Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend XX
[0] Okay.
[1] Hello.
[2] My name is Jeff Bridges.
[3] And I feel very open, very, a lot of love, man. A lot of love feelings are surfacing now about being Conan O 'Brien's friend and being here with him, actually.
[4] Good Lord.
[5] This is the most thoughtful and beautiful.
[6] You're just a lovely, you're a lovely guy.
[7] Thank you, man. I feel the same about you.
[8] I mean, I feel the same about you.
[9] I mean, I. I can't remember all the times that we've encountered each other over.
[10] I've come into your house plenty of times at night when you're sleeping.
[11] Oh, that was you.
[12] That's me, yeah.
[13] I always take a little something when I go.
[14] But you leave a little something, too.
[15] I leave a little something, too.
[16] Fall is here, hear the yell.
[17] Back to school, ring the bell, brandy shoes, walking loose, climb the fence, books and pens I can tell that we are going to be friends I can tell that we are going to be friends Hey there Welcome to Conan O 'Brien needs a friend joined by my stalwart companions Sonam Obsessian, hey Sona And of course Matt Goreley That's the name Yes, I just want to I just need your social security numbers now And then I can steal Your health insurance I want to bring up something to Sona which is, over the years, I guess, it's become well -known, Sona, that you are my assistant and that you are Armenian.
[18] Yes.
[19] People just come up to me now, wherever I am, in any situation, and say, Conan, I'm Armenian, but have!
[20] And I know to say, because we went to Armenia together, oh, inch pasac.
[21] We are everywhere.
[22] Everywhere.
[23] But the thing is, it's almost like if other people around and they're like, is it a year and I'll leave them alone.
[24] No. Armenians just are like, and I don't mind it.
[25] I love them.
[26] They're very nice.
[27] But I'm starting to notice that they will crash through a wall if I'm alone in a room and go, Conan Berev.
[28] I'm like, hey, whoa, inch past.
[29] I will say, I mean, just my experience is we're not great with boundaries.
[30] And we don't take, pick up on like social cues of when it's okay and not okay to say that.
[31] And I think they're really excited to see you.
[32] And they always want to hear.
[33] like how Sona's doing.
[34] They want to know how you're doing.
[35] I don't imagine that's the case.
[36] Matt Gorglian.
[37] Oh, Matt Gagorlian.
[38] Matt Gagorlian.
[39] I just said Matt Gorglian.
[40] I just wanted to tweak it a little.
[41] I wanted to punch it up.
[42] Yeah.
[43] It's Gagorlian.
[44] But then they ask, they want to know all about you.
[45] And I say you've got these, you know, these twin boys.
[46] They want to know, they're always very interested in the fact that who did you marry.
[47] And I say, like, relax.
[48] He's Armenian.
[49] So they don't get mad at me. If you tell them their, because I am a little self -conscious that I name them such American names, do they like, look, of course, Mikey and Charlie?
[50] No, I never bring that up because I think they might not like it.
[51] Oh, really?
[52] Yeah, because, well, I never say, because I was surprised when you told me, when you said the twins are born, this is like three years ago now.
[53] I was so excited.
[54] And I said, I'm downstairs.
[55] Can I come up at the hospital?
[56] And you said, I'd rather you didn't.
[57] Just leave whatever gifts you have.
[58] And I was like, well, that's weird.
[59] I drove all the way.
[60] Has anyone cut the umbilical cord yet?
[61] Yeah.
[62] I really thought I'd be in a big part of that.
[63] You made it very clear I should just get back in my car and leave.
[64] But no, I was, and then I said, what are your kids' names?
[65] And you went, Mikey and Charlie.
[66] And I thought it was going to be, you know, grudy and strudy.
[67] No, no. What's wrong with that?
[68] First of all, it sounds like, that's grudy and strutty says Swedish.
[69] You're right.
[70] I went through it.
[71] How about, uh...
[72] That's what's wrong with this.
[73] Yeah.
[74] Give me the names that they could have been.
[75] like Armin and Rafi or Kevork.
[76] Artok.
[77] Artok is tax name.
[78] Yeah, yeah.
[79] Arthac Jr. AirPods.
[80] Air pod.
[81] Airpod.
[82] Airpod.
[83] Hovann.
[84] Airpods Max.
[85] Carvan.
[86] Carvan.
[87] Beets by Dre.
[88] Yeah.
[89] What do you guys say?
[90] Vortex.
[91] Is Vortex?
[92] No. Do you want to keep trying?
[93] I think we should.
[94] Yes.
[95] I think you're trying to say you should stop now.
[96] No. But unfortunately you said, do you think we should keep trying?
[97] which makes me want to go Grogo!
[98] But anyway, no. But do you get some flak in the Armenian community for naming them Mikey and Charlie?
[99] They go to an Armenian school and a lot of the parents name their kids Armenian names and then I just see Charlie and Mikey and I'm like, I think we let our people down a little bit.
[100] Also, you talked on that song since they were very little.
[101] We must assimilate, assimilate, assimilate, we must assimilate.
[102] That song.
[103] It's a Mr. Rogers' song.
[104] Shed our immigrant past.
[105] We must assimilate.
[106] And I was like, why are you teaching them this?
[107] Oh, my God.
[108] Shed our immigrant pass?
[109] That's the song you taught them.
[110] And TAC plays it on the guitar.
[111] We must assimilate.
[112] Assimulate.
[113] We must assimilate.
[114] And shed our immigrant past.
[115] Shed our immigrant pass.
[116] Shed our immigrant past.
[117] Shed our immigrant past.
[118] It's still going.
[119] As far as anybody.
[120] Everybody knows.
[121] We're little Dutch boys.
[122] I just think I was a weird song to teach your children at such a young age.
[123] But they should assimilate, right?
[124] I don't know.
[125] It's good.
[126] It's fine.
[127] I always feel badly for my mom because I think deep down she really wanted us to be the kind of kids that could go to a country club.
[128] And we just weren't.
[129] We were Irish pirates.
[130] And I used to just pretty much.
[131] tell her that.
[132] Like, what are you talking about?
[133] We're just Irish.
[134] We're 100 % Irish.
[135] Yeah.
[136] We're bummed.
[137] But she was an intellectual.
[138] Your dad is an intellectual.
[139] I know, but it doesn't, it was, no. And then I know.
[140] My parents are very smart, accomplished people, and then they had kids and we were like, but it kind of backfired on them because you're very intellectual, but in a way that probably infuriates this.
[141] Yes, I know.
[142] It's like some kind of Cassandra curse.
[143] Like, be careful what you wish for.
[144] Yeah, yeah.
[145] Well, I don't know.
[146] Something went horribly wrong.
[147] But I think I like Mikey and Charlie, and I do think they've grown into those names.
[148] They are Mikey and Charlie.
[149] That's who they are now.
[150] Do they have Armenian middle names?
[151] Yeah, yeah.
[152] Krikorn and Tanya.
[153] You're halfway there.
[154] Krikor.
[155] I love that one.
[156] Krikor.
[157] Yeah.
[158] And what's the other one?
[159] Tanya.
[160] I mean, it's.
[161] Tanya.
[162] It's Daniel.
[163] Yeah.
[164] And what's Krikor?
[165] Gregory.
[166] Oh.
[167] Oh.
[168] I named him after my grandpa.
[169] Oh, you just forgot?
[170] Your grandparents are named Charlie and Mikey?
[171] No, they're Crico and Tanya.
[172] They're my grandfather.
[173] Grandpa, Mikey, and Grandma Charlie.
[174] Oh, yeah.
[175] I'll never forget the day in 1907.
[176] When Mikey saw a beautiful Charlie walking down the lane, carrying that basket of dried apricot.
[177] Oh, come on.
[178] Crickor, Crickor.
[179] My grandma went by Eddie.
