Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Danny McBride

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

Actor, producer, and screenwriter Danny McBride feels very righteous about being Conan O’Brien’s friend. Danny sits down with Conan to discuss his first on-air appearance as black belt Fred Simmons, researching megachurches while creating The Righteous Gemstones, and writing larger-than-life characters that believe unquestioningly in themselves. Later, Conan reveals his latest act of unparalleled generosity. For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com.Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: [phone]. Get access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using this show link: https://siriusxm.com/conan.

Hi, my name is Dana McBride and I feel very righteous about being Kobe and O'Brien's friend. Nice, nice. And a little plug for the series, Righteous Gemstones. I like it. That's very well done. Thought out. Fall is here, hear the yell, back to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, joined here customarily by Sodom and Sessium, Matt Gorley, good to see you both.

Hi. Good to see you. Very excited about our guest today. Normally we don't talk about the guest in this part of the segment, but we just taped with the guest, Danny McBride. And Danny McBride, I'm walking him out, we had a great time, it's a really fun interview, I love this interview, and we've been wanting

to get him for a long time. And we're walking out on the way out, and he went, hey man, I got a gift for you that I brought for you, and I didn't know what it was gonna be, and he's fishing around in his pocket, and he takes out what looks at first like a very expensive pen, and then he said, it's a dick light!

And it's a light that shines a penis onto things. What? It shines a penis, I believe, onto. Oh, I see it. Yeah, yeah. It's a little guy. Yeah, I've had girls say that to me. What?

Oh, I see it. Do you wanna try shining it out of the wall? So we can- Well, I don't think it's- Does it not turn off? Yeah, there it is. Oh, a dick. Where can... Well, I don't think it's... Does it not turn off? Yeah, there it is. Yeah, it can. Oh, a dick.

Where? Right there. I see it. It's right there. I don't see it. I don't see the dick. Oh, there it is. Yes!

Yay! There's never been more call for it. That's what she said, but I'll leave it at that. There you go. Yeah. So anyway, this is what Danny McBride gave me. At first, I thought he was giving me a Mont Blanc pen. You know, and I thought, oh, I can't accept this,

but this is what he brought me. And I can now shine a cartoon penis on anything at any time. What are you gonna do with that? What are your plans? Well, I'm going to the opera tonight, downtown, and I'm gonna make sure that there's a penis head on.

That's a cute little dick. I thought it was a vape pen. Yeah, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't expect this. I thought it was a dick pen. Yeah. Oh, that's cute. Yeah, not since Johnson biographer,

Robert Caro, have I been given a dick pen, I guess. This is nice. You can use it for drunken frat parties when you don't wanna leave like permanent Sharpie on somebody's face. Yeah, it's nice. It'sunken frat parties when you don't wanna leave like permanent Sharpie on somebody's face. Yeah, it's nice, it's considerate. You don't wanna draw, and also the time it goes into, here, you play with it.

Yeah, you too at drunken frat parties. Let me just ask, oh, seriously. Oh, isn't that nice? A guest, Danny McBride brought a gift, and it is the kind of gift that a lot of his characters would probably have in their pocket. Sorry, this just recalled, and you can cut this part, but I just remember not too long ago, Jamie Foxx got into a fight because I guess he was

at a dinner somewhere publicly and somebody from upstairs was shining one of these pins. You can, why would you edit that out? I don't know if we want to put that business out there, but... What are you talking about? That's a fine... Someone was shining and like, well, because it is like a laser pointer. The headline is, and this is from TMZ,

it's a Jamie Foxx laser penis pointer sparked dinner altercation, beef with Jackass crew. Oh. Oh, so Jamie Foxx is somewhere and the Jackass crew is above him in a separate area of the bar restaurant. It's still at it. And they're shining a penis light

so that a penis shows up on Jamie Foxx. He becomes enraged. Mr. Chow's in Beverly Hills. Oh, that's a, wow. You know, that's a fancy restaurant. And if I go to Mr. Chow's in Beverly Hills, which I don't, I'm not allowed in because of my own dick light incident several years ago.

No, but if I went there and someone was doing that to me, I mean, that's the last place I would think that would happen. But anyway- It's a laser pointer though. It's not really a flashlight. It's a- No, no, it's a laser pointer.

But when deployed, it makes this, I guess, very cartoonish looking male genitalia. And then you can shine it on people. All that to say, be careful or else you're gonna get your ass beat. What's that? What do you say? All that to say, be careful or else you're gonna get your ass beat. What's that? What'd he say? All that to say, just be careful where you point that.

Because what happens? Is that considered an insult? To some people it's like- It depends. It depends. It could also be an invitation. You know, like, hey, see you from across the room, click clack, you know, like-

Or it's like you're going to be shot with a dick sniper gun, you know what I mean? Right, there's a sniper who's gonna fire a dildo at you. Like a skyscraper across the way. Yeah, exactly. It's the aiming mechanism for a dildo. A dildo gun. A dildo gun.

Okay, sure. Anyway, it's a gift. Guests don't often bring a gift, and I appreciate this. Yeah, we can count on one hand. Jimmy Kimmel brought barbecue. Randall Park brought cheap liquor store whiskey. No!

Wait a minute, no. What the fuck was that? And he brought pirouettes. Both of you cool it. And he brought the chocolate. No, that was part of its charm. He went to the liquor store and got snacks and cheap booze. I wasn't judging him.

Maybe present it a little better the next time. He also brought a drawing he did of me in a nice little frame. Yeah. Which is one of the worst drawings that we have ever seen. It was terrible. Beastie Boys brought fruit tarts.

I didn't know that. Yeah. Billie Eilish and Phineas sent a bunch of milks afterwards. That's right. Different kinds of milks. Every kind of milk. Every kind of milk. Kelly Cuoco sent us little equestrian mugs

with candies in them. And she sent it to the two of us, like, why didn't I get a dick laser pointer? Well, I think it's probably, you know, not PC for you to get a dick. You get a vagina one. Yeah. Oh, ugh.

Yeah. Those are, and those are harder to find. Cause they're hotter tickets. Nobody wants that. Nobody wants that. So, yeah. No, it happens every now and then. Oh no, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, he brought,

remember he gave me 65 acres of land in Austria. What? Yeah. What? Yeah. This is for you. It's land in Austria, I hope you enjoy it. Remember that? And I've seen it, it's beautiful. 65 acres up in the Alps, it's incredible.

Yeah, it's amazing. Lucky. Yeah, well, I mean, but you know what? I say that, Danny McBride, Dick Lighter, 50-50. Yeah. Oh, Chris Martin gave you a little guitar. Oh, Chris Martin, yes he did. And honey, and honey as well.

