Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Christina Ricci

Episode Date: April 7, 2025

Actress Christina Ricci feels pretty good about being Conan O’Brien’s friend. Christina sits down with Conan to discuss the feeling of foreboding that comes with a star on the Hollywood Walk of F...ame, striving to help her kids find their purpose, comparing notes with her younger counterpart on Yellowjackets, and more. Plus, Conan finally comes clean about his burner phone. For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com.Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: (669) 587-2847. Get access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using this show link: https://siriusxm.com/conan.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, my name is Christina Ricci. And I feel pretty good about being Conan O'Brien's friend. Pretty good. Oh my god. I don't think pretty good is a bad thing, but I've had this argument with an ex-boyfriend who was like, why is qualifying good? It means it isn't that good. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:00:19 And I was like, no, it's pretty good. I'm falling right into the old boyfriend mode. Pretty good. What's wrong with like amazing or really good or just good? I feel fantastic. Nope, too late. Oh shit. Um.
Starting point is 00:00:30 Ha ha. ["Fall is Here"] Walk and lose, climb the fence, books and pens. I can tell that we are gonna be friends. I can tell that we are gonna be friends. Hey there and welcome to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. Everything is different today. Everything is different today and not in a good way. Let me explain. Matt Gourley called in, he says he's sick.
Starting point is 00:01:06 I suspect him of just goofing around or whatever. He didn't seem sick. I saw him yesterday. I saw him this morning. Do you guys hang out without me? I live with him. Oh. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:01:17 We live together. I saw him on a Zoom today. He looked rough. Oh, he did. Maybe he might really be sick. He was laying down. Yeah. Well, it doesn't mean he's sick, it just means he's relaxing.
Starting point is 00:01:28 Anyway, Matt Gorley not here. So what happens is they said, okay, Matt Gorley's not here, is it okay if David Hopping sits in? And I'm like, ugh. Sure. But then I said, okay, no, David, you know that you filled in for Sona,
Starting point is 00:01:43 you now do the day-to-day assistant stuff, and Sona, I don't know what you do, but you're, you took, you filled in for Sona. You now do the day-to-day assistant stuff and Sona, I don't know what you do, but somehow you get paid more than you ever were paid before. But anyway, who can understand how this company works? I don't know who's in charge. So you're sitting in, but then we're about to record and a bunch of people I don't even know come into the house, the house, the studio, and they say,
Starting point is 00:02:04 the camera's down, Conan's camera's down. People were scrambling around, because this can also be seen on the YouTube. Yeah. It can be seen on the various. The YouTube. On the YouTube. The YouTube.
Starting point is 00:02:15 Well, on the various YouTubes. Yes, YouTube and our- Feel free to jump in at any time there. Sure talk a lot. YouTube and our social channels, yes, yes. At Tim Coco. No, no, and don't feel like I just shamed you. You're allowed to jump in whenever you social channels. Yes, yes. Add some cocoa. No, no, and don't feel like I just shamed you.
Starting point is 00:02:26 You're allowed to jump in whenever you want. Yeah. Just make sure it's valuable. So there's video. My camera's down. My camera's usually right across from me that way, but now my camera's way over to this side. And I have to torque my whole body to see my camera
Starting point is 00:02:43 and put those blue peepers into the everlasting light. Now, here's the other thing that's different. Sona usually sits over on this side, next to me. She's always to my right. Andy Richter, all those years that I was doing the talk show, almost 30 years, was to my right. Sona is now diagonally across from me.
Starting point is 00:03:07 Yeah. And so I don't like that. Oh. I don't like anything that's happening today. And I look directly across from me, and you're here, David. Yeah. So everything, and I know people say, what's the diff? What's the big diff?
Starting point is 00:03:23 Larry Bird. Larry Bird, when he played for the Celtics and he was on that parquet floor in the old garden, he knew where the dead spots were in the wood. He knew that court inside and out. And this is my court. I am Larry Bird. This is my parquet floor. The year is 1984.
Starting point is 00:03:44 And I'm playing at an incredible elite level and I've got a very wispy mustache on my upper lip and I come from French Lick and my shorts are way too short like everyone else in the NBA. I mean, you're just about to see anything jump out in any second.
Starting point is 00:04:01 And that's me. And then suddenly they said to Larry Bird in 1984, eh, something's going on with the garden. We got a problem. You're not gonna play there. And also your teammates that you rely on aren't gonna be there. Some of them are missing.
Starting point is 00:04:19 Well, who's missing? Well, Robert Parrish isn't gonna be there. Robert Parrish isn't gonna be there! Kevin McHale's not gonna be there. Kevin McHale's not gonna be there! Who's gonna fill in? Burt Zeisterman and Josh Gallabana. Oh.
Starting point is 00:04:32 They're sitting in. What's that? You're saying Larry Burt didn't know how to play on the road? It's not like the Celtics played all their games at home. Yeah, did he? Eduardo? Eduardo? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:04:41 If you ever speak to me again, it'll be the last time you speak to me. No, I'm just saying that he's preparing himself for a home game. Okay, yes, I know that they would play on the road, but I'm sure Larry Bird familiarized himself with those courts as well. What I'm saying is they took away some of his personnel,
Starting point is 00:04:56 okay, his teammates, his chums, and the people that he's used to playing with. Then they said, guess what? We're not even gonna play on a basketball court today. You're going to be playing in the bin of balls. What? The bin of balls at Chuck E. Cheese. They just changed your camera.
Starting point is 00:05:16 No. They want me to dribble a ball in the bin of balls at Chuck E. Cheese. OK. And so I'm trying to dribble the ball, and it's just bashing into all these other, huh? Nobody calls it, they call it a ball pit. Yeah, what's that called? The bin of balls? The bin of balls at Chuck E. Cheese. Okay. And so I'm trying to dribble the ball and it's just bashing into all these other, huh? Nobody calls it, they call it a ball pit. Yeah, what's that called?
Starting point is 00:05:28 A bin of balls? What is that? What? I've never heard the term pit, it's a ball pit. What's a cook pit? I've never been there. I've only seen it in commercials. The ball pit's gone.
Starting point is 00:05:36 And so I've never heard it identified. I've only seen kids emerge from it looking more frightened than happy. Yeah. Like they survived ash rain at Pompeii. Jesus Christ. But I, that's all I've seen, but no announcer ever said, and you'll enjoy the ball pit. I never heard it named.
Starting point is 00:05:52 So I just said, that is a bin that's been filled with balls. So I had to make up my own name and it stuck with me. All I'm saying, if I can be allowed to finish my sentiment is that I'm 1984 Larry Bird. I've been taken away from Boston Garden on the parquet floor. I've been stripped of Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale. And I'm trying to bounce a basketball in a bin of balls at Senor Chuck E. Cheese.
Starting point is 00:06:22 That's what I'm saying. I don't mean to keep bursting in here and I'm sorry about this, but also can I say, I'm realizing, Sona normally- I'm looking into my camera right now. Normally Sona sits between you and I. Yes. And you, many times during the interview,
Starting point is 00:06:37 will look over at Sona, and I hide behind Sona and her hair. Now I've got like the eye of Sauron directly, there's nothing. How do you deal with this, Sona? Well, first of all, you should be happy. Because I would have fired you a long time ago. I know. I can see you now and I'm irritated.
