SmartLess - "Robert Downey Jr.”

Episode Date: August 31, 2020

Robert Downey Jr. graces us en-studio... with a handful of custom-colored M&M's. A rich taste of friendship, a voyage through RDJ's various chapters, our hosts' shenanigans, and a little pee-pee in the potpourri as-needed. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey everybody, you're listening to Smart List, hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and myself, Sean Hayes. I know, I wish my voice was more masculine too. This show is about learning through laughter in the brains of people around the world who are far smarter than us three idiots. And each week, one of us brings on a guest

who the other two don't know about. So with that, let's jump into the Smart List rocket ship and let's blast off into the universe together. Ooh, I think I just turned myself on. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart.

Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Welcome back to Smart List. Yeah, welcome, it's nice to be here. Jason, do you have a recital today? Your hair is matted down.

Dude, are you going to court? Have you got a... Did you catch a case? Oh, there it is, there it is, there it is. I was trying to pin my wing back. You know what I can do? I can put it on here. Let me help. Let me put on my workout headband. Hold on, this is great. You're going to love this.

Oh, God, you're going to love this. With the glasses and everything, it's kind of a really good look. Oh, look at that. Do you wear that working out for real? Yeah, I've got to keep my hair out of my face. Wait, you wear that headband to work out? Yeah. Well, I got blue.

I got red. I've got white. Someone's American. I've also got some fuzzy Birkenstocks that I've been wearing around the house. What does red mean? Does red mean just handjobs? Yeah, open for H.J. It's just a more economical way to say it. Blue, you know, we keep it

with the B's. That's for B.J. And then white means there's really no bad ideas. I got our listener logged off for quite a while ago. I know. We have today... Hang on, why don't we have your camera?

Well, because I have a special guest. Our special guest is en studio. Should I take off my headband? No, our guest really enjoys it. And they're going to tell you why in a second. But our guest... We have said this before, like,

no, this guest requires no introduction. But truly this is... But this one we need to carve out 20 minutes? We need a big introduction. Now, this person has done it all. And has been... Is a multi-academy award-nominated

actor. Has acted in over 4,000 films. All of which are the biggest films that I've ever been on the face of the planet. 4,000. Was also a cast member of Saturday Night Live. Has literally done everything

that show business has asked him to do. He has done it and given back to the world. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, your friend and mine, Mr. Robert Downey Jr. Oh, look at that. Son of a bitch.

Oh, R.G.J. It's on, like, kankidong. This is so... Don't remove the headband. It's very Charlie Sheen platoon send-up movie. Wow, it really is, actually.

Bob, Robby. We met quite a while ago. Throbbing knob, if you don't mind. But then you have to remove the junior, because that would be embarrassing. So, I think that we met the very first time, was at the SAG Awards when you won over me

when you were on Ally McBeal. And we had to do Press in the Back and you were the kindest, nicest person I'd ever met that night. It was awesome. And I was like, I can't believe I'm meeting Robert Johnny Jr. It was so cool. And my next question is...

Last question. No, I think that was it. I forgot that you done Ally McBeal. Right, you did a few... You ran for a while, right? I got out of the dirt. I went on to the show. The shunt.

I remembered an old pager number and I got kicked off the show. I love that journey. Oh, the pager days. And then you just got to go down to a payphone and wait for them to call and make sure no one takes the payphone. There's only one there.

Buddy, can you step back? I'm expecting a call. There's a lot of stress. I don't know what version of Raleigh Studios Manhattan Beach you were at, but we had dressing rooms with landlines. Oh, yeah. No, I was at the Hilton

at the 405 in Sunset. In the revolving bar. Yeah. How is this phone not getting tied up in its own cords when this bar has turned 18 times since I paged him back?

How long has it been? It's been 45 Getty Centers. That's how long it's been. Robert, I'm taking quite a bit of supplements each day. Amanda, my wife, has got me... for them to kick in. She's got a bunch of

people that she trusts, defers to, respects, that understand medicine, Western and Eastern. And I am the proud recipient of some of that thing. But I am swallowing about 30 supplements a day as a result.

You're about at that with me, aren't you? I've seen your kit. Are you at 30? It varies, but look, I know Amanda, and I know that whole circle of alternative medicine. You might be responsible for a couple

of these doctors that I'm having to listen to. Just put your hand out and take it. Particularly nowadays, I mean, you know, you go get blood work, and they say, oh, your iron's a little... this or that. And there's all these new things that the deeper you go into looking at a panel, the longer you can

sustain. When your doctor checks your blood, especially at your iron man. I usually sniff after a real powerful joke. Is that what you do? Is that your trademark? If you were a recording artist, would you be looking at your albumin?