Yes. For Liza, that Dakota, that was for Liza. That's right. Honey. That's right, that's right. Yeah, Chris Martin, yes he did. And honey, and honey as well. Yes. For Liza, that Dakota, that was for Liza. That's right. Honey. That's right, that's right. He gave me like it's almost mandolin sized tiny little guitar.

And he wrote on it and I play that at home. It's really nice, it's got a nice bright tone. That's right. And, no, that's the one where I went to Chris Martin. Lovely fellow by the way. I went to Chris Martin. Lovely fellow, by the way. I bet. He is! Real nice.

Wouldn't know, wouldn't know. No idea, we didn't get anything. Yeah, that's kind of the way it should be. He also bought us lunch. Oh, fuck you. Yeah. Sorry. Was it just a big pot of honey?

No, there were delicious sandwiches and cookies. We all ate there in the sunshine. He gave us pins, he all gave us little love pins. Oh, that's true. How's the cult going? He gave us a lot of cool stuff. Yeah, and then he gave us robes to wear. Yeah, he gave us those amazing things.

And then he told us that, yeah, we had to live in a certain compound. Yeah, that was amazing. I would love a Chris Martin compound. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, deviled eggs. No. I just made that up. Now I'm making them up. That's a funny make-up. I like those that make some up.

Michelle Obama gave me a scrimshaw. She gave me a scrimshaw that she had made of a three-masted schooner on a whale's tooth, which is pretty cool. Okay. So that was fun. It was a really nice one to have. We've stopped talking in hopes that you'll move it along. Yeah.

I'm just going to pretend I'm looking for something. Just, yeah, I might need a tissue. Yeah. Al Pacino gave me a grill for my teeth. It says thug life on it. Remember that? And then he took me to the dentist and the dentist put it on.

He went with you to the dentist, that's so nice. He was like, yeah, dentist, yeah. Ooh, we gotta go to the dentist. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What is this impression? That was him, he was melting. I didn't realize he was made of ice cream.

My guest today, we should get into it, right? My guest today, as you know, is a hilarious writer, producer, and actor. Also a very generous man. And he's the force behind such shows as Eastbound and Down, Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones, which is currently airing its fourth season on Max.

And this is a man we've wanted to talk to for a while. I've met him before, of course, because I travel in those waters, celebrity waters. But you guys, everyone here has been so jazzed. Danny McBride, welcome. You know, I have to start, this is the most obvious place to start, but I have to start with How I Met You, which is one of my favorite things ever. Back in 2006, you're a complete unknown,

and you make this movie called The Foot Fist Way. And I think I get a call from Will Ferrell, who's just saying, like, this guy's really hilarious. You have to have him on the show, because Adam McKay and Ferrell had seen the film, and they were giving it a big boost. And you got to have Danny on the show. So we booked you on the show and your concept

was to come out as Fred, what's his last name? Fred Simmons. Yeah, Fred Simmons, that's right. And we used to love to do shit like this on late night. We didn't tell the audience anything. And they don't know, you couldn't do this now because you're Danny McBride, but they didn't know who you were.

The movie was just about to come out. You're a complete unknown. So you come, I just announced know who you were. The movie was just about to come out. You're a complete unknown. So you come, I just announced you and you were, we talked about it and you said, I want this announced as like, this is the real deal. We have a guy here and he's gonna give a karate. A karate demonstration. Demonstration.

And he works with these kids and you brought these kids out. And I'm sure you can see this on YouTube or wherever. And you come out and what you have to remember when you watch this clip is everyone in the audience thinks I'm totally dead serious about it. I never give up that this is, and you come out and you start trying to get the kids to break boards

and do stuff and when it's not going your way, you start yelling at them and getting really mad at them. And the kids look a little upset. And I'm looking at the crowd and the crowd is horrified. And it's great. It's one of my favorite things. One of my favorite memories of a almost 30 year late night career is you out there going,

come on, get over here, where are you going? And you're just shouting at them. It's not going well. And I think it ends with some of the kids getting upset and running away. And then you get mad and you run away. And I'll never forget, I'm standing there in studio 6A, which is where Letterman had his late night show

and I had my late night show. And you had just run away and everyone's run away. I say, I played the part of looking kind of like a confused upset host. And I just went, okay, I guess we'll figure this out and we'll be right back. Go to commercial and Max and the band start to play. And these two guys who are about 19 or 20 years old

are sitting right near the front row, and they go like, Conan, what the fuck? And I went, guys, I don't know. I didn't know. I didn't even tell them, because I thought that's breaking the rule. I didn't say to them, yeah. Breaking the illusion.

So we did that. And then you do Foot, Fist, Way, and then you go on to all this crazy success and well-deserved by the way, but Eastbound Down, Vice Principals, Righteous Gemstones, movies. Everybody knows and loves Danny McBride. And I'm thinking there's something I really love

about that moment in time when no one knew you and you're being a total asshole. I often wish I could go back and do it again. That was the first time I had ever even done press. Like I had never even had an interview before. I'd obviously never been on a late night show. And I remember I couldn't eat for like two days before we did. I was so nervous about what we were doing I've obviously never been on a late night show. And I remember I couldn't eat for like two days

before we did it. I was so nervous about what we were doing. And it was so much fun. And you're right, you played along. And it felt like we were really offending people and upsetting people. I think after I was on, we looked online, and there were people were mad about it.

They were like, they should take his school away. He shouldn't be allowed to be around children. He shouldn't be allowed to be around kids. He shouldn't be allowed to be around kids. And the kids were good. The kids didn't let on at all. Not at all. And it was perfect because it was kind of this mini scandal. Like this guy lost it on Kids on Conan's show.

It just made me so happy. And I remembered thinking like a lot of people. And then I saw Footfist Way and The Footfist Way and it's a really funny movie. You mine a similar area in all your different characters where you're not particularly good at something or legit, but you have this fervent belief in yourself. So you're not good, you're trying to build up this school,

you're trying to teach martial arts. But there's one part in the movie that set everything apart for me, which is you're trying to show in the movie who this character is. At one point, I don't know if it's your, I think it's your wife comes home or your girlfriend, she comes home and you wanna play a prank on her,

and I'll never forget this. And I have not gone back and looked at this since, so I'm probably misrepresenting a little bit. But your idea of a prank is you jump out with a knife and you go, ah! Like that, and she goes, ah! And then you just go, ah, just a prank, fuck you. And I'm like, who says?

