Nicholas Hoult

[0] Welcome, welcome, welcome to armchair expert.

[1] I'm Dan Holt.

[2] I'm joined by Mrs. Holt.

[3] I wish.

[4] Oh, don't we all wish we were Mrs. Holt?

[5] What an attractive S -O -B?

[6] I know.

[7] I don't think we've ever had such a mutual attraction to somebody, right?

[8] Tall, kind, talented.

[9] So nice.

[10] I felt like very engaging, very chill.

[11] Very chill.

[12] Very no heirs.

[13] Exactly.

[14] A man of the people.

[15] That's right.

[16] Nicholas Holt.

[17] Oh, my gosh.

[18] Nicholas Holt, who is in, you know, one of my top three favorite shows, The Great, just finished the second season.

[19] Holy smokes is that fucking season delivered.

[20] He hints at it in this episode that people like it more than the first.

[21] Yeah.

[22] I found that improbable.

[23] I now believe him.

[24] Wow.

[25] It's sensational.

[26] He also was in X -Men, Mad Max, Warm Bodies, Skins about a boy.

[27] But of course, we're here to talk about the Great.

[28] I love The Great.

[29] You will too.

[30] You must watch The Great on Hulu.

[31] Got who.

[32] This is my only real disappointment in you.

[33] I know it's a grievance.

[34] Now that you're in love with them, aren't you more inclined to watch it?

[35] Absolutely.

[36] I'm just behind.

[37] Okay.

[38] Please enjoy Nicholas Holt.

[39] Wondry Plus subscribers can listen to Armchair Expert early and ad free right now.

[40] Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.

[41] Or you can listen for free wherever you get your podcasts.

[42] Those are very triggering shoes for me. Oh, good.

[43] So I knew these dudes for a minute, not good dudes.

[44] When I was in 10th grade, my father and I went on vacation for a week to Florida.

[45] When I came back, we had been robbed.

[46] Then I pumped into someone that was a mutual friend with these other two dudes.

[47] And they were like, oh my God, did you see Ted got brand new pumps?

[48] And they were like 180 bucks back then.

[49] I was like, how the fuck did Ted get pumps?

[50] And I'm like, oh my God, they robbed us.

[51] You got confirmation that it was them?

[52] Oh, yeah, yeah.

[53] They were busted.

[54] We had to meet with their family.

[55] There was a whole thing.

[56] They would have gone on a shopping spree and their family noticed.

[57] That's always the thing, right?

[58] If you're going to get a load of money from crime, you can't go buy nice thing straight away.

[59] Yeah.

[60] It's always a giveaway.

[61] How old is 10th grade?

[62] 15 and you turn 16.

[63] In my head, I imagined like 7 or 8 year olds.

[64] I don't know because I don't know all the different grading over here.

[65] So I was like, wow, they robbed your house.

[66] I grew up in a real tough area where seven and eight -year -old robs.

[67] Yeah, so when I see pumps now, it's like, I'm both excited for you because, A, this is incredible Reeboks getting in the mix now, too, with their reissues.

[68] So just right there, I'm excited.

[69] But then I'm also triggered.

[70] It's also a very traumatic memory.

[71] I didn't rob you to get them.

[72] Okay, well, that we know of yet.

[73] Where do you live?

[74] I live kind of like 15 minutes from here.

[75] Oh, you do?

[76] Kind of go back and forth between here and London, I guess, because work and all that sort of stuff.

[77] but it kind of been out in L .A. a bit more for the last four, five years.

[78] We've met.

[79] Where?

[80] No, I don't think so.

[81] Oh, good.

[82] I love it.

[83] I love this.

[84] God, because I get so stressed when people do this to me, when they're like, we've met.

[85] And then you're like, I don't remember it.

[86] And now I can do it to someone else.

[87] Oh, my God.

[88] Wait, wait.

[89] We met at Button Willow Race Trek.

[90] Get the fuck out.

[91] You were with Steve.

[92] De Castro.

[93] I was with Matt.

[94] Oh, from Yamaha.

[95] Yeah, yeah.

[96] And yeah, we were writing.

[97] We spoke for a good half an hour, 45 minutes.

[98] Maybe.

[99] But you know what's really good about this.

[100] Hold on.

[101] This is great.

[102] I'm so embarrassed.

[103] No, no, no, no. This is really good for me. Because when we were chatting, you spoke a little bit about Top Gear America.

[104] And I get a little bit of social anxiety, but not like terrible.

[105] Like I still go out.

[106] But then I have it worse, like, in hindsight.

[107] Afterwards, I'm like, oh, God.

[108] And when you were talking about Top Gear America, I said, oh, I didn't realize they did an American one.

[109] And since then, I've thought about that moment because I'm like, did that come across as rude that I hadn't seen it or didn't know that there was an American version of Top Gear.

[110] So I've thought about that since.

[111] So the fact that you haven't even, that you didn't even remember.

[112] the interaction.

[113] I'm like, okay, you can really relax in hindsight a little bit about upsetting people.

[114] Okay, you've made my day as well, because most generally, I'm interviewing people who I've met, and I remember meeting them, and they don't remember meeting me. I always feel bad for myself in those situations, and now this is almost worse.

[115] It's worse.

[116] It's worse, because I seem like a dick.

[117] It's definitely worse.

[118] Yeah.

[119] I was going to admit all this to you anyways, so this is kind of perfect.

[120] I started watching The Great, just obsessed, particularly like fell madly in love with you to the point where i bet i do this once every three years with an actor i'm like i got to find out everything about this guy and then so i look you up and i go by god it's the kid from about a boy the truth is i just missed the five things that you were huge in and hugely successful i just missed those and then i saw you on the great so had we met like six months later i would have embarrassed myself because i'm a super fan thanks i mean i am Let's go back to Button Willow, though.

[121] What were you riding?

[122] Have you done a bunch of track days?

[123] I was on one of Mats Yamaha's.

[124] I was either on an R6 or an R3 that time.

[125] You were on an R1, I think.

[126] And I remember you were fast.

[127] Thank you so much for saying that publicly.

[128] Yeah, he was fast.

[129] And I'm really slow on track.

[130] And I was thinking about the other day, it's like embarrassing how slow I am.

[131] Because I started off a few years doing track stuff.

[132] At first I was progressing.

[133] And then I think I've just reached peak fear.

[134] And I don't do it enough to, like, overcome that at the moment.

[135] And I'll be excited.

[136] And then I'll go home and I'll be like, oh, I'm alive.

[137] Oh, I can relax.

[138] Can I ask why you even wanted to do it?

[139] Because I have a very specific reason I got into it.

[140] Why did you decide?

[141] I want to go to the track.

[142] I got to drag my knee.

[143] This is a must in my life.

[144] You know, my dad was a big F1 fan.

[145] And so I grew up interested in car racing, all that sort of stuff.

[146] I got into bikes because of I did a film called Young Ones.

[147] Right after we filmed The Mad Max, it was also in that South Africa.

[148] My character was meant to be like this badass guy, rode motorcycles and whatever.

[149] So I went and learned to ride a bike for that.

[150] Oh.

[151] And then was like, okay, I liked the feeling of riding bikes, rode on the road for a little bit.

[152] and then met a bunch of guys out here, Sean McDonald, who used to work for Cycle World, and then he, like, was setting up a track day at Laguna Saker.

[153] So that was the first day I ever went on track.

[154] Oh, my God.

[155] What a track to be on your first day.

[156] Well, terrifying, though, because it was also, like, a journalist day.

[157] And, you know, all the journalists are, like, fast ripping around, like, and there's me just, like, terrified.

[158] And that track's so blind, you can't see anything.

[159] For people don't know, it's tons of elevation changes, several blind turns.

[160] I applaud the fact that your first track day was Laguna.

[161] It's definitely expert level track.

[162] Yeah, in hindsight, I should not have been there.

[163] Why did you get into it?

[164] I went on vacation with Ashton Coucher 18 years ago.

[165] On this vacation, his then trainer, Duffy, came.

[166] Have you met Duffy?

[167] He's in DeCastro's group.

[168] Wait, has Duffy got like blonde hair?

[169] Yes, he's inordinately jacked.

[170] He's a Navy seal.

[171] He's carrying around, what, 240 of muscle at 511.

[172] He's a superhuman.

[173] And he's been Brad Pitt's trainer for life.

[174] So he was training Coocher for some movie.

[175] I happen to be on vacation.

[176] Duff and I really hit it off and he had brought this documentary faster and it's just MotoGP documentaries.

[177] Right.

[178] And we watch it over and over again all week on this vacation and the whole time I'm like, you're a fucking coward.

[179] If you don't do this, you're a little fucking scared.

[180] I was just berating myself with what a loser I'd be if I couldn't learn to do that.

[181] Oh.

[182] It was like a challenge.

[183] Oh, that sounds dark.

[184] Self -loving.

[185] I hated myself until I could do it.

[186] Do you feel good now?

[187] Are you like, super good?

[188] Yeah.

[189] Yes.

[190] All right.

[191] I do.

[192] I do.

[193] How often are you getting out there?

[194] Well, I got home from that, and I immediately went with Duffy and DeCastro to a track day.

[195] That was probably 17 years ago.

[196] And I probably went once a year every year.

[197] And then two years ago, I started going kind of a lot again, like five or six a year.

[198] Yeah.

[199] And then last year in quarantine at Sonoma, I was finally getting what I would, like the fastest I've ever been for sure.

[200] I was really having fun, passing people doing everything.

[201] And then trying to pass like 12 dudes into a turn, breaking on the inside.

[202] Guy turned in early.

[203] I hit the front of him.

[204] I came.

[205] off.

[206] I broke clavicle in four pieces, four ribs, my hand, the whole nine yards.

[207] So that was my first oopsie.

[208] But in 17 years ago, to the track.

[209] It's pretty good.

[210] I think so.

[211] Do you want to go together?

[212] I'll totally go.

[213] Yeah.

[214] Matt literally text me the other day, and I haven't been in town for so long.

[215] And he texted me and he was like, oh, we're doing a day.

[216] I can't remember where it was.

[217] And I was like, I want to go more.

[218] Yeah.

[219] Because I want to break down the fear of it and also just be like, at least not embarrassingly slow.

[220] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[221] We're going together.

[222] We're now friends.

[223] And I'm going to take you whenever I go, you can come.

[224] Sorry.

[225] Perfect.

[226] And, yeah, perfect.

[227] I had a ZX4 built.

[228] I've heard these are pretty good.

[229] Because my R1 got stolen.

[230] I might step down to a, like a motor tube.

[231] He literally got robbed the other day.

[232] Oh, I got robbed Saturday.

[233] Oh, this Saturday you got robbed here?

[234] Yes.

[235] I was in the sand dunes.

[236] Yeah.

[237] My wife calls me Saturday morning and says, I think your Hellcat's gone.

[238] I go on the UConnect app.

[239] By God, it's in Lancaster.

[240] Told the cops the address, they went there, sitting right there.

