Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Matthew Rhys Returns Again
Episode Date: December 1, 2025Actor Matthew Rhys feels ashamed about being Conan O’Brien’s friend. Matthew sits down with Conan once again to discuss the best beer for this time of year, overcoming his own imposter syndrome t...o play legendary Welsh actor Richard Burton in his one-man show Playing Burton, and doing script chemistry reads with his wife Keri Russell. Plus, Adam Sachs shares a surprising stat from the Team Coco YouTube channel. For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com.Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: (669) 587-2847. 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
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Hello, my name is Matthew Rees.
And I feel ashamed about being Conan O'Brien's friend.
Finally! Yes! An honest answer!
Oh, God, that felt good. I feel unburdened and light.
Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell, brand new shoes, walking loose, climb the fence, books and pens, I can tell that we are going to
be friends
I can tell
that we are going to be friends
Hey there
Welcome to Conan O'Brien
Needs a friend
I put a little pause
between Conan O'Brien and needs a friend
Kind of a dramatic
You know what makes it really dramatic
Is explaining it
I guess I had that coming
And you're fired
Fair enough
Sona, Matt, how you guys doing?
Good, how are you?
I'm doing okay
I'm just a little bit of a follow-up
The nation's gripped because recently I talked about my trip to the eye doctor.
Sonam of Sassian took me there, filling in for David Hopping, who went to a Midwestern wedding.
Again, way too much backstory.
Can I just say this is like a third installment in the ongoing saga of your eye?
I say saga.
I never say saga.
Yeah, saga is weird.
I've never heard saga.
What the hell was that?
And by the way, it was Bob's saga.
Okay.
Because you guys are right.
And that's probably worth stopping for
and you're not assholes.
You're checking every box right now.
Not assholes, we're stopping for.
I don't know why I still work here.
No, I don't either.
I was going to say in the saga
that it started with your eye postural
leaning on the mic,
then your visit to the optometrist
to do bits where you stayed for hours.
And then now there's another installment.
I did so many great bits in that waiting room.
Here's the thing.
You know, I have prescription classes
and they needed to make them a little.
little stronger, but everything's fine. Are my eyes leaking a bit? Sure they are. Just they're
dry. What are you even looking at right now? I'm worried about your depth of focus. What about my
mental focus? That's what you should be working because my brain is also leaking. You're saying it like,
are my eyes leaking? Sure. Sure they are. Should they be normal? Oh, please. Ocular jelly is
oozing everywhere. No. And so it's very common for people with my talent. It's just too much talent.
And this is how sometimes the eyes reject the talent.
It's seeping out of you.
Is that your talent?
Yeah, the eyes, it's like, is there going to be room for eyes or talent?
And I always hang on to the talent.
Yeah, you and Ionize, Cody, the two great wits of all time.
So, worked with Iron Ice, Cody, but that's a whole other story.
Anyway, back to the main story, they give me the drops.
I'm going to use, everything's fine.
Me, peepers are fine.
It's all good.
And who needs eye jelly anyway, I always say?
So I'm about to leave and this woman said,
Hey, Conan, have you ever thought of contact lenses?
And I said, you know, I've never, ever used contact lenses.
My distance is fine.
I just mean pretty much for reading.
I need a little correction with distance, but really not much at all.
And she said, you know, once you get used to them, they're really handy,
and you wouldn't have to carry glasses around
because you can forget them and where they go
and did someone steal them and let's put out a warrant.
So I said, I'll, well, sure.
And she said, yeah, they're so thin now.
They really work great.
brought in some context, and she said, I'll show you how to pop them in and pop them off.
And I went, great.
Cut to a montage that lasts about 55 minutes.
Not that I was timing it or anything with Sona in the waiting room.
And the woman's saying, no, no, you just, you just, and me holding my eyes open and trying
to jab it in there, but I'm, you know, I've got fluttery eyelids that are like,
and I've never liked people getting near my eyes.
And she said men are more prone to that than women.
We just, and I've noticed it in the makeup chair forever.
Whenever people get near my eyes, I grip the handles of the chair and I could crush them.
I'm just so freaked out by people going near my eyes.
I kept trying and kept trying and failing and saying, and I came up against something I just couldn't do.
And I'm not used to that.
I'm not bragging.
I'm bad athlete, and there's a million things I can't do.
but this I just thought oh I'll be able to do this and I couldn't do it and when I was done my eyes both my eyes were so red did you get them in I got them in and then I it was time to get them out that was a whole process I of course doubled down on I don't even know that I want contacts but I am not losing this battle so I'm not wearing them now because I wanted to give my eyes they said keep your eyes and rest for a couple of days because it looks like I went
Seven rounds with the champ.
I came out of there.
You saw my eyes.
You looked really stoned.
Yeah.
You did.
You had like a glazed over look.
It looked really stone.
Yeah.
You were really struggling.
My eyes were so red.
And I couldn't believe this is something people do all the time.
Have you ever worn contacts?
Well, that's funny.
You should say that because I used to wear a context.
I hated them.
And when I went for the first time to try them on, the optometrist was trying over and over to get them in my eyes.
And he finally put them down.
He sighed.
And he went, I don't know how to say this, but you have abnormally strong eyelids.
What?
I was like, of course.
You know what?
That's the strength I have is eyelids and not like biceps or.
But your wife, when your wife saw you on the beach, she was like, gee.
When I winked at her.
You've got strong eyelids, yeah, mister.
But I have astigmatisms and I just can't handle them.
They dry my eyes out.
I don't like them.
I do, too.
So does Conan.
Yeah.
He has an astigmatism too.
Check us out.
So did you?
We're cool.
But Sona, you got.
used to it. I, and I, I wonder
if me saying that... You don't, there's a microphone right in front
of your mouth. Oh my God. You were
doing an announcement on a
cruise ship in a storm. Oh my God.
You were telling people to get back into their cabins.
You asked the lady a question. I know, but
she's started to do this.
I'm channeling my rage. Edwardo, be fair.
Edwardo, be fair. You don't have to
answer. You can plead the fifth. I'm channeling
my... I'm taking deep breaths and I'm
channeling it right now. Okay, go ahead. Tell your story.
Give it to them. Don't channel them. I wonder if
if me telling you that I was able to do it
when I was 12 may have contributed to you getting more kind of like, well, I can do it too.
Because I kept saying I did this when I was, I've been more in contact since I was 12.
A girl of 12 can wear contact.
Yeah.
You know, I, first of all, I'm an ally of all women.
And I empower you and I'm happy for you.
What's that?
Awful.
What you say?
Well, I want to say that I've worn.
You can back off the mic.
I'm more contacts, but Eduardo has a very special contact situation that I think might.
Is this going to prove helpful to Conan?
Possibly.
Maybe.
I think you guys are all wusses.
Yeah.
I do want advice.
I do.
I do want advice.
And also, I'm telling you this, David Hopping told me that his mother, like, teaches people
how to put contact lenses in and out.
Yes.
Seriously.
And that I'm going to have a Zoom with her.
But what is your advice?
So I wear Scolero lenses, which are the...