[180] That was her name.
[181] Is that true?
[182] What's her form?
[183] But why Eddie?
[184] I don't know, to be honest.
[185] My grandmother, who lived with us for a while, who I think was born in 1890, so she really saw everything in a lifetime.
[186] But her, we always knew her as Mottie.
[187] Her nickname was Mottie.
[188] And we would say, why is your name, what does everyone call you Mottie?
[189] And it was because there was a comic book, a comic strip when she was about eight years old about a mule named Mottie that would kick.
[190] and at the playground she once kicked like some boys were bothering her and she was kicking at them and they called her Mottie and so a hundred years later we're saying hey Mottie, pass the salt what's her real name?
[191] I'm shocked you guys weren't country club people you mule damaged lineage what's her real name?
[192] Yeah it was Ruth Ruth yeah which was my mom's name too I didn't know that that's cool Oh, so she, that's your mother's mother?
[193] And they did like a female junior.
[194] She was named after, she was named after this kicking mule in a comic strip that was popular in, you know, 1900 or 1898.
[195] And then it stuck like one day on the playground.
[196] Yeah, you're a real muddy, that one.
[197] And then cut to, you know, us, a hundred years later.
[198] No, 100 years, but whatever, 85 years later.
[199] You called her by her nickname, though.
[200] You didn't call her Grandma?
[201] We called her Marty.
[202] Okay.
[203] And we called our grandfather, my mother's father, Hofer.
[204] And because, no, that's true, because he, as a young man, he was a policeman in Worcester, Massachusetts, who directed traffic, but he knew, like, one dance step.
[205] And people were like, yeah, you're a real hofer.
[206] And that kicker over there is a real Mahdi.
[207] And so we called him Hofer and Marty.
[208] and then the one day we go to enlist at the country club they're like well tell us a little bit about yourself kid hey there are six of you you seem to have been born three months apart and your shirts are all torn tell us about yourself well our grandmother's muddy after the kicking mule and our cop grandfather is called hoofer because he knew a dance step he used to kick the winos with it all right well this is backdoor here you can use.
[209] What should I tell my mother?
[210] Should I tell her that we're in?
[211] And we can come here and eat peanut butter and jam sandwiches?
[212] No, get the fuck out of here.
[213] Do you want to hear about my other grandfather, shitsy?
[214] Get out!
[215] Get out!
[216] All right.
[217] And by the way, God rest your Shitsy Hey shitsey Get over here Why did they call him Shitzy Hey took a shit When World War I was declared He shit his pants Because he knew he had to fight So we call him Shitzy Say hello to Jiz Schmachman Shitzy What did he marry He married?
[218] Oh fuck it Oh fuck it Yeah She was three in 1850 She banged her shit chin on a stool.
[219] Ah, fuck it.
[220] So I fuck it met Chitzy.
[221] So about this country club application?
[222] Where do I sign?
[223] And where do my 15 brothers and sisters sign?
[224] Who are all born the same day?
[225] And where do we check inbred?
[226] Hey, is that a golf course?
[227] Can we play?
[228] We've got hockey sticks.
[229] Quick apology to my family We're throwing you all on the bus.
[230] Hey, my guest today My guest today is an Academy Award -winning actor.
[231] Oh my God, why?
[232] The chasm between the shit we talk about.
[233] The chasm between how low we are and the quality of the people that come here.
[234] It's like, our first guest won the Nobel Peace Prize.
[235] My guest today is an Academy Award -winning actor who has starred in such films as Tron, Iron Man, and the big Lobowski.
[236] Now you can see him in the FX series, The Old Man. I really do love this show.
[237] I'm glad it's back.
[238] I'm thrilled he's here today.
[239] Jeff Bridges, welcome.
[240] So, you know, it's so funny because you've done so much incredible work, and I've also thought about how I just have this bond with your family because when I was a kid, they would show reruns a lot.
[241] And my brothers and I, there was one thing that we watched in the summer.
[242] and it was we would watch Sea Hunt.
[243] See Hunt was on and of course your dad the great Lloyd Bridges was the star of Sea Hunt and so I remembered when you first came on the scene and I'd see you in movies and people, I would think of you as Lloyd Bridges, that's Lloyd Bridges' son because he was on Sea Hunt and that's the show we'd watch with my brother Neil and Luke and we would watch Seahunt and we thought that was the coolest show in the world and of course we were watching it long after it had been on.
[244] on.
[245] We're watching it in the 70s.
[246] Oh, right.
[247] No, it was the late, the early 60s.
[248] Yeah.
[249] Now, you've triggered a story.
[250] Okay, that's what I do.
[251] I trigger people.
[252] You've triggered me. You've mentioned sea hunt.
[253] Now, this, this is also a plug for a fellow named Richard Peterson.
[254] Hmm.
[255] Okay.
[256] People can Google Richard Peterson's first movie, Big City Dick.
[257] It's called Big City Dake, Richard Peterson's first movie.
[258] That's the official title.
[259] And I met this fella maybe 30 years ago in Seattle.
[260] I'm getting dressed to go down and do this movie American Heart.
[261] I hear this outside my window.
[262] I look out there and there's this ball kind of heavyset guy in a tight mattress sport coat.
[263] And it's like, I know, I know.
[264] I go down there, I forget all about the guy.
[265] And he comes up to me, he goes, Oh, Lloyd Bridges, son, son of Seahunt.
[266] And I say, you got me. And then I realized what he was playing on his trumpet was sea hunt music.
[267] Yeah.
[268] And he comes up to me and he says, these are the cues.
[269] I need the other cues, these cues.
[270] And I say, what is this?
[271] He says the cues from Seahut.
[272] You know, every time they go, he saw it.
[273] Dun, da, da, dun da.
[274] Yeah, yeah.
[275] So this fellow, Richard Peterson, is a savant.
[276] And his subject, Seahunt.
[277] No, no, yeah, all Ziv music.
[278] And also, what's crazy is his connection with you, as mine was just, like, like, early, early on was through your dad.
[279] And then you've gone on to have this insane career, but it doesn't matter what you do to this guy, you'll always, the connection will always be C -Hunt.
[280] Son of C -Hunt.
[281] So now years later, about 20 years later, I'm doing a C -Biscuit in Pasadena, have a big suite, have a piano in the room, and these guys come over and say, do you know Richard Peterson, where some documentary film directors, the three of us have gotten together.
[282] And I said, oh, yeah, I tell him this story.
[283] And they see, now, Richard's downstairs.
[284] Can he come up?
[285] I said, oh, wonderful.
[286] I've always wanted to, because he's really a piano player.
[287] I said, we got a piano.
[288] And we get down there and we start playing Seahunton music.
[289] You're playing the stings to an early 60s television show.
[290] And as I'm walking him out the door saying, Richard, you know, are you into jazz?
[291] Because it's kind of, you know, out there.
[292] music you play, and you'd like Phelonius Monk, for instance.
[293] And he looks at me, I dig Seahunt.
[294] Have you heard of Mozart?
[295] Was he on Seahunt?
[296] So Seahunt.
[297] But, you know, I don't know.
[298] I know that you, you're in the business.
[299] You did obviously some cameos on Seahunt with your brother Bo.
[300] And then I remember a movie came out.
[301] that to this i love this movie thunderbolt and lightfoot and my my my have you you know this film yeah and uh it's clint eastwood it's you uh it's george kennedy it's a great fucking movie and i'm i i love that movie and you're you popped so much in that movie uh you must have been a young kid at the time yeah i can't remember how old i was i think it was the movie's 1974 they probably shot it in 73, but you're just such a great character.
[302] Well, it was Chimino's first movie.
[303] Michael Chimino.
[304] Michael Chimino's first movie is the guy who directed Heaven's Gate.
[305] Yep, yep.