Starting point is 00:06:51 I hate it. I want to crawl underneath the desk. You should. And also, let's get something straight. A lot can hide behind Sona's hair. You know what? I mean, there could be a Volkswagen bus back there. Come on.
Starting point is 00:07:02 I'm just saying, you should be proud of it. You have thick, luxuriant hair. I do! That's all over the place! It's everywhere! And then you put these products in it. Yes, a lot of products. Various waxes and Eastern oils.
Starting point is 00:07:18 Oh my God. Why are they Eastern? I don't know. You know what? I'm the one who moved. Everything is different for me. You don't even look'm the one who moved. Everything is different for me. You don't even look at the camera when we're recording most of the time.
Starting point is 00:07:28 Nothing's changed for you. They also asked you to move and you said no. Yes. That's true. They did ask me to move and I refused, which took an extra 10 minutes. They had to bring in a whole like other ladder. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:41 Well, anyway, I'm sure Larry Bird wasn't always easy to work with back in 1984. All I'm saying is the analogy holds. Okay. I'm an elite A-list athlete in the mid-80s and everything's been changed up on me. And yet still, I think I've put a lot of points on the board. Oh, God.
Starting point is 00:08:01 Oh, my God. Pretty good, huh? I don't know. Wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap. Well, guess what? My guess today, put on the old glasses. Remember when I didn't have to wear glasses? Falling apart here.
Starting point is 00:08:13 My guess, you know what I'm gonna get is a Lauren Yett. Please, please. Shouldn't we get one of those Lauren Yetts? I didn't even know that was the word for it. Yeah, and it's, well, it's also called bin of balls. I wanna get a Lauren Yett, which is the thing for it. Yeah, and it's, well, it's also called bin of balls. I want to get a Lauren yet, which is the thing you, a society lady puts up to, ooh, groucho, you know.
Starting point is 00:08:32 Also, bin of balls just tells me you've never been to a birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. No, I never have been. Okay. And maybe I'm sad about that. And maybe all these jokes are hiding a wound. You know, I used to, I also used to hear one time a kid died in the ball pit.
Starting point is 00:08:47 And I think it was- Like suffocated? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like they got stuck underneath them. But it's not true. It's an urban legend. Yeah. Let's just make sure that that's a potential legal matter. It never happened at Chuck E. Cheese
Starting point is 00:08:59 and nothing bad ever happened at Chuck E. Cheese. We used to just cut that part out, but that's what I heard. And did you ever hear that going on? I think you should leave it in as a cautionary tale about saying things about giant corporations. But the ball pits are all gone now too. Oh, that's sad. You fishy. Well, they're germy.
Starting point is 00:09:14 No more bin of balls. Stop saying bin of balls. It's just sad. Yeah, been there, done that. Okay. Oh, boo! My guest today, get me a Lauren Yates someone. Write that down. My guest today has starred in a Lauren Yates someone. Write that down.
Starting point is 00:09:25 My guest today has starred in such films as Now and Then and The Addams Family. Now you can see her as Misty Quigley in the hit Showtime series, Yellow Jackets. I'm very excited she's here today. Christina Ricci, welcome. Christina, I'm really happy to see you because it's been quite a while since I've seen you
Starting point is 00:09:51 and I have a very nostalgic feeling about seeing you because you came on the show for the first time, I think it was for Adam's Family, the first Adam's Family movie possibly. You were a kid. Was that, but I was like 15, right? Yeah, well that's to me. So I think that was for Casper.
Starting point is 00:10:13 Was it for Casper? I think so. I mean, you were a kid and I remembered feeling, I thought you would come on for Adam's Family. I remembered Raul, Julia came on for Adam's Family. Okay, well then maybe I did come on for Adam's family. And I thought you came on. You're probably right.
Starting point is 00:10:26 Whatever, right now, Eduardo's. I see 1999 and 2005, so I'm not sure where that line is up. Okay, that's gonna be later. That's gonna be like in the Casper area. But see what we've done. And when I say we, this is really on you, Christina. You could have just said, sure, Adam's family. I should have just gone, I'm really sorry.
Starting point is 00:10:43 You know? And then we wait for some nerd to contact us and go, incorrect! But we don't even read that post. What I remember is you were very young and you'd be whatever, you'd be like 15. I'm a guy in his 30s at the time, mid 30s. And I remembered being a little bit intimidated
Starting point is 00:11:06 because you were so convincing as Wednesday Adams. You were so, your deadpan was so amazing. I was very impressed with you and still am, but you just so nailed it at such a young age. And I remember just, I don't know, just feeling a little bit like, oh, I've, she could, she could kill me with that look. Do you know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:11:27 I was a little bit intimidated. Well, no one should have been intimidated by me then. It was, you know, just a teenage rest. But do you remember that we lived in the same building in New York also? Yes, I was gonna bring this up too. We lived in, there's this building called the police building, which there was this- No, it really is.
Starting point is 00:11:42 It was Teddy Roosevelt, not Teddy. Yeah. The other, Teddy? No, no, is. It was Teddy Roosevelt, not Teddy. Yeah. The other Teddy? No, no, it was when Theodore Roosevelt was chief of, he wasn't chief of police. No, he was chief of police. He was police commissioner. Oh, really? He was police commissioner,
Starting point is 00:11:54 which I think is a different title. But anyway, basically, look at us. We keep- Semantics. Qualifying each other. Semantics. No, it was Casper and it was police commissioner. And it's Ricci with three C's, Ricci.
Starting point is 00:12:08 You never knew that. There's this cool building downtown and for a brief period I thought, I wonder if I'm a cool guy and I moved into the police building. No, it was really cool. But I wanted to live there because I had just read The Alienist
Starting point is 00:12:20 and they talked about how there was the tunnel between the building and O'Neil's. So I was really excited about that building. Which probably doesn't exist. No, I asked a lot of like the janitors and stuff and they were like, what are you talking about? I was like, you know, the tunnel. The alien is great.
Starting point is 00:12:35 You can just walk around the corner. Great book, great novel by Caleb Carr, which is all about, you know, late 19th century crime solving and Theodore Roosevelt's in it because he's the police commissioner at the time. The police building is this famous old building that they had converted into apartments. And here are the people that I remembered.
Starting point is 00:12:54 I walked down to my apartment, which is the end of the hall. Occasionally, I'd see you. I'm like, wow, Cristina Ricci. Also, Kyle McLaughlin. Yes, Kyle lived there. And he lived there with his girlfriend at the time, supermodel Linda Evangelista. Oh my God.
Starting point is 00:13:09 I rode in the elevator with them one day and she was really the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen in real life. Well, I've got to run her up for you or maybe a tie. Really a tie. Which is the other person who lived there. I don't know if they both lived there or if one of them lived there
Starting point is 00:13:20 and the other was staying there. Cindy Crawford and Randy Gerber. Oh, but also Christy Turlington lived there. And Christy Turlington. At the same time. Okay, so you've got all these people. And Francois Nars, like all these crazy, crazy big people. They used to be the gym with my mother.
