Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard - Mom's Car: Dakota Fanning & Jake Johnson

Episode Date: October 6, 2026

On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car we welcome Dakota Fanning (The Sun Never Sets, Ripley, Man on Fire) and Jake Johnson (The Sun Never Sets, New Girl, The Dink). Dakota, Jake, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through Dax and Aaron’s romantic movie night, bringing a rolling backpack to high school with zero shame, a firefighter uncle’s devastating theater review, treating dating apps like a casino, letting ADHD run wild on a hike, being just famous enough to get a restaurant table, and needing someone to confirm that the seven-foot man across the room is Shaq.Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hello, I'm Dax. This is Aaron. Welcome to Mom's Cart. Today we have Dakota Fanning and Jake Johnson. Friend of the pod, Jake Johnson. First time for Dakota fanning. Of course, Dakota is an award-winning actor. I am Sam, Ripley, War the Worlds. My very favorite, what's the... Man on Fire. She's so good. Jake Johnson's a prick. What can I say? He's also an actor. We're here to help podcasts. So funny, I've been on a new girl. The Disman. safety not guaranteed. And the movie that we swear to God is so good. The sun never sets. So good. You'll hear how much we loved it.

Please enjoy Dakota Fanning and Jake Johnson. This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Checking Allstate First could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking the dress code at the new restaurant. Showing up in sandals and getting turned away at the door. No fun at all. Yeah. Checking first is always a good move. So check Allstate First for an auto quote.

It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. We are supported by Uber Eats. Boom, boom, boom. In need of groceries, Uber Eats has you covered. From last minute ingredients to weekly essentials, get groceries delivered in as little as 25 minutes with Uber Eats.

Get groceries delivered with Uber Eats. Terms apply. See app for details. Now let's get into the show. Oh, look at this, here we go. Here we go. Oh, we're so good. You call it?

Can you now say the delivery service? Yeah, we can. Okay, okay, okay. Yes. God, you know your sh-de-do. Dude, I do. Yeah. I'm so flattered.

Were you flattered when she said she's going to start? Oh, you want to do a double? Yes, let's double-dust. We got to buy a Dakota. Okay, normally I would say this to the end, but I'm going to get right into our review of the film. Oh, okay. the movie being The Sun Never Sets with YouTube.

We sit down last night to watch it after a very romantic dinner at all time. Just you two. Yeah, we got that crazy steak thing. Yeah. What a nice night for you guys. Oh, it was incredible. It was candlelit. We sit on the sidewalk.

And then we come back, we turn it on. And the first act, I'm a little bit like, is this like, this is going to be sad. Where are we at? Of course, to set it up, which is, you set it up. My character plays a guy who moved to Anchorage based off Joe, Swamberg's real life, but not the Anchorage part, but the married with two kids and goes through divorce. I move up there. I hate it there, but it was one of those pandemic moves where I had to be there for the kids. I start dating a younger, cooler woman played by Dakota with the rules of we're never

going to get married. We're never going to have kids. Yeah. But just your rules. Yes, but like, set between them. Yeah. I'm like, we talked about that from the beginning of this is just what it is, but we do love each other. She's essentially like a stepmom and they have this whole... Your kids love her. Love me. Yeah. Life is working.

Life is working for both of both. Except your parameters sort of. Yes. You have a girlfriend who gets pregnant. I have a girlfriend played by Debbie Ryan who gets pregnant. She's sort of putting the pressure on me of don't you like this is kind of what you want it. Are you sure that you don't want this still?

I claim that I don't. She's right at that point of life. And this was something Joe in real life, you know, goes through because he does feel if somebody has that moment taken from them, they have resentment forever. Yes, of course. So you go like, well, I was with you during those years, but now I've realized I've missed something that you have, and now I hate you for it. And let's be real about this.

When I consider Kristen leaving me, which could happen for numerous reasons, and I think about having to date someone again, one of the many reasons I wouldn't want to have kids with someone ever again is like, the enthusiasm and excitement that you have for child number one is so special. Agreed. And you don't even have it for child number two for your own kid. Meet at curbside, 4-4-25. Oh.

Look inside, my kid. Where is 4-4-2-5? This is half of the show is us trying to figure out what the address we're at. This is great, though. Meet on the curb is fun because I thought... You see the person. Yes, and I thought we would do the show, and some people would be excited to meet me, and everyone's leave at the door.

So I have not gotten to meet virtually anyone, so the whole premise of the show unraveled in the first episode. Oh, no. You should just say all these things that you're saying, I already know them all. All these stories. Oh, all my opinion. Yeah, yeah. All those, I know them. It might be a fun game for you, Jake, to ask me a question and let Dakota answer it.

When did Dax's his virginity? 12? Yes. Oh, holy fuck, Dakota. What was Dax's first car that he fell in love with? Oh, I don't know. I don't know. I don't care that.

A little specific. Probably said it, but I didn't absorb that one. Okay, so back to you. So if Kristen, you know, my issue would be like, I would feel very bad for a new partner that I wouldn't be able to give them the enthusiasm they would deserve. Because I just don't think you can replicate it. Yeah, I agree.

Suffice to say, what's your genius plan then, your character's genius plan, Jake, to deal with this sick? Jack's plan in the situation is for Wendy to go out and spend the summer and date other people. to see what's out there in Anchorage so that she can have kind of a rough summer with kind of goofy guys. And the character of that guy, Brad, is the perfect example. Oh, good. And so Jack's thought is he's going to have Wendy date other people and then basically come home and say,

I won't have resentment for you later. I saw it's not you holding me back. This is what I want. Yeah, you're very confident. By the way, I'm identifying with you. I'm like, this is a kind of stupid plan I might have. That's what I loved about the idea. Yeah, you seem like you're really generous. He gets to win. Yes, and always. He gets what he wants.

