SmartLess - "Jessica Chastain"

Episode Date: August 14, 2023

We’re serving up poached pears with sweet potato ice cream as we slow-roast with the great Jessica Chastain. So kick off your boots, sit back, and relax for some light cussing, failed PE, and of course, chunky theater stories… on an all-new episode of “Fall Cooking with Jessie-Boo.”This episode was recorded on June 13, 2023.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guys, happy summer. Huh? How's the summer going? Right? It's so nice. It's so summery. It's really summery. So hot.

So summery we're doing a summer podcast. Yeah. This podcast today is going to be hot, hot, hot. Sorry about your mouth, Sean. Jesus, fuck dude. All right. Somebody punched you in the mouth before we said, oh no you're eating. Sorry, silly me. Oh my my god look at my microphone.

Yeah, there's two of them all over your microphone. Oh, welcome to Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet.

Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Smarlet. Hi, JB. Sean.

Hey, wait, let me just say this. Let me just say this. JB, it's 9.30. It's morning where you are, Sean and I are in the East Coast. Yeah. So, what time are you up today to get prepared for your day? I got up at seven today. You get up early every day.

I do. Well seven's not early. No, it's usually six or six thirty. Today was a little bit later. I'm still battling. I'm long hauling something. It's not COVID. It's some sort of a head cold kind of really sinus thing, little coffee, little sniffly, like I beat it. And then 48

hours later, it came back. What is that? Well, you're not the first person in your house to beat it. Let's be honest. Yeah, yeah. The first song that's on over here. The good. that's true. Wait, so but it's not COVID you're not sick. I mean, I'm sick, but I'm not I haven't tested, but maybe I should. You know, it's so weird. I just got back. I go do physical therapy and a friend of mine at that office.

He was trying to get a tick out of his daughter's arm and he squeezed the tick and it busted open and squirted in his eye and he got COVID from it. I swear to God, that's true story. Wait. He literally just told me like an hour ago. Hang on. So, COVID, so ticks carry COVID now too right next to their briefcase full of Lyme's disease? Yeah, no, I don't know.

He said he was, he got home, his wife, nobody wanted to deal with the tick on his daughter's arm, so he squeezed it, and it squirted in his eye. Well, maybe he got COVID from his COVID-infested daughter instead of the tick. The tick can't carry two briefcases full of virus. It sounds like a pretty elaborate way to make an excuse for something that he's obviously leading like a double life.

And so what he did was, he's like, yeah, he squeezed the tick and then the tick got on my eye, honey. Anyway, that's why I stayed in a home last long hauler. The tick squirted in his eye. By the way, it should be noted also that the JB that Amanda, you can't tell Amanda that story. She would look, she's so tick nervous. I know.

Every time we talk about the East Coast, we talk about going to see friends, she gets very ticked off. She talks about going to visit friends in Martha's Vineyard or coming to CS out here and she's all about the ticks. You guys talk amongst yourselves, I need water. Okay. Get the first. He just gets up and goes, oh, I know.

He's coughing up a storm out there. He really is. Well, we're getting all of this. This is good. If you're a doctor and you're out there Please just listen to the thing. Yeah, boy You know you go eight million miles in the house like I do a little bit and you never get sick Um, I never see you sick. I saw you sick last year maybe one

Yeah, I'm pretty good about I mean, I don't want to I don't want to um, template, but but I am pretty good about it. I mean, I don't want to I don't want to tempt fate, but but I am pretty good about Yeah, although Jason you never really get sick either Jason never gets sick either ever. No, I really don't I don't But you know, I'm fired up guys. I'm I'm I'm I'm excited to be smart-losing today. Are you guys are you guys ready to smart-less? Introducing it as verb are you getting your smartless on? I'm trying to fire up. I'm trying to fire up here, you know? Yeah.

Hey, I'm glad that you're really excited to be here today and to be smartless and you mentioned because we have a guest because we don't just have a guest. We have an incredible guest today. Really? Yeah, well, because can we vote on that after the guest is revealed? Sure. Sure. But you know who has voted on this guest? Oh, America. America, the world. The Academy Awards has nominated this person three times and she's one. Titan up. For best actresses. So not by stood up. I've stood up all straight.

Nominating two other times. I mean, she's won Golden Globes. So she's won for three. She's won everything. She's won every possible award, been nominated multiple times for the, do you like the Golden Globes or the theater awards or Tony Awards or the theater awards? Is that what they're going to be? But Academy Award, winning Academy Award, once I start listening to her credits, you're going to go, oh yeah, and I know exactly what this is, because these are movies that you like through their movies like, am I gonna go?

Oh my God, you're so funny. Zero Dark 30, you're the Eyes of Tammy Faye, or- This is Jessica Chastain. This is Jessica Chastain. Wait, are you joking? Wait a minute. Yes.

Do I take it off now? Wait a minute, what? This is insane. This is crazy. This is crazy. I just it off now. What? This is insane. Well, no, I just thought you yesterday. I know it's insane. Congratulations, darling. Thank you, honey. I was really glad to have you.

Congratulations. No, I don't want to talk about it. Somebody's a big deal. Congratulations. It's a big, big, big, big team. I mean, how amazing to be on that journey with you the whole time. It was so great. We had one event where we were just mowling words to each other the whole time to try to

save our voices. And then I left. And then I left. And then you left, really. So, listener, we have not, we're taping this at a time that is just after Sean's win at the Tony Awards. So, we're trying not to talk about it because this is delayed, but given that. Oh, I get it, I'll call it another one.

I'll talk about it. Yeah, but since you guys are both, they're in the midst of it right now, it just ended, listen, or so. We apologize for being a little bit late. If you want to. But we can still talk about the experience that because it was weird, not the experience,

but the theater experience for people who are listening, Jessica's theater was literally right next to mine. So every single day I got shot, Bob, I'd be like, there's Jessica Chastain starring in a doll's house and there's Johnny's starring. It was really cool. You guys have to hear each other show while you're performing.

No, but the line to get in was always make it. It's like, you don't know if people were in line for your show or my show because it's always mixed up. Yeah, it was really cool. And people waiting outside afterwards. So my stage door was on 45th Street, which is the back of the theater. And your stage door was on 44th.

So my car was on the other side. And so every time I would leave, I would see all of you at the people waiting outside for you, it was very sweet. Oh, that's crazy. That's fun, right? You guys are like in this, your own little sort of in that world

and feeling like you're really part of a community and kind of in the trenches together in a way. And also, yeah, right. It was also nice to just have a comrade to go through it with, right? And do you guys have free tickets to each other's show or do you have to pay? Well, the thing is we can't see each other's show because we're performing at the same time. But now I close you guys the same days off.