Starting point is 00:13:34 My mother would be like, I had a wonderful talk with Christy today when I was on the treadmill. Insane, right? Yeah. So I was thinking, maybe I belong here and I was flooded cause this is Conan. I mean, I don't belong there now.
Starting point is 00:13:48 There was no time when I belonged there, but I was, I don't know, I want to say I'm 34 years old, still trying to figure out how to dress. Like I'm not in high school. And I've been doing the late night show for about four years. And I remembered one day, rushing to get on the elevator, getting on the elevator and it was whatever,
Starting point is 00:14:08 it was Cindy Crawford and Randy Gerber looking. I threw on a t-shirt, like a who farted t-shirt and like some shorts and probably like Birkenstocks and ran on the elevator after putting like, stillstocks and ran on the elevator after putting like, still had acne, ran on the elevator and I'm like, hold the door. And I get on and it's those two glowing, just glowing. And I think they like kind of made out on the elevator
Starting point is 00:14:38 on the way down. And I was like, I'll have a girlfriend one day, you'll see. But I remembered seeing you super cool. I was not, I was a total wreck. I was in my garbage pail kid style moment. I didn't know that. Yeah, no, I had decided that if I was gonna be that ugly anyway, that I was gonna dress
Starting point is 00:14:56 just hideously as possible. So I wore like a lot of conflicting colors and really big pants and men's underwear and just was my whole style, whole style garbage pile kids. Well, I don't know why you have that self image. That's- Why was it as a teenager? But I remember you very fondly,
Starting point is 00:15:12 I think you were on the late night show seven times. I've said this occasionally about other people who were on as kids, I'm gonna call you a kid because I thought of you as a kid, that I almost have this feeling that is weird of pride like that an uncle would have. Do you know what I mean? Like, oh, Christina is coming to do the podcast.
Starting point is 00:15:33 I remember her. Hasn't she done well? It's this, this, it gets weird because I've done nothing to help you. No, but you did. She did. I didn't, I didn't. No, but coming on your show
Starting point is 00:15:44 and like having, being able to promote myself and my work on your show and your support, because you can say like, no, I'm not having that asshole on my show. So like, you did. I've said that and they booked them anyway. Oh, well. And you're here today. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:15:58 And no, but I mean, I never, you're one of those people who I have this strange feeling of I'm proud of her, she's done well. And then I step outside myself and go, you're not related to her. You're not, you know what I mean? It's very strange, but I had a lot of nice thoughts and memories today when you were coming on. And I am very happy for you that you've done so well.
Starting point is 00:16:26 You just got your star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. What is that like? I mean, are you gonna tend to your star? Are you gonna go buy, is it like a house plant? I don't know how that works. I don't know. I mean, it's been there. I haven't visited since the ceremony.
Starting point is 00:16:42 I kind of thought about bringing stuff to my star. Like my favorite flower is a candle. But then I was like, is that weird? A candle's like, people will think, yeah, what happened to Christina? I guess so. Yeah, that's not good. But maybe in some way I'm like trying to mitigate my feelings of mortality. In some way, like if we already act like I'm dead, maybe it won't be such a huge shocker.
Starting point is 00:17:05 Oh, wow. It's like when you call yourself 40 when you're only 37, and you're just like, I know, I'm getting used to it. I wonder if maybe subconsciously that's what I'm doing. I'm not sure. That's such a... So morbid. That's so morbid.
Starting point is 00:17:21 Also, it's... But also, I get it. I understand what you're doing because I have a very dark streak, very dark streak, and people think that I'm being morbid. And I think, no, I'm actually- It's practical. Yeah, and it's also, I find it freeing to think.
Starting point is 00:17:40 I've had this conversation with a bunch of my friends that I find it very freeing to think that I don't really matter and that I'm here and that I'm not here. I'm not there yet. Like that's terrifying. But I do find it easier to just like accept, accept that we're gonna die
Starting point is 00:18:02 and then, you know, work with that. So this is what the Hollywood Walk of Fame means to you. It did to me. Well, that's, but then, you know. Your inevitable death. But, you know, when people bring up, like, the whole thing is about, like, legacy and permanency, and long after, somebody can't,
Starting point is 00:18:17 they were, you know, you have to answer all these questions right afterwards about the star right there at the time. And they're asking you like what it means to you. And I guess my answers weren't quite what they wanted, the person running the press for it. So somebody said, you know, another great thing to say is that, and I was like, oh, okay,
Starting point is 00:18:39 so I am tanking this one. Apparently, I don't seem grateful enough. But another great thing to say is that I love this because I know that even decades after my death, my children's children and their children will be able to come and visit this star. And I was like, what? So like the best thing about this is that once, like it involves me being dead.
Starting point is 00:19:03 Yeah, exactly. That seems, also we all know apes will rule the earth by then. Well, the other thing I was thinking too. Will have gotten rid of all the human remnants of our society. Not to be like glib about any of it or not as taken as seriously as I'm supposed to,
Starting point is 00:19:20 which I really was moved by it and I really was appreciative, but it is still just concrete. Like a bomb could go off, and then that, it's gone. It's not like, like nothing is indelible. There's nothing, there's no such thing as permanent. There really isn't. So I was like, oh, it's permanent,
Starting point is 00:19:36 and the whole time I'm just thinking like, yeah, unless someone has a jackhammer, or they like expand the freeway, or this building falls on this site. Wait a minute, I love that they like, expand the freeway, or this building falls on this site. Wait a minute, I love that they're gonna expand the freeway and take out a huge set, they're gonna take out 900 star, there goes Clark Cable. We are living in unprecedented times, my friend,
Starting point is 00:19:59 so anything is possible at this moment. You're right, you're right. So, do you like your location? I do, I was actually really happy. That was the first thing I asked. I was like, where exactly is my star located? I'm at Hollywood and Vine. What?
Starting point is 00:20:10 I know. That's fantastic. It's like a really great location. That's the fine location. The frolic room is across the street. Little door is like right around there. Those are bars. Yeah, you know.
Starting point is 00:20:20 No, but the frolic room is historical. The frolic room is in women under the influence. Or women under the influence. Can I just say, I was Frawlum MacGroom is historical. The Frawlum MacGroom is in Women Under the Influence. Or Women Under the Influence. Can I just say, I was offered a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and I said, that's really great. Where's it gonna be? And they said, the Channel Islands.
Starting point is 00:20:32 God. They said, it's a weird adjunct. You have to take a boat to get there. And I said, who else is there? And they named one Muppet that never made it. His name was Snafils. Snafils. Yeah, he's made of three socks
Starting point is 00:20:48 and he was a big bomb in 1971. I, just roll with it, Sona, just roll with it. I've been drinking. I love the Follick Room. I'm sorry, I just wanted to interject. And is this a bar that you've both been to? I think I was there one time, but I more always loved seeing it
Starting point is 00:21:07 and that it's in the Jenna Rollins movie, the Cass Betty's movie. I just saw LA Confidential. It's in LA Confidential. It's in LA Confidential. Somehow it's still lasting even though everything else is Cassia. And Sona, you've been more than once, I'm guessing.