He's going to get her back. And he's so generous and confident and cool. So Joe Swamberg in real life did this. Oh, he did this. I was going to say, it felt so like it had to have happened to somebody involved in creating it. And then your character additionally, not only the kids and the marriage, but also, So you are whimsical and you still want to be on adventures and you want to buy this boat and maybe explore. I do.

And also, you know, I mean, it's set in Alaska. It's set in Anchorage. Everyone there is outdoorsy, hiking all the time, taking little planes, getting on a boat, driving here, camping there. I mean, that's part of. Or in blackout. So is it the two options. Uber outdoorsy or stage nine alcoholics. And fist fighting in bars at 6 p.m.

Yeah, yeah. Never gotten almost more fights than Anchorage. A hundred. Right. Right. So she's definitely still wanting to do all of that and wanting a partner who will do that with her. That's not who Jake's character is at all. He's super open about it.

She accepts it. So basically on her adventure to go out and see what's out there, she runs into her ex-boyfriend Chuck, who's played by Corey Michael Smith. Great turn. You're like, yeah, who's she going to meet that she's going to have this connection with? And then, of course, anyone who you have unsettled business with is going to have some crazy power over you for the rest of your life. Very plausible. Yes. So from Aaron and I's point of view, what we're going through is like, okay, it's a relationship, she wants a child, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Here's the plan. We're both still just kind of like, okay, okay, okay. When you meet the ex-boyfriend and now that thing is happening, the conversation on the couch between you two. We were screaming laughing, watching a man get hoisted by his own batars. Oh, this genius. And you're fucking one-eating. in four sentences. The fact that you're screaming,

I want to have a baby with you more than anything. And Dakota, on that couch, the way Wendy is, she's so the status has changed. Yes. And she's now, and not like, even when I offer her the wine, and she's like, no offense. It's like, I come in to know,

like my stupid little slacks where I'm like, you can't keep coming here. Have some wine. We're about to have sex. It's going to be great. He's like, actually. know I'm about to leave. And then he's like, wait, no, you're supposed to drink wine and be charmed.

I knew how this night was going. What a great story, though. Oh, my God. Yeah, so what else did you think? What else did you think? Neither of us had slept in 24 hours, and we got to it really late. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is like, he better stay awake at least for some of it, because I'm probably the

way, anyway, even if I'm rested, you get drowsy. And, man, we love them. Oh, my good. We're screaming and laughing. Be right there. Okay. Have you ever eaten here? No.

No. Nor I. I don't like fish, but you already know that. I do. We would have the weirdest first day. I would literally be like thinking, what did in eight years, 1,200 episodes? What could possibly be laughed about me?

You know it all. Look, how handsome week, Leah's. Oh, he's so sweet. Isn't he? Yes. Isn't he the greatest person on planet? Yes. I'm so in love with them.

And going so long, you know? We're in 40 years of being in love. And how about you, Nicola? I do. So I was homeschooled until I was in ninth grade, and then I started going to. Campbell Hall. It's Campbell Hall, yes. And so my friends are all from that time, and we're all still friends.

Except for the burglars. Those are older friends than Campbell Hall, because Max and Elle did a movie together when they were four. I'm sorry, I missed the part. Where's your best friend from? Well, I'm born in Georgia originally. Moved to L.A. when I was six and started acting. Yeah. And then I was homeschooled until ninth grade.

And then I went to school here at regular school. Do you think you're missing anything sociologically that you would have learned in that period of interacting with other little kids? I think I missed the part where kids are the meanest to each other. He did. Yeah, yeah. Like the stories of seventh and eighth grade that my friends have, I'm like, I'm really glad at past that. Yeah, yeah. It was fun for us, and it seems that no one else enjoyed.

Yeah, you love seventh grade. It's the best year I have my whole life. And I've been a great life and I still live that one on repeat. Totally. But that's how I feel about high school. Like, I loved every single second of it. I loved it. Going to Camel Hall in L.A., like, there was no weirdness that I was an actor.

Everybody's parent was, you know, there was a parent who was somebody or somebody knew somebody. You weren't a freak. No, there wasn't any of that. And it's all my best friends to the stay. How were you dealing with? I even found as an adult, like I did without a paddle, right? And that was my first movie. And I had the most amazing.

connectives experience of my life with two dudes I had never met. Yeah. And at the end of it, Lillard, who'd already done 30 movies, he goes, I just want you to know, we're never going to see each other again. And I was like, what are you saying? I know. We're brothers. I would say, I think because I was so young in like doing these movies, like a lot of the people

really did stay a part of my life in various ways. But I did a movie with Kurt Russell, who I know you also know, and we became really close. And we still are to this day, but I could go five years and not see him. And then see him and then we're in a corner talking for the whole night and like, you know, whatever. Yes. But he told me when we did the movie together, because we had just developed this really special bonds. I'm so in love with the message. I'm like, he's just the greatest.

But he taught me that. He was like, I want you to understand it's not going to be this way ever again. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. We might go years where we don't see each other. Yeah. But I want you to always know that I love you. It's real.

I love you. What a cool thing to say. And it's so real. And just because we don't keep in touch like all the time, all the time, all the time does not take away how special our relationship is. Yes, yeah. You know, looking back, I always remembered that, you know. Because I just imagined it would be a little hard for me to compute when I was in elementary school. Yeah.