Bragg.
Yeah, so it's a very specific type of contact.
Is this a company owned by former Judge Scalia?
How did you know?
No, it's first...
I use Ginzburgos.
But I have to use this...
I hate you. I hate you so much.
That was good.
I hate you so much.
Look at me.
Look at me.
I wish we could do a thing where I pull a string and confetti comes down on me.
And I would do this.
Fair is fair.
He was wrong to assault you, but that was funny.
I have a plunger that I have to use to take out my...
That's the plunger.
And you're calling us, wussies?
Are they hard?
I have to take it out with this because there are rigid gas permeable lenses that I have to wear.
Also, so you have a little plunger, which you use a little plunger for your eyes.
For my context.
And occasionally for a mouse's toilet.
Every now and then, Eduardo is sitting reading a paper at home.
And he hears me, me, me, me, me, me.
What's that little fella?
Oh, me, me, me, me, me.
Oh, really, huh?
Well, that's embarrassing.
And you, you have guests coming?
Me, me, me, me, me, me, me.
I'll take care of it.
You're welcome, buddy.
Anytime.
Just wash it.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Happiness everywhere.
Anyway, I don't know.
It's just one of those things I don't like.
to walk away from something and so I'm going to double down on this you famously have said that you'll do anything in the name of comedy so I think if you think of it in terms of you got to be funny that's a really have Liza film you bring them in and we'll do it here on the podcast okay okay yeah I'll do it why don't we compete we'll have some cases because you get very competitive yeah we could compete sure I'll do whatever I'm told to do all right you guys onward and sideways my guest today won an Emmy for his port
of Russian spy Philip Jennings in the FX series, The Americans.
He now stars in the new Netflix series The Beast in Me.
I love this fellow.
Matthew Reese, welcome.
I'm going to come right out with it.
Oh, God.
I developed an insane man crush on you.
You've been on the first time you were on the podcast, it was, I believe, during the
It was, it was.
And you were virtual.
Yes.
And I thought I liked this chap enormously, and I was a big fan of your work.
Then you came in and did it in person, and my heart's been fluttering ever since.
Oh, stop your giddy Irish ways.
Keep going.
I can't.
No, go on, go on.
It's literally, oh, stop, but go on.
Yes, always.
So many confusing signals.
I know.
You are an absolute delight.
You're an imp.
Yeah.
You omitted the CH before that, didn't you?
Didn't you?
You are a Welsh leprechaun, if there is such a thing.
Is there an equivalent in Wales of the leprechaun?
We're called weptricons.
Yes.
Okay, they have weapons.
Weaponized lepracons.
So I just, I was like, oh my God, I want to just go hang out with this man.
Let's do it.
And I had, not just yet.
Oh, let's do this first.
And then we can monetize it.
And then you and I will hang out and we'll spend the profits.
But I'm going to tell you a quick secret, which is that,
You were talking about a boat that you had purchased, that you had fixed up yourself.
Yes.
And you were floating this boat around the Hudson River, the East River?
The East and the Hudson.
And the harbor of New York.
And you were driving it around.
And so I was intrigued, so intrigued by a conversation that I looked up a photo of you in your boat.
And I thought, well, that's a handsome looking boat.
And then I start doing a deep dive on the boat.
And up popped a model, a replica of that same type of boat.
Yeah.
Popped up, and I said, I'm going to get that from my man crush.
Eat your heart out, Oliphant, Matthew Reese.
And so it popped up, and I said, I'm going to get it.
And then I hit on the screen, it's quite expensive.
Oh, yes.
And suddenly I lost my two messence for this boat.
But part of me is thinking, I've got to scrape up the money and get you this model.
It's a model of the boat that you have.
And I feel like, Adam, we have to scrape up the funds to make this happen.
He's giving the thumbs up and you'll pay for it.
Maybe always...
I'm asking him there's no microphone on him.
You'll pay for it and that's a nod.
Yes. Good.
I'll get this for you.
No, no.
Surely we can start some kind of Kickstarter now.
A go fund me that begins right now.
Can I tell you something?
Yes.
People love it when celebrities start a Kickstarter
for a childish amusement that they will keep for themselves.
Yes.
Especially men, because they will relate to it.
They said, he needs that model.
It's the model we've all deserved.
It checks a box with.
They're not emotional hearts.
I want to connect with you, and I'm going to start by saying, I adore your work, but whales.
Let's start with whales, because that's the secret to cracking this gentleman, whales.
You are Welsh through and through.
I am.
And there's so much that I don't know about whales.
Yes.
I really don't, because it's a mystery to me.
I know that you don't use any vowels when you write something.
They were outlawed by the English in 1282.
They stole your vowels.
Yes.
Take their vowels.
That'll learn them.
Yes, they'll drown in their own spit.
So I know that it's very important to you
and the Welsh language is very important to you.
It is.
Now, I did a travel show recently
and I went to Ireland
and I appeared on a show
where they only speak...
It's a soap opera
where they only speak Irish.
Yes.
And all my lines were in Irish.
It was very difficult.
Yes.
Is the Welsh language more difficult than Irish?
similar at all. Help me. I would say it's akin in many ways in its difficulty level as to as to
learning. Ironically, for two Celtic languages, they're very, they're very different. Wells is
far more similar to Breton, Northern France, and Manx on the Isle of Man. If you see those
languages, Cornish as well, you can see the similarities with the Scots and the Irish. They share
that similarity. But with regards to kind of hard, guttural sounds,
I think we're right there with the Irish.
Yes, it sounds like someone has thrown silverware
down some stone steps when you guys speak.
I'll be taking that one home.
Yeah, that's yours.
And I'll get you the model.
And this, it is important to you
that Welsh is spoken in your home occasionally, is that right?
You're trying to teach it to some of the children?
I am, I am, with varying degrees of success.
But, you know, Carrie and I have a nine-year-old son,
And I spoke to him purely in Welsh from the moment he was born and continued to do so.
Really?
How's he doing at school?
Not very well.
Not very well.
Yes, his friends bring umbrellas and raincoats.
He's been held back 15 times.
Yes.
Which is hard to do for a nine-year-old.
It is, but he's managed it.
He's now at the point.
And it's kind of kills me a bit.
But obviously, when as conversations become more evolved and more complicated, and I realize,
if you haven't, if you haven't introduced more complex Welsh words early on, now, you know,
when I speak to him and I bring in a complex Welsh word, he'll just say, oh, just say it in
Mama's language. Yes. And I go, oh, rats. So I feel the beginnings of starting to lose
him, which sort of breaks my heart. But not lose him. Losing maybe for now. I know it'll
peak and trough and ever and flow. My hope is, well, that's what I'm threatening him with, you know.
As long as you're threatening your child, good things will come.
That's what I've said.
I've monetized it, and I've threatened college with it, and all kinds of toys in between.
Christmas can be canceled at the cancellation of Welsh.
And I'm curious, first of all, oh, you mentioned Christmas.
Christmas in Wales, one of the great poems of all times.
And so occasionally I fantasize about what would it be like to have Christmas in Wales?