[306] Completely different experience.
[307] You know, in Heaven's Gate, we would do up to 60 takes.
[308] You know, we're here, we're show up, and I'm not sure if I really dug that approach because nobody, you never know what it's going to take.
[309] You know, are you into it?
[310] you know, but with Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Clint always only liked to do, you know, one take, maybe two, you know.
[311] And I was the kid who'd go up to Chimini, and I said, I got to hear me, oh, that's the boss.
[312] And Clint would say, yeah, give the kid.
[313] Give the kid one more time.
[314] Yeah, but I, but that film is very close to my heart because that's the first film I did in Montana.
[315] Yeah.
[316] And, man, that's where we've, I just came back from Montana.
[317] tennis.
[318] I'm a little countrified.
[319] Well, there is, I know a movie's great when the loss of a character upsets me on an emotional level, or if a character's hurt, it upsets me. Because, you know, there's a lot of violence, there's a lot of things that can happen in movies and television, and you just don't feel anything.
[320] And George Kennedy gives your character a beating, and it upset me, because I was so invested in your character.
[321] And I thought that's a good movie.
[322] And that's a good, that's proof to me that the acting here is top level.
[323] When I'm upset, I mean, you see, if you just casually watch anything, you'll see people getting the shit kicked out of them a million times.
[324] You're numb to it.
[325] But I don't know, I felt a real loss there when your character was beaten like that.
[326] It just upset me, and it still does.
[327] I'm smiling because I. It's funny, when I see movies that I'm in, they're like home movies.
[328] You know, I remember so many different things about it when I watch it.
[329] And as you're telling me that story, mine went, like, very much like the Richard Peterson story.
[330] Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[331] I just shared with you.
[332] It was perhaps too long.
[333] Do you like a longer, and you edit this, right?
[334] No, just from you.
[335] Okay.
[336] Talk the longer the best of life.
[337] Jeff, Jeff, we'll just leave.
[338] Jeff, I assure you.
[339] I assure you, this is all gold.
[340] This is a great day for me. I love that you're here.
[341] You can do no wrong.
[342] You're the dude.
[343] You know, I think we have to acknowledge you are the dude.
[344] And you know, it's so crazy, you came on my show once, and you were wearing sandals, jelly sandals, and then you revealed these are the same ones you wore as the dude.
[345] And I felt like I was in Rome watching, looking at like a religious icon, you know?
[346] It was just crazy that you had those.
[347] Yes!
[348] Not them.
[349] These are my hokas.
[350] You guys are hip -to -hose.
[351] Those are the dudes, 2000.
[352] Yeah, the dude is, the dude is evolved.
[353] Oh, man. The dude evolves.
[354] Yeah, the dude.
[355] So, let me. That should be the new one.
[356] The dude evolves.
[357] The dude evolves.
[358] There you go.
[359] It's all set up.
[360] Yeah.
[361] You're Lobowski, too.
[362] Yeah.
[363] And in this one, in this.
[364] He's pregnant, but with mods.
[365] He's got a baby on his way.
[366] The stranger said it up.
[367] And the one difference is his footwear, it's still open -toed, but it has more support.
[368] Orthopedic.
[369] It's orthopedic.
[370] Yeah, that is right.
[371] That's really the only difference.
[372] I like it.
[373] I like that.
[374] I, you know, I was going to, oh, go ahead.
[375] He had that story.
[376] Yeah, I was going to tell the story.
[377] So what that triggered when you were talking about the Thunderbolt and Life, but that scene that you're talking about where I die in the car with Clint, I go up to Mike and I say, Mike, Chimino, yeah.
[378] I've got an idea of mine.
[379] Now, I can do this with my eye.
[380] I don't know where the cameras.
[381] See, I don't know, see it like that.
[382] I can hold a half -blank pretty good.
[383] So I said, why don't we get a dentist?
[384] Because I'm supposed to die of a brain hemorrhage.
[385] Brain hemorrhage.
[386] You've been beaten really badly and Clint thinks you're going to be okay.
[387] I say, let's get a dentist up here and shoot me with Novocaine in the side of my face, and I'll go like that, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[388] And he said, okay, so we did that, and it worked great, and they lost the film.
[389] What?
[390] And we had to do the whole thing again.
[391] I love being that.
[392] Who comes in and tells you that?
[393] You know the thing were you, the dentist says to come in.
[394] that's unbelievable because it's a very powerful ending where you think everything's okay and then you realize that you're gone man i don't know what your approach is i know that i know that you're a very philosophical person who thinks about things and doesn't take things for granted i also happen to know that through your father you learned like this is a job do you know what i mean you've got to respect the crew this is this is real work so you grew up with this great ethic and do you Do you have a perspective on your career?
[395] Because you've done so many, you've been, how do you see it?
[396] Do you see it as, like, I wrote a wave?
[397] Do you see it as I worked hard?
[398] I made good decisions, a mixture of both.
[399] Well, it's quite amazing, you know.
[400] A friend asked me, what was it like to be famous?
[401] Kind of like, you know, what do you, you know, and I grew up with fame.
[402] You know, my dad was famous with.
[403] sea hunt, you know.
[404] So it's kind of natural.
[405] And then the movie seems very, very natural thing.
[406] It doesn't seem anything too special about that to me. But as I think about the movies, and I'm so fortunate to have discovered this camera, this wide -lux camera that my wife gave me on our first anniversary, and I've taken pictures while I'm doing the movies.
[407] And I look at those books and they're like little lifetimes, you know.
[408] You remember all those intense relationships, you know.
[409] And then poof, it's gone.
[410] And that's how I look back at it.
[411] Because you could have a very intense experience, you know, whether it's you're doing true grit or last picture show or whatever film you're doing, you have this it's I cannot It's crazy for me to try and compare, but the only thing that I can relate to a little bit is when I do comedy stuff or a show or travel to a different country, that's all, I'm in it 100%.
[412] And then it's over and I'm gone, but there's a document afterwards.
[413] And later on, I look at it and I go, oh, that's right, I was in Cuba.
[414] And what am I doing?
[415] I'm on a seawall in Cuba and I'm drinking rum with some kid I met and smoking a cigar.
[416] And that was, it fires off little neurons in my head, but I also know that I'm, there's a thousand other things that I moved on to.
[417] It feels like the product, the movie or the TV.
[418] That is sort of the byproduct.
[419] And the real product is the experience of doing it.
[420] It's almost incidental.
[421] As crazy as that sounds, because you've done all this amazing work.
[422] Yeah, it's funny.
[423] It's what I was saying.
[424] I look at movies I'm in and they're like home movies.
[425] It's hard for me to follow the story.
[426] As terrific a career as you've had as an actor, music haunts you.
[427] You know, you grew up playing music, and you really were seriously considering, am I going to be a, I'm going to go into acting, or am I going to be a musician?
[428] Like, there's a fork in the road.
[429] And I feel like it's something you're still wrestling with.
[430] That's fine, kind of dancing with it, man. I don't know.
[431] I think maybe it's kicked my ass, basically.
[432] I think at this moment, I don't know if I'll get back into it as I, as strongly as I did after Crazy Heart.
[433] You know, right around when I did your show.
[434] You came on my show to do Crazy Heart, which was this phenomenal, phenomenal movie, phenomenal performance.
[435] And, you know, at 60, whatever I was, 62, whatever, I finally had my Beatle moment, you know, because there's nothing like playing in a band.
[436] You're a musician.
[437] Yeah, I love that.
[438] And it's just like, it's so great to do that.
[439] And my buddy T. Bone, you know, when we did Crazy Heart together, he did all the, you know, most of the music for it.
[440] And after the Crazy Heart, I got my, you know, music, you know, was tickled.
[441] I said, well, I got some more tunes to do, Bone, you know, and he said, sure.
