond there and I'm walking around it.
Marc:And then out of the ground, I see a giant, fat, huge boa constrictor snake just come out of the ground and then enter the water.
Marc:And then I walk along the side of it and through my neighbor's fence.
Marc:And then there's a freshwater sort of look like a irrigation ditch.
Marc:And in it was, I believe, a dolphin and a seal.
Marc:But I just remembered the dolphin.
Marc:And the only thing I thought that was weird in the dream was like, what's it?
Marc:Why is there a seal and a dolphin here?
Marc:So somebody.
Marc:A woman named Arian sent me an email that says, your dream.
Marc:And she went to, I think, a dream interpretation website.
Marc:I used to do a segment on the live radio where I'd interpret dreams.
Marc:But I haven't been doing that, but she did it for me.
Marc:So it just says, costume party.
Marc:To dream that you're at a costume party suggests that you are trying to escape from demands of real life.
Marc:You want to enjoy life and not worry about your daily responsibilities.
Marc:And I imagine because it was a younger version of me, maybe I want to go back.
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:Pond.
Marc:To see a pond in your dream represents tranquility.
Marc:Huh.
Marc:No, no, no.
Marc:You need some more quiet time to yourself.
Marc:It is a time to reflect on your situation and what is going on in your life.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:Alternatively, a pond suggests that you tend to keep your feelings contained and in check.
Marc:You are an emotionally calm person.
Marc:Ah, nah.
Marc:Nah.
Marc:I'm going to go with option one on that one, but it's conditional because it's a swampy, muddy pond.
Marc:Oh, here we go.
Marc:To see muddy or dirty water in your dream indicates that you are wallowing in your negative emotions.
Marc:Yes, you may need you.
Marc:You may need to take some time to cleanse your mind and find internal peace.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:Snake.
Marc:To see a snake or be bitten by one in your dream signifies hidden fears and worries that are threatening you.
Marc:Your dream may be alerting you to something in your waking life that you are not aware of or that has not yet surfaced.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:If you dream that a snake is submerged in water, then it implies that you are unknowingly letting your emotions influence aspects of your life.
Marc:Uh-huh.
Marc:Alternatively,
Marc:It represents repressed sexual urges or hidden enjoyment of sex.
Marc:Wow.
Marc:I have to have to process what a hidden enjoyment of sex is.
Marc:That sex you're ashamed of that you do by yourself alone watching.
Marc:Never mind.
Marc:A seal.
Marc:To see a seal in your dream refers to your playfulness and jovial disposition.
Marc:Seals also symbolize prosperity, good luck, faithfulness, success, security, and love and spiritual understanding.
Marc:I think I got maybe two of those.
Marc:You have the ability to adapt to various emotional situations.
Marc:Yes.
Marc:Yes.
Marc:I happen to dream of a seal and dark ocean water this week, too.
Marc:Maybe it's something in the air, although I think it may just be a subconscious reflection of your sober anniversary, what you were, what you have become, and how you will continue to grow and the uncertainty of that to some extent.
Marc:Thus, the contradiction of the symbolism in your dream.
Marc:Anywho, have a great Tuesday.
Marc:Thank you.
Marc:Thank you, Arian.
Marc:That was nice, and it was provocative, and I enjoyed it.
Marc:I enjoyed it.
Marc:I don't usually do these, but it's sort of a crapshoot what's going to compel me to read it on the air.
Marc:I come to you asking for help.
Marc:Hey, my name is Brian, and I'm nobody in particular studying at SUNY Purchase in New York.
Marc:I have a severe crush on this girl named Summer, and she has a birthday coming up on August 20.
Marc:I know for a fact she's a big fan of the show and of you, so I'm hoping that if this message gets to you by some miracle, you could help me out somehow, maybe recording a video birthday wish or something.
Marc:I don't even know what I'm asking for.
Marc:No hard feelings if you just tell me to piss off, but it'd mean the world to me and to her.
Marc:Thanks regardless, Brian.
Marc:Okay, Brian.
Marc:Well, piss off.
Marc:And happy birthday, Summer.
Marc:One other one, because this leads into something else.
Marc:One year sober subject line.
Marc:Hey, Mark, I was coming up on a year of sobriety and I listened to your rant or prologue or monologue before the Lucas Brothers interview.
Marc:And I can't tell you how cathartic it was to hear you just spell out exactly what I was feeling.
Marc:I don't even know if I really identified what the fuck was going on with me.
Marc:And then you just you just up and nailed it.
Marc:This is definitely not the first time you helped me out.
Marc:Your interview with James Taylor in particular gave me some hope and a game plan on
Marc:while I was still out there getting fucked up, which just goes to show you that you never know who's going to save your ass.
Marc:And then I get out of rehab and you make a fucking hilarious season of Marin that felt like it was just for me.
Marc:I mean, I can't even have these jokes with my closest friends, man.
Marc:Anyway, I never write these sorts of things.
Marc:But when you said that your sober date was the same as mine and that you write an email to the girl who helped you get sober, whether she's receptive to you or not, just like I just did, I figured I had to reach out to say thanks, man.
Marc:Not just for me and not just for this sober business, but thanks for helping us all stay a little saner in this insane world.
Marc:You're welcome.
Marc:You're welcome, buddy.
Marc:Chris, you're welcome, Chris.
Marc:And I did get a response from that email.
Marc:It said...
Marc:If I want you to get in touch, I'll let you know.
Marc:That stung, but what was I expecting?
Marc:I'm like a fucking yearly stalker with the same fucking email.
Marc:It's like I got to fucking check myself.
Marc:You dig what I'm saying?
Marc:Got to check myself.
Marc:Jennifer Jason Lee.
Marc:How great is she?
Marc:Had a weird coincidence.
Marc:I knew I was going to talk to her.
Marc:I didn't know what I was going to talk to her about.
Marc:I was nervous about it as usual.
Marc:I'm watching TV the other night before I talk to her.
Marc:And Fast Times at Ridgemont High comes on.
Marc:I see her as a young woman.
Marc:And then two days before that, I watched her new movie,
Marc:this good time.
Marc:Holy shit.
Marc:This fucking movie is crazy.
Marc:It's crazy.
Marc:Awesome.
Marc:Crazy.
Marc:And I don't like using the word awesome, but I don't, I didn't come to it.
Marc:It was sent to me as a link, as a screener.
Marc:I knew nothing about it.
Marc:I didn't know there was buzz on it.
Marc:I didn't know that it was a con.
Marc:I didn't know who the directors were.
Marc:I didn't even know who the guy who was in it was.
Marc:All I knew is she was in it.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:And I watched it and
Marc:And I just couldn't, I couldn't believe it.
Marc:Like it opens and I never knew what was going to happen.
Marc:It's basically a movie about a bungled crime that just keeps getting weirder and crazier.
Marc:All right.
Marc:You just, and it's visceral.
Marc:Like it brought to mind for me, it brought to mind that movie narc from a few years back.
Marc:And also, uh, um, Gary Oldman's movie, uh, nil by mouth.
Marc:It's just raw.
Marc:Everything's sweaty.
Marc:It's close up.
Marc:It's just, there's an intensity to the fucking movie and it just never stops moving.
Marc:And it's, it's a crime movie, but there's just a lot of heart in it.
Marc:You just feel for these people in some weird way.
Marc:And the ending's beautiful.
Marc:And Jennifer Jason Lee is amazing.
Marc:Um,
Marc:So I came to it with knowing nothing, and I could not stop watching it.
Marc:I want to watch it again, but now I'm going to have to go to the movies like everybody else, which is fine.
Marc:So the dude who was in it is this guy Pattinson.
Marc:What's his name?
Marc:Robert Pattinson?
Marc:Is that his name?
Marc:I told my friend Lynn I saw it, and she's like, how is Robert Pattinson?
Marc:I didn't know if he could pull something like that off or act.
Marc:I'm like, who is he?
Marc:And she's like, he's the guy from Twilight.
Marc:I'm like, I still don't know.
Marc:So he was great.
Marc:So there you go.
Marc:But even when I know, I don't know.
Marc:Even when someone tells me what I should know, I don't know.
Marc:Anyway, I had a lovely conversation with Jennifer, and I'm going to share it with you right now.
Marc:That new movie, Good Time, is now playing in select theaters, and she's also in the new Netflix series, Atypical, which is streaming now.
Marc:She's also in the new Twin Peaks for some episodes, and she's been with me all my life, it feels like.
Marc:So this is me talking to her the best I can.
Marc:Tough morning already?
Guest:Already, yeah.
Guest:Really?
Guest:You wouldn't know it.
Guest:I went swimming already, so that's good.
Marc:I worked out already.
Marc:You want to just take a nap?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I always want to take a nap, but I can't.