Is it as romantic as I think it is, or is no, the reality is,
everyone just goes to Walmart and gets a Christmas tree like we do here.
Yes, of course.
And, you know, excessive drinking and kind of shouting mainly.
And then no one can remember what happened on Christmas Day.
Is it true that your Santa is a terrible alcoholic?
Yeah, well, it is.
A raging one.
A raging one.
But it makes for great frivolity on the rooftops.
Yes.
But apparently there's only one Welsh Santa,
because all the other Santa's refused to do Wales.
Because, you know, it was...
They won't go there.
No, they were like, give it to that drunken fool.
Yes, that imp.
He lost his naughty and nice list a long time ago.
He doesn't know, you'll scound or you'll get nothing.
It was quite good.
Only the irony is if you're given coal in Wales, kids are overjoyed.
They're like, oh, look what I got!
Shut that up, your assholes, England!
We'll have a warm Christmas after all!
Yes, aha, let's cook on this!
You know, it's so funny, my first introduction to you really was your role in the spectacular
TV show, The Americans, and when I first spoke to you on the podcast, it was unsettling.
Because, I mean, the sense I get is that anyone in Britain or the United Kingdom is much better
at doing an American accent than, of course, than we are at doing anything similar to your
accident.
It is an accident.
It's a terrible accident.
They leave me, by the grace of God, go I.
But a happy accident, I will gladly admit to.
But I do, and I know if I said this last time, I do believe that the amount of American television we grew up watching and as young kids going out into the yard to play Starske and Hutch or the A-Team or Airwolf or any of those, you know, as kids growing up, whereas kids in America don't go out to the school yard to play downtown Abbey, which is seemingly the only thing that...
I did.
Well, yes, of course.
I was taunted and beaten.
You were like, fetch me another pheasant, boy.
Yes.
I used to always want to play Scrooge, you know.
Yes, yes.
You, boy, fetch me the goose in the bushes window.
I must have it.
Yes.
I'm not playing Tiny Tim again.
Yeah, I was beaten roundly by everyone in my neighborhood.
But I found this over the years that when I would talk to anyone who was from England, Scotland, Wales,
they just have such a great storytelling custom that it was always a fun interview.
Yeah, yes.
Well, you know, I think, you know, the Celts do, we viciously and proudly say, you know,
The oral storytelling tradition
handed down from the midst of time
is still, you know,
is now the modern day pub raconteur
and that's who we've remained to be.
I just want to go back.
You know, Dylan Thomas sold the rights
to a child's Christmas in Wales
to an inordinate amount of people
as he was rampaging around New York.
He was just saying,
I have this wonderful little story
I should like to sell you the rights.
And they were like, oh, great, yes.
Harper's Bazaar bought it.
Everyone bought the rights to...
He sold it like 800 times.
800 times, which I thought was the one.
one of the greatest grifts of all time.
And at the time of kind of pre, you know, pre-computer madness.
And famously, he passed in a pub, I think.
He collapsed.
Downtown.
He collapsed.
Downtown right here, outside the White Horse.
Yes, the White Horse.
And then passed at St. Vincent's, yeah.
Yeah.
And I don't know if the White Horse celebrates that.
Well, there's still a famous poet died or got sick here and died.
Yes.
Not many restaurants or pubs want that known.
No, all can say it.
He's also on the mural at, it's not Manetta Tavern.
It's the Waverly Inn.
He's on the wall there as well.
But he's still heavily pictured at the white horse.
It's worth a quiet pint of Guinness on that.
They made a lot of money off of him, I suppose.
They did.
Yeah, there's still a lot of Welsh tourists who pay the, you know, the pilgrimage,
who make the homage and the pilgrimage there.
When you belly up to a bar, what is your, what is your logger?
What is your pint?
What do you like to have?
Now, that depends exactly in the time of day and the time of year.
3.30, October, late October.
It's 3.30 in the afternoon.
Guinness.
This is a light rain.
Guinness?
Guinness.
Incredible.
I love a Guinness.
Yes.
I love a Guinness.
How much did you get through an island?
I did pretty well.
Yeah.
I love a Guinness and it does taste better in Ireland.
I totally agree.
I will say that.
I totally agree.
We're just talking about all things Welsh.
I've taken it upon myself to do probably the Welshest of all Welshest of all Welsh
things and I'm going to do
a one-man play about Richard Burton
Yes, I know about this. Oh, you do?
Yes, I do know about this. This is, you're going to play
and this is your return to the Welsh stage
for the first time in, how many years?
22.
22 years. Yeah, yeah.
That's got to be a little terrifying.
Now at this point, sorry, I was trying to link
into the facts about the oral storytelling tradition,
but I wasn't a complete.
And then get us back to Guinness, please.
Well, Burton's the, an easy link back to
How are you going to get from Richard Burton to alcohol?
I don't know.
Give me, just gives me a moment.
He had a friend called Richard Harris.
You can come back in a week.
Yes, I've cracked it.
Yes.
So, yes, you're going back to the Welsh stage where you got your start.
You did.
When you were about a wee lad, you're going to go back for the first time in 22 years.
What is your greatest fear that they just stare at you?
There is that.
Well, there's a number of things.
I was fortunate to play Dylan Thomas once in a film.
And I realize when you go, especially to a place like Wales where we have a few but select but incredible icons, Dylan Thomas, Richard Burton, Shirley Bassie, Shan Phillips, Rachel Roberts.
We have these incredible performers, actors, singers, everything. But the nation itself has an incredibly personal relationship, an individual personal relationship with that icon.
So your take on Dylan Thomas is wildly different from what everyone else deems it to be.
So a lot of people are like, I saw you, Dylan Thomas.
I don't think you got it right.
You know, there's a, that's right.
Yeah.
And that could be a, that could be someone driving a bus.
Or, or my father in this case.
Yes.
That's all dads.
Yes, but he does drive a bus.
Yes, which is ironic.
So, so one of my great fears is that one, this, I have this thing where I'm going, where I think all the people of boy tickets are going to go, who does he think he is that he can play Richard Burton?
Now, that is a great, I would.
say Welsh, I'd go as fast to say Celtic
affliction as to who do you think you
are syndrome. Oh my God, yes. I mean,
if that was an Olympic sport, we would
podium every time. So
there is that, then there is
the secondary version or level to that which you go,
when you do it, they go, well, that wasn't Richard Burton.
That wasn't Richard Burton at all.
And also... I knew Richard Burton. Yes.
We were in school together. Yes. That's the problem
is you're rubbing shoulders with people.
You're performing for people who have a
personal, very
strong connection with this. The fight,
This is what I've done to myself.
The final performance of the tour is in the chapel that Richard Burton attended.
It'll be live streamed to the miners' arms, which is the pub that he and his family drank in.
And his family have been invited to the chapel to watch the final performance.
I think they've made it the final performance so I can literally fall on my sword at the curtain call with an apology.
I say, sorry Jenkins is, uh-huh.
Yes.
You know, Harry? Do you know Harry? Harry, curious about time.
Yes.
So you are going to get, yeah, I mean, that's your fear.
