Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade - Anthony Michael Hall

Episode Date: June 19, 2024

The Brat Pack, working with Chevy Chase and almost working with Stanley Kubrick, and a year on SNL with Anthony Michael Hall. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I think Dana, you're familiar with Anthony Michael Hall. Of course. Grew up with him. I was very similar to him in torpiness and skinniness and nerdiness. So I really related to these movies, we're around the same age. So growing up, watching 16 Candles,

of course, all the hits he had, Breakfast Club and they were just pumping out. He has lots, he has a big science. Yeah, a lot of stuff to talk about. Big, big career. And he was on a Saturday Night Live cast, remember, at the age of 17, youngest ever in 1985, with Robert Downey Jr. and Randy Quaid, met Madonna.

So we go over that with our family. Yeah, I think people, I think Eddie Murphy's the youngest, but it is Anthony Michael Hall youngest. And he also loves Eddie Murphy. He grew up watching those comedy specials like we did. So lots to talk about SNL, was with Chevy Chase on vacation, another monster hit. And he's got Trigger Warning coming out on Netflix,

which is an action comedy. I mean, just an action movie with Jessica Alba, who we like, who we should come on here. I don't know why. I don't even know if she's hosted, but I like her. That'd be great. But season three of Reacher, he's in the play. Oh, Reacher, he's all over that. Playing the heavy for season three. I believe that's Amazon Prime for Amazon. And so we get into Stanley Kubrick. He talked to on the phone.

We get a lot of cool stuff. Yeah. He almost was in full metal jacket. He's worked with everybody. He's part of the Brad Pack. He doesn't make a fuss about it, but there's that famous era with the media to estimate. Everyone is sort of resistant about being in the Brad Pack.

I guess it just sounds negative or something. Well, you were called the bad boys, weren't you? Oh yeah, the bad boys of SNL. And that's like, I get why they think it sounds dumb. I don't know why. I remember seeing a best of the bad boys. And why are they the bad boys? I don't know why.

We all came in together and we were all idiots. And yeah, I don't mind that, but it's not quite as big as the Brat Pack. There's the Rat Pack, which people know is, what is that? Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra and Joey Bishop. Well, yeah. And then that's how they came up with the Brat Pack, right? Yeah. And then they used to call the Rat Pack, they used to call, well, then the Six Pack,

because they drank so much. Oh, and then they call that rapper two pack. Yeah, okay. Because he would get two beers only. Yeah, he only had two beers, I guess. All right, well, here's Anthony Michael Hall. And also I have a 12 pack, but it's not drinking, it's something.

But anyway, Anthony Michael Hall is a hell of a nice guy. It was the first time I ever got to talk to him. And now all the hot actors have the pussy posse. Anyway, we're going to cut to this. I'll come back and explain that with all the... At the end, I do Dennis Miller a few times in her because it made Anthony laugh so much that at the end, I go, I said, love you, babe. So you'll hear me say, love you, babe, to Anthony Michael. And it's so weird.

Okay, wait until the end. Anthony Michael Hall. Yeah, Anthony Michael Hall. Anthony, yeah. Tony. We're better now. We got, we got you on. This is awesome, man. Hey guys. Hey. Anthony. Anthony. Yeah. How are you?

Tony. We're better now. We got, we got you on. This is awesome, man. Great to be with you both, man. I'm big fans. Jeez, Louise. I've been studying your career.

It's pretty extraordinary. Yeah, God damn. Thank you sir. Come and get some. Come and get some. Oh no, you know that one? Oh my God. Yeah. I love it. Honest to God, guys, I'm a huge fan of no, you know that one? Oh my God. Yeah.

I love it. Honest to God, guys, I'm a huge fan of both of you. It's an honor to me. Let me just do one so people have never heard of. I'm red, red, this red, this is a redneck comedian. I'm red, red neck, the redneck comedian. I met my sister only cause mama turned me down. Come and get some.

Come and get some. Come and get some. Jesus. Oh man, where's that, we need it. We gotta get that character on. Shit, get that, dog. Jesus. Oh man, where's SNL? We need it. We gotta get that character on, actually. Shit, get that thing going. That's got legs. Yeah, man.

Anthony Michael Hall, what has not he done? Let's start it right now and then go back. Yeah. Third season of Reacher, which I love that show, and that guy is jacked. He's jacked Reacher and he's an awesome actor. So you're playing the villain or the whatever in that third season. So that's pretty cool.

That's 20, 24, 25. Now let's go back to 19. 15. You became a superstar at 12. What took you so long? What took you so long? What took you so long? How many years did you? Don't get it wrong.

I was counting my pubes coming to that song. I was, I was, I was. Yeah, what was the question? I'm sorry guys, I missed it. No, well. We have no questions. We have no questions. We only have answers. We know at 13, you broke out with National Lampoon vacation.

So you worked with Chevy Chase and you survived it. That's a joke, Chevy. Well, do you audition for that? Is it a cattle call? Are you already doing stuff? I did, yeah. No, I remember I auditioned for the late great Harold Ramis and Maddie Simmons.

Oh, what a stud. Yeah, man. And it was a great experience. So next thing you know, we're on the road, man. And that crew, we actually started the project in LA. We shot that scene where we pick up the car with the great Eugene Levy. And then we hit the road, man. And then the whole crew, we went, we flew to Colorado and then we worked our way back. We kind of saw half the country together. And then we went to Arizona and then wound up in LA. But yeah, great project that got it all started for me as a kid.

And John Hughes had actually written that guys and I didn't meet him on that project. Didn't meet him until I did 16 candles, but just incredible working with him, Eugene Levy and the great John Candy. I mean, so many people I just looked up to, man. It was a great experience. Holy shit.

That movie is a classic. I mean it for sure but kind of tilted Comedy those comedies of the 80s, you know, there's what how do you describe them? They're just fun Just thank you, man. No, it was great to be a part of it. You know, it really was John Candy was great. I loved him. I'm sure you guys worked with him, right? Did you work? I never saw John Candy in real life. Did you, Dana? I didn't. I just loved him from afar.

I thought I loved SCTV. I thought his, it's kind of a cliche, but his pathos, his empathy, it was just pretty stout. I mean, what was the, sorry, early onset, the one with Steve Martin, those aren't- Plane streams in automobile. His speech at the end when they're saying goodbye, Steve Martin told us just to hear a few months ago, it was kind of the greatest act he'd ever witnessed.

I think he said it was really a lot longer too. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. That's the heart of that film, isn't it? It's about friendship and how they just really embrace each other. Those aren't pillows. For other. Those aren't, but those aren't pillows. Yeah, for sure.

Pillows. Steve Martin, but, uh, he was, he was such a joy to be around, man. He really was uncle Buck. You know, he was a great guy. Do you guys remember on SPTV back in the day, or they would do the Schmengel brothers, he and Eugene Levy. The Schmengel brothers, you know, Levy. The Schmengi brothers, Jochen Steng Schmengi, you know. So I remember him joking with, yeah, he would joke with me.

He said, Mike, you're an honorary Schmengi. I'm gonna call you Lienz Schmengi, very nice, Lienz. What a blast of a huge star. Damn, you're 13, you've got John Hughes, who you developed this great film history thing together. And then you're with all these superstars and you're 13 and they're funny and they're older than- Chevy was probably a blast though

because he was a superstar. He was, man. He was a lot of fun. I mean, a different mindset, different, you know, he's very sarcastic and snarky, but that's Chevy, man. You gotta just adapt and- He's a ball buster, yeah. He's a ball buster. He. He's a ball buster.