If I was best friends with someone and then they were. gone. I don't know. But maybe it wouldn't be. I don't know. I mean, it was fine. Can we talk about? It's fine. It was good, good. I invited. I don't know. Perfer. It was fine. It was preferred. Now, the weird thing about Kurt, I didn't know you guys were bros like that, but I got to say, numerous times when we were watching the movie last night, I was like, she looks a lot like Kate. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, yes, I do. Yeah. And I know Kate pretty well, too. Yeah, you were in her short she made when I was dating her. I remember being in the editing room out of that whole thing. Yeah, I've always been told. I've always been told that. Yeah, so for him, even easier probably to fall in love with you. I think he saw me as like a little mini Kate. You know, he got to kind of like, you know, have that little special thing with another little girl who looked just like her. I mean, there's just the, Goldie's unbelievable, Kate's unbelie. Like, it's just such a great. Yeah. Okay, since we're talking about your early work, there's really just because I promised you I wasn't going to dig. It's okay. The movie that I can't believe your

performance. I couldn't then and I still can't wrap my head around it is man on fire. Oh, the best. Fuck. The fuck. I'm crazy bear. Oh, my God, your little face and swimming pool and you're a good little trooper. I know. I know.

I want to know. Like, Jake, you obviously see Man on Fire, right? How old are you? Nine. Yeah. It's among the best acting I've ever seen in my whole life. Thank you. Thank you. And I want to know, is it easier to be that good when you're younger and harder when you're older?

Like, I'm always curious about that. I don't approach it any differently than I did when I was that age. I've tried to keep the, at the end of the day, it's just using your imagination. Do you not get more self-conscious as an adult, though? You do, but I really try to stay away from, I really try to stay away from that. That was another thing I have really observed is your lack of vanity in this movie. Yeah, yeah. Not that you didn't look fantastic, but you're not in hair and makeup.

No, not really, no. And so I do try to keep a perspective of, like, you know, the way that you observe yourself is not the way that other people observe you, you know. Like, when I laugh really loud, my, like, nose crinkles up and, like, you know, I get like a little double chin sometimes. Like, and I see a picture. I'll be like, oh, my God. And then I've had other people, I've had other people be like, oh, my God, when you laugh so laugh, like, when you really laugh and your nose crinkles up, like, oh, I love when you do that. And I'm like, okay. there we go. I mean, you know what it means? You just can't hold on too tightly to those things because you're not you're not able to see yourself.

What about teenagers? Still fine. You never not, you never didn't do it in some sense. I never didn't do it. Yeah. And I think because I was homeschooled until ninth grade, like I showed up to the first day of ninth grade in like a plaids, the uniform, like no one would really wear the plaid skirt that much. I showed up in like the plaid skirt and I had a rolling. backpack. Oh no. A rolling nerd. Like I had a rolling backpack. Yeah, Blitzker's fine with me. The rolling backpack is a big mess. A little 50 year old woman at the airport. And but, but by the way, like I did not give a fuck.

Oh wow. People might have thought that was embarrassing. I was like, this is what I want. It had my name on it. Like I really didn't care at all. Again, I didn't have those traumatizing years of being like, oh, thinking about every move you make and being, make fun of for it or whatever. Like I went, I was homeschooled by the same teacher from second grade to when I went to school. And so I think it gave me a unique bit of like confidence and esteem. Lack of self-consciousness. And I kept that rolling backpack the whole first year and then we switched it out the next year.

You formed some friends and they're like, please, Dakota. Please, it's for our group. Yeah. We like it. We can't have that. We can't have that shit in the group. Hey, take that on vacation this summer and then leave it wherever you go on vacation. I wore it to my last day of senior year.

Oh, I like that. Still to this day, when I do something, I hear the voices of the kids in my school going, you fucking pussy. You know, like if I'm like sharing about something emotional, it's like, I hear them going like, oh, you need so much fucking attention, don't you? Like those, the chorus, my shadow is really these guys we grew up with. but you just could not be masculine enough. It was impossible.

Do you have that, Jake? Yeah, those voices are more a couple of my uncles. Okay. That wasn't ever meant to be mean. That's what uncle... Yes, but it was more like one uncle Paul, who I adore, saw a live show, a two-person show I'd written that I was traveling the country with. Uh-huh.

And he had just finished a big shift as a fireman where he was on for, you know, whatever it is, the 30 hours. Yeah. And he watched it, and it's a two-person show. There was like an improvised dance we do that was supposed to be committed. That's going to be rough for him. There was like an old-timey bit that we didn't fully have figured out, but it was like me with like a little umbrella. It was just, there were some hits and misses.

Sure, sure. And at the end, he walked over and he said, don't do anything I wouldn't do, but it's too late for that. And I went like, again, thank you so much for coming. Like, my buddy, Billy was like, what do you say? I was like, it wasn't warm. It must be right here. Okay. All right.

See in a sec. Yeah, buddy. So part of Uber Eats is just picking up, you pick up like four or five and drop it off. Yeah, that's right. It's just people want to get rid of their food. Also, it's kind of crazy out of curiosity. We didn't look at what the first woman's having delivered. I know.

I feel like that's, you're not supposed to. She told me what it was. Oh, she did. Oh, what is it? So she owns a business and she made a jacket herself. And then somehow this jacket's going somewhere that will be shipped. I'm not sure why there's an intermediary, but, but yeah. She's a jacket maker.

What's in there, your wallet? No, drinks. Oh, it's perfect. Yeah. Okay, another moment you guys have to know about. This has happened to me twice this year. So did you guys happen to see the invite? Yes.

No, I haven't yet. I have, yes. Okay. And you already know this, unfortunately. That's okay. But there's a moment where Penelope Cruz is just, she's so powerful. Yeah. There's a siren, you know.

And she looks at Seth Rogen, and she's like, I want you to take me into that room. And the way she said it, I literally, in an embarrassed Monica, we were in a screening with journalists. And I go, oh, yeah. I like, I clinton. I was like, yes, I'll go with you. I don't care about my family or my parents. Right now, Cher is going like this. These is what?

I got them. Got them. Here's the clip. Okay, so, yeah, you guys have this fight. It's going sideways, and then it fucking heats up in this way. That's so real. And when you guys started fucking kissing, we were like, yes, fucking get go. What was it like being in Alaska?

How long were you guys in Alaska? We were there for like a month. Okay. During what month? May June. Oh, perfect. It was a perfect time to be. It was a perfect time.