My money's on you.
I'll say that.
Thank you very much.
You are, I think, one of the finest actors alive, and I think that you will carry it off gloriously.
But I also fear for you, terribly.
Well, I'm very excited about another matter involving you, Mr. Reese.
If I can call you, Mr. Reese, Mrs. Reese doesn't seem right.
Mysteries.
History's mysteries.
That should be your podcast
where you talk about history
that's not true.
I am a massive fan
of the historian
Mr. Robert Caro.
I've read all of his works.
I've interviewed him.
I stalked him for a while.
I think he's just a treasure,
as they say, national treasure.
And one of his great books,
maybe one of his greatest books,
if it's not the Lyndon Johnson series,
the power broker about Robert Moses
is one of the most amazing
historical works.
in history, I understand
that you may be working
on some kind of version
of the power broker?
We are working on...
Who is we?
Well, maybe you're not allowed
to talk about this yet. I don't want to get you
in... I mean, I do want to get you in trouble, but not
for this. But remember the last time, yes, you
very kindly bailed me out. Yes,
there's a... What can you say?
What do you just say what you can say? There is a select group
of us who have approached
a very well-known... A bunch of
There are a few of us, known criminals who are conspiring.
But at the moment, dear Mr. Caro has, he doesn't have an issue with handing over the rights to the power broker.
Other agencies and publishing houses do.
So at the moment, it's in this stalemate whereby I know the flicks called Net are trying to.
Work things out.
Yes, and acquire the rights to the power broker.
It's been pitched.
They do want to do it.
Is it possible, then, that you would play Robert Moses, the man who, more than anyone,
created the New York City that we know today?
Yes, that's basically the fundamental pitch.
Okay.
I have no sway in this business at all.
I have a little bit of sway with Robert Caro just because I think he knows me.
I've interviewed him.
He knows I'm a huge fan and the acolyte of his.
But I would do everything in my power to make sure that you play.
I think you'd be amazing.
and I think that would be just a terrific project.
I certainly think it's a story and a book that needs to get made
because the sheer scale and scope of it.
But also Moses as a human being, as an individual,
if you read that play, book is staggering.
It lays Shakespeare to the sword
because you cannot quite believe the ascent of that man.
And that man had more power than maybe anyone
in American history
save a president
but he was able to
it's unimaginable now
yes but he could just say
I think this highway should go here
and all of these buildings
in my way shall be destroyed
and these communities removed
and these communities removed and it would happen
as if he were a czar yes
and it was the way he understood power
and that's a real caro's obsession
is how people accumulate power
and how they use it and who are the masters at
And, of course, the other one is Lyndon Johnson.
And it's just this thing that he writes about so well and he understands so well.
That beautifully, beautifully put.
I'm very talented.
You are, but it's the understanding of power.
I might be the Robert Moses of comedy.
Oh.
Yeah.
I have lay waste to so many communities.
When I have a joke I want to do, I destroy communities in my whole tenements and buildings come down.
In your way, yes, yes.
And then it's just a quick wordplay pun.
But people have lost their buildings.
I hope this happens
So do I
And I will pray on that tonight
When I kneel and I say my prayers
It's all about my career
Of course
Nothing about the family
No, think of the commission
Yes
I would love that
I would love that to happen
So would I
I'll make it happen
Okay good
You heard it here first
Yes
And you'll hear it here last
Now I want to bring up
One more Celtic thing
Which is you have claimed
That you have
And that you have profited
From in your career
Celtic eyes
Oh, yes, yes.
Tell me what are Celtic guys, what they are,
and then I'll ask you my follow-up question.
Well, actually, what I was going to say
it was an accusation, but it was more than an inquiry.
You're not to accuse me of anything.
No, I have a number of things I'd like to accuse you of,
but we'll wait until we stop rolling for that.
Yes.
It was, I sat down at a dinner party in Los Angeles once,
and a very, very dashing older kind of silver fox gentleman
turned to me and he just went, Irish.
I went, no, Scottish.
I went, no.
Well, then what are?
are you? I said, well, oh, of course, the other Celt. And I said, I'm sorry, what made you say that?
He goes, Celtic lids. You've got Celtic lids. He goes, I could really help you out. He was a plastic
surgeon. And what he was inferring was, is this sort of slight droop on the top of our eyes,
which is, I think, you know, centuries being downtrodden makes you go, oh, I'm so sorry.
You know, genetically, it's... And the coal dust. That does it too? It's everything, yeah.
It's having, it's both emotional and practical that you keep dust out of your eyes, but also you take your
place, you know, in society
and apologize for being there, more
importantly. Someone was going to try
and fix your, you'd say lids,
I'd call them peepers.
Cheapers, creepers, what's
inside those peepers? Exactly. Yes.
One of my favorite poems also.
From Dylan Thomas.
Devin Thomas says, he did a lot of great stuff.
He does. He did. Purple, polka-dot bikini
was his. Yes, with the sidewalk ends.
So I'm
fascinated that anyone
would try and touch those eyes, because those are
great. I would think they've been so useful
to you in acting. Well, there's another
moment when the Americans was finishing
I believe it was the New Yorker, the
wrote a very nice article saying that I was like,
what is it called the king of downtrodden
tragedy? And there was a photo of me
and I looked at the photo and I went, that's my
resting face. I'm
not acting, I'm not doing
anything. That is what
my face looks like.
You can project whatever
it is you wish upon that downtrodden
face. And if you
bleed in some emotional music,
it might give you something cinematic.
But at that moment,
I was doing nothing.
Yes.
Which,
that's all it does.
Cut you to the quick.
It fans the flame of your imposter syndrome.
That all it does.
All right, this brings up my next question.
Yeah.
First of all,
look at my eyes.
Yes.
Do I have anything,
is there any Celtic,
anything going on in my eyes?
My eyes are narrow.
They're suspicious.
They're creepy.
Yeah.
It's kept me out of film my entire life.
What can we do?
Help me.
Help me.
I did watch a documentary about Charlie Sheen the other day.
And he said there was this one time where obviously he was struggling with substance abuse, which isn't funny.
But one thing he did, he realized he was falling asleep mid-take.
And he asked you know this?
Yes.
And he asked for the cup of ice.
And he inserted an ice cube into his rectum.
Yes.
And he said it gave him like.
And it finished the scene.
Yes.
Then they show the scene in the documentary.
And he's very present.
away. And I thought in that
moment, I went, good God, he's
cracked it. My downtrodden
lids, if I just give the old, you know,
one up the chute, right? And I've
gone, bing! And like, all of
a sudden, you know, you're... Right now, you're doing it.
Look at me. I'm like, I could play Scarface again.
I'm like, oh, fuck you, Dave, right?
Right? It just
gives you the zing.
So you're saying, if I shoved ice up my ass,
these eyes would open up. Oh, like,
like... I'm trying to
think of something that opens up.
Just like a mall on Christmas Eve.
There you go, now we're talking.
So I, what's called it, pulling a sheen from now on.
Oh, okay, good.
I think that's the way to do it.
You need to pull a sheen.