Nice. Now, do you feel... I'm still on the supplement thing. I don't feel bad, but I don't know if I feel great because I don't... I haven't knock wood. I haven't felt bad for

a long time. I can't attribute this to the supplements. I don't know whether it's just because it's that or because I'm not eating a cheeseburger every day or I'm no longer drinking. Are you still going the vegan, Bayman? No, I tried to... I did that to drop the cholesterol and I did it for

six months and I dropped one point. You had a scary... you've got a very high cholesterol. I know that because we share the same doctor and she gives me results. I hope you're cool with that. But my question, Robert, is do you... So there's a question in here.

I'm famous for all that. So you believe in all this stuff. You're still taking them or are you just kind of like, I don't know if they're working or not. All I know is I'm not dead yet, so why screw with it? I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. Well, I mean, look, some of it is pretty irrefutable.

You can go by how you feel by the recommendations of people that are smarter than you. But again, these are, you know, desperate times, desperate measures. It's very odd. Tell me if you can relate to this since March and we've done everything we're supposed to do

and I've lost a friend to COVID and the folks we know obviously have gotten it and it's a big deal. But it's also odd how few other things have come up within my circle of friends or people I know since because the threat has been

so homogenized and made into this one thing that I don't usually you get a summer cold. Right. But strangely, at least in the areas where people are following all the guidelines and the protocols, all that sort of stuff is just down. Just because people aren't interacting

with each other, do you think? Probably. And then you have to go to what's the real element here is an unprecedented psychological shift and having done actual time there's something very interesting about having your movement

limited and all that and for kids and all that stuff and stuff. So I think a lot of it is you know, there's an immunological response to these crazy circumstances. Yeah, it's funny to bring that up like the being confined and talking about doing actual time

people talk about quarantine when you hear people going like, oh my God, I've been stuck in my beautiful house for the last six months. Are you like, dude? Yeah. Shut the hell up. No, I'm not. Because every what everyone's going through is what they're going through and it's specific to them and it is a big deal. How long were you

were you given time to think about it all? How much time did you spend being quiet in a room? How long were you incarcerated? I think he's what he's trying to say. Yeah, I mean, just ask the question. Yeah, how long were you locked up? You're still mumbling. That was that lascivious tone.

My shame, mumble. That sounded like Dungeon 4 play to me. How long do you want to be locked up? I did 12 days once, four months, 13 days, a second time, and then something like three years or so.

I forget. The last time it didn't matter because it was state time. What does that mean? It just means you're not in county. You're not in some awful spot. You're just in a actual prison where you have significantly more freedom. For how long?

I don't know. I think, well, I know that Judge Myra God bless him through the book, the gavel, his wig, and the bench at me. His wig. So I think I had a three-year suspended sentence and but then I appealed it. It turned out he had over sentenced me.

And I don't blame him for it. I had done the same thing. But you weren't three years in a jail cell, were you? I think it was 26 months or something like that. Wow. Wow. See, I've done things in my life not to avoid prison, but I'm just fingers crossed. I'm like, oh, God, that'd be so hot.

Yeah. So hot. Just for a weekend. I would imagine knowing you as I do, I'll bet you can probably say that you grew mentally and spiritually to the positive in a way

that you would never take back. You've probably better now than you ever were because of that focusing of the mind during all that isolation, yes? Well, first of all, I probably deserved it. So that helps. Second of all,

it's very monastic and rather dangerous and isolating. It's awful. It's traumatic. But again, for someone who's never been told to stay at home and drop ties with their family

and miss birthdays and funerals and weddings and not see the birth of your sister's baby or whatever, it's, you know, it didn't bother me. Sorry. Well, that's what I'm trying to gently ask is that

you probably found the growth in it to the extent that there is some of that isolation, getting back to what Will was talking about all this quarantine thing. We're reading articles. We're hearing things about how people are finding the plus and the minus

of isolation and it is a choice, I would imagine. What you went through was something completely different and quite a bit more severe, obviously. And public. Yeah, but I would imagine you found some real growth during the quiet time just sitting there thinking

with no choices, no ability to distract. Yeah, I think I've said this before but here's a crazy thing too. If you've had a trippy life and I think all of us can agree that just being in the entertainment field is, you know, we know the psychological breakdown of

folks like us. Something about having a cell door closed behind you. Wow. This is when I was in Twin Towers in the glamour slammer. You will never be safer than you are

when a correctional officer or the sheriffs lock you down in that room. As long as you trust your celly you will never be safer than that because until the morning when they pop them open. Yeah. Wow. One time,

I remember Sean, this is a while ago you told me this and I think you're over it now but I remember you telling me that one time at the Four Seasons they fucked up your room and they put you next to the elevator. Yeah, and I thank you for bringing that up Will. Yeah. A lot of people think my pain isn't really there. Sure.