You close. You've been saving it. We had Mondays off. I closed. And so now I mean, I'm after a week into heat. She'll be there tonight. Sean. Yeah, a week.

I'm gonna come see everything. A week into Heady, that sounds so good. Yeah, I need a complete reversal of location. I'm just, I'm just, That's about the opposite. Although that does sound like a play as well, a week into Heady, that could be the one act, right? Yeah.

Jessica's returned to Broadway. Maybe that's just be the title of my autobi well. A Weakens Tahiti. That could be one act, right? Yeah. Jessica's returned to Broadway. Maybe that's just me the title of my autobiography. Weakens Tahiti. Have you been there before it? It's Tahiti? I have, but I went, I went, a friend of mine invited me during COVID. So who had any had both there.

So I basically was just in the water of Tahiti. But we didn't really have to. Very nice. You're going to strike land this time. I am. I'm very excited. Are you exhausted from doing H.O.Z. Oh my God.'re going to strike land this time. I am. I'm very excited. Are you exhausted from doing H.O.D.

Oh my God. I don't know if you can tell. My voice is like, I'm done. I've been taking all these immunity medicines and stuff because I just feel like any second my body is going to go all right now it's the time. Let me have a kick your ass. Well let me ask you. I'm going to ask you that because we've been going through this with Sean.

I feel like we're all on this journey with Sean Jason. But, just can tell me if you have, and this actually goes to both of you guys, you know that what you're gonna about to embark on when you're gonna do a play on Broadway is gonna be really demanding in a lot of different ways, but especially physically. And so you prep yourself, I imagine. You get yourself up, you're like, okay, here we go, we're gonna do this. I'm gonna be fine. And then what is the point you, when you start doing it, you go like, I imagine. Like you get yourself up, you're like, okay, here we go, we're gonna do this. I'm gonna be fine. And then what is the point you,

when you start doing it, you go like, oh my God, this is way worse than I thought. Is it a week? Is it two weeks? Is it a month? Oh gosh. I mean, after the first week of previews for me, at one point I went to the director and I said,

I don't think this is sustainable. I don't understand this level of motion. I don't think this is sustainable. I don't understand this level of motion. I don't think it's sustainable. And he's like, no, you can do it. That's what's just his response to every time. I was like, are you sure? You could do it. How long did you do your show?

We did 137 performances. But my show also, it was pretty emotional. There was heavy crying for an hour each show. So it was, it definitely is not something. We're gonna do it again somewhere. I'll have another life next year. But in very much shorter runs, because there was a lose my mind.

Can you flick the switch on crying pretty easy or is it a big process for you? Some people it's easy. No, I'm like, you know, the kids when they do, I always think about this with my kids, is when I see them playing, they absolutely believe what they're doing. They're so in it when they're, at school they call it dramatic play.

And I kind of feel like that's just what happens is, I'm in the scene and then I just believe it's happening. Right, and the tears come. Sometimes, sometimes if the mood is right, Scottie and I call it role play. So, I'm trying to. Oh, that's definitely for a different show. Definitely for a different show.

And then you believe it's happening, Sean. I believe it. I do. I didn't order this pizza. Well, what do you mean? Are you not hungry? I didn't say you could just come into my apartment, but you're here now.

But this is the meat lovers pizza. I can't use it. I love meat. Do you, do you, do you find that like you spend all this emotion like you're on stage, you're falling for an hour, and then you get home into your life and stuff happens and you've got no emotion left for anything else? Like, no, in fact, I'm like the opposite,

which probably my poor family and friends have been so sweet with me. I just become so kind of raw that I'm like a little bit like a baby, where things that shouldn't make me emotional, make me emotional. And it's just, I start to feel like I'm losing my mind. Which is why now I'm looking forward to another Zero Dark 30, like playing a character

who really doesn't, am I allowed to cuss on this? I mean, I've heard before. Oh, yeah. Well, I'm just doesn't give a shit. Just just like, I'm, you know, she's just walking through. I need to play that next. I love that you asked if you could cuss.

You're the first nice, you're the first nice, respectful guest we've had. Was it always part of your life growing up too, or you, and as a kid, were you in high school? It was. My grandma took me to see a play when I was seven. I didn't have the easiest of, you know, childhoods in some sense, because we were, you know, I was raised by a single mom and she really struggled a lot financially.

And I was kind of an angry kid a lot. And so my grandma took me to this show at the Music Circus Theater in Sacramento, California. It was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Awesome, girl. And there was a, and she told me she, because it was a big deal. It was a professional show.

She kept saying that they were, this was their job, these actors. And then it started and there was a little girl on stage and I was like, oh, this is what I am. It wasn't a sense of like, this is what I wanna be. I was like, oh, this is what I'm gonna do. And, and then I just spent like my poor mom was like, oh, this is what I'm gonna do and And then I just spent like my poor mom was like, can you bring me to LA to audition for commercials?

Wait, how old were you when you were in grandma took you to that? Seven. Yeah, because I saw I saw a chorus line when I was 10 and I always wish I'd seen it earlier like when I was like I don't know five six, six, seven, eight. Oh my God. Longer fall. I don't know what to say about that. You can set themself up and hit it. I was so happy about that. He's like, I got a one-man bully ball, too. He loves it and then he spikes it himself.

But I do want to say, you know what's interesting in the Christmas meet, how many kids their first introduction to theater is Joseph in the Technicolor Code? I know, right? But I do want to say, you know what's interesting? It occurs to me. How many kids their first introduction to theater is Joseph and the technicaler code? I know, right? Right. I mean, that's like the sort of the game. That's one of the, one of the, because it's like safe for high schools to do and it's safe for like kids. Yeah, and kids, a lot of kids go and see, they'll go see with their family or they'll

go see with their school or like in my question is, do we need to update what that is? Yeah. I don't even remember what happens in the show. That's the sad thing. I think that's the one and only time I ever saw it. You know what? It was the first play I think I saw. Oh, really?

It was the reason I ever saw it. I saw it in black and white though. Oh, no. What was the one with the roller skating? Starlight Express? Yeah. That one with that one? Yeah. I think? Yeah. That one, the way back when? Yeah, I think that was my first one.

And then the real hats. Then there were some roller skating. Yeah. Just a little cat. And a lot of siblings, Jess, in your family, are just you? Yeah, two boys and two girls. Oh, wow. And Vendee also.

