Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - JUNE SQUIBB — on doing stunts in ‘Thelma’ and manifesting a romcom with Robert De Niro

Episode Date: January 21, 2025

‘Thelma’ star June Squibb joins the show. Over grilled cheese, June tells me about exotic dancing for her audition for ‘Gypsy’ on Broadway, getting her first Oscar nomination in her eighties for ‘Nebraska,’ and how Beanie Feldstein helped her get her first leading role.  This episode was recorded at Zinc Cafe & Bar in West Hollywood, CA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The other day I was making lemonade with my sons Beckett and Sully and Beckett is a little bit of a perfectionist. I'm not sure where he gets that from. It's me. It's definitely me. But he was getting really upset about the seeds falling into the juice and it was turning into a bit of high drama. Now listen, there's an easier way to do this. Who knew? Wonderful seedless lemons are a 100% naturally seedless lemon variety. They're juicy, zesty, bright, and everything you love about lemons minus the seeds. That's right, no more seeds floating in your lemonade or diet coke or getting caught in your teeth when you take a bite of salad. Frankly,

that's just a hazard. Wonderful Seedless Lemons are available nationwide at retailers such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Walmart, Kroger, as well as select Costco outlets. Look for Wonderful Seedless Lemons at your local retailer or visit WonderfulSeedlessLemons.com to learn more. When it comes to weight loss, no two people are the same. That's why Noom builds personalized plans based on your unique psychology and biology. Take Brittany. After years of unsustainable diets, Noom helped her lose 20 pounds and keep it off.

I was definitely in a yo-yo cycle for years of just losing weight, gaining weight, and it was exhausting. And Stephanie. She's a former D1 athlete who knew she couldn't out train her diet and she lost 38 pounds. My relationship to food before Noom was never consistent. And Evan, he can't stand salads but he still lost 50 pounds with Noom. I never really was a salad guy. That's just not who I am. Even through the pickiness, Noom taught me that building better habits builds a healthier

lifestyle. I'm not doing this to get to a number. I'm doing this to feel better. Get your personalized plan today at Noom.com. Real Noom users compensated to provide their story. In four weeks, the typical Noom user can expect to lose one to two pounds per week. Individual results may vary. Hi, it's Jesse.

Today on the show, you know her from her buzzy lead role in the film Thelma and from her Oscar nominated performance in Nebraska, it's legendary June Squibb. I never really did the dating thing after my husband died. I tried a few times in New York and I tried tried a few times out here. And I would get so bored. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I just, I really did. That's an awful thing to say. No. But so many people bore the shit out of me.

This is Dinners on Me, and I'm your host, Jussie Tyler Ferguson. I got to meet June Squibb briefly when she was doing the award show rounds for Alexander Payne's film Nebraska. She was celebrating her first Oscar nomination at the age of 83 and she was the bell of the party in every room she was in. It seemed like every time I glanced over at her seat, a new luminary was clamoring to say hi and congratulate her.

I was so excited to meet her, not only because I loved her performance in Nebraska, but also because I knew that she had appeared in Gypsy on Broadway with Ethel Merman. I mean, come on, let's talk about the stories there. But I was also drawn to her because she had this giddy, can you believe this is happening to me, exuberance that was just completely intoxicating.

You just wanted to be near her and bask in this moment with her. Now, even though June Squibb has been a professional actress for years, both on stage and in film, there was something so incredible about witnessing her having such a huge moment in her 80s. I mean, people were calling this her big break, like 83. I always assumed when I was reaching my 80s. I mean, people were calling this her big break. Like, 83. I always assumed when I was reaching my 80s, I would be, you know, winding down considering retirement.

