Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Mila Kunis

Episode Date: July 1, 2019

Actress Mila Kunis feels indifferent about being Conan O’Brien’s friend.Mila sits down with Conan to talk about not being wasteful, running moneymaking schemes (while working on That ‘70s Show),... addressing her stardom with her kids, and the importance of having a job at a young age. Plus, Conan gives producer Matt Gourley’s mother Welford a call.Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: (323) 451-2821.For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com.This episode is sponsored by Clif Bar (www.clifbar.com/CONAN), Mizzen+Main (www.comfortable.af code: CONAN), Fracture (www.fractureme.com/CONAN), and Ben & Jerry's (www.benjerry.com).

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, my name is Mila Kunis and I feel indifferent about being Conan O'Brien's friend. What the hell? Indifferent? Well, okay. I've known you a long time. I feel lucky. I feel privileged. That's the opposite of indifferent. Welcome to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.
Starting point is 00:00:48 This is my podcast because the TV show wasn't enough. It started out as a lark and I absolutely love it. It's really fun having a blast and, of course, joined by my good friends, the stalwart Sonam of Sessian. Hey, Sona. Hi. How are you? I'm doing great.
Starting point is 00:01:08 Your posture isn't great. You're sort of slumping over. I'm comfortable like this. Also, you have your... You're leaning your chin... You mean to lean your chin on your fist, but the fist was kind of going into your mouth and you're on mic. So...
Starting point is 00:01:19 Okay. You're not changing anything at all. No, I'm not. You want to make me change it? I was trying to give you helpful advice. I don't like listening to you. Kind of a father figure, if you will. Oh, God, no.
Starting point is 00:01:30 And then also Matt Gorley. I call him Gorley. How are you, Matt? I'm good. How are you? Welcome back. Thank you. That's right.
Starting point is 00:01:40 I was away. You're in Ghana. I was in Ghana. We shot a travel special there and it was fantastic. What did you do while I was away? I just lived in peace for the first time in my life for a few months. Really? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:01:49 You mean just because I was gone? Yeah, just like the stress load was off. Oh, come on. What are you talking about? I think you thrive on this connection. I make you better. I'm like a Michael Jordan who raises your game, but Michael Jordan now who hasn't played basketball in a long time.
Starting point is 00:02:03 And wears Haynes T-shirts and a Hitler mustache. Yeah, and a Hitler mustache and apparently bets very heavily. So I'm that Michael Jordan. No, we complete each other and don't answer that. Okay. Wait, you have a beer? Yeah. While you're drinking a beer, it's not...
Starting point is 00:02:17 It's Friday. Yeah, but it's not even two o'clock in the afternoon. I don't know. We finished the interview. I think Sona's like relaxing. I'm having a beer. What are you talking about? Probably go for a swim later.
Starting point is 00:02:25 Yeah. Who cares? Yeah. Don't want to get with it, old man. Don't be a dork. Yeah, nerd. Wow. To be taunted by you two is hysterical, especially gorely.
Starting point is 00:02:36 I bet you'd reach into your back pocket for a switch blade, but you'd gotten... Could be a comb. A switch blade? No, no, no. It would be a vintage comb, an ironic vintage comb that used to... What's an ironic comb? I don't know. A comb with no teeth in it, because isn't it funny, and it used to belong to a secretary
Starting point is 00:02:57 of state in 1902, and you got it online. Yeah. So yeah, you're a threatening chap, so Sona, seriously, get your hand away from your chin. No. Oh, God. I like this. It's comfortable. Well, you like this as a teenager?
Starting point is 00:03:10 Yes. Okay. I was. So you never grew out of this face? No, I was always in detention because I had trouble with authority. I've noticed you have trouble with authority. I am the authority around here, and you and I always have trouble with each other. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:03:26 Okay. That's cool. Sorry. Are you high? No, I'm not. Do you wish you were? Yeah, of course. I wish I always was at work.
Starting point is 00:03:35 It makes it so much better. Am I the only one here with a work ethic? I guess. Yeah. I'm sitting here drinking water. You can be fun. You are drinking Pacifico? Mm-hmm.
Starting point is 00:03:47 Okay. Beer? Yeah. And Sona here is pining away for a sweet edible, a sweet, chewy marijuana high. You can be unpleasant sometimes, so it is nice to numb it. Not true. I was at jury duty for two weeks, and I miss it. You miss jury duty?
Starting point is 00:04:08 I do. So wait, I was in Ghana, and Matt Gurley described it as the best time he's had in months while I was away, and you are pining for jury duty. I was on a trial for two weeks, and I miss it. How are you allowed to be on a jury? I'm a great juror. Yeah, but you have to be a citizen of the United States. Oh, come on.
Starting point is 00:04:27 I am a citizen. Sona. I was born here. I'm a citizen. This bit, it went nowhere, because it doesn't make any sense. I was born here. Who's on today? You're anxious to change the conversation.
Starting point is 00:04:44 Who do you have? You're out of it. You're both out of it. Where are you going to make friends with today? I am raring to go. I've been to Ghana, and I've come back, and I'm raring to go hitting on all cylinders, and I look over at you two goofballs. You're sucking on a Cerveza, having a good time.
Starting point is 00:04:59 You got a tan. Yeah, man. Where'd you get your tan, man? Backyard. Oh, yeah. Backyard. I bet that's code for something, right? No.
Starting point is 00:05:09 Yeah, code for the yard that's not in the front of my house. Right, in the back. Even the old backyard. What about you, Sona? What? Nothing. What an uninspiring team. Okay.
Starting point is 00:05:21 I want to mention something really quickly, and you're going to have to help me with this gorelly if you can sober up. Coming up, we have a real treat. A special edition of this podcast is going to be coming up called Deep Dive with Dana Carvey. Six episodes where Dana and I just riff and behave like fools, and man, is he funny. You guys are both. Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Starting point is 00:05:44 I'll give it to Dana. Okay, I'll take it. It's really Dana being absolutely hilarious, and you don't want to miss these. These are slightly shorter episodes, but they're packed with chuckles, guffaws, laughs, and hearty-har-hars, and that's a guarantee. Deep Dive with Dana Carvey. When do those roll out? Well, this will bridge the gap between the two seasons of Conan O'Brien and Yates of
Starting point is 00:06:07 Friends. Oh, so we're doing it. Official. We're coming back? We're doing another season. We're doing this. We're coming back for more. If you haven't enjoyed it, ha-ha, your life's getting worse.
Starting point is 00:06:20 So these will come out for free between the seasons of Conan O'Brien and Yates of Friends, but if you want them right now, you can get a free month of Stitcher Premium. Sign up at StitcherPremium.com and use promo code Conan and hear all six episodes. Otherwise, the free ones will be out on August 5th, and they'll come out once a week for six weeks and lead you right up to season two of Conan O'Brien and Yates of Friends. Yeah. And check those. The ones with...
Starting point is 00:06:46 I'm really proud of the ones I got to do with Dana Carvey. He is a national treasure, and he really makes me laugh, and I think you'll have fun checking him out. Okay, so onward. Today's guest... I'm really happy. Today's guest is a very talented actress. I've gotten to interview many times over the years.