He came on here and busted our balls for an hour and a half. Oh, he loves saying what you're not supposed to say. What you're not supposed to say, he has to say. And sometimes it gets him in trouble. But once you know that is his sense of humor, saying out loud what you're not supposed to say, it just gets funnier and funnier. But yeah, he busted our balls pretty good, I tell you that, man. I tell you that. He broke them balls. Yeah. Well,

I had a great time with him on Community too. I did Community about, I don't know if that's 10 years ago. Oh, you did? You're the one that had the great time with him? If we can sidebar those stories. No, absolutely. I had a great time. I really did. I mean, I know he got, I guess he remitted some issues on that show. We gotta be careful here. Well, listen, we had fun with him. I mean, I think it's just, I'm sure there know he got, I guess he rended some issues on that show. I gotta be careful here. Well, listen, we had fun with him. I mean, I think it's just, I'm sure there's people that, you know, I rub wrong or Dana rubbed wrong. It's just a way of life and acting and stress and all this shit you do and different things.

But I don't know, he cracks me up. He'll always be a guy on SNL and a vacation, all that stuff. So he's already okay for me. Yeah. He said to us toward the end, like, like it was just, we were laughing at this point, everything he said, he goes, well, I had like a way, way bigger career than you guys. Right.

And we're like, yeah, of course you did. And then he's completely a puppy dog, you know, right. Never get defensive with him. Always say yes. Just take the beating. Right, no, I'm with you because he touched the total off balance, but that is just his way. It's his way of measuring.

It's like a boxer measuring punches. Yeah. Yeah. So vacation is super, that's not holiday row. Is that that one? Yeah, that was the first one. Oh my God, that's a song. And then they came back to the kids, which kind of became part of the running joke.

Oh yeah, when did you go into that machine that switched you into a different kid? Well, ironically, what happened was, because I started working with John, I did the trilogy of film, I did 16 candles with John, so I went to Chicago, and then we went right into Breakfast Club and Weird Science right after that. So in a period of two years, I had done three films

with John, it was amazing. Weird Science, woo! And who was the what? Was it Kelly Brock? Who was it? It was Kelly LeBrock. Let's look at the poster. Kelly LeBrock. Yeah. She was lovely. And you guys were just incredibly perfect nerds. I don't know. Come on, Chet.

Just right before you, I know you did a few things and then you do this like, it is a little savanty to be that good, that natural, that loose in a movie. It's not normal. So, well, did you just weren't nervous because it just was happening? Or how were you so good, so young? First of all, let me enjoy that compliment

from Dana Carvey. Yeah, soak it in. Come and get some. But it's absolutely, it's from the heart. He probably, you know, and he probably doesn't even know it. He's just good. And it's just like, why is everyone making a fuss over this? I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do. Guys, honestly, I love and look up to you both, man.

I was just a goofy kid, man. You know, when I was growing up, I was listening to Van Halen and the Police and it, but I would love, I loved George Carlin and Pryor. They were my heroes. I listened to those old albums and later I studied and learned about Lenny. I guess I just had an appetite for comedy. I never done stand up, but I just loved comics.

So really like Carlin and Pryor were heroes of mine. And I guess I just, I was one of those kids. It's like the beginning of that old classic Eddie Murphy concert movie, raw when he's performing for his family. I was that kid, man. I do funerals and weddings. I get up there and imitate my uncles and aunts and you know, just kind of have a good. I think you've kind of dead panned it. You were just playing very real. You weren't like swinging for the fences. And that was part of how good it was. You were just like really this kid. And I guess it was based kind of on John Hughes' life,

but I'm sure you're not trying to emulate that because you don't know what that is. But just to be like a goo, you kind of look goofy, you're saying goofy things, but you're doing it all straight and trying to get these hot chicks. It's all funny. Maybe you've had this later at various times. It was me. But you can have a director, it wasn't David, who might resent you a little bit, is busting your balls, maybe kind of pressuring the actor a little bit. So it seems like with John Hughes, I'm just assuming he just made you feel really good, let you be playful. What was the working process like? Yeah, you're right on the mark with that, Danny. He really was. He was great. I mean, look, he was

so talented as a writer-director. There was always funny stuff on the page for everybody. I'm sure it's like that when you work with Adam, who I love, David. The scripts are always funny. So we would always kind of do two or three takes for John. And then he would just be like, yeah, whip it out, like do something else, try something else. So what he did for me, he did for all of us.

Now, and he was, he was really just, he was very lucid that way, very open to suggestions. And I think that was one of the great talents too, man. He had a gift obviously as a writer director, but he was also really cool and he would allow things to happen. And I think that sort of empathy and that sort of understanding of letting things develop was part of his genius too. I really do. Did he not over, he didn't overshoot then like, I had a director, like so many angles, like you're actually exhausted. You don't even, you come in at 8 a.m. and they get to your money shot at six o'clock that night.

Was he more facile moving masters, two shots? I know the lingo. Yeah, you do sir. Yeah, no, he was, he moved quickly. He did, he didn't over, I mean, until we did something like the Breakfast Club, which was kind of like filming a play. But yeah, to your point, Danny, he was... Oh, it was contained.

Yeah, contained, right. Yeah, Breakfast Club was contained. Now, sometimes I've been on sets with people where they go, just go crazy and do whatever you want. This is the last one, because mostly I'm doing just comedy. And some people with different backgrounds are very good, but you're gonna get the same performance on every take. And they don't know when they say, do whatever you want, they go, no, this is the way it's supposed to be done. And they don't take advantage of that.

And I wonder like on Breakfast Club, you're a kid, first of all, like the fact that you could even improv is kind of shocking. And then I guess everyone was loose enough to go with whatever. Right. And it's also what Dana said too, dude, you're right on with that. He was just cool like that.

He had an emphasis, like he, he considered all of our performances and roles a collaboration. So we would often sidebar with him and talk throughout the process. And the other thing he did, which was really cool, he always sat right next to the camera. Like if you've seen the old documentaries on Fellini or any of these great directors, he must be right there. And John was

like that, man. You know, when we're doing the, when we pour our hearts out at the end and we're all sitting in a circle, he would literally be next to the lens, just like the first, you know, at the camera pole, at the focus pole, you know. He was always right there in the mix with us. So, you know, it had a lot to do with just, I think he saw it all as a work in progress and kept it very fluid that way, which was cool. Yeah. Well, whatever he captured was magic because there's a looseness and a sweetness to that. Those John Hughes movies of the eighties, the guy is so talented.

I'm just going to ask you quickly about, well, Molly Ringwald was incredibly likable and natural in that movie. And Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson as the badass, must've been fun for him. Ali Shidi, and I know there's more Rat Pack, I don't wanna dive into this yet, but those of you who are co-stars in that movie, you got anything that'll trend for us?

Yeah, no, listen, I saw them recently. We did a signing. I do these, you know, Comic-Con signings. I've been doing them for years. They're a lot of fun. So I traveled country and we did one recently Pittsburgh and it was a little bit of a reunion. So I saw Ali, I saw Molly and I saw Judd.