[442] And so we did an album and then I get a band.
[443] He said, well, I'm going to get the band together.
[444] And all these friends I got in Santa Barbara.
[445] And I had that, my, I'm not being triggering my.
[446] self here.
[447] I hate my Beatle moment with my band at a Lubowski Fest.
[448] Yes!
[449] Oh, man!
[450] So it all came together.
[451] And you're playing to a sea of dudes.
[452] Oh, man. No, but you know what's so nice is, I don't know about you.
[453] My experience has been I've had, Sonny, you were along for the 2010 experience where I went on this tour and there was a lot of music and crazy crowds and we did comedy but we also I got to have my moments of soloing in front of it sold out like multiple tier and it was just it was a it was that crazy experience and what would happen is I'd start to think to myself hey you know I think I could do yeah I could this is what I could do this is what I could do and you know it always resets it I'm around a Jimmy Vivino or a Jack White or any of these guys who really does it and I go oh Like, oh, I see.
[454] Oh, and it's, I, I'm constantly being humbled by people that, that I love it.
[455] It's fun.
[456] I like to do it for fun.
[457] But if this was something I was meant to be doing, I'd have been doing it when I was seven years old.
[458] And that's what I was, that's comedy for me. So that decision was made.
[459] I didn't have to make it, you know?
[460] Yeah.
[461] Well, now when you say wrestle or struggle, that's a really, you know, this thing about comparison and everything.
[462] I, you know, when we had all this downtime with the strikes and COVID and all this stuff, and there are different guys did different things during that time.
[463] You must have seen inside, right, that guy, Bo Burnham.
[464] Oh, yeah.
[465] Yeah, yeah, fantastic.
[466] Were you impressed, man?
[467] Bo is phenomenal.
[468] Oh, God.
[469] That movie is the eighth grade.
[470] Yeah, he's phenomenal talent.
[471] So I had a bunch of time, and you're a creative person.
[472] He said, what am I going to do?
[473] So I decided, I don't go back in my mind, my music mind, and discover old tunes and things that I'm now, I'm one of my 74.
[474] I say, to perfect all that stuff going to music, you know, that's a lot of effort.
[475] There's a lot of things.
[476] I like slowing down, not doing as much as I might have when I was younger.
[477] I said, I've got all these things.
[478] Yeah, I'll just play with them.
[479] And I started going on the Internet and finding things.
[480] to juxtapose these tunes, you know, or I would take my little I'm phone out and it do things and juxtapose.
[481] Preate.
[482] I had it fun.
[483] And I said, okay, you know, more than this other guy who knows how to make websites.
[484] Yeah, why not release this?
[485] I mean, why not?
[486] You know, what it, you know, I'm just sharing, man. This is my offer.
[487] This is what I got, you know, and listen to it.
[488] There's so much, there's so much shit out now.
[489] Isn't there?
[490] Man. I mean, there's so much going on.
[491] So I say, well, why not put your shit out there?
[492] You know?
[493] So I decided to release this thing called Emergent Behavior, volumes one through five.
[494] You know, so that's what I've done kind of musically, and that's where I'm at.
[495] And I don't know, I feel kind of spent, I don't know if I'll do volume six or what, but it was interesting.
[496] You know, what you were talking about comparing yourself to the Beatles or these guys, you know.
[497] And, wow, that really gets in our way, man. Well, comparison.
[498] Because ultimately, isn't the spot that you want to get into where it's doing you, you're not even doing it, you know, with what you do?
[499] I'm sure you get into that place all the time.
[500] Oh, yeah.
[501] And just not take it too damn seriously, man, and let the thing come through what it wants to do.
[502] Don't be so ego -tripping like, you know, just.
[503] Right.
[504] What is it?
[505] There's a famous quote that I'm not coming up with right now, but it's like comparison.
[506] is the death.
[507] Is the thief of joy.
[508] Is the thief of joy.
[509] Thank you.
[510] Oh, I thought it was, Aaron Blair, it was the thief of joy.
[511] And then it goes out further from there and also Aaron Blair.
[512] No, no, but thank you, Aaron.
[513] That was, I don't want, I punish a guy for having the right answer.
[514] And so, welcome to Stalin's holiday camp.
[515] But on the other side, but, yeah, other side of that practice, man, like you say, that's what I regret, not woodshedding.
[516] You know, I've got some friends that did it, you know, when they were 12, and now they're just so facile.
[517] They can play whatever they want.
[518] It's humbling.
[519] But, you know, I think the bigger point is comparison gets you nowhere.
[520] And trust me, I'm sure there are many actors that have hurt themselves by comparing themselves to you, like your career, what you've accomplished.
[521] They've hurt themselves.
[522] Unnecessarily.
[523] Do you know what I mean?
[524] It's just, it's a, you can't get into that game.
[525] I just been hanging out with a guitarist.
[526] Do you know Blake Mills?
[527] I know the name.
[528] Oh, man, you got to check him out.
[529] Here's another, just, I'm not, you know, we're talking music.
[530] Volpec, do you know them?
[531] No. Oh, you know that then?
[532] And the fearless flyers, Blake has a great version of Sign Sealed and Delivered that he plays with the fearless Flyers.
[533] It's really...
[534] It's amazing.
[535] I just always find...
[536] People ask me who are your favorite groups, and I'll say, it's not even about a group for me. They're just certain songs, you know, that I hear it, I have to learn how to play it, and I can't stop playing it.
[537] And sometimes it's by a very obscure musician.
[538] I don't really know if they've gone on, what else they've gone on to, but it just grabs me by the throat, and then I have to do it.
[539] I just have to learn it, play it, until everyone around me so tired of it that I'm asked to live in the yard and then I'm...
[540] You must have seen standing in the shadow of Motown, didn't you?
[541] Yeah.
[542] Wasn't that a great movie, man?
[543] Also, you narrated, I believe.
[544] I narrated...
[545] History of rock and roll.
[546] But you also narrated...
[547] Didn't you write...
[548] The Credence Clearwater Revival documentary because I...
[549] That was great.
[550] And I remember thinking...
[551] Well, they were great.
[552] The minute...
[553] Oh, I love them, but then the minute you were narrating it, I thought, Oh, this is the right guide to take me through CCO.
[554] Yeah, absolutely.
[555] I got to play with him, got on stage and played at the...
[556] Yeah, what's the motorcycle?
[557] Sturgis.
[558] Oh, yeah, yeah.
[559] You played with John Foggerty.
[560] Yeah, man. Do you remember what you...
[561] Singing, sing it.
[562] No, I sang, I got to sing.
[563] I left the guitar work to John.
[564] You know what's becoming clear to me. You were not acting in the Big Lobowski.
[565] Everything I see, you're like, yeah, man. Now you should just get like a white Russian.
[566] to start drinking it and going, yeah, a lot of angles.
[567] A lot of angles, a lot of...
[568] You let the dude do you.
[569] Yeah, exactly.
[570] The dude did you and then never left.
[571] And then never left.
[572] You know what's so funny?
[573] Dudeism.
[574] Have you...
[575] Dudeism is a religion now.
[576] Dudeism.
[577] And you know what?
[578] I was raised Catholic.
[579] I'd switch to dudeism.
[580] I think it makes more sense to me. I just visited the Pope and I would talk him into doing dudeism.
[581] Tell me more of this dudeism.
[582] He did have a white Russian, and he was saying, there's a lot of, you know, I've got to get the rug back.
[583] It ties the Vatican together.
[584] It ties the Vatican together.
[585] It's one rug.
[586] But Judaism is a, it's a religion.
[587] Well, I get the whole, yeah, the, Lobowski just keeps, you know, and there's the fest that goes on for three days, and it's religion, and there's a book, you know.
[588] The book of the dude?
[589] No, the hell.