Guest:I'm not a napper.
Marc:You're not?
Guest:No.
Guest:I really envy people who can nap.
Marc:I can do it.
Marc:I mean, like, I can't do it necessarily on purpose.
Marc:Like, you know, sometimes it's just... It's just sort of like, I guess this is happening.
Marc:Just in the middle of the interview, you might... Narcoleptic, just kind of... No, like, I'll lay down on the couch just for a second, and then I'll be like, ugh...
Marc:And it'll happen.
Guest:That's great.
Marc:I can't plan it.
Guest:You can't plan it.
Guest:I know people who can plan it.
Marc:And they do it every day?
Guest:Whenever they want.
Marc:Nap time?
Guest:They can do it twice a day if they wanted to.
Marc:Mine are usually based on complete anxiety.
Guest:Oh, you just shut down.
Guest:Right.
Guest:System shut down.
Marc:Yeah, system shut down.
Marc:And that could happen at any time.
Guest:Well, I really hope for you and for myself as well that it doesn't happen today.
Marc:It's not going to happen during this.
Guest:Right.
Guest:You're not anxious right now.
Guest:I mean, not about this, about other, of course, all-world things.
Marc:Sure, but I do get a little anxious because we don't know each other.
Marc:I feel like I know you because I grew up with you somehow.
Guest:I feel like I know you because I listen to a lot of your podcasts.
Guest:Oh, good.
Guest:So I know you somewhat.
Marc:So you kind of do know me.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:But I don't know.
Marc:I know you because I feel like we grew up together and I would watch you do things.
Guest:Right.
Guest:But that wasn't really me, of course.
Marc:No, I know.
Guest:Yeah, I understand what you're saying.
Marc:Yeah, like, there she is again.
Guest:Oh, yeah, there's Jenny.
Marc:Yeah, now she's doing that lady.
Marc:That's crazy.
Guest:Why is she doing that?
Marc:Those are questions you ask yourself.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:it was funny weird things happen like I was I don't know why the coincidence but I just I tuned in Fast Times was on like two nights ago and I knew you were going to be here and I'm like I should watch this for a second oh look at she's a little girl yeah it's funny right well it's cool I mean because like you were good in that and then you know it was a great movie maybe it's a generational thing but I think it still holds up
Guest:i think so too i haven't seen it of course for like 20 years but but if it comes on do you like watch it i don't i'm not really a channel surfer oh so i don't it's the only way i do things that's the only way to catch things right i don't did you give it up you never were too lazy to turn the tv on oh really i'm actually very lazy really when i'm not working i'm very lazy well what do you how do you watch stuff
Guest:I have to really make a point of it.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:Like, oh, I'm going to watch something now.
Marc:You don't just sit and, like, bleh.
Guest:I never, I've never, I don't really like the whole channel surfing thing.
Marc:Right.
Guest:It's annoying.
Guest:It doesn't appeal to my sense of calm and, like, focus.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:I got that for you, didn't I?
Guest:Oh, I think I have it.
Guest:No, that's not.
Marc:That's someone else's.
Marc:Here, let me have that.
Guest:Okay, I don't.
Guest:This is yesterday's.
Marc:I think that might be Alice Cooper's water.
Guest:I don't want that.
Marc:that he's pretty healthy i'm sure he is i just yeah no you don't want old water i like to know the person whose water i'm sure if you're sharing a water yeah at least have met them not just not off the street yeah oh there's a half a thing of water
Marc:I guess I'll drink it.
Marc:So what do you do when you're just sitting around?
Guest:Nothing.
Marc:You don't read?
Guest:Oh, I love to read, yeah.
Guest:Oh, good.
Marc:Yeah, I love to read.
Marc:Have you read anything good lately?
Guest:Well, I'm reading, I love the St.
Guest:Auburn apples.
Guest:I just really garbled that.
Guest:Garbled it?
Guest:The St.
Guest:Auburn?
Guest:As I'm drinking water.
Guest:Take two.
Guest:I'm doing the Patrick Melrose novels.
Guest:Did you read those?
Marc:No, no.
Marc:What are those?
Guest:Okay, so they're by Edward St.
Guest:Auburn.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And they're amazing.
Marc:Yeah?
Guest:Really, truly amazing.
Marc:So you're one of those people that can, like, read for entertainment.
Yeah.
Guest:Yeah, I can read for an eight-hour chunk of time.
Marc:And my mom will sometimes just read shitty books just because she likes to read them.
Marc:Just likes to read.
Marc:Yeah, well, the big novels that are just entertaining.
Marc:But for me, someone's got to refer me to the fucking book.
Marc:It's got to be a good book.
Guest:Yeah, I want it to be a good book, too.
Marc:It's got to be a genius who wrote it.
Guest:Yeah, I like those, too.
Marc:Right?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:But my mom could just read garbage.
Marc:You get in the supermarket, you know, just kind of like.
Guest:Yeah, I can't really do that.
Guest:I don't know if it's garbage.
Guest:I don't know if I couldn't do it, but I would rather not read than read garbage.
Guest:I'd rather look at a beautiful magazine and look at pretty pictures of things I might want to buy someday.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Or look at pictures of pretty houses.
Marc:Oh, pretty houses.
Marc:Do you look at real estate sites and stuff?
Guest:No, but I mean like a magazine.
Guest:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Marc:Architectural Digest or Dwell.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Dwell.
Guest:Let's go Echo.
Guest:Let's do it.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And you like to look at stuff you might buy?
Guest:I don't.
Marc:I have a problem.
Guest:I don't do that so much.
Guest:I mean, I do have a problem.
Guest:I mean, like I can go on at a porte and do some damage.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Those are dangerous.
Guest:I mean, that's the danger of having a phone where you can actually make purchases while you're lying in bed before you go to sleep.
Guest:You can do anything.
Guest:That's dangerous.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Like, why not feel that?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:You're like, oh, I just bought that.
Guest:Oh, I just bought that.
Guest:And then later, a box turns up.
Guest:It's Christmas.
Guest:What's this?
Guest:Habianica.
Guest:I have no memory of this, but it just cost me a lot of money.
Marc:There's three boxes.
Marc:When do you open it up?
Marc:I'm like, oh, shit.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Guest:Yeah, it's dangerous.
Guest:I do think.
Marc:Do you live here?
Guest:I do.
Guest:You do?
Guest:I grew up here.
Marc:I know.
Marc:I know.
Marc:But I thought you might live in New York.
Marc:I don't know why.
Marc:I thought maybe if you lived here, I'd run into you somehow.
Marc:But what part of town?
Guest:Do you ever run into anyone in Los Angeles?
Marc:No.
Guest:No.
Guest:It's so rare.
Guest:It's like it's it seems supernatural when you run into someone in Los Angeles.
Marc:It's not built that way.
Guest:It's not.
Guest:It's like, oh, my God.
Guest:Right here.
Guest:You can't even believe it.
Guest:It's such an amazing event.
Marc:It's crazy.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Well, yeah, because you'll see somebody at events or dinner parties where you expect to see them.
Marc:Oh, yeah, there's that guy in a suit.
Marc:You know, but like if you're just at Gelson's or something.
Guest:That's what I'm talking about.
Guest:That's like in New York.
Guest:It happens every three minutes.
Marc:You can't avoid people.
Marc:Your whole life is swirling around you at all times.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And everyone you know and everyone whose name you can't remember.
Guest:But in Los Angeles, it never happens.
Guest:So when it does, it's extraordinary.
Guest:So, yeah, I'm not surprised that we've never run into each other.
Marc:Right.
Marc:I guess I'm not either.
Marc:But when it happens here, you kind of got to circle a couple times.
Marc:Like, is that?
Guest:I don't know.
Marc:I haven't seen them in a long time.
Marc:They can look totally different.
Marc:And then you're like, oh, hey.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It just actually happened the other day.
Marc:Who'd you see?
Marc:Anyone I know?
Guest:Well, I was with my son at a play at the Actors Gang.
Guest:They do these great Shakespeare plays for kids.
Guest:So it's like Transformers or whatever, but to Midsummer Night's Dream.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:And it's free.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And it's great.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So we go every year.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And there was a little girl in back of us, Poppy.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Who said, Romer.
Guest:And so it was the same thing.
Guest:Like, she recognized Romer from preschool.
Guest:And now they're about to enter second grade.
Guest:So that's kind of a big deal at that age.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:And I was so impressed by that.
Guest:By the kids recognizing each other.
Guest:There was something so touching and sweet.
Marc:Does the kid get Shakespeare?
Guest:Well, they make it so that the kids get it.
Guest:That's what's so great about it.
Guest:He's seven, but we've been going since he was three.
Marc:Was he named after the director?
Guest:Yeah, but it's pronounced differently, of course.