Yes, I'll be back in a minute.
Yeah, and then zing, ring, and then in you come.
You talked about imposter syndrome.
Yes.
Everybody has imposter syndrome.
Weirdly, with this Richard Burton piece, it's the first one-man show I've ever done.
and the true great fear I have
is that I will forget my lines
because that's it
it's just like stand up
it's just you in the audience
what I've started doing now
is doing a run through
if I go wrong
is not stopping or correcting myself
is seeing how I get out of that
because that will ultimately be
I think the lifeline
so that is an entirely new discipline for me
yes it did a little bit on stage
but you're always with another actor
who will help you catch you throw it back to you
They're your cue.
100%.
They're giving you,
I mean,
you're leading each other,
but it's a dance,
and now you're out there alone.
Yes, and I forgot my lines
in the past and another actor has saved me.
And this,
for the first time,
playing Richard Burton,
going home after 22 years,
I will do something alone.
And my,
what I'm intrigued is,
how do I,
exactly what you say,
how do I get out of those moments
where it doesn't seem like I messed,
or try and make it seem to it.
I have a suggestion?
Yes.
If you're open to it.
Don't do it.
If you can get out of the play, I would get out.
Yes.
I think you're a terrible actor.
Yes.
Good.
This is good.
You shouldn't be on the stage.
No.
Should I get my eyes done?
Yes.
And immediately get your eyes done.
Ice, please.
Soie!
You should put a little thing in the program.
Yeah.
A little message.
Yeah.
And it says, you know, they always say this takes place.
Yeah.
On New Year's Day, Richard Burton's apartment in 1968.
Okay.
Was it 68?
Yeah.
I just was making that day out.
I know.
I was.
We literally said at the same time.
Okay, so this is how good I am.
I know.
Of course I don't have an imposterous.
God, he's good.
Yes.
So, um, you should have a little thing that says on this day, Richard Burton has a very bad cold.
And then you come in, enter coughing.
Yeah.
Then start your speeches.
Let the cough melt away.
Yeah.
But anytime you start to lose it a little bit.
Good God.
Thinking.
The whole time.
What's next?
What's next?
Find it.
Find it.
Find it.
Find it.
Find it.
Oh.
And then you'll find, yeah, that's it.
The cough.
And people will say he'd never missed a line.
Yeah.
And God, he made me feel like he really was sick.
Good God, that's genius.
That's the work of genius.
Well, you should direct theater.
You know what?
No one's ever said that to me and no one ever will seriously.
But I'm going to take you up on that.
Something to consider.
Quit everything I'm doing.
What would be the Irish one-man show that you would want to do?
Which Irishman?
Well, wait, surely there's one about Harry.
You could do.
Oh, my God.
Well, I mean, first of all,
the worst thing I could do in my career
would be, for me,
an American, you know,
third generation,
Irish American,
to return to Ireland
and attempt a true accent.
Do it.
They would destroy me.
Do it.
A true accent.
Do it.
They would destroy me.
Do it.
Was Harris ever on your show?
Yes, he was.
How many times?
He was on once, I believe,
and I watched the interview recently
because one of the problems with doing so much volume,
thousands and thousands of hours of television,
four of them quite good.
I decided that, oh my God, I remembered.
I got to speak to the great iconic Richard Harris,
and I have a very dim memory of it.
And then I realized, wait a minute, I can watch it.
So I typed in Conan, Richard Harris.
He came up.
I watched the whole interview.
He was spectacular.
And at one point, he finishes his story with great bravado
and throws himself back in his chair, roaring, laughing.
And his chair starts to tip over,
and Andy and I kind of grab him and pull him back.
He was an absolute delight, everything you'd want him to be.
And now you have this retrospectively where, you know,
when the great star, you look back and go,
now I'll watch me talking to him.
Yeah, but you know, it's funny.
I'm often, when I see those moments, I think,
why is he there?
meaning why is
not why is Richard Harris there?
Why is Richard Harris there?
Why wasn't it
Peter O'T? No, why isn't it just
me alone? Yes.
Why is Harris mucking it up?
I could have done much better with that story.
Yeah, exactly.
No, I just see myself
with a Richard Harris
or a David Bowie and go,
oh my God, it's that thing where you just are,
can you lose him?
Why is he there?
But I'm sorry, but that's how we all feel.
I know, I know.
Because the other person is legitimate
and you are not legitimate
and that's just the way it is
and you have to accept it.
Yes, and we go through the world
meeting these people
and feeling like that.
I also do think
the Celtic gene doesn't help us.
The English is much better at it.
You know, there is a thing,
there's a true suspicion
when I go back to,
when I go back to Ireland
and I love it there
and I love the people
but I know that
if you've gone off to America,
if your people went off to America
and then you're coming back
as a television personality in America,
you're asking for it.
Of course.
You know, who the fact do you think?
Oh, here he is.
Bertie fucking big balls.
Look at him.
Exactly, and that's the attitude
when they stamp your passport.
And everybody's hilarious.
That's the other thing I've learned.
And you probably have this in Wales too
where I'll think, well, I've really been honing my craft.
And then I get off the plane and I get in a cab
and the cab driver is funnier than anyone.
I never imagine.
And that's why.
And they won't forget a grudge.
I was in Belfast.
We're driving along.
I was going to do,
they were having some thing for Game of Thrones
that they wanted me to host.
It was during the last season of Game of Thrones.
And they said, would you come up
and I go to Belfast for the first time
and I get in a cab
and we're driving along.
And then I notice out of the side,
I say, hey, it says Harland Wolf.
I remember, and the way,
back of my mind, Harlan Wolf's shipyard, that's where they
made the Titanic. They made the Titanic. And I said
to the driver, I said, that's where they made the Titanic. He went, that's right.
And I said, oh, that ship didn't last too long, did it? And he went,
he said, ah, the English had sunk it. He said, it was in pretty
fucking good shape when we gave it to him. And I'm like, and he said
it as if this was something that went down two days ago.
He's still got that ship on his shoulders.
When we gave it to the English, it was for me didn't tell him to run it into an eye
You fucking
And so, I mean, it's just
I love the old wounds
That are as fresh
Oh, my father still talks about
1282, you know
Yes, when the English killed off
From the last of the Royal Welsh family
They're like, well, it all turned to shit then, didn't it?
You're like, what, I suppose?
Yes, I don't know.
So everything after 1282 has been
No, no wonder we're all like this, you know,
We're trying to block out the world
It's been crapo ever since.
To say it's all been shite
Ever since
It was plain, it was golden age up until then
Yes
We were okay until the Bronze Age came along
Yes, they ruined it for us
You, I must discuss
Briefly
The power broker
You're a lovely partner
Oh yes
She is a power broker
Is she a power broker?
In every sense
I am a mere pawn
Is that true to she control you?
Sorry, prawn is what she calls me
Yes
Are you a prawn?
In many ways, shellfish to the nth degree.
I'm just curious.
I watch, I'm going to give a quick shout out
to the beautiful and talented Carrie Russell
who I'm entranced by the diplomat.