Starting point is 00:21:20 Yeah, it is a, I mean, it's a historic bar in LA. It's like a really cool spot. Right, but it's also a bar, so you've been, it is a, I mean, it's a historic bar in LA. It's like a really cool spot. Right, but it's also a bar, so you've been more than once. But I've been there in the bar aspect of it, where I've had drinks there and I've partied and I, you know, I love it there. Sona, two kids now and she's reformed her ways, but man, well, you lived quite the life.
Starting point is 00:21:41 I mean, I enjoyed places, yeah. I enjoyed a lot of places also. Sometimes I don't remember those places I enjoyed, so I enjoyed them so much that I don't even remember leaving. We're testing your blood right now to see how much you've enjoyed yourself, how much enjoyment you have. You're under arrest for too much enjoyment.
Starting point is 00:22:04 Too much enjoyment. Too much enjoyment. I know that I have this long distance view of it, but you just seem to have handled fame at a young age in sort of a very classy way. And that's at least how it appears to me. I've actually thought, I've thought about this a lot, which is I'm not a big drug person, meaning really not at all, but I've long held that probably the most powerful drug in the world is fame. And letting kids have access to it is very, I have very mixed feelings about it.
Starting point is 00:22:49 It's such a powerful thing and it often doesn't go well. You being famous at 14, 15, 16, that's gotta have been something to navigate. Yeah, I don't think I always had a lot of objectivity or the ability to really analyze myself at those times, those younger ages. So I never really felt famous. I still forget a lot.
Starting point is 00:23:16 And I was never really comfortable with it. So for me, it was, it didn't ever feel like power. It sort of felt like something I had to like navigate. Like when I lived, I used to live over in Los Feliz in the Oaks, and I would drive around when I was like in my 20s, and I was, you know, I'm a small person. And so being a young woman, very small, and having people follow me or talk to strangers,
Starting point is 00:23:38 approach me, and stuff, felt very threatening at the time. So I did this, I played this mental game where I pretended that my dad was just this like doctor that everybody loved in town and I was just like, oh Dr. Ritchie's daughter and that's why everybody was being nice to me, but not that I was famous. And everybody just like really wished me well. And it worked, it worked. I became very comfortable, but then to the point where like I was, I didn't have my guard up enough,
Starting point is 00:24:05 and I had to be like, well, we have to end that now. Yeah, so the paparazzi thing, did that freak you out when you were young? I did not enjoy that. Just because people, they'll follow you all the way home. And I lived by myself, and that felt very threatening. And I found there was a liquor store on the corner, Victor's, that's right across the street from the Gelsons over
Starting point is 00:24:25 on, up there. And Rick was this guy who was, who always worked in there, he was always smoking a cigarette, and he's the only person I would ever let call me, Chris. And if anyone ever followed me, I'd pull into the liquor store and I'd go tell Rick and Rick would come out and chase them, chase them off. That's why I could drive home. And then this one, and then one time my sister and I lived together in our 20s, and there was actually a man that would come and sit outside the house and leave notes on my car and stuff.
Starting point is 00:24:54 And sometimes we'd be like, ready to go to dinner, but he'd be out there waiting and we'd be like, oh man. So we would just turn off all the lights and wait until he left. That's not good. No. But like, so fame was, like it was great. Like I get into any restaurant and I never had problems getting into clubs
Starting point is 00:25:12 and all that stuff. But it also was like, there were just like, you know, logistical and security issues that to me loomed larger in my mind than the actual like fun of being famous. Well, I also think this is something that I don't take into account, which is I don't ever feel threatened physically by people around because I'm 6'4 and a guy and I just don't even think about it. I'm very physical myself, meaning I I don't, I'm not afraid to shake hands with strangers or whatever,
Starting point is 00:25:49 mix it up a little bit. But I'm constantly reminded that if you're not my size and if you're a woman, especially if you're a young woman, it's a completely different feeling when people are around. And it's not welcome, and it probably sets off all kinds of different alarms, whatever. Well, I think it just depends, you know. But yeah, I was, I felt, I did feel threatened a lot.
Starting point is 00:26:18 And I still am a person who's very paranoid and safety conscious, so I still will feel a little threatened if a strange man walks up to me and like touches me or starts just, I don't know, follows me to my car. I don't like that. So much. You maced me when I came in to say hello to you at the podcast.
Starting point is 00:26:34 And you kept doing. I won't mace a person. And then your publicist said, it's Conan, and you said, oh, I know. And then you took out a separate bottle. Oh no. Yeah, that said extra strength. And took out a separate bottle. Oh no. Yeah, that said extra strength. And you really went to town.
Starting point is 00:26:48 Oh man. What the fuck was that all about? You are so good in, I'm not just going through randomly things that you've worked on, but I remembered seeing, I really liked the movie Sleepy Hollow when it came out, you did with Tim Burton.
Starting point is 00:27:03 And I was thinking about that movie, and Tim Burton had this quote about you, he said that you had an ambiguous quality. He's such an amazing director, but he said he was drawn to you because different people could read in different things to your performance. And I don't know, do you agree with that?
Starting point is 00:27:20 Did you think he nailed something about you? I do think there's something a little bit ambiguous about me. I mean, people, I'll compliment the person. They think I'm making fun of them. I don't know that I'm the easiest person to read. And so perhaps that's what he's talking about. I wonder how much of it is your, you have beautiful eyes, famously beautiful eyes. And there are quite a lot, you have large, beautiful eyes eyes and I wonder if that's a way that people can maybe make it, I don't know, they, you're reflecting something back at them. You're not even doing anything,
Starting point is 00:27:52 but they're reading something into it. To project something onto it. Yeah, maybe I also have, I'm also very flat in affect. And I think that people just assume, I don't know. I just think that that's difficult because I don't emote that much normally. Yeah, I think I'm probably the opposite. Yes.
Starting point is 00:28:10 I'm constantly emoting. Constantly emoting. And I have beady little eyes. Well, it's not about your eyes. That reflect nothing. Okay. Some say dead. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:28:20 Dead doll eyes. You just wear your, everybody knows what you're thinking. I'm a giant mood ring. Yes, you're a giant mood ring. That would be very helpful though, if we could turn different colors based on our moods. That would be so helpful. That's good.
Starting point is 00:28:39 It's interesting to me that you probably knew as a very, as a kid, you clearly knew this is something I'm interested in doing. I'm always fascinated to find out, how does Christina Ricci know, oh no, I can do this. I can act, I can be in film. How do you figure that out at such a young age? I was in second grade and they brought in, you know, sheets of lines and stuff into music class.
Starting point is 00:29:08 And they said, we're putting on a Christmas pageant and here's the pageant we're doing and read these lines. And the second I saw them and started reading them and participating, I just remember sitting there by myself and being like, oh, I know how to do this and nobody else here does. And I just was like, oh, that's so crazy. I know exactly what he wants. And this kid over here can't do it. And that one, and I just felt really in that moment, I felt like I had found my thing.