[241] I now have it back.

[242] Oh, it's bad.

[243] Oh, good.

[244] I had my second or third bikes in London got stolen, which also I shouldn't have had it, but I had a Dukati 899 in London.

[245] I parked out, I was going to the gym, and I needed some money to pay the boxing trainer, and I was like, oh, just jumped off, kept my helmet on everything, ran to the cash point that was like right there, busy intersection in the middle of London, literally gone for 60 seconds.

[246] And I'm like, walking up and down, I'm like, my brain must be like really messed up.

[247] I don't know where my bike is.

[248] And I'm like, did I not park it right here?

[249] In that time, someone had like driven up, thrown it in the side of a van.

[250] It was like unbelievably fast.

[251] And what's so wild about that is we were just in London, the entire place is camera.

[252] You commit that crime knowing I'm fully being filmed.

[253] Yeah, although conveniently they were in a spot where there were no cameras.

[254] It was outside an old bank and stuff.

[255] And I was like, well, there must be some cameras right to the plate.

[256] And they were like, no, there's not actually on that little bit right there.

[257] And I was like, oh, come on.

[258] When we were there, we took like a 10 mile walk at one point.

[259] I didn't see a police officer one time in 10 miles.

[260] It was like a three hour walk.

[261] What were you guys there for?

[262] My wife was shooting.

[263] And so I took the kids there to visit mom for two weeks.

[264] And then Monica and I recorded some people in London, which was great.

[265] And then we hung out with Daniel Ricardo.

[266] Oh, great.

[267] We had a little day on the town in London together.

[268] I've never met him, but he seems fun.

[269] Who's your guy?

[270] Who's your F -1 guy?

[271] Let me guess.

[272] It's Max.

[273] It's not.

[274] Oh, my God.

[275] Landau?

[276] I like Lando a lot.

[277] I always like McLaren's and the McLaren team because I grew up watching it with Mika Hackanan and that.

[278] Senna, too?

[279] The Senna was a little bit before when I started watching.

[280] Okay.

[281] I like Lewis.

[282] I've met him a few times.

[283] He's always been really cool and sound, and I appreciate what he's done for the sport.

[284] and I'd like to see him win another championship and have the record.

[285] Also, I've been doing a little bit of racing with Ferrari, so I'm also like a Ferrari fan and I like to see Charles Leclair doing well on that as well.

[286] So it's kind of like, I'm not really like rooted in one person.

[287] Like someone has a good race and it's like, it's kind of the same following basketball and all that.

[288] Everyone's like, who's your team?

[289] I'm like, no, there's not a team.

[290] It's like the best storyline in a way.

[291] I agree with that.

[292] I find myself rooting for several of the drivers.

[293] I love Max.

[294] Can we just talk about how unhinged he is?

[295] You want to talk about someone good for the sport?

[296] Like, you don't know what's going to happen.

[297] I mean, the thing for the sport is, like, I have loads of people talking to me about it now because of the documentary.

[298] You have to survive.

[299] Everyone's now, like, really into it, which is fun for someone who's kind of been into it for a while.

[300] Is it annoying or do you like it?

[301] No, I like it.

[302] Oh, okay.

[303] Yeah, I'm not like, oh, I was first.

[304] I was first.

[305] What are you doing?

[306] Yeah, because it's not like I was, like, some diehard fan that, like, knew, like, the minuscule details and, like, oh.

[307] That's fair.

[308] But if the whole world became obsessed with going to sand dunes, I wouldn't like it.

[309] The whole world showed up at Buttonwillow to do a track day.

[310] I don't know.

[311] I don't know if I'd like it.

[312] That's what's nice about, but when I was, it's kind of removed.

[313] And they have a new track.

[314] You know, they're going to open up soon.

[315] Oh, yeah?

[316] Yeah.

[317] They've built an entirely new, beautiful track that's not open yet, but it's about to be open.

[318] Maybe we will be at one of the inaugural rides.

[319] I don't know that.

[320] Should we end the interview and just get on some motorcycles and blast out of here?

[321] Okay.

[322] So back to when I didn't remember meeting you.

[323] Was I nice?

[324] Yeah.

[325] Okay.

[326] Yeah, yeah, you knew, you were perfectly nice.

[327] Then that was more why I was like, I don't know, I just had this fear that you were, like, thought that I was a dick.

[328] And I was like, oh, man, and I wasn't.

[329] I don't think I was.

[330] No, you're clearly not a dick.

[331] You know what happens is, if you ever, like, had a server that you know really well, like you go to the same restaurant, you know each other, you have a rapport, you bump into them in the grocery store and you can't place it.

[332] Has that ever happened to you?

[333] Like, out of context.

[334] I have face blindness and name, like, just can't remember anyone's name suddenly.

[335] And all of those things strike me in the wrong moment where I'm like, how about when you've got, like, eight friends with you and you've got to introduce all of them?

[336] I'd do that.

[337] Good for you.

[338] I just avoid that completely because I'm like, and definitely are going to bomb this.

[339] Yeah.

[340] So I just go, I just go, you've all met, right?

[341] And then they can figure it out because it's just, it's too much stress.

[342] Because I do also think, like, when I'm at the track, it's so removed from Hollywood in the best way, which is why I love going there.

[343] I just don't, like, I'm in a different headspace.

[344] There's no way I'm talking to other actors or other anything.

[345] Yeah, well, you're focusing on other stuff, hopefully, trying to be alive.

[346] I'm really getting excited about this future motorcycle relationship.

[347] I know, I'm a little, you know.

[348] The whole interview is going to be about it.

[349] No, you were going to step back from racing.

[350] Because of the accident?

[351] Well, I had a new bike built, so I was always going back.

[352] Okay.

[353] Well, this is the thing, because I'm so slow in the bikes, I'm like, well, you can never really race.

[354] In cars, I'm like, better.

[355] I've got some speed.

[356] Ferrari's been very kind of, kind of let me into their program a little bit, and I'm like...

[357] Are you doing Ferrari Challenge?

[358] I was in Miami the last two days doing their Corside Pilota.

[359] Okay.

[360] And just finished, like, the second stage of that and was doing some good -ish times, you know, considering I'm not getting, like, a whole lot of track time.

[361] So I was like, what are you in?

[362] That you're in an F8.

[363] Oh, really?

[364] The next stage is when you get into the challenge car.

[365] But we did a lap in the challenge car, which is like different level, completely insane.

[366] Oh, I'm so excited for you.

[367] I'm sorry.

[368] I'm like, sorry to like just only talk about.

[369] I did a similar thing with Lamborghini.

[370] Oh, you did the Super Trafeo series.

[371] Right, okay.

[372] How was it?

[373] It's incredible.

[374] Well, you know, you grew up watching racing.

[375] To show up and there's a car there and like there's a team and then you get in and drive seems impossible.

[376] And it's also there's like this beautiful ability to like really see progression.

[377] and if you're good at something with that sort of stuff.

[378] Whereas, like, in our game, there's not really that so much.

[379] It's like, yeah, people reviewed that well and, like, whatever.

[380] But otherwise, it's like, did I do well?

[381] Yeah, exactly.

[382] There's no metrics.

[383] It's like, clearly, they look at the telemetry and they're like, you were early.

[384] And you're like, oh, was I?

[385] And they're like, yeah, clearly you lost half a second here.

[386] Well, that is what's wild and now available that wasn't available when I started driving, which is like, you think you ran a certain lap.

[387] Like, in your mind, like, well, I break as late as one could break in turn five.

[388] And now they know, like the cars have so many sensors on them, and they're getting a real -time data output of it, and they look at you and they go, no, no, you broke at the fifth marker.

[389] Sorry to tell you.

[390] You've got to be dead honest.

[391] What do you drive in real life?

[392] I don't have the car.

[393] Sean, who I mentioned earlier, it works for Indian and go Takanami, who has a custom shop down in Long Beach.

[394] He does these brat -style bikes, and they've just built me a custom Indian chief.

[395] Oh, really?

[396] She's dropping off tomorrow.

[397] I saw it for the first time last week, and it's beautiful.

[398] I'm, like, so excited.

[399] So then I'll be riding around on that, yeah.

[400] Okay.

[401] Is your dad still alive?

[402] Yeah.

[403] Okay, good.

[404] Yeah, yeah.

[405] He actually got into bikes after me as well, interestingly, because he saw the fun I was having and was like, oh, I want to try that.

[406] And I think it was also like a little bit of a father bonding sort of nice thing.

[407] And so you guys will ride together.

[408] Yeah.

[409] You guys were closer right now?

[410] Yeah, he was an airline pilot, so he was back and forth a lot traveling, but close, yeah.

[411] Like a commercial?

[412] Yeah, for British Airways.

[413] So did you get to travel a ton as a kid, like, for free?

[414] Yeah, a fair bit.

[415] Where do English people go?

[416] Like, we all go to Orlando, Florida.

[417] I don't think we went to Orlando.

[418] It's a shame.

[419] It's a damn shame.

[420] We did get to travel a fair bit.

[421] Did you go to Africa?

[422] Yes, we went to Kenya.

[423] It's one of my favorite ones, and it's actually one of the clearest ones, even though I was, like, four or five.

[424] But I remember because we'd gone at Christmas time, and Santa Claus was on a camel on the beach, which at that age, you're like, oh, this is quite an image that you remember.

[425] My older brother and sister were watching Chitty, Chitty, Chitty Bang, you know?

[426] Oh, we watched it last night.

[427] Right.

[428] Literally.

[429] They were watching that.

[430] Yeah.

[431] And you know the bit with the child catcher comes like upstairs and they're hidden under the floor or whatever?

[432] Yeah, yeah.

[433] That bit got to me, I guess, and I like freaked out and like ran out of the room that we were using.

[434] Like, you know, when you have the connecting rooms, went into my mom and dad's room and was like, ah, they're watching a scary movie, blah, blah, blah.

[435] And he like passed in there, like, ready to like scold my brother and sister being like, what are you watching?

[436] Like, it's traumatic for him thinking they were watching something terrible.

[437] It was chitty, jitty, bang, bang.

[438] Oh, my God.

[439] And you were raised largely because dad was traveling a bunch.

[440] And then your brother, I guess he was at a boarding school or something, your older brother?

[441] No, no, no, no. He was at home till 18.

[442] Then he went off to uni, but he was 12 years older than me. Oh, 12 years older.

[443] So you were six.

[444] Yeah.

[445] Okay, so the point is you spent a great deal of time around sisters and a mom.

[446] Yeah.

[447] This is ideal.

[448] Anyone who has a boy, I just wish they could figure out how to get this done, where you're basically raised by women.

[449] Yeah.

[450] Do you think it's a good, ultimately?

[451] I feel like it's been good for me. Yeah.

[452] What is it that you see about it?

[453] Well, I had a single mother.

[454] I didn't really have a dad around.

[455] So I think I'm very comfortable chatting about emotions.

[456] I'll talk about that forever.

[457] I like to sit and look eye to eye and talk to people.