Oh, how fun you do them together. That's even better. It was cool, man. It was really fun. Oh, people freak out. Yeah, yeah. And Judd has so much Bender in him. He's such cool, man. It was really fun. People freak out. Yeah. Yeah. And John, I mean, Judd has so much Bender in him. He's such a, he's a super intelligent guy, really funny, but very kind of manic too. He's always got great stories and he's a lot of fun. So we all

actually got together for dinner, except for Allie, because Allie's in bed early every night. So she didn't join us, but Molly, her husband and I, and Judd and some friends got together. Allie has dandruff in her hair? Is that still there? So when you sign up to join the Brat Pack, is it a lot of paperwork? By the way, are you in the documentary that's either out or coming out about the Brat Pack? No, no. I've met Andrew at a bunch of these signings and work situations. He's a great guy. Yeah, I just chose not to, you know, I like to look forward, you know, and that's my thing. But listen, I heard this bull and he's a nice guy.

He's carved out a really cool career for himself. He directs a lot of TV and he's a writer. Was he in any with you? I can't even remember. No, I didn't do any with him. The core group went on to do St. Elmo's, but I wasn't at the time. Oh, right, St. Elmer's Fudd.

And who is in the BRAC pack? Can we name them? Who is the BRAC? I know who's officially who's in St. Emilio, Rob Lowe, Joe. Yeah, I'll give them that. Okay. I'll give those guys. They earn their stripes. Yeah, they were all older than I, so I was, I was still in high school. Oh, I get out of school. Oh, chat, chat. Come on, chat. No, I don't think Paxton was named there. school and high school get out of school. Chat, chat, come on chat. No, I don't think it was Bill Paxton. How funny, you know, he was a bad guy.

Yeah. Oh, I love Bill Paxton. Love him. Me too. Fucking weird, weird science doesn't, it does get enough credit. I hate when people say that about my movies. You know what one I actually liked?

It's like, shut the fuck up. It's good. You know, weird Science was great. Kelly LeBrock was unreal. Every kid loved it. Every kid was a nerd like me at my school. We're like exactly right up our alley. We're around the same age.

I just go, this is great. Always had cool music, all those pretty in pink. I still hear those songs on the radio. It just reminds me of all that. All good memes. And then you get, now you're still a little twerp and then you get on the radio. It just reminds me of all that. All good memes. And then you get, now you're still a little twerp and then you get on SNL. Well, but before that, let's just say that- Before that, Dana had one thing. Turn down-

Oh yeah, the turning down the balls of this guy. Ferris Bueller's day off in pretty and pink. And you just were a confident young man. Do you have any regrets or that, I mean? No, you know what it was guys at that point, and this is something I expressed to John, but I had done those films and I think that I just wanted to try something different, man. I just wanted to move forward.

I was a Bueller. Yeah, you were a Wiley veteran at 16. It was time to move on. No, I get it. Like they're all kind of not the same, but it's a version. No, I got it. Yeah. Vision. Yeah. Well, you bet you're betting on your talent. You're just saying, no, this is not all I do. And so you never really got stuck in that. And then you, and then you got matured, you grew up and you know, okay, so you turn those down and John Hughes was heartbroken or how was your,

was it, or is he mellow? He understood, he's like, I'm sorry. I think he might've been, yeah, I think he was hurt by that and I'm so sorry for that. That's the only regret that I have because actually after he had passed away, years later, I got a call from Joel Silver who had actually produced the film with us,

and for us, and he's a great guy too, Joel's still active. and he had mentioned that to me. He thought that maybe that John obviously was hurt by that and I feel really bad for that. But on the upside, the good news is that the last time I actually spoke to John guys, I think it was 1988 or 89, John called me with John Candy on the phone and we just kind of shut the shit and hung out for a couple hours and that was pretty great, man. So, you pretty great man so you know I love that Joel Silver takes time out of his day to say I know he just passed away but he was kind of mad about one thing yeah yeah you're like that's cool thank you just so I'm we were kind of tagging up on the

timing of his death and you know it was it was a nice call but yeah I just need to know were you gonna be the Matthew Broderick character or the sidekick for Ferris? Yeah, he wrote the Broderick character for me, and then I felt like with the pretty in pink role that John Cryer did, and those guys are great, man. Gotta wish anybody success, but I just feel like I had done that. It seemed like the same paradigm as 16 Cannell,

the same kind of story, you know? But that being said, we had a great time, man. You know, and I think hopefully it shows on camera being said, we had a great time, man. And I think hopefully Joe's, so, yeah. Well, when you're with a- Life moves pretty fast. John Hughes, his record was kind of like 100%, right? I don't even know if he, I mean, all the movies are great. So when you're with a writer director and you already did three classics,

so I kind of see where maybe it was a smart thing in a way to do that. Yeah, it's like saying it just, you're not going to get as much credit if it works because those are already stamped out that you're really good at them. And then you go, but if I try like something like even SNL or, uh, something else different, that's so out of left field that you go, let's see what I can do here. I'm Tanks and Atra and I'm investigators later. And together I'm Investigator Slater.

And together we co-host a podcast called Psychopedia, which is a true crime podcast infused with comedy making it a crime-ity. Each week, Investigator Slater brings us a wild and thoroughly researched true crime case. I'm here to digest it all and react just like you probably are right there on the other side of the microphone. Somehow, I've got to present each case with the detail and respect it deserves while also cracking up at Tank's perfectly timed humor and thought provoking questions.

Listen to and follow Psychopedia on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Will you walk us through then, so you're this movie star, you're doing this, I guess you're 17, and you have your people, agents or managers, you're huddling, you're thinking. And then how do you get on Saturday Night Live at 17, beat Eddie Murphy by two years? Yeah, Eddie was the hero of mine and I was literally in my mother's apartment two years before watching him every weekend. I loved it. I just got a call after I had done those films. I got a call from Lauren's office and it was just a direct offer. To be honest guys, I accepted and then I

remember walking around the city for a month or two before we started. I was basically shitting my pants because I couldn't believe I committed to it. Because it just meant so much to me growing up. I really did. In the 70s as a little kid, I would ask my mother to stay at blade, I would watch the show and I just loved

everybody from the original cast all the way up through Eddie and Joe Piscopo and those days and you know truthfully 85 86 season was one of the worst if not maybe the in 50 years of the show but with that said it was it was your fault we're number one well you guys know when you guys broke out you were huge stars on SNL but you know the doing of the show is such a thrill so even if you don't have a great breakout character or a sketch, just the visceral feel of it, it's like rock and roll theater, stand up every little part. You know, so it's incredible, incredible experience. And you get all the stress, but not all the notoriety.

You get all the hard part of SNL. You just don't get like the blow. And, but there's, there must've been good sketches that year. You have Robert Downey was was it Terry Sweeney? You have a lot of people that are talented. So you're gonna stumble into a winner now. And then I just think people blanketly say that was a bad year, you know?

And that's a tough thing to have. Yeah, it was. I mean, and also at the end of the year, there was a sketch where I think all the cast was set ablaze. Yeah, we heard about that. I watched that live going, what is going on? So explain that.

The ones that were saved were John Lovitz, who I've seen on your show. He's hilarious with you guys. I love Lovitz. And I think Nora Dunn and everybody else was just like, ah, don't worry about it. We'll let them burn. So weird. Did you know ahead of time that you were going to go into this ritual fire that meant that you were being not coming back? I kind of didn't, but I also had a unique deal that Lauren was kind enough to help facilitate. I was doing a movie in the same year called Out of Bounds, which was my first, you know, step in a new direction as a young actor.

And so I didn't do a whole season, even though I brought Downey to Lauren and Downey did the whole season. I did, I think, 13 of 18 or 13. Oh, okay. Oh, you didn't even to Lauren and Downey did the whole season. I did, I think 13 of 18. Oh, okay. Oh, you didn't even, you can't even take the whole beginning of that here. You go, I'll come back for the fire. And that's it. Right, right, right. Exactly.