Really, the sun never set. Yes. I just started feeling weird. Oh, you did? Yeah. From the smells in the calm? In Alaska. No, no.

In Alaska. That was so sweet. That was such dad, Dax. I got really worried about me. That just showed our dynamic. When you see me as a nine-year-old boy. I don't know where to. anything, I go, I feel weird.

Yeah, I was, oh, no, what can we do? Let's get him out of the car. Eat some water. Eat some food. I wish I was that open with my feeling. Oh, my God. That's what funny. 970. 970.

970. Leave at 406. Beautiful, that's the one. And this is this. Okay, I love you guys. Do you leave it at door? I did. Oh, man.

So, Jake, you've had kind of a monster year. I keep noticing that the Dink is like number one movie. I'm so happy for you. Yeah, it's been a nice run. It's a really fun. movie and it's really light. And I honestly, and even though it's tonally so different, it's what I like about The Sun Never Sets too.

For me, too, it was like, I am somebody who is single and dating and you can get really, like, cynical and depressed by, like, the state of how that goes sometimes. Do you use apps? I had one stint on an app and then I talked shit about it on a talk show and I felt like I had to delete it after that because I would have been in a perfect. Oh, I don't know.

It can be a hypocrite in love. I was, it was, it was like, a disaster. It was like, a disaster. Did you get it all addicted? Like, I just imagine me. Oh, I got it totally addicted to me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally.

And then they're like, you can unlock more, like, and I, but I wouldn't unlock more. I would wait. They'd have to wait for it to fill back up again. It was like crazy. The addiction. So the addiction of it is just, you see all the options. All the options are on this app, I suppose. But you can either just, the addiction part of it goes, you go like, sure, I would.

I would. I wouldn't, I wouldn't. And then if the I would's right back, it's that rushed? I guess. Okay. Yeah, the match, like matching. That becomes the fun, like, casino sloppish. And then I just, like, wouldn't text back.

Like, then they would send me a message and then I wouldn't message back. And then I was like, why am I doing this? Like, I don't want to do this. Again, sadly, we're kind of hardwired to attempt to get the best we can. Yeah. Right? You want the best option that's available to you in anything, whatever that is. Yeah, I would imagine I'd be like, oh, yeah, she's so cute.

And look, she went to the school. That's cool. I wonder, is there someone better than that? I mean, just take a peek. I mean, it's just, it's like, I don't, I ultimately just kind of, it didn't feel like it was for me. It felt like a game, too much of a game. Yeah.

But point being, it's very easy to get, like, down about that. And I do think with this movie, what I liked about it is that, at least when I watch it, it doesn't feel like a cynical take on relationships and dating. It's not cynical at all, but I will say Aaron and I at the end of it. we both collectively, just like they show, we're like, yeah, we're the worst, man. It's all like, dude, we're terrible. It's not my thing. Every guy, we're like, we don't want to do one thing that's not our thing.

We're guilty of it. That's so exactly right. Disgustingly relatable. Stay tuned for more Mom's Car. We are supported by Allstate. Checking Allstate First can save you hundreds on. car insurance. Not checking which floor of the airport parking garage you parked on before your trip. It's five days later, and now you're rolling your suitcase through a parking garage that all

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stores. Whether you're stocking up for the week, grabbing a few essentials, or getting ingredients for tonight's dinner. Uber Eats makes grocery shopping easy. Less time shopping, more time for everything else. And you don't even have to put your shoes on. So many wins. Get your groceries delivered with Uber Eats. Save 20% off your first order of $60 plus with code Mom's Car 20. Terms apply. See App for Details. Got these coats? Yeah. What's an oath? That's that? It's the big boy. Oh, good. You want help? Yeah, come with me. There you go.

You could double the odds of us getting recognized right now. So far to order hamburgers from. Yeah. Of all the eggs. Of all the hamburger joints in all the world. The things that I've done that are too close and far, like I can't even. You have no judgment. No judgment.

We one time delivered ice cream to people like 40 minutes away up the five. I've done that. I've done that. I'm like, here's your glass of milk. You're going to. There's a plate. Has anybody ever been to Brewsters? Is there Brewsters where you are in Tennessee? Oh, what's Brusters? Let's go. Bristers is an ice cream place that I grew up with in Georgia, and they're on the East Coast. And there's one in Lachinata. Oh, okay.

And it has my favorite flavor of ice cream ever, which is cotton candy. Oh, you like cotton candy. I don't like it from everywhere. Okay. I only like it from Brewsters. It's a very child order. Yes. Cotton candy. But it is my favorite. it and I have gotten it delivered from the Brewsters in Lockyana. But my favorite thing is Dairy Queen.

So when you do talk about Dairy Queen, that's like soft serve is my favorite. Like Dairy Queen is my absolute favorite. What's your order at Dairy Queen? I mean, sometimes I'll just get like just a cup of vanilla, like really plain. Like I love the soft serve, like a really big one. Or hot fudge and I make them put it on the bottom too. Uh-huh. Okay.

Great. Never a blizzard. I don't get the blizzards. Mine is a hot fudge Sunday with extra hot fudge. And then the banana split blizzard. And then this year, which was so exciting, is now they're adding fruity pebbles to blizzards. So fucking bananas split plus fruity pebbles and Heathbar.

Oh, my God. I don't eat fruit, so I don't do bananas flops. You don't eat fruit at all? No. Because you have an allergy? No. You just don't like the taste of it. I don't like the texture of fruit.

You're so weird. I like it. That was the part of Alaska. That would, Jake would just ask you like, what about this? And I'd be like, I don't like it. I just want you guys to clock that this guy is opening and closing the door a ton. Oh, what's he doing? And it's exciting.

And who knows what's next? He might barrel roll out the side at some point. But you'll see, he's going to have his door open here pretty shortly. You won't have to wait long. I promise. The door's coming. Oh, I bet I know what's going on. It's fucking hot as hell in there.