Starting point is 00:07:03 You know her from that 70s show, Black Swan, and forgetting Sarah Marshall. She's also voiced Meg for 17 Seasons, a family guy. I'm very excited to talk to her. She's a very special person, Mila Kunis. Hey, Mila. Thank you so much for being here. Yeah, for sure. I say this quite honestly.
Starting point is 00:07:28 I've loved you for a long time. You're just a real person, and I don't get to meet that many real people in show business. I mean that. Thank you. The first time I met you, you were a kid when you came on my show, and you seemed like a child to me. Then you started talking, and I thought, well, she's on this show, that 70s show, and she's an actress, and she's very young, so there's certain things that you might expect.
Starting point is 00:07:56 I thought, there's a lot of people that live in a bubble. They live in a bubble, and I've experienced it firsthand. They don't have much life experience, and I started talking to you, and you had the wisdom of an old Ukrainian fisherman. It just was blown away by how street smart you were, how frugal you were. You told me that your parents got mad at you about something, and they took your right to drive your car away, so you were taking the bus to tapings of that 70s show. I thought, this is, first of all, God bless your parents, but second of all, this is great.
Starting point is 00:08:37 This is fantastic. I have really cool parents. I mean, hindsight 2020, they're awesome, but when you're 16, 17, well, let's say 15, 16, and I was on 70s show, and I didn't have a license at the time, my mom had to pick me up from work, and I was still going to public school, and she worked at Rite Aid on Laurel Canyon and Victory, and so she would drive down to CBS, and pick me up after rehearsals at three, and then take me back to work with her until she closed the store at 10 p.m., and I had to do ice cream and do your photos.
Starting point is 00:09:10 I had a whole other job because I had no choice, and I was like, this is bullshit. I work, so I literally had no choice, but it's a different world. I bet today my parents would have been like, well, just Uber home, but that didn't exist. But that's not even the point. The point to me is more, most kids your age when they landed a major sitcom job, you know what I mean? Role, it's a matter of weeks before they're online ordering like a Bentley, or something they can't afford.
Starting point is 00:09:43 No, you know what I mean? I mean, if you're an immigrant, you have a very different mentality. I really do attest to the fact that I'm not first generation, my kids are first generation. Because I am an immigrant, I think that that creates a different perspective on what the value of a dollar is, and what hard work is. I really did, from ground up. I think, I think, I mean, you've talked about that, Sona. You've talked about how I'm always convincing people that you are an immigrant.
Starting point is 00:10:12 I'm not. My parents aren't. I know exactly. I am first generation. I'm your parents. That's what you're talking about. I totally get that. And you always had jobs, and you're extremely practical, and you're always, your brother's
Starting point is 00:10:23 always giving you a hard time if you spend like an, your brother. Sure. Do a fault, almost. Yes. Like there's a happy medium, and it took me, like I say this, yes, there's like extremes to both situations, but I was such an extreme, like, I'm going to be broke tomorrow, I'm not going to have a job, like, you know what, I was such a, I was always living my life so much so, cautiously, that it took me the longest time.
Starting point is 00:10:45 And it didn't happen until I married my husband, that he was like, we're going to be okay. And I was like, but we can't, we can't buy this house. And he was like, what, what are you, what are you talking about? Like, he's like, I promise you we can do this. And I to this day have this weird sense of like, what, what, what, you don't need to buy that plastic bottle. We have plenty of water in the sink, and we paid very good money to have it clean. So get a glass bottle and you're fine.
Starting point is 00:11:08 Like I, it's just the way that, and it's not necessarily healthy. So I think there's a, there's a balance to it that I'm finding. There's a, there's a kind of neuroses that comes with, you know, it's interesting because of wastefulness. It has to do with being not wasteful. I think if you like pinpoint it, like I've had very hard time being wasteful, whether it's with like food or not to get woo, but like, you know, earth, like I'm like, why are, what do we do when we're such wasteful humans, like we don't need to do this to ourselves.
Starting point is 00:11:38 But that's admirable. I, I do, I really do think, I know you're saying there's a happy medium. I do think there's definitely something that comes from not being a citizen of the United States. When you're born coming here and you have, you have a different perspective, famously Bob Hope, you know, like the sort of master of ceremonies, comedian of the 20th century. He was incredibly frugal and he was the richest landowner in California. But when he was in his late eighties, I know from people firsthand who were in his life
Starting point is 00:12:12 would say, oh, I was with him at a Carl's Jr. today and he had his, I took him there and he had his certificates to get 20% off his Carl's Jr. burger. He's the, he's one of the richest men in the history of American entertainment and he's got his coupon and he's 88 years old. And you want to say, Bob Hope, what's the, what's the issue? Well, anyone who's done, I just, you know, when I started reading up about Bob Hope, he was born to a very poor stone cutters family in Wales. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:12:42 He didn't come from the United States. They moved here and he was desperately poor when he was a kid. He never forgot that. It was always, yeah, okay, I have a billion dollars and I own most of California, but I've got this. Yes. I've got, I can get 20% off my Carl's Jr. burger and I'm not going to screw with that. I'm a big supporter of coupon.
Starting point is 00:13:01 I have walked into restaurants with a group on. Right. Um, I, uh, I use it all the time. Do you ever get any attitude because obviously they know you, they, you know, why is Mila Kunis using it? They're like, really? And I was like, yes. So if I check in, do I still get my 10% off on this bikini wax?
Starting point is 00:13:18 Like what I absolutely, like I love shopping online because I don't get out very much. So I love, I'm a very good online shopper. I'm also a really great, uh, like promo coder. Like I will find promo codes for everything where there's, we're building a house right now. Right. Um, but I will sometimes like our, uh, designer will send me like, these are the chairs that we need.
Starting point is 00:13:42 And I was like, but do we really? Cause these seem a little overpriced. And I will then go online at like two in the morning and find like coupon codes for similar looking chairs and send it back and be like, but what about these? And she was like, no, no, we're not. So I'm still doing this. It's not, it's like, uh. Those are made of tin foil.
Starting point is 00:14:00 They won't support your weight. You know, you told me this story once about how when you were, you were, you had all these money making schemes, uh, when you were a kid. And while you were on the 70 show, you were still up to some of your money making schemes. One of them involved T-shirts and it was hilarious. I, I, I remember it to this day. Yeah. Tell me about that.
Starting point is 00:14:26 Okay. So there's an end to that story. Cause I think I talked about it on your show and then I got a video message from the Backstreet boys of wanting their 10% off of the T-shirts. Let's take it back from the beginning cause let's just assume that no one saw that episode. Take it from the beginning. Okay. So, um, so I grew up in LA.
Starting point is 00:14:46 So there's a reason for this. I'm not a transplant, right? I came here when I was like seven, eight and I've lived here my whole life. So my girlfriends who are still my friends to this day, I met when I was in second grade and so forth. I have a friend, her name is Julie, she's still my girlfriend and we're super close and we've been friends since we were like eight or nine. And she's like, she's, if there's Lucy and Ethel, she's, she's Lucy and I'm Ethel.
Starting point is 00:15:09 Like she gets me into trouble all the time. Like she has these schemes where I'm like, all right, I guess I'm alone for the ride. So when we were in, um, you know, I mean, there are so many things, I guess I can talk about it now. It doesn't matter. But okay. So there used to be a mall called Beverly center and she used to be the manager at a store called natural wonder.