I was the only one. You're one of five. Yeah, one of five. And you're youngest? My youngest brother is 24. So are you in the middle? I'm the oldest. She's older. Oh, you're the oldest. Sorry Sorry, sorry. Yeah, now what now so so so then the acting was it something that came because you started so early Did it was it something that came very naturally to you or did you start training early on? It's something

Because I went to public schools. I just remember like they would assign the plays in schools to the people who got really good grades and I think it could. Great. So it's always like the person on the side or holding the tree or whatever. And then we got to the middle. Holding the tree. Not even the tree, just holding the tree. I know, just like holding it up.

And then we got to middle school and it was the first time we started like, you know, having a class, the elective, where you could choose what class you wanted and I chose the drama class. And then, you know, that's when I really started doing stuff. I actually won a monologue competition and I have a little trophy for it. And I actually had, it's like that to me

is one of the most, is the sweetest things in my house because I think I was like 12 or 13 and it was a big deal. It was for some, I was like, wow, I actually, people think I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. Yeah, that was important.

You know what's interesting though? So you grew up in Sacramento, not exactly like a hotbed for theater and that, right? But you go, you see that play, how do you make that leap from being a little girl in Sacramento who sees a plane and that, right? But, but you go, you see that play, like how do you make that leap from being a little girl in Sacramento who sees a play and is super nervous saying that's me to, I don't wanna jump all the way

to becoming an Academy, Academy Award-winning actress, but like, what's that first movie you're like in Sacramento, like I gotta go from here to what? Yeah. Well, I mean, I was going, I had no idea, because I don't know anyone in the industry. Yeah. And again, it was kind of a tough situation, you know,

at home, and I was doing a lot of community theater and working at Sac City College doing like their Shakespeare. I think I did, I did, I mean, the shrew and all of this stuff. And then I actually dropped out of high school. She's crazy. And then I actually dropped out of high school. She's crazy. I might, I dropped out of high school.

I had to take PE twice. And I think I didn't graduate, because I missed, because I failed PE twice. I failed PE twice. I failed PE twice. Because I had no interest in like doing pull ups. And like, I just had like no. And I was reading, you know, Shakespeare in cutting-class reaches. I was, I was such a like, no. And I was reading Shakespeare in cutting-class...

I was such a nerd. Wow. I'm probably, yeah, I can't even understand it, but I dropped out and then I started working and I did some regional theater. I played Juliet at theater works in Silicon Valley. And then the guy who was playing Romeo got into Juilliard. And I was like, I don't think he's that much better than me.

Something he could go. And so I did. Oh, wow, great. Yeah, that's amazing. It's changed my mind. Wait, going back to high school, I remember, I remember in my high school, there was a thing called, like the debate team called, it was called forensics.

I did that. Of course you did, because like everybody, like the debate team called, it was called forensics. I did that. Of course you did, because like everybody, I knew in high school, I didn't do it. And it freaked me out because people were, What is it, Sean? It's like when you are in a debate team and they teach you how to debate, like improv debate, right?

And people. No, they don't. Yes, they do. Oh, sorry. And I freaked me out. It was my first experience watching kids my age face a wall and talk to the wall because they would be rehearsing. Yeah.

I was like, are they crazy? Like, it was like a mental institution. And also different voices because you play different characters and they're near-rate and they're young. Yeah, it was wild. How funny, by the by the way for the listener how funny and you guys can test this are and weird are Jason just said audition lobby is like when you remember going to like you do it like auditioning to a casting office and everybody's holding their sides and people are like find like a little corner or they're sitting on the edge of a chair and

they're just going I don't know. It's talking over their face. They're being going over with practicing their faces. Yeah their faces. I don't know if they're being... Yeah. ...going over what they're practicing their faces. Yeah, their faces, their thing that they... Like, their little angles, their little beat that they've got on the thing that they're going to do. And then, you get older and you do it like the four of us as a profession, and then you find yourself doing it, and you're like,

Oh, now it's not so weird, because I'm doing it. I don't know. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And we will be right back. Smartlet's get support from Helix. I'll say we get support. I get support on my dusk lux mattress.

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So you go to, you go to Julia, there was no other sort of like, you didn't go to like a college where you had, well, I'll, I'll major in drama, but I'll minor in business or something like that. But J.P., I'll interrupt to say also, not just that, Jessica, you got, didn't you get the Robin Williams scholarship at Julia as well? Oh, wow. So that was actually a huge deal financially for us, because he went to Julia hard and he was from everyone,

the talks about him, such a generous human being. And he gave the scholarship every two years and it basically paid for everything. Didn't just pay for tuition. It paid for my apartment. It paid for me to fly back and forth to go see my family at Christmas. It paid for food. It was a ginormous.

He was an incredibly generous guy. Did you guys know Robin a little bit? I met him when I shook his hand once. He was such a, I had the pleasure of spending a little bit of time with them over the years a few times and he was an incredibly generous, sweet, sweet guy. I mean, and anytime you check in with anybody who knows him, so it doesn't surprise me that he did, I mean, that's so thoughtful. And as a young person and going to do this thing and going to New York, those kinds of

expenses are just tough to cover. Yeah, for anybody. Yeah. And to have somebody do that. So then you get to go to Juilliard. And then how did they assign that scholarship? Obviously, those that need the economic assistance are the candidates, but I imagine that there's some sort

of, is there like an act off? Just saying to the city, supporting a vet. You're like glad supporting event? Yeah. Or like gladiators? Yeah. Was there any sort of, I was acting often, I was like 12. I don't think so.

I mean, the first two years, it was a lot of, you know, loans, you know, like those Sally May loans. I was just, I borrowed so much money to try to sustain it. I was in the dorm. And then the scholarship went to your final two years. Gotcha.

And I think it just was based on the work you had done your first two years. So I played, I don't know, I played Arcaudan and the Seagal, my final project, my second year, and they went over well with the teachers, and maybe that might have had something to do with it. I don't know, but it was a big deal. So I'm sorry, I may have missed this, I apologize. You're one of five kids. Yeah. And it was at a single mom or single mom. Yeah. Same exact same situation. No. Yeah, five kids. It didn't go out in fairness. Did your mom have two eyes Jessica? Because this is where it's not gorgeous. Well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well.

Please answer the question if you have two eyes. Were you the eldest in your family, Sean? Youngest. Youngest. Youngest. Yeah, she had to keep an eye on five. Guys, I got a lot. It's been a year and a half for this.