So I went, I didn't walk, I marched to that front desk and I said, you weren't even sure if you could hear the ding or the phantom ding. Yeah, do you hear that ding because it's in my head. It's loud enough in my head. It must be in yours by now. Knowing it was there. Because you know what you're going to hear in the morning, sir?

And the repeated trauma too because I heard they'd given you a 2pm check-in but housekeeping hadn't really gotten down into the dude, don't do this to him. I'm so glad I didn't bring the story up. Thank you. No, wait, I want to say that because I come from a family of

several addicts and I always and I've asked, I've had this conversation with Will several times too. I always find I'm fascinated with how the brain works about that and so I always ask people like yourselves if I had a drink in front of you or was doing a line

of Coke, which I've never done or smoked a pot or whatever it is in front of you now at this stage after all you've been through is that a trigger for you? Are you enough? Have you gotten beyond the fact that actually not only is it not a trigger, I see that and I'm like, I really don't want anything to do with that. Or is there

still a part of you that likes that or wants that? It's been long enough where to me like we had some guests over and it was my buddy's 50th birthday and before that there was some guests visiting or have a couple kids and one of them had to go out of town. I could tell I was just like

all right, get two bottles of white get two bottles of red, get one bottle of rosé get two bottles of Vouv Clicquot and the Grand Dom. I know and take me back to Paris the way you just said that I still know the experience the same way that if you're

allergic to a medication but you know that it would take the edge off for someone else you would say you know what I have some of that now. And you want that for someone else in a way. That's the caretaker in you. You're a very good caretaker to say. So that I was there for one of those and

you were offering somebody wine and then you told you're like, come with me. And I went down with you to get the bottle of wine and then you held it for half the trip upstairs. And then I handed it like a relay race. How long was that? Four days ago. Four days ago. Oh wow. By the way that's just still an experiment because nothing

happens when it happens right. You know you let's say you get insulted and two weeks later listen to the podcast really two weeks later like we were saying that's when you have to come back and you're really ready to go confront that person. Right because you've had time. Yeah. Anyway

we know what to do and I got your I got your boy here and we keep an eye on each other in this great community. Because also the other thing that's fascinating in my brain too is whatever part of the brain that is wired to addiction once you've kind of curbed that or even if you haven't and then

fame hits like for example you were always famous you were always working you were always in the public eye but then when this marvel thing happened and now you're literally a viable gigantic global product now in the world does that because they say fame can be

a drug too does that trigger anything or does that replace it and you have to be careful about that. Triggers all the character defects but you don't have to worry about that until you're at that part of your recovery. To me more than anything I was just like I had something that I was like wow

leave it to me to fuck this up. And so I knew my own inclinations. I was going to say the other thing is you brought up and Robert you were just alluding to it which is and you hear this a lot in AA

and in recovery that community is the opposite of addiction right? Right. And that's what's so important and yeah so you know we joke about having the hot potato bottle of wine but to answer your question from my side if I'm there I don't

feel I don't feel threatened I don't feel like I'm just going to rip the bottle off the top of the bottle and I'm going to guzzle it under the table but we can't be too sure. We can't be too sure and there's still enough time left in the day to do it but I know that especially if I'm there and he's there that I'm really good

and if it's Robert or if it's one of my other friends and he's got a million people in his life and I have a million people in my life that's the key. And if I'm there with a red headband you know that the rest of the day is going to be taken care of. The rest of the day is a party. That means that it's Ozark season 4

we're on the front of the boat I think it should be you and a headband dancing. Slow dance for opening credits. Now Robert you're too humble to be comfortable with this question but were you aware was it a conscious shift in your incredible inner power to shift

your addiction to having fun your hedonistic instincts and drive those into work, into family, into friends, into the support work you do with other buddies that struggle I mean it is incredible

what you have done on the backside of what you have been through and you have doubled all of your success, experience, influence affect over the people that you care about and an industry. Was it conscious say