[590] Many books, one book is written in Shakespeare, like Shakespeare would do it, you know, two dudes in Verona.
[591] I'm sitting at this dinner party, and on my right is Ron Das, you know, the guy who would be here now, and this guy over here is a guy named Bernie Glassman, and he's a Zen master, and he leans over to me and says, I'm really Doug Lobowski.
[592] say, oh, great.
[593] He says, it's full of co -ons, you know.
[594] I say, co -ons, what do you mean?
[595] You know, and you know what a co -on is?
[596] Well, it's like, what is the sound of one -hand clapping, you know, these kinds of zen.
[597] These kind of weird.
[598] Zen riddles or...
[599] Yeah, that make you, you know, there's no logical answer to it.
[600] And he says, the film's full of co -ons.
[601] I said, what are you talking about?
[602] He says, well, who wrote and directed the film?
[603] The Co -on brothers.
[604] He says, I'm all about...
[605] He's a wise ass, is what he is.
[606] I'm all about bringing Buddhism and Zen to modern times.
[607] He says, let's write a book about Lubowski.
[608] And I say, what do you mean?
[609] He says, well, the dude abides, very buddistic.
[610] Yes, yeah.
[611] And I said, what are some other co -ons?
[612] Shut the fuck up, Donnie.
[613] Yeah, yeah.
[614] That's a co -on?
[615] Yeah, yeah.
[616] Shut the fuck up, Donnie.
[617] Yeah, exactly.
[618] You know, or that's just like your opinion, man. Yeah, yeah.
[619] So we go up to Montana and write for two weeks when we wrote a book, The Dude and the Zen Master, another blooming thing out of this movie.
[620] You know, it just keeps giving.
[621] You know, what's interesting to me is when that movie came out, it was not a success.
[622] It was not deemed a success.
[623] But like the best things, it resonates.
[624] And then it grows and it grows and it grows and it grows.
[625] And it's going to keep on growing.
[626] And I think, you know, like a thousand years from now, there will be giant dudeism centers that people go to.
[627] Well, those brothers, the Cohen brothers.
[628] I mean, they're just masters and they make it look like it's nothing.
[629] They are the two guys.
[630] I'm pretty, I think I've met everybody.
[631] I revere the Cohen brothers, love them.
[632] I'm obsessed with them never met them and I saw them once in a restaurant and I was sitting very nearby and I didn't say a word and you wish you did well I kind of was I'm that's how high up they are for me which is like I do not I would not you know just to to meet them would make my year they're intimidating yeah I think so yeah and I have such they're they really are my go -to filmmakers, and I've watched all of their films so many times.
[633] Yeah, you can see them over and over and just appreciate the mastery.
[634] I mean, with Lubowski, you know, if something comes on that I'm in on TV, I'll, you know, click, watch a scene, click.
[635] But with Lobowski, I, you know, I'll say, I'll just watch, you know, until, you know, Donnie dies or something like that.
[636] Then I'll keep, I get hooked.
[637] Because it's like, I love you watching Lobowski.
[638] I love you at home.
[639] Oh, man. Watching Lubowski and...
[640] It's like a black hole folding in on it.
[641] I know, exactly.
[642] In a good way.
[643] It's the snake eating its tail.
[644] It's the snake birthing its tail.
[645] Burthing it.
[646] Very nice.
[647] Talk about a home movie, man. I mean, that is very much a home movie.
[648] I just, you know, one of my favorite parts about that movie is, is when you, whenever you have a chance to get your favorite drink, you will, as people do that like their drink, they'll kill time just so they can drink more.
[649] I always get the sense.
[650] You're always saying, like, Yeah, a lot of angles A lot of angles, a lot of levels And you're bullshitting You're totally And I know I've done that in my life When I just didn't like I got a nice glass of wine here My wife thinks maybe we should Let's move on, let's pay the check And I'm like, you know We got a lot to talk about here A lot of angles, a lot of moves I just want to have just Everyone settle down for a second Duturo made that movie You know Another out shoot of Lobowski Suddenly of it, you know.
[651] Oh, where he plays his character.
[652] Yeah, he plays the pedophile.
[653] Yeah, yeah, the role everyone's after.
[654] I turned it down six times.
[655] You know, you went through this intense experience, which makes me very grateful that you're here and looking like a million bucks.
[656] You got a cancer diagnosis, I think, in 2021.
[657] Is that right?
[658] I can't remember, but something like that.
[659] And you, it's a lymphoma, you're fighting that, and then you get really bad COVID at the same time.
[660] And it was, I've read that it was, and you've talked about it was rough.
[661] It was incredibly rough.
[662] And I don't know, you come out of that with a different perspective.
[663] Yeah.
[664] Oh.
[665] Yeah, to think of something like that as a gift seems bizarre, or before it actually happened, it seems bizarre.
[666] Now I can understand it.
[667] You know, you learn things during those times like those that you can only learn it in times like those, which is this is a gift, man. We're alive doing this.
[668] Yeah.
[669] No, no. I, we take it for granted, you know.
[670] I've learned, I wish this wasn't true.
[671] I think it's just human nature, but there have been a number of times in my life where there's been some.
[672] some difficulty or death or there's been, and I get this incredible perspective and it starts drifting away within 20 minutes.
[673] And I had it yesterday where I talked to a fan who's quite ill and we had this really intense conversation and I thought I have no problems.
[674] I have no, it I thought this person is giving me a gift of this amazing perspective.
[675] And then I feel that for a while, but then inevitably you go home and then you can't get the cable to work.
[676] You know, but what I'm saying is it's like I'm, you immediately go to, well, God damn it.
[677] This Crestron never work.
[678] Sorry, Crestron.
[679] I know you do incredible work, but you got your name check then.
[680] I'm sorry.
[681] They had it coming.
[682] They had it coming apparently.
[683] me. This touch screen is immediately giving me the entertainment I want to watch.
[684] And then I stop myself and I go, wait a minute, you were talking to someone who's quite ill and you had this amazing moment.
[685] And all it took was your drive from Larchmont over to Brentwood to get you to this.
[686] Like that's the part.
[687] But you had that flash.
[688] That's the important flash.
[689] The second one.
[690] It pulls you back.
[691] Yeah.
[692] You said, oh, and that word practice comes to mind.
[693] You know, We can practice this kind of attention, you know.
[694] And like you said, God, I fall in that all the time.
[695] Like, what, you know, these bumps, you know, something?
[696] And what about the body, man, as you age?
[697] Oh, I don't like that shit, man. Well, fortunately, my body's perfect.
[698] Well, you saw that when you walked in.
[699] You probably thought.
[700] Well, I hugged you.
[701] I noticed the delts.
[702] You were rubbing me for a while.
[703] Remember that.
[704] You know, talk about it.
[705] gift, you know, it's this world we live in of streaming, which I'm still getting used to where a show will come out and I'll start watching it and I'll binge it and I'll love it and then it's done.
[706] And then I'll say, okay, I want more because that's how we are.
[707] And so when the old man came out, I watched this show, my wife and I watched it and absolutely loved it.
[708] Absolutely loved it.
[709] Just loved it.
[710] And your character, the way the story, unfolds.
[711] We know so little about you, but then we start to realize there's more to the sky than meets the eye, and then more and more layers start getting exposed.
[712] John Lithgow is it, who's also one of my favorite people, and he's fantastic.
[713] And then we learn you two have this big history together, and it's about the CIA and generations and our involvement in, you know, foreign wars.
[714] It's just, it's a, but it's a great story, great acting, and it was over.
[715] And I was like, I want more right away, and I've had to wait, and now it's back.
[716] Yeah, man. And I'm so happy that you guys haven't this other season because I can't wait, you know?
[717] Yeah, yeah, I hope you enjoy it.
[718] It's a good one.
