Will Ferrell

[0] Hello, hello, hello.

[1] Welcome to armchair expert.

[2] Boy, do we have a big fat guest today.

[3] And I don't mean fat in the shape of the guest.

[4] I mean in the star power, the legendary comedian, an idol of mine, Will Ferrell is here today.

[5] Holy smokes what a call to get Rob that he was open to doing this podcast.

[6] That's a big one.

[7] It was a big one.

[8] Of course, you know Will Ferrell from Anchorman, Talladega Knights, Blades of Glory, and of course, arguably top three best Saturday.

[9] live performers of all time.

[10] I mean, he's just a beast.

[11] I worship him.

[12] And then on top of it, just a sweet son of a gun.

[13] Now, here's for the bad news.

[14] That was the good news.

[15] Will Ferrell's here.

[16] Minature mouse again.

[17] Okay, she's out of town.

[18] I was out of town.

[19] Of course, for something not fun.

[20] She's out of town for something fun.

[21] So there won't be a fact check immediately.

[22] But we are going to record a fact check.

[23] And then we'll slap it on there.

[24] Another reminder, we still have tickets for Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago.

[25] If you want to get tickets to see us live.

[26] Things kick off June 21st, then the 23rd, then the next weekend.

[27] I don't even know what date that is.

[28] 28th in Chicago.

[29] 28th in Chicago.

[30] We'd love to see you and to party hard with you.

[31] Bob is going to be in attendance.

[32] He is going to rock the shit out of each one of these venues.

[33] It's going to be a blast.

[34] So if you want to get tickets for that, go to www .armchair, expertpod .com.

[35] And you can follow a link to get tickets.

[36] Please enjoy The Master.

[37] Bill Farrell.

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[42] He's an up chair.

[43] Now, how are you on the temperature in here?

[44] I'm good.

[45] Are you sure?

[46] Is it getting too chilly for you?

[47] No, no, no. It was a little warm.

[48] I run hot.

[49] You do run hot.

[50] That doesn't shock me at all.

[51] Yeah, I run hot.

[52] I'm going to tell you, I'm doing it.

[53] In fact, that's the, do you ever have the junket moment where you break out into flop sweat?

[54] I don't, but I've witnessed it on a lot of co -stars.

[55] Yes.

[56] Yeah.

[57] And I've had that moment where, for whatever reason, something was asked.

[58] And it was like, oh, like, you, it generally was motivated by.

[59] Or I got too excited.

[60] I'm doing a really funny bit.

[61] Sure.

[62] And I'm like, God, I'm sweating like a pig.

[63] Well, there's a tremendous amount of lighting in a very small room to start with.

[64] You're in basically a hotel room.

[65] So I always have to do the pre thing of like, can you just chill it down to like 60?

[66] Open up the aperture.

[67] Help me out here.

[68] Nowadays, the cameras, you could film those in the dark.

[69] But you don't, you, I'm okay with the sweating in general.

[70] Okay.

[71] But what I've observed in others, and I imagine it's the same with you.

[72] Yeah.

[73] Once it starts, it's done.

[74] Oh, no, I got to shut it down.

[75] There's no stop.

[76] Walking around the block.

[77] Yeah, you'd have to, like, sit in a tub of ice or something to stop it.

[78] And then the makeup artist comes in with the cold towel on the back of the neck.

[79] And it's like, are you okay?

[80] Are you sick?

[81] Are you ever putting, like, paper towel in your armpits or anything?

[82] I didn't quite go.

[83] And then they're like, do you want to take off your jacket?

[84] And I'm like, nope, I've sweated through the shirt.

[85] Yeah, for sure.

[86] So.

[87] Yeah, well, look, that hasn't happened to me, but occasionally I will, if I work out of hard enough and it starts it is really hard to get the horse back in the barn like i will then go to work and i find i'm just sweating all for the next hour and a half i've had the workout quickly into the shower get ready for the event yeah and i can't stop so i always have to like make sure there's a half hour buffer sure because there's nothing worse than you get out of the shower right you you you dry off you're like okay i'm dry and then you get in front of the mirror and maybe brush your teeth you notice i'm wet again and then you realize oh that's me yeah i got all the water off.

[88] Let me just tell you a couple things.

[89] We'll introduce our guest.

[90] Oh, Bill Farrell's here.

[91] Welcome.

[92] Welcome William Farrell.

[93] Thank you.

[94] Thank you.

[95] Is that your dog?

[96] Is that a portrait of your dog?

[97] A hundred percent guest in my head that you would have some opinion about this dog.

[98] I had a couple thoughts about you before you got here.

[99] And one of them was, you're going to notice this dog.

[100] And you're going to feel the way I do.

[101] Does that not make you feel wealthy?

[102] healthy and oh yeah it's a very very aristocratic yes it's pastoral mass mastiff I believe sure or a Dane of some sort but it's profile it's so handsome it's so handsome there's a Greek Roman column yeah that's a little bit on the right side of portrait yeah that is incongruent this doesn't match that Roman column I mean I was drawn to it because it's directly over your head right right Do you do that for McAvellian purposes?

[103] I promise you.

[104] The Lord over your guest.

[105] I promise you, I have only altruistic thoughts in motives with this thing.

[106] I moved into this house 13 years ago.

[107] I lived by myself.

[108] I just broke up with a girlfriend of nine years.

[109] I was like, I'm going to decorate.

[110] And I found this old gal.

[111] On the internet, and then it has a matching one that's a stately whip.

[112] He didn't make it.

[113] Oh, no, I should bring it, though, because it's kind of a pair.

[114] And it's a whip it.

[115] But again, what I think of when I see this, is you see in the background, there's acreage upon acreage.

[116] Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm just noticing that now.

[117] Rolling Hills.

[118] Yes.

[119] And I have this fantasy about like the English countryside and how I would feel living there with a dog like this.

[120] Except with the Greek column.

[121] I know.

[122] Yes.

[123] Somebody got a little carried away when they were painting.

[124] I'm drawn to it also because there was a moment where my wife and I had three dogs.

[125] and we had this amazing photo of all three of them in just kneeling and it looked like they had posed themselves.

[126] Uh -huh.

[127] And I was like, oh, wait a minute.

[128] There was a place down in the West Village that was pet portraits.

[129] Oh, okay.

[130] It was a little shop and I was like, I'm going to get the dogs painted by a professional and give that to Viv for her birthday.

[131] That's a great idea.

[132] Right?

[133] And so we went and checked it out.

[134] And I was like, I was thinking, I'm just going to give her a photo and you just, right?

[135] She's like, no, I need to sit with the dogs.

[136] That's not going to happen.

[137] I need to visit with them.

[138] Oh.

[139] I need to see what their personalities are like.

[140] It was like a three -month process.

[141] And I'm like, oh, wow.

[142] I'm not going to do it.

[143] So instead, I was working on something and we got set decorator.

[144] There you go.

[145] To paint it.

[146] And she wasn't that thrilled.

[147] They didn't capture what that other.

[148] person would have yeah you needed the personality and i blew it i should have gone to the professional in the west village now back to this okay okay so it was yet another red flag for christian because i had a bunch of photos of myself from movies right and then i had these two dogs right and yet i don't meaning the this picture behind me yeah no real dog no real dog no real dogs and she said the only art you have in your house is these two dogs right right and do you have a dog and i was like Like, no, I don't understand having dogs.

[149] And truly, I didn't understand the concept of like, well, there's an animal that lives outside.

[150] Let's get it in the house.

[151] Right, right.

[152] And let's be, you know, develop a real friends.

[153] Yeah.

[154] And to the point where they will sleep in my bed with me. Yes.

[155] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[156] I now get it because she has lots of dogs and now I understand it.

[157] But at the time, it seems as reasonable.

[158] I always got it.

[159] I always got it.

[160] Yeah.

[161] To me, I was like, have a chimpanzee.

[162] Right.

[163] Like, I didn't understand.

[164] Like, just.

[165] Yeah, that's the same.

[166] Just have an animal in your home Like have an animal in your home Yeah Did you have dogs growing up then?

[167] We had one dog for like a year That we had to give away I was gonna save this story to like midway When I wanted Will to cry Oh sorry What was that dog's name?

[168] Oh boy Oh shit the floodgates are opening What kind of was Daisy a mutt Yeah This was a month.

[169] Daisy.

[170] Why does that make it more?

[171] That makes it more emotional that it was a month.

[172] It was when my folks were still together.

[173] Uh -huh.

[174] And dad, musician on the road, brought a dog home.

[175] Oh, that's interesting.

[176] And then hit the road.

[177] Oh, really?

[178] Wow.

[179] The untrained dog in a two -bedroom apartment.

[180] Oh, yeah.

[181] Like in his stead, he put a dog there.

[182] Right.

[183] And so we had Daisy.

[184] Uh -huh.

[185] And it just wasn't working.

[186] Yeah.

[187] And your mom was like, thank, thank you.

[188] so much.

[189] I now have these two kids and the dog and your, well, how many dates are you going to be out on the road?

[190] Right.

[191] Right.

[192] That's such a guy thing to do.

[193] Pretty much.

[194] Yeah.

[195] And then it just Daisy found a new home.

[196] So I, in fact, I should get some more intel.

[197] Sure.

[198] I'm going to call, I'm going to ask my mom next time I see what exactly happened to Daisy.

[199] We can fact check it.

[200] I fact check these episodes.

[201] Yeah.

[202] I'll call your mom.

[203] And I'll find out.

[204] Okay.

[205] Now, I remember them because I'm obsessed with you but I do remember all the times we've ever bumped into each other for sure and I remember most of the conversations we had while we bumped into each other and the first was I momentarily was represented by Jimmy Miller right your longtime manager yes we love Jimmy Miller yes yes and he brought me to the set of semi -pro and I met you there which I was just at one of the March Madness games yesterday oh you were and I dug up the Flint tropics warm -up jacket.

[206] Oh, you did?

[207] To wear because Michigan was one of the teams, and I wore my little Flint hat because Flint Tropics and, let's face it, Flint's gotten the short end of the stick.

[208] Yeah.

[209] And they still don't have clean drinking water.