okay I know I got an engine here I should point it a more responsible way or you just like oh gosh look this is happening again for me I'm not going to screw it up this time and it was less proactive and just kind of playing defense sometimes

you know that whatever the usual mosh pit if you could slow down the response that would be great to match his slow the question I want Will to interpret this

his own way while he's riding the mic like he's about to gobble this knob Oh, Ridley starts grabbing the bottom of it Sluller, half the time whatever all that that maelstrom of all my rationalizations

and all that sometimes it just goes away and you see something clearly you have a moment of clarity if you're lucky enough to get that you can squander it and I've done that a bunch too sometimes you get it and you also realize that you're redlining the hubcaps are off and you are not even going to forget

make it to any destination you're not even going to make to the next filling station and you're going to be stuck and I think also part of it was a function of age because I wasn't a kid anymore I was in my early 40s and I was like oh my god this again but I really wanted

all that dumb stuff that let's just face it we all think we want and then we get it and we go down the K hole of realizing that it was never really that it was just about feeling you know useful and occupied and wanting to maybe have a leadership position just because

if you're in a leadership position you're more obliged to not drop the ball Yeah, well that I love that I was going to say Jason that you know it's funny that you asked that question because I will say that as your friend I've noticed that you have

turned a lot of energy and stuff that you otherwise used to pour into um late night activity and you channeled that you made a decision and we've talked about it and I've seen you make that decision you've poured it into your life and your kids

into your home and into your work and you actually made a conscious decision am I right about that uh yes but well as you say that I start thinking about oh my god I'm so lucky that I've got an opportunity to work in this business because if I didn't

what would I do with all that ambition what would I do with all of that I want to do the right thing now with all of this energy and all of this sort of drive I worry about maybe that's why I work so hard and try to diversify I don't want that

that portal to go away but you know one of the things is it and you guys both kind of alluded to it and one of the great things about Downey is that he does seem very calm and he does have very for a guy who's been through a lot he has a lot of sage calm maybe not but he's got a lot of sage words for

but the other the flip side is that he is constantly of service and that's a big thing and you know I see it and he's such a great example I've told him too I'm amazed and in awe of how much of service he is to other people in and out of whatever

he's constantly of service in his life and I think that that removing that sort of constantly worrying about the sense of self allows you that room to grow would you agree that you don't have to be as aware or thinking about what am I going to do yeah it's just that Jedi

mind trick played on self for the highest good and you know let's let's not split hairs here Bateman you and I should have both been Hollywood casualties we were raised to go oh my god the shadow of our dad's the thing that that the pressure

is killing me oh now I've got it now I feel empty you know what let's let's make a mockery of this opportunity I appreciate being coupled with you but you my friend have have gone past the most incredible self-imposed adversity

it's just going to make for an incredible book if you ever put it down one day did you guys ever cross paths when you were younger we did I remember being at a house once that you rolled in for just sort of a drive-by and this is going to be great

we lost you to the bathroom were you with Leif no Leif was not there but I do remember you coming in and I was excited because I thought oh well here we go I get to get my party on but you went into the bathroom and then came out

and then you were off to the next spot and I was like ah I missed that I wonder if you left anything behind the toilet for me you know one of my moves used to be a lot of this too is called the old living amends like some of this I feel it's important to host your life the people you love

and this and that you're meant to take care of them and make sure their needs are met and it's compensatory I used to be known as the guy who would go into my girlfriend's roommate's bathroom I'm going to piss in this potpourri

I wonder how long it'll take him to realize what I've done dig here just to be funny or just because just because it was reverent and weird but usually there would have been a little tinge of resentment like you know Amber Shidness said that to me

I wonder I wonder how long until this little basket of dried flowers is going to smell like a fucking Panthers dick Panthers dick alright let's shift for one second can we talk a little bit about work family balance

are you happier now that I think I don't know much about your career but just from the outside looking at it I'm assuming that the marvel thing is at a slower speed now or or you're done with that now yeah that's all done okay so then I'm

assuming you're able to spend even more time with the family now are you a more comfortable ratio work family balance sure but quiet as it's kept the last three to five years once you're in a big ensemble where it's like working with Mercury to get everybody in one frame

let alone in the same city for a day out of six weeks I would be at home more often now the big missing integer here is Susan Downey Esquire your wife and really was such a part of the turnaround

best mirror and partner for me so we're out here she's up in her office nothing has slowed for the strong of spirit during this time because you can get a lot done remotely just don't have those natural breaks where you get to drive somewhere

or hang out in the hallway or stand by the cooler for a minute so I think for a certain type of personality this has been a relentless pride swallowing siege of a time but very productive I am a little bit more the

