Joy, a Podcast. Hosted by Craig Ferguson - Diedrich Bader

Episode Date: September 12, 2023

On this week’s episode, Craig chats with his long-time friend and “The Drew Carey Show” co-star, Diedrich Bader. To quote Craig: “Diedrich Bader, a great actor who has been in everything you�...�ve ever liked!” He is best known for his roles in Veep, Better Things, American Housewife, The Beverly Hillbillies, Napoleon Dynamite and many, many others. EnJOY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious Tori Spelling, as she takes us through the ups and downs of her sometimes glamorous, sometimes chaotic life in marriage. I just filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words that I've said, like, in my head for, like, 16 years. Wild. Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Angie Martinez.
Starting point is 00:00:32 And on my podcast, I like to talk to everyone from Hall of Fame athletes to iconic musicians about getting real on some of the complications and challenges of real life. I had the best dad. And I had the best dad and I had the best memories and the greatest experience. And that's all I want for my kids as long as they can have that. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL
Starting point is 00:00:54 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Want to know how to leverage culture to build a successful business? Then Butternomics is the podcast for you. I'm your host, Brandon Butler, founder and CEO of Butter ATL. And on Butternomics, we go deep with today's most influential entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders to peel back the layers on how they use culture as a driving force in their business.
Starting point is 00:01:19 Butternomics will give you what you need to take your game to the next level. Listen to Butternomics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, everybody. This is Craig Ferguson, letting you know that my fancy rascal tour continues throughout the fall of 2023. For a full list of dates and tickets, please go to my website, thecraigfergusonshow.com slash tour.
Starting point is 00:01:45 My name is Craig Ferguson. The name of this podcast is Joy. I talk to interesting people about what brings them happiness. Here's Diedrich Bader, a great actor who's been in everything you've ever liked. I'm not kidding. Listen to this. Enjoy. When, Diedrich, when I was...
Starting point is 00:02:10 Yes. I knew it! Yeah, it's not about me. It's about you. It's about you, and I'm just... Yeah, we'll see. No, it is. Because I want to start with this.
Starting point is 00:02:23 Because when we were working together on the Drew Carey show, and you were playing Oswald Lee Harvey, which is still maybe the best name for a character in a second. I think it's great. We kind of laugh every time. Because it's funny. It's stupid and funny. And stupid and funny gets funnier the longer you say it.
Starting point is 00:02:43 So true. But Oswald Lee Harvey, which is on a par with Count Alucard as a stupid name. But you were playing that fairly early on in the run. Now, I'm going to say, because you were the only person I'd heard of when I started that show. Because you had done the Beverly Hillbillies. You played Jethro in the Beverly Hillbillies. And you were really good at it. Well, thank you.
Starting point is 00:03:07 And that was a hit movie, wasn't it? No, that was a bomb. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been on the Drew Carey show. I'd be a major movie star. Yeah. I don't know. I mean, you can be a movie star and be in a box. You are a movie star.
Starting point is 00:03:19 You're in everything. No, it didn't make enough money to be attractive to hire me. Success breeds success. And people only want to be associated with success. Yeah. Yeah. That may explain my life a little bit. My friends.
Starting point is 00:03:38 So people I see, that's why I have no friends. But you were the only one I'd heard of. And I remember, do you remember when we did the full Monty episode of the Drew Carey show? Yes, of course. And we all got naked. Yes. And then we went to Las Vegas on Tim Allen's plane. Yes.
Starting point is 00:03:57 And everyone got trashed. I got incredibly trashed. You were the drunkest. Remember, I'm saying this and I'm Scottish. You're one of the drunkest people I've ever seen. The fact that I could stand was... I was amazed at how drunk you were. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:04:09 But you were walking around, being loud with very starey eyes. Yeah. You were very starey, dancing. Yeah. And then you threw a plastic bottle... I was remembering that this morning. Yeah, you threw a bottle off the top floor of a hotel and it landed on the swimming pool. It had to be three stories up.
Starting point is 00:04:26 Oh, it was enormous. I was like, if that... And I remember saying to Kathy, who was the only other person not drinking, I was like, that could have killed someone, Kathy.
Starting point is 00:04:34 She said, I know. And then we agreed we were the lamest people in Las Vegas. I was so fucking dumb. You totally took care of me, by the way.
Starting point is 00:04:44 There's no way I would have made it into a hotel room. I was scared. We slept together. We didn't? I mean, there wasn't a lot of sleep in the center. Nobody slept. I think I slept a little bit. Yeah, you slept a couple hours.
Starting point is 00:04:57 Yeah, but I mean, how did you guys do that, given the fact? No one was on cocaine, as far as I knew. Or were you guys on cocaine? Oh, no. No. Drew wasn't into drugs. No. He was just just a boozer and not much of a boozer really no he was kind of a lightweight but ryan styles is the keith richards of the unbelievable he has a hollow leg yeah he can my problem all drank oh yeah my problem was that time and every time you did see me drunk was when i tried to keep up with Ryan. I'm not blaming, I take responsibility for how much I drank, totally.
Starting point is 00:05:29 I don't see, I remember you being drunk that much. No, but every time that I was. Every time you were drunk, it was Ryan's fault. It's what you're saying. No. It's that I was trying to keep up with him. Yeah. Just as kind of a guy thing. And once you get into it, then you're like, and then he's just pouring. And he's fun. As you know, he's really fun.
Starting point is 00:05:47 He's very, very fun. But here's his trick when he gets drunk. And even when he's not drunk, he doesn't move that much. Have you noticed? He just kind of stands there. Oh, my God. That's totally his trick. You're right.
Starting point is 00:05:57 His trick is he doesn't try and move his legs, arms, or even face. Yeah. He just, like, says funny things. He just says funny things. Raises his eyebrows a little bit. And it's hilarious. And it gets funnier. And he's very improv-y. Yeah. He just like says funny things. He just says funny things. Raises his eyebrows a little bit. A little bit. And it's hilarious. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:06 And it's funnier. And he's very improv-y. Yeah. He's very good at that. Yeah. He's very good. Did you do that improv? Whose line is it anyway?
Starting point is 00:06:13 I never did. But I will say. Yeah. The funniest comedic improvisation that I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot. Right. Was when we had the final Drew Carey show dinner. And you were invited and we had it on La Cienega at some fancy restaurant. Oh yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:32 Got like a private, uh, a private room. Room. Yeah. And it was at the end of the ninth season, which you were not on. I wasn't on that. I was making saving grace. I think you were amazing that you showed up.
Starting point is 00:06:45 Yeah. But at that point, the cast had gotten so fractious. Only Ryan and I were speaking to each other. I think Kathy and I were still speaking. No, no, no. But I mean, as far as everybody that was there, like we were still talking to Kathy, but there was a lot of acrimony. It was tense. It was like family at that point.
Starting point is 00:07:04 It was like family. that point it was like family that's my point and craig you were so funny there was something about the awkwardness of the situation you literally were the funniest person dulce speaks about this my wife speaks about this all the time really as being the funniest comedy set anyone has ever done because there was something about the awkwardness of it that sparked you and everything we said that was passive-aggressive to each other you picked up on and made a joke out of and it was hilarious it was like you were trying to make things better that's exactly like my family life when i was a kid you were just trying to make things better i was just trying to make things better. I was just trying to make things better. I swear to God,
Starting point is 00:07:45 that's the question, is the Scottish thing. Yeah. So it's like, oh, and the interesting thing is, I also don't remember my childhood. And I was sober.