And I remember watching it, and this is back in 2006, so I'm sure I had like a DVD that they gave me or something, you know, there was no, today they send me a link to watch the film, you know, but- Not as special. Yeah, but whatever, I got a brick of some kind and fed it into a machine that doesn't exist anymore. And when you jumped out and did this,

it's not a prank, first of all, but then when your response, when the prank is, you do it and then you go, ah, fuck you. And I was just, it blew my mind. And I was like, I've got to know this Danny McBride. Who is this Danny McBride? I think it's funny to play characters who have terrible senses of humor.

Yeah, yeah. No, that's why I was so jazzed about you coming on the podcast is I thought, I've encountered you many times in life, but we've never really had a chance to have a conversation. And I'm such a big fan of yours. And I just wanna know, how does a Danny McBride happen? First of all, I know that you grew up

in Georgia and rural Virginia, and you've described yourself as kind of a latchkey kid. Yes, yes. So what are you doing? You got a lot of alone time? You know, I was born in Georgia, and then I actually like lived in Lompoc, California for a little bit, really young. My dad was a guard at the prison there,

and so I lived on the prison reservation for all the other families of people who were working in the prison lived. We were there, I think, for maybe about four years and it was kind of, it was crazy. It definitely was a nutty place to live in the backyard of a federal prison. Are you scared ever or no? You just thought- You know, the only time I ever really thought about it was there was one night I can remember that there was the sirens went off at the prison and my dad came in and made my sister and I like go into their room and we had to shut the

door and I'm like looking out the window and he's getting his shotgun and like jumping into the back of a pickup truck with all my friends dads. Like there was, had been a jailbreak and they were like going out to go, go on them down I guess. But he had got transferred to the federal Bureau of Prisoners in DC after that. So then we moved to Virginia and then kind of grew up there for the rest of it. Yeah. And you say you spent a lot of time in the South and you've sort of said that you didn't feel like you quite fit in with what some people would call redneck culture or whatever. Yeah, I think, you know, my mom was from Pennsylvania.

And so even like when we moved to a place like Northern Virginia, it's like that's everyone, you know, it's not necessarily just like only southern culture there. That was everybody moving there who worked in D.C. And it's a mix. It's a mix. Yeah. And so when you would meet, when I would meet kids

with like really thick southern accents, I was always like just amazed and tickled and liked it and would try to imitate them and try to act like I belong. But yeah, I just grew up, you know, living there, parents both working, that was like the beginning of cable TV and video stores. And so I just, I loved all that stuff.

I was just like, I wasn't into sports, wasn't into anything like that. I just really loved movies and TV and, you know, and just was obsessed with it. You would find friends that were into the same stuff, which is usually what happens. Yeah, and it was very few. I had only a handful of buddies who were into that stuff.

I would try to make movies in my backyard with kids. Then I went to the North Carolina School of the Arts for film school, and that's where I met honestly all the guys I still work with to this day. Jody Hill. Jody Hill, David Green, Richard Wright, our production designer, our music supervisor. There's like, you know, it's people who I met when I was 18 years old and we're guys who couldn't afford to go to NYU or USC.

We're going to like this little state like run school that is just beginning to have a film program. And I don't know, we always just felt like outsiders there, like we're learning to make movies in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It wasn't like we were so far outside the bubble. I don't know, I think it instilled in us this idea that we should all, like, stick together and help each other out because we were kind of living on an island so far away from all the resources that other people had. And then we just kind of kept that up through our careers.

This caught my eye. One interview you said, I realized I didn't look good in a pickup truck or like a big four-wheel drive truck. Like, that wasn't you. It was, it wasn't me. But then it was funny, like, you said, I realized I didn't look good in a pickup truck or like a big four wheel drive truck. Like that wasn't you. It wasn't me. But then it was funny, like, you know, you, just because we're, I'm from the South, then, you know, we lean in with something like Kenny Powers. I think that was the perception was that,

but it was sort of like, that was sort of my love letter to all the assholes that I had grown up with. You're so good at being an asshole. You're so good at being an asshole. And this is something I want to connect with you on because, and this is going to get tricky because my team is going to weigh in on my part of this, but I think I love being a bad guy.

I don't think I am. This is going to get tricky. I think in think I am. This is gonna get tricky. I think in my core, I- When do we get to chime in? I meant like a few episodes from now. Okay, okay. Like in six months, you get to chime in. But I love, I've really enjoyed it.

And I see a kindred spirit where, you are a very nice guy. You seem like a very genuine, nice person, but you relish being a dick. You just relish it. And it's fun, it's a release. It is, and you know, I feel like with some of these characters, I feel like, you know,

they're the butt of the joke. So, you know, as opposed to just delivering like one-liners and stuff, it's just sort of like embodying a complete joke, you know, like just making someone who is so silly and ridiculous in that. I don't know, I just find I have a good time doing that. You also have the best dismissive laugh, like,

ah, I mean, I'm not gonna do it, but you're just like, you laugh at people, make fun of them in your characters. And I'm trying to think of like, there's a moment in the movie about the end of the world. Oh, this is the end, yes. This is the end. And there's this great part

where everyone's playing themselves. And so you're Danny McBride, and they come and tell you that all these different people, you know, like all these different stars, real stars who are all playing themselves have died because it's the end of the world. And they come and tell you, they're telling you. And then they tell you that Michael Cera's dead,

and you're like, ba-ha-ha! And... Yeah. Like, nobody wants Michael Cera dead. Yeah, yeah! No way, and people love Michael Cera, and you're like, ah-ha-ha! Who fucking cares about Michael Cera?

And it was just making me, I remember that moment, like, you really popped in that movie, because whose response to Michael Cera is Dead is a good laugh. He's really happy about it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I gotta bring this up because you and Sona have a similar fascination, which is the Goonies. And this is one, I'm older than you guys, so it skipped my generation. When I saw the Goonies, I didn't get it. And then I know that like, Sona has built a small religion around the Goonies.

I love the Goonies. So does Matt. Yeah, I like it too. And you like the Goonies way. I love the Goonies. I took my, before we left California and moved to Charleston, South Carolina, I took the kids up to Astoria to go see the Goonies house, to go see

the Rock, to go see the jail house. It was awesome. I've been wanting to go. It was awesome. I have. Oh my God. Yeah, I loved that movie. I thought it was cool. I mean, I think it was just, you know, of the age,

seeing a bunch of kids that are your age on TV and they're cursing. Yeah. Instantly appeal to me. I think when that movie came out, I was 22. Yeah. And I thought these kids should be in school. Yeah.

Oh, boo. I was sitting in the theater like, why aren't they? Why are they running around? A ship wouldn't be underground? Oh my god. I shouldn't have been seeing that movie. I remember my grandfather's take on it was that it was pornographic, and it confused me about what pornographic meant.