[458] That's very much a female way of communicating.

[459] Like, boys are supposed to play an activity and look in different directions.

[460] And then maybe they'll talk, but probably not.

[461] But women will sit down and they'll still write at each other and they'll start chatting.

[462] And I clearly got that from being raised by a woman.

[463] Which is good for podcasts.

[464] It's incredibly useful.

[465] That would terrify me. The idea of trying to host a podcast, that was like, Oh, why?

[466] The pressure of, like, having to be able to talk, that's, like, scary.

[467] Did you ever do improv?

[468] Not really, no. Do English people have improv?

[469] I don't think it's as big as it is on the scene here.

[470] It's not an institution there.

[471] How old were you when you did about a boy, 11, 12?

[472] I was 11, yeah.

[473] And do you know, Nicholas was in his first movie at 5 years old?

[474] You're younger than Delta.

[475] Oh, wow.

[476] That's so young.

[477] That was a film called Intimate Relations.

[478] I was the time I was just, I wasn't a big role in it.

[479] So you were in a porn when you were five years old?

[480] yeah check it out all i did was be like i was julie walt was grandson and i had to eat like cake and did you eat too much because you didn't know better and get a little tummyache maybe but i feel like i'm pretty good at eating and not getting a tummyate which is like yeah you're made you're cut of a different cloth you're a specimen that's what's going to be able to do that but you also did ballet yeah yeah which is weirdly i'm like trying to learn this dance routine for this job but the moment and i suddenly like oh this is lucky that i did ballet and again that goes to growing up around a lot of women and being in that world and being comfortable.

[481] What was it like, though, at school?

[482] I think I was pretty lucky where it was like, I got up in a pretty nice area most of time.

[483] And obviously there's bits where you're like, this is awkward, and I definitely feel like I don't want to draw attention to myself.

[484] Yeah, yeah.

[485] But then there's also that bit of you that you're also like, all right, well, don't show weakness.

[486] Well, that's what I'm saying.

[487] If you're doing ballet and you're in movies and you're a boy, these are some potential areas where people could ridicule you.

[488] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[489] But you're also big for your age?

[490] You're big for your age now.

[491] You are quite tall.

[492] How tall are you?

[493] Like six, two?

[494] When we hugged, it was comparable.

[495] I felt right.

[496] I felt like I was being held.

[497] Finally.

[498] Here's what I'm getting at.

[499] You ultimately left, I guess, what would be normal school, and then went to an actual theater school for a minute.

[500] And that was not for you.

[501] So what I'm imagining is that even though you were dabbling in all these areas that are artistic and stuff, something tells me you also just like being a, normal boy who was playing sports on the team and that whole thing yeah yeah i think that was that and the school i went to sylvia young's theater school which is a brilliant school and like they have the agency that like i joined through my sister when i was five that like led to me being able to work and stuff so that they're brilliant for that and also like they do fantastic drama classes and singing and dancing and all that sort of stuff but when you go to the full -time school it's like monday tuesday wednesday you're doing mass and english and all that and then Thursday friday singing and dancing and that stuff and I'm just not a very good singer or dancer so I felt like a bit useless on that side you had one foot in like work mode and one foot in like all right just go like back to school and hang out and I don't know you wanted yours more like compartmentalize like for the six months I'm a kid and it was also like just after about a boy and it was also when at that age even you're aware that like people talk about like kid actors failing and all this sort of stuff and like how bad it's going to be and how tough it's going to be so like suddenly having all your eggs in one bar ask it at that point is like quite an intimidating thing that was going to be one of my questions like at that age are you aware of like this kind of archetypal arc of a can i use arc an arc archetypal arc that sounds redundant anyways this kind of well worried about trajectory of child actors were you aware of all the pitfalls and the improbability that you would have a sustained career as an adult i didn't know what like the architect's what i wasn't like oh this person had this happen and all that sort of stuff but like it viewers or like people around you just hear like murmurs of it and all that sort of stuff so it's like clearly something that there's a good chance apparently right right right and at that age like how out of 10 how obsessed with being an actor were you where has it peaked and where is it now it was probably slightly lower because of the awareness of the potential of not doing it you don't go like 10 this is everything because it's like then if it doesn't you don't want to let yourself get too excited yeah so then it's like because then if it doesn't happen or it doesn't work out then you'll be like damn, that was a 10.

[502] Yeah, yeah.

[503] So, like, yeah, maybe I'd put it around a 7.

[504] After about a boy comes out, you're an ginormous hit movie.

[505] At that point, are you like, oh, shit, this is probably the only time it's going to happen?

[506] Or are you able to just go like, this is awesome?

[507] And I'm not going to worry about whether it happens again, or what were you thinking?

[508] No, there was more like, I was like, oh, is that the peak?

[509] I mean, you couldn't have had too many evolved.

[510] That's if you were 11.

[511] I clearly don't even have that many evolved for it was now.

[512] So I doubt I was having that many then.

[513] Well, I know what happens on paper.

[514] You just continue to work, and then you get on this show that everyone loves in England.

[515] You're at your most awkward as a boy.

[516] You're like, what, 15 or 16 or something?

[517] Yeah, 16, 17.

[518] We were doing that, yeah.

[519] So that's a little scary, I guess.

[520] You know what?

[521] That didn't feel going in too scary because there was no expectations on that show.

[522] It was good writing and like a really fun, wonderful group.

[523] It kind of felt like high school or college years, whatever it is at that age.

[524] It was just really fun.

[525] And then when it was successful, it was kind of like, oh, that worked out well.

[526] Yeah.

[527] People really liked it.

[528] Yeah, yeah.

[529] So there wasn't like, whilst we were doing it, there wasn't like, this has got a hit.

[530] Yeah, you're getting the 8 o 'clock slot on Thursday where we put our best shows and it's going to be this.

[531] Yeah, it was like the first time the E4, which is, Channel 4 is like one of the bigger channels in England and E4 was like their spinoff more digital when like, you know, it seems so long ago now.

[532] Yeah, they're more, and it was like the first show that they had commissioned for that channel.

[533] But like, I don't know what I'd equate it to now.

[534] I was just thinking in my head how much all of that's changed so much.

[535] Oh, yeah.

[536] Growing up, it was like we We had channel one, two, three, four, five, and that was kind of it.

[537] And then I gradually got a couple more.

[538] And then it was like, all right, now you've got 20.

[539] And now I'm like, whoa.

[540] Yeah, now there's 16 streaming platforms and you still have 140 channels.

[541] And then you spend your whole evening, like, going through.

[542] Seriously, it's like an hour of just scrolling.

[543] And then I'm like, I guess I'm tired.

[544] And then I go to bed.

[545] Does that happen to you, too?

[546] Oh, all the time.

[547] Yeah.

[548] All the time.

[549] I scroll for a little bit.

[550] And then I'd be like, you scroll.

[551] I've scrolled.

[552] You're going through that.

[553] You hand it off.

[554] like, we'll do 50 -50 scrolling.

[555] And then, and then be like, there's clearly nothing out there.

[556] We must have started nine things in the dunes.

[557] What have you started?

[558] I don't want to say them because ultimately I turned them all off.

[559] And then it became this thing where Aaron's like, you've got to tighten up the duration before you exit these things.

[560] So then we found ourselves, like we had to make a verdict in two minutes.

[561] Like if this show or Doc didn't grab us in two minutes on to the next, totally lethal in contra.

[562] Right.

[563] Can you imagine?

[564] Like, what a shitty consumer I am.

[565] I felt guilty being in this.

[566] business in doing that.

[567] But the stakes were high.

[568] We needed something.

[569] We must have started seven documentaries.

[570] And I was just like, no, don't care.

[571] Weren't feeling it.

[572] Yeah.

[573] It's got to be real hooky in two minutes for a doctor.

[574] It really does.

[575] It does.

[576] Okay.

[577] So then after that show, the next thing is you audition for Tom Ford.

[578] Yeah.

[579] And you get a role in a single man. When I look at all the things you've done, you're on this incredible trajectory.

[580] Like, everything's just pretty high quality and with good people and it's fortunate but I think that's a big chunk of the puzzle is it not getting in that movie oh yeah completely and that was actually meant to be someone else in that film I don't know it was like two weeks before or something and so I got a phone call from agent being like hey can you go on tape for this thing tomorrow and I was like yeah I'm good did it and then got a phone call at like 3 am or 4 in the next morning being like can you get on a plane to L .A. to go have dinner with Tom Ford who at that point I had no idea who Tom Ford was I wasn't like particularly aware of fashion world or any of that stuff there's like me at the fucking motorcycle track talking to you I didn't know.

[581] I was out to launch.

[582] Definitely very different level.

[583] But I didn't know, like, we went to Sunset Town.

[584] I sat down and had dinner with him.

[585] And at that point, I'd also done that stupid thing where I looked him up on IMDB.

[586] And all it says on IMDB for him was like Zoolander himself.

[587] Yeah.

[588] And I was like, oh, that's cool.

[589] Now he's like directing this film with Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.

[590] And I was like, that's so good for him.

[591] What a leaf.

[592] And so I literally asked that question.

[593] I was like, how did this end up happening?

[594] Oh, good.

[595] And he was so nice.

[596] He was very humble about it.

[597] He kind of was like, you know, I was in fashion all this sort of stuff.

[598] And I'm like, oh, interesting.

[599] That sounds good.

[600] Fashion night.

[601] So it sounds like you cobbled together a living from that?

[602] I'm like, my business has been good.

[603] And then I went back to the hotel and I was like, let's Google off of IMD.

[604] The first images that pop up are like him on the front of Vanity Fair with the Kiranite and I'm like, oh, that's interesting.

[605] He didn't make it sound like it was that big of a deal.

[606] And then I guess his own brand launched like right after that film released, I think, because we wore his suits to the premiere in Venice and stuff, and it was like, oh, this is nice.

[607] Well, you guys even did, like, you were in a campaign, right?

[608] Yeah, yeah, I did an eyewear campaign.

[609] Again, all this stuff just happens last minute where I was like, we were doing a photo shoot for a magazine, I think.

[610] And then Tom was like, hey, I'm doing the eyewear campaign tomorrow.

[611] Do you want to do that?

[612] Wow.

[613] No. Not before 10, right?

[614] Yeah, yeah, I can do that.

[615] It was like all these bizarre things that just kind of happened last minute.

[616] And you're like, oh, that was nice.

[617] I feel like you have a great attitude about life, which is probably why you're rewarded over and over again.

[618] About just things happening.

[619] You know, like, it doesn't seem like you're too concerned about...

[620] Every little thing.

[621] Yeah, yeah.

[622] I guess that maybe that's just part of, like, so much been out of my control for so long.

[623] In terms of, like, I don't know, this business.

[624] This is what acceptance mode looks like.

[625] Yeah, this is what it is.

[626] Sometimes it goes your way.

[627] Sometimes it doesn't.

[628] I'm not going to take it personal.