Starting point is 00:29:35 Yeah. And then it just always felt like that to me. Like I just had a shorthand into understanding what was needed to do that work as a kid. That's such a, I would imagine, cause I do not know, that it would be akin to just knowing at an early age that you're athletic. It's what it felt like.
Starting point is 00:29:53 You know what I mean? Being really good at a sport. Yeah, or just sports in general, that you get out there and, oh, I know what this is, I know what to do, and this is what's needed now, and I'm gonna do this, and I did it, and I struck that person out, or I scored gonna do this and I did it. And I struck that person out or I scored the winning touchdown.
Starting point is 00:30:08 I did not have that. And my childhood was a series of nope, nope, nope, nope. And then figuring out, like you say, oh, I know what this is. I can make my friends laugh. And oh, it's time for us to do, we're all supposed to write something, I'm gonna write something silly, I know how to do that.
Starting point is 00:30:30 And people are laughing. And so it was, I think kids figure out very quickly what their, call it a superpower, what their ability is. It's an innate thing. We tend to figure it out quickly. I think it's rare that someone figures that out at like 58, you know? Yeah, but you do see people who are lost and just have no idea what their special thing is.
Starting point is 00:30:52 That's very sad. As a parent, I have a real fear of that happening to my kids. Really? Yeah. Well, your kids are probably pretty young, I'm guessing. 10 and three. So you're already like, damn it! They've accomplished nothing!
Starting point is 00:31:06 Nothing! I just mean you have to think about all the pitfalls. Yeah. And I guess also, being someone who had happened for very early, I would love for them to have that because it's such a relief. And I really have seen how lucky I was to find it so early. It's interesting, cause then there's the question of,
Starting point is 00:31:27 would you want them, would you be comfortable if they were interested in getting into the business? I know to me, I was just like, nope, no child of mine is gonna be in, because I always thought show business, and I still think it's a racket. Like what I'm doing is illegitimate, it's a racket, and at some point someone's gonna come
Starting point is 00:31:45 and shut this whole thing down. You know, cause my parents, you know, went to graduate school and were doctors and lawyers. And I just, I somehow got into vaudeville. Like I got into a time machine and I'm a guy with seltzer and baggy pants and vaudeville. And that's how it feels to me anyway. It doesn't feel legitimate.
Starting point is 00:32:05 Yeah, no, I agree. I go back and forth. My son has shown a lot of interest in it. I think he'd be very good at it. But there's also these, all the logistical things like, who's gonna take him? I work full-time. Like, I can't go to set with him.
Starting point is 00:32:20 And yeah, and also it's risky. Who knows if he's gonna handle it that well. Well, yes. Imagining, it's so funny that what I've learned as a parent is I am so afraid of any, of even the notion of my children being disappointed or having their feelings hurt, but it's happened to me a billion times
Starting point is 00:32:44 and I'm fine with that. So why am I projecting onto them? Of course I can have this happen a billion times, but God forbid it should ever happen. And of course it's happened to them. But just the notion of it, you just think, no one's going to say anything to my child. No, I know.
Starting point is 00:33:00 I have a very strong, overly attached, I'm overly attached to my son and anything he experiences emotionally, I also experience and it's not healthy. But I have the same thing, I always worry about him going into a new sport because what if he feels bad about not being good at it or if anybody's mean to him
Starting point is 00:33:23 or if someone makes fun of his sneakers, I'm like, well, we're gonna get you the best sneakers I've ever seen. Who the hell did you just become? You don't know. Oh, we'll get you sneakers, we will. You become the creature from Leprechaun. That's the problem.
Starting point is 00:33:41 That was me being intense. This is why I'm such a good actor. Yeah, totally, I did, and I do. I'm a huge fan. That's the problem. That was me being intense. This is why I'm such a good actor. Yeah, totally, I did and I do. I'm a huge fan. That's called intensity. It must be nice to, I mean, the success of Yellow Jackets is gotta be quite satisfying because what I've noticed as I move along and I'm much farther along on my path is that
Starting point is 00:34:10 as I get older, I appreciate and enjoy things more. Getting to doing this podcast or whatever, any gig that I have, I kind of appreciate it. It has getting to do the show for Max or hosting the Oscars. It just feels like, oh, I think I would have, I would have been so anxious and neurotic about it at a younger age, but now when nice things come along, I can appreciate it more.
Starting point is 00:34:37 Do you have that with like yellow jackets? I do, I really do. And, you know, I was, you know, I had like sort of my big moment in my 20s and went to all the award shows and all the stuff. And then that sort of stopped and I didn't really work that much for a while. And then this Yellow Jackets thing happened
Starting point is 00:34:57 and then all of a sudden we were going to award shows again and all this stuff. And it was so interesting because this time I could just be like, oh my God, I love that guy. Hey, I'm Christina. And like just be really open and easy and fun. And like, oh, I, you know, it just, it was,
Starting point is 00:35:11 like you said, like I wasn't, I wasn't so self-conscious and I wasn't so worried about everything. I didn't take myself as seriously as I used to. And so it's actually, it has been really, really fun. There's this quote, one of the Bee Gees said, second fame is so much better. And I guess the Bee Gees stories,
Starting point is 00:35:33 which I didn't even really know, there's an amazing documentary about them, and I didn't really know much about them at all, but it's a fantastic documentary. And I didn't realize they were huge pop stars in the 60s. And then it soured it like anything, the time passed. And then they're trying to figure it out and they're bumming around and they're completely out of it.
Starting point is 00:35:52 And they're a once was, and then they reconstitute and become this 70s juggernaut phenomenon, one of the biggest groups of the 70s, if not the biggest. And they were like, oh, it's just so much more pleasant the second time around because we know what that is. And so now it can be more about, as you said, you can go to these shows and not be neurotic and freaked out and just enjoy, just enjoy.
Starting point is 00:36:21 It's also feels so different now too. Like just Hollywood in general feels very different. How does it feel different? Everybody just seems like happy to be there in a way that wasn't like that in the early 2000s. Everything felt so serious then and about like power and position and ambition and it was really serious.
Starting point is 00:36:43 And now it just feels like people actually celebrate at these award shows, and are like happy to see each other, and there's enough room for everybody. And I feel like it was so much smaller before that it didn't feel like there was enough room for everybody. And yeah, it just has like a much nicer feeling, I think in general. Something too about maybe the fact
Starting point is 00:37:04 that the business has changed so much. Yeah. So, you know. Exactly. It's crazy to think about it, but I know when I came up, when you came up, but still we're talking about a limited number of networks. There's no streaming. That's what I mean, yeah. Yeah, and now if you've got a good idea,
Starting point is 00:37:23 there's a good chance you can get it out there somewhere. I mean, even the natures of movies has changed where it doesn't have, it's not the giant blockbuster. And there's a plus and minus to that that's at the award shows, but there is less of a feeling of it's a small club that a few people are allowed into. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:37:43 So many people can have a great idea, get it on YouTube, get it out there. If they've got talent and ability, they can find a streamer, they can find a way to get their vision made. And it just feels a little more user-friendly now. Yes. It's softer and gentler and less desperate. Unless you want to shoot in Los Angeles. Well then, I mean, honestly.