He doesn't have A. He's getting air. And he's getting more air. Yeah. As soon as he slows down, he pops the door open. This is great. I one time I had a cab ride. My favorite cab ride of my life, I don't think the brakes were not working.

But his chosen method to slow down is as he was approaching the stoplight, he'd be using some brake, but then he'd put it in neutral. And then as he got really close, he'd pop it and reverse and give it a little gas in the back. I don't what fucking jerk. And I'm like, this guy's using reverse as a brake, because why not? It's not his car. It's the fucking cab. Yeah.

And I could have driven cross-country with this guy. I want to see if he slows down on the highway by sliding it in reverse. Oh, he's doing it. We got it. Okay, great. But maybe the windows don't go down either. And he's got his girl with him. And he's texting.

And he's shooting dope. He's doing everything but driving. I've said that to people. You seem to be doing everything but driving. Yeah, that's true. But, Dakota, you're truly outrageously good in this. I mean, the entire movie really is on your shoulders in that. Do we believe this emotional right or not?

And you're so phenomenal. And Jake said, when I invited him on a couple days ago, he said, you'll have to watch the movie because it's very important to me that you see how good Dakota is. And he was dead on. That's nice. I think it's a really special performance. Thank you. It was so good that, like, I bailed on Jake when you were shooting pool.

Yeah. I was like. Let's go. Let's go. It's like that. Jesus, what she's going? But I came back. Yeah.

Well, by the way, that would happen. That would happen while we were filming. That's what happened while we were filming. And that's also the magic of Joe's process is that things are, nothing set in stone. You can go anywhere. This movie could have gone in any direction. That's right. You know?

It's a movie that is meant to remind you of the stomach aches of those situations. Because I did feel. that stomachache tension at times that I haven't felt in life in a while. Where you're like, oh, that thing that I thought was, for lack of a better word, mine is not. And you just go like, oh, it's so, like, it's what makes love so brutal. And even if you're in a long-term relationship, you think it's forever. And then all of a sudden you realize, like, how everything could change. And you just go like, oh.

Well, and social scientists have known in behavioral economics, know that we have a loss bias, right? So if you watch people bet and you phrase something in a way that they're going to lose, they will do illogical betting, right? They'll do illogical trading. Explain what that means. I don't get it. So, like, if you position, like, you have a 50% chance of winning this and then you do the experiment. Versus you go, you have a 50% chance of losing that. Just them hearing the word losing versus.

Now, it's all the same, right? It's 50, 50. But people will overwhelmingly go crazy not participate in something that they have 50% chance of losing. Interesting. But they will participate overwhelmingly if they have a 50% chance of winning. And then they get way more complex than that. But you can see people's behavior become quite illogical based on this loss bias. So it's like that's what's happening.

You have this person you, how many times have you broken up with somebody and you were so certain? And then you're driving home for their apartment. You're like, oh, my God, I think that might be the love of my life. It's just like I've lost it. And now all of a sudden, I have no sense of how I feel about the person. Yeah. So I want to air this experience you and I had Jake. And I'm mostly curious if you've repeated it as many times as I have.

So the last time we did one of our hikes, and for people don't know, our friendship is hikes. We always do hikes together. And then last year we decided, like, let's fucking walk all the way over the mountain. And then ended at Capitol Grill and have like a King's fucking launch. I can't wait for an expert. Oh, me too. It was like a three and a half hour hike. So fun.

And we start the hike. This is the part I tell to everyone. We start the hike. And within 12 minutes of walking, we have 60 different conversations going. And I go, I go, hold on, hold on. We're like, we are fucking all over the matter. And then you said, you just look at him and you go, dude, let's fucking ADHD out on us. Like, let's not police ourselves at all.

And it was like this weird, like should we? It was a commitment. And I go, yeah, let's let it rip. And we were like, well, space, relationships, taxes, fucking gay rights. Anything. Anything in the universe was on the table all at once. That's a dark gray. Thoughts on it.

Let's rip. We never stopped talking for three and a half hours. It was so chaotic and it was euphoric. And I've never had that explicit conversation with somebody where we go, Let's put the pedal to the metal on this ADHD thing. Have you repeated that? Was that as impact? Do you remember that?

I do remember. I didn't, I haven't repeated it because I felt like that's just part of our walks now. Yeah. But like, it's funny doing this because I am constantly getting myself to just, literally while you're talking mid-sentence at times I'm like, I just want to scream interrupt you.

Yes. We're allowed to act in such animal behavior. Yeah. That you'll be like, oh, you know, I was just thinking about something about Nashville. and I want to literally go like, Papa Risa, what kind of? Or you see a red shirt on somebody,

and you go like, or really what I want to get into is those croppedop shirts in this new era without the stomachs for him. Yeah, yeah. It's like, what world are they? The guy open his door.

Like, forget what I don't know, you're about to tell me about being molested. Oh, man, this guy's open his door. Who cares? And then, but you're allowed to go from that to cricket being the newest. Like, you just go like, but it's, I've had many times in this conversation.

where I've been looking out the window and had to go, don't talk. That's why I love this. It's like, there's so much going on. We're delivering food. There's cameras to operate. I'm driving. I'm also trying to like have some work to this. I have been leaning into the letting the 18th century

these days. So it's funny because I'm always on the inside of the ADHD explosion, but my daughter is pretty ADHD and she has a best friend who's the most ADHD. And I watch them out the window hanging out in the backyard. And I'm like, How are they hearing each other? They're both talking as fast and as loud as they get at the same time. But they are getting it.

Yeah, it's mania. It looks crazy if you're out on the inside of it. Dakota, do you have any, have you self-diagnose any conditions based on your Instagram algorithm? Listen, I see all of them. They're all there for the taking. I think that I actually don't think that I have any of them. I think that I, but I've observed that now I'm like watching TV and doing something on my phone at the same time, and I'm like, okay, that is a little something that is one of the, you know.