Starting point is 00:15:26 It's out of business. It's the only reason I can talk about it. And um, it's a real store and she would make me come in because she didn't want to be there by herself on like Christmas, like that three weeks of like Christmas shoppers and make me quote work there so that she would have a friend. So I would put on like a brown apron and stand in the front of the store and be like, would you guys like the moon rocks? Totally.
Starting point is 00:15:46 Everything's illegal about this. Yeah. You're not an employee. Nope. Nope. Nope. And I would like ring the register and like bum around the store. That's my friend.
Starting point is 00:15:55 Um, prior to her having the job in natural wonder, I might have been during, um, is when eBay popped up. Like eBay became kind of what it just started out becoming like, wait, you can sell items on eBay. And um, and so we would go to downtown LA and buy, you know, whatever for $2, like stacks of white t-shirts, white beaters and print out on iron paper what was popular back then, which was backstreet boys, which was the number one selling t-shirt. Or like, if it was Christmas, we'll do any logo for you or in sync or whatever was pop
Starting point is 00:16:28 culture relevant or anything that you wanted for us to print out on iron ons. And we would iron that on and send it off through eBay and, um, and we became really popular. So wait, you had no approval, zero, and you had no legal right. All of this is illegal. Yes. All of this was illegal. 100%.
Starting point is 00:16:47 Like this, nothing, nothing about this was okay. And mind you, we didn't do drugs, so we were just sober, having fun, little girls giggling like iron things on while I was on 70 show. Yes. That's the point. You're, you're, you are a major actress in like this big hit sitcom, this ensemble sitcom. Correct.
Starting point is 00:17:10 And at the same time, you are making illegal bootleg backstreet boys and in sync t-shirts and selling them through the mail. Just put a dog on it, you know, we didn't, we, we didn't judge. This is mail fraud. This is every kind of fraud. Yes. And yes, it was, this was so bad. Like, but we, we, at 14, 15, your moral compass is like, you're like, I don't know, this
Starting point is 00:17:32 is not very illegal. It's very illegal. Yeah. Um, but then after I talked about it on your show, um, AJ from Backstreet Boys, uh, goes to school, his daughter goes to school with my best friend's little girl. And so one led to another and all of a sudden I had a video of like, give me my money, which was very funny. AJ wants his money back.
Starting point is 00:17:53 And I was like, oh thank God they have a sense of humor. Uh, I, I think there's, I mean, we were so stupid coming in. I can't even tell you the dumb things that we did. They were all fine. Well, I think you should. I think you should tell us more. Well, because you're a bored kid. You're bored.
Starting point is 00:18:09 And we were so safely bored. Like we were those kids that were, we weren't self-destructive. Do you know what I mean? Right. And we were still like, like nice, happy, go lucky girls. Um, at one point Julie had a car, well, so I had a Ford Explorer. It was my first car and Julie had a, um, oh my God, it was like a hundred years old. It was like a Toyota CRV, but I swear it wasn't.
Starting point is 00:18:30 It was some version of that, but also had like 250,000 miles on it. It was really beat up. It was like so bad. And, um, and so we decided we were, this is not even that funny to anyone other than me reimagining it. Okay. So we're on Hollywood Boulevard. So you can imagine Hollywood.
Starting point is 00:18:46 And this is where she used to live is like Hollywood and, um, and like Fuller. And we looked at each other and we're like, what do you want to do this afternoon? What do you want to do? Well, let's just run our cars into each other and see what happens. Wait, wait, that is funny. Wait, no, no, this isn't, I know that you had us all prepared like, well, this is probably only funny to me. No, no, no.
Starting point is 00:19:10 This isn't just funny. It's terrifying and wrong. So you took both of your, you took both of your cars. So she's in her car. You're in your car. Wait, uh-oh. There's more. Wait a minute.
Starting point is 00:19:23 I'm getting, you're laughing too hard. You can't speak. We were both in my car and we decided just to take my car first. She said her car. You know, her car's parked. She's crying. She's crying. Your Mila Kunis is crying and can't control herself.
Starting point is 00:19:45 Because this is so stupid. I know. I would never do that today. Oh, you don't think? You don't think you would? That's what you did. Fuller on crying. Hey kids, let me strap the kids into the safety seats and then we'll go smashing into
Starting point is 00:19:56 some cars. Oh my God. Mommy, why? Oh, come on. I did this when I was a kid and you'll do it when you're older. Oh my God. So wait, so her car's parked and you're both in your car. What kind of, how many miles per hour are we talking?
Starting point is 00:20:12 Not that fast. Like 10, 15 miles an hour? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Like under. 10, 15 under. Okay. And then so I hit her car.
Starting point is 00:20:20 And then we're like, her mascara's running down. Mascara's running. Your tears are coming down. I'm not lying, right? It seems like she's recounting a tragedy. Everyone's crying. Okay. Then she took her car and reversed it into my car.
Starting point is 00:20:41 There's no reason. I'll never understand why we did this, guys. It'll never make any sense to me. Oh my God. Okay. I love how, first of all, correct me if I'm wrong, but you said, no, look, we're, you know, we didn't do drugs. So it was innocent kind of fun.
Starting point is 00:20:58 No. No, this story only makes sense if you're on drugs. I know. I'm telling you. This is your way to tell us no. We were super sober. Yeah. This is like, we didn't do, oh my God.
Starting point is 00:21:09 I know. So stupid. I wish Julie was here because she would be dying. Mind you, she's really respected, has a PhD. Yeah. In physics. That, that inspired her to become, when an object, when an object strikes another object at 15 miles an hour, she's a, like a, she's a PhD from UCLA.
Starting point is 00:21:33 Yeah. Oh my God. That's the greatest thing. Oh my God. This is the greatest moment. I mean, we've had a lot of great moments. Oh man. How many of these podcasts have we done now?
Starting point is 00:21:43 This is 33. Okay. I'm gonna, I might have to give this one the award for just absolute greatest moment. My God. Wow. Oh my God. That's, that's fantastic. So ridiculous.
Starting point is 00:21:55 So stupid. Okay. Anyways, I can think of so many of them, but let's move on. Okay. If another one occurs to you. I want you to tell it because I think these are therapeutic for you and they're solid gold for me. So what happens when you grow up in LA, you're just like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
Starting point is 00:22:15 many people, many people have grown up in LA and don't have stories like this. Oh, so sorry. Aren't Hollywood not off of, not all gonna small street guys on a very busy street. Sure. Why? Why? I don't know. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:22:32 If anyone knows why out there, please contact us. I think that's a fair question to ask people. If anyone understands. I was just supposed to call it and then people would just call it and then people will contact us. And also what happened? Like, are the cars, were they okay? Oh, I'll tell you what happened.
Starting point is 00:22:44 So nothing happened to mine, but her license plate fell off and then we had to be like, well, how do we, what do we say about this? So we had to throw it in the trunk and then her mom was like, well, what happened to your license plate? Julie, I don't know. Someone hit me. That was it? We ever talked about it again?