Starting point is 00:38:09 That's getting weird. I don't actually know how anyone makes that happen. Yeah, it's really getting, I mean, not to take things down, but that is a big change that's happened is people will shoot something that takes place in Los Angeles on Hollywood and Vine, and they'll go up to Nova Scotia to shoot it and recreate Hollywood and Vine
Starting point is 00:38:32 and put your star, Christina Ricci. I'm sorry, I will not allow that. Nobody can recreate my star. They moved it an hour ago. They moved it an hour ago. Putting my foot down. Without telling you. Either shoot in LA or.
Starting point is 00:38:44 That's the kind of power I've got in this town. Can't have my star in your movie. What's it like, cause with Yellow Jackets, you have this interesting thing where you're, there's your character Misty, you're playing as an adult, but also there's an, there's an actress who's playing you as a child or a kid, not a child, I shouldn't say child. Who are teenagers. As a teenager, a child or a kid, not a, I shouldn't say child, but as a teenager. Who are teenagers.
Starting point is 00:39:05 Yeah, as a kid. Children. To me at 85, it still seems like a child because I'm doing that thing where I wanna say I'm 85 now just to get used to it. Yeah, I've already started. I'm going as far as 87. But anytime I can't work anything, I'm like, anytime I can't work anything,
Starting point is 00:39:19 I'm like, well, I'm basically 87 when it comes to technology. And the more I say it, the more I'm feeling more comfortable. I love that you're two years older than me. I love it. I'm older 87 when it comes to technology. And the more I say it, the more I'm feeling more comfortable. I love that you're two years older than me. I love it. I'm older than you. Is it Sammy Hanratty? Is that the actress who plays you?
Starting point is 00:39:34 And it's interesting, I don't know how much do you have communication with the actress who plays younger you to try and see if anything needs to line up or is that overthinking it? Well, we did it in the very beginning. We shot the pilot and then COVID happened. So it was about almost a year and a half later
Starting point is 00:39:48 that we actually went to series. And so she and I met up to discuss, we're really, really different people personality wise, like it's surprising how different we are. And so we sort of compared notes, the different performance notes that we've been given because it was interesting to hear what they wanted to correct or were worried about.
Starting point is 00:40:08 Because like, you know, she's a very bubbly, dynamic, like charming, sweet person. And so to hear what they were concerned was gonna come out in her performance was interesting to me. And then to hear what they were afraid I was gonna do was very interesting as well. So like mine was all about like, no, she's charming and everyone loves her and all she wants is love
Starting point is 00:40:30 and she's human. And hers were like, Kathy Bates from Misery. And like, you know what I mean? So I just was really funny. There's a rumor that they put her on depressants. We gotta reach you up a little bit. We're putting you on a massive dose of depressants. Yeah, they were like trying to make me more adorable and her less adorable.
Starting point is 00:40:56 And so by doing that, we both felt like we understood where the parameters were for the character. But beyond that, we never really... I'm very sensitive about not being condescending. I even have trouble complimenting people because I feel like it's condescending. And I don't know why, but I just do. So anytime the idea of giving another actress performance advice or notes to me just sounds like really I'm overstepping my place. So we both have our own performances
Starting point is 00:41:31 and when you think about it too, 30 years. 30 years and a lot of intense stuff has happened. That's right, 30 years of like squeezing and rejection and pressure and trauma and all this stuff you're not gonna be the same exact person you were. So I think it really does work out. And the writing on the show is really good. And the character is very consistent on the page. So it's kind of okay for any kind of differences
Starting point is 00:41:57 or variations in our performances. The people are intense about this show. I mean, the fans are hardcore, which is a compliment, because I think we live in an era where if you put the detail and the work into the writing and performing and you really try and tell an interesting story, there's an intensity to the fandom.
Starting point is 00:42:19 It's actually a compliment. It's like the fans, I think fandom now is very literate. If you look at shows like yours or shows like White Lotus or shows that people are really, they really get into trying to find the clues. What does this mean? What does that mean? And they treat it the way it should be treated,
Starting point is 00:42:38 which is it's an art form, which is nice. It's not just, oh yeah, I watched another episode of show they crank out every week. Yeah, no, they take it very seriously and they hold us to certain standards and they let you know when they're disappointed. And they're quite, you know, very- Do you go online and read stuff?
Starting point is 00:42:53 Well, I'm 87 when it comes to technology. So I don't know how to get on Reddit because you have to have a Google account. My Google account is in Romanian and I don't know how to change it. So I can't get on Reddit. We have some people here who can help you if you want. I've heard about all the things
Starting point is 00:43:12 and a lot of the other actresses on the show do read all of the stuff. Like Melanie Linsky apparently, she told me she reads everything. I can't find everything or else I might read it. I don't find everything or else I might be in it. I don't know. My experience has been if it's dire. Someone will tell you.
Starting point is 00:43:31 Someone's going to tell me. That's how I feel. That's how I feel. If it's an extreme one way or the other, like, you know, Blay will come in and tell me, people really loved that thing you did. And it will be a different,
Starting point is 00:43:44 it'll be Jeff Ross who comes and tells me, you got a problem? You got a problem? You know, what did I do? That satanic ritual you did? Apparently, it's very offensive. And- No, I'll be like, fans love the satanic ritual.
Starting point is 00:43:56 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You'll tell me that and then Jeff will say, no, people are lawyered up. That's how I feel. Jesus is lawyered up. I feel that way too. Like lawyer that Jesus has layered up. I feel that way too. Like people are gonna tell me. And sometimes, but it's weird now too,
Starting point is 00:44:09 because it's like everything's supposed to be everywhere, but then also things are hard to find. Like I did this series of interviews with Melanie and I made some comment about this song that's in the show that I had a lot of pent up rage about because the entire time we were shooting everybody tried to gaslight me and tell me that it was a great song and I was like I know it's not so everyone can stop lying to me so when we finally went to the press I did it and then it
Starting point is 00:44:34 then my my producing partner was like I'll just do the sites everywhere and I was like what are you talking about and then it was like this clip was everywhere about man the band responded and all of this stuff. And I had absolutely no idea. And I've kind of felt in that bad instance, somebody should have told me that I shouldn't be bad mouthing somebody's song. So in a weird way, I feel I trust the safety net, but then I don't trust it so much because then things I'll see things and I'm just like, oh oh yeah, no, I should have been told about that.
Starting point is 00:45:05 I think there's a lot more of everything. There's a million opinions, but, and there's a million ways to whatever, piss people off. The flip side of it, is it because there's so much, people forget? Yeah, I guess so. I mean, that band won't forget.
Starting point is 00:45:21 Right, right. But they shouldn't. I feel bad. No. They have a lot of fans. I was in the, you know. Right, right. But they shouldn't. I feel bad. No. They have a lot of fans. I was in the, you know, everybody else loved it. So clearly they're great and I'm weird. But I actually, yeah, I don't find out too much.
Starting point is 00:45:37 I just found out recently from Melanie that apparently there are people who really hate our characters and I didn't know. It's just that everyone loved me. So I'm just going gonna keep going with that. Yeah, well also, I think it's good as you get into your 87th or 88th year. Who was it? I think it was Jeff Daniels.