[719] A lot of twists and turns, and just get, and he keeps, you know, up in.
[720] Yeah, the writing is spectacular.
[721] Yeah, well, that's this guy, John Steinberg, who is our showrunner and the writer.
[722] And really, yeah, he really put it together.
[723] And then the cast, you're not only the actors who are all splendid, you know, Amy Brennaman and Joel Gray, we got to do some stuff with Joel.
[724] But it's the camera man. I'm always, I'm impressed with the cinematography of this thing.
[725] You know, being primarily in movies, I didn't know about the TV thing, you know, but there's such great stuff on TV.
[726] My gosh, now.
[727] So that, I said, oh, yeah, no. don't put that on there because the making of it I mentioned the cinematography of the thing it's like the same attention that goes into making movies well you know what's happened is I don't think the line between what's a TV show and what's a movie is meaningless to me now yeah because it used to be the case that you know it's just a running length is the yeah exactly but it's it's really the some of the best acting directing I don't I don't know if any of you saw Ripley, which was...
[728] What about Succession?
[729] Succession.
[730] Oh, man, wasn't that cool?
[731] But you see these things play out, and you think, no, no, this is great cinema.
[732] Call it what you want.
[733] I'm not seeing it in a theater.
[734] What about...
[735] You're going to, I'm sorry.
[736] No, no, I love that we're now plugging other people's projects.
[737] What about any show that's not your show?
[738] No, but what I was saying about the old man is that the old man is a cinematic experience to me, because what got to me was when, from the first episode, you realize what is going on with this guy?
[739] This guy looks like he's got a pretty simple life.
[740] And then I can tell you're aware that something isn't right.
[741] You've been laying low for a long time.
[742] And then you realize people are coming to get you.
[743] And I'm in, I'm thinking, what is happening?
[744] And then the way the patience, you have to wait for it.
[745] You have to wait for each thing to unfold.
[746] to find out who is this guy, Dan Chase, who is he?
[747] Who was he?
[748] And then we get to see that in flashbacks.
[749] But the whole thing is teaching, I hope, a younger generation about patience.
[750] Like, you don't get, you know, the way, I think what happened with movies is there's so much money on the line.
[751] Everything had to happen right away.
[752] Yeah.
[753] And they had to show you a trailer that showed you everything.
[754] Oh, so you hate that.
[755] Yeah.
[756] And then I think, I did think once, if Citizen Kane came out today, there'd be a trailer online that shows them that Rosebud is a sled and shows them burning it because, you know, we don't want anyone to have to wait for that.
[757] And that would be like the first thing they'd show is, it's about a guy who says Rosebud, don't worry, it's a sled.
[758] It would also be merchandised as a toy sled.
[759] Yeah, and toy sled.
[760] Get the Rosebud sled.
[761] And so the whole mystery would be gone, but I love that with your show, with a lot of these shows, you have to wait.
[762] And so I had to wait for the old man to come back.
[763] And it's like, you know, even though I think I'd some pull with you and I could get you to call me up and tell me what happens.
[764] No, I had to wait.
[765] Well, what's so wild, I don't know what's going to happen.
[766] It's very much, you know, like life.
[767] You don't know what's going to happen the next second.
[768] And hopefully we're going to go into season three, and I don't know where it's going to go.
[769] I know I'm this guy, and I put my faith in the showrunner, you know, and do it.
[770] And so it's a fresh experience.
[771] I'm going to take these things.
[772] I'm going to try that.
[773] I just matched you.
[774] Huh?
[775] What do you think, man?
[776] You got the best, you know what?
[777] I'll keep coming up to the mic.
[778] Fuck these things.
[779] Let's take these off.
[780] Sona, do it.
[781] Oh, I don't know.
[782] I'm too scared.
[783] I'm too scared.
[784] No, no, put it back.
[785] Hurry, they're burning.
[786] Hey, check me on this.
[787] Who's got better hair than this man?
[788] I mean, you're just, you know, I...
[789] You have two of you.
[790] You don't know, no, mine is more of a caricature.
[791] You have...
[792] That's fantastic.
[793] That's fantastic.
[794] And my hair heroes, you're one of them.
[795] The other was Jack Lord in Hawaii Five -O.
[796] Oh, yes, Jack -Lore.
[797] Remember he had that big sweet?
[798] Very nice.
[799] And then I was, my heart was crushed because I found out on this podcast, remember who we were talking to who did a scene with him as it was a child actor at the time?
[800] Was it?
[801] Was it Kurt Russell?
[802] Who himself has amazing hair.
[803] Yeah, who himself has amazing hair.
[804] But Kurt Russell's talking to me and went, yeah, I was a kid actor and I did a Hawaii 5 -0.
[805] And we were, uh, they were doing.
[806] my shot so the camera wasn't on Jack Lord and he took his hair off and I said and I said what do you mean he took his fucking hair off and he said well you know it was a piece they went I didn't know it's a piece did you know ahead and take yours off I'm looking at you now we're talking hair and I'm thinking my favorite haircut was shaved head bald oh really I'm looking at your head I said this man would look wonderful with bald head should I go for it had you ever had never had a never had a I've never had a shaved head.
[807] It's really nice.
[808] Have you guys?
[809] Never.
[810] None of you guys?
[811] Uh -oh.
[812] Yeah.
[813] Well, you were a terrible skinhead for a while.
[814] It also wasn't my choice.
[815] My friends did the thing when they, yeah, yeah, they shaved my head.
[816] Oh, oh.
[817] Tattoo.
[818] Did you like it finally?
[819] Did you get into it?
[820] You know what?
[821] I will say, I did like it.
[822] It's, you feel so, you feel so, like, clean and smooth.
[823] Yeah, well, it's very, you know, all the, at first it feels, you know, like you're just your forehead, but up here.
[824] And then you get this shark.
[825] feeling.
[826] Yes.
[827] It feels like the shark skin.
[828] And you get a little velvet thing.
[829] It's erotic.
[830] Oh, it is.
[831] A cat's tongue.
[832] A little bit of a cat's tongue.
[833] The way water hits on there and stays in there with a dick the shower.
[834] But also, no fuss, no must.
[835] I mean, I'm six hours every morning with my hair team.
[836] You know, they're putting, they're using curlers.
[837] They're injecting.
[838] Oh, wow.
[839] This is after six hours?
[840] Yeah.
[841] Oh, okay.
[842] Well, then I was at a terrible accident.
[843] My hair saved my life, but it shattered.
[844] I don't think I would shave my head because it's such a part of my identity that I've been pretty much reduced to like, I'm a Woody Woodpecker cartoon, you know, like I'm not even a person anymore.
[845] I'm a cartoon character.
[846] I was going to ask you, did you, you know, you, and now I'm asking this is a silly question because I'm imagining, of course you did, but maybe I'm wrong.
[847] Did you put product in your hair and work that?
[848] Yeah.
[849] You know.
[850] Jesus, look at that.
[851] Zeus.
[852] I know.
[853] juice is in the house.
[854] No, you have no idea.
[855] What was your product?
[856] Okay, I'll tell you exactly what it was.
[857] I got into rockabilly.
[858] That was my first love, rockabilly music.
[859] And I would play the old, like, Burnett brothers, and I would, I grew the sideburns.
[860] And I realized my hair would do that.
[861] So I first piled it up.
[862] And I used this stuff that a friend of mine turned me on to, who was like, use 10x.
[863] and there was this stuff they made called 10x and you'd put it in your hair and then you could comb it up and I was doing this in the 80s not a lot of other people were doing it and then I get a job on The Simpsons and I remember I met the Simpsons and I'm a writer -producer and I have these sideburns Eisenhower jacket with the collar flipped up whew hair and I'd walk in and the writers would be like what are you doing?
[864] This isn't a production of Greece we're writing The Simpsons and I'm like hey man I'm like but I don't know what it was.