[210] They don't.

[211] But no one really cared.

[212] They didn't care?

[213] No, not really.

[214] Well, let me add this.

[215] But it doesn't matter.

[216] This is a little bit, though, like going to the inauguration of a president and you were upset.

[217] I mean, a very big event was happening.

[218] Like, this wasn't game 83 in the NBA schedule and everyone was like looking around the audience mid tournament though it's not that huge it's not the sweet it's it was a sweet 16 anyway so you came to semi pro I came to semi pro even prior to that Arnett and I had done a movie yeah right you guys did the prison break movie yeah it flatters me you know that and you guys had already done blades of glory and so he was my only conduit to you okay so when he got back from the movie like what's he like what's this guy tell me is he is he as happy as he seems he really really he is he's like the nicest guy and i was like well that's arnette yeah i said no it's a terrible arnette's pretty good 416 horsepower to suck this dick um wouldn't that mean you thought 416 was good we topped it 612 horsepower the car can't even move so anyways um you know i went there and i met you and i was just amazed with how kind you are most comedians i know myself included yeah it's the dicey personality types right yep usually a lot of addiction you know we see a lot of our peers myself included you are such an enigma to me that you're well adjusted i'm i have to imagine you hate this but i got to get it out of the way right right right you're my favorite comedian i worship you you're so fucking perfect and everything you've done i couldn't like you more it's like you and bill murray should be holding this dog behind me in this photo that's how much that should be the next portrait Now, with that said, I've always been perplexed by, you're always the butt of the joke.

[219] You're friendly as all hell.

[220] You've been married and with the same gal for 23 years.

[221] I think you drink the perfect amount from what I've gathered about you.

[222] I ask everyone I know about you.

[223] Like, how many beers does he drink?

[224] I think he drank five.

[225] And I'm like, oh, and that's the perfect number.

[226] He got a little drunk.

[227] I leave just in time.

[228] Yeah.

[229] Yeah.

[230] Yeah.

[231] Did I gather all the right info?

[232] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[233] That describes you, right?

[234] Yeah.

[235] How do you do it?

[236] What is the secret?

[237] You're an enigma.

[238] Yeah.

[239] I know.

[240] I've been asked this a fair amount.

[241] The lack of the dark comedian stereotype, you know.

[242] Right.

[243] I've struggled with coming up with a succinct answer that kind of sums it up.

[244] I think I'm predisposed to if I'm in a bad mood, I wake up the next day, and think to myself.

[245] Who cares?

[246] Uh -huh.

[247] It's going to be fine.

[248] Yeah.

[249] So I'm predisposed to that, number one.

[250] Number two, it doesn't mean I haven't had a chip on my shoulder.

[251] Okay, good.

[252] That helps.

[253] It does.

[254] Which is, you know, fueled wanting to do a George Bush one -man show.

[255] You know, it doesn't mean I don't mind satirically poking people in the eye.

[256] Well, that's true.

[257] So that I enjoy.

[258] But I mean, I'm not on social media.

[259] And I'm not on Twitter and like, hey, you know, well, you've done a really artful job of, and I'd say my wife does this really well too, which is you certainly have opinions.

[260] But you've done it in a way that, in my opinion, has not alienated people and has not been overtly polarizing, which I believe, personally, is the way to go.

[261] Because people's ears are still open to you.

[262] Right, right, right.

[263] You know?

[264] No, no, I'd rather do it through action, do it through the work.

[265] Story, yeah, yeah.

[266] When we were on the show, show when we're doing Saturday Night Live, I never wanted to meet the people I played, just to be perfectly clean about it.

[267] Exactly.

[268] Because, yeah, because if you, I, I would imagine in particular, oh, then I had a tracheotomy this morning.

[269] Did you really?

[270] No. Oh, we didn't have to do the podcast.

[271] I had it.

[272] No, we did.

[273] Oh, okay.

[274] When Will Ferrell calls, you, you know, tracheotomy or not, you show up.

[275] You get out of the hospital room and you show up.

[276] I would imagine the person you would have been most susceptible to would have been George W. Bush.

[277] Even though I did.

[278] I did meet him one time.

[279] You did.

[280] After the show.

[281] Oh, I met him during his inaugural, that first campaign when he was still just governor.

[282] Oh, oh, okay.

[283] Because here's my anecdotal thing about him.

[284] I've never met him.

[285] I, of course, felt politically the way you did when he was president.

[286] Right.

[287] But I went to a hotel in Africa with my wife and kind of manager of this place from Africa.

[288] he's kind of going through like some of the different people that have stayed there like Bill Gates had rented the whole thing blah blah blah and he said you know who the nicest person who's ever come here was yeah George Bush huh yeah every night he stayed up at the campfire with all the workers and just told stories and I'm telling you the friendliest guy that's that's all I've ever heard too yeah yeah so I have to assume that that's he's just a really nice guy probably but what's what's part two of my answer here the the other thing, I've always had a unique perspective because of my father's work in entertainment.

[289] As a musician who basically worked for 30, 40 years doing kind of the mid -level, from nightclubs to big shows and this and that.

[290] What instrument did he play?

[291] Piano and saxophone and but like, and having steady work, but then also after school one day, well, I'm not working at the so -and -so place.

[292] What happened?

[293] Yeah.

[294] They are going in a new direction.

[295] Got to find a new job.

[296] and I saw the mercurial up and down nature of what we all do.

[297] Yes.

[298] And so it set this thing of, okay, this is a total crapshoot.

[299] I do like making my friends laugh in high school, because I think that's where we all came from originally.

[300] We could make our friends laugh.

[301] That's right.

[302] And I'm going to give it a try.

[303] I went to college thinking I would be normal, but then I kept going, no, I want to try this.

[304] But I'm not going to stress too much if it doesn't work out.

[305] But I never have coveted.

[306] I don't know why.

[307] You haven't.

[308] I've had moments where I've like, shit, that was funny.

[309] Wow.

[310] How'd they think of that?

[311] Yes.

[312] That's crazy.

[313] But I haven't been like, oh.

[314] Right.

[315] Don't bring their name up to me. Not in this house.

[316] No way.

[317] There's good versions of them, bad versions, right?

[318] Like, I'm a big fan of Will Forteys.

[319] Yes.

[320] Well, you obviously must be too, because you were on last man. on earth too.

[321] He was on here and said very nice things about you as well.

[322] Yeah, of course.

[323] But yeah, that's a show where how dare he.

[324] There's another another feather in your cap.

[325] I'll find the person who thinks you're a prick.

[326] I'll scour this earth.

[327] It's the still photographer on elf.

[328] Sure, sure.

[329] True story.

[330] True story.

[331] But so I was going to say though, I chose to and I don't want to project, but I kind of chose to define myself in opposition of my dad.

[332] Oh.

[333] Like, I kind of assessed the way he was running his show.

[334] Right.

[335] And I was almost like, I'm going to do the opposite of that.

[336] I could see where I would have adopted your point of view out of like, well, I don't want to go down that road.

[337] I don't want to live on the highs and lows of all this and constantly be emotionally controlled by this pursuit.

[338] so I I maybe you had a warning sign yeah well he actually gave me the best kind of is he alive yeah oh okay great okay he's waiting in the car oh he he when I kind of we had coffee one day way back when when I kind of said so dad I think I'm gonna go for this comedy thing and any advice And he was like, well, and if you read this on paper, if this was on a plaque, it'd be the least inspirational thing you could ever read or hear.

[339] But in the moment, it took all the pressure off trying to succeed.

[340] So, because he had, at that point, I was in the growlings and he had seen me perform.

[341] And he was like, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you.

[342] I really think there's something there.

[343] But there's so much luck.

[344] There's so much luck.

[345] Oh, it's so true.

[346] And if you find yourself going down the road, just give yourself permission to quit and don't feel bad about it.

[347] Oh, wow.

[348] If you get down the road and you're a couple years in, five years in, whatever, and you're just like, oh, it's just not happening.

[349] It's okay.

[350] You can turn it around, figure out something else to do with your life, and you won't be a failure.

[351] It'll be the next chapter.

[352] Yeah.

[353] And for some reason.

[354] Oh, yeah.

[355] Permission to fail from your dad is huge.

[356] And I was like, well, this is probably not going to happen.

[357] Right.

[358] So I'm just going to, you know, it's that, it's the baseball analogy.

[359] I use this a lot.

[360] This is the baseball analogy of like, you know, baseball players, if you hold the bat too hard, you'll never hit it.

[361] But if you hold it too loose, it's going to fly out of your hand.

[362] So they hold it just with the right amount of grip.

[363] So I was just like, oh, just be loose with the bat and just have fun.

[364] And luckily, there was some luck.

[365] That's kind of similar to, and I assume someone told it to me, and I've said it to other people, but it's kind of similar to this thing I've said when people are like, I'm thinking about doing it.

[366] What do you think?

[367] Yeah, I say, if it's, I say you're not talented.

[368] This is a terrible idea.

[369] No, I say, which is what, apparently David Letterman, that's what he would say.

[370] Oh, really?

[371] When people ask, I was like, don't, it's, it's super hard.

[372] And you have to be a genius.

[373] And he was kind of, he was kind of being serious.

[374] He's like, I had to, you know, I worked at the comedy store for 10 years before I was anyone.

[375] Yeah.

[376] It's super hard.

[377] it's gotten harder and and besides i don't want the competition oh wow but he was like interesting kind of his advice his go -to you know mine was it if you'd be happier failing at this than succeeding at something else yeah then do it yeah yeah yeah but what's interesting though is i wonder if you connected this because your parents got divorced when you were eight i think so roughly around that yeah and you also have said that third grade was like the pivotal year of your life where you discovered you were really funny yeah it could make people laugh third grade yeah but have you connected the dots that you're eight in third grade yeah oh yeah oh okay yeah yeah because i was gonna say one of the things that really appealed to me about being funny was it was a tiny little sliver of my day that i had control of oh okay like the rest of the stuff was very chaotic.

[378] The house was chaotic.

[379] The stepdadds were terrible.

[380] Yeah.

[381] Yeah.

[382] But I would have these interactions and I could take the reins and I could control the outcome.