Starting point is 00:45:58 He did some show and the actor Jeff Daniels and the press started, critics started to ask him, well, some people think this about this project, or some people think that, and he said, you know guys, I can't help you. I can't help you. I'm, you know, I'm, this is the work that I did. And I loved when he said that, the phrase,
Starting point is 00:46:22 I can't help you, meaning you do your part, which is you do your work, and I do my work, and then it goes out there, and people are entitled to like it or not like it. But I don't know that I need to participate in the process of people liking or disliking it. This is what I did. And I wish I had had that attitude more
Starting point is 00:46:48 when I was in my 20s and 30s. I wish I had had a little bit more of that because I was very much, I just want everybody to be happy. And I think it's an improvement to be well, you know, some people have that early. Like Bob Dylan had that when he was 19, you know, this is what I'm gonna do. You don't like it, it's your problem, you know?
Starting point is 00:47:06 This is how I talk and this is how I sing. It's great, you know? And you're like, how did he have that? How did someone have that? But I think as I get older, I think, eh, that's what I did. And why should you, Christina Ricci, be actively looking for someone who mistakenly doesn't
Starting point is 00:47:26 like what you do? Yeah. No, I also find that like, I've just, I've never really been somebody who, like once I'm done, I sort of never revisit it. And for movies, that's always been totally fine. Because you finish it, you move on with your life, then you have to watch it once and answer some questions and then it's done, done, who cares? TV's a little bit different
Starting point is 00:47:48 because you keep revisiting the same thing, and the press lasts a lot longer as well. But I've always been someone who has a lot of, like, real-life emergencies. Like, you know, just life, you know? There's a drama over here and a family thing there, and your house is on fire and all this stuff. And so I've never... I've always been like,
Starting point is 00:48:06 I just, I don't have the time or mental capacity or energy to focus on something that I can't change. Yeah. I think that's a healthy way to be. I pronounce you healthy. Thanks. Amazing. Yeah. And I think my opinion should, I've no,
Starting point is 00:48:22 what he's going to say, Sona? I was going to say if anyone can pronounce someone healthy, it's you. Mentally healthy. Yes. Yeah, yeah I think my opinion should, I have no, what he's gonna say, Sona. I was gonna say, if anyone can pronounce someone healthy, it's you. Mentally healthy. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think you're the perfect guy to do it. I think you're perfect for that. I'm trying, I'm trying to evolve.
Starting point is 00:48:37 I'm doing the best I can to evolve. I know. And you've been with me a lot, Sona. You work on yourself. Yeah, we've been together a long time and you've seen me try to evolve. Yeah, yeah, you have evolved. And physically too, much more powerful.
Starting point is 00:48:49 I don't know about physically. I think I went too far. You're still kind of at the same place. Okay, well, all right, let's change the tone. Shall we change the tone a little bit? I think we should change the tone. Well, Christina, it's been a pleasure for me to get to talk to you again.
Starting point is 00:49:06 Thank you, me too. And I was, I just, I had a very nice warm feeling when I heard that you were gonna be coming in to talk because I had all these memories from that other life. Yeah, that's how I feel also. Yeah, you're like, oh, there's that guy who still can't get his skin still breaking out. Just stop it.
Starting point is 00:49:25 That is not what I thought. Come on. I thought, oh, I'm gonna go on forever. Our careers kind of started at the same time. Yeah, yeah. I do have that feeling now more and more if I just like see someone that I went to college to who I with that I haven't seen since the eighties.
Starting point is 00:49:40 My first overwhelming feeling is, hey, we're still here. Isn't this cool? Like I'm in a very basic way, we're still here and you're thriving and you're doing great work and I'm just very happy for you. Thank you. Thank you so much. I was so excited to come and see you.
Starting point is 00:49:56 And I do feel like we've been in each other's lives forever. Like I said, like our career started at the same time basically. I mean, my adult career, I had already had a child's career. That's right. That's right. I didn't know you then. But yeah, I'm just thrilled for you.
Starting point is 00:50:13 I really am. And thanks for being here. Congratulations on Yellow Jackets. Thank you. And have you started? This is the, what season is this? We have not gotten our pickup yet for season four. Let me handle that.
Starting point is 00:50:24 So we're all, everybody's like. Let me. I could make one phone call. Would you? Yeah, it won't do it. It'll really be a phone call where they hang up on me. It'll be to a receptionist and she will hang up on me. And then I'll call back and go, you know who I am?
Starting point is 00:50:40 And they'll be, no, no, we know. We know, you just have really no power and we're gonna do what we're gonna do with you. But congratulations and come back. Yeah, I would love to, we know, we know. You just have really no power, and we're gonna do what we're gonna do with you. But congratulations, and come back. Let's talk some more. Yeah, I would love to. All right. Sounds great. I want to come clean about something,
Starting point is 00:51:00 which is that recently I got a burner phone. You did? And I love it. I love having a burner phone, okay? Now, you've been intimately a part of the process, David. Basically, Oscars were getting close, and I was noticing that there was so much going on between the podcast and the HBO Max series and the Oscars. Humblberg, busy much, Conan?
Starting point is 00:51:23 I'm done. No, anyway, I was getting crazy, and I said to you, I just wanna have a phone so that I can call Liza, that I can call you, David, I can call Jeff, I can call Sweeney the head writer, like I really wanna just be able to- Sona's number's in there too. And Sona's, yes, Sona, you're in there as well. Okay, thanks.
Starting point is 00:51:43 Okay, I just chose not to call you. Um, no, I did call you from the burner phone, but here's the thing,'s, yes, Sona, you're in there as well. Okay, thanks. Okay, I just chose not to call you. No, I did call you from the burner phone, but here's the thing. So we went and we got a plastic flip phone. Yeah, I just called and ordered it. You went and picked it up all on your own. I went and picked it up all on my own and the young man selling it to me recognized me and was weirded out that I wanted this phone.
Starting point is 00:52:05 Well, because, okay, well, I was thinking after. Picture you're the person I call and I say, Conan O'Brien's coming in with an unlocked flip phone. He needs a like month to month number not connected to his regular one. It sounds like he's like involved in something. Yeah, it's shady, it is shady. And the guy acted, the kid acted like this is weird.
Starting point is 00:52:25 And I just said, give it to me now, I need it now. And walk around and it's this cute blue little guy. And I like him. I like him. And it's crazy, I tried to send a text on him. It's insane. Is it T9 texting? You have to press each button until the letter pops up? Yes. And I mean, you end up, everything's yes or no
Starting point is 00:52:52 with my answers. You can't send an elaborate thought because it takes 40 minutes for me. Wait, no bits? You just send a reply with no bits? I can't do bits because it's too, I can't do... Only text the burner. I can't...
Starting point is 00:53:07 Oh my God. So I start walking around with this thing and I'll call people and for a while, no one was picking up because this, it just... They're there. They just think I'm spam. But then I told them, look, I've got to burn a phone and here's the number.