Starting point is 00:07:54 Yeah. Right? It's most of your childhood. Well, not all of it, but a fair amount of it. My childhood, your childhood is very different though.
Starting point is 00:08:02 You're like, you're DC, right? You're like, government, family. Would your father, a spy or something? Yeah. childhood your child is very different though you're like you're dc right you're like government family but your father a spy or something yeah i guess i can say that now yeah he was in the cia and he was in the cia right yeah and uh he was chief of staff of the center foreign relations committee he ended up being assistant secretary of state during the clinton administration so was
Starting point is 00:08:20 he like did he do black ops and stuff like that? Was he, you know, away from home? He did go away from home. All of the stuff that he did in the field was before I was born. But then he always kept a hand in and he, oddly enough, he was on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, better known as the Church Committee. Right. And really went after the CIA. better known as the church committee right and really went after the cia and because he was in the cia at one point right he was able to use his contacts for those that were within the cia who were upset with the way the agency was going so you the implication being that there is some
Starting point is 00:08:57 corruption in the intelligence community because i frankly find that hard to believe that anywhere that humans have power that there would be any kind of form of corruption is unbelievable yeah and i think his greatest like claim to fame the thing that was brought up in his obituary was that he was the person that supplied uh senator fulbright the senator from arkansas with the information about the gulf of tonkin which made robert mcnamara retire that it was a lie. That was in his obituary. So that, I mean, that's a very impressive resume and a very kind of specific world. Yes.
Starting point is 00:09:33 And I was always kind of intrigued as how you, why you weren't drawn into that. It feels like the gravitational pull of that kind of thing would be very strong. Were you tempted at that point? No, I was never tempted. I think because I saw how the sausage was made. The thing that it did prepare me for in Hollywood was something
Starting point is 00:09:50 that you had alluded to earlier in this podcast, which is the cyclical nature of a career. The shifting sands. My dad liked to call it the magic magic hat so if you have the magic hat on everybody loves you yeah but it's not you it's the hat yeah and that's very hollywood that's hollywood it really is as well but i mean your career is i mean you have had a stellar career thank you i was quite jealous as i watched you how was that even possible you're you have an amazing you're on great shows you're on beep which is an amazing show. Because you were on great shows. You were on Veep, which is an amazing show. You were on BoJack,
Starting point is 00:10:27 which is like seminal. Yeah, that was great. It's like rewriting the whole game. No, that's a truly great show. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is it something... And I would say Better Things was also, I don't know if you saw it,
Starting point is 00:10:36 but Better Things is also a good show. I did not see Better Things, actually. Better Things is a very solid, beautiful show. So the kind of thing that there's always been a great depth to your work, which I don't think you were used,
Starting point is 00:10:49 and I feel this a little bit, a couple of actors actually, I didn't see that you getting used that way in the Drew Carey show when you were playing Oswald Lee Harvey. It was a very, it was a fun show, but it was kind of two-dimensional in many ways. Oh, no, it was entirely two-dimensional. Yeah, we were like hothouse flowers.
Starting point is 00:11:05 We weren't real people. We were just vehicles for jokes. That said, I totally enjoyed it. Yeah, me too. Well, not totally, but a lot of it. I think I enjoyed it more than you did. I think you probably did. I think that it's funny.
Starting point is 00:11:19 I remember... And I don't think it was because of the size of the part. You had a good part, and you were a rock-solid performer. You fucking kicked ass every week. And rock star every week. So I don't think it was the size of the part. I think it's because you were more ambitious than me. Definitely.
Starting point is 00:11:37 I was. I don't think I still suffer from that. But I did have that then. I think at the time. Yeah, definitely. And from my perspective. I'm not speaking for you. No, I think you you're right i think that i was looking at you guys and i felt like you were all doing better than me which is what ambitious people always think yeah it's like
Starting point is 00:11:53 everybody's doing better than me yeah and that's so true it is it's like it's fucking stupid yeah and then like after i had gotten maybe i don't know, I was about 18 months into doing the Late Night show, and I ran into, I think it was Jerry, the director, Jerry, who used to do the show. And he said, wow, yeah, if ever a guy, you know, it was him and Drew. He said, if ever a guy needed a show with his name on it, it's you, Craig. And I went, really? So I'm standing next to Drew Carey from the fucking Drew Carey show for nine years. He's like, yeah, it's different. No, I don't think it's any different at all.
Starting point is 00:12:27 No, it's not. I was though. You didn't suffer from that ambition? Did you not feel that? I mean, you were coming off like the Beverly Hillbillies, the big giant movie. Did you not feel, was your ambition not burning hot at that point?
Starting point is 00:12:39 Well, I was disappointed by the reaction of the Beverly Hillbillies. I thought I was going to be a movie star for a brief time. And then I dipped back into television, frankly, because I ran out of money. And then I only did the Drew Carey show because I was trying to drive. I never told you this story. No, I don't know this story. So the Drew Carey show was my second pilot of the season. I was on the revamping of Margaret Cho's show.
Starting point is 00:13:01 But then about, I didn't believe in the show. About halfway through the show, my agent came and said, I have to go. Was it the Drew Carey show or the Margaret Cho show? Margaret Cho's show. But then about, I didn't believe in the show. About halfway through the show, my agent came and said, I have to go. Was it the Drew Carey show or the Margaret Cho show? And I said, how do I get off this show?
Starting point is 00:13:11 And he goes, you're halfway through the pilot. I was like, yeah, this is really a mistake. Everybody knows it. And he goes, okay, well, so we're going to second position with something.
Starting point is 00:13:21 So I was like, okay, great. And I tested for a pilot called Partners. Tate Donovan did it second position for with something so i was like okay great and i tested for a pilot called partners tate donovan did it and john crier got my part okay but anyway they lowballed me over at sony i'm working for right now actually on lucky hang you know totally low i'm working for them too sony's great yeah i love them they're my favorite people yeah yeah um but uh they totally lowballed me and so uh i called my agent and i was like, that's, I mean, our quotas are, I mean, they just have the quote and they're not coming back.
Starting point is 00:13:51 And he goes, well, you know, you got to get something else and we'll just fight him off. Use it as a bargaining chip. Yeah. So he goes, there's this show, a standup. Have you heard of Drew Carey? And I was like, no. No. And he goes, well, he did well on this other stand-up show.
Starting point is 00:14:06 And I said, I don't watch that stand-up show. And I was such a TV snob. If you remember, I'm much better now that I have kids. You are one of the people that I would say grew the fuck up since I met them. Honestly, I mean, you were always a very nice man. Oh, thank you. No, you were, but you grew up, it's so patently obvious. Like when you had your kids, you're like, Oh no, wait a minute. Yeah. It's a reset fucking button going on. Anyway. So I went on the Drew Carey show pilot and they wanted to test me. So we put them against one another and Sony did come up to my my quote and so did the Drew Carey show.