[383] Okay.

[384] Like the outcome would be someone's laughing and happy.

[385] Yeah.

[386] And I was very drawn to that kind of control.

[387] Yeah.

[388] I mean, it obviously was a mechanism to get love.

[389] Right.

[390] Yeah.

[391] In a, in a space in my life where it was feeling unstable, right?

[392] But my existence was, I lived kind of a chaotic existence in the sense that dirty clothes everywhere.

[393] Uh -huh.

[394] Just messy Marvin.

[395] Uh -huh.

[396] And you had a younger brother?

[397] Yeah, I have a younger brother.

[398] He's also in the car.

[399] But here's, but here's where it once again doesn't connect to the stereotype.

[400] So you would think, though, divorce, great technique to make friends, real acceptance.

[401] Yeah.

[402] You would think class clown.

[403] Right.

[404] No, really good student.

[405] Uh -huh.

[406] I love my school work.

[407] Love turning things in.

[408] But that was probably control too.

[409] Mom was a teacher as well, though, right?

[410] Yeah, but it wasn't, was never, in fact, I talked with my, with my mom about this endlessly about our own kids.

[411] And like, how do you motivate them?

[412] I go, yeah, I go, mom, correct me or wrong.

[413] But I don't feel like you ever were like, did you do?

[414] She goes, I never asked you guys to do your homework once.

[415] I know.

[416] Why were we motivated then?

[417] And she's like, a single mom working a bunch of jobs, I didn't have time.

[418] Right.

[419] And I think you guys either took it upon yourselves or maybe I intimated that you'll kind of create your own path.

[420] There'll be consequences if you don't or whatever.

[421] But I was just always motivated to turn my stuff in and do well.

[422] But you must have liked the approval of the teachers in the pets and all that from them, right?

[423] That could be a big motivator.

[424] Especially if, again, I had the best mom on the planet.

[425] Yeah, but she also was not around a ton.

[426] I mean, she was so busy trying to take care of three of us.

[427] Right, right.

[428] That, like, yeah, I was pretty starving for some adult approval.

[429] Yeah, yeah.

[430] Because, so it could be that.

[431] It could also be like, I'm assuming you didn't grow up in a palatial estate with a divorced single mom.

[432] You remember the show Silver Spoons?

[433] Oh, yeah, absolutely.

[434] Oh, you had a train.

[435] We had a train through the living room.

[436] Oh, wow.

[437] Well, now I really don't know why you did anything.

[438] You should have just stayed in that house.

[439] That and an Alf came up recently.

[440] Okay.

[441] Yes.

[442] I was watching a repeat of Alf the other day.

[443] It was one of those where I just inexplicably landed on Alf.

[444] Uh -huh.

[445] Sure, sure.

[446] I was like, I got to see this through here.

[447] Yes.

[448] And Alf, it involved the FBI, and they thought that someone in the cast was a secret agent.

[449] so they were monitoring and then at some point alf is on a two -way radio with a voice actor impersonating ronald reagan oh my goodness and alf is giving him a sentimental speech where they literally bring in strings oh wow about how so it must have been at the height of the cold war how you know let's put our differences aside and let's really he's an alien from another planet right that's really that's really that's really reach across the aisle with our, you know, we're all humans, we got to share this planet.

[450] And it was like, well, Elf, you bring up a good boy.

[451] Maybe we should just stop and smell the roses.

[452] And I was like, this is incredible.

[453] Meanwhile, a man is doing the voice and working that puppet.

[454] Yeah.

[455] Also, the next time you stumble across it, I hope it's before the title sequence because they shoot off the set in the title sequence and it stayed.

[456] They're title sequence for seven years They're on an actress And then the fucking camera goes up And you just see lights and And they never crafty No, they left it in Because someone's like no one's going to notice Right And largely no one did We don't have time to reshoot it It can't be done Speaking of people inside of suits I was just at the L .A. King's hockey game And they have a mascot called Bailey Who's a lion King of the jungle Right King doesn't make sense Oh, LA Kings He's the king of the Yeah, it doesn't make sense No But he's a lion And I was there doing Because Ron Burgundy Helped commentate During the King's game Okay, you're right So I'm dressed as Ron Burgundy And of course In the five minute walk It takes to get From the bowels of the stadium Up into the broadcast booth They have a camera on you The whole time, social media Everything like that And I've got Bailey behind me Oh, and just, just, just, just up my ass, just like, hard charge, just like full Bailey.

[457] Yeah.

[458] And, you know, they're so demonstrative.

[459] Yeah.

[460] Because they never speak.

[461] Right.

[462] It's all they got is their hand.

[463] Fist bump.

[464] Uh -huh.

[465] What's up with the hands?

[466] Tons of high -fives.

[467] Tons of high -fives.

[468] Double high -five.

[469] And then I'd made a disparaging comment to Bailey, like, Bailey, back off, my friend.

[470] And a big, like, hey.

[471] Let me breathe.

[472] Yeah.

[473] And so he's following me all around.

[474] And then we stop and take a photo.

[475] And finally there's this little meek voice from inside of Bailey's head.

[476] You're the best.

[477] Oh.

[478] Bailey spoke.

[479] Oh, my gosh.

[480] For you.

[481] Because you can forget, right?

[482] You can buy into Bailey.

[483] Because we've all been to Disneyland.

[484] They're not allowed to ever break the fourth wall and speak.

[485] But all of a sudden, I just hear this voice, you're the best.

[486] And do you have any water?

[487] I have to take a break soon.

[488] I'm only supposed to work 15 minutes at a time.

[489] Anyway.

[490] Oh, wow.

[491] But back to, it was a two -bedroom apartment.

[492] It was a two -bedroom apartment.

[493] That was there I got.

[494] The circle all the way back.

[495] Park West Apartments.

[496] Right.

[497] So that's where we grew up.

[498] And when you were a kid, did you covet wealth?

[499] Did you like fantasize?

[500] Oh, great question.

[501] That's why that show to me, Silver Spoons, was so appealing.

[502] Like, I coveted wealth.

[503] Yeah, I think the fantasy of all your troubles would be gone.

[504] That's right.

[505] Yeah.

[506] Gone would be the days of going to South Coast Plaza Mall and just staring at the toys through the window going, oh, someday I'm going to get all of the micronauts, not just the one.

[507] Yes.

[508] But once again, some sort of innate, practical chip in my brain where I was like, I'd just like to live in a modest house.

[509] Okay.

[510] And in fact, I remember once in so.

[511] school, this would be, this would be later on, like in high school.

[512] And I don't even know what the class was, but the teacher was asking, what kind of car would you like to drive?

[513] I don't know what the exercise was in.

[514] Right.

[515] And people are like, Ferrari.

[516] Yeah, yeah.

[517] Lameri.

[518] This and that, and I was like, oh, family man. And I was like, yeah, I guess so.

[519] Yeah.

[520] So anyway, that was also starting early with a slight obsession with Sweden.

[521] Can we acknowledge that too?

[522] I feel like all roads for you are leading to sweep in, which we'll get you.

[523] Stay tuned for more armchair expert if you dare.

[524] What's up, guys?

[525] It's your girl Kiki, and my podcast is back with a new season.

[526] And let me tell you, it's too good.

[527] And I'm diving into the brains of entertainment's best and brightest, okay?

[528] Every episode, I bring on a friend and have a real conversation.

[529] And I don't mean just friends.

[530] I mean the likes of Amy Polar, Kellman.

[531] Mitchell, Vivica Fox.

[532] The list goes on.

[533] So follow, watch, and listen to Baby.

[534] This is Kiki Palmer on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcast.

[535] We've all been there.

[536] Turning to the internet to self -diagnose our inexplicable pains, debilitating body aches, sudden fevers, and strange rashes.

[537] Though our minds tend to spiral to worst -case scenarios, it's usually nothing.

[538] But for an unlucky few, these unsuspecting symptoms can start the clock ticking on a terrifying medical mystery, like the unexplainable death of a retired firefighter, whose body was found at home by his son, except it looked like he had been cremated, or the time when an entire town started jumping from buildings and seeing tigers on their ceilings.

[539] Hey listeners, it's Mr. Ballin here, and I'm here to tell you about my podcast.

[540] It's called Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries.

[541] Each terrifying true story will be sure to keep you up at night.

[542] Follow Mr. Ballin's medical mysteries wherever you get your podcasts.

[543] Prime members can listen and ad -free on Amazon Music.

[544] Yes, so there's a bunch of really counterintuitive things about you.

[545] If you just become aware of you through watching you on Saturday Night Live, which I assume most people, that was their first impression of you and then the various movies.

[546] Yeah.

[547] To find out that you were an athlete, like a really good athlete, in high school, you were the captain of the basketball team, you were on the soccer team, you were the kicker of the football team, right?

[548] Don't these things surprise you, Monica?

[549] That's a lot of things.

[550] baseball.

[551] And not even, and they don't forget baseball.

[552] Oh, you were a great baseball player, too.

[553] Well, you were good.

[554] I was good.

[555] You're on the team.

[556] I was on the team.

[557] Varsity team probably, right?

[558] I hit 380.

[559] Oh my gosh, that's phenomenal.

[560] Yes.

[561] 18 hits.

[562] My senior had 18 hits and 18 strikeouts.

[563] So it either get a hit or at strikeout.

[564] You go for the gold.

[565] Right.

[566] You only got one mode.

[567] They were all singles.

[568] They were all singles.

[569] And I don't say that that's shocking for any other reason.

[570] And like, generally the funny.

[571] person kind of counterintuitive.

[572] Is it necessarily athletic?

[573] Yeah.

[574] And I do think all these things kind of end up.

[575] Were you an athlete at all?

[576] I was like the alternative athlete.

[577] I skateboarded.

[578] I snowboarded.

[579] But not school sports.

[580] Not school.

[581] I only played one school sport in junior high.

[582] Did you make fun of school sports?

[583] Well, in my town, see, I grew up in Michigan, and I think it's a little different than Irvine.

[584] From what I can see from California high schools, people are just generally kind of nicer to each other.

[585] You know, like we have a good friend who was pretty openly gay and he was the homecoming king or the same age, you know, and he was an athlete and accepted by that.