Starting point is 00:22:59 So that would be insurance fraud. Let's take a quick break because we're going to do, do some ads, but we'll be right back. Oh yeah. Ads are important because ads, you know, give you money. Yeah. And also, we have a bunch of people and you know what, there are promo codes with each. Oh, that's what I like. So pay attention.
Starting point is 00:23:19 Pay attention. Like write Conan in the promo code and you get 20% off. It's always Conan. So if you ever want to have a picture of yours printed on glass instead of paper, if I got the company for you, it's called Fracture and I can get you 20% off a Fracture print. Well, that's when you get 20% off. What's this? Oh, do you have come to the right guy?
Starting point is 00:23:40 Let's say Ashton wants to manscape and that's not my business, but I said I have observed you guys from afar with a very powerful lens and he could do some cleaning up down there. What company is this? What company is that? Gourly? Manscape. Yeah. I think it's just called manscape.
Starting point is 00:23:58 There you go. I just wanted to make sure you were still paying attention. Manscaped. Manscaped. Oh, manscaped. It's past tense. And they wax your balls? No, no, no, no.
Starting point is 00:24:07 Well, please, let's keep this clean. This is primarily a podcast for children. So let's watch it. They shave your balls. No, no, it's not. Excuse me. No, no, that's not right either. They send you the equipment so you do it yourself.
Starting point is 00:24:21 Do what yourself? You manicure things down below. You shave your balls yourself. But why do you need equipment? What do you need? As opposed to... Like a saw? Like, what do you need?
Starting point is 00:24:30 And a hard one. What's down there for you, Conan, that you need equipment? Oh, you don't want to get into mine as a thick, dense... Oh, no. Excuse me. Hello. Imagine copper. A copper brillo bra with tinge of gray.
Starting point is 00:24:45 Oh, did we go too far? Okay. We're back from commercial. Oh, we didn't even go yet. And we're gone. And we're back. I'm glad we got out of there because I think when we left off, I was describing a copper brillo pad in my nether regions.
Starting point is 00:25:07 Let's move on to better areas because I want better for you, for your children. You worked with Ashton for a long time and you were platonic friends. Super platonic friends. Like super platonic. Yeah. It never occurred to you. Oh, this will be the person I marry. No.
Starting point is 00:25:24 Like the opposite. I love biology, but I hated chemistry. Ashton was a chemistry major. So he did my chemistry homework for me half the time. Really? So that's literally our relationship was so brother and sister. Yeah. Because when you're 14 and 19, it's such a large age gap.
Starting point is 00:25:44 It really is. 14, 19, you're like, that's a grown-up, like that's gross on both levels. It was not even a plausible thought. So when we reconnected, when I was 27, 26, 27, no, 26, 27, and 34 at the time, it's totally fine. Right. Very different reconnections. So you see each other in a different light.
Starting point is 00:26:07 But going back to when I was younger, no, not at all. Not in the slightest. You know, I've noticed we were talking about what people were like as parents. What I've observed is that you guys are like, he's a real physical dad. Yeah. So a lot of people, we now have science will allow people to have children, the male, and that's not even so much science, but women can have children later. But there's a lot of men that will become a new dad at like 65.
Starting point is 00:26:35 And that's part of the culture. And I think, you know what? We're kind of meant, the one thing they don't take into account is we're meant to throw our kids around, especially the guys. We are meant to pick up our kids and toss them in the air and catch them. And one of the times I was hanging out with you guys, Ashton's in the background just throwing your children up into the air and then they'd go up like 10 feet and then he would catch them.
Starting point is 00:26:58 Yeah. There was a lot of rough and tumble and I'm that way. I like to do that. And it's like the one reason that I motivate myself to try and work out every day is I want to be able to tackle my children even when they're grown, even when they're grown adults and writers on the show. Like I'm not even kidding. I want to be able to tackle people and be a physical, goofy guy.
Starting point is 00:27:20 Yes. He's the same. I mean, I'm not to take away from if you do have children at a later age, I think all great, but I do think that the greatest benefit of having a kid at an age where you're able to be physical is important. It's I'm not like I'm the same size as my children. Like, you know, it's not like. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:27:39 I saw him tossing you around a little too. I think he got confused. Yeah. Like child. No, wife. I mean, I play with my kids. We just play differently. Like I play pretend with my kids, not to them as it doesn't, but I play pretend and we're
Starting point is 00:27:51 on the floor and we're playing with trucks and we, you know, hide and go seek and do all these things. And then, you know, he comes home and it's a it's a fucking jungle gym. Like it's the greatest thing that can happen. Also, you get like your disinvigor out, like go play with dad and you go outside and they, you know, just they're crazy and it's the best thing that can ever happen. Here's where I get in trouble. I get in trouble.
Starting point is 00:28:12 I used to get in trouble a lot more when they were younger, but it would be getting close to bedtime. Oh, yes. It happens all the time. I would come home from doing my late night show, whichever late night show I was doing at the time and I would come home and it was, I'm all amped up from doing the show and I'm amped up all the time anyway. And I would come home and I would chase my kids around.
Starting point is 00:28:32 Right before bedtime. They'd be shrieking. They'd be punching me. I'd be pretending to fall down. I'd be getting up, becoming a zombie, throwing pillows at them. Throwing pillows at me and my wife would be like, what? Knock it off. This is me.
Starting point is 00:28:46 A lot of times. And they're supposed to be in bed 10 minutes ago and their heart rates are both at 180. You know? And it was true. I was being a total, I just couldn't help it. It was like my crack cocaine. I learned to be okay with it. The first kid, I was like, but I, but I set the lights and the tone and the thing and
Starting point is 00:29:03 everybody's ready for a second kid. I really, very much. So I was like, what am I, whatever. Enjoy your kids. Like it is what it is. And you have 20 minutes to go. You know? Right.
Starting point is 00:29:12 Cause he, when he was doing his show, he would come home from pre-shoots at like, if our bedtime was six, 37, he would come home at six, 15. And I was like, Oh my God. It was either you come home at five or come home at eight, but do not come home in between. In this special hour when children are being put down to sleep, I know, but now I don't care. Now I genuinely do not care. I think it's great.
Starting point is 00:29:32 I really think it's so important. It's so important for them to have that. Cause as much as I can do that, it's not the same. It's just, I have different energy. I just do. Like if they get a, if they hurt themselves, they naturally run to me. And if they want to go and play and go apeshit and do a pretend to be a zombie or a fish or a dinosaur or whatever, they definitely go towards it.
Starting point is 00:29:52 Right. You know what I mean? And it's just different play. Now there's this thing I want to talk about that it's, it's a little bit of a thread I'm finding out that's running through this podcast, which started as a lark and it's turned into this thing that I really love to do. And that is this business that we're in, which, which fascinates me. And I'm pretty sure you're going to know what I'm talking about, but it's a business that
Starting point is 00:30:16 attracts a certain kind of person who very much wants validation in this very public way and they want their happiness to come in this very public forum and they want it to come, you know, they want the awards, the things that all of us can get sucked into. And it's very interesting to me when I'm talking to someone, you in particular, who's had an incredible amount of success, but I sense, and I know I'm right, that that's not where you get your validation from. Is that correct? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:30:50 Like that's not what makes you happy or fulfilled. You're proud, I'm sure, of, of the stuff that you've accomplished and what you've done. 100%. Yes. And I work hard at it. Yes. And I have, I think, a healthy amount of ownership over it. Right.