Starting point is 00:14:46 And I just showed up for the test. And I did it like blah, blah, blah because my test for the Sony thing was the same day. So I just was like, okay, yeah,
Starting point is 00:14:54 this is the morning thing and then I'm going to go. Like some people would have a cup of coffee and a shit and I was like, I'm going to test for a show. But the Drew Carey show was kind of like
Starting point is 00:15:02 a cup of coffee and a shit was the whole idea of the show. The whole process, yeah. The circle of life. So, and then I went off to the Sony thing, and then I didn't get the Sony thing, and I got the Drew Carey show. And my agent called me to tell me I got the Drew Carey show, and I yelled at him. I was like, what have you done?
Starting point is 00:15:18 Jesus. That's crazy. And then the show was a hit. Yeah, nine years. Nine fucking years. I didn't do the last year. I didn't do the first year either. You didn't do the first year. Yeah, I joined after that. I was only meant to be in for like three episodes or something.
Starting point is 00:15:31 The first year wasn't good. And I hope I'm not crushing fans of the show. But I really didn't like the show. I actually tried to get off the show. Right. In my defense, I had done seven pilots before the drew carey show so i thought i'll just get another show right and uh i'll be fine yeah back oh my god thank god they didn't let me it's the hat it's the magic hat it's the magic yeah so yeah they didn't let me off and i wasn't crazy i loved drew and i loved ryan and kathy was great all right but i didn't love the scripts i didn't love my part and i, this is to speak to what you were saying about the ambition.
Starting point is 00:16:06 I thought, like, I'm a second banana on a show. I should be the first banana. Yeah. And I should get off the show. Bruce didn't let me off the show. And I'm very grateful for that because...
Starting point is 00:16:15 Bruce Helford, who was the showrunner, yeah. The second year of the show was so much better. And I was trapped. Yeah. and also i had arrived and then everything and you had arrived yeah and i'm not joking about that it actually made the show happen because you were a great antagonist to him it what it made his work sheer fucking hell you're right you there's more sticks to throw at the protagonist.
Starting point is 00:16:46 The voiceover thing, it's nothing against Kevin Pollak. He's fantastic. He's a great actor. Yeah, he's great. But he was a voice. And we saw him at the end of the first year.
Starting point is 00:16:52 It was a dumb gimmick. Well, he was, if anyone doesn't know, he was Drew's voice. He was Drew's boss in the first year of the show. But you never really
Starting point is 00:17:01 saw him. It was just on a kind of like speaker phone. That's right. And then he turned up for the last episode. But at that time, and Kevin said this to me himself,
Starting point is 00:17:09 he said I was too expensive at the time. They couldn't afford me. So I was doing a lot of movies. Yeah. Yeah, he was a legit movie star at the time. Yeah. I think they offered Mr. Wick to Hugh Laurie as well. No kidding.
Starting point is 00:17:20 Yeah, I believe so. And I think Hugh said, no, I'm better than that. That would have been a mistake. I don't know. I think he'd have been pretty good. Don't get me wrong. He's amazing.
Starting point is 00:17:32 Yeah, but. But I think that that wouldn't have worked. I think that you were fucking perfect. I think personality-wise, I think what happened, for me, the Drew Carey show was at its best in that second, third, fourth. Those were the best years. Those were the good years, yeah. When we were doing the live episodes and doing the big musical numbers and all that.
Starting point is 00:17:52 And also, the episode that you were talking about, the Full Monty episode, that's an excellent episode. It's a great episode, yeah. I mean, that scene when we're all on the couch, and you come in and you talk about your addiction to the ponies, and Oswalt thinks that you sleep with ponies. It's pretty good. It's so dumb.
Starting point is 00:18:10 Remember John Carroll Lynch and Drew dancing to the harp music to Wendy as well. It's like, and, but these, you look at John Carroll Lynch as well, that guy who's going on to like direct these like serious movies and he's like big and you've done that too you carved a legitimate career after yeah after the yeah after the show i think thank you for saying that well it's true i mean but none of us were part of that kind of whose line improv world the way i mean ryan did it it was kind of ryan and drew really were who's like really ryan yeah well drew was funny because he laughed and Drew was funny because he laughed. Drew was funny
Starting point is 00:18:46 because he laughed and he liked being around everybody doing it. Yeah, and he's a genuinely fun guy. Yes, he's a nice guy, but Ryan's the improv genius.
Starting point is 00:18:52 Oh my God, he's a genius. Yeah. He's truly incredible. No, they asked me to do the show a number of times. I'm sure they asked you as well.
Starting point is 00:18:57 No, I don't think they ever did ask me to do it. Or maybe they asked me to do it once. I'm not sure. I like, because I'm Scottish, I like to go,
Starting point is 00:19:04 they never asked me and they lived to regret it. But I don't think they did me to do it once. I'm not sure. Because I'm Scottish, I like to go, they never asked me and they lived to regret it. But I don't think they did live to regret it. Sitting in the dark. I'm fine in the dark. I'm fine here, sitting in the dark. They never asked me. But I think they probably did ask me. Yeah, I'd be shocked if they didn't.
Starting point is 00:19:22 I don't know. I was never that comfortable and weirdly enough for what i did later on i was very uncomfortable with improv very uncomfortable with that group improv i always felt i can't really do this a different beast it is yeah i mean did you like did you like the experience of doing it um one of my favorite parts about acting is knowing what i'm gonna say yeah isn Yeah, isn't that great? I love it. Yeah. I don't know what I'm going to say right now.
Starting point is 00:19:47 Yeah. And so it's a little unnerving, but if you get to practice what you're going to say, do it in a high voice, do it in a low voice. This is my preparation for acting. Seeing what you're actually saying as opposed to what you're saying. All of that, text analysis, all that kind of stuff you can really dive into. That doesn't happen in life. In life, we just blurt it out.
Starting point is 00:20:03 I think I just realized why you've done so well as an actor, because you say words like text analysis and stuff like that. I'm like, oh, God, he's a fucking real actor. I forgot he's a proper actor that does things. This is an official invitation to the Fancy Rascals stand-up show.
Starting point is 00:20:22 I, Craig Ferguson, will be performing this fall in your region. You can buy tickets and check out the full list of dates at thecraigfergusonshow.com slash tour. See you there. Or not. Meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious Tori Spelling. As she takes us through the ups and downs of her sometimes glamorous, sometimes chaotic life and marriage.
Starting point is 00:20:49 I don't think he knew how big it would be, how big the life I was given and live is. I think he was like, oh yeah, things come and go. But with me, it never came and went. Is she Donna Martin or a down-and-out divorcee? Is she living in Beverly Hills or a trailer park? In a town where the lines are blurred, Tori is finally going to clear the air in the podcast Misspelling. When a woman has nothing to lose, she has everything to gain. I just filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words that I've said like in my head for like 16 years. Wild. Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Angie Martinez. Check out my podcast where I talk to some of the biggest athletes, musicians,
Starting point is 00:21:41 actors in the world. We go beyond the headlines and the soundbites to have real conversations about real life, death, love, and everything in between. This life right here, just finding myself, just relaxation, just not feeling stressed, just not feeling pressed. This is what I'm most proud of. I'm proud of Mary because I've been through hell and some horrible things.
Starting point is 00:22:04 That feeling that I had of inadequacy is gone. You're going to die being you. So you've got to constantly work on who you are to make sure that the stars align correctly. Life ain't easy and it's getting harder and harder. So if you have a story to tell, if you come through some trials, you need to share it because you're going to inspire someone. You're going to you're going to give somebody the motivation to not give up, to not quit. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Back in 1969, this was the hottest song around.