Starting point is 00:53:22 And so I ended up not needing to use it as much as I thought, because it turns out not that many people were contacting me. I had this whole freak out, which is like, I'm hosting the Oscars. I'll be bombarded with well-wishers and advice from top celebrities. I need a burner phone so I can think my thoughts in seclusion.
Starting point is 00:53:46 No! Not that many people. So then I was contriving reasons to call people, like, um, hey, David. And you're like, yeah. You called me from your office upstairs. You could have just yelled my name. I called you from upstairs.
Starting point is 00:54:00 And I was like, can you come on up here? And you're like, yeah, I can. Good. Good thing I have this burner phone. So I still have it and I love it. I don't have a real reason to use it, but I love the idea of maintain, first of all, it expired automatically after a month. And then I got mad.
Starting point is 00:54:19 I was like, what are you doing? I wanna keep this thing. I wanna have this phone that only I know about. And I don't know what I'm going to do, but I know it's going to be crucial at some point soon in my life. I'm gonna be in some situation where I need this burner phone or I'm on the run.
Starting point is 00:54:39 I'm on the run, I'm on the road, I'm on the go. I'm trying to get off the grid. Can they trace a burner phone? No, the whole point is that they can't. That's why it's a burner phone. Here's one thing. My wife, I found it. I only found out about this recently, but she tracks us on our smartphones, all of us. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:54:56 Like me, our kids, like they're on the East Coast in college, and she's like, mm, getting lunch. I'm like, what? What the hell are you doing? No, mm, getting lunch. I'm like, what? What the hell are you doing? She's in the dining hall. And then not that long ago, I called her to tell her I'm running late to meet her for sushi. And I called her and go, yeah, I'm just stuck in traffic.
Starting point is 00:55:19 I'm just running a little late. And she went, well, you're pretty close. Oh! And I'm like, whoa! Good thing I didn't visit the mistress today. Ha ha ha ha. But still, I like the idea of maybe I'll just... She'll be like, I'll see what Conan's up to. And she'll call the phone and it will ring in the kitchen. And she'll be like, wait, he left the phone here?
Starting point is 00:55:55 And I'm out there somewhere. Yeah. In my old Ford Taurus. Because that can't be traced either. My 92 Ford Taurus, which I still own. And I got my burner phone. and none of you can get me. Well, David can call me. I'll be able to call you.
Starting point is 00:56:09 And Sona can call you too. And Jeff can call you too. And Jeff has it. Where are you gonna go? What are you gonna do? I'm just gonna go off the grid. But what does that even mean? Does that mean to a hotel or?
Starting point is 00:56:17 It means to Santa Monica. Oh, okay. All right. Six miles from my home. But you're also very recognizable. So people will see you, and maybe someone who knows Liza will just be like, I just suck. I have a baseball cap that says not Conan.
Starting point is 00:56:30 Okay. That should work. That's a good disguise. That'll be good. Who'd be the first person to flip on you if Liza pressed them? What do you mean? All of us.
Starting point is 00:56:38 Between people on your burner phone. Everybody. All of us. They would all. All of us. They're all allied with my wife. Yeah. Every single person. I can't think of anyone who my wife. Yeah, every single person.
Starting point is 00:56:45 I can't think of anyone who wouldn't. There's not one person who would take my side over Liza's side. Everybody, everybody, everybody prefers her. Call us and we'd be like Santa Monica before she even asked us. The exact location, yeah. Yeah, like he's eating here.
Starting point is 00:56:59 He's having a lobster. Isn't it kind of nice though, not to like be obsessed with looking at your phone? No, it is good. And I did it because I had just read an article in the New York Times where someone said, it helps break your addiction to your phone. If you have a flip phone
Starting point is 00:57:20 and actually recommended this brand of flip phone, and that's why I got it. And I do find, if you have the security of knowing, like here, I can call these key people and find out what's going on. I really like not being tempted to look at the texts, not being tempted to look at the emails. Can you tell us, maybe they'll send us a bunch.
Starting point is 00:57:41 No, I think that would be immoral. What? You were like set on it too. It was like a Saturday and you were like, I want this now. I want a flip phone. Yeah, you know what? You know when you get,
Starting point is 00:57:50 I don't know if everyone's like this, when I get an idea, I want to, let's get this done, David. And then I drove down there, I wanted to go pick it up. I was excited and I'm still excited. I love this little guy. He's cute.
Starting point is 00:58:01 And it goes, it goes, whoop. Yeah, oh, that's my other favorite thing is when a conversation's over, I try to be argumentative at the end of the conversation. Just flip. Just so I can flip, so I can snap it shut. So I'll be getting along perfectly well with whoever and then I'll say, I know you're embezzling from me.
Starting point is 00:58:17 And they'll say, wait, what? You're a robber and you know it. And then I just click it shut. Yeah. Snap. That's cool. It's great. It's great. It's such a great way to end a conversation.
Starting point is 00:58:27 Flip phones, bring them back into your life, says Conan. Yeah, I'm actually inspired to get one. Aren't they like making smart flip phones? I don't want a smart phone. No. I want a, yeah, I want no email. I want no apps. Oh, they also are making, there's a phone now
Starting point is 00:58:40 that unfolds and you basically unfold it and it becomes like a computer screen. I mean, things are getting weird. I say go flip phone. That's what I say. Also, aren't the kids, and I don't know this, but David, you're the closest connection to youth. Aren't they rejecting smartphones in favor of,
Starting point is 00:58:57 they're called dumb phones in favor of dumb phones now? I don't know. Yeah, you asked the wrong. Flip it up. What's the slogan? Hey, so are you saying that- Go to flip town. Guess what?
Starting point is 00:59:07 Accidentally. I love that. Accidentally, I did something. My instinct was to do something that all the young people were doing. You flipped it up. Yeah. Well, I don't think that's-
Starting point is 00:59:15 You went to flip town. No. A flip flop. You're flipping it. The flip flop isn't good because the flop means it didn't go well. I'm trying to, I came up with a good slogan for it. Just say flip town. Don't give me any of your flip lip. Oh, up with a good slogan for it. Just say Flip Town.
Starting point is 00:59:25 Don't give me any of your flip-flip. Oh, that's awful. So, I, anyway, that's the new me. And if you get it, hey, anyone listening right now, if you get what you think is a spam call, pick it up. It might be me calling you. Your camera's here.
Starting point is 00:59:40 Oh, there's my camera. Yeah. Peace out. Conan O'Brien needs a friend. Oh, there's my camera. Yeah. Peace out. Conan O'Brien needs a friend. With Conan O'Brien, Sonam Avsesian, and Matt Gourley. Produced by me, Matt Gourley. Executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and Nick
Starting point is 00:59:55 Leow. Theme song by The White Stripes. Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy. Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair, and our associate talent producer is Jennifer Samples. Engineering and Mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns. Additional production support by Mars Melnik.
Starting point is 01:00:16 Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Battista, and Brit Kahn. You can rate and review this show on Apple Podcasts, and you might find your review read on a future episode. Got a question for Conan? Call the Team Coco hotline at 669-587-2847 and leave a message. It too could be featured on a future episode. You can also get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign up at siriusxm.com slash Conan. And if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.

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