Marc:Oh, how's it pronounced?
Guest:And the director's name would be pronounced, a lot of people pronounce it Romare.
Marc:Oh, is it Romare?
Guest:But, you know, a lot of Americans pronounce it Romare.
Marc:Yeah, yeah, the four Americans that know him, yes, mispronounced.
Guest:So we are two of them.
Guest:Two of them right now.
Marc:It's happening in real time.
Guest:Now, that's amazing.
Marc:So now, like, no one ever turned me on to Shakespeare.
Marc:Did anyone turn you on to Shakespeare at seven?
No.
Guest:Well, I don't know the year that Romeo and Juliet came out.
Marc:Oh, the movie?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Can you look it up?
Marc:With DiCaprio?
Guest:No.
Marc:The other one, Bertolucci's or Bertolini's or Bert... You better look it up.
Marc:I'm going to mispronounce a bunch of Italian names.
Guest:But anyway, it was beautiful.
Guest:And I was young, but not that young.
Guest:And I saw it with my older sister.
Guest:And she even had the poster.
Marc:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Marc:I kind of remember the poster.
Guest:In her alcove in her room.
Marc:It was an Italian director, wasn't it?
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:It would make sense.
Guest:It was so beautiful.
Marc:Yeah, it was.
Guest:I mean, I was a kid, so, you know, I can be forgiven for not remembering.
Marc:You know, it's weird.
Marc:I think I only remember the poster.
Guest:Poster was beautiful.
Guest:And the score was beautiful.
Marc:Oh, that's sad.
Guest:A Time For Us, right?
Guest:Oh, my God.
Guest:Am I right?
Guest:How does it go?
Guest:Oh, God.
Guest:If you have me singing, it's going to be really bad.
Guest:A Time For Us.
Guest:That's exactly.
Guest:Wouldn't it be great if you were remembering the wrong song for the right movie?
Guest:Or, you know what I'm trying to say.
Guest:But I do believe that was the song.
Marc:Oh, my.
Marc:That song is like the melody of that thing is so sad.
Guest:I wonder if we watched that movie.
Marc:Wow.
Guest:Zeffirelli.
Guest:Zeffirelli.
Guest:Yes, exactly.
Marc:I don't even know any of his other work, but now Zeffirelli.
Marc:That song, the reason why it creeps me out.
Marc:It doesn't creep me out.
Marc:It makes me really sad.
Marc:Do you want to know?
Guest:Yeah, sure.
Marc:It's a weird story.
Marc:Like when I was really young, my parents went on vacations, but I, you know, I was a neurotic kid and I always thought they would die in a plane crash whenever they went on a vacation.
Marc:And I just assumed that they would die whenever they left.
Marc:And we were being babysat by this woman who usually cleaned the house.
Marc:And we went to her daughter's place.
Marc:And like, I don't know, it was a Filipino household.
Marc:It doesn't really matter.
Marc:But someone sat down at the piano and played that.
Guest:You're going to die.
Guest:That is really sad.
Guest:But they didn't die, right?
Marc:No, they didn't.
Guest:That would make it a much better story.
Guest:But a much more sad story.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:I didn't want to... I didn't want to be inappropriate because your dad did pass away.
Guest:But not for that song.
Marc:No.
Guest:And that song had nothing to do with it.
Marc:In a tragic way, yeah.
Marc:I know, I know.
Marc:It was one of those moments where I'm like, I'm being glib about... No, don't worry about it.
Marc:I'm going to be all right?
Guest:You're all right.
Marc:Did you ever do Shakespeare?
Guest:No, I never will.
Marc:Really?
Guest:I can't, I can't.
Marc:But they have kind of... I can't do it.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:Let's just leave it.
Marc:Have you tried?
Guest:I don't want to try.
Guest:I know it's not... I know I love to watch Shakespeare performed brilliantly, but that... For how long though, really?
Marc:For like the whole time?
Yeah, exactly.
Guest:No, it's just, it's not, it's just not my, I can't, I can't, the verse, it's hard for me.
Marc:Yeah, I can't, I can't read it.
Marc:I try very hard to pay attention while it's happening in front of me.
Guest:The stories are great.
Guest:Think of how many, I mean, the greatest.
Guest:Tighten them up, tighten them up.
Guest:The greatest stories and themes.
Guest:I mean, we've been using them forever and ever and ever.
Guest:Retelling them in so many ways.
Guest:And just using them in life as allegories for things that happen in our own lives.
Marc:Yeah, it's nice when it's a reference or a quote.
Marc:Then I can handle Shakespeare.
Guest:I can't handle the quote.
Marc:No.
Marc:I can't.
Marc:I've been taught about Shakespeare by great Shakespearean actors right there where you're sitting.
Marc:Like Ian McKellen did Shakespeare for me right there to my face.
Marc:And it made sense.
Guest:Right.
Guest:A great actor.
Guest:I mean, Kevin Kline doing Shakespeare makes sense.
Marc:Right.
Guest:But everybody else sounds like they're, you know, doing this weird rhythmic thing, and I don't even understand what they're saying.
Guest:I mean, that happens a lot.
Marc:It's very hard to stay engaged.
Guest:But there are a few people that do it, and they do it so beautifully.
Guest:Like, one of the first plays that my mom ever took me to was A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Marc:And you loved it.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:People dancing around, dresses.
Guest:It was great.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And they had the, it was, you know, the great theater director, whose name I'm
Marc:Oh, I'm forgetting everything.
Guest:I am too.
Guest:Good.
Guest:So we have that in common.
Marc:Yeah, I think we're contemporaries.
Marc:I guess it's starting to happen.
Guest:It's the early onset.
Marc:Yeah, I hope it's early.
Marc:Well, that's what I was wondering with you.
Marc:When you do films, how much do you remember doing them?
Marc:Do you, I mean, do you, do you know what I mean?
Guest:I remember, like, I, I, I've always had a really poor memory.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:But you get, how are you with lines?
Guest:Oh, that's no problem.
Marc:It's weird, right?
Guest:That's just part of my body.
Guest:It's like not, it's nothing I've ever had to consciously learn.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:I just, some kind of osmosis.
Guest:I read this script so many times that it becomes osmosis in a certain way.
Guest:I just sort of.
Guest:you do when you prepare you go that's how i that's how i learn it that's how i get to know it inside and out and it just makes it so easy because then you're never thinking about you can never be thinking about your lines yeah or you'll never inhabit them yeah i need that let's do acting class i need it all right because i why do you want to know well your teacher that'd be great um do you want to act
Marc:i had been i'm i'm in the new netflix show glow i did all 10 of them oh cool about the women wrestlers and how was that for you it's great and i did four seasons of my own show on ifc but i i wasn't trained actor i'm a comedian but i knew that like i could do it you know i've done a little here and there i've done some stuff with swanberg too i did his series easy you know joe uh-huh oh yeah yeah yeah great guy yeah good director
Guest:Very good.
Marc:So I've been doing acting.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:But now I'm going into a second season of Glow.
Marc:The character.
Marc:I got the character.
Marc:I know the guy.
Marc:And I think I did a good job this first time.
Marc:And people seem to think I did a good job.
Marc:But I want to go deeper.
Marc:So if I feel like when I watch myself act between me and you.
Mm-hmm.
Marc:Like I know I'm doing a good job, but in between the lines and I know the I'm dressed up as the character.
Marc:I am in the character, but inhabiting it.
Marc:So there is some in between the lines when I'm just sitting there.
Marc:I don't always think I'm the guy.
Guest:Do you know what I'm saying?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:That's not a good feeling.
Marc:Right.
Marc:It's not that I'm sitting there going, I'm just jerking this off.
Marc:I'm just acting here.
Marc:I don't feel that in the moment, but there's something about being in the body, about that inhabiting thing, where I guess it's just a complete lack of self-consciousness that you have to learn as a skill because you're just doing it in five-minute chunks or whatever.
Marc:Because there's that cut, and then you're back out and just staying in.
Marc:Do you know what I mean?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I watched a new movie.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:Oh, Good Time.
Marc:It was great.
Guest:It's a great movie.
Marc:It's a great movie.
Marc:It's just raw and crazy.
Marc:And there's so much.
Marc:You empathize for all of them.
Guest:I know.
Guest:The energy is so crazy good in it.
Guest:It's crazy.
Guest:And crazy.
Guest:And crazy.
Guest:And you really have no idea where it's going.
Guest:I mean, those guys are really brilliant.
Guest:Who, the actors?
Guest:Ben and Josh Safdie, no.
Guest:The directors.
Marc:Oh, they did it.
Marc:There's two of them?
Guest:And Ben, he's in the movie.
Guest:He plays the brother.
Oh.