Starting point is 00:22:46 It's the time of the season So hot that some guys from Michigan tried to steal it. The sun's high The time of the season for the beat My name is Daniel Ralston. For ten years, I've been obsessed with one of the most bizarre and audacious cons in rock and roll history. A group would have a hit record,
Starting point is 00:23:12 and quickly they would hire a bunch of guys to go out and be the group. People were being cheated on several levels. After years of searching, we bring you the true story of the fake zombies. I was like blown away. These guys are not going to get away with it. Listen to the true story of the fake zombies on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:23:42 I've trained. You have? Did you train? Yes. Where did you train? Yes. Where did you go? I went to North Carolina School of the Arts. In Winston-Salem, North Carolina. That's pretty fancy, isn't it?
Starting point is 00:23:51 It's fancy dancy. Yeah. It's fancy dancy. Did you come to Hollywood straight after that, or did you go into theater? I was going to go into theater, and then I got a pilot in between my sophomore and junior year. A Western. We were on vacation in Santa Fe. Met a casting director at a dinner party, short story. Long story short, I got cast in this pilot.
Starting point is 00:24:11 In a Western? In a Western. That's my fucking dream. It was really fun. Honest to God, I was going to be a stage actor before that time. Yeah. But it was so much fun to dress up like a cowboy. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:20 And I was SAG, and a lot of my friends that had graduated, who I thought were much more talented than myself, that were in New York and trying to be stage actors were having a very hard time. It's very difficult, the stage world, I think. It's even more clicky than Hollywood. It is. My father's idea was that I move out here because I'm already SAG, go like Stalin, do a five-year plan, and then move to New York if it doesn't work out. And I thought that was a pretty good idea. So I did that.
Starting point is 00:24:47 So your dad, who's this very interesting government figure, was cool with your going into show business? His idea, it was his idea for me to drop out of North Carolina School of the Arts and just get started. See, he was kind of out-of-the-box thinker then, wasn't he? Yeah, and I think he knew me. Yeah. And he knew that I was going to be on.
Starting point is 00:25:06 I mean, you know, his thing when he brought up the idea, he said, you know, you got a job at a dinner party. I think you'll be okay. And then he paid my rent for the first two years, which really, really helped. That does help. So, yeah, because I didn't need to get a straight job. I worked enough where I could feed myself.
Starting point is 00:25:21 This is after the first three or four months when I tried to make it completely on my own. And I had trouble at the beginning. I got a job in two weeks, my second pilot, but I went through the money really, really fast because I thought I was made. I thought I paid my dues. It'd been two weeks. Yeah. You know, that's a common thing though. They used to say like the best time to buy a house in L.A. is just after the TV season starts and shows start getting canceled. And the actors who thought that they were going to be on... No, I just burned through it.
Starting point is 00:25:55 Yeah. You know, I bought every type of thing that you could put into your body. And as you know, like, you run out of money really quick. Yeah. You were never like a druggie or anything no just weed
Starting point is 00:26:08 and a lot of booze yeah I never even saw you with much in the way of weed not like the way weed is not like the entire America smells like weed all the time
Starting point is 00:26:16 I know well I just shot in Vancouver Vancouver is so much weed like I smelled cigarette smoke and I was like what the hell is that yeah it's weird
Starting point is 00:26:23 it's like it's like a flashback when you smell just tobacco. Yeah. I know. I mean, New York smells like weed. Most of LA smells like weed.
Starting point is 00:26:31 Chicago, Denver. Yeah. Oh my God. That's just, you can get high just going there. So you get off the plane and you're like,
Starting point is 00:26:38 ah. The reason that you didn't see it is that I quit. I had told Dulce when we first really got together. My wife. Of 26 years now. I was going to say, you guys got married when we were doing really got together, my wife of 26 years. I was going to say you guys get married when we were doing Drew Carey, right?
Starting point is 00:26:49 That's right. And yeah, between the second and third season. Yeah. She wanted me to quit. And that was basically like, if we go forward, because I smoked a lot, she'd just like put her, it was basically like, she's a very sensible person. Yeah. I'll see.
Starting point is 00:27:03 I always, as you're very one of those i mean look you're married to her you you know her better than me yeah but she always seemed to me as someone who had their shit together it was kind of like an impressive yeah she did organized more than anyone else has has helped me with my career because of just not just being encouraging but also pushing me in a way and disciplining me. See, I think that that is very important in a career because I was much more scattershot and much more ambitious until I met Megan,
Starting point is 00:27:36 who we've been together 18 years. And you knew me before that. And all I could think of was that success must be, it must be success and success is a big hit and money. It's not creative fulfillment.
Starting point is 00:27:49 It's not, there's no other side to it. It's a two-dimensional thing. It's a one or a zero. I understand that though. Yeah, I think for young people
Starting point is 00:27:58 I think it's okay. Yeah, and also it's what Hollywood tells you. Yeah. There was somebody I talked to, I think it was Peter Medak. Do you know the director Peter Medak?
Starting point is 00:28:08 I know his name. He directed a lot of episodes of The Wire. But he made a couple of great movies. A movie about the craze. He made a movie called The Ruling Class with Peter O'Toole back in the day. Oh, yeah. It's a great movie, right? I think that's his first movie.
Starting point is 00:28:23 Yeah. Oh, no kidding. Imagine your first movie. He. Oh, no kidding. Yeah. And he's forgetting. He talks like, you know, sort of, well, for my purposes, he talks like an old Nazi from a 1950s movie. He doesn't talk like this at all. But a sort of version of this. He's like, well, you know,
Starting point is 00:28:39 see, it's the singer's Craig. You know, the movie Twister makes $150 million. The movie Fanny and Alexander makes, I don't know, what, $50?
Starting point is 00:28:50 Therefore, the movie Twister is a better movie than Fanny and Alexander. Yes or no? Of course, the answer is no. And you get,
Starting point is 00:28:59 I like guys like that. I like guys like that who kind of see, and I think that that comes with age and experience and wearing the hat and not wearing the hat sometimes. That's right, yeah. I like guys like that who, who kind of see, and I think that that comes with age and experience and wearing the hat and not wearing the hat sometimes. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:29:08 Do you, it's best if you have a career where you have worn the hat and then you don't wear the hat and then somebody gives you the hat again. Yeah. And that's when you're really appreciative of the hat. That's nice to have it back. Yeah. I think of it,
Starting point is 00:29:21 it's kind of like the, the Sean Connery Zardoz. Zardoz! Yeah. We bring it up all the time. Yeah, but's kind of like the Sean Connery Zardoz Zardoz yeah we bring it up all the time yeah but but that's like Sean Connery
Starting point is 00:29:30 yeah yeah and yet he's in a mankini at one point he must have been thinking what the fuck we're in a fucking
Starting point is 00:29:36 mankini it's a mankini I have a fucking Zardoz now I know that some people love the movie Zardoz but I don't think
Starting point is 00:29:43 Sean loved it we were talking about Sean Connery the other day. We totally were. Right, because you met him and I met him. When did you meet him? I met him at an awards thing.