Wait, Jay B, did you get that text I sent you about when my sister posted? Did you get the one I crying emoji? Well, just going to my mom and you go, you go well. Sean's mom had one eye her whole life. And we've talked about it extensively on the program. But when Sean won the Tony is his sister put on Facebook my mom It should be so happy. She'd be crying her eye out. Oh my God You know you're other laugh or cry Jessica. Yeah, that's really good

That's interesting though, so you guys do have very similar experiences. Yeah, in that way and then you both end up in the theater Why didn't you go to Julia artard? Jesus, just go with you. What's wrong with you? Because I can't spell it. G-U. What's that feeling like when you come out? So you go to Juilliard, which is arguably the most sort of acclaimed, certainly in America, theater school.

You come out of their art school, you come out of there. And is the feeling like, all right, I'm just ready to go, and everything's just gonna offer us or gonna fly at me. Like, I was wondering what that experience is like coming out of an acting school in that way. Well, I was very lucky I got a deal. So my class was the first one to do a LA showcase.

And actually, I brought it to the administration because I had come to Los Angeles this summer before the fourth year and found out that other schools were doing it. And then I really, really pushed for it. And we got it. So by coming out here and doing the Showcase, I got from that, I got a deal with John Wells. And so it was very helpful. It was like right out of the bat, I had someone kind of in my corner. And then I could, you know, do plays in New York. Like I worked at Playwrights Horizon.

And I'd fly back and forth to Los Angeles to audition for his shows and whatnot. But I made that money last for like four years. That's amazing because I think we'll like what you're kind of saying is like, and to me too, growing up, you think Julia is the pinnacle of all. It is the best of the best. And you just just like me, it means just assumes

every single person that graduates from Julia and whether it's music or art or theater or whatever gets a job. You know, and it's like, so it's wild to... Yeah, like graduation day, they're like, all right, here are the parts that we're gonna be handing out today. Right, that's a...

You're doing this thing for Paramount, you're gonna be shooting it. You're doing it, right? Right, yeah. So Jessica, I mean, like, is it, you seem like you're still very aware of your upbringings and your journey and that you're fully appreciative of where you are

and like, it, thank God, it doesn't seem like it's lost on you that your whole life, you have seen this path, you've wanted this path, you've trained for it, you've, you've respected what it's going to take to get there, you've done everything that you should, and you, you've done it. I mean, you're there. You've got an Oscar, you're like the most respected actors in the world. That's got to feel fantastic. And I don't want to embarrass you. And I don't expect you to sort of say, yeah, yeah, it's awesome. But how about like, is your mom still with us? Or your siblings?

Yeah. And my grandma took my grandma to the Tony's the other night. No way. So they have the spirit of speltering Tony. the other night. No way. So they have the I'm just a spell-tring Tony. She's like when's Joseph coming out? Are they do they do they help you take your your your very very deserving smell the roses every once in a while? Yes, completely but also too. I think because it doesn't feel that far away and you know a lot

of my life was a little bit of like okay I know what I'm going to do. I don't know how I'm gonna get there exactly But I'm very aware of the people who show me a lot of kindness and actually Jason I don't even think you remember oh I'm sorry. Let me just start with I'm sorry. No, no, I'm gonna to talk about how kind you were. I have addiction issues, Jess. No, no, no, no. Jason, don't admit too much. OK, sorry. I'm telling you, no, the charges. My boyfriend was.

Ned Benson. Ned Benson. So you do remember? I love him. You took me to a Dodgers game with Ned. Yes. It was the first time I was sitting there. And I was like, I have Ned.

I mean, I was so close to the players. And I'd never experienced anything like that before. When was it? It was so kind. 20 years ago? Yeah, a long time ago. Yeah. Before anyone even cared anything about anything.

Or me or Ned. Jason didn't care. He didn't even bring it up. He's been talking for half an hour and he had to bring it up. How embarrassing. You wonder if people remember things because I should have talked to you for one second. You don't know what the guest wants to talk about. What is her show?

By the way, he just did us a favor because he did that is shows a sign of respect that adjacent that he didn't just bring the Dodgers up and talk about them for 20 minutes because he would love to do that or net or net or net love net. So Jessica, because because of we had similar backgrounds to you, is that part of, you know, some people think it's not cool to talk about drive or ambition, but everybody has it who has any, even the smallest amount of success.

You have to have some drive. So, why does that get a bad rap? Like, you're supposed to want things in this life. Yeah, and then you're supposed, then you get mocked for actually pursuing them. And then if you don't, then you're called lazy unmotivated and entitled. I wonder if it's that people mistake drive ambition for ego, for like narcissism. When reality, like my drive and ambition comes from, I mean, this we're going to get real deep here.

Maybe it comes from a sense of like wanting to be better. And maybe that also comes from my upbringing, a sense of like I want to be better than, I, you know, I just wanna get better every day. Just to see how much better you can get. It's just challenging yourself, right? Yeah, and it's not like I want it all. It's just I wanna do a good job.

See if I can do more or take out more. Or yeah, I mean, this all falls under the heading of challenge yourself, probably, right? I mean, and if you're not, I suspect everybody here is the same in this way that, for instance, a constantly like, you know, I'm just going to retire. I'm just too tired and stuff. And then I think like, I couldn say, like, you know, I'm just going to retire. I'm just too tired of this stuff. And then I think like, I couldn't do it for six hours because it's not that I get bored,

but I just want to, that's the whole purpose of life is to engage and to challenge yourself and to be constantly, right? I mean, yeah. And hopefully you're constantly in a state of having the courage to ask for more. Because oftentimes I've been in a place of, oh my God, I can't thank God I'm not being asked to bear any responsibility because I just don't have the ego or the confidence to take it on right now.

Like I've been in that place a lot of times in my life. And if you find yourself in a place of like, no, please let the phone ring. I want the ball. Yeah. That's a great place to be. That's a gift and that's a positive. Jay, Sean, you want the ball?

Sure, both. I hate the couple of them. Jessica, let me ask you this, because I've been going through this lately, which is, you know, I'm 53 and I think you look great. You have made it. I was kind of a listen. Thank you. I was sneaking too short.

There was a play of 10. I mean, you can tell that you hang out, you work out a lot. Yeah, it's real. The tan is real. That's not a cheap one, you know? No, this one's new, by the way. I think it's worse. I can tell it.

I think I'll get this one. I forget how he got this one. But I've been having this thing lately, where I'm working on stuff for doing things, and I've been able to say, I think I was saying to you, Jay, maybe the other day, that I can admit that I'm working on stuff for doing things and I've been able to say, I think I was saying to you, Jay, maybe the other day that I can admit that I'm like scared and because I'm about to do something, you know, that is maybe out of my comfort zone

a little bit. And I think when I was a younger man, I had a tougher time admitting that where I wasn't involved enough or I wasn't mature enough. And I wonder if you have those things, because you do a lot of things that are very challenging, certainly when it comes to your work. Do you have those moments now as you get older,

where you go like, yeah, I'm scared about this, or I'm nervous. Not that you're not gonna do it, but that you recognize that, do you have that at all? Are you asking me? Yeah. Yes, I care what they think. I mean, it's also the sense of...