I'm like, is it? Is this pornographic? Is this? But I guess it was the language that he didn't like. It was that the kids were banging each other. I was gonna say, I was gonna say, there must be a director's cut that I haven't seen. He had the laser disc. All the kids are just going at it. I was gonna say, there must be a director's cut that I haven't seen. He had the laser disc. All the kids are just going at it.

Oh God. Oh come on. Like you haven't thought about it. No, what happened? Oh man. Fuck you. Really? I'm channeling McBride now.

Yeah, it's funny though. I've seen the effect because I was in, I was shooting in another country and ran into Martha Plimpton. And the people on my crew who are, again, 10, 15 years younger than me, their hands were shaking. And I love Martha Plimpton. And I was like, hey, Martha, how are you?

And she'd been on the show a bunch and good to see you. But I thought, you know, it's not Prince, you know? I mean, do you know what I mean? Like, it's, no, but they were all Goonies. Goonies fans, I did this really small movie with Jodie called Legacy of a White-Tailed Deer Hunter that was like a Netflix movie and Josh Brolin's in it. I was like wanting to say something about Goonies

like the entire time and I just like felt like, oh, I gotta play it cool. And there's like one scene where I'm like almost dying in the scene and he's like, you know, trying to help me out. And he's like, you know, don't die. And then in the take I was like, Goonies never say die. And he just looked at me, he's like, that's the worst delivery you've given in the whole movie.

I was like, I know, I got scared. I could see him too, being not too happy. He's like, you know, I've gone on to all this other amazing work. It doesn't matter. Can't keep bringing me back there. You know, there's this thread that runs through, like whether it's Eastbound Down,

Vice Principals, Righteous Gemstones, they're kind of screwed up Don Quixote's. They're on this quest. And I think one of the things that makes Don Quixote and that kind of comedy or character so compelling to me is that the character fully believes it. The character is completely invested in what they're doing. And I thought it was really interesting

that you made the decision that in the righteous gemstones, the gemstones are not con men. They are making a ton of money off of this and it's a great business and they'll do what they have to do to grow this. But at their core, they believe. And I think that's essential. It has to be that way. It has to be.

I think it's, it's what allows you to still make them feel like no matter how far in outer space the comedy might go, that there's somewhere you can kind of get back down to planet earth by the end and kind of like have a chance to make it touching or to make somebody feel something real in it. We kind of learned that when we were writing Eastbound. I remember when we pitched it, we were so enamored

with just Kenny Powers being such a shithead and treating everyone so terribly, and that was making us laugh. Then there became this moment where we were like, what would make him more interesting is if he was actually good at this and it's not like he's just a joke. Like if he actually had talent and part of the tragedy is he squandered it.

Yeah. I remember that being like a breakthrough because that wasn't part of our initial pitch. It was like, yeah, he flamed out, but the idea that he was really talented and that he had something there that that's part of why he's over-stretching so much is that he's like squandered something that was in him that he kind of abused.

And I don't know, it just was an eye-opener that like, you know, you can make jokes with these characters, but if you can kind of like actually give them something real under there to struggle with, it just ends up giving you more room to play. Yeah, and it actually makes the jokes... Yeah, better.

...funnier. When I was at the Simpsons, I remembered all I was interested in was coming up with really funny ideas for stories and really funny lines for characters. That's all I cared about and good visuals. And I thought of myself as, I don't really care about story arc and stuff like that.

I just want to be the hot gun in the room. I want to be, you know, I want to be, I want to come up with the stuff that it's really going to be great and cutting edge, whatever. And I remember getting talked to about, it was explained to me by Mike Reese and Al Jean. They said, you know, that it's really important

to James L. Brooks and to Matt Groening and to Sam Simon. The thing that makes this work is that it's a family and they all love each other. And I remember at the time being, whatever I was, 24, thinking, what? That's so lame. You know? What, did they just watch The Goonies? Ugh. Yeah. I was 24 thinking, what? That's so lame. You know?

What, did they just watch The Goonies? Ugh. Yeah. I mean, but I remember it. It's pornographic. I remember it, yeah. It's possibly, it's completely pornographic, yeah. I just didn't, I didn't understand that at all,

but I went with it and then later on realized that you don't have a show if Homer doesn't care if Bart dies. If he's that level of, yes, Homer does lots of incredibly stupid things, but he does care about his family. If he's a sociopath, you don't have a show. And if none of them, if they're all sociopaths,

you don't have a show. And that's the kind of stuff that my old writing partner, Greg Daniels, who's done a million great shows, Office, Parks and Recreation, and just to name a few. But he was so good at, he's funny. He can come up with really funny stuff, but he also knows that you have to care about these people as people.

And I think that was one of the revelations of, that Steve Carell was so brilliant at. Totally. Which is, he's being such an asshole, he's so misreading the room, he's so not doing his job, but you know that he's a good person at heart. Totally. And that is such a hard thing to do, and I think that that's, that was one of those things that resonates with me when I watch your work is I care about you.

I care about the characters you're playing because you've invested them with that. Even if they're pretty awful. Pretty terrible. Yeah. I love that. And I love like working with actors that get that, you know, like Edie Patterson,

who plays my sister on the show. I met her on Vice Principals and instantly saw that with her, that not only can she just deliver insane punchlines that are completely lunacy, but she has the chops to make you care too, and to hurt your feelings or to make you want more for her. I think the moment we started messing around with that kind of stuff, it just like, that became what a little bit of the pool was

with all the comedy. It's like, how can we surprise people by being so foul and then weirdly underneath it all, there's like something that might resonate with people. It's a family and they are, they do care about each other. They live in this insane situation. Exactly, they're gangsters. Yeah.

They're gangsters. Yeah. They're gangsters who believe that what they're doing is righteous. Yeah. That was what was kind of crazy even starting the show, is that, you know, I moved down to Charleston, South Carolina with my family about almost like eight years ago, and I wasn't really sure what I was gonna write next. And once I was there, I saw a lot of the churches there, and I was like on every other radio station,

it's like a religious station. And, you know, I went to church when I was a kid, my family was pretty religious and it just got me thinking like, what is church like now? And so I started like kind of doing research on these mega churches and it just kind of instantly seemed like it was something that would be in one of our worlds. Like the idea of like these people kind of seeing themselves as a celebrity and being big shots and just the idea of saying one thing, meaning another. It just felt like it was right for what we wanted to do. But then I would look at stuff that tackles religion, and I always kind of never, I couldn't think of anything that I really liked that had done that. I was like, oh, you know, there's something about it that is usually too cynical or it's just bashing on people's faith. And I don't know, it just didn't seem like it was

like it was something that I wanted to do. And so, yeah, we started writing that show, it was sort of like one of our mantras was like, you know, yeah, these guys believe and the butt of the joke is never what their belief is, it's just them. They're the butt of the joke. Their hypocrisy is what's funny and not like what they believe in. And everybody on board the show got down with that. They were all, that was sort of like what everyone kind in. And everybody on board the show got down with that. They were all, that was sort of like what everyone kind of followed. And it'd be interesting because you oftentimes

would see stuff, people would come with things, whether it's production design or anything that might push things too much. Like, oh, I think the joke here is that it's Jesus. And maybe that's like not where we should get the joke from. It should get the thought process behind someone, you know, is more funny than just cheap shots, I guess. Yeah, you don't want to be punching down.