Starting point is 00:29:51 He was getting a Lifetime Award. This is during the, right before The Hillbillies came out and I had a publicist because it felt like I should. Right, okay. I understand. And so I went to a bunch of parties
Starting point is 00:30:01 and one of them was this award that he was given. And F. Murray Abraham told the story about the director of Name of the Rose, who was supposedly very abusive to basically everybody in the crew and the actors and really just awful and would lose his shit continually, which is really a terrible thing for a director to do. That's a terrible thing for a director. You're the one who's supposed to be in control. That's the idea. You're not allowed to do that. You shouldn't even raise your voice.
Starting point is 00:30:25 You really shouldn't. But anyway, Connery said nothing through the entire time to this guy. He just did his job and he talked to the actor. He was fine,
Starting point is 00:30:33 but he just did his job. He didn't say anything to the director and then the director took a big stick and was about to hit a horse that wasn't doing what he wanted
Starting point is 00:30:41 the horse to do. A horse? Right. And Connery grabbed his wrist and pushed it down. And you could tell that the director really was like fighting. But Connery's a big fella. Mr. Universe.
Starting point is 00:30:52 Yeah. So he's holding him down. He goes, not the horse. Oh, fuck. Line, you just. Yeah, okay. Just. Right away, Mr. Connery.
Starting point is 00:31:04 I was telling you, my wife, we had only been dating a short period of time and I had to give an award to Sean at some big Hollywood do. Yeah, he's getting an award all the time. Yeah, he's getting them every week. Essentially. And I was giving him this award.
Starting point is 00:31:18 I gave him the award and then we get introduced afterwards and Megan's wearing a dress and we went over and he said, Craig, it's very nice to meet you thanks for the award that was really
Starting point is 00:31:27 very pleasant what you said thank you and I said thank you very much Sean this is my wife Megan and he said
Starting point is 00:31:33 very nice to meet you Megan and her tits blushed is that even physically possible I didn't even know that tits could blush she just went
Starting point is 00:31:41 oh and they lit up like it was fucking Halloween I didn't even know these things could do that she went well they don't do it for you
Starting point is 00:31:50 but that's Sean Connery I was like oh my god he could make women's tits blush yeah that's quite a skill he was fucking great
Starting point is 00:31:59 for me he and Billy Connolly were kind of like the Jackie Robinson thing. Do you know what I mean? What did you watch when you were a kid and you go, I want a piece of that.
Starting point is 00:32:10 I want to be able to do that. My origin story is that we were living in Paris. My dad was a European. Paris? We were living in Paris. He was a European representative for the Ford Foundation. This is shortly after he brought down Robert McNamara. Fucking hell.
Starting point is 00:32:24 He was told to basically get out of town right um not only can you not have the hat but you better get the fuck out of town for a while yeah you really lost the hat yeah it's rolled down the street you're not gonna get that hat he ended up being fine um but but yes that we he was definitely out right but anyway i basically just learned English. I was little. And then there was French. Right. And so I was really deeply alienated by the whole thing.
Starting point is 00:32:51 And kind of a troubled little kid, little loner, weird kid. What age are you at this point? I am about three and a half, four, three and a half, four. Okay. And my mom paid for my siblings to take me to the movies.
Starting point is 00:33:05 And I very quickly figured out that that was the deal. Because my sister would bring all of her stone friends, and we would go see Fred Astaire movies, which I totally loved. But I really loved Charlie Chaplin. How interesting. And there was something about the combination of the pathos, the physical comedy, and just the warmth. Yeah. That I really just the warmth. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:33:25 That I really love the sweetness. Now, a lot of people think it's too treacly. Buster Keaton is probably for the hardcore fans, and I'm a huge fan, don't get me wrong.
Starting point is 00:33:32 Right. For the hardcore fans, he's just comedy. It's very little sentiment. But for me, I love the sentiment. I was a little kid, you know,
Starting point is 00:33:39 and the first one I saw was the kid. So I was like, this guy's a cat. And I could hang with this guy because he hangs out with kids in a non-creepy way. So I worked up a little Charlie Chaplin act in my room and in our apartment. And then I guess about a year later, we went to the theater, my fake auntie, Auntie Shure took me. Who is a fake auntie? My mom's best friend. Oh, your mom's friend.
Starting point is 00:34:02 But anyway, she took me to this one theater that I loved the most because there was a live musical accompaniment. The guy improvised music to whatever was playing. And it was my favorite because it was just like being in the theater in the original times. It's weird because, I mean, this sounds like you grew up in the 1920s in Paris. This is like, this is what, 1970s? Seventy, yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:34:23 Seventies, somewhere around there. Anyway, so the film burned. Got caught and burned. It went, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, 70s, something around there. Anyway, so, the film burned. Got caught and burned. It went on fire? Yeah. And everybody booed and the lights came back on.
Starting point is 00:34:33 Right. And I ran in between the audience and the screen because nobody boos Charlie Chaplin. Right. I just wasn't going to allow that to happen.
Starting point is 00:34:41 So, I jumped in between and I did my little Charlie Chaplin act, The Organ Player Play. And you did it for the audience in in between and I did my little Charlie Chaplin act, the organ player play. And you did it for the audience? I did it for the audience. The French audience, that's French. And were they good? Did they love you? I got a standing ovation. Jesus, that is so great. Now I think we have to make a movie of your life because that is such a great origin story. Don't you think? It's crazy. It's lovely. Yeah? It's lovely.
Starting point is 00:35:05 Yeah, it's funny. Do you actually have memory of it? I mean, do you? I, you know, there's so many questions about recovered memory. I actually did recover this memory by watching Chaplin, the biopic with Robert Downey Jr. Right. There is a scene in it where his mother,
Starting point is 00:35:23 who was played by Charlie Chaplin's actual daughter Geraldine Chaplin, in the movie plays her own grandmother. Grandmother. Who has a nervous breakdown on stage when Chaplin himself is about three or four. That's right. She was very ill. She was extremely ill. And anyway, she had a nervous breakdown on stage and everybody started to boo. And he thought, no one is going to boo my mother. so he jumped on stage and started doing a panama act because he had no act it was the only thing that he can think of and i was sitting in the theater and i was like oh my god that's amazing yeah that's amazing i remember and your family remember it? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:05 That's crazy. Yeah, but typical of my family, like I called my mom, I was crying. I called my mom and I go, I just want to check something because I had this incredibly powerful experience. It was like an epiphany for me. And I just want to double check and make sure that it actually happened and that I wasn't making it up. And she went, oh, yes, yeah, yeah. And I go, did you ever think about telling me that that she was like oh yeah that happened yeah no auntie sure there she took you and i go yeah that's right
Starting point is 00:36:31 yeah that's what i thought that's crazy yes no that happened do you know the story about chaplain and michael k and i michael k told me this story which is what they were both from the area the elephant and castle in london like a very poor slum area in London. And in the late 1960s or 70s, they were knocking down, it must have been in the 70s actually, they were knocking down the elephant and castle, the area in London. It was called that because in the Middle Ages, it was called l'enfant de Castille, but the Londoners couldn't pronounce that, so it was elephant and castle. Oh, that's hilarious
Starting point is 00:37:05 and it was a big instead of the children of the castle yeah so they they were knocking down this area and Michael
Starting point is 00:37:13 who grew up there was walking around you know he thought I'll go and see it before they knock it down so very early in the morning yeah
Starting point is 00:37:19 one Sunday he's walking around the elephant castle it's all kind of deserted and stuff and he comes around the corner and fucking Charlie Chaplin kind of deserted and stuff and he comes around the corner and fucking charlie chaplin is there the old man and he said mr chaplin what what are you
Starting point is 00:37:31 doing here yeah i'm doing the voice i can't do charlie chaplin charlie chaplin but uh and then you came up but the he said well i thought I'd come around to look at the old neighborhood before they knocked it down and the two of them there's something wonderful about that that's so sweet
Starting point is 00:37:50 two huge huge stars oh my god and from obviously very different eras but still but then walking around together
Starting point is 00:37:58 sharing a childhood that's really fascinating both of these people and this is kind of where I want to lead you a little bit is that both of these people for me i never met chaplin i presume you didn't either but i've met and spent time with michael cain who is a fucking diamond of a human being i've heard he's just amazing i'm really delighted to hear that and what's great about him is that
Starting point is 00:38:21 he's one of the few people i've met that retains the mystique. I know how films are made. I've made them. You've made them. We've been on them. I know how the sausage is made. But he keeps the glamour. I wondered for you,
Starting point is 00:38:34 is there still an area of this business? Because you've really proved yourself in this game. Is there still any kind of... You know the feeling you used to get when you you would see the stars handprints that used to i used to kind of get that and i don't anymore i'm like yeah it's the guy putting his hand in concrete doesn't matter you hear stories about people is there anyone who still does it for you that i get starstruck or that i'm just maybe starstruck or just retains the mystique who kind of still has the glamour of.