Because I don't feel far away from how I grew up, I always want to feel like I'm grateful and thankful. So I don't... I find laziness, the... In my... Who I am, I find it to be the worst trait. And I also have difficulty with lazy... You know, if someone's super lazy, I have, I find it to be the worst trait. And I also have difficulty with lazy, you know, if someone's super lazy,

I have difficulty being around it because I feel like, wow, you could do so much. You could do, you know, there's all these incredible things out there that you could be a part of if you just showed up, show up for yourself and show, you know, for others. And so I have that in me where it's, it's like, even if I'm really scared, if there's someone

that believes that I can do it, I don't want to let them down. And I really want to push myself. And I don't want to allow any kind of nerves or fear. And especially especially with Tammy Faye, I had so much fear of like, oh my god, this is such a swing. And I'm going to get made fun of. But this idea of like, I can't like allow,

and that's ego actually, if you allow your ego to stop you from doing something. Because it's all about how you're perceived. But do you think, yeah. That's interesting. But at the same time, but is it ego, is it ego, I'm asking, I'm actually like wondering. Maybe you guys jump in.

If is it ego to acknowledge that fear? Meaning a good, a good thing or a bad thing? Yeah, like just to go like, hey, this is something that's really challenging and I need and I'm just recognizing it. Maybe it would take, I think it would take a healthy ego to admit that something is presenting a challenge to you. And I think, but it is also that same ego that's going to be the fuel to push you through it.

And that, and that you shouldn't be nervous about the fact that you're not feeling the confidence to run into the situation because the confidence lives on the backside of the accomplishment. It's like, no, the confidence will be there once I get through it. That's what I'm going to earn. So don't take it as a false negative. It would be a false negative to think, oh God, I can't handle this because I'm not feeling confident going into it.

The confidence lives after it, I think, for me. For sure, for sure. Totally. Very well said. If you're confident while you're doing it, if I am, I find that the work is probably bad. It's not. Yeah, yeah.

You're so excited. It's a good gas. Yeah, when you're like, yeah, I got this, man. Exactly. is a good, good gas. Yeah, when you're like, yeah, I got this, man. Yeah, exactly. I am petrified before every single performance. Is that true? Is that true? Petrified, that makes you great.

Well, I don't know about that, but I just like, the Tony winner. No, no, no, I'm being, I think. It makes you great. Yeah, well, thanks, but I'm just saying it's true. I don't know if it does. So I'm agreeing with you, Sean. It both, thanks, but I'm just saying it's true. I don't know if it does. So I'm agreeing with you, Sean.

We've seen the show. No, but, oh wait, I wanted to, so Jessica, like back to like, when I was a kid, I was just, I'm asking you, if you felt the same thing, when I was a kid, I had, you know, my dad laughed at my mom was always working. She was great, but you were kind of left apparent yourself. And so you kind of are given this option of figuring this life out on your own,

or kind of just taking a back seat to it. And I think that decision at some point was like, wait a minute, no one's, I have to figure, I have to take care of myself and figure this out for myself. So, and I've taken that into adulthood, where it's just like, and I think for better or worse, sometimes worse, I don't stop. Like, I've got to get food on the table.

I've got to eat, I've got it, because there's been so many times when I didn't have food and I didn't have, you know, so it's a fear as much as it is a drive. Wow, we have very similar upbringing, Sean. It's crazy. It should be noted, Sean, you feed yourself the same way you did when you were 11, which is just too much salad potato

chips and so running. Don't forget about the back. It's so true. By the way, on my corner of my building, there is an ice cream truck every single day in a fruit stand. I passed that fruit stand. Yeah. Let me even look at the poor guy. Yeah, do you guys find Jessica and Sean that you're not great at asking for help, that you're not great at sort of deferring or delegating because you've had to sort of be self-sufficient for so long? Yeah, I do. I tend to do everything into the point where then I get completely overwhelmed.

And I think because I was the oldest child too, there was a sense of having to take care of my, I want to almost hit my kids, my siblings. You know, my mom would bartend, and it would be like us there, you know. So it was really a sense of trying to figure out, you know, how everyone was gonna be okay. So I think I also have that now, even as, this is too much.

And my friends were like, okay, settle down, Chastain. But I try to like, someone has an issue, I'm like, okay, let's solve it. Let's figure it out. And I've had to understand that everyone has the dignity of their own process. And I allow them to have their own life. I'm so similar.

And these guys can attest to it. I'm like, they're like, hey, should we? I'm on it. I'm like, I'll get it. I'll take care of it. Sean, we'll get an email about some work thing and it'll be like a long email that'll have maybe 12 points to it that most people would be like, let's talk about it and think about it maybe for 24 hours.

I'm not even going to read this email yet. Sean, within five minutes is like, yes and no, and yes and we should do this. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, yes. Sean within five minutes is like, yes and no. And yes, and we should do this. I'm like, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, No, I love the greatest. Yeah. We'll be right back.

SmartLess is sponsored by BetterHelp. So, you know, if you listened to ads ago, you know that Scotty took me for helicopter ride. He surprised me. We've been stuck in our apartment and the theater, as you know, blah, blah, blah, blah. We haven't gone anywhere in six months. So he takes me to helicopter, and I was like, you know, not feeling great about it.

I was shaky, I was in nervous, I have an anxiety, I was like uncertain about like, what is this thing gonna do? Oh my God, you know how it is. It's like it's not fun at first and then you're up in the air, you're like, oh, I can handle this. But the takeoff is hard.

Sometimes in life, the takeoff is hard and you gotta decide if you wanna be up in the air or not-off is hard, and you've got to decide if you want to be up in the air or not, and you've got to figure out how you're going to land. Right? Maybe you're thinking about a career change, you're feeling like your relationship needs some TLC, whatever it is, therapy can help you map out your future, and trust yourself to find the way forward. I know it always helps me, and I always speak about my anxiety and everything that goes

with it, and therapy has always helped me, and I always speak about my anxiety and everything that goes with it and Therapy has always helped me and I've always turned to it It always always always helps and thinking about the helicopter experience It probably opens up, you know control issues, right? I don't know if you feel the same way if you can surrender to a plane ride or a helicopter ride or a car ride Sometimes I can't I have to but it's hard. So maybe this is something I'll discuss with my therapist. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists

any time for no additional charge. Let therapy be your map with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com-smartless-today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp-HELP.com slash SmartLess today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelpHELP.com slash SmartLess. And now back to the show. Now what about, I like to ask actors that have had the pleasure of working with so many incredible directors. If there's any desire to direct, because you've been exposed to so much great directing, and perhaps has armed you with sort of cherry picking

a bunch of different techniques that you'd want to see what you could do. Yeah, I mean, I've had thoughts about doing it, especially when I've met, there's certain actors that I've met and I was like, oh, I really want to do something for this person. And I've thought about, or like, I've never seen a story about this before.