It was an accidental blessing watching the movie last night, which is I couldn't get, of course, all these screen links. They're impossible to get to working, right? So it wouldn't work on my app, and so ultimately I got to put it on my phone, and then I got to throw it. I think I just passed her thing. I got to throw it to the TV. You can't be on your phone. It was now this big on my huge theater screen.

We were loving so hard. But what that did is like normally I would have my notes. open to write down shit I want to remember to say about the movie when I talked to you. But I couldn't have that open because it was screen mirroring. One thing I like about you, Dakota, going to the other thing, is I don't think Dakota's buying into this era as much as I would expect a woman in her early 30s to be buying into stuff, such as like the million diagnosis. And Dakota's got some old school to her.

Yeah. We're like, you know. Well, her best friend's Kurt Russell. She's going to have some libertarian views. It's a really refreshing hang, especially. It's like a 40-year-old dude where I'd go like, you know, I'm not in A or anything like that, but I'd go like, I'm not drinking a night. And she was like, oh, why?

And she's like, are you in recovery? I'd go, no, then you go, then why not? She's like, what is on all these men going? I'm not having a drink tonight. She's like, we're in a ball. I was going on dates and it became like a joke that every time I would go on a date with a guy and they would go like, oh, I quit drinking. I was like, oh, okay.

Like, are you, you know. Problematic. I do think about these diagnoses, though, in terms of the ADHD and all this madness. Yeah. That if I did all the tests as a kid, I think I would have been diagnosed with everything. They might have put me in a cage. If I not tested the way kids are being tested right now. Well, you'd be heavily medicated, probably.

I think the hesitation to, like, A, yes, people are diagnosing themselves. The shit they don't have. They've not been diagnosed by a doctor. Great. True. And I think the main concern is like, everyone's just going to be using all this as a huge excuse all the time. That's the fear. And I get it.

That's Monica's fear. Like, we argue about this all the time. Yeah. And I'm like, it's not about an excuse. It's about like, oh, I have this thing. So what things are, am I going to be more prone to experience? Like the rejection sensitivity. Okay.

So if I'm feeling that rejection, I go, well, that's that fucking stupid thing that's just a part of age. She's like, it just helps you right size these moments. And then also you go, oh, it turns. Turns out people, they do better if they use this thing or if you have the time thing. Like, there's ways, there's tools out there. It's like, I don't want to know about it so I can tell people like, sorry I'm three hours late, I be ADHD. Sorry to get your fucking your hamburgers or your fish.

I just want to know for me, like, are there hacks? And then as someone who has a kid that seems to trend that way, is there any hacks that can help her with? But here's the other side that I'm sure Monica, you guys have fought about a bunch and argued about. Dakota knows both opinions on it. I was doing my podcast, and we had a caller call in who was chronically late. And Gareth and I, you know, just decided to roaster.

Sure, okay, sure. You have that freedom on your show, and I'm a little envious. Yes, but that's what it is. You call in, and we try to give you advice, we do the best we can, but nothing is planned. So when I heard somebody's late, late has drives me nuts. A couple minutes here and there, fine. But 40 minutes late. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Like, whoa. And the backlash of, I think the term they were using was like. Time blindness. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where I'm like. It's a little extreme. But I'm like, they were like, you got to think, man, she's timeblind. And I'm like, like, time blind.

Like, so if you're really bad at time, like, then, so I get it, you're really bad at it. Yeah. Then you've got to figure it out. Then you've got to do more alarms. You got like, agreed. My dad was colorblind, right? So that doesn't mean you get to go like, well, I'm going to just fuck up color. Or blow through red lights.

You're like, I get a color, but you're like, I get it. But then you need to figure out how we see colors so we can all communicate and live together. I agree. I agree. But it's like, okay, so what's the best technique for people? The way I heard, like Trevor Noah, right? He's an incredibly intelligent person. And he identifies as having ADHD, and he has that time blindness.

He does. And the way he described it, which I buy, he's like, when you tell me something's at 4 o'clock, it's not now. And everything for me is either now or not now. And I'm like, that's wild. And I kind of understand that. And guess what? I kind of observe it in my wife. Oh, that's interesting.

Which is like, there's now and not now. Those are the categories she can juggle. And that's interesting. And yeah, there's ways around that are ways to combat it. But I think that is a hard thing you deal with, but you're still not allowed to be late. No, agreed. It's like none of it should be in. Yeah, it's interesting.

Then you've got to set. And a learn now, and then one a minute from now, which is not now, then five minutes from now. Yeah. And then they'd be great if that's how their clocks were. It just said like now. And now. I've heard about two people now that don't have thoughts in their head or pictures in their head. They can't imagine anything.

No, no. Like it's a thing. They can't visualize anything. Wow. There's no loop in their mind. Whoa. Which is like so unimaginable. That's my whole life.

So they can't, if you say like, we're thinking about doing it. They're like, I know what an apple is, but I cannot get an apple into my brain. So what an apple looks like in my brain. I know it's round. I know it's like, but I can't like, I don't see. When I say apple, I don't see an apple in my brain. It's not crazy. All of the face blindness thing.

And that's, I feel like I weirdly have one touch of face blindness. One touch of face blindness. Yeah. One touch of face blindness. I don't have it at all, but I was having dinner with a guy who had his first time I ever heard about it. I said like, so when I say Mickey Mouse, can you picture Mickey Mouse in your head? And he's like, no, but I know his ears or glasses. That's what I'm talking about, though.

That's what I'm talking about. That's what these people are. Right? Yes. And this guy was a producer. I'm like, you're dealing with people that you should definitely recognize, right? And he's like, I got to do, like, I can do hair. Like, I can kind of memorize his hair.