Starting point is 00:39:07 Either personally or... But I'm thinking more personally, like interacting with people. No. No. It's funny that, isn't it? No. I have yet to see the glamour of this business. I, too, totally worshipped it from an outsider's perspective.
Starting point is 00:39:20 Right. I used to go to Men's Chinese when I had a particularly intense audition. Yeah. Before, I would go and I would stand in Jimmy Stewart's
Starting point is 00:39:29 shoe prints at Man's Chinese and just, you know, look up at the sky and say, show me the magic, show me the magic.
Starting point is 00:39:35 Yeah. Because he was my favorite of the speaking actors. Yeah, the so-called talkies. As if that'll ever catch on. Never!
Starting point is 00:39:45 But I have yet to see glamour. I mean, one moment I think was fairly glamorous. In early screenings of Miss Congeniality 2, I went to, with Olsey, I should say, we went to a theater way out in Glendale or something. I can't quite remember right now. But anyway, we went up to where the projectors were because that's where Sandy was. And there was Sandra Bullock in the middle of the
Starting point is 00:40:13 room on her phone looking amazing and like a movie star waiting for the lights to go down so she could join the audience. And I think that was the one moment where I was like, that's actually pretty cool. Yeah. It's funny that it does go away. Yeah, because it's just a lot of desperate people trying to work. You know what did it to me was late night. Oh. Because every night, giant star comes in. Not every night, but a lot of times, giant stars come in,
Starting point is 00:40:41 giant stars come in, giant stars come in. And the douche to mensch ratio is the same as anywhere else in the world. The world, yeah. Yeah, it's just like, oh yeah, some guys douches, some guys mensches, and that's just the way it is. But there are people, for me still, who kind of transcend it a little bit. Okay, who's that? Well, Robin Williams did that for me a little bit. Even though we became friendly, there was a...
Starting point is 00:41:05 Still like... It seemed to me he had a magic. Maybe it's genius. Maybe that's what it is. It's not really about glamour and show business, but it's about... The next level of real talent. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:41:17 Or when you see somebody doing a thing, like every now and again, I would see that I could even do it. I could do it. And I'm not saying I could even do it with you, but I can do it with you. Like, there were times when I would, like, when I was watching BoJack,
Starting point is 00:41:30 when you turned up in BoJack as the agent's assistant, I was like, oh, that's fucking gorgeous. Oh, thank you. And it was great. It was, I mean, that show, for me, I'm such a fan of that show. It's a really great show. It's a very dark, strange ride.
Starting point is 00:41:48 Yeah. I don't think there's been a darker comedy. Yeah. I mean, who was it you were working with on that? Bob, the creator of the show, and I did a show together called Save Me. Right. That was a total piece of shit. Okay.
Starting point is 00:42:04 And he knew it at the shit okay and he knew it at the time and I knew it at the time but he couldn't say anything but I just talked about it all the time
Starting point is 00:42:11 so he appreciated that yeah and couldn't wait to get you into it when he had his own show then he brought me in and he was like your candor
Starting point is 00:42:20 was so like refreshing that there was somebody who knew that they were on a piece of shit while they were in it. It was one of those shows, Bojack, I thought that you lived in terror of your name turning up in it.
Starting point is 00:42:32 Oh, yeah, right. Because you skewered everybody. Yeah, mine did. Oh, really? Yeah, I was watching it one day. I think it's deep into the season with Bojack's way off base. And the reporters are looking for BoJack.
Starting point is 00:42:47 And they go to an AA meeting. And they say, have you seen any celebrities at an AA meeting? And somebody goes, I thought Craig Ferguson was here once. And the reporter says, oh, trying to be swanked by association, are you? And I was like, whew. That was good. That was getting out of hand. That's not bad.
Starting point is 00:43:04 Especially since you're not anonymous. You're recovering and you're pretty clear about it. that was good that was good that's not bad especially since you're not anonymous you're recovering and you're pretty clear about it so he wasn't outing you but the AA thing
Starting point is 00:43:11 is anonymous and I don't I can't and wouldn't speak about that but what I mean is that he picked the one like
Starting point is 00:43:19 who's in recovery who was clear about it and then there was a whole bunch of people after that as well. People were just hilarious. He just ran a list of fucking douchebag fucking celebrities
Starting point is 00:43:31 that have gotten sober, me included. Yeah, okay. And I kind of loved it. But as a skewering, it wasn't bad. No, it was great. It wasn't a skewering at all. It was okay. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:43:46 Meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious Tori Spelling as she takes us through the ups and downs of her sometimes glamorous, sometimes chaotic life and marriage. I don't think he knew how big it would be, how big the life I was given and live is. I think he was like, oh, yeah, things come and go. But with me, it never came and went.
Starting point is 00:44:12 Is she Donna Martin or a down-and-out divorcee? Is she living in Beverly Hills or a trailer park? In a town where the lines are blurred, Tori is finally going to clear the air in the podcast Misspelling. When a woman has nothing to lose, she has everything to gain. Tori is finally going to clear the air in the podcast, Miss Spelling. When a woman has nothing to lose, she has everything to gain. I just filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words that I've said like in my head for like 16 years.
Starting point is 00:44:39 Wild. Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Angie Martinez. Check out my podcast where I talk to some of the biggest athletes, musicians, actors in the world. We go beyond the headlines and the soundbites to have real conversations about real life, death, love, and everything in between. This life right here, just finding myself, just this relaxation, this not feeling stressed, this not feeling pressed. This is what I'm most proud of. I'm proud of Mary because I've been through hell and some horrible things. That feeling that I had of inadequacy is gone.
Starting point is 00:45:20 You're going to die being you. So you got to constantly work on who you are to make sure that the stars align correctly. Life ain't easy and it's getting harder and harder. So if you have a story to tell, if you come through some trials, you need to share it because you're going to inspire someone. You're going to you're going to give somebody the motivation to not give up, to not quit. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Guess what, Mango? What's that, Will? So iHeart is giving us a whole minute to promote our podcast, Part-Time Genius.