[865] I was, that's what I wanted to do.
[866] And so my first big magazine cover was Rolling Stone and they put me on the cover Rolling Stone.
[867] And this guy had this idea, which is, he took my hair and then he added these extensions and we blew it way out.
[868] And it's one of my favorite, I've seen it.
[869] Like there's an air, it's in an airport somewhere where they just put Rolling Stone covers up, but mine was one of them.
[870] And the hair, it's like 50 pounds of hair and a giant wave on my head.
[871] And it looks absolutely insane.
[872] but I was like in my mind even though that's a joke that's what I really wanted it to be and still do you know well and you must do that I do it sometimes and my wife is like can't we go?
[873] Not yet I need more mayonnaise from my quaff How about a duck tail?
[874] Never did the ducktail?
[875] Never did it that's kind of classic rockabilly I know I didn't do the ducktail but I just got lost and all that craziness I don't know I come down to the it comes down to this for me I think there's a lot do that's compulsion.
[876] When people tell their story, they act like they made choices and they forged who they are.
[877] And more and more, I think, I don't know, my life is a bunch of synaptic misfires.
[878] And now here I am.
[879] I'm, I, you know, the hair, the choice of so many things.
[880] That's very dutist.
[881] No, but it is.
[882] I mean it.
[883] And I say misfires, meaning I have a, it sounds absurd for me to say I made any of this happen.
[884] I didn't make any of this happen.
[885] And I'm here talking to you, and I don't know you're one of my all -time favorite actors, people, and you're here talking to me, I didn't make this happen.
[886] This just happened, and I couldn't be happier.
[887] There's this guy Sapolsky, you know, who's saying, there's no such thing as willpower.
[888] That's, you know, I didn't control at all from the very, you know, from the, the circumstances that you come out of.
[889] I don't know.
[890] I kind of feel mixed about that.
[891] You feel, I do, huh?
[892] Because it maybe lets us off the hook too much.
[893] Yeah, yeah, well, yeah.
[894] Because then anyone could say, yeah, I just murdered eight people and left their bodies by the roadside.
[895] But that's just what I did.
[896] You know, you're like, no, no. Yeah, and he's big on crime, on the crime, all those people in jail who we say, you're a bad, he's saying it's the circumstances.
[897] Yeah, a lot of times that's true.
[898] Very, very beginning of how it turns out.
[899] I think it's kind of, don't you feel life is so paradoxical?
[900] You know, there's not one way, one thing.
[901] I think it's kind of both, you know.
[902] Maybe it's only willpower, I don't know.
[903] Coons, man. Coons, yeah.
[904] Yeah, there you go.
[905] It is.
[906] It is.
[907] And there are two coons.
[908] The Coon brothers.
[909] That's the sound of one Coen brother clapping.
[910] Yeah.
[911] That means one colon brother's really pissed about something.
[912] It doesn't like the.
[913] edit um well i want to make sure people check out the second season of the old man it's so easy to binge the first season and uh i'm just a lifelong fan and not just of your work but you're you're an authentically nice uh and uh feeling person and i'm just it's an honor to know you it really feel that same way yeah yeah well i'm a good act right there you go thanks a lot jennifer okay We don't do this often.
[914] You're crinkling papers in the background.
[915] Hey.
[916] It sounds like, oh, we'll try again.
[917] Abide, man. Just abide.
[918] Yeah.
[919] That'll work once with they know what I'm talking about.
[920] Here we go.
[921] Three, two.
[922] I control everything.
[923] Control -o.
[924] The opposite of the dude.
[925] This is, yeah, you really are.
[926] No, quiet.
[927] There is no rug.
[928] What?
[929] Three, two.
[930] We don't do this often.
[931] Oh my God.
[932] All of this is staying in.
[933] Yes, please.
[934] But no. My control will come out.
[935] You'll never know.
[936] You'll never know.
[937] You really will.
[938] Never know.
[939] Someday I will listen to this podcast as soon as I can figure out how to work.
[940] Whatever machine plays.
[941] You couldn't even think of anything.
[942] I don't know the machine.
[943] I am definitely going to edit the first part of this segment.
[944] It's not common that we have a guest on.
[945] The guest leaves.
[946] and then we say we have to talk.
[947] We have to talk immediately.
[948] But the great Jeff Bridges just left the building.
[949] And there is something nourishing about being in that man's presence.
[950] He's such a talented guy, but he's also very humble and sweet and wise.
[951] And we're just sitting here with him.
[952] And I don't know.
[953] I just, I feel like I've been healed.
[954] It's like a car wash for the soul or something like that.
[955] I love his vibe.
[956] He's got a good vibe.
[957] It's got a very good vibe.
[958] Can I tell you something that happened that is just so dude?
[959] Yeah.
[960] The listeners wouldn't know this, but every one of these seats has a little tape mark for where your belly button is supposed to go so that we line up with these cameras.
[961] And people are reminded of it.
[962] Every time they come in, we are.
[963] Just to make sure that we get good footage of the person.
[964] Yeah.
[965] And there's a point about, I don't know, 30 minutes to this interview where he just, can I take off these headphones?
[966] And then he just looked down at the piece of tape and just goes, shh.
[967] Takes it up.
[968] Like, I will not be, not be burdened by this mark that I have to hit.
[969] No. Why would the dude?
[970] So symbolic.
[971] Why would, yeah, symbolic that someone was trying to control him with a little piece of tape.
[972] Yeah.
[973] Like, keep your belly button here.
[974] No. Yeah.
[975] No, I'm just going to, I'm going to let the universe guide me. Yeah.
[976] Not this colored piece of tape.
[977] My belly button mark is where my belly button is.
[978] Yes.
[979] That was a, that's very wise slash stupid.
[980] Yeah.
[981] But I thought, I loved when he took the headphones off.
[982] I'm always wondering, now here's where we get into it with Eduardo.
[983] Eduardo always says we need to wear these giant cans on our head so that we're reminded of where to put our mouths near the microphone.
[984] And part of me thinks, huh, because wouldn't people be more relaxed and look cooler if they didn't have that burden of having these things on their ears?
[985] We've had some guest requests not to do it, and I think those have turned out fine.
[986] Eduardo, why don't you weigh in from your very narrow technological perspective?
[987] Happy to.
[988] There are professionals out there who I would trust to not wear headphones because they've been around mics enough times that they know to always be near them.
[989] Like DJ Jazzy Jeff or Shabbity Shrimp.
[990] Exactly.
[991] And then there are other people that I think are great storytellers, and they start to tell stories with their hands or their body, and then they start to drift away.
[992] Who was that recently that really?
[993] sat back in the chair.
[994] I can't recall but it's been more than a few.
[995] Oh, it was Lean Along Jones.
[996] Well, he's entitled.
[997] So without the headphones, they don't realize that they're...
[998] So I think the answer here is to improve the technology so that the microphone moves with the person and the cameras move when the person moves and the lights move.
[999] Now, I realize this is a lot of money.
[1000] The camera does move.
[1001] The camera does move.
[1002] They move it.
[1003] And why don't we have a belly button mark?
[1004] Well, I mean...
[1005] Why don't we have a belly button mark?
[1006] We have a belly button mark because if we move too far, then we're in each other's shots.
[1007] That's right.
[1008] That's right.
[1009] Why am I explaining this to you?
[1010] I love it.
[1011] I found you years ago.
[1012] Oh, God.
[1013] Don't even.
[1014] No, don't attack me. Because...
[1015] And you're explaining to me. No, I appreciate that.
[1016] No, I understand that there needs to be a general reference point.
[1017] Yeah.
[1018] But I do think it's important that people are comfortable.
[1019] and let's get back to the important thing.
[1020] Two points.
[1021] One, Eduardo has failed us.