Starting point is 00:31:05 Yeah. But then what you, you, you seem to be someone who's figured out the thing that I'm going to say eludes a lot of people in entertainment. I don't even think people, people who consume entertainment don't know how truly unhappy some people are. Oh yeah. They work in this business. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:31:25 Because we have such, we have a culture that, that worships anyone who's in People Magazine and is smiling and wearing leggings that are, you know, are, are selling, are, no, you know what I mean? They're always walking down the street, like holding a coffee and it's like rocking these new silver leggings that are from the Jojo Jajaba collection. And, you know, you know, we're talking about, and, and we live in this culture where, well, that person is to be idolized, whereas you and I have no plenty of these people. We know a lot of them personally and we've worked with them who are absolutely fucking
Starting point is 00:31:58 miserable. Correct. Depressed. Depressed. Yes. And I almost wanted to, I don't know, like sort of just shed a light on how, I can't tell you how many times I've drive around this town, Los Angeles, and see billboards of people beaming happiness and, and it says like, check out Blank and their, and their new show or
Starting point is 00:32:21 their sitcom or whatever, and they're giving you that big smile and I think, I know that person and that's not that person. They're selling you something that's completely wrong about themselves. Yes. I don't know. I know. It's a weird thing that I've always talked about because I think it's always been fascinating for other people as to why I'm not fucked up.
Starting point is 00:32:39 And I don't know where, where, when, when, like, I don't know where the trajectory went this way. And I clearly went in this one route and not this route because my friends did go in this route. You had, you had friends that, that got into it and 100% yeah, I've been doing this since I was nine. Yeah. I've had my friends that, especially that were doing this at a younger age where you're
Starting point is 00:32:59 a little bit more susceptible. Well, a lot. Yeah. You know, it's interesting, but there are other people like you. I've had the privilege of chatting a couple of times with Jodi Foster and she is one of the smartest people I've ever talked to and completely, um, seemingly unaffected by being Jodi Foster and she started as a kid. And you think, how did you get through that maze because so many, you know, to be, to
Starting point is 00:33:27 go through everything that, that she's been through in that level of fame and first has also so many other baggage. Yeah. I mean, you know what I mean? Yeah. The height of the height, but I don't know. Yeah. And she, and, and, and I think, but it's, but it's rare.
Starting point is 00:33:42 It's really rare. And so it's, it's more rare now that I've allowed, like, I don't make friends easily. I have like my group of friends and I'm perfectly happy with my little group of friends and I've had what I used to coin as like the flavor of the month where like a new friend would come in for like a minute and I was like, that's my new friend, but it really wasn't. Right. And so who tells them it's over? Is this, does someone come in the room and go, it's over?
Starting point is 00:34:04 It's done. Your next flavor. Um, I stopped like responding. You leave the room on a happy note and then someone else comes in the room and says, it's over. Wait, no, she said she was going to get us ice cream. I don't know. Just sign this and you're done.
Starting point is 00:34:18 Um, I, so, but recently I've been like, you know what, I'm going to venture out. We're going to like make new friends, whatever. And I've learned that people in this industry and I have very little in common. Yeah. And I don't mean this in a, in a negative way or, um, in a judgmental way, but just things that I want to talk about versus things that, that are of interest to most people in this industry, uh, are very different, but that's not bad or good. It's just something that I've just recently realized.
Starting point is 00:34:45 What I came to, I realized a long time ago is that, uh, if you're in this business and it just doesn't have to be show business, because there's other businesses where this happens too. But if you tie yourself worth to something that oscillates, that goes up and down naturally, you're going, you're going to be miserable your entire life. A hundred percent. So I don't, if you're a stockbroker and same thing, if you're in this business, uh, and you, you make a deal that I'm going to be, uh, totally thrilled with myself and my life
Starting point is 00:35:19 and my reality as long as I'm on the cover of the magazine, but the minute someone else is on the cover and I'm on page seven, I'm going to be in the depths of despair. You're fucked. Totally. There's no way out of that. Nope. And the whole industry's opinion based. So it's not even how good your work is.
Starting point is 00:35:37 It's just what the guy next door thinks of it. Right. And why make yourself be worth upon some douchebag? Like I don't need people I don't know telling me right from wrong. Right. I get enough of it at home. Yeah. You know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:35:50 Like I, I'm cool in that regard, but I think that that also helps that I'm not on social media. So I don't have a constant reminder of how many likes I have in my life, which is very healthy, which is really healthy. What now, okay, here's the situation. Now you're raising these children and their parents are these two, you know, successful, really successful actors and people in the business. How do you convince them to like, no, you're going to churn butter for a living or you're
Starting point is 00:36:17 going to, what are the, what are the, we probably already started to think about it. Like you're going to have a job when you're 11. You're going to get, you're going to work on a stone mill. She knows exactly what our job's going to be. We go to this little deli in LA on Sunday mornings, this is like diner deli on Sunday mornings for breakfast. And she's gone there since both the kids have gone to their little. And so she wants to work there with the waitress, her name's Gloria.
Starting point is 00:36:38 And she was like, I'm going to come in and work with you here. And Gloria's like, great. When you're like nine years old and she's like, okay, I'm going to come in the weekends. We have it all planned out. But you know, there's a funny situation that happened at school. We haven't told my kids or we haven't told our kids what we do, how it relates to life. I was driving them to school one day and there was a billboard with my face on it for a movie. And my daughter went, oh, mom.
Starting point is 00:37:03 And I went, yep, had no, didn't comment, didn't elaborate. And I drove home and I was like, I think that at one point we're going to have to figure out how to talk about this because she knows we play pretend for a living and that's kind of how we've explained it all on like sets and whatnot. So the other day she was at preschool and one of the little boys, her little friend walked up to her and goes, I saw your mommy and daddy on the cover of the magazine when I was at the doctor's office. And when I was like, no, you didn't, our daughter.
Starting point is 00:37:30 And the little boy was like, yes, I did. I saw your mom and dad on the cover of the magazine. And so she pushed him and was like, no, you didn't. And got very upset about it. And so we haven't quite, this happened last week, we haven't quite addressed that situation of explaining that aspect to her because he didn't say it in a negative way. It wasn't done in like, the kid can't read. It was just more like, your mom and dad are everywhere type of thing.
Starting point is 00:37:54 My kids like, no, they're not. They're mine. And you're like, well, one day we're going to have to explain this. And so Ash and I just literally, so if you have any advice, we literally just started discussing how are we going to talk about how play pretend affects the rest of our lives? Yeah. I obviously, I mean, my experience with my kids is that they, you know, for a long time I didn't want them to know what I did.
Starting point is 00:38:22 I really didn't want them to know what I did. And I wanted just to be the dad that comes home and takes his jacket off and puts his briefcase down from work and plays around with them. And for a long time when they're really young, you can get away with that. And then I find they notice something's different when they realize people coming up to you. Well, my kid knows my name. My daughters, my kids know my name is Mila Kunis. No one has ever called me Mila Kunis.