But it was an abbreviated season. But nonetheless, as you guys know, man, it's just the doing of the show is incredible. It's hard to put words to it, you know, but also people don't understand how much work is involved. I mean, it's a six day a week job, man. You're working your ass off. It's gross. Oh, and you're going live in 36 hours.

It shouldn't exist. It's ridiculous. It's, that's why no one else does it. Was Lovitz, cause that was John's, who's a good friend of us, breakout year. That's the liar was the sort of catchphrase, killer year. What was it like?

I remember being at Realstein Gray on Broadway, guys. I don't know if Lauren Hellbenton should have been there. Remember that? Remember that? Yeah. Okay. And I remember Lovett's coming in and he did the liar and it just killed.

He was, people loved it. And I've heard you guys talk when you had him on the show about his booming voice, like he had that whole thing down. I guess it was from the Ground, like he's working on it. Alderdash. Master thespian and the liar. He came in with those two. Great voice.

Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Jealous. Yeah, jealous. Jealous, yeah, exactly. I'm a star. Now is Downey, when you're on there with him,

are you buddies or you just meet him there? We had met doing weird science, David. Oh, that's right, weird science in science, David. And, uh, Oh, that's right. We're giants. He was in there. Yeah, man. Oh, that's right. Yeah. And so I, I was, you know, we had become good friends and we actually wrote a script together along with his father, great Downey senior, um, around that time. Um, and then,

yeah, I mean, it came up that I got the show and I spoke to Robert and I was able to help him with his audition and then Lauren loved him, you know, and again, it was at Burlstein gray, you know, over there, the old golf. He does have star quality. Um, yeah. So did he have a good time? You guys all, I mean, was it fun doing it? It just didn't work out or was it just all like, you knew shit, this is an

uphill battle. I think it was all the above David. you knew shit, this is an uphill battle? I think it was all the above David. It was fun. It was an uphill battle. I mean, it's a very competitive atmosphere as you guys know with writers. But the whole process of doing the show was amazing, man. You know, you come in on a Monday as you guys know and remember, all the sketches had to

be delivered by Wednesday and then you're rehearsing around the clock, man, from Thursday on. So you got to be all in man even if even if things aren't hitting with the audience and you really won't know until it's live anyway so it's hard to. How did the competitive thing come to you? Just you know at read through I mean it is competitive but it's also camaraderie it's both but. Yeah I think maybe I felt the data just because I was such a young kid and and you know how it is. I think comedians can be, I think both things. There's a very kind of fraternal, brotherly aspect

to comics with each other, but also they can be kind of cutthroat, especially when somebody's on stage and the other comics are at the bar heckling them or whatever. I know, we're all little wounded children inside somewhere. And if there's a shiny object, you're like sort of shot in the head.

Yeah, we're mangled. Okay. So what would I'm trying to guess what Dennis Miller's nickname he would never call you was he there? Yeah. Okay. Oh my God. I feel like I'm with him again when I hear you.

I got a couple of nickels. Come on. Hey man. What are you doing this week? You got got something pithy at update you and the downy cat will get up there and kind of proclaim put your wares out for the American public to consume. OK, Sparky. That's it. So you read through you got nothing.

Right. Right. Oh, no, he was like that. The running commentary and always like, you know, in a golfer's tone. Right. Like he'd just whisper it to you. Yeah, I like that. But the seventh show, he's like, Spudly, sorry to. Oof. Out of bullets already. Hey, it's the attack of the three named cast members, Anthony Michael Hall

and Robert Downey Jr. Anybody thinking about dropping that middle one and having a- Where are we gonna hire Maria Conchito Alonso? You remind me of Vinnie Licknick, you know, the short stop for the Dodgers in circa 1957. How do I remind you of that? I don't know, just the piss-ty. What about that you beat out Jim Carrey

in 16 candles, is that true? Jim Carrey, that little twerp? I know. Everybody's a little talk to you, Spade. Huh? What's going on? He must have been about 11. So you beat him out for 16 and I beat him out for SNL. Way after the fact. I've always loved Jim. I love his work. Love Jim. He's a genius on many levels. He is. He is. No, I didn't know about it at the time, but I actually used to see Jim at Laker games when Dr. Buss was still with us. I loved Jim Carrey. No, I didn't know about it at the time, but I actually used to see Jim at the Laker games

when Dr. Buss was still with us. And I loved Jim Carrey. No, I didn't know about that at the time, but I guess, I guess he was in the running. He auditioned for SNL when I was there too. I auditioned for In Living Color and guess who beat me out? Jim Carrey. I have a funny story. I have a funny story for you guys, how Damon Wayans got fired from SNL. And Damon, forgive me for this, but it was really funny.

Griffin Dunn, who you guys had on recently, I think, right? Yes. Great. Great guy. I worked with him on this movie, War Machine, with Brad Pitt. I had to drop names around there, but oh, here's one. Sure, Brad. So basically, this sketch was a Miami Vice sketch, and it was 85, 86.

So it was like that time when Miami Vice, they were on the cover of Time magazine, the whole thing. So Damon was going to be playing, was it Crockett or Tubbs? I can't remember. And Griffin was playing the Don Johnson role. But I had a running joke with Damon, which was he was a supporting player at the time, right? He hadn't made it into the cast.

So every time I would see Damon in the hallway, I would go February, because that was the time for sweeps and then Lorne would make decisions and maybe he would be up to be, you know, brought it to the cast. So every time I would see Damon in the hallway, I would go February, because that was the time for sweeps. And then Lauren would make decisions and maybe he would be up to be, you know, brought it to the cast. February was our joke. But anyway, he came on live and did this sketch. It was obviously a Miami Vice setup, but he wound up doing it like the character he did on Living Color, like very gay and feminine. Hey, hey, hey, yeah. Right, right, exactly. But he didn't tell Lorne or anybody else, so he promptly got fired. Yeah.

He just did it live, and I think it threw everybody off. I don't know if Griffin was pissed off, but I think Lorne was, so anyway, that led to his firing, but then again, he wound up on Living Color, so Damon's great. Where were you standing when that happened?

Were you around? Were you on 8H watching the sketch live and going, holy shit? I think I was, yeah. I think I was probably like in the hallway live and going, holy shit? Yeah. Yeah, I think I was probably like in the hallway there, guys, that we often film where they would shoot stuff. The funny thing is, I know you're a cast member, but another funny part is back then, even when I was there,

you, if your friends or anybody come, they can go stand three feet from Kurt Cobain and watch and just stare because no one, there's no security really anywhere. Everyone just walks around and Phil Hartman's running through and he can't get to his quick change and people are just spilling their red cups. And you're like, everyone should, there shouldn't be right here.

You shouldn't be part of the show. They're literally like one foot away from the sketch. Very odd. I think they've probably cleaned that up. Did you have some moments that, like, cause I remember Neil Young, I'll just give my one, he was playing something acoustic

and I wandered around and I was like five feet from him. And it was like, that's Neil Young. And it was, it's just kind of mind blowing. Did you have some of those with music guests or with guests, guests, hosts? I don't know. Oh yeah. Well, the first, the first season opener was Madonna. That was a trip because Madonna was, you know, top of the world then. She was gorgeous. Oh shit, yeah. Well, the first season opener was Madonna. That was a trip because Madonna was top of the world then.