She's incredible in everything she does.
I was stunned to find out and still stunned
that you two, because you're actors
and you start in this series together, the Americans,
you had to have a chemistry read.
Yeah.
To have a chemistry read
with someone who then later on
becomes your life partner
it's fascinating to me
because I never had a chemistry read
with my wife
and I think we should
Don't you have an agent
Surely you have management
Dear God what are they doing
Don't give them 10%
I think if my wife and I had a chemistry read
I wouldn't have children right now
The whole thing would have fallen apart
He should have nothing
So the fact that
Get her out of there
But it got me thinking
That everyone should have a chemistry read
Before I mean essentially that's
That's what people, some people do.
Yes.
The Catholic Church has some version of it.
Well, of course.
Where they, you should get together and have some conversations in the company of a priest.
Yes.
But that's no chemistry read.
Let's face it.
Did you know in the chemistry read, we have real chemistry?
No.
No.
No.
I couldn't.
And I struggle a bit with the term chemistry read because, you know, I've done so many of them.
They go, well, they want you to do a chemistry read.
And then you go, do you mean they just want me to act with another actor?
Is that what they want me to do?
It's a silly term.
Yes.
And then I think sometimes what they secretly do is in between the acting,
they want to see if you're joking and having fun or you might like each other.
Do you know what I mean?
If they might get on set, I honestly don't know.
I struggle a bit with the term chemistry because I'm always like,
I can pretend to like that person in the room and then hopefully they'll give me the job
and then I'll act my best in the acting bits.
But that's all pretty much I can do.
Yes.
She had to slap me in our chemistry read.
And the director said, one of the reasons he said,
What we cast you is because you took that slap so well.
And I went, I had no idea she was going to slap me.
It was absolutely.
I was reeling in shock that she did it.
It really hurts.
Oh, my ears were ringing.
They went, God, you took it so well.
I was like, it caught up with me like three days later.
Yeah.
I had no idea that was happening.
So, you know, there are strange happenstance like that where you go, oh, thank God.
I didn't go, oh, Christ, what are you doing, woman?
Is there tape rolling on this?
Yeah, oh, yeah.
It's so funny to me, the idea of your family.
being able to at any point,
look at a tape of this is when
our parents met each other
and it's you getting the shit kicked out of you.
Yes, yes.
Well, they're like, well, that must,
that's like any Wednesday, really.
But also.
I forgot, yes.
Constant beatings.
Of course.
Oh, there's that again, yeah.
But we'd actually met about 15, 16 years prior to that.
Oh, wow.
And at a kickball party
that Jennifer Gray threw in Los Angeles.
And I'd ask.
Those are famous.
Those are famous.
Which is why I fought my way in.
I was like, God damn it!
There's a reason they call it dirty dancing,
and I'm making my way in.
It can't really mean kickball.
It must mean some other kind of kickball.
It's code.
Yes.
So at the end of the party, I'd asked for her number,
and I'd then very drunkenly left a message on her,
you know, back in the old days when it was,
you know, and she said some drunken Welsh idiot
left her message, and that was me.
So we kind of reminded ourselves of each other,
after that.
So I'd remembered that I'd met her many, many years earlier,
but it wasn't the time and place for me to go,
oh, guess what?
Do you remember that?
Faithful night, and I opened a beer with a key on my thumb.
And I was inebriated and had to walk home
and left you a message,
all made of consonants, not a single vowel.
Well, I remember that when we did our first podcast,
and as I said, it was during COVID.
And it looked like you were talking in a big.
You were...
Still there.
You were shrouded in darkness.
Yes.
That's my aura.
It looked so sad.
And then in the background, this angel walks by with a hamper of laundry.
I know.
And I was like, ah!
He's...
Carrier!
And I put my creep classes on and started filming.
But she was...
Telegram!
It won't work.
You're on Zoom!
Yes.
Dammit!
Separated by Zoom.
Oh my God.
Creepy tricks won't work.
I want to talk about this new project,
and there's a little strange,
I have some connection to this project
that you've done, The Beast in Me,
which is that early, early on,
I had this production company
and the wonderful and very intelligent,
wise, David Kissinger said,
there's this script that I found
that's amazing.
He brought it to me.
I read it.
I think Jody Foster had seen it.
So Jody came in,
and we just started talking about
how amazing this script was.
Because we were doing our best to try and shepherd this thing along.
But once people hear Conan O'Brien's involved, everyone flees.
That imposter.
That imposter.
Yeah, yes.
He's phoning it in again.
Is he wearing those glasses?
Did you get one of his telegraphs?
Yes.
They're not real, you know.
Yes.
And so time goes by, and then I find out that, oh, wait, this is actually going to happen.
But I wasn't sure.
For a while, we were thinking who is going to play this part.
and then I find out it's Claire Daines
and then I find out that it's you
and I had no
no one would listen to me anyway
but someone did call me at one point
and said what do you think of for the part
for the second lead
or the co-star of it
what do you think of Matthew Reese
and I was like I love that guy
he's got to do this
I want to have my name in something
that you're in and listen
I take no credit for anything
I'll demand money
I'll make sure that I take a big enough piece
that it hurts the production.
Always.
Always.
That's why I did it for bread.
Yeah, exactly.
But no, I can take no credit for anything other than
I loved this script a long time ago
and I very much wanted to see this make it
and I hope my name was of some use.
It may have harmed.
Well, no.
And my 70% of the profits, I'm ashamed.
No, you shouldn't be.
No, you've earned it.
You burnt it.
And thank you for the vote of confidence.
By doing nothing, I've earned it.
Oh, stop.
It's the other thing that no one realizes
the amount of years are going to development.
So when people are like you and Jody Foster are going,
no, this should get made.
You know, thank God that you do.
Jody was a child at the time.
Yes, she'd just done taxi driver.
She had on taxi driver.
I was in fourth grade.
And I said, I think we should make this.
And no one listened to us because I was in Brookline, Massachusetts.
And she just unbucked.
Mugsy Malone with Alan Parker.
Yeah, so, you know, it was a long time ago.
Yes.
People don't understand how long it takes.
And these circuitous roots, it's a musical for a while.
Now it's an animated series.
Yeah, no, it's very true.
I was all going to be done with cats for a while.
Yes.
Well, they haven't ruled that out.
But it was, it reminded me of, I want to be careful with this,
but it was, there's a sense of it being an old-fashioned thriller,
which I haven't seen in a very long time
where a concept kind of is sometimes
overpowering and overwhelming
in certain productions these days
and what I just loved was that you have
two people who are basically intrigued with each other
and therefore begins
a very gripping and thrilling
cat and mouse game. It's
old-fashioned thriller
tension and I love that about it
because when I read it
did the same thing that it does when you watch you go
oh my God how is this going to unfold
Yeah, that's how I felt reading that script for
first time.
The fact that Howard Gordon is the brain behind this.
Well, also, you know, when I said, when obviously it was Claire's project, so when they
said, you know, Claire Dane's, Howard Gordon, you know, the homeland team are back together.
And as soon as you hear that, you're like, okay, I'm in.