And I would love to tell that story. And then I think about, well, wait a minute, when you're directing, it's gonna take you a year and a half of your life, where I usually make like five films in that time. Right. You know, and so. It's a pay cut.

Yeah, yeah. And not even that's so just that. It's also that maybe I have a sense of, in the same way of my personal, I feel like I have to do everything. I want to do everything. Wow, what's it going to be when I really have to be like, I'm only allowed to do this one thing for so long?

Yeah, Jay actually I mean this goes to both you at Jessica and Jason Do you cuz Jay you do that when you take a year to go and work on a film and direct it? Do you miss? getting that Variety and Jessica on the back side of that is do you you say you would do five films? Is that something you like you like that constant change and that backside of that is, do you, you say you would do five films? Is that something you like? You like that constant change and that kind of, that you're working on a film for three months

and then you're working on something completely different for another three months? Do you, is that something that's your cognizant of? You go, Jessica. I would, I mean, I trained, I trained in Repetory Theater, so I love the idea and I would be amazing also in theater to be able to do this, where you're one night, you're one part,

and the next night you're another part. Maybe not in the same place. It's called Seymour Hoffman, and yeah, remember that. It's called Seymour Hoffman, and yeah, I remember that. Yeah, that was cool. We are theater nerds. Yeah. We're even doing different plays,

like having it ensemble, and then every night you get to do something else. I feel like that was the hard part for me of being on brought, being on this run for so long. It was the constant sense of like, this is the journey, this I'm on this journey every day. And it would be nice to kind of go on the flip side and say, like, OK, now maybe on Tuesdays, I get to do this

kind of thing and explore something else. Well, for you and for Sean, did you guys ever get in Sean, you're still in the midst of it? You ever get to the point where it's feeling so monotonous that you are very deliberate about making tonight different. Like I'm going to play this scene jealous instead of insecure or like a completely different energy and not telling any of the other actors, but just pace and intention and everything just is still works. Well, I think the actors would really appreciate that.

Well, it doesn't have to be 180, but something that is just changed. Does the look from your fellow actor like on the stage like, you're painting me in a corner here, man. But Jay, do you miss that? Do I? I mean, do you miss the variety? Do you miss that change when you're working for the whole for a year? No, because I just, I geek out on all the good processes of directing, you know, wrap and

post and all that stuff. But, but I feel like if I was on stage doing the same part for months on end, I would, I would probably screw things up a little bit on purpose or start to get excited about, oh, who's going to forget a line tonight, you know? Yeah, because you missed that, like you miss getting that, like you could say it here, if you want the code to, you like to get strange, like to get some strange, yeah, yeah, get some strange. When it comes to code, you like to get strange. I like to get some strange. Yeah, yeah, yeah, some strange. When it comes to work, we got to work.

What about, yes, the animal, dude? What about Jessica? What about that? What Jason was saying? I've worked with someone who was like that. It's frustrating to work with someone. I mean, on film, it's great. It's great.

You know what, like, with actors, you're like, it's still the same scene, but there's all these, we're just covering new's still the same scene, but there's all these, we're discovering new paths through the scene, and who knows where the takes gonna go. That's exciting. But if you like, when the show is set, it's set. And-

Two disruptive. Yeah, I would, sometimes when someone's done, it feels kind of almost self-serving, because it's like, well, wait a minute, there's still a whole other journey. We have to go on, and now you've kind of taken out this marker, how are we going to get there? That would be a fun war to watch.

If you were privy to it by being another cast member and you can watch too, like, oh, she's just wrecking. She just saw that he's trying to do a 180 on this thing. Oh, and now she's going to double that 180. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then who chastises an actor, the stage manager? Yeah, usually. They're sort of the cop manager? Yeah, usually.

They're sort of the cop that's ongoing, right? Because if you, I don't think a listener knows this, but if you start messing around with the dialogue, you get like reported to equity and equity can find you. If you start messing around with changing lines and stuff like that, I don't know about that. I think stage managers like obligated to report you if you start going rogue and changing stuff.

It sounds like you snitched before, did you? Yeah, but I just didn't have to think about that. You know the thing about snitches, you know what they get? What happened? What happened? Well, it just gets stitches, bro. Oh, shit.

Sorry, go ahead, Jessica, you what happened? You found out? I found out, I was talking to the director and he said that every night he gets a report, he got a report because where it was like even like when an actor coughs, it said when the actor coughs. I know. They write down every single thing that happens in every shot.

Yeah. Yeah. And the producers get to read it. Yeah. Yeah. So you're very aware. I mean, it's tough sometimes. I do find like in, there's a misconception about acting where someone's like, okay, the

more different they are, each take, the better actor they are because they're so alive, you know? And so I think people are trying to be sometimes make things alive and exciting and, but they don't realize in the theater that that can be disrupter. Yeah. Well, yeah, and in film too and Jay, you've been through this. I've certainly been through this in, in, in post where you're Well, yeah, and in film too, and Jay, you've been through this. I've certainly been through this in, in, in post where you're like, Hey, did this guy ever do

one fucking take where he held the thing the same way two times? Oh, yeah. I'm not telling me. I can't get out. I can't fucking edit the scene. What is he doing? But it's okay. Like Jay, to what you were saying, I think it's okay in a play to play within the choices that are locked. Yes. You know, within the play that is locked, you can experiment, but not enough to, like there's this great, and there's this John Girejewski

who plays George Gershwin or a play. He's brilliant, everybody's brilliant in the show. But he's so great at playing within the locked thing. He's brilliant. And one night, it almost made me laugh. He goes, Oki, you know, Oscar, who wants to hear your music, right? And I say, he's a vision in my head. He's a ghost, the ghost of Gershwin.

And I say lots of folks, that's who. And he goes, and the line is, who? Your wife, the kid in the lab coat, right? And one night, he goes out of nowhere. He goes, I go, he goes, who wants to hear you, that your own music? I go lots of folks that's doing, he goes, who? He got your wife, he got your kid in the lab coat.

And then he just goes like this. Right. And almost, it almost made me die laughing. Oh my God. But it was good, because it was within the realm of the character. But like he was listening, I mean, your wife, no lab coat.