She was gorgeous. Oh shit, yeah. So I was kind of freaked out by working with Madonna. She was incredible, had great energy and charisma. But musically, yeah, like when George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic played. Or that data, there were so many moments where you're mind blown, you're like,

what the hell am I a part of? It was really incredible. Dana, I did a movie with George Clinton, just FYI. It's not Brad Pitt, but. Who haven't you worked with David? Um, I think I've hit up most of SAG at this point and been pieces of AFTRA. We had, um, um, Roy Orbitzen was on my first season. And he's the Roy Orbitzen, but you know,

he was people forget and stuff. And he comes out, he seems like an angel. If he looked like Elvis, he would have been the biggest person. And I remember at the party, Lauren going, oh, the thing about tonight's show was Roy Orbitzen. You know, you just, you tend to forget and then you see it and you remember. I love it. I go, did you just think of that, Lauren?

No, your Lord is impeccable. I mean, he's incredible, man. I learned so much watching the Lord was incredible. I remember when he took us to a Yankee game, me and Downey and when he was with Nicholson. So we went with, with Lauren Nicholson. Okay. Let's hear this story. Lauren Nicholson. It was just like, he Nicholson. Okay, let's hear this story. Lauren Nicholson. Well, it's not a big story, but it was just like he took us to a Yankee game. It's like, we're gonna be going, I can't do more, but we're picking up Jack and then I'll get you in Downey.

And then anyway, we went up to the Bronx. That's good. Close enough. Yeah, I think Jack, I learned from you, did it. I think he shook about 500 hands on the way to our seats, but it was pretty great. Just having moments like that. I had one, can I tell mine is 10 seconds?

So I go and it's Chevy and Lauren and I, and then this is 86, so I'm all blown away with the whole thing. And then Chevy goes, hey, you wanna meet Mike Tyson? Cause Mike Tyson was sitting way down toward the field. And you wanna come with me and meet Mike Tyson? So we're wandering through the crowd and it's Chevy, Pete Chevy.

Oh my God. Chow chow. I never even been on, I hadn't been on TV at that point. So we met Mike Tyson. Yeah, you guys are great. I love the, if you want to go to the park later, we could do the see-saw.

I like see-saw. Push me in the swing. It's all a word. If you can say see-saw as Mike Tyson, you have him. You're 98% And you're there. Right. See-thaw.

So wait, did you have a crush like I did on Beverly D'Angelo and still do? Oh yeah. That guy was on Rich Eisenstein the other day. And I told that story. I was basically, I got caught by Patty Simmons. Well, I got caught when they were doing the psycho spoof scene where Chevy comes to the shower and he's waving a banana at her.

And of course, a 14-year-old mate snuck on the set and I was watching because she went topless there. Even though it was a closed set. So my dumb ass was busted by Maddy Simmons, who was also there. She was the producer of the show. But yeah, so Beverly was great. She was a lot of fun. She still is.

She's a fun lady. Oh, she's great. What starlet did you lose your virginity for? Yeah, well, yeah, go ahead. Come on. Just give me the first five. You don't have to answer that. I'm just thinking teenage hormones, movie star.

Kelly LeBron, who else? I mean, Mary now, Dana, you know how it is. I don't wanna, I don't wanna No, you don't have to say anything, but let's just suffice to say, you were getting really, really famous as a horny teenager. I know. And we don't even know what happens to that.

But like Mickey Rooney told me a long time ago, money makes you a handsomer. This is true. Yeah. No, no, we won't go into it, but let's suffice to say that you were popular. You did just fine. How about Spade though?

I heard he has a bevy of ladies talking at the door. Spade? Oh, I will tell you that the dating spiked up a little bit when I got some fame and it really was flatlining until then, literally zero. So I do think that there's a little extra special sauce when you have something because girls like, whatever. Anyway.

Well, you learn a lot about human nature, not just girls, but human nature. Cause I was on a sitcom in 1981 in New York with Mickey Rooney and Nathan Lane, and they played me as the teen idol cause I had a baby face. So I got 600 letters that year from teenage girls. Shows canceled next year, I checked the mailbox, nothing.

Oh wow. A good lesson in show business. Show business can be a beating as we discussed earlier. Anthony, before I get to trigger warning, I do want to ask you that when you were on SNL and you might not remember that year, but you, it says here, it says here, a general control.

Now this will be wrong because anything we look up on someone is wrong. But, now you will have to be assigned impressions on SNL, right? Were they easy for you? Were they hard? Did you do anyone? Do you have anyone left in the tank? You know what? We did a sketch with Madonna that first episode and I think the joke was all of her supposed famous lovers kept walking in on her. So I came in as Robert Kennedy, I think. And Downey was, I think Downey was either Elvin, I don't know who Downey was playing.

Anyway, it was pretty funny. So I did my best, my best Kennedy. It was sounded more like John F. Kennedy, but I think I was playing Robert, but you know. I was not with the Cubs. That's what I. I was playing Bill Field. Oh, was it Bobby or was it little John John?

I think maybe, yeah, maybe Downey was playing JFK, and I was Bobby. And then somebody, I think then Randy came in as Elvis at the end. And the idea is we kept interrupting, you know, their personal time. Well, I would have done that. I would have done just a big Kennedy accent. Yeah.

Rather than specifically trying to do, yeah, yeah, yeah, just make it sound. So it's an easy thing. I know that sounds well, so it's easy to do. Can we hear a little more? Because I was thinking about some of the space. Well, JFK was asking, well, that's not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. Yeah. I mean, in the presence of a master here, I can't really do this. No, no, no. It's all words. The best one to do, John F. Kennedy, is ending with hard.

We don't do it because it's easy. We do it because it's hot. Hot. Yeah. And you can't abstract it enough. Hot. So Randy Quaid was there, but was Randy Quaid in vacation with you? Is that, am I crazy? He was. He was a cousin Eddie. Remember when he goes see the new one? So that's the same one. Okay, good. Yeah. And he was great in that. Yeah. So you're right. And you guys get along on SNL or is it just sort of whatever, whatever, and then you go, oh shit, we're in the same movie. Well, I saw Randy recently.

Oh wait, you were in the movie first. Oh my God, how stupid of me. Right, right, right, right. No, well, I saw Randy recently, but around the time we did SNL, I remember him walking up to me one day and he was like, I think you really should learn your lines. And I was thinking like,

we got a whole team of crew card people. Yeah, what the fuck? He tells you to learn your lines. Learn your lines? I remember. They changed the line at 10 card people. Yeah, what the fuck? He tells you to learn your lines. Learn your lines? I remember. They changed the line at 10.45. How am I gonna change? I'm like, don't we have a team of people

with Sharpies underneath the blue on the peak? Yeah, 11.28, they changed the line. They changed it during update before your next sketch. They're like, they're running to the set with you going, okay, you're green on the cards, but also the middle's different and the ending's a little tighter. And I'm like, oh, is it on there?

Okay, three, two. They're like, go. Yeah. Jesus. Terrifying. How is Randu Quay? Because The Last Detail is one of my favorite movies that he did with Jack Nicholson. This ain't no horse's cock. You know what I mean? It's just incredible. Check it out. Oh, he's a great actor. No, I was happy to see him. I saw him last year and we caught up and he's doing great, man. Does he do Comic Cons and stuff like that? You see him out there? He does, man.

Oh, that's good. Those things are lucrative. I know a lot of people that do them. They are and they're fun too, man. They're fanciful. You meet everybody. They have a ton of shit they've collected over the years. Yeah, man.