[629] That was probably ingrained by my mom because, like, there were times when you'd audition for things four or five times a week.

[630] There were definitely times where I was like, I don't know if I want to do this anymore.

[631] Like, that's been a lot of rejection to tape.

[632] I think that's what keeps other actors from wanting their kids to do it.

[633] But at the same time, I'm like, it's such a character builder.

[634] Would you let your kids go into it if they wanted to?

[635] Yeah, I don't want them to do it as children.

[636] I want them to have, like, a quote, real life as possible, I guess, so they can bring that shit ultimately.

[637] But, like, acting's a fucking great racket if you can get it.

[638] If you can make a living in it, like, I've had all the other jobs.

[639] They're not as good as acting.

[640] It's pretty amazing.

[641] It is.

[642] When I'm talking to other parents of actors who are so opposed to it, I'm like, What job have you had that you think's better that you'd rather see your kid doing?

[643] Like, if they go hang out with peers and shoot the shit for 90 % of the day and then work for 5 % of it?

[644] That's a good job.

[645] The thing that I always think about it is that you get to basically just live a thousand lives and do a thousand things, all in one.

[646] Like, the stories, the places you're traveling, the people you meet, and the characters you're playing, and like the stuff you learn to then try and play them and the skills that people give you to try and, so you suddenly just get this wealth of stuff coming at you.

[647] Well, take Mad Max Fury Road.

[648] Like, you're in a, Yeah.

[649] In a desert.

[650] What, 12 years?

[651] How long did you guys make that movie?

[652] In decades?

[653] Yeah, we were there for, I mean, some people were there for a long, over a year, I think.

[654] I was there for like seven, eight months, I think.

[655] Okay, seven, eight months in the Namibian desert.

[656] Wow.

[657] That is a trip that, like, someone might plot out 30 years in advance.

[658] When they retire, they're going to go do this thing.

[659] You know, like, I always think of it as like parachuting into things like I got to do two USO tours where I went to Afghanistan and I feel like I just kind of materialized and I was in a war and I was like this is really surreal even in that moment were you like I shouldn't be here oh no I'm like I belong here oh yeah arrogantly I'm like this is this is my kind of thing yeah but I've only at that point just watched war movies as everyone else has and I've seen people flying helicopters and then I'm just I'm in a flack jacket hanging outside of a helicopter flying around and I'm like, I'm in this movie.

[660] How did I get here?

[661] That's the moment where something would happen where I'd be like, oh, no, this is real.

[662] And I am not cut out or equipped for this.

[663] That happened to us on the first trip.

[664] We're having a great time.

[665] We're doing a live show.

[666] Base gets bombed, an RPG, then another RPG.

[667] Then everyone's got to run and getting these bunkers.

[668] And then we're all waiting for the bombing to end.

[669] And again, I was like, this movie is fucking, what a plot twist.

[670] Like, here we are in these, like, we're getting the real experience.

[671] Like, this is no joke.

[672] And I'm grateful.

[673] for, as much as one can be grateful for bombs going off.

[674] I'm, of course, don't want anyone to get injured to fuel my narcissistic fantasy of experiencing all things, yet if no one gets hurt, and I just got to experience, I'm like, I would love it.

[675] But movies are the same way.

[676] You show up somewhere and they go like, okay, you're kayaking over this waterfall.

[677] You're like, well, I would have normally had to train 10 years for this and save money, and here I am.

[678] So I'm imagining being here and everyone else in this base being terrified and just looking around there like this, the best.

[679] That it would sound disrespectful to the troops that were over there that we were there to entertain.

[680] We've had this discussion before.

[681] We have had it.

[682] We have.

[683] So again, or I was an enormous fan of yours.

[684] I saw that movie.

[685] I totally know your character.

[686] When I was researching you and I went back and watched, I was like, oh, my guy, he's one of the most memorable characters of the thing.

[687] I just didn't put any of it together.

[688] I think you've had this experience twice, if I recall, where you're a part of something.

[689] There's this elaborate choreography, and you've just got to trust that it all is going to make sense after the fact.

[690] Because likely it doesn't make a ton of sense while you're doing it.

[691] I'm trying to think of the other thing you did.

[692] Yeah, I was trying to think of it when you said that.

[693] I was like, you seem to know my life better than me at the moment.

[694] I have to consult this piece of paper.

[695] I believe you.

[696] Weatherman.

[697] I told someone that was a good movie.

[698] You did?

[699] Yeah, because I was chatting to someone.

[700] We were talking about Nicholas Cage, and I was like, oh, I played his son in something.

[701] I don't normally watch things back, but I did go back and watch that.

[702] That's 14 when I did it.

[703] And I went back and watched that as adult.

[704] And I was like, I like this film as adult.

[705] Yeah.

[706] It's a good film.

[707] It's a good film.

[708] It's written by Stephen Conrad.

[709] Did you get to meet Stephen?

[710] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[711] I've spoken to him since.

[712] Did you watch The Patriot?

[713] Yeah, yeah, of course I've seen The Patriot.

[714] Is that not the greatest show other than The Great?

[715] Wait.

[716] The Patriot.

[717] The show The Patriot.

[718] I'm so sorry.

[719] I was like, yeah, I've seen The Patriot.

[720] I thought you were talking about the film.

[721] Well, appreciate your honesty, first of all, because that's hard to go back.

[722] He said, I love it.

[723] I committed to it.

[724] Yeah.

[725] I still love it.

[726] You're brave.

[727] I haven't seen it.

[728] I would have gone with it.

[729] Well, I was starting to try and evaluate.

[730] I do this sometimes in meetings when they're like, have you seen this film?

[731] And I'm like, no, I've never heard of it.

[732] Can't fake that one.

[733] And then if they say another one, I'm like, I've got to start saying some of these things.

[734] So I'll be like, yeah, yeah, I've seen it.

[735] They'll mention a scene and I'll be like, mm -hmm, good.

[736] I loved it.

[737] Memorable.

[738] Lovely cinematography, beautiful film.

[739] And then so I try and gauge which ones I can say that I've seen.

[740] And if I've seen like the poster for it at least, or if I know who's in something, then I'm like, all right, this is going to be easier to fake.

[741] There's some ethics to it too.

[742] It's like you might be able to say you saw Godfather and you didn't it, But probably Schindler's list, don't, you can't fake it.

[743] Don't say you say that.

[744] Right.

[745] I have seen it.

[746] Okay.

[747] But don't quiz me about it right now.

[748] I've seen both.

[749] See both.

[750] To my credit, I've seen both.

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

[752] What's up, guys?

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

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

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

[756] Every episode, I bring on a friend and have a friend.

[757] a real conversation.

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

[759] I mean the likes of Amy Polar, Kell Mitchell, Vivica Fox, the list goes on.

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

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

[762] We've all been there.

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

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

[765] But for an unlucky few, these unsuspecting symptoms can start the clock ticking on a terrifying medical mystery.

[766] 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.

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

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

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

[770] Follow Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries wherever you get your podcasts.

[771] Prime members can listen early and add free on Amazon Music.

[772] Okay, The Patriot.

[773] You're going to love this.

[774] It's the best show.

[775] It's a great show.

[776] Nothing to do with the film.

[777] Nothing to do with the film.

[778] It's on Amazon Prime.

[779] You must watch it.

[780] It's the most incredible.

[781] There's two seasons.

[782] It's a perfect, perfect show.

[783] Oh, brilliant.

[784] Okay, I'll check it out.

[785] Because I do love his writing.

[786] I think his writing's brilliant.

[787] And then he had another show right after that called Perpetual Grace.

[788] Okay.

[789] Ben Kingsley is the lead.

[790] But I have worked with Sir Ben Kingsley.

[791] Oh, you have.

[792] We did this film.

[793] called Collide in Germany, like eight years ago.

[794] I don't know, my timelines are all messed up.

[795] But I remember having a really nice discussion with him.

[796] We were chatting in between scenes.

[797] And he just kind of broke down, like, just said how much he loved acting still.

[798] Which to hear from Serban at that point, like, you could tell he was having fun.

[799] Being someone else.

[800] And it was like being outrageous and being ridiculous and like all that.

[801] And you kind of just get to be all these different versions of your personality.

[802] Yeah, you're all in the greats very much wish fulfillment in some dark recess of all of us, man. Like the idea that I could just be the ruler.

[803] of this country, do absolutely nothing but fuck and get drunk and shoot people when I'm bored.

[804] I mean, it's like the Id's dream.

[805] Bass.

[806] Yeah.

[807] Back to Glory Road.

[808] I'm sorry.

[809] Fury Road.

[810] Glory Road.

[811] Back to Glory Hall.

[812] Which, um...

[813] You've been in so many porn.

[814] If you're filmed the glory hole.

[815] No, Fury Road.

[816] It was the favorite.

[817] The favorite you also had to do a bunch of choreography.

[818] Like you were explaining, which I thought was really cool, is that the director of that would have you just start like, grab her, now do this.

[819] Now you're laughing.

[820] Yeah, really interesting.

[821] And I would actually say that Fury Road and the favorite were those two directors, George and Yorgos, were the two most similar audition processes and like kind of building in terms of how they get performances out of you as an actor.

[822] It was interesting to see how they both compare.

[823] Because like George's thing, we did like this four, five hour audition for that where it was like for maybe the last half hour we were doing scenes, but the rest of it was like observation games and like word association and blah blah and all this sort of stuff.

[824] And Yorgos did similar stuff where like in the auditioning was like right now there's an imaginary beam and you have to harm every time the other person's talking and now salsa dance when they talk but don't let it affect how you perform and stuff like that and that was all the rehearsal stuff as well which is really fun oh wow and it's just weird and that because you're like I don't know how much of a fool I'm making out of myself I haven't had any theater training either but between talking to Monica and my wife who both majored in that and then having done growlings it seems like half the process is just embarrassing the fuck out of yourself in front of all these people and then you go oh yeah I can live through that but feeling safe while doing Yeah, this would happen to the growling.

[825] You're a lion, you're a chicken, you're a gazoo.

[826] You know, everyone walk around this room is, and you're just like, oh, my God.

[827] No, I took a clown class.

[828] Like, that's an actual class that I took.

[829] And you wear the nose and you clown.

[830] What was your, like, clowns guilt?

[831] You corrected the other clowns.

[832] No, you didn't talk.

[833] The clowns don't talk.

[834] But they do have their own very specific thing, like we had to come up with.

[835] And I don't remember what mine was because I have a bad memory now.

[836] But I do remember being really good at.

[837] clowning.

[838] Okay.

[839] So you were a standout, but you can't remember how you were a standout.

[840] I remember once being put into a singing competition dressed as a clown.

[841] So maybe there's some weird thing where if you just get embarrassed enough in life, it's like you just kind of live to a point where you're like, yeah.

[842] Particularly in that environment, which you say, like a safe, fine place to be embarrassed.

[843] Like in life, if I get embarrassed, I'm like, oh, this is horrible.

[844] Like, I'll start to cry.

[845] Me too.