Starting point is 00:45:55 I know. That's why I spent my whole week composing a haiku for the occasion. It's about my emotional journey in podcasting over the last seven years, and it's called Earthquake House. Mango, I'm going to cut you off right there. Why don't we just tell people about our show instead? Yeah, that's a better idea. So every week on Part-Time Genius, we feed our curiosity by answering the world's most important questions. Things like, when did America start dialing 911? Is William Shatner's best acting work in Esperanto? Also,
Starting point is 00:46:23 what happened to Esperanto? Plus, we cover questions like how Chinese is your Chinese food? How do dollar stores stay in business? And of course, is there an Illuminati of cheese? There absolutely is. And we are risking our lives by talking about it. But if you love mind-blowing facts, incredible history, and really bad jokes, make your brains happy and tune in to Part-Time Genius.
Starting point is 00:46:45 Listen to Part-Time Genius on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. I think if you're an actor the way you're an actor, which I admire greatly, is that I don't see you being you everywhere. Well, I don't think I'm me anywhere. I hope not. I'm really trying to be somebody else every time. I work really hard at that in breaking up my own rhythms and try to pick up the rhythm of the, with the writing. I really work hard on that. I mean, that's why, I mean, some people don't even know I'm in Napoleon Dynamite because Have you still got those pants? Everybody else.
Starting point is 00:47:29 My one regret in show business is that I You didn't keep the pants? They're the greatest fucking pants I've ever seen! I picked them out of a lineup. Jerusha, who was also the co-writer, but was the wife of Jared, the director, was also the costume director right that's
Starting point is 00:47:45 a small it was a pretty low budget movie right she sold me three different pairs of pants and i was like no that was the stars of stripes they are amazing so but is that a thing that you do when it comes to like publicity because you're you're happy you sit here this is you i know you yeah but i haven't seen you do a ton of like you did my talk show but I haven't seen you do a ton of them do you do it on purpose or are you not so into I mean it's strange to say this as an actor
Starting point is 00:48:12 but I'm not so into talking about myself I'd much rather talk about a specific project and if I do that then Twitter has kind of changed this I feel like I you're quite present on that also it is a side of me it's the it's the funnier side the kind of goofier side right but sometimes i open up about other things that i'm actually feeling uh but most of the time i try to be
Starting point is 00:48:35 light and airy i try to be a positive force right and in twitter that's particularly difficult because it's a it's a dark place it is a a dark place. It used to be, it was funny, I was talking to Josh Robert Thompson recently about the, who was the guy who did the robot on the late night show. He was a fucking genius. Yeah. And he was, we were talking about how early on
Starting point is 00:48:54 Twitter was kind of great. It was fun. It was light and it went very dark. And I think probably it was the politics of 2016 and that that kind of... Yeah, I think it predated that a little bit. But I think as you were alluding to earlier, it's the ratio. And, you know, you get a lot of responses from being negative. And so people tend to be more negative.
Starting point is 00:49:19 I think just to get the attention. They equate negative attention and positive attention in the same way. As being the same i don't i don't do that no no it's so strange i i negative attention is deeply stressful well because we're performers right so there's a part of us that wants the audience to laugh we want that love right that's part of our real addiction if they don't like you yeah and you're out of business exactly and it's also like if we were to stand on stage and people were to literally boo and we got the same like feeling out of business. Exactly. And it's also like if we were to stand on stage and people were to literally boo, and we got the same feeling out of that, that would be strange. That would be bad.
Starting point is 00:49:50 Boo, thank you so much. Oh, bless you all for coming. Boo, boo, hang him. Throw cabbages. Yeah, exactly. Louis, obviously, if it was a visual medium, I would have thrown a cabbage there. Yes, of course. That's why I had to say no cabbages.
Starting point is 00:50:05 Yes, of course. What about directing? Oh, sometimes I think about it, but other times I'm just so satisfied with what I do. I think I'd like you to think about it more. Really? Yeah, because you have a very good personality for it. I mean, even talking about it.
Starting point is 00:50:23 First of all, you're positive. And you also see things right and you also you see things and you you do things like text analysis which i thought a lot of fucking directors could do well doing that yeah but i think also you have this thing i'm going to do a massive name drop okay fantastic all right so i i was directing this movie yeah and i did a very bad job on it but i was talking to Warren Beatty before I had lunch with Warren Beatty
Starting point is 00:50:46 boom yeah yeah there he goes and I had lunch with Warren Beatty because somebody had set us up on a lunch
Starting point is 00:50:52 so he could help me because I was in the movie and I was directing the movie and so he was I said I need to talk to guys he's supposed to be
Starting point is 00:50:58 astonishingly bright he's an amazingly clever man that's what I've heard hits on every waitress that serves him of course oh unbelievable it's fucking ridiculous it's like Gene Simmons it's just crazy Right. He's an amazing, clever man. That's what I've heard. Hits on every waitress that serves him. Of course. Oh, unbelievable.
Starting point is 00:51:07 It's fucking ridiculous. It's like Gene Simmons. Yeah, it's just crazy. And that's the only time Gene Simmons and Warren Beatty have been reproached. I don't think he even knows he's doing it. He's like, you know, you look fabulous.
Starting point is 00:51:16 This is the greatest omelette I've ever seen. I was like, for God's sake. Shameless. Yeah, unbelievable. I don't even know if he's... It's unconscious, yeah. I don't even know.
Starting point is 00:51:25 I don't think he is hitting on these people I think he's just so kind of charmingly anyway whatever it is but he he was talking about directing
Starting point is 00:51:34 the number one thing he said don't try and impress anyone the less you say the more they're going to be impressed that's interesting he said because they turn
Starting point is 00:51:44 everybody turns up on the movie set and they've all got a call sheet. And on that call sheet is written, bold type, right at the top, director, and then your name. So they're already impressed. All that's going to happen is you're going to disappoint. Disappoint everyone.
Starting point is 00:51:58 Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're going to be like, ah. And I think that you, I wouldn't have said this about you when we were doing the Drew Carey show. No, I was out of control you weren't out of control you were younger
Starting point is 00:52:07 yeah and you were a nice guy and I don't want to hold with any idea that there was anything wrong there was nothing wrong with you yeah yeah yeah but you clearly are a human being who's made a transition
Starting point is 00:52:19 who grew up yeah yeah and I think that you have stories to tell and even when you told the story of you as a little kid in Paris, that's a fine bit of visual. Think about it. Thank you. I will.
Starting point is 00:52:32 All right, good. I will. So when you're making your movie, I would like to be angry Parisian. I don't want this kid in my movie theater. I think it would be fine. I think I could do it. I could throw a mustache
Starting point is 00:52:46 or not, depending on what you want. Yeah. But just acting, then you don't see it as a... That's the wrong thing. I don't mean just acting. Oh, I know what you're saying.
Starting point is 00:52:56 Right. Yeah, no. I mean, I find my job very complex. And it never gets easy in a way where I can stop thinking about it. I find every day interesting. And, you know, I'm on this new show called Lucky Hank.
Starting point is 00:53:15 With Bob, right? With Bob and Kirk. And an incredible cast. Right. And we did one episode, episode five, where we were all together. It's a bottle episode. For those people that aren't in show business, it's basically when the show, the studio tells you that we have no more money. And so they do an episode where everybody's caught together.