You don't be making fun of the faith. You want to be looking at these people, which it is a family. They live on this ridiculous compound. You know, I mean, I'm a big Walton Goggins fan and I'm curious how you two came together. I know you were on Vice Principals. Yeah, Walton, you know,

I had seen Walton in the shield and Walton came in and read for Eastbound. It was the, I think it was the third season. And we ended up casting Sudeikis in that role. He was like Kenny Power's best friend. But I mean, I always, I mean, it was just, you know, not because Walton didn't do a good job reading, but it was just like, I think we because Walton didn't do a good job reading, but it was just

like, I think we already had our mindset on Sudeikis and, but Walton just stuck in my brain at forever after that, when he came in, I was like, God damn, that guy was so funny when he, you know, and so unexpected. And I had bumped into him a few other times to the years. And then when I wrote vice principals, he just

came to my mind that he was, you know, that I would like to spend some time with him. And I felt like came to my mind that he was, you know, that I would like to spend some time with him and I felt like this was a side that he hadn't really shown people and in all of his work there's a comedic undertone to all of it, you know, he's just naturally funny. And so, yeah, it was just kind of awesome. I sent him that script, the pilot, and he called me back later on that afternoon and was just like doing the Lee Russell voice, which is the character you play in Bites Principles. It was like, this is gonna be fun. for White Lotus at the time. And so he was tired.

I came in and his people said, "'Welton just needs to sleep for 25 minutes and then he'll be okay to do the podcast.'" So he was in that room that I just saw you in and there's a couch there and he just lay down like a vampire and like put his hands over his chest and instantly went out and slept for exactly 25 minutes.

And then came and then they like reactivated the, you know, reactivate Goggins and he like sat up and he came in and he was great in the podcast and then probably said, now I need 17 minutes. There's something I've always thought about in comedy, which is one of my favorite characters. I always go back to him all the time, is Peter Sellers, Inspector Clouseau,

and the Pink Panther movies. And those movies were a huge deal to me, because my dad would take me to see those films. And I never saw my dad laugh that hard. And I would be laughing, but also notice clocking my dad laughing so hard. And I thought they were fantastic. So I introduced them to my son, and we watched these movies,

and it took me a long time to realize what makes it work is that Clouseau, he is deadly serious. Totally. Yeah, we never, weirdly, we never approach any of it like it is a comedy. Like, even when we talk to the, you know, the production designers and all this stuff, we approach it as if it's, like, so serious, and then that just makes it so much funnier. I remember even when we sold Eastbound, the production designers and all this stuff, we approach it as if it's so serious,

and then that just makes it so much funnier. I remember even when we sold Eastbound, they were trying to talk to us about shooting it all digitally and everything. For us, it was like, no, we fought really hard to shoot on Super 16, and then even the other seasons were on 35-millimeter film. It was like there was no real reason to do that.

But for us, it was all part of the aesthetic of like, we can't treat this like it's just something cheap, you know? It needs to be approached as if it has scope and grandeur and then all of these jokes and all this ridiculousness will play then, you know? Yeah, you're shooting it. You wanna, it's like, you have to go in with the intent that we're making, I'm David Lean

and I'm making Lawrence of Arabia. That's it. You know? Wait a minute, what's the topic again?'m making Lawrence of Arabia. That's it. You know, wait a minute, what's the topic again? Don't worry about that. That's it. And I think that that comes through. It's funny how you talk about the way people

want things shot. I've heard that some producers, some executives want things to be bright and colorful if it's a comedy. They actually want it to be brighter because they want to let and colorful if it's a comedy. They actually want it to be brighter because they want to let you know that it's a comedy. As opposed to trusting that you'll figure out that what's happening is very funny. And more so if some, I think if things are a little dark

or if there's a grayness to it. It's so true. I remember us hearing that, that like, you know, oh, you need to get a comedy DP. And we were just like, what the hell is that? And to me it was like, hearing that, that like, you know, oh, you need to get a comedy DP. And we were just like, what, what the hell is that? You know? And to me it was like, no, it seems that, you know, we don't want to like play into any of this stuff.

There's not like a way to shoot it. And you know, yeah, for us that always, it felt like if you're filming something, you should use all the tools that come with filming something. You should be able to know when to make it dark or when to make it light. You should know when to make it beautiful

or when to make it ominous and scary. And why would you strip all of those things away just to kind of light something bland so that the jokes play better? It felt like it was missing out on what the advantages are of doing something filmed. So I'm curious, you don't live here. You don't live here and we're in Los Angeles right now. In your office. No, I've never lived here. There was a year. You don't live here. You don't live here. And we're in Los Angeles right now. In your office. No, I've never lived here.

There was a year. There was a year where you were going through a little bit of a rough patch. Okay. 2022. I remember. You lived here. You found me in the bottom of the pool that you took out.

When we bought this podcast studio, there was a little pool out there and the first thing I said was that pool goes. And so does that guy. Yeah, you have to get Jack Hammer it. Yeah, exactly. And that guy, McBride, get him out of here. But yeah, it's interesting because I know

there are people I really admire. Zach Galifianakis is another one who, he doesn't live here in LA and he's very resolute about, no, I'm gonna live with my people, my life. It's not a rejection of LA. It's just, no, I'll do the work here, but I want to go, in your case, it's Charleston, South Carolina.

Yeah. Which is, by the way, I've been there several times and I'm a history buff. I was telling you before we started the podcast that I've been there and taken the tours and absolutely I think it'd be a dream to live there. It's insane. I'd never even been there until we shot Vice Principals

and really just fell in love with the place. And I had small kids at the time, they're still small. They'll never grow. I won't let them. But you know my wife. You know it helps They're still small. They'll never grow. I won't let them. But, you know, my wife. It helps if you feed them. We'll see. But my wife was from Los Angeles.

I loved living out here. I mean, I was here for almost 20 years and, you know, I loved it here. But I definitely kind of saw that my kids, if I kept them here, it wasn't like they would have a bad life, but it was like, there would just be elements of my life that I feel like they wouldn't be able to experience.