And I was, yeah. Michael Shannon's really good at that too. I've worked with him a lot. And mostly on camera. So he doesn't go, working with him is like, it's like kind of working with an animal because you're like, what is he gonna do? But it's always within the structure

and he comes from theater as well. And it's really like, it's amazing when you're working with an actor who knows where the story has to be the most important. It's not yourself. That's what it is. It's about whether or not you're selfish, because if you're changing it for yourself,

because you want to feel something new or your board, that's not appropriate. But if you're telling, you have to tell the story that everyone's there to tell. Exactly. I killed Michael Shannon in a movie once. Oh, you did? In a movie once.

Yeah. With a gun? No, no, no, I stabbed him in the throat. Oh. You said that Michael Shannon, I stabbed them in the throat. Oh, Michael. In the throat in the throat in let's go to prison 20 years ago with the Michael. That's right. Bob loaded Kirk. Bob. How did he take that? Like a man. Took it pretty well. I remember Bob being like, okay, so Michael. Oh my God. So you're just going to grab him like, wait, how are we going to do this? Like Michael is so scary. He's

the best at. He's such a great guy. But I was like, I have to stab we gonna do this thing? Like, Michael is so scary as to the best act. He's such a great guy. But I was like, I have to stab him in the throat and he did all the work. I just kind of did the motion. He was incredible. A bunch of apologizing before he was the best. I feel like we'll be remiss if we don't ask it.

I'm gonna ask, usually Sean at this point, has already asked, you've done so much theater. Oh, yes. What's your favorite nightmare? Theater, how did you not ask Jessica Chessney? Oh, if I? I'm not asking. Oh, God. My favorite nightmare story that happened to me on stage. Yeah. All right. I can say it now because we're closed. This is really gross. Great. When I will tell you that. Gross or the bed. I threw up. What? What? In a doll's house? I threw up and I swallowed it. No! God! That a girl.

No way! And no one knew. And then... Because acid reflux is something? No, it's a bad performance. I was like, I was like, what's the same? I think I, and then from then on, I was like, I'm not eating within three hours of the show.

Same water. Yeah, it's crazy. Wait, what happened? I don't know if I was nervous. I was like, it's kind of like sobbing. I leaned over and it happened. And then for the rest, and I was like, oh my God, you can't let it out of your mouth. And then for the rest of the show,

I couldn't tell anyone, because I was on his chair facing the audience the whole time. You have any intimate scenes after that? I had to kiss someone. Sure. No. Yes, yes, it was a nightmare. And I couldn't explain. And in the second we had the curtain call.

And the curtain came down. I said, you guys, I'm so sorry, I vomited. That's so crazy, because Jason, didn't you ever think for a long time that women would barf after they kissed you, right? No, no, no. Yeah, which is better. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. just because that's what I'm saying.

Was it, was it an open mouth kiss that you had to do on stage? No, that night it was definitely a closed mouth kiss. Well, you know, you know, it used to be kind of like, it wasn't essential. It wasn't like a really sexy like we're about to sleep, you know, but it was, you know, a sensual kiss that was in that night. I was like, oh, I mean, even talking to anyone, I was just so... Oh, my God.

I have to, in the show, I have to stand a scream in front of this guy. Peter Gross, who's a brilliant, also brilliant in the show. And we get in a screaming match and we're literally nose to nose. And one night, I don't know what happened. It was just like a couple of weeks ago.

So much saliva came spuing from my mouth. It was all over his face as I'm talking about. And then that night after he goes, he was so sweet about, he goes, hey, can I touch you with that one? Oh, okay. And I go, yeah, he goes, is there any way that you could spit

just a little less when we argue? I was like, absolutely. Absolutely. He was so sweet about it. It was like a tick explosion, right? Even it's really funny because it's obviously not something you had control over. It wasn't like he thought, like, oh, I'm going to really go to town and say. No, was that, but-

But you- But it's a lie about all over his face tonight. No, no, but he was right. I actually can control it now. Now that he's brought it up, I actually figured it out. Let me ask you, if he hadn't brought it up, would you have continued doing it? Great question. Spitting that much?

Yeah. Probably not. I know what he meant. I know what he meant. I was like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was like spitting out. Oh my God, Purga's covered in sloppy Joe and Xin Xin. Sean, you get Xininshin flown out. Sorry, go ahead, Justin.

That's the point. I was just going to ask Jessica. Now that the show is done, you're going to take some time off. I would assume you're going to start doing the thing your second best at, which is probably as good, probably a lot of parenting. But like, what about the, what is there hobby? Is there something that we would be surprised to learn that you're almost at a good backstage? Yeah, no, I'm not going to anything else. That's the thing.

Come on, that's not true. I mean, I have a production company and, and that doesn't count. And we're talking about some of this outside of the industry. Like, we're talking aboutball, painting, baking. Okay, I went to cooking school. What? Yes. Yeah, I went to school. So after zero dark 30, I was like,

I wonder if something completely different. I went to cooking school. And so I'm a good cook. What kind of cooking? Kind of a process. Like, I like, I like, I like roasting. And I like the kind of cooking that the whole house, it's like a slow cook situation.

So for hours, it'll be like the smell of something like, I love poached pears with sweet potato ice cream and you know, that kind of stuff. Oh, it sounds good. You make the ice cream? Yeah. Really? I like the fall cooking. You know, that kind of like it's starting to get cold outside. Yeah, yeah. And then yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, a real super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super super with Jesse Boo. Just that's the title. Jesse Boo. Yeah, that's your title. Okay.

I don't know that it would be super interesting to watch, especially if it's like, it's be like a four hour show where you're just like, let's look at it in the oven. No, but if you did, but if you did, if you did like a book, if you did like a cookbook and did some stuff and did a line of food, I think it would do real, real well. All right. All right. Well, maybe that's my second chapter. And you can call it like Juke, right?

J-O-O-C, kind of like Goop, but you know. Juke, after talking about vomiting on the stage, I could open with that and then say, listen, it's so good you could, no, I don't. Oh my God. It's so good you can do twice. There you go. We've got it. Oh my God. Listen's so good. You can do it twice. There you go. We've got it.

Oh my God. Listen, we have monopolized, I just realized we could have just, we could just keep talking, but we're crushing you in time and you need to go on vacation. Yeah. Thank you for visiting with us, Jessica. Yeah, Jessica, thank you so much. I was so happy to, to, when I got asked to do this, I of course listened to the Cape Blanchette one. And I love how much y'all teased Sean

for being as equally as theater nerdy as all of us. He's such a good guy. I love that. With a big smile. He's not just theater nerdy. He's everything nerdy, is it true? Yeah. So if you have any Star Wars questions for him?