Guest:oh my god he's one of the directors that and he is completely transformed in that movie i at first i didn't even recognize him yeah and patterson is incredible he's really good yeah and who plays the other buddy duress like he's amazing right what's his last name duress what's he from um he's he's done some other movies with the zafdies
Marc:I don't know the Zafdi's other work and I don't know.
Guest:Oh, you should.
Guest:You would love it.
Guest:You would love it.
Marc:Oh, what are they?
Guest:They're incredible.
Guest:Daddy Long Legs and Heaven Knows What.
Marc:Oh, good.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:I got to check them out.
Marc:I didn't do a lot of back research.
Marc:Good for you.
Marc:I didn't know anything about the movie.
Guest:You have a free summer.
Guest:Isn't that part of your job?
Yeah.
Marc:No, I'm relaxing.
Marc:I watched a movie, Jennifer.
Marc:I watched a movie.
Marc:What do you want from me?
Guest:That's good, that's good.
Marc:I could have come in here and be like, look, I'm not.
Guest:And your channel surfed and saw some of fast times.
Marc:Yeah, fast times.
Guest:You got it down.
Guest:I'm all down.
Guest:You're down.
Guest:Beginning and the end here.
Guest:That's good, yeah, I'm impressed.
Marc:Now you just got to fill in the center.
Guest:Okay.
Marc:It's easy.
Marc:okay what but no think about it though I came to that movie not knowing the director not knowing it was a con not knowing you know how big your part is not knowing anything about I didn't even know who Pattinson was you know when someone goes like someone said like how'd he do in this I was wondering if he really acted I'm like what else has he been in
Marc:And they're like, Twilight?
Marc:Is that it?
Marc:Like, one of the vampire things?
Marc:I'm like, I would not know that.
Marc:How the fuck would I know that?
Marc:Right.
Marc:So, like, everyone was new to me.
Marc:That's so great.
Guest:That's so great.
Marc:And, like, I had no idea what the movie was about, and I turned it on, and it just opens with the Zafdi brother of him in the therapist's office.
Guest:And how great was that therapist, by the way?
Marc:Great.
Marc:Was he an old actor?
Marc:There was a lot of old character actors in there.
Guest:I think he's a lawyer in real life.
Guest:really yeah but so compassionate and so good and so the thing about working with people that are non-actors is if they're well cast they're so good like the bail bondsman and his wife they're great they're real they're real bell bell yeah that's their place no kidding yes they're in their operation of business and that's what they do oh my god so they're so good that you know you've got to be like
Marc:It's a risk, but if it works, it's good.
Guest:If it works, it's... Well, also, it makes, like, the actors have to really... You really have to be in it.
Guest:Otherwise, you look like you're overacting.
Marc:Well, I noticed that there was an energy to it.
Marc:There was a rawness to everything.
Guest:And the violence in it.
Guest:I don't know how they did that.
Guest:The movie was made on a, you know, shoestring budget.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And those punches, when they land, it hurts your stomach.
Guest:I mean, you feel it.
Guest:It's like watching Raging Bull, but, like, on... Right.
Guest:You know, in the sense of...
Guest:Being in that moment and feeling so absolutely real and visceral.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Well, I'm happy that you had such a good experience.
Guest:I did.
Marc:It's such a great movie.
Marc:But your part, okay, we could learn some acting from that part.
Marc:Because, I mean, it's not a huge part, but within seconds, you're not entirely sure of who that woman is.
Marc:But then you realize you kind of do know who that woman is.
Marc:How do you prepare for something like that?
Marc:You read the script over and over again?
Guest:Well, no, here's what they did, which is really interesting and which, you know, Quentin Tarantino also does, which they wrote a whole backstory for the character.
Marc:You like that?
Guest:I love it, yeah, because if they don't do it, I have to do it.
Guest:So, it's nice to sort of, and when I'm doing it, I'm just creating it off of the script and my own imagination.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And maybe some research.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:You know, research I've done or whatever.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:But when it comes from the director, this is really what they want.
Guest:Right.
Guest:So, they had an entire backstory for this character.
Guest:They had images for this character.
Marc:Uh-huh.
Guest:And... Well, how... Okay.
Marc:So, like, I don't think that would be any spoilers.
Marc:Like, what was some of the backstory that you locked into?
Yeah.
Guest:Well, just the difficulty of living with her mother, her mental illness, the medication she's on, how she first met Connie at a drugstore.
Marc:Oh, okay.
Marc:Oh, wow.
Marc:So they wrote a whole novel behind this thing.
Guest:Yeah, literally.
Guest:It was like 10 pages long.
Guest:Oh, wow.
Guest:How, you know, what their dating was like and how the mother never liked him and, you know.
Marc:And what do you do with that information?
Marc:Like, I was giving backstory on my character and I took it in, but I was like, I don't know that I used it.
Marc:You consciously use it?
Marc:You consciously integrate?
Guest:I think so.
Guest:I try to.
Guest:It's like if they gave me a list of prescriptions she was on, I read about each one.
Guest:Right.
Marc:Okay.
Guest:So they gave me the name, and then I do the research on that.
Marc:Right.
Marc:Oh, I see.
Marc:So, like, and if somebody asks you about, like, so what's your relationship like with your mother, you'd be able to answer it fairly specifically.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I get it.
Guest:So, yeah, the thing to do, I would say, if you, if, sounds really silly.
Guest:What?
Guest:What are you talking about?
Guest:If you're in a scene and you're feeling sort of out of body, is to get back into your body by something, even if it's just scratching your arm.
Guest:It's going to give you a physical sensation that is real that grounds you.
Marc:Right, right.
Marc:Get in the present.
Marc:I can do that, but for some reason I always think that there's some trick that's going to make me just have this guy's memories.
Guest:Well, yeah, if you keep a journal.
Guest:The first thing my mother instilled in me was a love of research, but also she said for every character I did, and this is like when I was doing plays at school, to keep a journal for the character.
Marc:What were some of her movies?
Guest:She wrote Georgia.
Marc:Oh, that's a good movie.
Guest:Yeah, she was a great writer.
Guest:She wrote Pollock, Jackson Pollock.
Marc:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marc:Who played Pollock again?
Guest:Ed Harris.
Marc:Yeah, that was good.
Guest:Yeah, and he directed it.
Guest:He was amazing.
Marc:Oh, yeah, that's great.
Guest:She wrote the company for Altman.
Marc:You got to work with him?
Marc:Mm-hmm.
Marc:So what was he like as a director?
Guest:Oh, fantastic.
Marc:I mean, like, because I love that movie.
Marc:I love shortcuts.
Marc:I'm one of the few people that thinks it's like, I've always thought it was a celebration of life.
Guest:You are one of the few that think that.
Guest:Okay.
Marc:I don't know why.
Marc:Maybe it's because I'm a depressive or an anxious person, but I thought it was... Yeah, you felt right at home.
Guest:Yeah, I just felt like... These are my people.
Marc:I felt like it was honest, you know what I mean?
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest:I get that.
Guest:I understand.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:No, he was really mischievous and fun.
Guest:And he felt that a script was sort of a skeleton, like an outline.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And that our job was to flesh it out.
Guest:Right.
Guest:So there was a lot of improvisation.
Guest:Really?
Guest:And he loved everyone to come to Daly's.
Marc:I've heard that from somebody else about him.
Marc:Right.
Guest:In fact, if you didn't show up at Daley's, it was not a good thing.
Marc:Really?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So he really wanted you there.
Guest:And then you showed up and there was wine and pizza and salad.
Guest:And, you know, it was like this big familial gathering with the crew and everybody, you know, watching the work you did the night before.
Guest:So it was like watching really well done home movies in a way.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:And you got to share together all that work that you had just done.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Was it that whole cast or just like on any given day?
Guest:No, he would like the whole cast to come, whether you're in the scenes or not.
Marc:No kidding.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:That's a lot of people.
Guest:It is.
Guest:I mean, sometimes people couldn't show up for various reasons.
Guest:But if you were in town, it was good to show up.
Guest:And sometimes they would be three hours long.
Marc:So you really grew up in this business.
Guest:I did.
Guest:It just seemed like that's what people do when they grow up, you know?
Marc:Right.
Marc:Why not?
Guest:Why not?
Marc:All your parents' friends were actors?
Guest:I mean, a lot of them were, sure.
Marc:And writers and whatnot?
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:And you grew up where?
Marc:Beverly Hills or the Valley?
Guest:Hollywood.
Marc:Hollywood.
Marc:Wow.
Marc:And your dad was sort of like in the business.
Marc:Both of them, it seems, were in the business from the 50s.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Like way back.
Guest:Yeah.
Yeah.