[846] That's my instinct.

[847] Eyeballs start welling up.

[848] I'm like, oh, bright red.

[849] I'm like, get me out of here.

[850] The saddest thing I've seen in the last 10 years was Monica walked into a glass door no it was yeah right was it no it wasn't glass that's even worse okay and we weren't very close yet so she collided with this door and I thought well the move is everyone laughs no big whoop that wasn't the move and then Monica left I had to cry yeah but then I was crying so wait did you start the laugh I believe so yeah I thought I was trying like this is funny yes I think that was my move which is what I do when I'm embarrassed I just kind of start laughing uncontrollably.

[851] Is there a lane of things that embarrass you more than others?

[852] Like, Monica's is walking into shit primarily as the big.

[853] I guess physical, yeah.

[854] Unaptitude physically.

[855] I've never categorized it before.

[856] The one that's popping up in my brain is a friend of mine who's now really famous and successful, but he used to love saying my name really loudly on the tube.

[857] And the more that he would see me just like go into my shell, the more he'd get enjoyment out of doing.

[858] attention does that count as a category it does yeah yeah yeah absolutely most of my friends in the first 10 years I was working were all comedians and that is the game it's like you're in the back of the liquor store they're at the counter and you go like Will Arnett from Arrested Development do you want to die coke I'm in the cool look like just try to fucking humiliate the person and that's like a bit yeah yeah and it's fun for everyone but the person yeah I'm to start trying to flip it back on people more Yeah, yeah, it's real fun to do.

[859] It's not fun to be the recipient of, but...

[860] You'll hear me over like the loudspeaker next time you're on the track.

[861] Can we get employee of the month, Dax Shepard?

[862] Back to Mad Max Ferry Road.

[863] So do you have the type of disposition that with the favorite or Mad Max where it's like, you're not sure what this plan is, but fuck it.

[864] I trust this guy, George Miller, and I can just table the fact that I don't know what's going on.

[865] Yeah, I'm pretty trusting in that.

[866] I'm like, they're pros.

[867] There's a reason that they've made great movies, and you have not made any great movies.

[868] You don't know what you're doing.

[869] So, like, if they ask you to do something, then try it and commit to it.

[870] But can I say something?

[871] Because I think you're a great actor.

[872] And I think what's stood in my way quite often is that exact thing.

[873] It's like, if I can't rent my head around the thing they're asking me to do, I'm liable to not do it.

[874] I hate to admit.

[875] There's definitely been times, by the way, when people have been like, hey, and you're like, I don't know.

[876] This doesn't feel right.

[877] But then that's probably speaking of bigger things about the whole.

[878] story or character or whatever it is that you're doing as opposed to like that exact moment then there's probably questions about how you both see it I guess but it sounds like someone like george maylick could take you and could help you build something that becomes spectacular because you're open to it potentially yeah i see that as courage no control issues yeah i don't mind just being like yeah go on maybe that'll blow up maybe it's already blown up so far so good mad max is like my bible not mad max road warrior road warrior i saw that when i was like eight years old and i love cars and motorcycle.

[879] So that movie is everything.

[880] So, A, did you like those movies growing up?

[881] Had you seen World Warrior?

[882] I had not seen them.

[883] Okay.

[884] I think they were, they were again slightly before.

[885] Well, yeah, you're two years younger than Monica.

[886] Oh, no. Yes, bad news, Monica.

[887] This is a trend.

[888] She was always the younger, like the first three years we did this, she was always the youngest person here.

[889] And lately, it's certain.

[890] I know the feeling, because I used to always be the youngest person on set.

[891] And now it's got to the point where there's like people being my kids.

[892] I think our business more than any other will point out to you how old you are in this very peculiar way.

[893] I had a great conversation with this actress I was working on a show with.

[894] The script came out and basically they were starting her storyline that she had Alzheimer's.

[895] And I said to her, isn't this business weird?

[896] It's like I never felt like I was old enough to play someone with kids.

[897] But then I just found myself on a TV show where I had a son.

[898] And I'm like, yeah, I guess that makes sense.

[899] Everyone else agreed this makes sense.

[900] I must be that age.

[901] Like I've seen this fuck with some older actors.

[902] I was like, Zeke on parenthood.

[903] Like Craig T. Nelson, he found out, you know, he's going to die this.

[904] season.

[905] He's like, you know, there's a weird fucking thing to know that this is plausible and reasonable that your character would die because you're that age.

[906] And there's also in this industry, there's like, there is a little bit of that Robin Hood sort of thing where it can keep you pretty young mentally and stimulated and like, you're always bouncing around.

[907] And I think also time travels at a different pace because it's like, I'm shooting this for three months, four months here, and then blah, blah.

[908] And then suddenly it's like, oh, five years went by.

[909] Yeah, I certainly feel that where I'm like, I'm 31 now and I'll suddenly like, oh.

[910] You're right.

[911] Because it's compartmentalized, they almost all feel like summer breaks, Like, oh, summer breaks here.

[912] I'm going to doing this for three months.

[913] Like that increment for some reason feels right.

[914] At your age, 32, I was like, okay, it is time to have children.

[915] But you're ahead of that schedule.

[916] You have a two -year -old?

[917] Three -year -old now.

[918] Three -year -old.

[919] Three -year -old.

[920] Yeah, yeah.

[921] Boy, oh, how fun.

[922] Yeah, it's really fun.

[923] Have you got a bicycle already picked out for him?

[924] He's got a little bicycle.

[925] The stabilizers have come off a little bit, as long as I'm, like, running alongside, which is a different level of, like, fitness.

[926] I've realized, like, dad fitness.

[927] because it's like you're hunched over, holding, running as fast as you can.

[928] I don't know what that does to your hamstrings.

[929] Maybe you can ask your own mate who's like the trainer for Duffy.

[930] Yeah, I was Duffy and be like, what is that?

[931] Because after doing that for like five minutes, I'm walking home.

[932] And I'm like, limping.

[933] I don't know what's going on that.

[934] Oh, my thing was just bending over and taking the baby out of the cradle.

[935] I threw my back out like five times in the first year.

[936] Lincoln was born.

[937] I was like, this baby's eight pounds.

[938] It's not like I can't lift eight pounds, but it's just where the cradle is.

[939] Maybe that's where the dad.

[940] bod comes from from like very specific movements like picking a baby up out of a crib bicycle there probably is a little bit I noticed that like you kind of do that like hip hold a little bit and holding for a long time sometimes walking a long way like sticking your hip out holding onto this weight I don't know yeah totally out of balance yeah and like your spinal like yeah it's really not something that's great well the other thing I notice is like I always carried her like a football on my forearm and I was like oh this is great for the biceps like I always felt like I had a little mild pump on.

[941] That's what the dad bodd is.

[942] It's like the arms are strong and the body's a mess.

[943] But then there's a little bit of a gut, but like, yeah, and a little hunch.

[944] Yeah.

[945] I think we figured something out today.

[946] Oh, my gosh.

[947] Science.

[948] Yeah, exactly.

[949] Love it.

[950] Okay, I'm going to move on from Gloryhole.

[951] But you're in the desert and you're in these crazy cars and they're all running around you.

[952] Yeah.

[953] And if ever there was a moment you could actually buy into the scenario you're in, I got to imagine that's the one because it's the scope of it.

[954] was so fucking big.

[955] Oh, it was Matt.

[956] There would be like, I don't know, 100 vehicles, bikes and that was huge V -12s and W -12s and all these, like, massive monster trucks around.

[957] You'd be sitting there and the stunt team were incredible.

[958] They'd give, like, everyone the signal to, like, start up.

[959] And also the amazing thing about that was Hugh Keyes Burn, who played the Emorton Joe, who played the toe cutter back in the original Mad Max's, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago.

[960] He had this amazing thing with all the war boys where he would put images of his face up around the stunt gym, and he would make everyone recite like nursery rhymes.

[961] and it was kind of this cult -like thing where he was our leader.

[962] And then you'd see the whole stunt team and all the cars and everyone who was playing these war boys and start to work themselves into a frenzy on these vehicles and the drums and the engines and like all the...

[963] So it would literally be there and the hairs on your arms would stand up.

[964] You know what it makes me think of is like if you could find yourself in the hawker.

[965] Do you know the hawker?

[966] Yeah.

[967] Yeah.

[968] Like I always watch the all blacks do the hawker and I'm like, I have a sense of how they feel during that and I want a taste of it.

[969] Is it pronounced hawker?

[970] What do you say?

[971] it is.

[972] The hacker?

[973] Yeah, I always thought the hacker.

[974] That's an English -American thing, I think.

[975] That's why I was slightly glazed when you first said it.

[976] And you probably thought I was being disrespectful to indigenous Maori people.

[977] I was like, now I'm saying it wrong, so I'm not sure.

[978] Do you know what they're saying?

[979] No. But I watch it before rugby matches is when I've seen it.

[980] And I can't imagine it's great.

[981] I feel like it's probably...

[982] It's most of it's like, our dicks are bigger than yours.

[983] It's all about their dicks.

[984] Right, right, right.

[985] Which I love.

[986] So primal.

[987] I love dicks so much.

[988] I need you to know.

[989] Nicholas, before we go ride motorcycles, I fucking just can't get enough of her.

[990] It's only half of a joke.

[991] Well, I do enjoy watching penises in movies.

[992] I think it's hilarious.

[993] Every time I see a penis in a movie, I think it's so funny.

[994] It's been used comedically a lot over the last decade, and it always works for me. I'm trying to think of the funniest dick moments.

[995] Have you seen righteous gemstones?

[996] No. I was about to be like, can I lie?

[997] Can I say yes?

[998] You must watch it.

[999] Well, also the Patriot, Ding, Ding, Ding has an incredible...

[1000] Oh, the best of all time.

[1001] Incredible.

[1002] Ding dong.

[1003] It's in season two, there's no way you won't know when you get to this scene.

[1004] Okay.

[1005] I think penises are so stupid -looking.

[1006] It's poorly placed as an appendage.

[1007] Like, if you see a man walking naked, it's bouncing.

[1008] It looks ridiculous.

[1009] Yeah, yeah.

[1010] When you see boobs moving, it looks beautiful and elegant and it's sexy.

[1011] And then when you see a man walking naked, it's just like, don't -da -dum -d -down -ba -b -b -b -b -ha -ha -ha.

[1012] Yeah, where else could we locate at?

[1013] Anywhere would be better?

[1014] Like, right on the stomach?

[1015] There's no movement there.

[1016] There's a lot of places.

[1017] Isn't one of them on one animal on their back?

[1018] The balls of an elephant are on its back and a hyrax has balls.

[1019] Bulls of an elephant?

[1020] Yes, their testicles are on their back because of the heat.

[1021] They had to relocate them up there because the savannah is so hot coming up that they can't regulate the sperm temp when it's below them.

[1022] But they're inside their body, right?

[1023] I haven't just missed the bullsack.

[1024] They're not exposed.

[1025] They're internal.