Starting point is 00:53:35 Right, the Snowden episode. The Snowden episode or something. You'll see it on TV shows all the time. In show business, they're called bottle episodes. That's just the short thing. called bottle episodes. That's just the short thing. So the writers of Lucky Hank, who were exceptionally good, had all of these characters out in the show in the first four episodes. And they were kind of like just a lot of strings. And you didn't know if Hank was the thing that pulled it together or why they were necessarily connected. And in this one episode, they just
Starting point is 00:54:04 pull the string and they realize that it's been there the entire time. And in this one episode, they just pull the string and they realize that it's been there the entire time and it pulls everyone together with them. And there's a scene where it's 12 pages at a table. That's a long time. It's a very long time. It was like 25 minutes. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:54:19 And so we're just sitting there. Yeah. Talking. And it reinvigorated my sense of my profession and the beauty of it in one day it was so beautiful to see all these actors interact and create something new every single take to push each other but also push the reality of what we're making get deeper and deeper every take. And one of the things that drives me completely bonkers about those that don't take our mutual profession seriously is when they're off camera and they stop acting.
Starting point is 00:54:56 It drives me completely bonkers. Like I would prefer you not to be there and I can act to tape. And I have asked for this before. Right. Because actors will just like, you know, they're just going to be along or whatever. Oh, you mean so the camera's on someone. Right. Camera's on the other actor. Right.
Starting point is 00:55:13 They're sitting off camera. And for looks, basically. Right. So that your look looks like. But they're not acting. Yeah. And they barely know their lines. Or they don't know their lines and they're just reading it.
Starting point is 00:55:23 It's so distracting to me. Yeah. That I would prefer to have a piece of tape and have the script supervisor read, and I will act like it's going to be... Or a tennis ball or something like that. Yeah, something that it's like, you're the best actor ever. I will make you look good, honest to God, but don't be here right now, because you're not doing it. Right. And this ensemble with Bob as the lead every single take was great even when it was
Starting point is 00:55:47 coverage of like you know just one person had two cameras on them and it was their close-up and there are 10 actors in the scene everybody acted their heart out bob was crying off camera yeah that's that's just a waste of resources no he had already done his close-up, but somehow he tapped into something and he just kept going. He just kept tapping into it. Right. And he was just 100% there and everyone was right there. It felt magical. But that's part of the attraction, like at the very beginning for a lot of people.
Starting point is 00:56:17 That's right. I think it's the collegiate band of brothers feel. That's right. Of what it's like to be in an ensemble cast. That's exactly right. When you and I were talking, going back to those early days of the Drew Carey show,
Starting point is 00:56:30 that second season, third, fourth season, right about that period, maybe the episode 25 to episode of 100, there was a time when I think we were in that space.
Starting point is 00:56:40 I completely agree with that. And that... I think we lost it probably about mid-fifth season. And then we were just doing a job. But for those... It's like the rock and roll movies when the band gets together
Starting point is 00:56:54 and they have their peak hits and they're really great. And then they just keep playing. Yeah, and they keep playing. And they keep playing and they keep playing. And then the inevitable happens. And the drummer dies.
Starting point is 00:57:04 Yeah, and the drummer dies. The drummer's always going to die. But when it's good, it's really beautiful. And you're like, oh, this is rock and roll. This is really good. Like, if one person is off, the band is off. Right. But when they're all together.
Starting point is 00:57:18 It all clicks. It's amazing. Yeah, it's beautiful. And I think that that's kind of odd. Even as a viewer, when you watch shows, you can see, like, there are shows that just come out of the gate and they're amazing. And then, you know, season 10, they're like, you know, really, when they introduced, what is it, The Simpsons did the dog with sunglasses on a skateboard. Yeah, yeah. Like, okay, here we go. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:57:46 But I think that there is a kind of like, Carrie Fisher used to say this and I think it was a brilliant thing to say amongst many brilliant things that Carrie said. Yeah, she was smart. Ah, she was wonderful.
Starting point is 00:57:55 Did you know her? I knew her a little bit, yeah. Yeah, she was very kind to me. She started a bunch of parties. Yeah. When the Late Night Show started, I had just written a book
Starting point is 00:58:04 and she read it and she... American on Purpose? No, before that. It was a novel I wrote called Between the Bridge and the River and it was a kind of
Starting point is 00:58:13 magical realist thing and it was like, it's never going to make any money or anything like that but I really wanted to write it. Yeah, cool. And she read it
Starting point is 00:58:18 and she was very positive about it and really kind of introduced me in a way to Hollywood that I hadn't been before. She was just amazingly supportive. Wow.
Starting point is 00:58:27 And she did that for tons of people. That's so cool. She had this kind of artist colony at her house, and you would go up and you'd meet, like, I met the weirdest people. I'm like Courtney Love up there. That's fun. Not that Courtney Love, well, she is a little weird. I think I'd say that if she was here.
Starting point is 00:58:41 I don't think that's a big surprise. No, it's not. Wait, what? But I just lot a wild array of different people and lovely but she said when i put on that metal bikini when i was 24 i didn't realize i was making a pact with the universe to look like that for the rest of my life. Wow. Yeah. And I, you know, it was like, it's a moment in time. Why can't you let it be that?
Starting point is 00:59:10 Yeah. You know, and I think that with a sitcom, when it all comes together or a movie that all comes together, that that's why, you know, when people talk about AI, I'm like, it doesn't frighten me. Cause you know, cause it's still got, there's too much a for the eye to matter. You know what I fucking mean? It's like, why is it, you know, because it's still got, there's too much A for the I to matter. You know what I fucking mean? It's like, why is it, you know,
Starting point is 00:59:28 like... Publishers have been around a very long time. Yeah. I think that, you know, this is going to be funny because the robot says it's funny. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:59:36 Good fucking luck, robot. Whitney Balliet says that jazz is the sound of surprise. That's fucking great. I would say the comedy is that. And Robin Williams used to say that good comedy was jazz. And we cut full circle.
Starting point is 00:59:52 Diedrich, you're a joy. It was beautiful to talk to you. More power to you. I'm really looking forward to seeing Lucky Hank. Thank you. Thank you. Meet the real woman behind the tabloid headlines in a personal podcast that delves into the life of the notorious Tori Spelling, as she takes us through the ups and downs of her sometimes glamorous,
Starting point is 01:00:28 sometimes chaotic life in marriage. I just filed for divorce. Whoa. I said the words that I've said, like, in my head for, like, 16 years. Wild. Listen to Miss Spelling on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Angie Martinez, and on my podcast, I like to talk to everyone from Hall of Fame athletes to iconic musicians about getting real on some of the complications and challenges of real life.
Starting point is 01:00:56 I had the best dad, and I had the best memories and the greatest experience. And that's all I want for my kids as long as they can have that. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get emotional with me, Radhi Devlukia,
Starting point is 01:01:16 in my new podcast, A Really Good Cry. We're going to be talking with some of my best friends. I didn't know we were going to go there. I'm here. People that I admire. When we say listen to your body, really tune in to what's going on. Authors of books that have changed my life. Now you're
Starting point is 01:01:31 talking about sympathy, which is different than empathy. Never forget, it's okay to cry as long as you make it a really good one. Listen to A Really Good Cry with Raleigh Dvloukia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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