[1022] And I think also hamstrung us creatively.
[1023] And I'll get you, Eduardo, if it's the last thing I do.
[1024] Adam's with me on this point.
[1025] You didn't have a second point.
[1026] You just wanted to get on a rat and you don't even know what you're complaining about.
[1027] No, two is, let's get back to Jeff Bridges.
[1028] Can you be more Jeff Bridges?
[1029] Can you try?
[1030] You know what?
[1031] I honestly believe that I should.
[1032] Go across the Jeff Bridge.
[1033] go across the bridges of Jefferson County and be more like Jeff Bridges.
[1034] I hope you're happy with yourself.
[1035] So far.
[1036] And you know what?
[1037] That's staying in.
[1038] That was so.
[1039] I stand by that.
[1040] I'm proud of that.
[1041] I want it on my tombstone.
[1042] Yeah.
[1043] Oh, trust me. You'll go on your tombstone and it'll be soon.
[1044] I love him.
[1045] You know, I'm ordained in the church of dude.
[1046] Is that true?
[1047] Yeah.
[1048] When I was officiating one of my closest friend's wedding once and she, and I was so nervous Because when you get ordained, you've done it.
[1049] It takes minutes online.
[1050] Yeah.
[1051] And so I got ordained at four different online churches, and one was the church of dude.
[1052] Why four?
[1053] Because I got nervous, I wasn't ordained enough.
[1054] It's like it's good to have different.
[1055] It's like it's good to have different passports.
[1056] You never know what's going to come down.
[1057] It is.
[1058] And you didn't want to bring that up while he was here.
[1059] I was nervous around him.
[1060] You know, there are very few people who've been here who've made me nervous and Jeff Bridges.
[1061] I'm going to say this.
[1062] I'm going to say this.
[1063] I'm going to say this.
[1064] I do, and I'm saying this not as a joke or anything at my stage in my life, my career, I do think it should be a mission of mine to become I'm being completely honest more like Jeff Bridges.
[1065] I don't want to...
[1066] What else is the point?
[1067] What's the point?
[1068] And and it'd be one thing if you could say yeah, but he's a great example because his body of work is fantastic and I think he's lived this ethos.
[1069] He's authentic.
[1070] He's authentic.
[1071] did you notice too after we finished he got up and he just did this now can I just say something I do that I used to do that around the interns and I was spoken to it was spoken to it looked so much cooler when he did it I'm not denying that it's going on my tombstone and this is a podcast you should explain what you did yeah I think the audience gets it okay and you need to not do that around interns I used to do it and say it's old lighthouse crotch what you And not the shape.
[1072] It's the illumination.
[1073] Yeah, Jeff Bridges stood up, and he stuck his tummy out and sort of did like a rotation.
[1074] Like he's hula hooping without a hulu.
[1075] Hulu hooping without a hoolhoop is fine.
[1076] And, yeah, I think that that's something I would never do.
[1077] I don't have that.
[1078] He's just so comfortable with himself, yes.
[1079] He's got like a stoner's vibe.
[1080] He does.
[1081] I think, yeah.
[1082] So I wonder, I don't know.
[1083] Does he partake?
[1084] Hey, I have a question.
[1085] Why don't, well, I was going to say, we become stoner.
[1086] now but sona is a stoner but but like you and i matt we have we have we have we have a similar thing i think which is uh we're probably worriers we prepare a little a little wound tightly and i was thinking the other day like at this point why not just i don't know just become a stoner that part about just practice about you know what you said really resonated me when you're talking to that person who is ill and that how you lose it because the cable goes wrong what else is the point well you know what it is.
[1087] I think we drift.
[1088] There's constant drift.
[1089] You're never in a fixed place.
[1090] So I saw this in New York on 9 -11, after 9 -11, 9 -12, 9 -13.
[1091] I mean, everywhere you went, people were asking each other, how are you?
[1092] You'd go to a restaurant.
[1093] The waitress would come over.
[1094] The waitress would sit with us.
[1095] We'd talk.
[1096] How are you?
[1097] Where do you live?
[1098] How you get into work?
[1099] Is everyone you know okay?
[1100] It was just incredible.
[1101] And then I remembered thinking, I think it lasted like three and a half weeks.
[1102] And then people went back to being, you know, we're New Yorkers.
[1103] And I'm not, this is nothing about New York.
[1104] It would be the same thing in Boston.
[1105] It would be the same thing in Los Angeles, San Francisco.
[1106] We're human beings.
[1107] So hit us over the head really hard with a two by four.
[1108] And we have this incredible wisdom and generosity of spirit.
[1109] And then wait 20 minutes.
[1110] And it's like, hey, I said I want chicklets.
[1111] You know, that's a kind of gum.
[1112] Give me my chicklets.
[1113] Yeah.
[1114] You know, are chicklets gum?
[1115] Wow, I had no idea.
[1116] Did you know about chick, I don't know if something I'm saying is, uh...
[1117] Can you just be more like Jeff Bridges, please?
[1118] Okay, he would not do what you just did.
[1119] Try it.
[1120] You were like, oh, this moment in history, and then you immediately do something very un -JB.
[1121] Yeah.
[1122] And it's not, you're, you just, you have a long way to go.
[1123] Go over at Jeff Bridge too far.
[1124] You have to stop making bridge jokes.
[1125] How many tombstones can one man have?
[1126] Oh, my God.
[1127] You cannot have too many.
[1128] too quickly.
[1129] I'll put you that.
[1130] You know what?
[1131] You too have a lot of work to do.
[1132] I'm cool.
[1133] I feel like I'm there, you are.
[1134] You are.
[1135] Yeah, he wouldn't have gotten, he wouldn't have thrown out, even if he did say chicklets, he'd just say it.
[1136] Yeah.
[1137] And then if you picked up on it, you picked up on it.
[1138] But I'm like, do you know what that is?
[1139] That was, is that still a gum?
[1140] I don't want to look like I'm too out of touch.
[1141] I should have just said it.
[1142] But Sona, also, you are the most Jeff Bridges of us all.
[1143] But if you were at true peak, Jeff Bridges, you wouldn't have had a problem with that joke I made.
[1144] He would have been like, All right, man. He wouldn't have laughed.
[1145] Yeah, he wouldn't have laughed.
[1146] But he would have appreciated it.
[1147] No, I don't think he's a lot of bridge jokes.
[1148] I think a hyena.
[1149] A hyena that was laughing would have, there would have been a cessation of laughter.
[1150] Start crying.
[1151] If there was a hyena here going, ah, ah, a bridge is too far.
[1152] He would have just turned into a coyote.
[1153] Stone cold silence.
[1154] Well, it's time to wrap.
[1155] And then the minute I come back in the room, I don't like the tone of this.
[1156] It's time to wrap.
[1157] All right.
[1158] Anyway, Jeff Bridges, you are a very special, cool spirit, and we're indebted to you.
[1159] And let's all try to be more doodular as we move forward on this podcast.
[1160] Amen.
[1161] You could have just ended there.
[1162] No. Oh, God.
[1163] Conan O 'Brien needs a friend with Conan O 'Brien, Sonam of Sessian, and Matt Goorley.
[1164] Produced by me, Matt Goreley.
[1165] Executive produced by Adam Sacks, Jeff Ross, and Nick Leo.
[1166] song by the White Stripes.
[1167] Incidental music by Jimmy Vovina.
[1168] Take it away, Jimmy.
[1169] Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair, and our associate talent producer is Jennifer Samples.
[1170] Engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns.
[1171] Additional production support by Mars Melnik.
[1172] Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista, and Britt Kahn.
[1173] You can rate and review this show on Apple Podcasts, and you might find your review read on a future episode.
[1174] Got a question for Conan?
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[1176] 27 -2847 and leave a message.
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