That's fun. Do you guys actually come out on stage, like say the the Rat Pack or whatever your era, those big movies and they go crazy, right? You come out and they're introduced and the crowd goes crazy. Well, depending on the size of the show, those things are usually worked into it. Yeah, they have little panels and panel discussions with fans. So that's, you know, and that's fun. So you can go solo or you can just do it like a booth or you can do more together. I think I was talking to Brittany Daniel about doing Joe Dirt with her,

because if you have any more of one movie or show, it helps. It just, you know, more people come up. So, but there's some are pretty organized and if they're good and they're well organized, they're probably fun for everybody. They are, man. You said it.

So I've done some, I mean, it's a trip. Suddenly I have these, I have a bunch of movies that are four years old or you said it. So I've done some, I mean, it's a trip, suddenly I have these, I have a bunch of movies that are 40 years old or this or that, so we've done a bunch of them recently. Oh, oh. It's like a reunion, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, but you're right, Spader, we do both,

but I do them solo and then I do the reunion stuff when it comes up. Yeah, sure. Yeah, why not? ["The Last of Us"] Who's the person of this era that we're talking about Yeah, why not? Who's the person of this era that we're talking about? And all these actors you've worked with that just made you laugh the most or that you had a connection with in terms of what's funny or even when you do these reunions, usually there's somebody who has an attitude that will make you laugh.

I don't know. Well, a couple of guys I mentioned, Chevy's hilarious. I mean, he's fun. He's doing well. This guy is good. You know, he's doing well. This elf is good. You know, he's doing well. Judd is a lot of fun. Judd is a really funny guy. Downey, you know, he doesn't do the shows,

but he's a lot of fun to work with. I mean, he's always been great. He doesn't need the money now, right? The bastard. Fuck. If I had his money, I'd throw one away. You mean the guy from Oppenheimer? Oppenheimer.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. No, but he's a great guy. To his credit, Robert has always been true blue, man. He's a great guy, you know? He seems loyal. I heard in some documentary I watched, it said something great about money.

And the guy said in the documentary, he said, money's like miracle grow. If you're a good guy, it'll make you a nicer guy. If you're an asshole, it'll make you a bigger asshole. True. I like that. It sounds really true. I'm gonna use that.

So there's a couple interesting things and you can speak to them any way you want. Like obviously I'm a Kubrick fanatic, like a lot of people and the Beatles, but you know, Kubrick is Kubrick. I get why Kanye West said, Hey man, I'm Kubrick. Cause that's the ultimate artist. So you were going to be in full metal jacket and then somehow it didn't work out. Is that a hard memory to come up with or is it just sort of an interesting? No, I think it's an interesting, you know, kind of-

Did you meet him? Did you meet Stanley Kubrick? I did it. What happened was I was shooting Weird Science at the time. This is ADE4. Weird Science? Yeah, Weird Science. And I got a call from my agent at the time,

a guy named Marty Bauer, who's since deceased, he was a great guy. And he says, Stanley Kubrick is doing a Vietnam Epic and he's interested in you playing one of the platoon members. And then I got a call two days later from Marty saying, he wants you for the lead and he's going to call you tomorrow.

So that was like mic drop, phone drop. Holy shit. Yeah. So then I'm up at 7 a.m. the next day. I was staying at the Sheridan premiere at the top of, next to Universal City there. And I pick up the phone and the phone rings and I was just at 7 a.m. the next day. I was staying at the Sheridan premiere at the top of, next to Universal City there. And I pick up the phone and the phone rings and I was just scared shitless. But he had a very approachable,

very kind of warm, friendly voice. And he immediately, he paid me a great compliment. He had said he had seen me in 16 candles. He had screened it three times. So I was just like in awe. And he said that I was his favorite actor he'd seen since Jack in Easy Rider. So that's what I was like.

Wow, wow, as you're pulling your line right now. That's when I kind of sharted on myself a little bit. he said that I was his favorite actor he'd seen since Jack and Easy Rider. Wow. Wow. As you're pulling your line right now. That's when I sharted on myself a little bit. I was just amazed and it was interesting. He started talking about his favorite directors, Eisenstein, the Russian director, Chaplin. It was a really interesting discussion. Wow. Ultimately, what unfolded, guys, was it was like a a 10 month negotiation and we just couldn't come to terms

So it was really difficult challenging thing, you know Ultimately did not work out and then I wound up running into Matthew Modine two years later who played the lead so-called Right, right. He played the character the Joker and I asked him I said, how long did you guys shoot? Photomodal jacket for he goes 54 weeks. I was like what? 54 weeks. I was like, what? 54 weeks. Shoot. So it was methodical to say the least, man. He would shoot a picture for that long. It's amazing. I talked to a guy who worked on eyes wide shut.

And he said that he Kubrick and the cinematographer worked on where a coffee cup might be near a lamp for two hours. So there's the genius has this thing. I'm just, I'm just have to ask, cause I'm curious months and months of negotiation. So you were probably at that point from your agent's point of view, very pricey and they just wouldn't come to the price or was it scheduling? Well, yeah, it was both. It was all three of those things. I mean, it was, it was, you know, it was the actual terms of the agreement.

It was the length of the negotiation and like you mentioned, right? I mean, it was, it was, you know, it was the actual terms of the agreement. It was the length of the negotiation and like you said, the time on set and it was a difficult choice to make guys, it really was. But to this day, like we had said at the outset, I mean, I love Kubrick. I still think about him and I love his movies and I rewatch them and just incredible just to even

have that, that exchange with him was a real gift. Well, he probably couldn't give you a heart out. And then I'm guessing, And then you think it's such an honor, but you're like, shit, I, I could be there forever and I'm going to miss out two other movies because this isn't a three month or a 10 week deal. This is like forever and ever. Yeah.

It was also the thing of like what he was willing to pay me was like, it was presentable what I would have learned. It's a favor. It's an honor. year come and make the same money yeah I mean about that it wasn't just about that but that was an element I got it I mean if you read about and I was just watching it the other night apocalypse now cute an adorable film really cute but a lot of that was that was difficult for Martin Sheen. Yeah. I know Brando is just, just Brando, my God. And Martin Sheen was so amazing in that film, but I think it took him two years or something.

I don't know. They went, they went back and he had a heart attack. They shut down. So yeah, maybe it was just not the moment for that. Anthony, my apocalypse now was Emperor's New Groove. It was a Disney movie. And that went on for three years. But they also, I didn't get paid much

and that was the same thing. I was like, oh. And they were like, well, it's an honor to do it for Walt Disney. And I was like, oh. And then I think I see Mike Myers a year later. He's like, oh, I'm getting X amount of millions for Shrek. I go, oh, we've tweaked it a little bit.