Marc:so you and that must have been amazing yeah do you look at it in retrospect as being amazing i do but not as a as a child it was just your life right i get that i get that but it was just normalcy i mean it wasn't anything special or extraordinary but you knew they were charismatic fun people oh i i mean who was hanging around when you were growing up as a kid
Guest:I mean, not, well, like Bob Denver came over for dinner.
Guest:Gilligan?
Guest:Gilligan, which was a big deal for me and my older sister because it was like Gilligan was in our house, you know?
Marc:And he knew your dad or who?
Marc:Or your mom?
Guest:He knew my mom and my stepdad.
Guest:My mom and my father, they divorced when I was two.
Marc:Oh, okay.
Marc:So it was mostly your mom's friends that you saw?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Uh-huh.
Marc:Bob Denver.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And how'd she know him just from TV back in the day?
Guest:I had no idea.
Guest:It might have been my stepdad who was a director who knew Bob Denver.
Marc:He was a TV director?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Mm-hmm.
Marc:Wow.
Guest:And like, yeah, like I got to go on the set of The Mod Squad when I was a kid.
Guest:Can you imagine?
Guest:That was pretty cool.
Marc:Peggy Lipton.
Guest:That was groovy.
Marc:And that crew.
Marc:That must have been really groovy.
Marc:It was.
Guest:But also just like going on a set and seeing like, oh, this is the living room.
Yeah.
Guest:And then you walk around and it's just a flat.
Guest:I love that part of it.
Guest:It's still to me to this day.
Guest:I love it.
Guest:I love the magic of something looking so real and it just being made of paper.
Guest:It's beautiful.
Marc:It's amazing.
Marc:That feeling of being backstage, because that's really what show business is.
Marc:If you do The Tonight Show or I do a stand-up show or you're doing a play, when you're just back there with the guy holding the rope...
Guest:Right.
Guest:Or whatever.
Marc:You're like, this is great.
Marc:And then we're going to go do the magic thing.
Marc:Right.
Marc:It's pretty cool.
Marc:It's really cool.
Marc:Especially if it's a big production.
Marc:Like, you know, back when Conan was at NBC, sometimes, like, they were walking a horse through the hallway.
Guest:And you're like, oh, show business.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:It's fun.
Marc:So when did you start acting?
Marc:Like, when you were two?
Guest:No.
Guest:I, um...
Guest:I was, I mean, my parents did a, well, my mom and my stepdad did a movie in Berlin and I was an extra in that.
Guest:in berlin so you did a lot of world traveling as a youth yes yes i did and um not a lot but we were in berlin for a while we were in london for a while i guess that's not that much um berlin but that was like berlin pre-wall oh yeah and so it was intense we went to east berlin they confiscated my comic books they did i did not get those back
Marc:Do you want to write a letter?
Marc:Maybe you can... Get them back now?
Guest:I think they're gone.
Marc:Yeah, it's over.
Marc:Do you remember what comic books they were?
Guest:No, but they were kind of... They weren't Archie's because at the American bookstore, they didn't have Archie's, but it was kind of like the Archie's.
Guest:There was something like a little bit like romantic...
Guest:right and they took them they took them the commies commies got your comics they took my comics yeah i hope someone enjoyed them it's like when you go through the airport now and they take your creams and stuff or your lighter heat throw yeah you're just like really and then they throw them away you're like at least keep them at least give them to someone they're really nice they're good they're good creams like don't and they're just like right into the trash yeah and they give you that option you can go put it in your baggage and check it i'm like
Guest:I don't check anything.
Marc:I can't stand checking anything.
Guest:I don't check anything.
Marc:Never?
Guest:Never.
Marc:I try my best not to.
Marc:What's your trick?
Marc:I mean, what if you're going away for like four weeks?
Guest:I've gone away for three months.
Guest:I do not check.
Marc:But you do laundry.
Guest:Yes, I will do laundry.
Guest:I will ship things.
Marc:Oh, ship things.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:If need be, I will ship.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:What I do is I use a duffel bag.
Marc:It's my trick.
Marc:I got an extra large duffel bag.
Guest:You can't take that on board.
Marc:No, you can.
Marc:You can because it's a duffel bag.
Marc:It's just a duffel bag, right?
Marc:So it's like I have a large like Filson duffel bag and no matter how much stuff I have, like if I go away for a month, I got to pack a lot of shit.
Marc:So I'll pack it up and it's huge.
Marc:But with a duffel bag, you can kind of hide it behind your back.
Guest:Oh, oh.
Guest:That's because they don't make you put it in that little thing.
Marc:Not that you like hold eye contact and just sort of.
Guest:Oh, you've got some cracks.
Guest:Maybe you should use some of those in your act.
Ha, ha, ha, ha.
Guest:i'm doing it okay okay where i'm just sort of like it's just casual like i've got a like 150 pound thing you need a secret you need a secret when you're acting yeah that's good that's that's a good trick yeah okay what does that mean what is it just like what you did oh okay okay just something that you don't want anyone else to know about that keeps your mind on that okay
Guest:You know, while you're doing the scene, just another extra thing.
Guest:Or like, did I leave the oven on?
Guest:Right.
Guest:You know?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Like it doesn't have anything.
Guest:It doesn't have to have anything to do with the scene, just with your character and just with your.
Marc:You're kind of thinking about something else.
Guest:Yeah, like in this case, you're thinking about, are they going to realize that my duffel is way too big?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:It's not going to fit overhead and I'm not going to be able to shove it under the seat.
Guest:Do the thing where you take the blanket out and you try to hide your luggage under the blanket.
Marc:Have you done that on the client?
Marc:No, no.
Marc:Oh, is that?
Marc:I don't know that one.
Marc:that's you know how they always want you to put everything overhead right but sometimes you don't want to put it overhead so you so you just wedge the blanket there i just put a blanket over my lap so it looks like and then i oh yeah and i hide it oh good for you on the floor yeah no i haven't done that one but usually i can get it through because i know it'll fit in the thing because i can it's soft right so you just kind of wedge it up there where'd you who's where'd you start learning how to act
Guest:um well i my mom actually wouldn't didn't want me i i loved acting all the time because i was a shy kid so it was a way for me to come out of myself and make friends and because when you're a kid acting is just playing house right right um so yeah when i was a kid it was like you know let's you play divorce you know
Guest:I'm serious, because I was 60, so everybody's parents were getting divorced.
Guest:They still do.
Guest:I'd be like, I'll be married to you, and then later we'll get divorced.
Marc:That was part of the playing house bit?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:That was all part of it.
Guest:I'll divorce you, and I'm going to marry him, and then I'll marry him.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:That's cute, but sad.
Guest:Yeah, it's life.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But, yeah, we didn't think it was sad.
Marc:No.
Guest:That's what's so funny about it.
Marc:Because it happened when you were young.
Guest:Yeah, because it happened when we were young, and it's just like the way things, you know.
Marc:Everybody, it was happening to everybody.
Guest:Not everybody, but a lot of people.
Marc:And how many siblings do you have?
Guest:Well, my older sister just passed away in December.
Marc:Oh, I'm sorry.
Guest:And I have a younger sister, Mina.
Marc:Oh, that's okay.
Marc:We're very close.
Marc:Oh, that's sweet.
Marc:But your mother, did she teach you how to act?
Marc:You must have schooled somewhat, no?
Guest:Never?
Guest:Yeah, I did.
Guest:I mean, I went to Lee Strasberg, had a summer program in Los Angeles at the Lee Strasberg Institute.
Marc:Was he there?
Guest:No, he didn't actually teach me.
Guest:But I took classes there.
Guest:John Lenn was a teacher I studied with for years.
Guest:I've heard his name before.
Guest:He was a great teacher.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He just thought like we all have so many characters within us.
Guest:And the only difference is the behavior.
Guest:So he was very much about behavior for the characters.
Marc:What does that mean exactly in your mind?
Marc:So we all have characters within us.
Marc:It's just a behavior.
Guest:Well, how would you describe behavior?
Guest:What someone does physically, right?
Marc:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marc:Exactly.
Marc:Behavior physically.
Guest:And what they actually do.
Marc:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marc:But that could be talking, could be anything.
Guest:Yeah, exactly.
Guest:So it's actually anything, but it's anything that changes you.
Marc:Oh, I get it.
Guest:So you're just sort of this... And it makes you become more of the character.
Guest:So some characters may use their hands very expressively.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Like maybe someone who does a lot of speed or something, you know, might... Sure.
Marc:Or you choose not to use your hands.
Guest:Or someone might be very, very still.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So you know you make choices around the behavior.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But the characters... And that's how you find the characters through the behavior.
Marc:Well, that's... Yeah, I did that.
Marc:So good.
Marc:Check.
Check.
Guest:Check.
Guest:You're done.
Guest:You are good.
Marc:I'm fucking on top of it.
Guest:Now you got the secret thing.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:The secret thing to behave your thing.