But there's a 60 minutes on face whining this that I happen to watch. And I will say they did this cool thing, which is they put 10 faces on the screen and they were upside down. They were pointing out how actually how tenuous our grasp on facial recognition is. And when they put them upside down, I could get like three of the 10. And guys, it was Oprah Tom Cruise. It was like the 10 most famous people in the world. And then I a little bit went like, oh, it's not as you think of it as so easy. but yeah, if you flip them upside down, you can you get it.

I have pretty bad eyesight. Like, I have a pretty strong prescription, but I didn't wear contacts for a long time, and I would just kind of take my glasses on and off. So I think for many years, I would go around, like, kind of not really being able to see, like Monica does. Yes, right. Yes, yes. She misses everything.

Yeah, and so I would question, like, is it, is that person? Like, you know, it was sort of because I couldn't totally see, and then I think I've even carried it with me a bit as I've now wear, contacts and can see normally. Were you not wearing glasses because you didn't like how you looked in them or you didn't want to deal with losing them or carrying them? No, I didn't mind how I looked or anything like that. But I got used to everything being a little bit blurred that when I would put them on outside

like on a daylight today, I was like, this is too much. Okay, right. This is way too much. I was like, it's way too bright. It's too clear. I was like, oh my God. So that took some getting used to. Real turning point for me was.

I had met Shaquille O'Neal a few times. Uh-huh. Great start of a story. And I was at an event. And it was like not a huge room. And he wasn't that far for me. And I was with my agent Hanley. And I said, I was like, Hanley, is that shock?

And he was like, if you're asking, he was like. You're crazy. Yeah. He was like, yes it is. And what's going on? And I was like, I can't tell totally. Like, that's how bad it had gotten. I could see.

the date, but I was like confirming that it was shocked. You could only see the seven three of it all. Yes. I was just like, wait, that's shock, right? He was like, are you okay? You need to get your head. And so I was like, it's time to be wearing some sort of glasses or contacts full time.

I can safely say you're the only human being in the last 20 years. That's exactly right. I know. I remember one time we were on the grid at the Austin Grand Prix, the Formula One race. and we are at one end. I mean, we are literally 1,300 feet away. And I can see everyone in the audience who's now staring at Gridrow, because you've got the drivers there,

you've got celebrities down there. And then everyone's attention is just way down there. And then I look 1,300 feet away, and I say to Kristen, oh, yeah, Shaquille O'Neal's here. And I'm like, this motherfucker can't hide from a borderline aware. I know. And a sea of people. I knew it was him.

I was just making sure. But that's got to be the hardest part about being a bit. big NBA player. Yeah. Like, there's no escape ever. No. No hiding. Vince Vaughn, too.

No hiding. He'll never have a perfect baseball hat on. Yeah, that was crazy. And how tall, we were together recently. In Miami, with Vince Vaughn, to be clear. With Vince Vaughn. And he is, what, six behind? Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, it's so distinct. Yeah. But it's as if he's seven, two. Yeah. Right. Yeah, we're walking, because Dax is like 6.3. Right. I'm, I don't know.

Six-four. Yeah, I say, yeah. Yeah, I say I'm six to four, but I'm like five ten. Yeah, Vince's, his head was a head above everyone. Everyone sees him. Well, we went out to dinner with him because the guy was shooting Bad Monkey. And we were there first at the restaurant. And then when we were leaving, he's like, oh, are you guys going to walk?

And we're like, yeah, we walked here and we're going to walk back. It was like a mile and a half walk or something. He goes, oh, I love, I love walking. Can I walk with you guys? And at the time, that didn't make sense, that whole exchange. Like, I love walking. Can I walk with you guys? And then, yeah, we walked a mile.

on half with him. And when I say 100% of people on Planned Earth, no who fans are on it, 100% of people were walking by. And when he peeled off, I let out this gasp of air, and I said, Aaron, I'm so lucky.

I'm so lucky. I never got that famous. I am just the right amount of things. Get a restaurant. I got the table that you needed to get. And then only one and 20 people on the walk home to do I was. And I was just like,

dude, that's, um, I don't know what. he goes through. That's so claustrophobic. And, yeah, the man can't walk. If he was by himself, he'd just get murdered by all the attention. He had a lot of gratitude. He was on a run for a period.

When I was first coming up. Was he one of your guys or no? Oh, to such a degree. Yeah, same. Oh, in Chicago. Yeah, but Vince Vaughn's swingers. Then the way he was doing comedies, like old school, the way he was riffing, the tone he had where he was such a dick. and so funny. And hot.

That was a weird, like, we were in a paradigm where all comedians that were white in movies had to be schlubby and goofy and no one liked them. That was the gimmick.

And you're like, oh, this dude Fox. And he's funny as hell and gorgeous. Like, those guys always end up like Chubby Chase then where they're like, you know,

too into being good looking. Yeah, but they're, it's like, it's fine, but for me it was like, it was never the speed that I also thought was really funny. Yeah. When Vince Vaughn got cooking,

I'd be like, You know, a guy like Will Ferrell, who's obviously so funny. Yes. I'm like, man, you could throw Vince Vaughn and Made, and he's awesome. And Swingers is awesome. Next to Will Ferrell where they're doing an ice skating movie, and he's awesome. Uh-huh. Yeah.

It was like everything I liked. Like, who are actors that you saw that you're like, that's somebody who's doing it in a way I like. There was always, like, a reference point to Jody Foster, just because she also started so young and then continued. And definitely somebody that I look to of, you know, having a similar path as me. Who did you like want to be? Like, who did, like, I wanted to be Cameron Diaz. Yeah. Oh, great, great, great, great.

Yeah. Yeah. I love, great, great, great. Yeah. I love. That's how I felt about Vince fun. Yeah. Just thought she was so funny.