[586] That would have been a dicey situation.

[587] No, couldn't have even attended our high school.

[588] Gotcha.

[589] You know, would have been driven out.

[590] Yep.

[591] Also, the jocks were the jocks in the most 50s outsider's way.

[592] Right.

[593] So, yes, I didn't.

[594] They were the kings of the school.

[595] They were the kings of the school.

[596] Yep.

[597] So I just don't want to, I want to say that, like, my perceptions of, quote, Josh, it's just a little, it's probably skewed wrong to where I'm from.

[598] Felt life or death.

[599] Got it.

[600] But you were this...

[601] I think these weird things do...

[602] They come full circle in your life in that you're a team member all the time.

[603] Yeah, always.

[604] And that's why I loved S &L.

[605] Yeah.

[606] Because of the ensemble.

[607] Once again, absolute serendipity, the moment that I got put on that show because it was an entire group of people, as opposed to the piece mail one at a time.

[608] Yeah.

[609] Yes, coming into like this established hierarchy and trying to find your...

[610] And in a low ebb for the show, it was very much a sink or swim moment, which we didn't really understand.

[611] It was just like, let's just go have fun, but all pulling for each other.

[612] And I also made a very clear thing to the writers, which was not...

[613] Was it calculated?

[614] I don't think...

[615] I mean, maybe a little bit, but also I really felt.

[616] It was because I kept seeing other cast members say no to small parts and sketches.

[617] Like, I'm not going to do that.

[618] And I double back and go, if you need a guy to deliver the pizza and say two lines, I'll do it.

[619] Yeah.

[620] I even love those small things because I think I can get a laugh.

[621] Sure.

[622] Off of the two, you know.

[623] And I could see the calculus of the show that you didn't need to score every week.

[624] In fact, Kevin Neeland of all people.

[625] Oh, one of my favorites.

[626] of the great, he saw me at one of the parties that first season and, uh, in a very Kevin kneeling way, he's like, you're, uh, you're funny.

[627] I like it.

[628] Uh -huh.

[629] And, uh, tall guys do well on the show.

[630] Oh.

[631] And, uh, just remember, you don't have to, uh, score every week.

[632] Just, if you get to the end of the season, you look back and there are 10 moments.

[633] Right.

[634] You had a great year.

[635] Yeah.

[636] I was like, oh, you're right.

[637] And I would also learn that a lot of, of times that one line you had in the one sketch is the one thing someone comes up to you on the street and says for sure so but but also too sincerely loving watching the other cast get laughs and and right enjoying all of that so but the team thing not being a stand -up like starting comedy in improv you've got a you've got that small piece of real estate yes and uh and knowing that from when i tried stand -up, I was like, oh, geez, this is a horrible group of human beings for the most part.

[638] Yes, yes.

[639] Everyone's pretty unhappy backstage.

[640] And to be in, again, it's yeah, tracheous to me. You know what though?

[641] You're doing great.

[642] Oh, thank you.

[643] I mean, you've only had two moments.

[644] There's a little blood in the back of my throat.

[645] But they said that's normal.

[646] That's completely normal.

[647] It should have.

[648] next year.

[649] You're doing so much.

[650] I'm pressing.

[651] And you've only had two moments.

[652] I'm going to have to change the dressing in about 10 minutes, but I will go into the bathroom.

[653] Oh, that's why that male nurse is just staring at us here over here.

[654] But to be an improviser, you have to cooperate because you're so reliant on the other person that it does.

[655] I'm really grateful that that's how I came up as well, is that you relied on each other so much.

[656] And if I recall, you're right out of the gate, your first episode, you had like three or four big sketches.

[657] Like, cheerleaders was first episode, right?

[658] No. Oh, gosh.

[659] Oh, Jesus.

[660] I just remember going like, oh, he's really in this show.

[661] That's kind of a big moment because I had a very heavy first show right out of the gate, which was super exciting.

[662] But one of the consistently negatively reviewed cast members after that first.

[663] show.

[664] You were?

[665] Yes.

[666] Oh, really?

[667] Yeah, yeah.

[668] Really, really bad.

[669] This guy is the worst.

[670] Oh, really?

[671] And so you stumble across this stuff.

[672] Also when you're brand new year, you're like, what are they saying?

[673] Yes.

[674] At first, it was like, oh, that doesn't feel so good.

[675] But then back to this disproving the theory of what we're talking about here, I just started laughing about it.

[676] And I just cut out every bad article and just pasted them on the walls of my office and it was one of those things called me most annoying newcomer oh boy so i made a plaque and i put it on my wall i was like so be it you know it probably was just a reaction to you coming out with so much and going for it so hard in clinical kind of analysis i think i was in a lot of sketches where i just yelled okay Yeah, in somewhat defense of the reviews.

[677] So that might...

[678] It's more of a decibel complaint.

[679] Yeah, noise complaint.

[680] But with athletics, though, came the love of the discipline of practice.

[681] Uh -huh.

[682] Of showing up on time, of, you know, knowing the playbook, so to speak.

[683] Yeah.

[684] And that is why I loved doing that show as well.

[685] Yeah, and it becomes obvious, though, when you had the option to construct the kind of work life you wanted you then did that from at least from the outside it appears that you've done that you you have a group that you're constantly coming back to whether it's you working with adam or you working with john c riley or yeah and that to me seems to be like the biggest win out of all the stuff you've got to do totally you know now kind of getting into the zone of like oh the things that i think are funny are they still funny right to the outside world yeah I don't know.

[686] Well, also, there's some history that comedians, I can name the few that have made it to their 70s and still stayed really funny and relevant.

[687] And how, you know, that's what happens?

[688] I don't know.

[689] Yeah.

[690] Because I've had this earlier theory on you that I want to run by you.

[691] One was, so you had a run of movies where they were pretty much set in other time periods, right?

[692] Like Ron Burgundy and then semi -pro, and then, I don't know, maybe it ends there.

[693] You had a run.

[694] Two movies.

[695] You had this long stretch of two movies.

[696] I'm trying to think.

[697] Well, when was Casadimi Padre set?

[698] Oh, that was.

[699] Totally different space time continuum.

[700] Yeah, a little bit.

[701] But I had this kind of armchair theory about those two things was, one is don't you love kind of the cover fire of being able to?

[702] to play a different time period where you can explore like machismo and basically misogyny and a very funny, it's like it's a little bit more innocent.

[703] You can't really make the jokes in our time period.

[704] No, and I think that it also probably subconsciously is kind of playing on the nostalgia of being a kid from the 70s.

[705] Right.

[706] Because I, you know, now with this, I was trying to talking to my kids about it too like i was i was asking my our oldest son who's in high school i'm like do you guys have like a show you guys all watch right you guys have the one thing and he was like no not really yeah there's probably too much right everyone watches a bit of this and a bit of that and listens to this person here and da da and it's all a mishmash and they share it all and i can i remember having butterflies in my stomach waiting for happy days to come on Tuesday nights at 8 p .m followed by Laverna and Shirley.

[707] Now, that's such comfort food of knowing, get my homework done, and I'll watch Happy Days, followed by Laverna and Shirley.

[708] Saturday night, forget about it.

[709] Right.

[710] Love Boat, Fantasy Island.

[711] Uh -huh, buckle up.

[712] Those are both hour long.

[713] Both, right?

[714] Yeah.

[715] Yeah.

[716] Two hours.

[717] Two hours.

[718] And then the movies, too, themselves, right?

[719] There was like eight big ones a year, and that's the ones you saw.

[720] Totally.

[721] But going back into those time zones.

[722] Well, because the one thing I was, thinking too is even when you're like you're new in the growlings right and they're asking you to come up with characters and at that time for me i'm drawing from like an older brother who had it over me a boss i hated at california pizza kitchen you know like one of the things i think potentially that's a problem with comedians and comedy is a lot of the fodder when you're young is like these people you have to deal with their teachers their bosses and that starts to fall away yes the pitfall is all of a sudden you're kind of the boss And you're not eating shit from somebody.

[723] So you're kind of running out of material.

[724] So, like, one of the theories I had was like, oh, I wonder if he's drawn to going back to a period where, like, he was still eating shit, you know?

[725] Like, were you still, those guys had some kind of power or control or something?

[726] No, I mean, you know, the Anchorman instance literally was from watching a special on Jessica Savage.

[727] So she was one of the first female.

[728] newscasters to go from, first of all, to break through on local news and then to ascend all the way to the network and had this tragic kind of where she actually, there's a famous clip of her.

[729] And, you know, before this proliferation of cable news, one of the big breaks was when you got to do the live in between commercials on the network, you would read, it was like a minute of headlines.

[730] Oh, okay.

[731] And they'd break to you live and it would be national.

[732] and she was drunk.

[733] Uh -oh.

[734] And then had this, and then that led to this tragic, she wrecked her car and died in a car.

[735] Oh, wow.

[736] Yes.

[737] So it was this horrible little, anyway, outside of that, Inker Man has nothing to do that.

[738] The point was, I was watching a special on her whole life.

[739] Yeah.

[740] And one of the sound bites was the guy she used to work with in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, who was still, even though he's retired, spoke in a newscaster voice.

[741] Uh -huh.

[742] And he was like, you have to remember, back then, I was a real male chauvinist pig.

[743] I did not speak to Jessica.

[744] I did not like her.

[745] I did not like her company.

[746] And I made it known to her that this was going to be, you know, a tough road.

[747] And I was like, and he just owned it all.

[748] Yeah.

[749] I was like, gosh, he's been retired for 10 years.

[750] He still talks like this.

[751] And so I started thinking, Oh, that'd be funny.

[752] A character who, like, even in the grocery store, is like, hello, how are you?

[753] Yes.

[754] Yes, I'll take that carton of cigarettes.

[755] And then I thought, oh, that would be funny, a comedy of the first female to break through that male world.

[756] So it wasn't necessarily me thinking about the 70s as it was that storyline.

[757] But it is interesting because can you ever really be aware of why something is appealing?

[758] I don't know.

[759] Yeah, I don't know.

[760] Like something is just funny.

[761] to you.