So now you do get paid. So you're allowed to get paid for animation. And I go, oh, I'm the last guy that did it on the cheap because it was such an honor. Even though I love the movie. I hate it. Well, you've had a great career, man. You always keep showing up and obviously that's what I was getting at thank you yes all over the country I have a question for you about Mike and your time because I

love the whole yeah sure when when did it become known that Mike was doing a friendly imitation of Lauren as dr. evil was that kind of planned or was that a that's not that that just happened? I had not seen him in a couple of years and I wasn't in that movie. We just, you know, I kind of lost him at 93. So then Austin Powers came out in 97 and it was like a brilliant adaption

of the Lorne Michael character to make him a villain. So, but I didn't know that. Right, because I know he played Wayne's role but I just always thought it was so funny that he wound up choosing you know kind of when you see those movies now it's clearly he's doing more like you do it because more people know Lauren now and I think more people can put it together yeah but if you're with someone every day like that you usually make fun of people you know around you you're based on your family your friends so seeing yeah and you know people who if you're based on your family, your friends. So seeing them all day. And you know, people who, if you, if you break the code, which I think I did, it

sounds self-congratulatory, but I, at least Dennis and, and, uh, Lovitz had never heard it, no one was running around in 85 doing it as far as I knew. So then I broke the code with him in the office going, um, on Wednesday night, picking the sketches. Um, I still have no first act. And that led me into it. And then within 18 months or a couple of years, all humans on the 17th floor had a version of that and then the different hooks that Lauren would do. Right.

So, but Mike putting it in a movie. A lot of people do Chris Walken. Yes. Or, you know, yeah. Were you in Dead Zone? Was Quester Walken in the movie Dead Zone? Am I just thinking of that? He was.

Yeah. He was. He was. That was the original, the Kronenberg film. Hello. I want to work up to that, but I just have a couple of things I want you just to touch on if you don't mind. Please.

Because I love Tim Burton. So you were in Edward Scissorhands and you played a villain and you work with Tim Burton. Any thoughts about Tim Burton? Was that, that was a- Tim Burton. Yeah, no, he was incredible, man. I, first of all, he looks like he always reminded me of the, remember that band, the 80s, the Curie, and the Hare. And he was a very kind of quiet, you know, um, low key guy. But again, when he comes to work, he just springs to life. He was really interesting guy. I think he's incredible, man.

Like you look at the work he's done, his films are just artistic and they have that, you know, he's a master, I think. So Scissorhands is actually kind of funny because, you know, he grew up in Burbank. He was a student of animation. And you look at that film, you know, Vincent Price was his favorite actor. Story-wise, it's somewhere to me between Romeo and Juliet and Pinocchio.

I mean, it's just imagination. Pinocchio, I could see for sure with Johnny Depp doing his first quirky Johnny Depp. Yeah, exactly. That was their first collaboration. So I was pumped. That was back in 1990. I remember taking a meeting with Tim and I think he just found it kind of funny and odd that I had such a growth spurt that suddenly I looked like some,

you know, crazy villain to him. And I, and I kind of dwarfed Johnny at the time. He was a smaller guy. So he put me in the movie and next thing you know, we're in Tampa sweating our asses off and we shot scissorhands. Fun. So did you ever say, Hey, slow down, Depp. I'm Anthony Michael Hall.

Heard of me? No, no, never any of that shit. No, no, I can't. None of that shit. Okay. This one also I thought was interesting. 93 you went and did, did he disappear? Did he leave? Tony? Hello? He hung up on us. Couldn't even get the trigger warning. He's had enough. He's had enough of you. couldn't even get the trigger warning. He's had enough. He's had enough of you. He's fun. Biden's doing a press conference. Oh, is there a press conference? Let me see, Dan. I'll turn on the TV. Zelensky and Biden. Yeah, we'll give them missiles just enough so they can keep the war going, but not enough so they can ever win.

That's funny. Yeah, there we are. I'm sorry. My apologies. Not at all. You're not the first. You're not the worst. You're the greatest. I don't know why that didn't rhyme. We were just, uh, Biden's having a press conference with Zelinsky right now.

So, oh, interesting. Yeah. And the quote from Biden was, so I thought it was well said. Good night. Yeah, we talked about trigger warning. We went over the whole thing, so we don't have to talk about that again. No, I'm kidding. Trigger warning.

No, Mike, for the folks at home, he, he accidentally unplugged his computer, but he's back. He said, I've, I've had just about enough and then we didn't see him anymore. No, this is a technical issue. I can hear you now. Yeah. He said, I've, I've had just about enough and then we didn't see him anymore. No, this is a technical issue. I can hear you now. Yeah. So I found this interesting, you know, cause I, no one keeps track of everybody,

all the work they're doing, but you're in six degrees of separation, kind of a Will Smith's big breakout dramatic role. And you play his gay lover and then they're in the script. Well, why don't you take it from there and then tell us about Denzel Washington calling him. Oh, yeah, that was kind of funny. So I remember auditioning for that and I read for another role and then Fred Skepsy, he was a character.

He looked like Gerard Depardieu, was very funny Australian guy, had a great sense of humor. He said, try this other part, you know, and then I came back and auditioned for that role. And I played this kind of spangali, this guy who leads Will's character to the upper echelons of the Upper East Side, New York. Yeah, yeah, I saw it. Bleed, you know?

Great. So that was that, yeah. And then I remember when we did that scene where we were kissing, I mean, we didn't actually kiss in the scene, it was just a little camera leaning fake thing. But I remember seeing Will on Oprah and he made quite a to-do of it, how he called Denzel.

And yeah, and it kind of led to an Oprah story, which I thought was pretty funny. But anyway, something trumps the slap, right? That was the highlight. Denzel said it's not a good look to kiss a man for your career. This is the early 90s on camera. I think that's what Denzel said.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I just think, you know, I forget what Denzel's quote was, but listen, it was a great experience. It was a fun project to be a part of. And I think it got some Oscar nominations. Oh no, it was big. And Will Smith was great in that.

I mean, it was really fun. And then you do, you've directed for the first time, not the last time in 94, you did Hail Caesar for Showtime. So that you've taken all the expertise you'd learned at the, at the heels of a lot of great directors. So, and you've done a lot of that. I got Sam Jackson in that and Downey showed up and it's a fun movie.

It was goofy, but it was fun to shoot. And it was a quick one. We shot it in about five weeks. I nominate Samuel Jackson as the greatest movie greatest American movie star of the last 30 years. Because when you add up all he's done and then he's in Marble. He's in all the Tarantino films. So one thing that was really cool and you got a lot of kudos for was playing Bill Gates and Pirates of Silicon Valley.

We're just marching along here. Did you try to affect a character in that at all or was just played kind of yourself but did you play smart? You know what on that one I was they hired a great coach for me this guy named Steve Bridgewater who had worked with Pitt and Depp and some other people and we worked on the voice and he did the funniest thing one of the first sessions we have he pulled out a legal pad he said we're going to set some goals and he did the funniest thing. One of the first sessions we have, he pulled out a legal pad and he said, we're gonna set some goals here. He goes, the first thing he asked me, he goes, do you want people to see you or Gates?

I said, Gates, like, you know. And the second thing I said, what's your next goal? I said, I'd love the film to be nominated for Emmys. I'm just like pulling it out of my ass. I didn't know, I was just like, all right. So it ultimately was nominated, but the funny thing he did is he pulls out a tampon he'd gotten from his wife.

He starts cutting it up in front of me and he pulls out a little piece of the cotton which is like a giant q-tip you'll stick this up your nose and see if this helps to get to that kind of Kermit the Frog voice which actually seems to have inspired Silicon Valley years later where I actually had a piece of a tampon up my nose very nice so I had one right now on project was a fun project. It was interesting. It was about the battle for software at the time and Noah Wiley from ER, you guys will remember, he played Steve Jobs. He really looked like Steve Jobs too. Oh yeah, he did. It was a fun project man. It was a lot of fun. Damn. And then you star for five years, The Dead Zone. Yeah. Science fiction.