Yep.
And then they said, we didn't ask you.
I was like, I know, but I'm still in.
Do you just crash meetings and go, I'm in?
Yes.
Yeah, and they go, who is that?
Yes.
Stop saying that.
I'm in.
Yeah.
Yes.
You somehow got into this room.
You know, it's funny, I've heard you say in, I think I've heard you say in more than one interview.
Oh, I'm not an A-list actor.
I don't know.
I think of you, I don't know.
Maybe actors think about that more than anyone else, but I don't see why anyone wouldn't want you first and foremost for something.
Because you're money in the bank.
Money in the bank.
You're 70% in the bank.
What I want to start, what I want to start, okay, is in showbiz parties, just going up to other actors going, what letter you?
What letter you?
A? Are you A? A. B. Yes. But really, how many A's are there anymore?
A-list? I mean, truly. I don't know what it even means. I would say five. Who are they?
I don't know. I don't know. See, that's what you... Bizz Clippler.
Your good old... Chaz Maloney.
Crazy Chaz. Tadirac. Is he still around?
Sheila McGee? See, it doesn't mean anything anymore.
No, I know. But who, like, Meryl. Meryl. Meryl Streep, A.
Oh, yes. Harrison Ford. A.
No. He's fallen terribly. Why? Because he's gone to TV.
I think he's on radio now.
He's doing ads.
He said, go to that car wash.
It's a good one.
Of course.
Of course.
But I think, but it's very personal.
It's, you know, Merrill, it doesn't matter what your opinion is.
She's up there.
Always A.
And, yeah, and Harrison Ford, yes.
A.
He walks on screen and you go, oh, my God, because you've grown up with these.
Some of that, too, is longevity.
You've grown up with him.
Yes.
You're still a young lad.
You need more.
Stop your ways.
Stop your ways.
Tom Cruise.
Another A.
Yeah.
Sure.
People who basically, when they.
walk on screen, you feel safe
or comfortable, because you go,
oh, we're okay now. Right, but I think it's
increasingly, increasingly
maybe an irrelevant term. Everything's
so fractured now. Yes. We used to walk
into the old movie palaces
and buy our popcorn
and our
sody pop and we'd sit there
and we'd watch the golden legends up on the
screen. Those days are over. We're watching
things on an airplane. We're watching things on
little screens on their phones. I
watch all the Academy-nominated movies on
my phone.
No, you don't.
And sometimes I think that's still too big and I crack the phone in half and I watch it then.
Through one eye.
Through one little, my squinty eye.
Yeah, yeah, which one today?
Yeah, exactly.
I'll use the left for this one.
Oh, yes, it's what they deserve.
And also we've Instagram, you know, we've read on Instagram what they've had for lunch.
So there's no mystery.
The mystery's gone.
Well, that's why you should stop telling people what you've had for lunch.
Why?
People love it.
I had an egg mayonnaise sandwich just before I came in.
I'm 30 seconds from a heart attack.
Stay off.
egg, mayonnaise sandwiches, for God's sake.
No, I won't. Damn you. You'll do as you're told.
No, I won't is the devil's work, and I love the devil.
Oh, I just want to rent
a cabin with you so we can just yell at each other.
Yes. Nothing sexual. No?
Me at first. But then we're just
yelling at each other. Damn you, I'll have your eyes!
You know, it's just you and I yelling
at each other. It's basically mutiny on the bounty.
Yes. But we're all, but we're both
vying us to be, for who plays Captain Bligh.
Who's blind, yeah. Damn your eyes!
I feel terrible for one man right now,
and that's his name is Eduardo.
I don't know if you can hear us, Eduardo, I hope you can.
Is he doing this?
He is doing all the mixing right now.
And I think his board is probably on fire.
Is that what we can smell?
Because you've got a Welshman and an Irishman
screaming at each other out shouting.
These very sensitive microphones.
He'll have tinnitus for life.
Exactly.
But he'll think of us.
Yeah, and he'll know how to say tinnitus, which most people don't.
Oh, do you say tinnitus?
I don't even say it anymore because I can't pronounce things over the ringing in my ear.
Do you have it?
I have it all the time.
What's that?
I do.
I want to get, why did the ear horn go away?
The old ear trumpet that comes out that people used to, in 1920s, we'd go, eh, yes.
I want to get one of those in my dotage.
And then it'll be selective, because you can put it to your ear depending on who's talking.
At what time.
So exactly.
And with a hearing aid, people don't know.
But if I have a giant horn that I hold up to my ear, it'll be great because I'll be listening to someone else.
And then you'll start to talk and I'll put it down.
Oh, and that's the ultimate social tool.
Yes.
The ultimate burn that what you're saying means nothing to me.
It just goes down and it never comes up.
Slow horn down.
Yeah, the S-H-T.
You got S-H-Ted by your...
Oh, yes.
So am I coming back to your house tonight?
What's happening?
Yes, I'd say we'll stop off somewhere for a few cold ones
and then text, Kerry, that we're on the way.
A few cold ones meaning ice for our ass.
Yes.
Two five-pound bags, please.
Would you like some ice?
No, we brought our own.
Yes.
We both blow on our thumbs.
it comes shooting out.
Yeah.
Oh, come on, David.
Grow up.
It's not the first time.
Yeah.
Jesus Christ.
David's had to insert it most of the time.
Ice me, David.
No, sheen me.
Sheen me.
Sheen me.
Do you have Mr. Sheen in this country?
The polished furniture polish.
I talked to him on the podcast last week.
Last week.
Yeah.
I don't know when this one, this one's coming out soon, isn't it?
Okay.
Yeah.
So, yes, I talked to the man.
He's doing well.
Good.
He's fine.
He's in good.
Fine fettle.
Great.
Yeah.
Good.
Your eyes just went.
dead because I was talking about another actor.
Yes, well, there's three, I was holding, I was actually holding three sheens in my head.
I had Charlie Sheen, obviously, his wonderful father.
Yes, Martin Sheen.
Martin.
And then also Michael Sheen, a fellow Welshman who is responsible for this one man, Richard Burton,
because he's taken over the Welsh National Theatre and said, come and do something in Wales,
I went, I'll come and do it.
I admire you.
Well, thank you.
I'd like to grow up and be you one day, only I'm older than you.
I can tell my wife today, she's in New York with me,
saw that I had a little joy in my step today
and I said, I'm seeing Mr. Matthew Reese
and I couldn't be happier.
You're hilariously funny and you're a joy to be around.
I hear you're a monster on set.
True.
But I wasn't on set, so I don't care.
And I just wish you all good things.
I really do.
Well, thank you very much.
I appreciate those words enormously,
especially coming from you.
That's such a great man?
Yes.
Let's elaborate on that.
So I'm sorry.
As a great man or more.
Maybe the greatest. Maybe the greatest man.
I was trying to get to that, possibly the great.
Let's get sooner, sooner.
Sorry, sorry, the greatest man I've ever met.
Maybe the greatest comic of all time.
Well, that goes without question.
Is it why it's written here?
Sorry, what, we rehearsed this.