[762] That's why you go down the road.

[763] You didn't really spend a whole lot of time trying to figure out.

[764] And Casa Demi Padre, I was like, oh, just to have someone known in American comedy to speak Spanish for an entire movie.

[765] And did you speak, you spoke Spanish prior to that?

[766] No, you didn't.

[767] Other than high school Spanish, yeah.

[768] Okay.

[769] So, yeah, that was like a 23 -day fever dream.

[770] No, I would literally get picked up at six in the morning with the translator with me. He would drive with me. Okay.

[771] And we would go over that day's just in the car, 40, 45 minutes, just go through the scene.

[772] And then on the way home, he would drive back when we'd start the next day's work.

[773] Oh.

[774] And did you ever have moments while you're shooting it where you're just like, I can't.

[775] Someone's going to have to hold it in front of me. There were a couple times.

[776] The very first day of filming, we had to start on a huge monologue.

[777] Oh, boy.

[778] So we had cue cards ready.

[779] Okay.

[780] And I kind of used them, but then all of a sudden it started happening.

[781] Yeah.

[782] It was crazy.

[783] But halfway through, I was like, why did I want to do this?

[784] Yes, it's so hard.

[785] Sure.

[786] Yeah.

[787] And it's the same with the George Bush show.

[788] Every night I would be hanging in the raft, literally hanging, because the top of the show is that, if you remember, after the inauguration, the new incoming president comes in.

[789] They have the exit meeting and then the outgoing first family is lifted in the marine helicopter.

[790] Right.

[791] So I thought, oh, it would be really funny.

[792] Let's mimic the helicopter is literally, has taken him from the White House and is dropping him into the theater.

[793] So I was on a wire.

[794] Repelling in.

[795] So they'd take me up like two minutes before curtain and I'd be sitting up there literally.

[796] hanging in a harness going.

[797] I don't want to do I don't want to do this.

[798] Why did I agree to do this?

[799] I'm like, how am I going to remember this 80 minute show?

[800] It's just you, right?

[801] It's just me. And then by the end, I'd be like, this is the greatest thing I've ever done.

[802] Yeah.

[803] I can't wait for tomorrow night.

[804] And then you're back to square one.

[805] Damn it, Will, what's your problem?

[806] What?

[807] Why?

[808] Yeah.

[809] And that was three months of that?

[810] Yeah.

[811] Oh, and eight shows a week?

[812] Yeah.

[813] Oh, my goodness.

[814] But also, too, within the body of the show, didn't do myself any favors because Bush was known as giving everyone nicknames in his cabinet.

[815] Uh -huh.

[816] And so I'd go through, we'd bring the house lights up.

[817] And I would say, everyone knows, I like to give nicknames.

[818] And what we're going to do is raise your hand, give me your name and your profession, I'll give you a nickname.

[819] And I would just scattershot go through the crowd.

[820] And I was like, really?

[821] You got to save the last?

[822] I'd be like, oh, almost through the show.

[823] Oh, no, the hardest part comes up.

[824] Yeah, but obviously I'm drawn to holding my hand over the flame in some way.

[825] And do you think maybe it's like to keep yourself awake?

[826] Like you kind of got to challenge yourself to keep.

[827] Mentally?

[828] Agility, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[829] I always feel like there's all these forks in the road where I'm like, hmm.

[830] I could start coasting.

[831] I see like a path for me to start coasting.

[832] Oh, I better do this thing I don't want to do.

[833] Right, right.

[834] Yeah, that mixed with why are you doing it if you're not going to do that?

[835] Right.

[836] Well, I was just going to say my favorite things you've done, and I have a lot of favorite movies of years, but my favorite things are like, I was at a fucking Lakers game one time.

[837] Look over and if you've not been to the Lakers game, there's like six or eight guys in red vest.

[838] I'm not sure what they do, but they're at the corner of the court.

[839] They're the security guys.

[840] Yeah, but they're not, I mean, the red jackets, yeah.

[841] What does that even mean?

[842] I'm not sure what they're doing.

[843] But at any rate, I'm like, looking over, I'm like, that motherfucker looks so much like Will Farrell.

[844] I mean, he must get that a lot.

[845] And you're just, you're standing there.

[846] There's no real bit beyond, to my knowledge, beyond just you're there in a red jacket.

[847] And I'm like, no, that is Will Farrell.

[848] I'm like, honey, this fucking.

[849] Now that's the thing you're saying you don't watch stuff.

[850] get angry.

[851] I've seen some stuff like that where I'm like, God damn it!

[852] Why haven't I thought to ask them if I can wear the red jacket and just stand there stoically for an hour and a half?

[853] How did that one come about?

[854] That was that outfit was a gift.

[855] Of course.

[856] Adam McKay and Chris Henshi, and we had a stretch of time where we'd give each other really weird birthday gifts.

[857] Uh -huh.

[858] They gave me a full regulation Staples Center security outfit.

[859] How they got it, I have no idea.

[860] But head to toe, the pants, the tie, the red jacket.

[861] Oh, my goodness.

[862] And I opened it up, and I didn't laugh.

[863] And I was like, oh, my God.

[864] They're like, what?

[865] Do you not like it?

[866] I'm like, no, I love it so much.

[867] The problem is I'm going to actually have to wear it during a game.

[868] or this will be a complete failure.

[869] So it took me like that whole season.

[870] Okay.

[871] And I'm like, how do I do this?

[872] Because I don't want to, if I wear it in, they might go, where did you get that from?

[873] Right, right.

[874] I didn't know how they would handle it.

[875] So I snuck in the jacket.

[876] Oh.

[877] I had this whole plan.

[878] And you just had normal seats?

[879] We happen to have courtside seats.

[880] Okay.

[881] And Chris Inchie came with me. And he's like, okay.

[882] So I like, so here, if I get tax.

[883] to the ground, what do we do?

[884] He's like, I'll just be there with, if I get escorted out, we had all this contingency.

[885] And so I was like, I got butterflies.

[886] I feel like I'm going to throw up.

[887] And then, so I have everything ready to go.

[888] I just have to put the clip on tie and the jacket.

[889] And we're like, okay, next break, next time out, we're going for it.

[890] And so I just threw it on and just got up and just stood the way those guys stand with my back to the court looking at the crowd yes and then there just became this ripple of like all of us starting to realize that will like who is that guy your same reaction yeah yes yes I started to try to get out on the court right sure of course to the guy's credit who was closest to me he was like I just can't have you he's he's trying not to laugh they've obviously been told don't laugh at stuff right and he so you had no permission no oh god bless you oh that makes me so how And so he just said, just, I just can't, just please don't stand on the court.

[891] I'm like, great.

[892] So I just stood on the baseline.

[893] Yeah.

[894] Just super serious.

[895] Yeah.

[896] And then I'm looking around and I can see they must have been talking to each other because I can see the red coat guys kind of ring the court.

[897] Yes.

[898] And they're all of the ear pieces in.

[899] They're all looking around.

[900] They're putting their finger to their ear.

[901] Like, where is he?

[902] People are probably consulting like a protocol book in the office.

[903] Yeah.

[904] Like what's our move here?

[905] So then I sit back.

[906] down and then I get a tap on the shoulder and I noticed that Shaq was there too I was like oh he's sitting down way over in the corner I get a tap on my shoulder and I was and this guy comes up he's like hey I'm blah blah blah I'm buddies with Shaq he thinks it's hilarious he's getting ready to leave oh do you want to throw him out of the game oh wow and I go oh yes that's great yes so the next commercial break oh this thing's just starts writing itself i stand up and but i kind of shift over and and uh i keep looking over at shack and i keep motioning like hey knock it off hey and he plays along beautifully oh well he's an actor yeah he starts to throw his hands up like what am i doing and we do this whole little play where i'm like that's it come with me uh -huh and i escort him out and he's so large so large It's so large.

[907] And he's cracking up.

[908] And then the head of security comes.

[909] Parties over.

[910] And it was like, the guys loved it.

[911] You made their week.

[912] They thought of it as an omont.

[913] They were like, thanks for the tip of the cat.

[914] They really appreciate what you did tonight.

[915] Me acting like a jackass?

[916] I don't want to get too lofty with this, but it's an art installation.

[917] Yeah, it is.

[918] It really is.

[919] It's a performance RP.

[920] Yeah, it is.

[921] So in my time with Jimmy Miller, I called him up and I said, I really want to be in a reenactment the worst the show the better and no lines of course I want to have to act out like scream and do all that and like run and do all the things you'd see in a police show reenactment and he immediately goes oh this is just like Will he wanted to be a corpse on a show were you were a corpse on like a CSI type of a show no no I didn't get to do that but I did there was a CBS show where we set it up like I was going to become a new and we had to tell cbs they couldn't promote it at all i did a fake name phil weston and the credits oh and they but you set up the show what was the name of the anyway and we set up a whole a storyline where i'm like it looks like i'm going to be a new character in the show and then i'm in the last scene i'm shot in the head oh okay so you did some acting in that episode as well i got murdered yeah okay i thought you just played a corpse which would have been bring up, I thought you were going to bring up the fact that what I really wanted to do is, you know the DR mower, those, those commercials you see on late night?

[922] Super tall weeds.

[923] And they're super tall weeds.

[924] Yeah, yeah.

[925] The wood chipper.

[926] And it's just usually a guy.

[927] I was like, I want to be the guy pushing the DR mower.

[928] Yes.

[929] And we got to the five yard line, but the owner of the company was like, look, I can't guarantee that this won't leak.

[930] And we just wanted to show up on late night TV.

[931] Were you in a...

[932] Did you make it into a late -night commercial, though?

[933] I feel like I saw you in some bizarre.

[934] Oh, that would be so great.

[935] You know, it only works if you stumble across it.

[936] But we got to do the Lifetime movie, though.

[937] Yes.

[938] So those are the kind of things that I have going like, oh, God, damn.

[939] Either why didn't I think of that or now that's done?

[940] Right.

[941] But you've done some really great things.

[942] But I've had some regrets.

[943] You have?

[944] I've had some regrets of moments I didn't capitalize on.

[945] Oh.