Like there was something free about being able to get on your bike and just like cruise through your neighborhood and stay gone until the sun went down. And I knew like when we're living up on Mulholland, I wasn't exactly trusting my six-year-old son to go on a bike and just come back when the sun comes down. Go down Mulholland at 60 miles an hour, unable to stop.

Nothing bad happened on Mulholland. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Oh, there's the old Manson house. Oh no. But I just wanted them to have a little taste of that. When we went to shoot Vice Principals there, I was seeing it in real time. They were getting it.

They were having more independence than I had ever had with them here. Like they were able to hang out with friends and it wasn't like we were overseeing it or coordinating a play date. It was just naturally happening. I just wanted that. I thought it would be cool for them. That motivated us moving there. Luckily, a lot of the guys I work with,

they all were at the same point in their lives. They had young kids and were a little helpless about how to raise kids here, that everyone had come from small towns. And so it was an adjustment and everyone just kind of decided to go down together. It was like, I think we went down there. Wait, so you live in like a community with your friends. Yeah, we all- Some people call that a cult. Yeah, yeah. We allow others in, you know, there is no, but as I, we moved there with like, honestly, like Jodie Hill, David Green,

he's got a place there like, yeah, the John Coturi, Jeff Frally, all these other writers from the show. We all moved there the same summer and set up shop. And yeah, it's been almost eight years now. That's amazing. Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. We didn't have to make new friends.

We were able just to keep the ones that we've always known. At a certain point, you can't make new friends. Yeah. It's too much effort. Which is great for this podcast and its title. Yeah. Yeah. Have I really made friends with any of them?

No, it's true. I reject, and the minute the podcast is over, I tell them, get out of here. Yeah. I'll say, I won't see you again. It's all a scam. You know, I have to ask you about working with John Goodman, because he's one of my favorite people. I mean, I'm just thinking of all of the iconic roles he's played.

So much great work with the Coen brothers, and he was the first guest on my late night show. September 13th, 1993. And I ran into him recently on an elevator. the Coen brothers and he was the first guest on my late night show. Oh wow. September 13th, 1993 and I ran into him recently on an elevator, I hadn't seen him in years. I was like, hello John, he was like, hello. And I said, remember you're my first guest and he said, yes, you, I believe,

the way he can talk, he's very serious. He said, George went canceled, so I was your second choice and that was not the case. He was misremembering. He remembered that. But he, but the problem is he misremembered it. Yeah, he misremembered it, which was no, he was our first choice and we wanted someone

who we knew would be really fun and friendly and go along with all the weird stuff we wanted to do. And that we put, Wendt in the audience to challenge him to leg wrestling. And that was just to show people how weird our show was gonna be. We wanted to do that right off the bat. So that was always the plan.

And now somehow he's got it switched in his mind that, and I remembered he, then he got off the elevator and I never got a chance to straighten him out. That like, no, no, no, you were the first choice. George Wendt was the plant in the audience, but it's lost to time now. He, you know, and maybe it's good for him, but I feel like he underestimates how much influence

and how great he is. You know, I would like be surprised when, you know, I would sense that he was nervous or worried that he wasn't doing good. You're like, are you kidding me? It's like, you're blowing everyone here out of the water. Yeah, yeah. He's incredible.

I mean, I've always loved him. And he was in TV when TV wasn't really that cool. And he's like on your TV and then he still can go do the Coen brothers. And everything is so funny and he's lasted for so long and he still can make you laugh and he's, everything is so funny and he's lasted for so long and he still can make you laugh and can still do stuff that's challenging. I mean, I never thought in a million years

we would get him on this show. It was like completely like a lark. Also, because he's such a good actor, he, his, he can, I mean, his menace. Oh yeah. You know, on the gemstones, his sense of purpose and drive, and he's built this thing

and you get the sense that he really has and then it comes from something real. Yeah, totally. And you need a real actor to do that. You do, and if we wouldn't have had someone like him, I don't think the show would have worked. I think you needed that legitimacy, even for us. Like...

I think I could have done it. There was thoughts that maybe you could. Yeah, you could have done it. No, I... I think I could have done it. There was thoughts that maybe you could, yeah, you could have done it. No, I'm... George Wynn. No, no. No, no. George Wynn, for sure.

No, in all fairness, I think, yeah, you've got a Goodman or a Conan, like often brought up at the same time, yeah. Often in the same sentence. Conan brothers just don't have my number. They don't know how to get a hold of me. Yeah, that's the problem. Do you think?

I'm very hard to get a hold of. Yeah, real hard. I have a flip phone. Not everyone has the number. That's what it is. You said that you like these guys, these characters. They see themselves as something they are not, which is, I think, also, it's part of the same line

of what we've been talking about, but people who don't see themselves as what they really are, but it's a... But their belief in themselves is genuine. Yeah. Their egos are just unchecked. Yeah, they... I just feel like that, you know, when you want to make the character the butt of the joke, that's, like, the most, uh, I don't know, that's, like, the richest ground like that, you know when you want to make the character the part of the joke That's like the most I don't know. That's like the richest ground of just you know, the tragedy of like

Seeing someone telegraphing how they want you to see them and then knowing that they're not that it just always makes me laugh So you're in South Carolina now Is it weird to come into LA and like okay now I'm driving around the 405 freeway and I'm going to do press and things Like that you're you're uh, I mean, it's funny. I mean, I lived here 20 years, drive everywhere, and then instantly I feel like I'm an old person who's never been around a moving car before. It's like, there's so many cars.

It's everything's so fast. Right. You do slow down. I mean, everything is so slow there that you, it does. It kind of, I'm like, wow, it's wild that I was used to this pace. It's nuts. One of the things I love about Charleston

is when you go downtown, they have the old gas lamps. It's like you've gone back in time. You know, they've done a really good job of preserving. And so I would think it's about as not LA as you can get, to me, is gas lanterns in the streets. Yeah. You know what I mean? Burning in the middle of the day, just burning propane.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. mean? Burning in the middle of the day, just burning propane. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Someone over there has a butter churn. So I'm curious, like, when something like Gemstones is done, you've wrapped it, and you're gonna unveil this new season, are you onto the next thing already?

Are you? You know, after I leave here, I go sound mix the very last episode. So after today, I will be officially unemployed. I'm done. I mean, I have ideas of what I wanna here, I go sound mix the very last episode. So after today, I will be officially unemployed. I'm done. I don't, I mean, I have ideas what I want to do, but I really just kind of want to just chill out for a little bit and catch a breath. I mean, I've been on gemstones full time now for like seven years. I mean, it doesn't seem like that because there was COVID and there was a strike, but it's, I'm so monogamous when I get on something like this. I like live and

breathe it. I mean, when we're not in between seasons, I'm literally just like reading the Bible, watching sermons, just trying to find material and find inspiration. And so I think after a while, you kind of do have to just shut it off because even in my head, if I were to think of ideas now, they all would feel similar to gemstones because my brain is so trained on finding humor and finding comedy that like fits that mold.