Guest:Physical thing.
Guest:You're done.
Marc:You're done.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:What else do I need?
Guest:The journal.
Marc:Oh, the journal.
Guest:That's work.
Marc:That's timing.
Marc:I didn't know if we followed through with that.
Marc:What do you mean by journaling?
Guest:You write as much as you can about the character and early memories that have, you know, maybe you reference your father in one of your scenes.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Right.
Guest:But right now when you're referencing your father, you might just be referencing your own father or you might not be thinking about anything.
Marc:That's right.
Marc:That's the bigger problem.
Guest:You're thinking nothing.
Guest:You're just thinking of saying, remembering to say father and whatever the rest of the line is.
Marc:Well, I mean, I can, I can, but I can attach emotion to it.
Marc:I don't have, like I can look at a script and I can know where the emotions are and feel those things.
Marc:But like some part of me goes like, if I really want to take this to the next level or have a different experience with it, I should not just have the emotions and the words, but they should connect.
Guest:Well, you shouldn't be directing yourself in a certain way.
Guest:You should just be alive.
Guest:So the idea of writing a journal is to write, let's say, three or four memories of your dad when you were little.
Guest:Of the character or me?
Guest:Of the character.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Dig it.
Guest:And you can make them up and they might overlap with some of your own actual experiences if you want or maybe not.
Guest:Wow.
Guest:It doesn't really matter.
Guest:You're not sharing it with anyone.
Guest:It's your secret.
Guest:And then when you talk about your dad in the scene, even if you're not consciously thinking about it, because you wrote those memories down.
Guest:Right.
Guest:It's going to come through in a more realized way.
Marc:You did the ritual.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So now the magic happens.
Guest:Hopefully.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:That's right.
Marc:Could end in divorce.
Guest:Yeah.
Yeah.
Guest:I could just say, we're not bringing them back, you know?
Marc:Yeah, that's right.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Well, so you, how many, you just did the hateful eight with Quentin or you done other ones?
Guest:I can't remember.
Guest:No, I just did the only, that's the only one I've done.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And that, those scenes like that, because it was like a play.
Marc:I mean, you're on that set, that one set.
Guest:And talk about the magic of a set.
Guest:I mean, that place, Minnie's Haberdashery was built in Telluride.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:And then it was rebuilt on Red Studios, at Red Studios.
Guest:So,
Guest:It was very surreal for the actors to be working in Telluride and going in and out of the space.
Marc:The exteriors?
Guest:Interior and exterior, both.
Marc:Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Guest:And then in L.A., interior and exterior, both, but on a soundstage.
Guest:So the, you know, the outhouse...
Guest:It was only, you know, in Telluride, it was, you know, six feet tall by like three feet wide or four feet wide.
Guest:No, three feet, I guess.
Guest:But on the downstage, it was like two and a half feet tall because it was a forced perspective, you know.
Guest:Oh, wow.
Guest:So from far away in the distance, you just saw the snow in the outhouse and it looks exactly the same.
Guest:When you walked up to it, it came up to your waist.
Marc:That's crazy.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:I've never, I've never seen, have you seen that before on a set?
Marc:I've never seen a set of, well, I don't do any movies.
Guest:Yeah, I've seen it because they do forced perspective a lot like on Single White Female.
Guest:That entire apartment was recreated on a soundstage.
Marc:Oh, my God.
Marc:So you weren't.
Guest:So the hallways would be, you know, from here to there, but they would look like they went on forever.
Marc:No kidding.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:I didn't even know that existed.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It's incredible.
Marc:Oh, my God.
Guest:Stop talking about the talk shows.
Guest:Like movies have incredible.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Stop.
Marc:no i know well i mean like my experience is limited yeah you know i mean i've done maybe two movies for two seconds right i was in almost famous for a minute or two oh that's fun yeah and i was in uh and i went down to the opening scene for i think mike and dave need wedding dates for some reason that's hilarious but it was in a bar there was no soundstage there was right right right it was real i love working on on sound stages
Marc:Well, it sounds like, yeah, well, you've done some real stuff.
Marc:That's exciting.
Marc:But those scenes, that character is such a messy, horrible, angry character in that one, in Hateful Eight.
Guest:Oh.
Marc:Yeah, just like.
Guest:She's about to be hanged.
Guest:Yeah, I loved it.
Guest:She's not in the best mood.
Marc:No, I know.
Marc:I loved it.
Marc:I loved it, too.
Marc:I mean, I love that movie.
Marc:I like his movies, generally speaking.
Marc:Me, too.
Marc:I don't ever find the controversy that everyone finds it.
Marc:And I'm like, would you guys just, like, take it in?
Marc:This is a fucking beautiful mess, man.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:That guy.
Marc:What's the guy?
Marc:Goggin?
Guest:Walton Goggins.
Guest:Incredible, right?
Guest:He is.
Guest:Isn't he?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He's an amazing, amazing guy.
Guest:And such a great actor.
Marc:He can do anything, it seems like.
Marc:And Samuel Jackson.
Yeah.
Guest:Oh, my God.
Guest:We still, like, I just got a text from him.
Guest:Like, we still text each other all the time, too.
Guest:Oh, yeah?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Is he a solid dude?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So, okay.
Marc:So, you start acting, and you just go to camp, the Strasburg camp, and you work with, what's that guy's name?
Guest:John Lenn.
Marc:John Lenn.
Marc:And then do you stay engaged with learning with people, or do you just, at some point, just do it?
Guest:Well, I mean...
Guest:i know you always know i mean you're always learning right also because i'm always doing or you know as as each thing necessitates research right um but yeah at a certain point i just started working yeah and you know there's less time to sort of go to classes i think i i worked with john lynn for a while in his classes and then um and then i worked privately a little bit and then i just just was by you know
Marc:At some point, did you feel like there might be an issue with being typecast as kind of nutty, a little scary person emotionally?
Guest:No, for a while there was the fear of being typecast as prostitutes or things like that.
Marc:After what, last exit to Brooklyn?
Guest:There was last exit Miami Blues.
Marc:Oh, Miami Blues.
Marc:I'm trying to think.
Marc:The big picture.
Guest:Are you thinking or do you have my IMDb pages?
Marc:Well, obviously, I'm not remembering every fucking movie you're doing.
Marc:That's what I call you.
Marc:Out of nowhere, my memory just works for your entire filmography.
Guest:That would be very impressive.
Marc:Well, I just want to make sure I know, because I've seen a lot of your movies.
Marc:Right.
Marc:And I just want to be reminded of them.
Marc:The Coen brothers.
Marc:All right, let's talk about working with directors.
Marc:Because that's my dream.
Marc:Here's my dream.
Marc:You want to hear my dream?
Mm-hmm.
Marc:So I've done this TV show.
Marc:I don't need to be a big actor.
Marc:I'm okay as a comic, and I do well, and I do well with this, but I just want one or two scenes in a really good movie.
Marc:And I'm kind of like the Coen brothers, I'd like to work with them.
Marc:So what's it like working with them?
Guest:Because maybe I don't want to work with them.
Guest:No, no, no, you do.
Guest:You do.
Guest:You definitely do.
Guest:They're really fun, and they're very low-key.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Marc:Just kind of hanging out?
Guest:I was like, I think that was good.
Guest:Yeah, that was good.
Guest:Okay, we got that.
Guest:Yeah, very... And they'll laugh if they think something's funny.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:But they'll be like, yeah, that was funny.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Very, very dry.
Guest:Yeah, I love them.
Guest:They're just both sitting there?
Guest:They're great guys.
Guest:Well, Ethan likes to pace.
Guest:Joel stands.
Guest:They're not sitters.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:They're not like lazy sitters, like...
Marc:Because I think there's this mythology of actors sort of guiding, of directors guiding actors.
Guest:It really depends.
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:Does it?
Guest:That's not necessarily true.
Marc:But it's like 50-50-ish?
Guest:I mean, some directors feel that the biggest, one of the most important challenges of their job is to cast correctly.
Guest:And then you kind of, half of your work is done and you can sit back.
Guest:Other directors really love crafting the performance with the actor.
Guest:And so every director is different and there's no, you know, better, worse, good, bad, whatever.
Guest:I mean, it's...
Marc:Well, I imagine the Cullens are pretty meticulous with framing and blocking and like, because everything is very tight.
Guest:Like, I was not good at, at a certain point, I have to slap Tim Robbins.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Guest:That's one of my big memory from that shoot.
Marc:Which one?
Guest:Oh, from Hudsucker Project.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:And...
Guest:I was not great.
Guest:This looks like I didn't want to hurt him.
Guest:And so Joel came up and he was just like, do it to me.
Guest:And that was even harder for me.
Guest:And so I kept having to like slap Joel Cohen's face until I got it like right.