[1026] They're like ovaries.

[1027] And then its closest relative is the hyrax, this little tiny mouse that lives out there and its balls are in its back as well.

[1028] Oh, there we go.

[1029] Another weird pairing.

[1030] You know, the hyena's closest relative is a giraffe.

[1031] No. Isn't that insane?

[1032] I can kind of see it a little bit.

[1033] Long necks.

[1034] I mean, I wouldn't have guessed it if it was a quiz until now.

[1035] Me either.

[1036] Hopefully that comes up on a pub quiz.

[1037] It will.

[1038] That's how we end each of these interviews is we do a lightning round of pop quiz at the end of what you picked up from the interview.

[1039] Perfect.

[1040] Okay.

[1041] The other one I wanted to talk about was Warm Bodies.

[1042] Not because I want to talk about the movie.

[1043] Just because I'm on top gear with Rob Cordry.

[1044] That's who I do the show with.

[1045] Yeah, I love Rob.

[1046] Yes.

[1047] He's hilarious.

[1048] little thing with you talking about having so much fun as zombies they were both zombies and they would improv with noises yeah it was an honestly a nightmare though because rob's like an improv genius and hilarious and even with just being able to grunt at each other obviously you're not allowed to show anything being a zombie and he'd be grunting and doing his fucking funny stuff and I'd be there and just like shaking with laughter trying to contain it give him my love I haven't spoken to me a while I saw him outside a studio here maybe a year ago I text him today saying tell me something about nicholas Do I want to know?

[1049] Great guy.

[1050] You'll like him a lot.

[1051] Perfect guest because he's smart, funny, and introspective and easy on the eyes.

[1052] Tell him I said that.

[1053] He was dating Jennifer Lawrence while we were shooting and she was on location the whole time.

[1054] I'm not sure which one of them mandated that.

[1055] He saved me one time.

[1056] This was when Silver Linings was being shut, I think.

[1057] It was like a Friday night and I'd gone out with people from the crew and I got so drunk.

[1058] And I was meant to pick her up from the airport.

[1059] I woke up and looked at my phone and you know when you haven't plugged your phone and it's just dead and you're like you'd set an alarm, but your phone's not there, and then I turned it on, and there were voicemails being like, hey, landed.

[1060] And then the next one being like, where are you?

[1061] And then the next one being like, you're dead.

[1062] Next one is I hate your fucking guts.

[1063] And then we, anyway, we got to set later on.

[1064] I'm so hungover, it's a mess.

[1065] Like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sorry.

[1066] Oh, God.

[1067] And Rob goes, I'm so sorry.

[1068] I forgot to get you from the airport.

[1069] And I was like, who, safe.

[1070] Thank you.

[1071] That was one of my clearest memories from that.

[1072] Yeah.

[1073] So when you first got here, we were talking about Bradley Cooper.

[1074] and you told me this really funny story Yeah, yeah, yeah, because he was the guest just before us And I was like, here it goes downhill But I do have kind of a funny It's not completely related to Bradley Cooper This story, but it was when I was dating Jen And we'd gone on holiday Like a great day, we'd gone spearfishing, caught these fish And then the people would have gone with It'd like, cooked them up And then I was like, I was eating mine And I was like, yum And she's like, I don't like mine Can you eat mine?

[1075] And I'm like, I don't want us to appear to be rude So I like doubled down I was like ate all that as well and then proceeded for the next three days to just have the worst food poisoning anyway, it relates back to Bradley because that was around the time that they were about to do silver linings together and so on the way to this holiday I remember walking through the airport he'd just been voted, People magazine's Sexiest Man of the Year he was like, his face was on the cover and already you're like, oh, they're about to do a movie together and he's a sexist man on life bodes well Super comforting whilst I had like proceeded to be literally on the toilet losing my soul whilst this was happening they had their first like prep chat and literally how you two are giggling now it was like that funny their conversation and at one point I hear like the sliding door open of the hotel and then like more laughter and then muffled laugh it was honestly one of the lowest points in my life all I could see was his face from the front of that magazine and hear her laughter from their work talk and well you considered whether or not were going to die on this toilet.

[1076] She would come in and be like, you're like, I don't know.

[1077] She's like, I'm going to ask Bradley if he has any tips on this.

[1078] I'm going to call Bradley.

[1079] I know he'll know.

[1080] He's been through everything and lived.

[1081] Oh my God, that's so funny.

[1082] Okay, now let's talk about the Great.

[1083] Other than The Patriot, that's the show I tell the most amount of people that they need to watch.

[1084] I fucking love it.

[1085] I do want to say this.

[1086] The show takes two, I'd say two and a half episodes to get the tone, which is a great compliment to the show because the tone is very, very original.

[1087] And the first two and a half episodes, you're kind of like, am I allowed to laugh at this?

[1088] Which is the same thing as the Patriot, the show I want you to watch.

[1089] We're like, fuck, that was kind of brutal.

[1090] Can I laugh at that?

[1091] But once you know that you can, it's just like this incredible ride.

[1092] I can't imagine they could have predicted that you would be so likable in that role, because you're a fucking piece of shit.

[1093] And yet you're so fucking likable.

[1094] It's crazy.

[1095] And then I, I found myself about episode eight last season going like, well, this thing broke itself because I want them to be together, which cannot be the intention yet has added this level that is so stimulating.

[1096] Yeah, well, I mean, that was Tony's intention.

[1097] It was.

[1098] Yeah, yeah, yeah, where you're kind of suddenly like, oh, they're kind of great for each other.

[1099] I mean, it all does come back to his right and he's a genius.

[1100] Because he wrote the favorite as well.

[1101] Yeah, yeah, that's where we met.

[1102] And then once we did that, he was like, oh, I've got, at that point, it was a, a screenplay for the great as a feature or as a feature at that point and I read it and I was like the peter roll and that was brilliant and I was like I'll do whatever and he was like I'm going to a show with Elle and I'd done a film with Elle the one that I originally learned to ride bikes for that I was telling you about earlier in South Africa that was with Elle oh okay I played like her terrible husband in that as well oh wow it's quite a pattern you guys right yeah exactly that's all we do together so I loved her and thought she was going to be brilliant in it and was like this is going to be great and I just had the best time on the favorite and with his dialogue and it's very rare that you get like that much freedom within something that's very meticulous we say exactly what's scripted but it still feels so freeing and fun where anything can happen in any moment that character wise it feels like you can go really big and outrageous and it still kind of hold it and work here's this great way of putting in these moments where you're like oh if we hit this and suddenly this character that everyone potentially hated and whatever else suddenly goes oh he had this terrible mom and dad and this and that and you kind of start to go okay Maybe I feel a little bit sorry for him.

[1103] Yeah.

[1104] At some point you go like, well, you know, this guy is ultimately a victim of his childhood.

[1105] Like, what else would you expect to get when you raise someone thinking they're chosen by God to lead everyone and they're just perfect?

[1106] I never had anyone say no their whole life.

[1107] But some of your deliveries are just, they're so unique and novel and interesting.

[1108] You know, once you've done this for 20 years like you have and you watch things with this different thing and you actually can see the scene they're performing written.

[1109] You're just like, okay, I know what the sides of this scene look like, and I know what I'm watching.

[1110] And generally, like, the bigger that departure is, the more fun it is if you know how the sausage is made.

[1111] So it's like, I'm watching some of these scenes and I'm thinking about what your lines look like on paper.

[1112] And I'm thinking, well, I wouldn't have thought of this really creative way to do it.

[1113] That thing of, like, imagining the sides I've just gotten into this thing of, like, there's an Instagram page that has this thing where you can watch the scene and it scrolls the script underneath it.

[1114] Oh, really?

[1115] But I've kind of got a little bit obsessed with watching scenes and seeing the pages, because then I'm like, oh, wow.

[1116] Because there's scenes where you look at it, and if you were reading it, you wouldn't be like, this is going to be great.

[1117] But then you're watching it as it goes, and you go, wow, that's actually incredible.

[1118] Let me first say what the Great is about in case someone hasn't seen it that's listening.

[1119] It's about Catherine the Great.

[1120] So it's like mildly historical.

[1121] It's a complete departure.

[1122] I think even the title card says like...

[1123] Occasionally true.

[1124] Occasionally true, which I love.

[1125] I've been to her palace.

[1126] Oh, have you?

[1127] Yeah.

[1128] When I was like 23, I went with my mind.

[1129] on a cruise that went to fucking St. Petersburg and we went to Catherine's Palace.

[1130] It was a little sad.

[1131] They didn't have the budget to kind of maintain it.

[1132] So it was just a spectacular thing that was kind of eroding in front of your eyes.

[1133] So anyways, it's about Catherine the Great.

[1134] And basically at the beginning, she is married to Peter III, which you play.

[1135] And in Russia, in 1915 or somewhere?

[1136] No, it's late 18th century.

[1137] Not even too sure.

[1138] Okay, great.

[1139] It's before any of the World Wars.

[1140] I'll say all the numbers and you can at me and saying it's in 1881 and you're just a monster and she has these great wishes for Russia and then it's just hysterical but there's a scene in it that I would put up there in my top 10 scenes I've ever seen where the audacity of the scene and the fact that it was executed and I want to know what your thoughts were when you read the script and you realize that's what we're going to have to film at some point there is a moment where you have been poisoned and you are fucking and at the moment you orgasm you also throw up blood and shit your pants and I was like I can't believe I'm watching this and it's been pulled off it was executed like it doesn't bump for you you're not like what am I watching you're like oh my God that was spectacular so when you read that and you knew like oh I got to do that on Wednesday what were your thoughts I think I was honestly thrilled sometimes when you're doing a scene you're like, oh, this scene's kind of been done.

[1141] So, like, where am I going to try and find the space to, like, do something special?

[1142] And so, yeah, ejaculating, defecating, and throwing up all at the same time was certainly one where I was like, oh, I've never even imagined this was possible.

[1143] It's incredible.

[1144] And I think that's part of the genius of his writings where he kind of has these audacious moments and ideas.

[1145] And it's kind of like almost sometimes, like, can I get away with that and still keep it serious enough and, like, dramatic and emotional enough within that?

[1146] Well, if I had to say he was a genius at one specific thing, it's balance.

[1147] Like somehow that show hits everything you wanted to hit.

[1148] You're like, you're rooting for love, you're laughing hysterically, you're mortified at some things.

[1149] Like, and it all just is balanced out in this way that becomes its own little genre somehow.

[1150] And all of it works.

[1151] Yeah.

[1152] Where do you guys shoot that?

[1153] We shoot mostly at Three Mills, East London, in the studios.

[1154] Yeah, it's all sets.

[1155] So it's like...

[1156] Really?

[1157] Yeah, which is pretty incredible.

[1158] They're beautiful sets.

[1159] And everyone who works in it's like...