Starting point is 00:38:50 And so when you go, Hey, Bear, what's mommy's name? And he goes, Mila Kunis, it breaks my heart because the only reason he knows my name is because somebody at the grocery store said it, someone at the gas station said it. Like it's the only reason that they know what my real name is. It's a really bizarre realization that I had that both my kids know my husband and my real full names. No kids know their parents' names. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:39:12 Well, it's interesting because I've, I, both my kids, especially my son are very comfortable putting me down. So. I hope that that happened. No, no. And it's really good because I was in a restaurant last night with my son and he's 13 and we're having kind of like a guy's night out because my wife and, and daughter were, were at a show.
Starting point is 00:39:35 So we're, um, I just took him out and the two of us were getting some, we just got a steak and we're talking about stuff and some, a guy came over the table and he was saying all these, you know, nice things to me about my career and my work. And my son was just sort of like smelling and shaking his head sort of like, uh, and he said, the guy said something really nice. Like I really, you know, I'm uncomfortable talking about it, but just he said like a nice thing. Complementary.
Starting point is 00:40:02 He was very complimentary towards me. And then my son sort of was shaking his head and the guy left the table. My son was like, yeah, a lot, a lot. He doesn't know, you know, and, and, uh, and it was just really good, like, you know, I know the real story, buddy. And I love that. I love that he is, I mean, I can tell he's, yeah, I can tell he's on some level proud of what I'm doing, but he also knows it's okay.
Starting point is 00:40:28 It's healthy to be proud of your parents. Right. Like that's a good thing to do is to be proud. Like I was proud of my dad was a cab driver. I never looked at him was like, so it's okay that you were, you know, yeah, but I hope that my kids have their idea of like, Oh, you think that that, that, that they're hot shit. Like I hope that that my kids are like, no, they're not.
Starting point is 00:40:44 That's healthy. That's a healthy parent-child relationship. Right. You know. So I'm just watching, uh, knowing you all these years, uh, and seeing the way you guys are with your kids. I have no doubt that they're going to be fine. It's my biggest like, how do you raise kids in LA doing what we do and not have them turn
Starting point is 00:41:07 out miserable? I do think there's something to them having to get jobs pretty early. You know, my husband, you don't think my kids are going to, they have jobs now. Yeah. They, they literally have, they have chores and starting the age of two in our house. Right. They're responsible for our dogs. Right.
Starting point is 00:41:27 So they have to feed the dogs. They have to walk the dogs. They're literally, they have, they have to make their bed. They have to, uh, wash their dishes. They have jobs starting at two. It's a little bit extreme, but I think that I saw your son building a stone wall. Uh, and it was, and it was for the city, it was for the city of Los Angeles. Did he have some block on it?
Starting point is 00:41:47 No, he did. Oh, okay. Oh, he didn't. No. He did not. I know. I know jobs are really important. It's funny how important it is for your kids to have a job at a young age.
Starting point is 00:41:57 It's really important. Right. All right. We're going to give my kids some work for you. Yeah. Yeah. They actually, they could. That'd be cool.
Starting point is 00:42:07 They'd have to handle alcohol though. I want them bringing me drinks. My daughter can bring you a drink. No problem today. We have a little fridge that she knows how to open and she will bring you a beer. She goes, can you get daddy a beer and she's like, of course, and she goes to the little fridge and gets a beer. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:42:24 Mine would be, can you make daddy a rum and Coke? Did your kids make a rum and Coke? I don't know. I wouldn't have a rum and Coke. Do you think your kids have had a drink? I do not. You don't think so? You don't?
Starting point is 00:42:34 I think they're like, I do not think they have. No. I don't think they aspire. I don't think they aspire to that. I think they're in a good way. I think they're growing up slowly. And I know there are people listening right now that are saying, oh man, you're so, you don't get it.
Starting point is 00:42:46 I think they've had a drink and I'm thinking, no, I don't think they, I don't think they, I don't think they have. They smoke a ton of weed. I've seen your daughter on vacation studying. Yes, she does. I know. I've seen it on the days where you're like, go outside and play and she's just like, no, she's like, no, must, and it will be a Saturday morning.
Starting point is 00:43:05 I know. And she's like, I've got to work. I know. I must understand everything. And I'm saying, look, the sad thing is it's a little familiar to me because that was kind of like that. Yeah. I was a bit of a freak as a child.
Starting point is 00:43:19 But that's the curse. That's why I have absolutely no exposure to the sun and I'm in my fifties. When do you go back to Cuba? I'll go back. I should go back. Well, I just get, you know where I was? I was just in Ghana. I like to go to different places and film.
Starting point is 00:43:33 That's who I talk about. Cause I was like, well, I want to go to Cuba and I was like, oh my husband's here peering in the window. Is he going to come in and say hello or he's just going to be back there? I don't know. Oh, by the way, do you know our anniversaries tomorrow? Oh, is it really? I know.
Starting point is 00:43:49 And he thought it was today. Ask him when, when's our anniversary? Come in. Come in. When's your anniversary? Oh God. Ask him cause he got it wrong. Okay, sir.
Starting point is 00:43:57 Ladies and gentlemen, it's Ashton. It's also my Uber driver. And your Uber driver. Uber driver. Wait. Now when did you, you didn't know your anniversary? I thought it was today. It's not the anniversary.
Starting point is 00:44:07 It's today. You're always better off being a day early than a day late at the anniversary. So you had no idea when the anniversary was. There's a plaque in our house that has our anniversary on it. Like so, so that, but just look in the kitchen. I don't read. So you bought a pony today instead of getting it delivered tomorrow. He is right now.
Starting point is 00:44:27 You can't see this right now, but Ashton has a pony here and it's got a big bow on it and its name is Butterscotch. That's fantastic. How are you? I'm great. Yeah. So you're the ride home? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:44:40 I'm the Uber driver today. We have to go pick up our kids. Oh, look, we all pretended to care about our kids during the podcast, but it's bullshit, man. You're carrying this too far. Do I come with us? Uh, sure. And you don't invite the Uber driver in?
Starting point is 00:44:52 This isn't like the starting show where the driver comes up. It can be. Can I just say one thing? You guys have both seen me on the beach. What's it like when you see this body, this body running down the beach? What's it like? Can we call you white lightning? I'm like, there goes white lightning.
Starting point is 00:45:12 He's streaky by. He's not kidding. I know. You can't miss you. I mean, you're very specific. I'm very specific. Specific is a nice word for a tall Belgian woman with no skin tone. Look, there's Conan.
Starting point is 00:45:27 It's like seeing an exotic Austrian. The Irish are coming. Put the beard away. We won't have any for the guests later. All right. I'm going to let you guys go get your kids, but thank you so much for being here. Ashton, good to see you. Pleasure.
Starting point is 00:45:46 Stay focused when you're driving. Okay. I know you do. We heard about that. We've discussed it all. And Mila, seriously, since the first day I met you and then a couple of times since then, once we were at some kooky award show together, and I think I talked to you for five minutes backstage.
Starting point is 00:46:04 It was like a people's choice or something. Sure. And I talked to you for like five minutes backstage and you left and I was glowing like that is a special person. And I really mean that. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thanks for being here and God bless you.