Yes, I'm sorry.
What else am I best to say again?
It's all so embarrassing.
Yes.
Go with the gods, old friend.
Be well.
Thank you very much.
And a joy to be here, as always.
Thank you for the invite.
Last week, we were doing a state of the podcast, and it got sidetracked by Sona and the Brazilian buttlift, which is not a new Indiana Jones movie.
But it is a children's story.
It's a children's book coming out soon.
Sona and the Brazilian buttlift.
Mommy, that's my favorite book.
This is part two.
So, Adam, we interrupted you because you were listing our incredible act.
We had a ton of accolades, and I got embarrassed, and we got off track.
Lots of awards.
Great guests.
And I was talking about how we've started doing full.
Lots of awards.
A major awards.
We started doing full-length video in May, and numbers are great.
And again, the concern was, is it incremental audience, or are we just taking people away from the podcasting?
Now, the interesting thing is on the history of the sort of the podcast, delivery has been RSS.
So when, you know what that is kind of.
No, I don't.
When people have listened to podcasts in the past, when you use the podcast app, you're getting
an RSS feed delivering you the podcast, and you have to subscribe to that, right?
So subscribers to the podcast will get the podcast every week.
And we have built up a huge audience in podcasting over the past seven years on the podcast app.
People have subscribed.
Yep.
The interesting thing about YouTube is we have a very large YouTube channel, over 9 million
subscribers on YouTube.
When we put out.
Related to the podcast.
Completely unrelated.
That's Conan content from before you chimps.
That's very true.
That was built on TBS content and lots of great.
One man's dream.
We're keeping them subscribed.
But the interesting thing about YouTube is when we put a podcast video on that channel
that has 9 million subscribers, about half of the views to our podcast video come from
non-subscribers, meaning that YouTube has algorithmically suckered those.
Algorithmically is exactly the word.
YouTube is serving our content to people who didn't subscribe.
Who actively dislike me?
I mean, I doubt it.
I think YouTube thinks that they're going to like this content.
And so it's sharing the content more and more, which is actually awesome because it's growing our,
the old legacy podcast is a very deliberate act.
You know, you had to subscribe.
Then you get your podcast.
This is like we're growing our audience on YouTube because all these people who didn't
already subscribe are getting fed the content and watching the content.
So we're an invasive weed.
Best description I've ever heard of this podcast.
Is Conan going to be like a YouTube personality, though?
Should he be like, hey, smash that like button and subscribe?
Yes, we probably, the crazy thing is, and we talked about this a little bit on the last time, but like podcast, because podcasts are becoming so, are distributed so much on YouTube as a billion people a month are watching podcasts on YouTube, which is a crazy number.
The sort of podcast world and the YouTuber world, Sona, that you're talking about, they're kind of merging.
Like podcasters and YouTubers are all part of this larger creator economy now, and you're there.
It's hilarious that no one has sat me down, including you, and talk to me about any of this.
I'm saying that's what this is.
That's what this is.
I know, I know.
We can't sit you down unless there's a microphone in front of you.
Or a camera, it turns out.
That's incredible.
You should become more of like a YouTuber, like do some pranks and like,
yeah, unbox stuff.
I'm going to start unboxing stuff.
Yeah.
Here, drink this urine.
I don't even know enough about YouTube stuff.
I don't either.
Well, I will say Conan, sorry to interrupt you, but the other, the thing that you've joked about
a bunch now, which is becoming more and more true, is that you're back to hosting a late-night show.
Because not only is YouTube the number one.
destination for people to listen to podcasts. It's also the number one streaming platform now and the
number one thing that people are watching on TV in their living rooms. So you have essentially just
gone back and created another talk show. I make this joke repeatedly, but it's so funny to me that
I deliberately left late night after 28 years. I loved it. I enjoyed every second. I said that's
good. I'm going to go now. I'm going to do my little podcast. I'm going to do my little travel show for
HBO Max.
I hope they always call it HBO Max
and don't start messing with the name.
Uh-oh.
And then everything, you know, that was it.
And I'll work on my body
at the request of everyone.
And then this...
What? Well, people said you've got to fix that body.
That was the big thing I heard.
I just don't like the way you worded it.
It's weird.
Body.
Anyway, now we're doing this podcast
and it keeps growing
and people started to say things like,
we should do some in front of an audience.
And if there's an audience,
we should have Jimmy Vivino there
and some band and other people in the band.
It'd be really funny if you came out first
and warmed up the crowd.
Now you should do a monologue
and then call out the other guys
and do the podcast.
Hey, it'd be really good if we put this up on YouTube.
And now people are telling me,
I love your show.
And I'm like, it's not a show.
It's a little podcast.
But it doesn't matter to me.
It's fun.
It's organic.
We're having a blast.
I'm not asking.
I'm telling you.
Um, it's, uh, it's really, uh, enjoyable. And all joking aside, you're not going to like this,
but we have a secret sauce here with you guys. It's really, it's a really nice environment. I never know
what's going to happen. Uh, I'd be miserable if I was here alone. And, uh, you guys are really
funny. And this is lovely. I'm having a really good time. I'm having a really good time. Yeah.
Yeah. It's very nice of you to say. Thank you. It's all led by you, boss. And there you go.
Oh, man. You're really.
You shouldn't have handed it back to me.
I know, but I was, you were being sincere, so I was sincere back to you.
I was so sincere to get you to hand it back to me.
Yes, I lead the way and it would never have them without me.
Well, that's it for the state of the show.
Adam, this has been a good pep talk.
Thank you.
And also, thank you to Adam.
Yeah, thank you.
Very much.
His leadership, his common sense.
Of course, Eduardo, always there, working the knobs, guiding us at the helm,
taking care of us, Blaze, shouting into the microphone, things we don't need to.
here um uh just what a lovely
it's such a fun group it's a fun group it's a highlight of my day
every day it's did did you hear anything about the advertisers mad that we talk
still a lot about like a lot of jizz and stuff like they don't mind they don't mind
no they don't know we're getting yeah now we're getting uh jiz only
I was going to say your sponsorship is jiz monthly yeah yeah it's appropriate
the magazine a jizinator yeah if you shot some jizz and you don't know where it is
use the jizzinator we want the jizzy for
best podcast. We won the Jizzy.
And you beat Jizz Taylor.
Yeah. Yeah. And we've been invited to New Orleans Jizz Fest.
And trust me, you got to wear a raincoat to that thing.
Stay on the podcast. Stronger than ever.
Conan O'Brien needs a friend with Conan O'Brien, Sonam of Sessian, and Matt Gawley.
Produced by me, Matt Gourley. Executive produced by Adam Sacks, Jeff Ross, and Nick
Liao. Theme song by the White Stripes.
Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino.
Take it away, Jimmy.
Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair,
and our associate talent producer is Jennifer Samples.
Engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns.
Additional production support by Mars Melnick.
Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista, and Britt Kahn.
You can rate and review this show on Apple Podcasts,
and you might find your review read on a future episode.
Got a question for Conan?
Call the Team Coco hotline at 669-587-2847 and leave a message.
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