Guest:And then it was when it turned like just a little pink, then he was like, that was good.
Guest:And so, yeah.
Marc:And Tim is like nine feet tall.
Guest:Yeah, he's much taller than I am.
Marc:That's a reach.
Marc:Did you have to stand on a box to slap him?
Guest:Maybe I did.
Guest:I don't remember the box, but that would not be surprising.
Guest:He's very tall.
Marc:Yeah, and there's another movie that I was going through your things.
Marc:I read that book.
Marc:Bastard Out of Carolina.
Marc:And that book destroyed me.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And then I remembered seeing the movie, and I didn't realize that Angelica Houston directed it.
Guest:Right.
Marc:So that must have been amazing to work with her.
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:She directed a lot?
Marc:Was that her only directorial thing?
Guest:I think it was her first, but I don't know if it was her only.
Marc:She's a good actress.
Marc:Are you guys friends?
Guest:Yeah, she's a wonderful actress.
Guest:I mean, we don't see each other a lot, but when we see each other, it's always nice.
Marc:So the two movies, how many did you do with your ex-husband?
Marc:Two?
Guest:Two or three.
Marc:Margot at the Wedding.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Greenberg.
Marc:Were you guys still married at Greenberg?
Guest:Yes, we were.
Marc:Oh.
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest:That was shot in my mom's house.
Marc:You did?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:That's one of those movies, there were parts of it where I'm like, I think this is a little too close to home for some reason.
Marc:to you yeah a little bit it's like it's not not completely right right it's it's of our generation and it's a particular type of guy right and you know you know those people yeah now um could you work with him again or is that not no we're friends oh you are yeah i guess you have to be when you have kids absolutely it behooves the uh the whole situation hugely important yeah let's talk about charlie kaufman okay
Marc:In Anomalisa.
Marc:Anomalisa, which I thought was the greatest movie.
Guest:Oh, thank you.
Guest:Me too.
Guest:I love it so much.
Marc:That character that you played.
Guest:She's so sweet.
Guest:Oh, my God.
Guest:I really love her.
Guest:And I love that he, you know, wrote that for me.
Guest:That's such a... Did he?
Guest:Yeah, he did.
Guest:That was sort of an incredible thing for me.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:You know?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Also because I grew up in a family of people with beautiful voices.
Guest:Not only singing voices, but speaking voices.
Guest:My sisters and my mom.
Guest:I always had the worst voice in the family.
Guest:And people would remark on that.
Guest:I remember friends with my mom saying, if you want to make it as an actress, you really need to work on your voice.
Marc:Really?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:What was wrong with it?
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:But it made me feel inferior and slightly self-conscious.
Guest:And I always thought, oh, I need to work on my voice.
Guest:But then to get this, which is all voice.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You know, and she's the voice.
Guest:that he thinks is magical and you know it brings him out of his depression yeah um and makes him feel that there's hope and yeah for a little while there's hope for love and yeah for a little while yeah but you know a little while is a big deal in his life yeah um
Guest:So it was really, like, personally very meaningful to me.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:And I also just, I love his writing so much.
Guest:And he's just the kindest, loveliest, most genuine guy, you know.
Guest:There's not a false, he's never full of shit, ever, ever, ever.
Marc:Yeah, and he's straightforward and kind of a genius.
Guest:He is a genius.
Guest:And I think, like, his imagination is, like...
Guest:I mean, you can't even wrap your head around it.
Guest:I know, I can't.
Marc:Well, that other movie you did with him, I can't wrap my head around it.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:How do you say it?
Marc:Synecdoche?
Guest:I think you're almost there.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Schenectady, I think.
Marc:It's not Schenectady, is it?
Marc:Is it Synecdoche?
Guest:Maybe I'm wrong, yeah.
Marc:Schenectady is an actual place.
Guest:Right, so it's close to that.
Guest:It's close.
Marc:But I couldn't.
Marc:I remember seeing that movie, and about nine hours in, I was like, I don't think I'm getting it.
Guest:It's okay.
Guest:Just let it wash over you.
Guest:You'd like talking to Charlie, though.
Guest:I did.
Guest:I did talk to him.
Guest:Oh, you did?
Guest:Okay.
Guest:So you know.
Guest:He's incredible, right?
Marc:There are moments in that movie, human moments, that I have not seen done in real movies, not real movies, but non-animated.
Marc:Like, there are moments about what it is.
Marc:to be on the road to live that life oh my god just checking into a hotel and being in an elevator with a perfect stranger and having this that awkward because it feels like it's shot in real time yeah and just all those awkward moments with strangers yeah oh and that scene where he reaches out to his ex or to one of his exes just that like you know that that world of being on the road is being an alternate lonely universe yeah
Marc:is a very real thing if you've lived that before.
Marc:I don't even understand why.
Marc:Like, if you go out of town and you stay at a hotel, even for two days, you're like, where am I?
Guest:Yeah, there's that strange thing.
Marc:It's like, I'm so isolated.
Guest:The thing that you want to put on the door.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And then there's, do you want to order room service?
Guest:Because if you do, then you have to deal with the whole interaction, which is so awkward.
Guest:Right.
Marc:And then the food's going to be in the room, and the room's going to smell like food.
Guest:And then you have to put the food out in the hall.
Guest:I always do the food out in the hall myself.
Marc:Yeah, me too.
Marc:Of course.
Guest:Get it out.
Guest:But a lot of people, you know, you can call and they'll take the tray out.
Marc:And then you've got to deal with them again.
Guest:Because I've had, like, doors close on me, you know.
Marc:Oh.
Guest:The hazards of room service.
Guest:That's a rough life.
Marc:Have you ever been stuck in a hallway, poorly dressed?
Guest:no but i have i have had to not poorly dressed i have had to go down and get my key again because i've got locked out of my room just bringing the room service out sure so the whole thing like saving time by doing it myself has ended up yeah a disaster yeah mild disaster yeah very very mild yeah but when you do the like an animated thing like that kind of work do you do the same process of building yeah i mean we did that originally as a play
Marc:Oh, that's right.
Marc:I mean, it's a radio play.
Guest:That's right.
Guest:So we did it at Royce Hall.
Guest:We rehearsed in New York for a week, and then we came out to Los Angeles, and we did it at Royce Hall.
Marc:And oddly, in that movie, unlike non-animated movies, somehow you were afforded a lot of backstory in that movie.
Marc:At certain points, eventually you know a lot about that woman.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:It's so beautifully written.
Guest:It really is.
Guest:Oh, my God.
Guest:It's really just so heartbreaking.
Guest:I mean, it's really funny, but it's also really heartbreaking.
Marc:And it's, like, more human than some human movies.
Guest:It is, it is.
Guest:That's what killed me.
Guest:And, like, the sex scene was more... Oh, real.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It was much more real than a lot of the sex scenes I've done that, you know, were entirely naked.
Guest:I guess you have a little more freedom and leeway to make it... It feels more private when you're in, like, this dark room with just mics and a screen.
Guest:You know, it's like we...
Guest:Well, we didn't even have a screen.
Guest:I mean, it wasn't it wasn't animated yet.
Guest:Like first we recorded it and filmed us recording it.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:David Thewlis was standing six feet away from me to record the sex scene.
Guest:And yet it felt much more intimate and embarrassing than a lot of sex scenes that I've shot on.
Marc:Because of the dialogue.
Guest:I think because it's all your voice, so you can't really hide behind the kissing or the physicality.
Guest:There's no way to hide.
Guest:And so it felt very naked.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:And the dialogue is so awkward.
Guest:Yeah, it's so beautifully written that, yeah.
Marc:It's like that thing.
Guest:That's like his.
Guest:I mean, Charlie Kaufman's stuff is so well written.
Guest:I mean, really, if you just are open and you just say the words, you're going to be really good.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Marc:I wish he was doing movies every year.
Guest:I do, too.
Guest:I do, too.
Guest:I just love watching them.
Guest:I love reading them.
Guest:I mean, reading a screenplay that he's written.
Guest:It's also similarly with the Coen brothers or Quentin.
Guest:To be able to actually read one of their screenplays is a gift in itself.
Guest:Right.
Marc:You're like, oh, my God.
Guest:It's so much fun.
Guest:It's so exciting because you don't know where it's going to go.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And what about with this new one?
Guest:Well, with Good Time, I didn't even get the script.
Guest:They sent me just the pages.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Just the scenes.
Marc:Why do you think they did that?
Marc:Why'd they do that?
Marc:To protect the movie or just to protect you?
Guest:No, I think it was because they want an uninformed performance.
Guest:They just wanted me to know what my character would know.
Guest:Right.
Right.
Guest:and only know Connie through my eyes.
Guest:So I don't know him.
Guest:I don't know all the other things about him.