[1160] creatively just wonderful and every single cast member as well particularly the second season when you watch hell the stuff she's doing i was having a really fun time through the second season watching her because her character just becomes more ruthless and watching her do that watching how the character's shifted from the first season was just really fun and peter suddenly feeling like the victim she bullies him a little bit and is nasty to him and it's like and he's genuinely hurt but it's also conflicted about that because he's like more in love with her than ever the more horrible she is yeah the more he sees her as being like perfect for him because it's like this is brilliant i haven't watched the first two episodes because i was in the sandings for five days and i almost put it on out there charlie hadn't seen it i was so pissed at our best friend the whole trip because all i wanted to do was watch it at night but i didn't want him to start on the second season so we made a sacrifice for him we've been home one day and he texts me last night on episode five of the great you were so fucking right i can't believe this show so good i mean everyone who's watched the second so far says it's better than the first well i watched the trailer this morning because i didn't be completely out in the dark.

[1161] But yeah, it all flips.

[1162] She's Catherine the Great somehow.

[1163] Has it made you want to go to Catherine's palace or any of that stuff?

[1164] So I played a few real people over time.

[1165] And normally I'm like reading books and like trying to learn as much as I can about it.

[1166] But going into the favorite, that was one of those things that like we were playing real characters.

[1167] But it was like, it was really not encouraged, almost discouraged to like to do that.

[1168] Oh, interesting.

[1169] Because I think of that specific weird tone thing.

[1170] And so there was like this idea that we wouldn't particularly like research and not.

[1171] And so I feel terrible now because occasionally we'll be doing interviews for this and earlier when you're like, when is it set?

[1172] And I'm like, I know I looked that up at some point.

[1173] But it's like history from three, four years ago I probably looked at that when we're doing the pilot now.

[1174] Who was it that told you that they like to play the ghost of the person?

[1175] That was Michael Shannon.

[1176] Okay, so we've both worked with Michael Shannon.

[1177] Brilliant, isn't it?

[1178] Unreal.

[1179] I worked with him a couple times.

[1180] And the first time I was like, I can't tell if this guy hates me or loves me. He's scary.

[1181] He's a scary individual.

[1182] Truly scary.

[1183] Yeah.

[1184] But I love him.

[1185] I did a comedy with him, but he was dead serious.

[1186] He was like a Nazi and.

[1187] a prison I was in and he was just terrifying and I always felt kind of bad for him because it was Will Arnette, Dave Kekner and myself and we're just hooting and hollering the whole time and he is doing some major lifting for us and like brilliant and in it when he's there it's like it's work terrifying but also like that was the same film that I did with Elle and we all lived together in this because we're in the middle of nowhere in Springbok and South Africa and we'd sit out on like our little veranda having drinks in the evening me and him which was like some of my favorite memories just sitting with him and hearing his perspective on things But what's the shadow thing?

[1188] Michael Shannon told him that when he does people who are historical figures, instead of doing an impersonation of them, to play the ghost of them.

[1189] Oh, that's interesting.

[1190] Yeah, because we did a film where he played George Westinghouse, and I played Nicola Tesla.

[1191] And I remember hearing him say that.

[1192] And that kind of clicked something for me a little bit.

[1193] There's a weird thing when you play in a real person where you do start to revere and love them so much that it becomes difficult to play them in a way because you're like, oh, man, I just care for this person so much and trying to do their life.

[1194] Because you normally, you know, they've done some pretty incredible things if you're making a film about them.

[1195] So then you're like, how do I honor them?

[1196] And that's maybe not the right way to be.

[1197] Yeah, it's a rose color glasses kind of view.

[1198] Yeah.

[1199] Did you have reservations about committing to a show since you've been like living in movie world so much?

[1200] I definitely had before that, but just doing the favorite and knowing Tony and his writing, I didn't then.

[1201] Because I had so much fun of the favorite.

[1202] I was like, I know I'm going to have so much fun with this character.

[1203] Yeah.

[1204] Because I think that's the thing sometimes with shows for me. I've been like edgy about doing them for a little while because depending on the length of the show, sometimes it'd be like, yeah, five years of doing something for eight months.

[1205] It's like you've got to really, really love it.

[1206] Yeah.

[1207] Okay, so it just all occurred to me what may be the connective tissue between you and Ferrari.

[1208] So is Fastbender in those X -Men movies?

[1209] Yes, yes, yes.

[1210] Did he get you into this Ferrari thing?

[1211] Exactly, yeah, because he raced the challenge series with them.

[1212] He did well, right?

[1213] He did do well, yeah, yeah.

[1214] Although the person doing my telemetry yesterday said I was doing better than him at the point when we were up.

[1215] I haven't texted him about that yet.

[1216] I hope you're listening.

[1217] I'm sure he is.

[1218] I guarantee.

[1219] No, he's genuinely very fast and skilled and determined and like he's focused.

[1220] Have you been watching any of his Porsche stuff?

[1221] No. It's on YouTube, like 10 minute episodes of him, his racing.

[1222] It's worth checking out.

[1223] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[1224] Oh, what's it called?

[1225] Fast Bender Porsche.

[1226] Yeah, yeah.

[1227] Such that, I guess.

[1228] You're not a details guy.

[1229] I'm learning that about you, which is fine.

[1230] You're a broad stroke, sky.

[1231] I'm broad stroke.

[1232] Oh, no. I'm going to start saying that to the directors.

[1233] And they're like, can you do this?

[1234] And I'm going to be like, yeah.

[1235] I can't really.

[1236] I'm broad strokes.

[1237] I wonder if you'll find this liberating.

[1238] I was one time reading, poor listeners of this show, know this inside and out.

[1239] But my favorite interview I've ever read of my life was Owen Wilson in Playboy.

[1240] And there was a point where they said, like, a lot of actors have gone into being producers and directors.

[1241] Like, how much control do you like to have over projects and, like, over the script?

[1242] And he said, I generally like to read the.

[1243] script once before I say yes, but then once I get there, I just kind of forget everything and I like to show up on set like I'm a kindergartner and have them explain everything to me. To hear someone I admire own that that's their process without any shame, I was like, this is awesome because that works for him incredibly well.

[1244] Yeah, there is this element sometimes when you hear people talk about acting where it's like, oh, do we all have to pretend we're doing that to be taken seriously?

[1245] And particularly when you get into like round tabley sort of thing, and all that sort of stuff, and everyone's, like, so serious.

[1246] I adopted a Russian refugee to prepare for this role.

[1247] Can you imagine if I was like, for lately being as the emperor of Russia for nine months?

[1248] It would be a nightmare.

[1249] Well, Nicholas, this is fantastic.

[1250] I'm going to give you my number before we leave, and I hope that we end up at the track again.

[1251] I'd love that.

[1252] Thank you for having me. I'm so sorry.

[1253] Last question.

[1254] You drove a fucking rickshaw across India?

[1255] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[1256] I want to do this.

[1257] We did adventure trips a couple of years in a row.

[1258] I mean, some friends where we did one way.

[1259] you start, yeah, right in the south of India and then go right up to the north.

[1260] It was set up by this place called The Adventurists.

[1261] They give you the Richter at the beginning and then there's like, I don't know, 20, 30 teams.

[1262] It's like a three -wheeled little vehicle, you know, like those little cabs in India.

[1263] And yeah, it's kind of a race, but not really a race.

[1264] You have like 13 days or whatever to get to the north.

[1265] So you're like, you're driving a fair bit each day, but then you just kind of end up wherever you do and it breaks and you're in all these tiny towns somewhere being like, what's wrong with this?

[1266] And then the next one we did was across Morocco on miniature motorbikes.

[1267] No. No. This should be a show.

[1268] Why aren't you and I doing this on television?

[1269] Exactly.

[1270] That's kind of what Top Gear does a little bit.

[1271] Yes, that's exactly it.

[1272] Let's do both.

[1273] You know when like Bear Grills does that show where he like gets like the person to go and that was well described, broad stroke?

[1274] He gets the person to go.

[1275] But why don't you do that?

[1276] But like fun, it's fun that show.

[1277] But like that sounds terrible.

[1278] Without suffering.

[1279] More ridiculous challenges.

[1280] Not like, hey, we're going to really live in a glacier.

[1281] Be like, hey, we're going to take this thing across the society.

[1282] We might be able to get Daniel Ricardo in this show as well.

[1283] Oh, wow.

[1284] Okay, such a blast.

[1285] And again, I'm so jealous of the rickshaw run and I want to do it.

[1286] If you ever do it again.

[1287] I haven't done one for a few years since becoming a dad, it's kind of like finding time to do that sort of stuff and whatever.

[1288] See, this is great too because we both have dad's schedules.

[1289] So it's got to be like, you know, we got to plan it like three years out, drop the idea to our girls like, hey, want to be cool if I raised money in India driving a rich.

[1290] Yeah, yeah, that's always a good thing because we do it raising money for charities.

[1291] So it's like we get people to donate and then basically, yeah, send out blanket email.

[1292] I could count on the armcherrys for at least a dollar donation for this Rickshaw run.

[1293] And that could be a couple million dollars.

[1294] Chopped on.

[1295] I'll see you in India.

[1296] Still.

[1297] All right.

[1298] So much fun.

[1299] Thank you.

[1300] Stay tuned for more armchair expert, if you dare.

[1301] And now my favorite part of the show, the fact check with my soulmate Monica Padman.

[1302] Nicholas Holt.

[1303] Again, I just have to reiterate.

[1304] I know I did it in the intro, but I love season two of the great.

[1305] Oh, my God.

[1306] You loved it.

[1307] Also, happy anniversary.

[1308] Oh, my gosh.

[1309] February 14th, four years.

[1310] Four years.

[1311] Four years.

[1312] And Valentine's Day.

[1313] And Valentine's Day.

[1314] Also the anniversary of Hello Bello.

[1315] February 14 has become a big, big moment for me. It's also the anniversary.

[1316] and Jessica and Jess.

[1317] Oh, my gosh.

[1318] It's a lot of things.

[1319] Has anything not been started in our lives on Valentine's Day?

[1320] I know.

[1321] Yeah, but it's been for four whole years.

[1322] Do you know the origin of St. Valentine's.

[1323] Do you know why there's Cupid and love?

[1324] There was a massacre.

[1325] Well, there's the St. Valentine's massacre.

[1326] But I think that was the English and the IRA maybe.

[1327] No, Sunday, Bloody Sunday in my computer.

[1328] Is that on St. Valentine's Day?

[1329] Anyways, I'm starting too many conversations.

[1330] But yes, I think Valentine's Day predates the Valentine's Day Massacre.

[1331] Okay, yeah.

[1332] Cupid is a tiny baby and a diaper.

[1333] With wings.

[1334] Little baby wings.

[1335] And he's a man, but he's a baby.

[1336] He's a man baby.

[1337] The first man child.

[1338] He shoots love darts everywhere.

[1339] I wonder why they were like, well, it's got to be a baby, and it's got to be a man. It's got to be an older man's face, as I recall.

[1340] Does he have male pattern baldness, the image in my head?

[1341] Depends.

[1342] Like, this, he's just a baby.