[946] Oh, one time being at the Golden Globes sitting pretty close to the front.

[947] And the first category up was Best Song.

[948] Mm -hmm.

[949] And Prince won, but he was late.

[950] And it was Justin Timberlake was presenting it.

[951] And I was like, gosh, you just walk up and accept the print.

[952] And I couldn't pull the trigger.

[953] I couldn't.

[954] Yes.

[955] Well, can I tell you the one I planned this year and it didn't come to fruition?

[956] Did you see Star was born?

[957] I did.

[958] Okay.

[959] You know, when she wins, he comes.

[960] up on stage in pieces, pants.

[961] Well, my wife was nominated for a Golden Globe this year.

[962] And if she won was going to go and then pee my pants, you know, get like a thing and then pee my pants on stage.

[963] Right.

[964] And we were like, this is so, for me, my own insecurities.

[965] I'm like, it's so dicey because people will really go like, oh, this fucking guy's got to steal her moment.

[966] Like, he's got to do it.

[967] So that was my fear.

[968] Right.

[969] But I ran it by a bunch of people and it was pretty collectively like, that would be a good, that'd be worth it.

[970] Yeah.

[971] And she genuinely didn't want to make a speech.

[972] So she's like, this would be a big help.

[973] So she takes the pressure off of me. Yes, do this, do this.

[974] Yeah.

[975] So she didn't win and this never happened.

[976] But that was one that I was like really hoping that I could do that.

[977] But I am really curious about your time management theory on your life.

[978] Because clearly you're doing things that earn money.

[979] Yep.

[980] And those have a certain priority, right?

[981] Right.

[982] And then you're doing things that you seem to be a player that loves playing the game.

[983] Like, sure you're making a $100 million.

[984] contract, but you seem to love playing the game.

[985] And there's evidence of it, like the Rose Bowl parade thing.

[986] Like, how did that come about?

[987] A, we were all watching it at a friend's us.

[988] We have this tradition.

[989] We sleep on New Year's Eve.

[990] And we wake up and we watch the Rose Bowl.

[991] And I come downstairs, people are dying and look what's happening.

[992] And again, I'm like, oh, God damn, this guy's got the good ideas.

[993] Like, how did that even come about?

[994] That came about from a text from a dear friend.

[995] We share a lot of the same comedy sense of me. He was just like, you and Molly Shannon need to host the Rose Parade in character.

[996] I was like, dude, that is a brilliant idea.

[997] Yes.

[998] And so it took us a while to get it together.

[999] You know, we pitched it to the Rose Parade.

[1000] They had one guy who really liked it, and then he had to convince the rest of the panel.

[1001] Well, I imagine the conversation in a lot of these situations are like, wait, is he making fun of us?

[1002] We just pitched it that we were making fun of broadcasters.

[1003] If anything, we were going to celebrate the majesty of the Rose Parade and that how much we love it, no matter the fact that no one will hire us, but we'll keep coming back, you know, and just we love it so much and we'll make fun of ourselves and our lives and our, and yeah.

[1004] Because of, I guess, probably the success of it, then it was like, let's do the royal wedding.

[1005] Yeah, yeah, we just, we're still thinking of other things we can do.

[1006] sure but yeah I could see you guys like at the Kentucky Derby we talked about that you did the Derby I was hoping our current president was going to do this military parade oh that would have been because we were like we were going to host that we were going to see if we could do that and then we were going to do like a telethon where we talked about how philanthropic our president is and let's see how much money is he given to let's check the clock let's check the telephone meter how much money he's given and two, these very, and it still just stays on zero.

[1007] Sure, sure, sure.

[1008] But that was just fantastic, that first time we did on Amazon where half people were, like, these are the worst broadcasts I've ever seen.

[1009] Right.

[1010] Some people didn't realize.

[1011] These are comedians.

[1012] What are you talking about?

[1013] Yes.

[1014] Why does he keep talking about his fear of horses?

[1015] One of the comments was, this may be the last time my grandmother ever watches the parade.

[1016] Oh, boy.

[1017] And you guys have ruined it.

[1018] Oh, boy.

[1019] And we were like, you can switch to channel.

[1020] Yes, yes.

[1021] Yeah.

[1022] Stay tuned for more armchair expert, if you dare.

[1023] How much writing goes into it and how much of its strict improv?

[1024] It's almost all scripted.

[1025] Uh -huh.

[1026] But as is the nature and as is the one that happened this year, the fire, that was all off.

[1027] We didn't.

[1028] You get a little diamond in your.

[1029] Yes.

[1030] In your lap.

[1031] Exactly.

[1032] Yeah, that was spectacular.

[1033] So, I was so happy for both of you that that thing got up why I was sad for the people on it.

[1034] And then I was like, very happy for you.

[1035] But it's so much fun.

[1036] When talk about the team thing, so we have Andrew Steele who writes it, he's in the booth going, talk about the fact that, you know, and Owen Burke, who is a UCB guy and works for us.

[1037] So they'll give us ideas, too, to riff on it.

[1038] So it's a full circle moment, though.

[1039] I'm actually using the broadcast stuff that I thought I was going to do.

[1040] Right.

[1041] Because you majored in sports broadcasting, right?

[1042] But then you quickly, you pretty quickly decided that wasn't going to be for you.

[1043] I just saw that that is just as hard as trying to get into comedy.

[1044] Yes.

[1045] So I thought, well, yeah.

[1046] Go for the other one.

[1047] I mean, now that we've talked for so long, it's not shocking.

[1048] But again, I have probably these silly Michigan stereotypes in my head.

[1049] Right.

[1050] So even finding out you were in a fraternity, I was like, oh, he was in a fraternity.

[1051] Yeah.

[1052] Oh, but you were.

[1053] Yeah.

[1054] And now that I know you, it makes perfect.

[1055] sense and how did you end up in that that was kind of the only fraternity i probably could have joined delta ta delta d t d they were kind of the anti fraternity fraternity yeah it was like we really couldn't get anything together uh -huh throw like a really good party uh -huh and it became like a stage for me right so we'd have monday chapter meetings and i actually had a Monday night class for some reason.

[1056] And I was the song chairman, which means nothing.

[1057] But when you had a party with another sorority, you sing songs to each other.

[1058] So I was in charge of running that.

[1059] There was no reason for the song chairman to ever speak in chapter.

[1060] So chapters of the Monday meeting that starts the week off.

[1061] Oh, you're tracheotomy.

[1062] You caught it.

[1063] You caught.

[1064] It's catching.

[1065] Yeah, yeah.

[1066] So I would tape these song chairman reports to be played in chapter for no reason.

[1067] Right.

[1068] It was just another way to write sketches.

[1069] Yeah.

[1070] And then I would hear back like, your stuff killed, are you going to do another one for next week?

[1071] And so that just became another...

[1072] But you wouldn't even be there to witness.

[1073] Oh my God.

[1074] I mean, you want to talk about a pure motive.

[1075] Yeah.

[1076] You couldn't even witness the success of it.

[1077] So, wow.

[1078] Okay.

[1079] Where were you at with girls?

[1080] Did the sports and the being really funny?

[1081] Did you always have girlfriends was oh you didn't it was not it was not a that was not your focus it was not fruitful it was not fruitful it wasn't it really is true that girls don't like the funny guy till later mm -hmm yeah that's probably true yeah I guess in high school you yeah you're so worried about your own status and if someone can elevate yours I would get a lot of like hi will so funny Pete Johnson or whatever right and I think at the end of the day I was still too shy to try to even go there.

[1082] Okay.

[1083] So then I just would retreat to the comfort of my weird group of friends who, once again, we'd go to a Friday night high school party, not necessarily to get drunk, but to, you know, take all of the frozen meats out of the refrigerator and just start jamming them into a microwave for no reason.

[1084] Yeah.

[1085] And then when someone would come up and go, what are you guys doing?

[1086] We're like, oh, Johnny told us to just start microwave.

[1087] Do you guys talk to Johnny?

[1088] Okay, hold on.

[1089] Where's Johnny?

[1090] And just create mass confusion.

[1091] And then just leave.

[1092] So once again, art installation pieces in real life, yeah.

[1093] So when you met Viv.

[1094] Yeah, met her in an acting program.

[1095] I find this so fascinating.

[1096] And she still is, right?

[1097] She's an art auctioneer.

[1098] Yeah, she still does it a little bit, yeah, here and there.

[1099] Is my idea of what that is?

[1100] accurate?

[1101] Like, does she talk fast?

[1102] Can she do that whole thing?

[1103] She can.

[1104] It's not, this is, life is not a movie.

[1105] Oh, man. Bummer.

[1106] Well, I watch car auctions and they do have Myr -Fat -A -5 -5 -5 -5 -a -thes -e Yeah.

[1107] Raggedy and Dan -Dandy coming down the stretch.

[1108] No, Vivica, in the art world, and she'll do our school auction.

[1109] Uh -huh.

[1110] Because all these L .A. schools have big gala evenings and fundraising.

[1111] Exactly.

[1112] And she can pick up the pace.

[1113] She can.

[1114] Yeah.

[1115] And you did that for a minute right uh i when you first were when we were we were still just friends and she got me a job at the art auction house okay okay appraisal coordinator oh i was the appraisal coordinator meaning the appraiser would get there and you'd walk him or her to the piece i would right this way yeah to you're coordinating the appraisal i i would field phone calls and someone would say i have you know something I need looked at.

[1116] I'd coordinate the appraiser to visit them.

[1117] Uh -huh.

[1118] And I'd also type up the appraisals after they were done with them.

[1119] At a fantastic moment where the president of the company was like, because I had a stretch where I was leaving a lot and had a massive pile of work piling up.

[1120] Sure, sure.

[1121] He, unappraised.

[1122] Unappraised.

[1123] And he said, I need to talk to you.

[1124] And I'm like, okay, he's like, you are on thin ice, my friend.

[1125] What's going on?

[1126] And I was like, I'm just going to hit him with brutal honesty.

[1127] I'm like, you're absolutely right.

[1128] It's unacceptable.

[1129] He's like, okay.

[1130] So you're really behind it.

[1131] I'm like, I know.

[1132] It's not good.