I'd like to be of service all day long will they notice when I'm sneaking away to take that hour and seventeen minute nap after I've had a handful of custom colored M&Ms and the other what is that custom color

well if you go to Dylan's candy on rain street he has like platinum status at Dylan's candy that's still your not-off-drug sugar so you just mainline on hours worth of sugar and then you sleep it's for the kids baby

last year Downey came out and he was here with the kids for a couple weeks before Susan got here and it was sugar time went every night till eleven he's like I don't know understand the kids aren't going to sleep and I'm like yeah you're letting them eat Reese's peanut butter and M&Ms until eleven

so first of all I have bad indulgent instincts but I'm always working on them so it's like I'm always on demerit status so I'm like Avis I'm number two I try harder I'm always trying to make up for when what is the thing that Susan yells at you for giving the kids

uh yeah it would be too much pirate booty or pretzels after they already had a snack or XT once seconds of the ice cream or whatever I'm just like yes yeah I eat ice cream almost every day go ahead right okay particularly lately and you know my

here's my um here's my four word answer double up your statin calm down about this double up the statin maybe we got this downy yes turn on do people call you Robert or Bob or what do they call you Robert thank you

so Robert Sean you know why they call that I have no idea what so no I didn't know people called you something for short like a nickname well when they earn it they get it okay so go ahead so anyway DJ

so wait exactly um so to Jason's point earlier about balance of family work and life and all that stuff I always ask other actors this because I fluctuate between that fire in my belly of wanting to prove myself as an actor and stretch my

you know wings and and you're not talking about your IBS right now right oh we know I was gonna bring that up that's actually where I'm going you're in your belly I want to interrupt your question with a question how many times have you and hubby almost got divorced since you woke up this morning

before noon uh twice and now we're on the fence we're on the fence we're just making it 14 years we're in mediation it's so true where you're at about 500 since quarantine since lockdown right I'll do this I'll do I said this to the guys I do this it's almost every morning I go like this

hey Scott do you want to make out uh so yeah like do you still have the fire in your belly to be an actor to like prove yourself to right to that ambition that still drives you do you still have that after all of your success I have an

ambition to do things that I've thought I could do well but haven't done before kind of like your boy Bateman has been um and I think like any of us you never you don't want to ever give up a juicy role but the other thing is I'm really good I'm like

a first AD I think through this script I've been sent with an offer and I realize you know what this really is 47 days in a tank right 22 days of nights right 15 hours a day it's 18 hours a day

whatever well that I've got that I've got don't be a crazy what are you fighting how dare you insult the guy oh sorry excuse me six hours tops a day next question I love the way you can predict how many nights are in it too you can probably predict there's going to be a lot of base camps that are far

from set so I'm not going to have the trailer near me okay so this is what I'm saying is all of that yeah here let me answer the question the question is you know are you still feeling it and my thing is I'm never feeling it until I get there when the first clapper goes I wake up

once the first clapper goes I'm there sure totally but what if it all went away yeah I'm fine okay how about that because because I have a lot of hobbies and I like tweaking on a bunch of stuff name one why are you so angry

Sean Jesus I know no I want to know what they are more than hobbies I have other interests and things that I felt drawn to so to be clear a any actor is a liar if they say how would you feel if it all went away I'd be fine because

well so why yeah nice or actors who announced their retirement I'd like to announce my retirement to make shoes first of all this would be worth it guys I'd be pretty funny if every year show business just retired people yeah I'm sorry this year

so and so and so and so have been retired like wait what it's like the premier league you get relegated yeah what would be number one on that hobby list that you'd go to the first day your career went all the way I would dive even deeper into the martial arts and start

opening up some studios are you serious dojo are DJs dojos no no no academies can I tell him dojo is Japanese right yeah he's corrected me on this before so dojo is not what does dojo mean then

did I fucking stutter that's for dojos for karate and and you're doing wait dojo is for not for kung fu which is what downy does kung fu yeah anyway forget hobbies let's