Guest:I only know as he presents to me.
Guest:So that's why they just gave me the backstory and my scenes.
Marc:That's smart.
Guest:It is.
Guest:It's really smart.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, it's not like I'm... I mean, I'm an actress.
Guest:I can handle, like, knowing...
Guest:The full arc.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But there is something fun about when you're working with directors that you really admire and respect to just throwing yourself into the way they work.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Because it's going to bring out something different in you.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:You know?
Marc:Yeah, definitely.
Guest:And that's exciting.
Marc:Where do those guys come from?
Guest:I think Queens, Manhattan, you know.
Marc:They're New York guys?
Guest:Yeah, totally.
Marc:And the other brother, he didn't appear in it.
Guest:No, Josh, no.
Marc:So what's going on now?
Marc:You're just doing press for this and are you shooting something?
Marc:You're on a TV show, right?
Guest:I did a Netflix thing that's on right now and I'm about to go to London, no to this, we rehearsed in London like two weeks ago and I'm about to go to, first I'm gonna go on a little vacation and then I'm gonna go to the south of France.
Guest:It sounds like a vacation.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But it's actually for this Patrick Melrose thing I'm doing for Showtime.
Marc:Oh, okay.
Guest:Those books that I've been reading over and over and over again are.
Marc:They're going to make them into a thing?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Oh, that's good.
Guest:There are five of them, so each one will be its own hour.
Marc:And what are you doing in it?
Marc:Are you acting?
Marc:Are you directing?
Guest:I am acting, yeah.
Marc:Yeah?
Guest:Edward Berger is directing.
Marc:And I guess I should help out the Twin Peaks people.
Marc:I mean, you weren't in the first one.
Guest:No, I was not in the original.
Marc:So now you're working in that environment.
Marc:You did it already.
Guest:I did.
Guest:It's done.
Marc:Yeah, of course.
Marc:And it's on.
Marc:I barely got through the first one.
Right.
Yeah.
Marc:You know, like the original Twin Peaks.
Marc:I was like, oh, man, is this going to pay off?
Marc:What's happening?
Marc:I liked it.
Marc:I thought I like him.
Guest:Oh, he's incredible.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I mean, what is he?
Guest:But that was similar in that I only got, first of all, I just talked to him on the phone.
Guest:And, of course, if David Lynch calls you and says, do you want, you know, would you like to work with me?
Guest:You say yes.
Guest:Yeah, of course.
Guest:Yeah, of course.
Guest:I'm going to show up.
Guest:I don't care how many episodes it is.
Guest:I don't care how small the part is.
Guest:I just want to.
Marc:Small parts are sometimes good, though, aren't they?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Like, if you really got a meaty small part.
Guest:It doesn't even matter.
Guest:You just want to have that experience working with a director, you know?
Marc:What was it like working with him?
Guest:It was fantastic.
Guest:I mean, it was really, we really shot in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night.
Guest:And he is very open and very specific at the same time.
Guest:And there's just a sweetness to him.
Guest:And he's funny and lovely and odd.
Guest:And I just really got a kick out of him.
Guest:And at one point, like, and Tim Roth and I just worked together on Hateful Eight.
Guest:And, you know, I didn't know he was going to be playing my husband.
Guest:And suddenly he's playing my husband.
Guest:And so it was great because we had, we were so familiar with one another.
Guest:And we loved each other so much.
Guest:So it was so easy to take that on.
Guest:And we already had our own backstory just because we had just worked together for six months.
Guest:Sure.
Marc:So you had the emotional connection.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Oh, that's great.
Guest:And then Tim, I think, said, like, I'd like a scene with Jen.
Guest:I'd like another scene with Jen.
Guest:Like, let's have us another scene.
Guest:And I think he had, like, a couple ideas.
Guest:And, yeah, and then he went and he wrote it.
Marc:Oh, good.
Guest:So, like, he wrote a scene for us, which was really, really sweet.
Marc:He's another one of those guys that really can capture some sort of atmosphere.
Marc:Incredible, yeah.
Marc:That's a real magical thing to be able to create an atmosphere.
Guest:Yeah, and he's specific.
Guest:Talk about props and atmosphere.
Guest:There was a stool, but it wasn't the stool that was in his mind.
Guest:Oh, really?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And so there was time taken to find the correct stool.
Guest:You know, I think he really has images.
Guest:I mean, he's such a filmmaker and he's so visual.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:His movies are so visual.
Guest:Right.
Guest:When you think of his movies, you think of certain scenes.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:Right?
Guest:And images from those scenes.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:And a lot of photographers have been inspired by his movies.
Guest:Right.
Guest:You know, like Kruitson, you can imagine being inspired by David Lynch movies.
Guest:Right.
Guest:So...
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So if he has something in his mind and it's not right, he will take the time, even though this was a pressurized budget.
Guest:They didn't have a huge budget to make this.
Guest:And it was very, you know, extravagant, you know, and ambitious to make on a little budget or a smaller budget.
Guest:And so, yeah, it would take time out to get the stool right.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Well, I could see that because one of my favorite movies of his is the tractor movie.
Marc:The one where the guy's like, what's it called?
Marc:The Something Mild?
Marc:Okay, I'm sorry.
Marc:I don't remember either.
Guest:Don't ask me the name of what's that thing that sucks dirt off the floor.
Guest:Don't ask me that.
Marc:Just don't even.
Marc:Hold on.
Marc:I'm going to do what we've been doing because we're just shameless about it, I guess.
Marc:uh the straight story but that when that when uh farnsworth comes up on harry dean stanton's house and you know and harry dean's just sitting out there like you could tell though like that's meticulous yeah that porch whatever the hell's going on there that that was exactly he's showing you exactly what he wants you to see
Marc:Right.
Marc:And I think Wes Anderson's probably like that too.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Like every goddamn frame looks like a panorama, like a jewelry box.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It's unbelievable.
Guest:Yeah, exactly.
Guest:Like a diorama.
Marc:Do you do a diorama?
Marc:That's what I was looking for.
Marc:Good.
Marc:See, we work together.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I'm telling you, between our two brains, we can figure it out.
Marc:So stage, do it?
Marc:No?
Guest:I've done it.
Guest:Yeah, I love it.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:You do?
Guest:It's a young man's game, but it's great.
Marc:Oh, yeah?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Why is that?
Guest:it's really exhausting doing eight shows a week oh yeah it's really really exhausting and you know the hours are late and it's the adrenaline oh yeah is insane and you almost have to go into denial about how how terrifying it is so you go into complete denial about it because if you actually experienced that adrenaline right and the terror yeah
Guest:you would not be able to go out.
Guest:So you have to kind of box it away.
Guest:But when it's done, when the show comes down, you're suddenly like, how the hell did I do that?
Guest:How did I?
Guest:And you're suddenly so tired.
Guest:And suddenly you don't have to get, if the play asks for it, you don't have to get slapped every night at a certain time.
Guest:And pretend it's not going to happen in your head so you're not anticipating it.
Guest:You know, there's all these things.
Guest:it's like at a certain time of day um i remember jane adams once said in describing like doing theater at a certain time of day your world goes crazy because it's just the same exact thing is going to happen you know and i would describe it as like this every day you wake up and you think oh how lovely i can wake up so late yeah and then there's this monster just waiting for you yeah at the end of the day and it i mean look
Guest:If it's the right play, like Cabaret, which I did, I had the best time doing.
Guest:But still, at the end, I did not have to get slapped every night and thrown down onto the couch.
Guest:And you were singing?
Guest:Yeah, and I was singing.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, maybe not well, but I was singing and I was enjoying it.
Guest:I can't speak for the audience.
Guest:Yeah, I really loved all of it.
Guest:I had the best time.
Guest:And out of that experience came, like, Anniversary Party.
Marc:Which is your movie.
Guest:Yeah, which is a movie Alan and I directed together and wrote together.
Yeah.
Guest:yeah are you gonna do more of that um you know you never know i'd like to i think i would like i mean i really enjoyed that experience um so we'll see how many kids you got just one oh okay well that's manageable it is quite good well it was nice talking to you yeah it was great talking to you thanks for coming and thanks for helping me yeah thanks for helping me you're welcome
Marc:Okay, that's it.
Marc:Go see that movie.
Marc:I'm telling you, man.
Marc:Go see Good Time.
Marc:It'll fucking jack you up and move you, and you're not going to know what's happening ever during it.
Marc:No way to call it.
Marc:All right, so go to WTFPod.com if you want to get the new book, Waiting for the Punch, or get on the mailing list, or get into those archives of the other 800 episodes.
Marc:What else?
Marc:I got blues on the brain.
Marc:Maybe I'll just pick up a guitar and play some stinky blues.
Marc:Boomer lives!
Marc:Boomer lives.