Starting point is 00:46:18 And I look forward to running into you when I'm wearing a Speedo. See you this weekend. Yeah. Exactly. You should see me in a Speedo. It's awful. We're done. So last week I fed myself right into the mouth of the lion by mentioning that I sketch
Starting point is 00:46:39 with my mother in the park. You sketch with your mother in the park. Let's just let that sink in for our listeners. Her name is Welford. Her name is Welford. She's lovely. I'm listen, this is I'm not disparaging your mother, but some people probably accuse me of being hard on you, Gourley.
Starting point is 00:46:59 I think most people. Oh, maybe half. Maybe sometimes think that I'm overly tough on Gourley and that I portray him as this kind of slackerish FOP. And then you can't be a FOP and a slacker. Okay, let's let's let's change that. I again, fresh off the plane from Ghana. Tired.
Starting point is 00:47:18 Came back on Monday. Silence. I can't just say silence. It's so wrong. Silence. I got that in old sci-fi movie. Silence. Now, many people have accused me of maybe being a little tough on you because I portray
Starting point is 00:47:33 you, you've always felt unfairly as sort of a twee fussy FOP with his little mannerisms, his collection of eBay presidential memorabilia. And I thought, okay, maybe I'm being too tough on him. Last week, you reveal that you got to run because you have to go sketch in the park with your mother whose name is Welford. I happen to know because I have friends that listen to the podcast. One of them called me up this morning and said that his jaw dropped off. His jaw dropped off when he heard that.
Starting point is 00:48:06 He said he was walking down the west side of Manhattan and his jaw fell off and clattered on the sidewalk, then fell down into a grate. So now his jaw is gone. So anyway, that really happened. You really do that. That's something you do regularly. Well, we do it a few times a year whenever we can. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:48:22 Yeah. So you mentioned that you wanted to talk to her and I thought maybe we could get her on the line and you can maybe get to the bottom of the truth of this all if you really want to know where this is all coming from. I am definitely my mother's son. I'm a mama's boy. So this would be it. Oh, you a mama's boy?
Starting point is 00:48:36 I know. That's a surprise. Oh, okay. No, it's all right. You never know. So many unexpected turns in life. Okay. Let's give her a call.
Starting point is 00:48:44 Hello, we are not available now. Please leave your name and phone number after the beep. Hello. This is Conan O'Brien calling. I'm calling for Welford, the mother of Matt Gorley. If you're there. Hello. This is the mother of Matt Gorley.
Starting point is 00:49:06 Oh, my, oh, my God. Hi, Mom. The mother? I'm Matt. I'm sorry. Matt, wait. What do I call you? Your last name is, is it Merrill?
Starting point is 00:49:16 Mrs. Merrill? Yes. Okay. You had called me Matt Smither on your podcast. Oh, I did. Oh, my God. I thought you were, I thought this was like a character actress playing the part of Matt Gorley's mom, but you really are his mom.
Starting point is 00:49:31 I am his mom. Yes. Well, let me, may I call you Welford? What, what do you prefer, Mrs. Merrill? I mean, I want to be respectful. No. Welford, it's fine. Do you have a nickname?
Starting point is 00:49:45 Welf. Your nickname is Welf. Okay. That's what my husband started calling me. Mom, tell him your full name, all the names. Oh, my gosh. Okay. Catherine Welford, Nolan, Gordon, Gorley, Merrill.
Starting point is 00:50:00 Oh, my God. Did you come over on like seven May flowers? Is that what happened? They all crashed into each other. Well, I was given four names at birth. Well. And tell them what you call me. Monnie.
Starting point is 00:50:14 Why do you call Matt Monnie? Well, my two youngest boys, when they were real little, couldn't say Matt for some reason. Or wouldn't. Then they called him Monnie. Maybe they just had distaste for him. Well, anyway, I won't go there. That seems cruel. Do you know what my mother calls me and I'm not kidding?
Starting point is 00:50:32 No, I don't. Well, you shouldn't. It was just, it was a rhetorical question. No, my mother, my mother calls me pigeon pie. What? Yeah. My mother will still to this day, I'll call up and I'll go, hello, Matt's coming in and she'll say, well, hello there, pigeon pie.
Starting point is 00:50:49 Oh, that's all I'm ever going to call you now. Hey, yes, you can do that. Write them to the moment you're... Honestly, that's a term of endearment. I think so. Or else she's very hungry and will eat anything. Well, I wanted to talk to you about your son, Matt Gorley. You know him as Matt Gorley.
Starting point is 00:51:10 We just call him Manny. But let me ask you something, Welford. Last week, Matt mentioned that it's a regular practice. Both of you like to go to the park together at an appointed time and you like to sketch. Is that correct? Oh, yeah. How long have you been doing this for? We've done it, I would say maybe about four times now.
Starting point is 00:51:34 Can I ask you some questions, is Matt wear a big sun hat? No, he doesn't. That's interesting to know. He is a great artist, though. Is he a good artist? Oh, she's the best. Oh, she's amazing. No, no, no, he is so much better.
Starting point is 00:51:49 The last time we went sketching, I didn't even want to look at his drawing until I had finished mine because I would have stopped doing mine. It's an architectural type of style, but very light and airy and mine is very detailed. Can I just say that it seems like you both have a beautiful, special and loving relationship and it's making me sick to my stomach. I've never gone sketching with my mother. I've never gone sketching with my father. In fact, my father and I have not made eye contact since the Lyndon Johnson administration.
Starting point is 00:52:23 I want you to know that. I don't know whether to laugh or to say that sad. No, it's just how we are as Irish Catholics. This is clearly, I'm guessing, what is your denomination, if you don't mind me asking? Denomination? Religious? Yes, yes, your background. Protestants?
Starting point is 00:52:40 Protestants, so. And no, I am not for Trump. Well, this is, I'm sorry. That's my mom. Well, for this is not a robo-call. Did you think this was a robo-call for Trump? I don't think many people who go to the park to sketch are for Trump. That's true.
Starting point is 00:52:56 So, tell me, you say that what kinds of things are you guys drawing? What's Matt drawing, for example? What's he sketching? Well, we're sketching unique houses, buildings. We went to Pio Pico Mansion in Pico Rivera and sketched one of the buildings. I'm not sure if it was the mansion or not. Let me ask you something. Does Matt ever sketch people or is it always architectural shapes?
Starting point is 00:53:22 I'm sure he sketched people before. But you haven't seen it. Let me tell you where I'm going with this, Wilford. It's a known fact that people who only sketch architecture do so because they feel removed and isolated from humanity. Adolf Hitler, famously, only painted and sketched architecturally. And he was quite competent at it when asked to portray humans. He had great difficulty.
Starting point is 00:53:49 This probably belied some kind of deep-felt frustration and alienation, which led to him destroying half the world. Anyway, what I'm trying to... Well, I know Matt has sketched people before he... Yes, but can I just say something, Wilford? He did so against their will. And I looked up the police records in Los Angeles, and seven times your son has been arrested and detained
Starting point is 00:54:14 for sketching women that were sunbathing against their will. Were you not aware of this? Well, I think I did see his poster in the post office once. Very nice. Oh, my God. You have the improv gene. Yes, Anne. Thank you.