So I think in a way you kind of have to just like let it go and kind of stop thinking about it for a while and then kind of. Okay, so what do you do to relax? What are your fun things? What's your happy place? I need to get hobbies. I don't have hobbies, unfortunately. I've tried a few different ones in Charleston

and none of them have really stuck yet. What did you try? When I first got there I was like, maybe I'm going to be somebody who's like into grilling. I'll be into big green eggs and like learning how to like master the big green egg. And I had that for a while and then I was like, I'm going to have a heart attack with all these fucking steaks. I'm making that, no one's eating and like trying to dial the temperature in just right. And it's like, my wife's like, yeah, big deal.

You kept it at 250 degrees for 12 hours. Like, you've mastered it. But this pork, it falls right off. My heart feels tight. I got a little, I have a dock, and so I got a Boston Whale, like everybody in that area is out of the water. You got to have a boat, right?

Well, I thought I did and then I realized I'm not a boat person. I don't like owning it. I would be responsible for everybody's safety. I would get out there and I would just have the worst time because I'm just so worried that I'm going to kill someone. I was like, this feels like someone else should be driving this thing. I should be able just to drink and like let the wind blow my hair back. And so, and it's also boats are so much maintenance.

It's like you finish going out and everyone gets to go home and then you've got to sit around for like an hour and a half hosing the fucking thing down and like flushing the, the engine out of like, I don't need new chores. I don't, I don't like this. So I, I like let the boat rot for like an hour, like a year and a half at the end of my dock. I would just look at it and just, it'd make me feel terrible. So I'm like, I have no desire to use that thing

I've spent money on and I would watch it fill with rainwater and barnacles grow on it. And it was just a constant reminder of like, you know, you don't have hobbies. You don't even like going out on boats. So I sold that and got rid of that. And yeah, now that's what I'll do. I'll try to find what the next.

I love that you have a camouflage shirt and anyone who sees this on video, you're wearing a total camouflage hunting shirt, but I doubt you need it. I doubt that you do anything that requires you to wear a camouflage. I want to, but yeah, I don't have it in me. Even honestly, even fishing to an extent, like everyone fishes down there.

It's like, all right, I'll get into fishing. We have this koi pond in our front yard and there was like, we inherited it when I bought the place, like koi fish there. And then this like fucking heron, this bird started coming every day, would be on our roof, would come down and it would pick up the koi fish. But the koi fish are too big for it to eat. So they would just drop them on the, leave them on the side of the ground and I would come home and there would always be dead fish like leading up there

and I, I, I, I. And the birds just laughing at you. I started a straight up war with this bird where it was, the same one would come every day and my wife and I had all these tricks like I had like left my sons and again I like left my sons like remote control car down there and then every time these tricks. Like I had like left my son's, and again I like left my son's like remote control car down there. And then every time I'd see it, I would turn the car on to chase it away.

And then that evolved into just like Nerf guns. Where like that thing would come and I would just like run out there like lighting it up. And it knew who I was. I think you found your hobby. You have a hobby. Yeah, it's fighting birds, saving koi fish. Fighting birds without hurting them.

Did you win? Did you get rid of them? Well, you know what was funny is like one day I went out there and I did, I lit that bird up. I made full contact with that thing. It flew over the hedge and I went back in the house like, got him. The bird flew around to the back of the house and started banging on the window

and shit all over the back of my desk. It was like, oh, he knew, he knew. Of course he knew, yeah. Cut to the bird in a gun store. Yeah, he's gonna even the store. Yeah, buying, buying. Like bring a Nerf gun, you bring a real gun. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

But I think protecting those fish, there was a few times where I saved a few, where I got home and the fish was still flopping on the ground and I saw the scared look in its eye. I was like, put it back in the water. I was like, I can never fish now. I've ruined it for myself. I'm determined now to go, I'm gonna go to Charleston,

South Carolina and hang out and get the word out that I'm ready to hang with Danny McBride. But then it's just gonna be really fun that you don't reach out to me. And I know that you're just like six miles away. No, I'll reach out to you. But what would we do? Well, there's a few good bars down the street from my house.

We probably ride around in golf carts. Maybe we go on a ghost tour. I would love that. You know, the area where I live, people cruise around on golf carts and there's no hotels or anything out there. It gets pretty dark after night. And like, I love to just just put the kids in the golf cart

and I literally just play the soundtrack to The Shining and turn the lights on the golf cart off and just cruise around the island. It is more frightening than what you could imagine. Yeah, so how are they doing these kids? I worry about them. They're in therapy. You said they haven't really grown much

and they're terrified all the time. I remember when we shot Land of the Lost here in Los Angeles, we were, that's like one of the only movies I ever worked on that shot on a backlot. That was what I thought all of Hollywood would be, would be like you'd be on the studio and every movie would be shooting there. I think we were the only movie that was shooting in town

that time on the Universal lot. And we would have all these late nights and Will Ferrell and Yoram and I would get in golf carts at the late at night on these night shoots, and we would drive through Universal Studios when it was closed down, and we would pull up in front of the Psycho House and one by one you'd have to go up by yourself and knock on the door.

No! And it seems so silly. It was scary as shit. Oh my God. That does sound scary. It was. It was. You would freak yourself out. There was no way after you knocked that you would not run back to the golf cart where everybody was.

And then quickly make some jokes like it wasn't that scary. And don't they have the mom in the window? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, they have her like a mannequin. It's not real. Oh, that might be a, I think it's a working actress.

Oh, okay. She's just sitting there. She's there 24-7. It's so creepy. Yeah, yeah. She was on a sit, she was on like silver spoons. there. She's there 24-7. It's so creepy. Yeah, yeah. She was on like silver spoons. And now that's what she does.

This has been an absolute blast, absolute blast. You've been on our, how do we get this man? He's never in LA. I'm so happy that you were able to get yourself in here and met you in 2006 and right away was an instant fan. Like, and then everything just has, from a distance, I've just watched everything blow up since for you in all the best ways and I'm really happy.