I want all of us to name another interest so I'll name one but we got to go around okay mine would be technology based climate crisis solutions now you me next

more candy commercials mine would be a private jet fund give us a real one come on brother I know you deep mouth yeah I think that sports hockey crap definitely sports hockey stuff but I

think that I don't know I'd probably spend more I'd like to go back to school and study history so would the rest of us like you to do that American history or world history world history European history that's cool I like that

that's what I spend most of my time reading give it to me Hayes I play piano I've studied piano my whole life and I was going to be a composer and a conductor and all that and then as they say in the business I took a left hand turn and here I am talking to you

in the piano business selling them I don't mean playing them no so I I really enjoy that I went away from it for several years and now I've kind of discovered it again so I started playing a lot lately love it Jason what's the thing you would do

I would I'm incredibly interested in politics for all the obvious reasons lately and it's not going away it's going larger and larger and larger so I would probably go that direction

Hayes I have a request yes anything Jason and Will know slower my dad I'm doing a documentary about my dad Bob Sr he is hell bent

on me recreating this song I sang for the Kiwani solo festival when I was 15 Chuberts Fisherweiser oh yeah it sounds familiar I probably couldn't recall it though

what does that mean does that mean you sang a song in German oh boy here we go so he would he wants me to do it as part of the documentary he's hijacked the documentary because

he saw a cut of it and said it's got no rhythm I what we need is some German singing underneath the sequence he's the best he's coming he's coming here next week anyway I brought a pair of laterhosen with me laterhosen literally

and I don't know if you have a piano handy but the only way I could do this and record it and film it because I told daddy can hijack the documentary that Chris Smith is actually directing as long as we can film him hijacking the documentary we're doing about his life

would you consider accompanying me I don't have to consider of course I would do that thank you that's my get I got my get from Hayes can you get me the music yes no that's the only thing

can you get me the music what are you insane I got my last question well you've done a fantastic job of driving this interview today thank you did you come with any questions drive it weren't you supposed to be lobbing bombs from the sideline

but I thought that you guys kept jumping on and saying stuff so I was getting you you know we love so I wanted you to feel that you were free I know I know I mean listen letting it breathe I have a bunch of hard hitting questions I want to ask Robert here we come east side or west side of Manhattan what you

think Upper east Upper east side making a Manhattan that does remind do you have fond memories of your brief stint on Saturday Night Live I have memories I

it was in a what how did that happen how did that process happen that was one of the questions Anthony Michael Hall was cast he said I want my boy to be on the show that's not how it works it's not that's not gonna happen didn't she see weird science Anthony Michael Hall here

I'm saying my boy down he's on the show let's let's see all right but listen he's great you're gonna love him he'll come audition whatever but then we're gonna need Baluchin Acroids old office and we want bunk beds in there with NFL sheets is that gonna be a problem

they're like let's do the audition first and by the way I'll tell you a really fun part we were doing the show and it was the MTV Awards and all I remember is at one point we're in a drop top

DeSoto with a driver with white gloves on I'm sitting with Anthony Michael Hall in the back seat and David Lee Roth is shotgun and we're going somewhere to do something stupid and I said you know what

I'm right where I'm supposed to be where did you go and what did you do where it went gets sadder and sadder and more pathetic and starts opening up some old wounds so let's do it don't go too far but we've talked about Leif Garrett we've talked about on camping trips and stuff with bikes on the top

so they can ride into town and get messy so you can tell a little bit about what happened Downey's probably got some nice Leif stories yeah we had good times with that man should he get Leif on the show I love a bit of Leif Garrett I'll tell you

he'd appreciate that do rag your rocket right now yeah right it's got to come down a little lower for Leif yeah bring a little lower just above the eyebrows one serious question and then we can stop with the serious questions when you because when I first

started learning more about you and your dad and how he was a filmmaker and he was an actor and he brought you on and you guys did drugs as a kid and blah blah blah and then you guys went through all of this journey and you just revealed on this podcast that you're doing a documentary about him how did you come around to forgiving him

like how did you come back around to having a relationship with somebody who like I'm sure you went through the stages of blaming him and all that stuff because I still blame my dad and I don't know how to get over it but the doc is a hit piece right Downey you have not forgiven him you're gonna drag him

across the coals it's a gotcha gorilla style never ending interview and it's you in a frozen wink at the end oh dad you're gonna get this later in laugh well first of all the forgiveness thing

was if you have any empathy it's too hard to stay in that my experience is your fault but I'll tell you something I'll just tell you this story because this is what life is like right my dad

and I decided we were gonna follow George Hamilton around while he was doing a Lecage a faux traveling company sure seems like a plan and we started doing that then my buddy Ashley Hamilton

was there and then dad started filming stuff of George and Ashley together and my dad said you know the real story is these two fucking guys right which I thought was father and son I go you're right the father and son story is more interesting than the play