Yeah. I love that. Or Star Trek. Or battle Star Galactica. Any of the stars, although I will say this, this is what I wanted to ask you. Before you let you go, spring up Star Wars and stuff, you've done a few, I'm going to say science fiction, not really, but in that realm, I mean, you interstellar Martian, some of the bigger ones that fought, right? I mean, I know, me too.

We were just saying yesterday how much, it's my 14 year old's favorite film. He's seen it 30 times. Do you like that genre? Because you've done a bunch on the highest level. Yeah. I mean, in fact, after I did Interstellar, I got to work with Kip Thorne on that, which was amazing. And even trying to, at the end, like writing the equation and all that stuff. That was obviously a lot of work to try to look like.

That was believable at all. But then when I finished that and Rid, Ridley Scott came up to me and approached me about doing the Martian. I said, yeah, here's my thing though. If I sign on, I want to go to Space Camp. And he goes, there's not really adult space camp. And I was like, well, we can make one. So I went to Houston. I want to go to Space Camp. And he goes, there's not really adult space camp. And I was like, well, we can make one. So I went to Houston.

I want to do this. It's in Austin, Houston. And I went to JPL. And I saw the rovers. I've been there, yes. It's amazing. Amazing. And I did the whole virtual reality where you're on Mars.

On Mars? You can walk? Yes. Oh my god, I did the same thing. Yeah. And so I was really, I'm excited to do things. But you know what what the film or the project is going to be when it finishes. But I just want to know that the experience of making something is going to be enriching in some way to my life.

And so that was really, yeah, I mean, if someone wants to give me another sci-fi space movie, I don't know. I mean, are you a fan of of the genre? Like are you a like Star Wars Star Trek? No, okay. Oh, Jessica, thank you so much for being here. I am one of Space in Reality. I am one of Space in reality. I am one of Space in reality. You know, Sean, are you crying? Yeah, I'm sorry.

Get a shot. I know I did my very good friend Oscar Isaac did all the star, and I, you know, I'm not. I like it when it's, when it feels like it could, it's happened or it's really comfortable. Well, don't worry, Jessica, I'm not a huge fan. I'm with you. Yeah, but I like Game of Thrones and there's dragons there. So I'm all over the place.

That works for me. Sure. The great Jessica Chessane. Thank you so much for joining us. Nice guys. I want to play a wonderful surprise to see you again. Yeah, thank you, Jessica. All right, what do I do?

Do I cover my mic? Do I get out of here? Just slam it shut. If you want. Bye guys. Congratulations, Sean. Thank you so much for this. Thank you.

Bye, Jessica. Thanks. Wow. Will. I know. Classed it up a little bit. Classed it up. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, how would it surprise? I mean, I just literally saw her yesterday or two days ago Two months ago two months ago Sean is still a while I just I need to You know love show business. I know how funny right Sean that we had Jessica could you guys spend so much time you saw all the time So much time again over on Broadway always saw her always you're always so pleasant always so sweet and You know I found out she's so I get it who wouldn't, she was always so pleasant, always so sweet. And I, you know, I found out.

She's so, I get it, who wouldn't have found out? She's so accomplished and she's so good at what she does. Yeah, there's not a lot of, you know, back to that juliar thing, you do always think, I was, you know, I was just think you're set. Yeah. If you're a juliar, you're set. And like, she's one of those people that made that happen. What a talent.

I know. you've seen Sorry, I just wanted to cut you off, but did you see George and Tammy? No, the thing we're talking with with her and Michael Shannon. Yeah, incredible I know it's about it's about Tammy. Why not in George Jones? Yeah, and she is she they're both so good at it so so so good and so such unbelievable talent. And yeah, it's really, really, really good. I can see you. And the season one's already happened. I think it's season two's coming out or something.

And I want to catch up. I don't know. It's amazing and just, I don't know. Anyway, she's, she what a delight. Yeah, easy. She seems like easy to hang out with too. Sean, and I loved how much you, you and she have sort of a similar trajectories in

that. And that wild. Yeah. I had no idea. We didn't really get into it. I'm not. When I saw her, there was never time to like, how was your childhood, you know, until I mean, when you were doing like press stuff for your plays, you weren't like, hey, I would

did you also have five brothers and sisters? And did you grab the signal? Like, yeah, we didn't get into that. No, that would have been weird, dude. I know. Maybe if you just done the small effort of walking across the street or next door and seen her fucking show, I wish I could, but I mean, you could have, because you had, well, now she's going to see you're you had Tuesday nights and you could have, I did it Tuesday night. But I want you could have gone. Yeah, what we did on Tuesday night, aside from just warming donuts in your toe. So one of the last time you weren't be honest.

Warm the donut. When's the last time you cut a donut open, right? You just butterfly it, scooped it and toasted it in your toe. So how good is that sound? Sometimes there's donuts that work. Sometimes people bring donuts and you do the half thing where you just, I'm just going to be I'm just going to need half. I'm going to have need half a bottle.

I know. And then a half hour later. Oh, when they're flipped open and there's like a there's a plastic knife left in there. And people just got little pieces off it. Yeah. And then it's the same person comes back and just finishes it. It's five times. That's why we got the Tim Bitts. Hey, oh, yeah, yeah, if you're going to Tim, he's just going to be great. I see the Tim Burton's all the time. Oh, there's a good

a. So good. I can't get some. Turkey. Yeah, I honestly, the thing is what's great about the Tim bit. Here comes a bite. It's just you don't have to eat the whole thing. It's just one one. Smart. Smart.

Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart.

Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart.

Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Michael Grant Terry, Rob Armjarv, and Bennett Barberco. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ Smart, less! This episode was recorded on June 13th. Our next episode will be out in a week wherever you listen to podcasts, or you can listen to it right now, early on Amazon music, or early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondry Plus in Apple podcasts,

or the Wondri app. properties across the country, like the Plaza and the Waldorf Historia, but their unchallenged rise wouldn't last. An ambitious Mormon named J.W. Marriott decides to pivot from restaurants to hospitality, and he's after Hilton's business, developing modern hotels across the world, but both the Hilton and Marriott families will have to contend with their share of drama in finding a successor, while also fighting to stay solvent in a high stakes business. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wonderree Show Business Wars. We go deep into some of the biggest corporate rivalries of all time.

In our latest season, Hilton and Marriott are in a race to expand globally and secure the loyalty of fickle customers. Make sure to follow business wars wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wonderree app. of fickle customers. Make sure to follow business wars wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app.