[1133] He's like, well, this stuff needs to be done.

[1134] Do you have an idea?

[1135] I have no idea when it will be done.

[1136] But best efforts will be made to complete the work.

[1137] But you never went so far as to say, I don't value this job.

[1138] No. Okay.

[1139] Maybe you're going to go all the way he was going to promote you to like manager.

[1140] But it stunned him so much that I accepted how poor my job performance was.

[1141] Right.

[1142] He was like, okay, well.

[1143] Well, it's so refreshing, I'd imagine.

[1144] Just shape up.

[1145] And I'm like, you got it.

[1146] And then I actually got Saturday Night Live while still working at that job.

[1147] But I had no money.

[1148] So I still had to work at the job for three months after.

[1149] Knowing that you're SNL bound.

[1150] And people were like, did you get high?

[1151] And I go, yep.

[1152] I still got to get through these appraisals.

[1153] at my $10 an hour job.

[1154] Oh, that's phenomenal.

[1155] He met in an acting class.

[1156] She helped you get a job.

[1157] But you had a girlfriend, that's fine.

[1158] I'm sure everything was above board.

[1159] But at what point do things get romantic?

[1160] Did you, from the second you met her, like, I like her?

[1161] No, from the moment I met her, I was like, oh, I'm going to marry her.

[1162] You did think that.

[1163] Yeah.

[1164] Actually, I don't know if I was that bold.

[1165] It was more like, gosh, that's who I would marry.

[1166] Want to be with.

[1167] But we were just friends, and there was something, some sparks.

[1168] There was, but I was like, ah, we'll just always be friends.

[1169] But I had the girlfriend, S &L, and this person was putting on the full court press of, like, what's happening?

[1170] Right.

[1171] Like, you just got drafted to the NBA, yeah.

[1172] And I'm like, oh, well, you have to understand.

[1173] It's like, those contracts are the first one, I'm just guaranteed nine shows.

[1174] Yeah, and then they'll pick you up for the rest of the season.

[1175] And so I don't think we can, I don't know.

[1176] Yeah.

[1177] And I have to know, I have to know.

[1178] Viv and I would also talk as friends.

[1179] And I realized, oh, we're having two -hour conversations on the phone.

[1180] Right, right.

[1181] Cross -country.

[1182] Yes.

[1183] And I'm not having the same amount of time.

[1184] Yeah.

[1185] Yes.

[1186] With the gal who wants you to propose to her.

[1187] I think after that first year on the show, I came back to L .A. And I remember thinking, God, I really like this girl because she asked if we would go walk her dog and Runyon Canyon and the Lakers are playing.

[1188] It's a playoff game.

[1189] Uh -oh.

[1190] I was like, I'm willing to miss watching the Lakers to go walk her dog with her.

[1191] I was like, yeah, let's go.

[1192] And then she's like, do you want to have a beer later?

[1193] I was like, okay.

[1194] And so we're sitting in her backyard and she drank a beer.

[1195] in about two sips.

[1196] Oh, good.

[1197] Yeah.

[1198] And I was like, God, and she goes, do you want another beer?

[1199] I'm like, I'm not even done with the first one.

[1200] And I'm like, yeah, sure.

[1201] And I'm, I'm very, I'm double -fisted.

[1202] I remember it was not very good beer.

[1203] It was like, like a mickleover or something.

[1204] Natural light.

[1205] Oh, even worse.

[1206] Milwaukee's baths, natural light.

[1207] And, uh, I think I'm falling in love with her.

[1208] Right.

[1209] She was pounding Natty lights in the backyard.

[1210] And to her credit, bless her heart.

[1211] She was like, so I think I still like you.

[1212] Oh.

[1213] And I blow it by going, oh, my God, I just told my uncle that you're the one I would marry.

[1214] Oh, well, she's like, okay, you should leave now.

[1215] I like showed all my cars right away.

[1216] Sure.

[1217] And then she drove me home.

[1218] This was like a late afternoon.

[1219] Yeah.

[1220] Beers in the late afternoon.

[1221] God, I love her.

[1222] And then she drops me off.

[1223] And I thought, oh, we're going to kiss.

[1224] I go for the kiss I get the cheek Oh And then she was like I just have to let you know too I'm kind of seeing someone Oh that helps I was like oh okay So what is going on here And then I got pouty and weird And then sure That whole summer I came back to LA And we that began the re -courtship And by the end of that summer It was like Is this a thing?

[1225] Yeah and it was And it held up Yeah And when did she move here from Sweden She grew up here Oh she did Yeah Oh, I thought she was like a year old.

[1226] Oh, okay.

[1227] So she grew up in the Boston area.

[1228] You guys still, you have like a cottage in Sweden or something?

[1229] And you guys will spend the summer there?

[1230] Yeah, that's where we, that's where we go from.

[1231] But not because you're going to visit her home or anything.

[1232] No, no, no. No, they didn't go back to visit when she was growing up that much.

[1233] And so later in her college years, she was back visiting like her cousins and kind of spending a couple weeks at a time and feeling kind of resentful.

[1234] Like, why didn't we go back here more?

[1235] Is Eden?

[1236] Yeah, and so...

[1237] Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry.

[1238] There's a...

[1239] Sometimes a S and a W or silent.

[1240] I was pronouncing it the Swedish way, the Edish way.

[1241] Eden.

[1242] Welcome to Eden.

[1243] So we started going, and then I think she was just like, oh, I didn't get this as a child, so I want to give it to our kids.

[1244] You also went beyond that.

[1245] First of all, you have my...

[1246] Three of my top 10 boys' names I've ever heard.

[1247] You got all three of them.

[1248] Magnus.

[1249] Yep.

[1250] My brother -in -law is a Magnus.

[1251] Oh, he is.

[1252] And we always love that name.

[1253] Oh, it's great.

[1254] And it's an homage to big Magnus.

[1255] And so we have Stur Magnus and Lila Magnus.

[1256] Oh.

[1257] But Lila Magnus is now 15.

[1258] And getting big, probably.

[1259] And a big dude.

[1260] Now, did you have this feeling the first time I went to Sweden?

[1261] Yeah.

[1262] I was walking around in Stockholm.

[1263] Yeah.

[1264] And for the first time in my life, I felt dead average.

[1265] did you have i was like i am the dead average height here like half the guys are taller than me very few are shorter than me not only that i also well i've never been known to have a sense of style but felt even more unstylish oh of course because they're wearing these fine tailored suits uh leather loafers with the no tie um it's chic and it's a good look yeah and yeah and it was the first time when we were first over there You know, the cell phones caught on quicker over there.

[1266] Was it in Nokia?

[1267] And Nokia was huge.

[1268] And also, do you remember the old The Wire where you'd listen and had the microphone mid -cord?

[1269] Yes, absolutely.

[1270] I kept seeing all these well -dressed crazy people talking to themselves.

[1271] Because I wasn't seeing the wire.

[1272] I was like, there's another guy.

[1273] Look at you.

[1274] That stockbroker.

[1275] He's just talking to himself.

[1276] Boy, we got used to that in two seconds, didn't we?

[1277] I remember the first few times I saw that.

[1278] I was like, oh, this guy's bonkers.

[1279] And now I'm like, yeah, everyone's just talking to themselves.

[1280] Magnus Paul and Farrell.

[1281] Then we have Matthias Sven.

[1282] Sven is Viv's dad.

[1283] Axel Scugland, which is Viv's mother's maiden name.

[1284] Scuglin.

[1285] Skooglund.

[1286] Small wood.

[1287] Ooh, scugland.

[1288] It's like a small forest, a scugland.

[1289] Oh, and I feel like it's evolved of you that you've just adopted this whole Swedish thing.

[1290] I love it.

[1291] Yeah, I really like that you've embraced it and wanted to.

[1292] The first time I went over there, I was like, this is the greatest place ever.

[1293] Yeah.

[1294] Super happy people.

[1295] Right.

[1296] All seem to have a good lock on, like, work and real life.

[1297] And, yeah.

[1298] I remember we were on train going from Barcelona to Rome, and we happened to be stuck in, like, a six -person thing.

[1299] My girlfriend and I with four girls from Sweden on holiday.

[1300] And two of them had been exchange students, one in Atlanta, and one somewhere else.

[1301] And they just hated how much we said thank you.

[1302] please and all these weird like little customary civil you know whatever you say nice cities they couldn't stand it and they thought it was fake yes and i'm like oh i kind of like this it was the first time i thought oh yeah we do a bunch of malarkey the funny thing too is the swedes have this thing of like i know exactly who you are but i'm not going to look at you oh i like that because you're the same right we're the same people that's right And they have a thing called Lawgum, which is like not too much and not too little.

[1303] It's just lawgum.

[1304] It's just like a perfect, like if something is logom, it's like, ah, that was just right.

[1305] Right.

[1306] Did you go to the Vasa Ship Museum?

[1307] No, what is the, what is it?

[1308] It is, well, it's the number one museum in Scandinavia.

[1309] What do you mean?

[1310] I'm so sorry.

[1311] First of all, I'm so, so sorry.

[1312] I'm really sorry.

[1313] What's on display there?

[1314] No, it's this amazing museum.

[1315] That's also this amazing story that has affected Swedish culture, which is for 400 years, this Vasa ship.

[1316] So King Gustav Vasa, when Sweden was ruling the world, they were actually a military and naval power.

[1317] They were building these warships, and he wanted this extra tall worship, super tall and, like, tallest of all time.

[1318] And they set out to build the warship.

[1319] And the architect of the warship was like, hey, King Vasa, can I talk to you for a second?

[1320] Side note.

[1321] Oh, side note.

[1322] The specs you've given us, it is going to tip over immediately.

[1323] Right.

[1324] And I'm just telling you, we're like, we just started building it.

[1325] I'm not feeling good.

[1326] It's like, I don't give a shit.

[1327] You're wrong.

[1328] Keep building it.

[1329] Yeah.

[1330] Halfway through construction.

[1331] Vasa, can I talk to you for a good?

[1332] We're halfway through now.

[1333] And now I can definitely see.