Starting point is 00:54:28 Thank you very much. I see now where Matt gets it. Well, you know what? I make my jokes, and I like to, as Sona calls it, she says, oh, you're quite the joshter. You like your joshing and your jesting. That's what Sona always says. I've never said that.
Starting point is 00:54:42 Yes, she does. No. But I think it's very sweet that you have this relationship with your son, and I'll admit to being a little jealous because... Oh, Pigeon Pie, you should come along sometime. Yeah. I would love to... I think I heard on your podcast with Billy Eichner
Starting point is 00:55:00 that you wanted to come to the park one time when we were sketching. I would like to come sometime, and I would like to see Matt sitting there. What kind of sunglasses? You wear like a vintage late 50s sunglasses, those kind that have the flip-up lens, flip-up shade. I really have no idea. Oh, you don't look at your son ever, huh? Maybe that's why you strictly sketch architectural forms
Starting point is 00:55:24 rather than a human being, Welford. You see, you and your son suffer from the same malady and inability to truly bond with another human being. Now, we're bonding with each other, right, Mom? Yeah, I wouldn't give it up for the world. What was Mattie like when he was a little boy? Was he always out there collecting butterflies, and what kind of fellow was he?
Starting point is 00:55:45 Well, he was very funny, funny all the time. Oh, so what happened? Did he hit his head or something? You know, those things, they say a sharp blow, and that can just go away. He was very creative. He made his own films with Star Wars characters and the like, and, you know, he majored in theater and set design.
Starting point is 00:56:09 Do you have trouble with bullies, I imagine? Bullies bullying him for his... I do now. Yeah, you, Conan. Excuse me, Welford. Excuse me, you're the one who's incapable of drawing the human form because of your desire to invade Poland. That's not me, that's you, Welford.
Starting point is 00:56:27 I'm sorry, I'm... You don't have to answer that one. Clearly out of control. I'm way out of control today, and I apologize. You know, let's get back to Matt. Matt, he got along well with other children? Oh, yeah. No real issues then back then?
Starting point is 00:56:42 Not that I know of, but I'm finding out lately that for most of my kids that they did things that I had no idea they did, and I'm glad I didn't know it when they did it. Well, what are you talking about? This is fantastic. Why don't you be quiet, Matt? See, my technique has worked.
Starting point is 00:56:58 I have kept you talking, Welford, and now the beans are out of the terrine. I was saying that no one's ever uttered. So you find that your children now are telling you things that they were up to that you didn't know about? Right. What have I done? I don't know about you, honey.
Starting point is 00:57:16 I don't know, I just know the other three have done stuff. Yeah, it's only them. Well, what did they do? Okay. Is there anything we can talk about? Well, I just found out a couple of weeks ago that my two youngest sons and a friend of theirs, we have our garage is right next to a neighbor's garage,
Starting point is 00:57:33 and it's a little enclosed area behind a gate, and they used to go back there, and there was a couch back there. Very classy. And they told me, and I don't know if they're telling me the truth or not, but that they used to smoke weed out there. What?
Starting point is 00:57:49 And this is when they were teams. Wait a minute. They were smoking Mary Jane on a couch. And this is when you're supposedly around. Are you there at the house when this is happening? I'm sure they did things mostly when I, excuse me, wasn't there. How do you think they got a hold of this wacky tobacco?
Starting point is 00:58:07 Well, it's certainly something beyond my knowledge. Okay. I mean, I'm sure you did things. So you're just finding out about this now? No, the only thing I would do when you were gone is I would take the mattress outside and jump off the roof and do my own little stunt shows when you weren't there. Listen, I give your son a hard time here on the show.
Starting point is 00:58:28 Well, but I do it out of good fun, a sense of bone on me. You know what I'm saying? Oh, I know you. Yeah. I've watched your TV show and listening to the podcast. Are you a regular? I haven't listened to them all, but I've listened to a few of them, and they're very funny.
Starting point is 00:58:45 Are you a regular viewer of the TV show? Well, not anymore. When you were on late night, I think it was. They don't have cable. So you haven't seen me since 2010, but nine years I've been toiling away on my craft. And you haven't been there. I'm so sorry. You'll watch your son jump off a roof, but you won't watch me make a professional television show.
Starting point is 00:59:09 Well, what if we offered to buy you cable? Would you watch me then? Well, sure. Well, I'm not sure you would. Mom, play your cards right on this. You know, you'd catch up on Veep. I would definitely watch you, Conan. You don't even know my name.
Starting point is 00:59:25 I would definitely watch you, Conan. I'm in the middle of a cough. Yeah, that's everyone's excuse. Conan, Conan, Conan. I would definitely watch you because we enjoyed your show when we saw it. Thank you. Well, for now, I'm going to get you cable, and I want you to watch the show, and then we're going to check back in with you.
Starting point is 00:59:45 Okay, Sona, will you set this up? Will you make sure that we get Wilford cable? I get... Speak into the microphone. I don't even have cable, but I sure... Wait, you don't have cable. But we can get her cable. Wait, how do you watch the show?
Starting point is 01:00:01 I watch it when we tape it here. Oh, my God. You want me to watch it when we're taping in here and then go home and watch it again? With your husband. No. Tac loves me. No, I mean, he does, but no. Sure, I will go get cable.
Starting point is 01:00:17 No, no, for Wilford. That's what I meant, yes. Wilford, we're going to get you set up. Wilford, I'll get you cable. Will you watch my show, Wilford, and then I want to talk to you, and I want you to be honest with me and tell me if it compares to the show that you watched when you last saw me almost a decade ago. Will you do that for me?
Starting point is 01:00:33 Oh, that sounds wonderful. Wilford, there's a rumor that you dressed Matt as a girl for eight years. Is that true? And you made him wear a... Oh, that reminds me. Did you make him dress as a girl and wear a 19... Turn of the Century 1902 girl's outfit until he was 11? Is that true?
Starting point is 01:00:50 She did not cut my hair for how long, mom? That's it. Except my bangs, so I just had long, curly hair with bangs. I knew that. Yeah. How did I know that, Wilford? How did I know? Well, his hair was just too cute.
Starting point is 01:01:03 I couldn't cut it. That's the one regret I have. That's why you couldn't work the machinery down at the mill. I'm sorry, Matt. Listen, Wilford, it's been very nice talking to you, unless anyone else has any thoughts. No, I love you, mom. Love you, too, hon. Yeah, it's really sweet.
Starting point is 01:01:18 When are you going to sketch in the park next? I don't know. Probably a month or two. Well, we don't know yet, but hopefully sometime soon. Okay. Well, think about drawing people or just drawing it and see if you can learn... Manages? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:01:31 It's called having empathy and connection to others. But just try it. I don't want you to turn bitter and then start invading neighboring countries. Okay? Well, it was lovely talking to you and I look forward to hearing your thoughts about the show. All right. Thanks, Conan.
Starting point is 01:01:47 Bye-bye. Thanks, mom. Bye. Bye, Matt. Bye, Sona. Bye. Bye. Bye.
Starting point is 01:01:55 Bye-bye. This has been a Team Cocoa Production in association with Ewald. Thank you for watching.

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