he goes yeah in fact fathers and sons throughout time this is a real that's a subject so for people who don't know the movie bird cage with Nathan Lane and Robin Williams is based on Lecage of all correcto

so I say yeah like even fuck you Sean fuck you we're done so I say to senior I go yeah like even you and me that's a story he goes yeah it's a story anyway and then he says

you know what the real interesting story is and then he told me about this other father and son Sean Flynn who was Errol Flynn's son actually did all the stuff that his dad did in the movies he was in going into Cambodia or crossing the Laotian border he was a photojournalist a real

adventurer and then he got lost and probably taken prisoner and probably executed and I was like wow and so then he started sending me like bit real some what he thought the documentary that had nothing now to do with Ashley and George

about Sean and Errol the Flynn's and I'm like what is he driving and I said so I thought maybe I could trick him into me doing a documentary about him while he thinks we're doing a documentary about other fathers and sons and then

I got busy and went and did a couple movies and then came back and Chris Smith who's arguably the greatest documentary maker around right now one of the top guys he started getting into it and I said I really like this and he liked it even more when

my dad started saying I'm gonna show this clown how to make a doc or whatever because he's like I love it because your dad only cares about the moment and just because the documentary is about him doesn't mean it isn't a project and so if we're gonna do a project let's do something

he goes documentary so boring everyone is just sitting there talking he should be walking around and so all of a sudden we're shooting stuff like people talking about my dad by a duck pond and he's like cut back three weeks later when the ducks are big and then like the screen says three weeks later and the ducks

are big or we're sitting at a table and I'm like you know dad I just really want to save when we're going through all that stuff he goes look at the cane the cane's got a lizard head going tight on the lizard head and I'm just like I fucking love him so much

he is a true artist so my misses who I thought would be super skeptical because this is not cheap she watches the first cut she goes you know what I understand your dad now I can't wait I can't wait to see this it'll be pretty great I can't wait Sean you're in it you're part of the

you're literally in it so Robert is there a camera shooting the camera that's shooting the documentary is there oh that's great when do we get to see this well how close are you to Doug well he's coming out next week he says we got about six or eight days of shooting left

I was like well hold on a minute now what does Chris Smith say Chris says we need two different budgets the budget for the movie I'm doing about your dad and the budget for the movie your dad is doing based on the fact that he doesn't think my movie is any good even though it's a documentary

that's a way so let me ask you something Robert has the has the shift happened yet where the son now becomes the parent um look I let's just agree that the meditation

on one's closest family associates in this case the father son relationship it is I don't even know part of the reason that I keep this is so numinous look it up to me is because I feel

drawn to figuring out all this stuff that is entirely unconscious that I won't really figure out like I said earlier you know it's like two weeks later you realize what you would have said this is going to be like years from now I'll probably have a smidge of an understanding

about what it all meant and I also know that he's leaving breadcrumbs I know it I know that intuitively he is doing part of this to leave some sort of incomprehensible perfect messaging to me

or at least that's what I'm expecting you know on that it's something I've I bet we've all been thinking about because we're all roughly the same age how much Robert do you think and thinking about your dad and looking like that is that's the tree I am the acorn

how much do you think you're going to change between now and the end of your life or do you think and I throw this out to you guys too do you think that there's like a lot of changing obviously when we're teenagers and whatnot but like once you become a certain age I feel like the moves are

not that big anymore or maybe they are how much how much big how many more big moves do you think you're going to be making I stopped growing at 17 years old yeah yeah pretty much the same sense I would agree with that yeah you're not going to hear anything out of me yeah

I don't need to hear anything I was being kind taking it to both you guys Robert yes here yes please the growth it depends on what happens so any time I've grown it's been either the things were too painful to not change

or I was confronted with something that if I didn't adapt I was going to perish so it could be illness it could be but I always leave open the possibility of some great new inspiration I totally believe that we're following this

little golden thread of things where I mean how did the four of us wind up here today how many things had to go right for this I think about that stuff all the time but do you have anything sort of and I'm not asking you to say what it is but is there something that you kind

of have earmarked that this is this is one thing I'd like to change before I'm done or are you pretty content you strike me as some it's okay to say that you're not going to be calling yourself perfect but like I would I wouldn't be surprised if you said that you were content you seem to have really put the work in

look I mean you know 70% maintenance I want to head in the direction that you have so expertly gone I want to write and direct even though it just sounds like the worst worst job in the world but I think I have to