And Righteous Gemstones is hilarious and great. And this is the final season? This is the final season, wrapped it up this season. Yep, I think it's our best one yet. I know everyone has to say that to get people to tune in, but I really do think that. Yeah. Well, I am so happy for you

and I look forward to the day that I intrude on you in South Carolina. Yes, please come down. I'll give you the real tour. I will end up, seriously, I mean, I'm a huge, I've been to Fort Sumter, I'm a real nerd. I've toured the, I know a little bit too much about, I've gone to the South and I've told people this. I took my wife on, when we were newly married,

I took her on a drive through Georgia to look at Civil War landmarks and the marriage almost ended there. So, anyway, thank you so much for being here. Seriously, serious and get a hobby. I'll try to. A number of episodes ago, we talked about how you lost your beloved and I think long-term leather jacket.

What? Weren't you in a long-term relationship with this leather jacket? I bought it and I wore it a lot. Aren't you burying the lead, which is she lost her house. She lost her house and her leather jacket was in the house. This is the first I've heard of that. Okay, yeah, you're a real sensitive guy. My house burned down.

You lost your home in the Altadena fire. Yes. And you are still living, you're living with your parents? Yes. Okay, well, we won't get into that too much. There's some stress there probably. It's okay. It's okay. It's all good.

I love your mom, I love your dad. Okay. But your There's some stress there probably. It's okay. It's all good. I love your mom. I love your dad. Okay. But your mom can be a bit much. Oh wow. Oh, we're gonna clip it and show her. Quoting you. Yeah, what?

I love her. I don't know what your problem is with her. What did you say? What did you say? I love her. Okay. And I was quoting you and you said, you and your mom clash sometimes.

We do clash. You're too strong personalities because you love each other very much. I adore my mom, but we have a generational divide and a cultural divide. There you go. So anyway, house burns down. Yes.

And among the things you lost was the leather jacket you've been wearing since the day I met you. Yeah. You've had that jacket forever. And sometimes I would kid you about the jacket because you would wear it every day. You wouldn't mix it up too much. Okay. I loved that jacket.

Yeah, and I'm sorry it went. And what did I do? What did I do? I forget. Oh my God. I forget what I did. Oh my God. Okay, then I guess we have nothing else to talk about.

Oh, okay. Well, okay, so they still make this jacket, and I found it, and you very generously offered to buy me a new one. So I went with your credit card, which I have. And I bought a new jacket for myself. I got an alert that they were very suspicious of you using my card. Okay.

Yeah. And then, but then I realized what I did was I just bought you like ammo for me. And that's not, I don't know why I did that. That's why he did it in the first place. There was a jacket I made fun of and then it was lost in this tragic fire and I needed the jacket replaced immediately

so I could make fun of the jacket. I know. So I could make fun of the jacket again. That's so ironic, cause you're sitting here in a leather jacket. Yeah. It's like I'm sitting with Mad Max in the red Baron right now.

Yeah. This is amazing. Oh, no, problem is not that it's a leather jacket. I love leather jackets. It's just that she only wore one jacket and I swear to God, you wore it to everything. I did wear it to, it fit me like a glove. It was like stretched in.

When your kids were christened in that beautiful church and I was the godfather and it was a beautiful ceremony. I'm wearing a suit, Liza's wearing a dress, people are wearing robes, you're there wearing Dr. Zayas' jacket from- Okay, come on, it's so cool. Don't I look cool in it though? No one looks cool who says, don't I look cool?

Yes, I do though, I look so cool in it. It's a great jacket and I'm happy. And you know what? I'm happy that you got this back. Yeah, me too. I am too. I'm glad that it's reclaimed. It really felt good.

A lot of the things that we lost, we've been trying to find versions of it. There is one thing in particular, isn't there that you guys lost a poster? What is it? A cell, an animation cell from King of the Hill that Tak loved. And so it's the first time I've ever really done this.

I asked Greg Daniels. My old writing partner and good friend. He's your old writing and who I've gotten to know really well over the last few years and not few years, but a very long time I've been working for you. And I asked him, I said, do you have any or nowhere I could get one? And he gave Tak the exact one that he lost.

And it felt like it was just coming back from the dead. Greg, you're a mensch. He's a really good guy. It was really nice. Shout out to Greg Daniels. Yes. That's so nice.

So slowly, you're gonna rebuild your life by getting back some of the objects. I lost $100,000. That's a lie. You're just lying now. Ask for more. Oh, and guess what? It had real sentimental value. It was all special bills.

I remember you, that paper bag of $100,000, with the $100,000, it meant so much to you. It was so special to me. Yeah. And I really wish I had it again. Well, I guess there's one thing we can do. What are you gonna do? Get some Monopoly boards.

Get a lot of fake money and put it together. No, but I'll, I bet you there are a bunch of things we could go through and get back. I hope so. I mean, it is, it does feel like you're bringing things back from the dead, which is cool. This jacket meant a lot. I loved this jacket and I really thank you for doing it.

Although I do know you're just doing it so you can keep the riff going. No, that's part of the reason I did it, but there's 10% of it. 90% was keep the riff going so I can continue to bash away at you. And then there's 10%, which is I love you and I want you to be happy.

That's very nice. Thank you. But 90% total guns blazing. I know. Gotta get you. I know. Make you get you. I know, I know. Make you feel bad. I sure, I know, I know. Well, so you had a happy ending.

Yeah. And did you, you didn't lose anything in the fire, did you? Sure. I'm sorry to say I didn't. No. It is weird. There's a survivor's guilt. Of course there is.

Is there really? I'm telling you, there is. There is totally a survivor's guilt. In LA right now, when I've, I mean, I've talked about this, but I've been very open about the fact that fire got really close to my house and filled it with smoke. And I'm still not back in it. We've been out since the fire.

So it's been months now since I've lived in my house and it all has to get cleaned out and everything. But you can't, there's nothing, I'm just still, I'm grateful. I'm very grateful that my house still exists. And if I ever catch myself saying to anybody, my sneakers, my Brooks sneakers got a little, they have good art support for when I run in.

Well, they got a little smoky. And so they have to be wiped off, cause they got smoky. And so they have to be wiped off, cause they got smoky. And then you're probably standing next to somebody who lost their house. I know, yeah. So keep my mouth shut. You lost your house, you can't go back to your house.

That's why I feel like I have guilt all around, survivor's guilt all around. I feel like I wanna sleep in a tent in my front yard. You should. No, that's going too far. You should. I can't. It would feel my front yard. You should. No, that's going too far. You should. I can't. It would feel really good.

And you should fill it with smoke. Yeah. Well, yeah. Toxic smoke. Well, I'm glad. I'm glad that you, we got that back and we'll get other things back. Thank you. You'll see.

Thank you. Peace out. Two bucks. Conan O'Brien needs a friend. With Conan O'Brien, Sonam Avsesian and Matt Gourley. Produced by me, Matt Gourley. Executive produced by Adam Sacks, Jeff Ross, and Nick Leow. Theme song by The White Stripes. Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino.

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