[1334] that it's going to immediately tip over as soon it won't be able to sail you're full of shit shipbuilder dies son takes over oh boy he's about to finish it third round of meeting with King Gustav Oz like you remember my dad you remember what he said to you look dad I know he's stubborn but he actually's right on this one it's going to tip over immediately is it done it's done but we really shouldn't I don't care let's do it Tuesday of next week we'll have a big ceremony they crack the bottle of champagne they set it out as well the sails unfurl it gets about 30 seconds out a gust of wind takes it lults to one side all the cannons rush to that and it sinks as predicted where it sits at the bottom of Stockholm Harbor for 400 years oh wow so because of the conditions of the silt and the mud, for some reason, it preserved it, and it didn't allow this certain kind of worm that would normally eat through all the wood.

[1335] Yeah.

[1336] So it sat there, perfectly preserved for 400 years.

[1337] So post -World War II Sweden, 1950s, they're flushed with cash because they were neutral.

[1338] They didn't have to fight the war.

[1339] They had all this iron ore, and they were like, we got a lot of money.

[1340] Let's dig up the boat.

[1341] So they do this amazing reclamation of where they figure out, they dig underneath, they do these balloons, They raise it up to the surface.

[1342] Oh, with balloons.

[1343] So there it sits, perfectly preserved this massive worship, and it's this amazing museum built around it.

[1344] Oh, wow.

[1345] And there's over a million visitors a year who come to see the Vasa ship.

[1346] But it's this combination of man's hubris.

[1347] Sure.

[1348] But even after Vasa will not give up, so they have a trial, why did this happen?

[1349] Oh, he wants heads to roll.

[1350] He wants answers.

[1351] Even though he had been given the answers.

[1352] The son of the shipbuilder is still saying, once again, as I've said, 15 times, it was too narrow for how tall it was built.

[1353] And they're like, nope, we think it was witchcraft.

[1354] Oh.

[1355] Yeah, they thought it was witches.

[1356] They tried to figure out what happened.

[1357] But someone was telling me, because of that moment culturally, that's why the Swedes have always been, they don't ever get too cocky ever.

[1358] Uh -huh.

[1359] And it kind of led to sharing and socialism and all that stuff like that.

[1360] Yeah.

[1361] Well, yeah, my personal thing with getting sober is basically for a decade, life was like either a zero or an 11.

[1362] Yeah.

[1363] And really being sober, just learning to live between five and seven.

[1364] Yeah, five and seven.

[1365] And that's ideal.

[1366] I have a good question about Ron Burgundy because it's your podcast, right?

[1367] Right, right.

[1368] You're not sick of that character.

[1369] No, I'm not.

[1370] By the way, nobody else is.

[1371] Everybody wants that not stop.

[1372] I haven't gotten, I feel like I've just piece mailed him out enough.

[1373] Yeah.

[1374] And I've just done, I mean, we did the two, these, the two movies.

[1375] And then I've just occasionally done him at like a charity thing, or this and of that.

[1376] And then the idea for the podcast.

[1377] Yeah.

[1378] But so people aren't constantly, like, asking you to do him.

[1379] Not so much.

[1380] That's good.

[1381] Yeah.

[1382] I could see.

[1383] Unless you're at, it'll happen in like a junket or you're at a. live thing and be like what would Ron Burgundy say yeah yeah exactly oh I don't know yeah that's sure what I'm asking like aren't yeah and then I shut down uh -huh yeah start sweating profusely yeah yep yep but the medium is so kind of wide open yeah and you get to do it your own way but I find myself as Ron Burgundy asking a cyber security expert oh yeah so we have like real great So that was my question.

[1384] So you have legitimate guess.

[1385] We have the weirdest array, yeah.

[1386] Experts, scientists.

[1387] So we interviewed an 11 -year -old girl on bullying.

[1388] So we had things like that.

[1389] And she was hilarious.

[1390] She was so funny.

[1391] Really?

[1392] And had this great little attitude.

[1393] And at one point made Ron cry.

[1394] Uh -huh.

[1395] And then we've had like Rupal.

[1396] Uh -huh.

[1397] You know, and then we just did one that was like a radio play where we were like, on our way to the podcast and we got stuck in an elevator with three other people and one woman speaking Spanish the entire time.

[1398] Of all your characters, I feel like personally, that would be the one I would want to do a lot because it's almost like your id. It's like you get to take your id for a walk.

[1399] And then secondly, I want to ask you this, I have certain characters where I can say words I don't know normally.

[1400] It's the weird, it sounds so goofy to say that.

[1401] But, like, when I do Frito from idiocracy.

[1402] Right, right.

[1403] As soon as I start talking like this.

[1404] Yeah.

[1405] Like, all these words I don't normally use start sounding perfect.

[1406] Same with Ron Berg.

[1407] I'm sometimes way more articulate as Ron, and I'm like, oh, I would have not used that vocabulary word.

[1408] Yes.

[1409] Like, it's interesting that some characters lend themselves to improv so well.

[1410] Right.

[1411] And there are great moments of recall.

[1412] with Ron, where I'll start to remember distant references to, that I normally would be like, what's the name of that band?

[1413] Right.

[1414] Then Ron will be like, Kaja Goo Goo, that band.

[1415] He'll know it, but not, Will won't know it.

[1416] Yeah, but that is a weird thing.

[1417] So you're doing the podcast, but you are in a unique position.

[1418] I would imagine you have to police yourself because you're in a position that you can, could get most things made yes and no you must have a process by which if you get on fire for an idea do you have like a little window where you're like just sit on this for oh two weeks three weeks whatever to make sure that this is something i really want to get up and running because it could happen once it goes it'll start to it'll start to heat up quickly and and but yet i've just recently come across uh things where i thought it was boy what a great idea and then gone around town and everyone just went nope really yeah so oh wow that's why that's a new that's why i hitched when you were like well you can quite and i'm like not it's a it's well it's becoming a the movie landscape right comedy yeah is really hard right now totally do you have a theory on that i don't know what's what's curious is it's very easy to see what happened to the 40 million dollar drama movies it's very easy to see they disappeared yeah but they went to TV.

[1419] There's this huge explosion of great drama that's on television, and the audience is there.

[1420] Now, the film comedies have vanished in large part, but you've not seen any of the comedy TV shows uptick.

[1421] They're all, they've kind of precipitously dropped too.

[1422] What we view as comedy on TV also has a lot of real elements to it.

[1423] Some of my favorite shit.

[1424] Master of Nunn, I love.

[1425] And it's great stuff.

[1426] But yeah, that's super funny ensemble kind of linear through line where you're either like here's a crazy character i want to watch go from point a to point z yeah or here's the hangover this crazy premise i want to see yes followed through on i don't know yeah i don't know what's happening but don't we still want to go as a group and collectively watch a funny movie this is the last thing i was going to say to you i was in New Zealand when Elf came out.

[1427] And I went to see Elf with like, I don't know, six people.

[1428] They didn't want to go.

[1429] I had to drag them.

[1430] Yep.

[1431] Two of them I drugged.

[1432] Literally.

[1433] Literally.

[1434] And then I dragged two.

[1435] I drugged two and dragged two.

[1436] So we're watching the movie.

[1437] It's so great.

[1438] It's packed.

[1439] It's like crescendoing.

[1440] Yeah.

[1441] And I hear, Daddy, I like him so much.

[1442] I like him so much.

[1443] I turn around and there's a six -year -old girl standing on her seat.

[1444] Wow.

[1445] She's standing on her seat saying, I like him so, I like him so much.

[1446] And then everyone in the movie theater who's already happy and enjoying the thing, now also witnesses the six -year -old having maybe the best experience of her life yet.

[1447] And that shared thing, I get real sad to think my girls won't have that.

[1448] Yeah.

[1449] Yeah.

[1450] You know?

[1451] I know.

[1452] I don't know if our boy, if my boys are like, The nine -year -old still is in the animated zone.

[1453] Okay, right.

[1454] So he'll see the billboard and have to go see that.

[1455] Right.

[1456] But you got a 15 -year -old, right?

[1457] The 12 -year -old is like, oh, I want to see that.

[1458] Oh, I want to.

[1459] He's a fan.

[1460] He's a consumer.

[1461] But he still sees more things at home or at a friend's house.

[1462] Right.

[1463] And the 15 -year -old, I don't, short of, like, using it as a social thing, go meet friends and go see a movie, it's, there's not that thing of like, oh my gosh i just saw eddie murphy in a trailer and i i i literally have to see beverly hills i'm marketing in my calendar i literally have to see it yes so yeah because there's so many outlets yeah yeah so i don't know we've mourned the loss of that um but will i love you i'm so grateful that you came in and talk to us when does ron burgundy come out no the podcast it's out there it's already out there oh yeah okay what's the exact title of it it's just the ron bergurgety podcast the ron Burgundy podcast.

[1464] That's it.

[1465] Okay.

[1466] It's out there.

[1467] Well, I can't wait to start listening.

[1468] Anything else you need to promote?

[1469] Let's see.

[1470] What else do I need to promote?

[1471] I need to promote seeing eye dogs for the blind.

[1472] Oh, yeah.

[1473] I mean, I think that's something we should still promote.

[1474] We should, yeah.

[1475] All right, well, we're going to listen to Ron Burgundy, the Ron Burgundy podcast.

[1476] We're going to buy a couple seen eye dogs for this.

[1477] There was a charity.

[1478] I think we still give money to it.

[1479] It was seeing eye.

[1480] dogs that didn't pass.

[1481] Oh, wow.

[1482] They couldn't quite get it down.

[1483] That almost feels like the jerk.

[1484] They have to be adopted because they...

[1485] Dogs that didn't make the cut.

[1486] All right, Will Farrell.

[1487] Thank you so much.

[1488] I adore you.

[1489] The last time we bumped into each other, we were both doing medical stuff.

[1490] I was going to see a dermatologist and you were in a building, maybe seeing a dentist.

[1491] And I thought this is such an old man way to bump into each other.

[1492] All right.

[1493] Well, I adore you.

[1494] Thanks for giving us your time.

[1495] Thanks for having me. Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondry app, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[1496] You can listen to every episode of Armchair Expert early and ad free right now by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.

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