even if I just do it once like Don Cheadle directed one of my favorite movies in the last five years Miles Head he plays Miles Davis and you and McGregor plays this guy is trying to get an interview and all Miles wants to do is go get the cope that this guy owes him and it's but they learn

a lot about each other and it's beautiful he's he don't you know is amazing okay and I was like don do what did it feel like because you I mean the role in the thing goes hated it is like why he goes terrible what no directing part just the short

shooting schedule the budget the billion decisions you know because like on set we're shooting like you know whatever you know roadie and Tony and like between takes he's like playing cards and talking smack and it's just like it's it's the easiest job

in the world he's like rolling off a log they are such a natural and then that is nothing you're answering 30,000 questions a day that people should be walking over to you to tell you that they have an answer you first of all you've got obviously got the capacity for it I need you don't need me to tell you that and you are really an artist

and you do have a real understanding and that is grown kind of to what Jason you were saying your your perspective has changed in the last 10 years certainly in the last 20 years right I mean a lot and the discipline that that that you have

is is cannot be underestimated sure but well certainly you have a lot of discipline but also like you're just your desire to artistically express yourself at any given moment is constantly there it's right beneath the surface

or it's on the surface or it's out there right I mean that's something you're always kind of doing and and I mean that as a compliment and I can't imagine that that would be so such a difficult thing for you to do to to write and direct do you think the writing would be more difficult

than the directing or vice versa the writing I think any of anyone who's been even near a good writer you see that they just get lifted up into this space where they're really just channeling the best connective ideas that are out there somewhere somehow

you know some people are really good nuts and bolts writers but I mean it's just the best dude my dad says this anybody can act few can direct nobody can write so if you're a writer by

his estimation you are top of the food chain funny actually another guy who wrote that Jesus God help us that probably takes us to a commercial I bet yeah yeah no but to all that and I go on and on almost every episode

you do you sure do anyway thanks Robert hold on give my man I go on and on about how brilliant Jason Bateman is wait when and Ozark oh I'm so far up his ass I'm gonna leave him Scotty for him let him finish guys but I always ask you Jason too

I was thinking about this I guess I haven't asked we've been talking to Robert about this I don't know how you can divide your brain into conceiving the direction of a scene and then shelving that and going in front of the camera and acting it just seems like so much overload on the brain

I don't know how you do it and you do it so brilliantly honest quick answer is that you do all the directing and then when it's time to act you just do the acting so like between hang on I gotta write this down so you just direct and then you act yeah between action and cut

number two is act is that right yeah between action and cut it's the acting everything else is the directing Sean what do you like that I do go ahead take your time take your time I like you in hats more than your hair thanks man I'll take it okay guys

I always tell Will he's the funniest person alive no no no I'll second I'll tell you this he's the person on earth that I have ever met who enjoys being himself the most and it's infectious yeah nobody but I found that that Will laughs the

hardest at nobody but himself that's self love we're all looking for it I actually I don't think I've ever met a person that doesn't love every second they spend with Will or not yeah that is that is true it's true

come on maybe they know how close we are so they they don't they don't talk to me how much they hate you yeah coming up to me on the street going I just don't like them I just get it I'm not a fan yeah not for me not for me I don't get it this is a great Hollywood like hey what do you think of

the the movie nobody wants to have an opinion in case they're wrong or they'll lose their job over it so it's like what do you think of the thing um wasn't for me I mean I don't get it but I definitely see how people so you didn't like it how great how great was it

having down here to my gosh leave it what a luck out incredible I know Robert thank you thank you thank you thank you please say hi to Susan I will thank you most of all you're my new friend I know these other guys pretty well Robert I adore you

I truly do I am a huge fan of yours in business and now I'm a huge fan of yours in life for real and I just love you likewise thank you and I also love your business oh god fuck I said it wrong

now get in the car thank you for coming and doing this that was a great episode right having having Downey incredible love him thank you no we gotta pretend you're not here we'd be how great was that right he was amazing I'm unbelievable nice going you know what we can't pretend that Downey's not here this is the first time we're ever doing the goodbye with the guest

in the house that's right just be one of the people saying how great it was witnessing his own funeral how great was it having Downey today oh my he nailed it well he's still here I mean it's all downhill from here oh my god the ratings look at the spike do you think so

I can't wait I'm making a documentary about him making a documentary about his dad is making a documentary about his own life and Jason I wanted to ask you will you do wardrobe on it Brett had bands for everybody that was so fun I just want to say because I want to be the first to say bye

bye smart smart smart smart