I never thought I'd have a show, you know, it was a lot of fun. It's a great role. I, it cracked me up though, cause I never had a day off. I was, you know, even when I'm in a vision, I'm watching everybody. So I kind of was there all the time, but it was a great experience, man. You know, it was, it really pushed me as an actor. It's funny. Five years, because by quick, suddenly you're like, I'm, are we going to get

canceled? Are we doing this? And suddenly five years later, you're like, I'm still doing this. Right. Right. You've had that experience. You've had a lot of his shows. I've had that with shows. It takes you off guard and it's a happy surprise.

They don't know if they're picking it up and then suddenly keep going, keep going, keep going. That's great. Right. Yeah. Right. Now you got trigger warning with Jesse. Is it Jesse Alba in that?

Jesse Alba, Jessica Alba. Netflix. She's serious. She kicks ass in the film. Oh yeah. I'm looking at it right now. I'm looking at the, uh, not the trailer, but they're just showing stuff on it. Shit.

This comes out June 21, June 21st starts streaming on Netflix. Yeah, man. I love the fact the, uh, actors and actresses who become moguls, you know, they start companies like her, Gwyneth Paltrow. Yeah. It's very interesting. You know, they start companies like her, Gwyneth Paltrow. Yeah. Very interesting, acclaimed, have great careers, but just go into business and fall in love with it. So she's kudos to her, man.

I didn't think I'd say that. I agree. Here, here. Yeah. No, definitely. And her company co-produced the film. She's really on top of her game. She knows her stuff. She had a real background with action. So she'd done a lot of the Robert Rodriguez films.

Oh yeah. Dark, Dark Angel. Dark Angel. Yeah. So she knows done a lot of the Robert Rodriguez films. Oh yeah. Dark, not a dark angel. So she knows her stuff. She's kind of a ball buster too. I mean, I see her out sometimes. She's pretty funny. Yeah. Yeah. She's fun.

It's a good experience. We shot in Santa Fe, which was fun. Never been to New Mexico before. It was pretty cool. It's near here. What are you, what are you in Arizona? Yeah, I'm from Arizona. Yeah.

Very similar. Montana. No applause. Montana always wins because it's only 700,000 people. It's the size of Texas. I mean, there's no one up there because of the winter. Where do you live now, Dana, with your family? Are you up in Northern Cal or? Central California.

I have a place in Northern California. Grew up there in the Bay Area. Nice. So yeah. Where are you right now, Anthony Michael? Yeah, where do you think you are? You don't have to say. I live in here in LA. Yeah, at the beach. Yeah, man. I'm kind of curious. So, you know, Reacher comes out. Have you already filmed it? I'm assuming. Yeah, we just wrapped season three of Reacher. I was in Toronto for six months. It's

funny. It's a season that took a year. I just had my first kid last year. I have a new son, Michael. Congratulations. Thank you, sir. What's his name, Michael? Yeah, he was born when we started and then the strike happened. So the season went up, taking a year,

but it was a lot of fun, great action, great crew. And look, it's a juggernaut of a show. It's a big hitch. Oh, it's huge, yeah. I'm having fun with it, man. It was cool. Did you throw punches in those episodes? Were you a villain? What's kind of your vibe? No, I have some action stuff, but I have a bunch of, like I'm kind of a mobster in this film,

in this season. And I have henchmen. I have, there's this guy named Oliver Richter, who was like seven foot two. He's a giant and he kind of takes on, he takes on Reacher for me. So I got guys doing that. Yeah. Well, it's not, I mean, that's are there other, is that, what kind of role besides that? That sounds like a blast at Henchman and be a bad. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's based on one of the books that Lee Child wrote in the Reacher series. I guess there've been like 28 of these books and it's a character called Zachary Beck. And on the surface, he's a wholesale rug dealer, but there's a lot, there's a lot more and play here.

I can't give it away. And I want to this off Amazon, but I'm in the whole season, man. And it was a lot of fun to shoot. We just wrapped it. They're actually shooting until next month, but I just finished a few weeks ago. Wow. So what would be your dream role if you were trying to go for it again? I mean, is there anything you haven't played?

Do you want to, do you want to put prosthetics on and do- I think that'd be fun. I mean, seeing what Downey did in The Sympathizer, that was great. I told him he did some great work in that. It reminded me of like Peter Sellers and being there. I mean, in Strange Love, the kind of stuff he was doing. But The Sympathizer, so that would be fun.

I'd love to get behind the camera too and direct some comedies, you know? I'd love to work with Sandler, if Spade could put in a word for us. Yeah, let me talk to him. Fabathoo! I'll put it in three words. Adam, here's all our podcasts at one point, but yeah, Sandler, he's a master of his domain at these points.

He's incredible. He's incredible. He really is. He knows how to make movies. Yeah. And what a sense of decency, the fact that he's been so loyal to all you guys that came up together. That's really, really fantastic, man.

Yeah, he's sentimental about us. He really is. I mean, I think that the camaraderie, esprit de corps, whatever you want to call it, going through the sausage factory of 8H and that, and if you're nice to people on the way up, they love you forever. Yeah. When you're nice to someone when they're nobody. Yeah. I try to be nice to nobodies.

Isn't that nice of me? You're not self someone when they're nobody. Yeah. I try to be nice to nobodies. Isn't that nice of me? You're not self-congratulatory. The king of all snark, David Spade. I do, if there's paparazzi around, I'm always nice to everybody. Yeah, okay, kid. Yeah, cause Dennis would be snarky,

but it was so funny though. Okay, Spudly. Listen, I have a thing for Dennis. He helped me out a lot and he was my favorite comic. So he can even go along. Did he really call you Spudly? Spudly, yeah, Spudly. Listen, I have a thing for Dennis. He helped me out a lot and he was my favorite comic. So he can even alone. Did he really call you Spudly? Spudly, yeah, Spadoodle. Yeah.

He calls me Carvey. Never has called me Dana. Okay, Carvey, what's up today? All right. You got a little funny character you're working on. Some kind of altered vision of yourself. Some kind of location. Sold my house, got a couple of beans in my jeans. Yeah, I love it.

Yeah. Anthony. We'll let you go, but just want to re-remind everyone of, obviously you've done a lot and you're very nice and you're very nice to everyone that's worked with you. You're very cool about that. Great reputation. Yeah, it's very cool. Thanks, brother.

Trigger warning does look cool. And that's this coming up on the 21st and it looks like there's some action. You got your Jessica Alba and Anthony Michael Hall. It looks like a lot of fun and maybe some fighting looks like she's on the rampage in this. Oh, she's kicking everyone's ass in this movie. Yeah. I love it.

Yeah. Well, I'm looking forward to it, buddy. I like these kinds of movies. Appreciate it, man. Thanks for- It's an honor to be with you guys. I really, I'm a big fan. I watch and listen weekly.

So it's great to be with you guys, man. Thank you for the opportunity. I'll just leave you with this. You came and got some. Yeah. I'm gonna get some. You came and you got some. You came and got some.

And we got some. Right on. All right, buddy. We'll talk to you soon. Pleasure to got some. And we got some. Radon. All right, buddy, we'll talk to you soon. All right, guys. Thank you so much, man. Love you, babe. Appreciate it. Bye bye.

This has been a presentation of Odyssey. Please follow, subscribe. Leave a like, a review. All this stuff, smash that button, whatever it is. Wherever you get your podcasts. Fly on the Wall is executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade, Jenna Weiss

Berman of Odyssey, Charlie Finan of Brillstein Entertainment and Heather Santoro. The show's lead producer is Greg Holtzman.