My best friend's wedding. Oh, my God. And by the way, same thing as Vince. She's like hysterical and fucking gorgeous. It's so pretty, so good. Like, my best friend's wedding is still. like one of my favorite movies in the whole world. And she'll look goofy.

She does not mind looking goofy. Yeah. When I was, I wanted to, I wanted to be here to do you. I never would have guessed that. And you know, she bought weed off a Snoop Dog and High School.

Yeah. Yeah. I remember the first time I met her. Where was it? It was, um, at the SAG Awards, where I was nominated for IMC,

we were both nominated in the same category for IMC and I was like seven. That's cool. And I remember meeting her. Um, it'd be so weird to be nominated against your hero. I know. I was like,

Oh, my God, I love you. I was working with Sean Penn. I mean, that was my first movie, you know. And a big park opposite, a wild guy. Yes. He stayed in character a lot of the time and would not stick to the script and would really, like, improvise a lot. And it was definitely my first lesson of like, oh, being an actor is not just learning your lines.

You have to listen. You know what I mean? Like, it was like, right away, I was like, oh. I have to be here to respond. I have to respond. What an amazing. thing to learn as a kid, you're working against one of the better actors who's a little method and improvising. One of the hard things I have about working with certain kids is I was like,

I never want to do something that's a negative experience for them. Right. But I don't feel that way with adults. Right. Where if I'm doing a scene and I'm going to improvise and they get lost, I'm like, then you're in the wrong job, Homeboy. But if it's like a 10-year-old kid, my real thought is like, you're in the wrong job but like to be at that age and be aware enough to go that's what this game is

and in order to play it if he's asking me a question I can't look off camera and go what's this fucking guy there's things you don't think of when you're working with kids like for Zethorro we did the table read and the little boy Jonah Bobo

who's so fucking cute at the table read he never looked at his script once right And I remember saying to his mom, wow, he's already off book. And she goes, he can't read. This boy has to memorize the entire role. That's incredible. Yeah, it never crossed my mind.

Like, he had to memorize the whole movie for the table read. I'm going to start looking around at certain actors who are memorized and be like, I bet you can't read. You're not looking at the script enough. You can't read. I had to do it to you read for I Am Sam before I got the part. I had to sit there with everyone. Michelle was talking to me about it the other day. Michelle Pfeiffer, because she was there.

And she was like, you just sat there by yourself on your own, in the chair, with your scripts. Crazy. She was like, you were so little. It was crazy. Crazy. Yep. Do you feel like you've got a shorthand when you're in scenes with little kids? It's interesting because I definitely do.

I think for me, I feel like I can recognize pretty quickly. whether this is for them or not. Yeah, yeah. Because I know what it feels like for it to be really for you. I mean, you know, listen, whether people believe me or not, I love the life that I've had and I wouldn't trade a second of it. Like getting to do what I know was what I was meant to do for so long has just given me like so many memories and esteem and like so much. There's obviously been, you know, difficult things, of course, but I wouldn't trade it.

So I think I can definitely tell when it's for someone or not. Yeah. Totally. By the way, at any age. Yeah. Totally. Because it also feels with an adult where you know, like, this used to be for you, it's not for you anymore. It's like, you don't love it anymore.

You thought this was going to be something different than it is. Oh. That's exactly right. And I don't think you actually like what it is because it's not all those things that you thought it was. You love the fantasy of that. Yeah, yeah. But you don't love the job. Yeah.

And so for me, with, like, with younger actors that I'm working with, if I can sense that somebody's like, would rather be doing something else, I'm like, you then you should go do something else, you know? And then, yeah, then you work with kids or you're like, oh, you really. You're good at this. Yeah, totally, and that's great. I've probably already told you this story, Jake, but, and he would not mind me saying this, but I was directing Tom Arnold and hit and run.

And, like, I'm listening to him on his mic between takes, you know? He's like, I got a fucking one of the fucking awareness. He's got to, like, throw a ball through the back of a band window or whatever the thing's going on. And we're so close. I walk up to him where in between takes and he go, how long have you hated action? And he goes, a long time, buddy, a long time. It's so funny. A long time.

Well, that's right. Again, this is not like some phony. way of bringing it back to the movie, but that's what this movie did do for me where it was like the bare bones experience of making a movie just with people who are there because they want to be there.

Last correct question for you, Dakota. Because I doubt any of us in this car will have the experience. Once Upon a Time is Aaron and I. Aaron and I have watched Once Upon a Time probably seven times together. It's so fucking good. What was your own character?

She was at the ranch. Squeaky. Yeah. Yes. Squeaky from. Well, yeah, what's the Tarantino experience? Oh, my God. I mean, it was like a real dream for me to work with him.

Yeah. Had to audition. And I had written him a note. And then he asked me to audition. I mean, I was more nervous than I had ever been doing anything. Like, literally shaking like a leaf. I mean, I was so nervous. But really prepared.

I mean, like, hardcore prepared more than I, like, ever have for anything for this. And I think there's a good chance. And I walk in. Oh, good, oh good. I walked into the audition and he reads the scene with you. Oh, yeah, yeah. And that honestly actually put me so at ease because then it was like we were making the thing. The thing.

It wasn't like I was being sad. People were sitting and judging me. Whatever. Anyway, so we had this, like, great experience in the audition. And then I got the part and I think it was the happiest I'd ever been to get anything in my life. Oh, that's lovely. And it was the greatest version of making a movie. He is somebody that, like, loves making movies.

He loves the tradition of it, the celebration of it, the camaraderie of it. Like, he's just so... He was like, yeah, I'd like to do another take because I just like making movies with you. You know, like little things like that. He just loves it. And so getting to be a part of that was, yeah, really special. Yeah, not only when I work for free, obviously, for him, I would pay a very handsome fee. I would pay.

Yeah, yeah. Me too. Anything he does. Me too. I would have done anything. Guys, thank you. Thank you. We are supported by Allstate.

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