[1343] This one picture, yeah.

[1344] See, there, but his hair looks like David's in the famous sculpture.

[1345] Like, that's a man's head of hair right there.

[1346] That's a thick head of hair.

[1347] The thickest.

[1348] But a baby body.

[1349] Yeah, definitely.

[1350] That's beyond.

[1351] So, happy Valentine's Day.

[1352] Happy Valentine's Day.

[1353] May all of you get shot with the love arrow by the baby man?

[1354] I hope so.

[1355] I really hope so.

[1356] Do you think he has a man's penis in that diaper or a baby's penis?

[1357] I can't, I guess you'd probably see a bulge if.

[1358] I think it's a baby penis.

[1359] Yeah.

[1360] Or maybe he doesn't have a penis.

[1361] Maybe he's like a Munich.

[1362] Yeah.

[1363] What's the diaper for then?

[1364] Well, he has an anus.

[1365] Yeah, we still don't.

[1366] It's still a private area.

[1367] Yeah, you can't live without an anus.

[1368] You could live without privates.

[1369] Well, and there's a pee -a -pe hole.

[1370] Yeah, there's a little urethra slot.

[1371] Yeah, exactly.

[1372] Worst case scenario.

[1373] Yeah.

[1374] I mean, it's kind of a ding -ding -ding because Nicholas is so attractive.

[1375] Oh, right.

[1376] And he's got boyish good looks.

[1377] like a baby, but he's a man. He's actually a reverse Cupid.

[1378] He has a baby's face in a big man's body.

[1379] Oh, this might be fun for people, too.

[1380] I'm going to update people.

[1381] It seems like people enjoy when we get along with guests and then we develop some kind of real -life friendship with them.

[1382] So I will say, since this interview, Nicholson and I text quite a bit.

[1383] And I have advised him on what kind of motorcycle to get his child to learn to ride.

[1384] Oh, wow.

[1385] You know, there's, in fact, I'll say it on here.

[1386] I'll give them a shout out.

[1387] Stay psych is the best one because it has a variable speed.

[1388] First of all, the throttle is variable, so you can put on a little bit or a lot.

[1389] Most of these are on or off.

[1390] Okay.

[1391] So this one is a gradual throttle.

[1392] And you as the parent can set it to be low power, medium power, or full power.

[1393] So as they get better, you can boom, boom.

[1394] You can increase their speed.

[1395] Anyways, there's that.

[1396] And then I'm going to the motorcycle track this Friday.

[1397] And I invited him.

[1398] Oh, fun.

[1399] Yeah.

[1400] He's out of town, but he said, please, next time.

[1401] So I do think a track day is in our future.

[1402] A budding friendship has developed.

[1403] It's going to be a humbling friendship for me. Okay.

[1404] Because if we're out and people look at us, they'll be looking at him because he's better looking to me and he is more successful as an actor.

[1405] And his physique is so sturdy.

[1406] So it'll be a humbling experience as friendship, which will be great.

[1407] I think you both bring so much to the table.

[1408] Okay, thank you.

[1409] Thank you.

[1410] Yeah.

[1411] Oh, shit, I should answer it just because.

[1412] Because it's sometimes fun.

[1413] Hi, Sharon Weekly.

[1414] Hi, buddy.

[1415] Are you recording?

[1416] I am.

[1417] You want to say hi to Mani and wabiwap?

[1418] Of course I do.

[1419] Happy Valentine's Day.

[1420] There's a beautiful baby.

[1421] Oh my God, ding, ding, ding.

[1422] We're talking about Cupid.

[1423] Hi.

[1424] Cupid's a baby with a man's head.

[1425] Oh, my God, Aaron's wearing cute glass.

[1426] Are you wearing glasses?

[1427] Those are his driving glasses.

[1428] They're cute.

[1429] Oh, yeah, I need them at night.

[1430] It's nighttime here.

[1431] Oh, yeah.

[1432] California here.

[1433] You look really cute.

[1434] I'm waiting for my glasses to come in.

[1435] He's so cute.

[1436] I'm driving.

[1437] Can we ask your opinion?

[1438] We just kind of voted.

[1439] Do you think, because Cupid has a big man's face and hair and a baby's body, what do you think is in his Dipe, type.

[1440] I think there's a baby balls and penis.

[1441] Yeah, baby parts.

[1442] We think if he had a...

[1443] It's a real stinky poo -poo.

[1444] That's for certain.

[1445] That's why he's so smugly smiling at everyone while he shoots his arrows.

[1446] He's got a surprise back there.

[1447] Yeah, there's nothing mainly going on in that diaper.

[1448] I love you.

[1449] Wait, are we allowed to tell...

[1450] Oh, wait, wait, wait, yeah.

[1451] Monica wants to...

[1452] He wants to know if we're allowed to announce.

[1453] Oh, the wedding?

[1454] Yeah.

[1455] Fuck yeah.

[1456] Go into the chapel.

[1457] It's all I sing all day long.

[1458] I'm not the least bit surprised.

[1459] That's all I sing.

[1460] Gonna have a baby.

[1461] I have so many verses to it.

[1462] Gonna have a big man, baby.

[1463] Okay.

[1464] Congratulations, Aaron.

[1465] I love you.

[1466] Love you, baby.

[1467] Bye, baby.

[1468] Oh, it's always fun to check in with cheeks.

[1469] So he doesn't know that we're flying there tomorrow to surprise him for the nuptials.

[1470] That is so fun.

[1471] You and Kristen are going.

[1472] Yes, but I got nervous that you didn't know it was a surprise.

[1473] But I didn't know what was going on.

[1474] Yeah, so behind the curtain, when I would hold the FaceTime to Monica, I was behind her going and I was pointing to myself and, yeah.

[1475] It couldn't have been obvious what I was saying.

[1476] I didn't know what was happening.

[1477] But I'm really glad I didn't.

[1478] Yeah, I didn't even think of that when I answered.

[1479] Okay, well, cats out of the bag.

[1480] You're going to go.

[1481] To the chat.

[1482] Oh, and Aaron's going to get married.

[1483] I'm so happy for him.

[1484] Me too.

[1485] An arm cherry marriage.

[1486] An arm charred.

[1487] Yes.

[1488] I wonder if, boy, I wonder if that's the first or there's been many.

[1489] Oh, that'd be nice if there were many.

[1490] It would.

[1491] I like that legacy.

[1492] Yeah, me too.

[1493] Unless they get divorced, and it's an ugly divorce.

[1494] And then one of the members cuts the house in half with a chainsaw and then that car in half.

[1495] You always hear about those stories.

[1496] People go mad and they cut everything in half.

[1497] Oh, my God, they're so common.

[1498] They sure are.

[1499] Okay, Nicholas.

[1500] I wonder if when we become really tight, I can call him Nikki.

[1501] Ooh.

[1502] Yeah.

[1503] Yeah, I would ease into that.

[1504] Okay.

[1505] Who was Fastbender in the X -Men movies?

[1506] He was Magneto.

[1507] Magneto.

[1508] Oh, young Magneto, I guess.

[1509] Speaking of a full -grown penis and balls.

[1510] He has them.

[1511] Yeah, that's what he's kind of known for.

[1512] Yeah.

[1513] I never seen it.

[1514] Fuck.

[1515] I got to watch it.

[1516] It's incredible.

[1517] There's a lovemaking scene that is so fucking accurate.

[1518] It's insane.

[1519] I've never seen one that was so real.

[1520] Yeah.

[1521] What is so real about it?

[1522] From the engagement, it's one shot.

[1523] It's not spiced up with cuts and close -up.

[1524] it's just the carnal coming together and how that unfolds.

[1525] And to me is just as real as it gets.

[1526] Yeah.

[1527] Like I was like, oh my God, I'm having like mirror neurony kind of, yes, I know this.

[1528] Like I could feel the whole thing while watching it.

[1529] It was really wild.

[1530] Oh, shame.

[1531] Shame.

[1532] There's another Fastbender fact.

[1533] Okay.

[1534] Fast fact.

[1535] What's Fastbender's YouTube Porsche racing show called?

[1536] Oh.

[1537] It's called Road to Lamont.

[1538] Oh, shit.

[1539] Yeah.

[1540] That's really ding, ding, ding.

[1541] Because if you recall, in Brothers Justice...

[1542] That rang a bell.

[1543] In Brothers Justice.

[1544] One of the movies you find out I tried to make was called 24 hours of Lamont or something, 24 hours of live, Lamont.

[1545] I don't know.

[1546] And then some weird car chase scene where maybe Carly's wearing a beret chasing me in a Porsche and I'm in the AC.

[1547] Cobra, and there's a lot of ECUs, extreme close -ups of my package.

[1548] Right.

[1549] Because I'm wearing very thin French pants.

[1550] Sure.

[1551] And then I would bounce my body around really radically as if during the car chase, everything down there was just getting wild.

[1552] Yeah.

[1553] And there's an exorbitant amount of jangling private parts, which Nate and I just couldn't get enough of.

[1554] We thought that was the funniest thing ever.

[1555] And I think that part was in black and white, if I do remember.

[1556] It was French New Wave.

[1557] Cinema Verde It is a ding ding ding Because penis Yes, that's what I'm saying But that makes sense for Valentine's Day Yeah sure I'm supposed to have a party today Right Because I need to have a You want to stake a claim I do I want to have a holiday That I can throw at my house And lots of holidays are taken So I've decided to take on Valentine's Day It's a great idea Yeah Will you encourage lovemaking in the backyard?

[1558] Sure I can set up a tent.

[1559] Oh, great.

[1560] That's it.

[1561] Okay, that's great.

[1562] It's two Fastbender facts.

[1563] Yeah.

[1564] Two Fast Facts.

[1565] All right, I got to watch Road to LaMalle.

[1566] Yeah.

[1567] You have to watch.

[1568] Although, hold on one second.

[1569] I got to fact check the fact check.

[1570] Uh -oh.

[1571] I mean, I could be wrong.

[1572] I am afraid that that's actually McDreamy's doc series.

[1573] Oh.

[1574] Not Fastbenders.

[1575] I mean, it says Michael Fastbender Road to Lamont.

[1576] What's Patrick Dempsey's Doc series?

[1577] His is also about going to LaMont.

[1578] All of us actors, man, we want to go to LaMont.

[1579] Okay.

[1580] So, you see that?

[1581] Patrick Dempsey also has a docu -series called Racing Lamont.

[1582] Wow.

[1583] Road to Racing.

[1584] Racing, 24 hours to live.

[1585] You take your pick.

[1586] I promise you that as good as both of those actors, Lamont's shows, are certainly, they certainly are.

[1587] There is not an excessive amount of junk jingling.

[1588] Yours is...

[1589] Chalkful of J .J. The cake for junk jiggling.

[1590] All right.

[1591] I love you.

[1592] All right.

[1593] Happy Valentine's Day.

[1594] Happy Anniversary.

[1595] Happy Valentine's Day, everybody.

[1596] Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondry app, Amazon music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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