But after meeting June, I'm heavily rethinking all of that. Anything is possible. And I mean anything. In the past year, she starred as a title character in the action movie Thelma. Yes, you heard me right. Action film. She also just completed her second leading role ever in Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, Eleanor the Great. It's a film about a woman played by June Squibb who decides to take on her late best friend's story as a Holocaust survivor as her own. It's highly anticipated. I cannot wait to see it. All of these opportunities as she's entering into her mid-90s. I was over the moon when she accepted a meal with me to talk about this

incredible time in her life. Hi, so good to see you. I gotta scoot it a little more on. You can rock right. I do. I brought June Squibb to Zinc Cafe and Bar in West Hollywood. I wanted a place where I could just sit across the table from June Squibb, someplace low key where I could ask her about her career spanning seven decades over coffee and sandwiches. So that's exactly what we did. Zinc is just off Melrose, but it looks, feels, and tastes like you're eating at someone's cozy home, which is just the vibe I was but it looks, feels, and tastes like you're eating at someone's cozy home, which is just the vibe I was looking for for my conversation with June.

Okay, let's get to the conversation. I was with my husband. We were going to a film festival in Denver, and we were flying from LA and like, you have to like take a shuttle van to a smaller little terminal at LAX. So it was a very quiet terminal, not a lot of people, not a lot of people going to Denver at the beginning of November. And there was this guy wearing a hat that said June Squibb. And so of course I was like, I need to know all about this,

where you got this. He had just been at your birthday party, your 95th birthday party. He was a cast member of the movie Saturday Night, Saturday Night Live. Oh yes, yes, Gabriel. Gabriel, LaBelle. Yes, I remember. Yeah, he plays Lauren Michaels in that movie.

And he said, yeah, he went with a friend to your 95th birthday, and a great time and got a hat that just had your name on it. It was such a talking point. He wore it for the entire festival. It was such like a... Somebody told me that. They said that Gabriel loved your hat so much

he wore it to a film festival. Yeah, well now I won't wear it. If there's any extras hanging around, let me have it, give me one. Jesse wants a hat. I want a J.S.W.I.B. hat. How was your birthday? Oh, it was great.

It was great. It was a lovely woman, Kiwi Smith, a writer. She did Legally Blonde. Yes, I know that. That was hers, you know her then. And she has this lovely house in Los Feliz. And she's friends with Rebecca, who is the Magnolia person in LA.

And so they called me and said, do you mind if we do a birthday party for her? I said, no, are you kidding? Do you like celebrating your birthday? I do. And I celebrated even more. That wasn't it. I had a dinner party at a restaurant for friends,

and then my agent took me to lunch on the day of my birthday. So I did a lot. You did more for your birthday than I did for my, I just turned 49 last year. That's a biggie. Well, the big one's coming up next year. 50s biggie, yeah. But I mean, you did more on your 95th

than I did on any of mine. I'm impressed. But it was such fun because I was able to invite, I invited about 40 people of my own and then there were about 150 others there. Yeah, and I sat regally by the pool and people came to me, you know. What is it like to like have moments like that when you kind of look back at a crazy career, such a long career and also you're in such a moment of that career, and like today,

I mean you are the star of Thelma, which is fantastic, I'm gonna talk more about, but to look back and just think all these people that I've collected over the years, who are fans of mine, I mean it must feel so good. Well it does, I enjoyed the birthday. And I wasn't sure because I knew there would be a lot of people that I didn't know, but it was so warm

and loving and I felt like, but Gabriel, I remember him being there, sitting there talking to me. I had never met him before. Yeah. What a great way to celebrate. Yeah. Yeah. I just watched Thelma last week and it is so good June. It's so wonderful. You're so great in it

It's just I'm very proud. I should be so proud of it. I am I guess I didn't realize but it is it's your first leading role Mm-hmm in a film and if I have done leads on stage short Well, we're gonna go back to that because I'm, you know, that's where I'm at. I know. My route to the theater. My route to the theater. And you're doing it now.

I'm doing it now. I'm going back to the theater next summer to do some stuff. And I really have, I have so many stories I want you to tell about your time on stage. But it's, I mean, it's really exciting to see, you know, you at this point in your career doing something so different and so new and really holding a film with people I've been watching for years, like Parker Posey, Richard Rountree, who just recently passed away.

To be able to be a part of one of his final projects must have been really wonderful. Oh, I think we all feel if this had to happen to have been there with him during this last film was, it was just, I think more than any of us could ever have asked for. He became that to us. We all loved him so much. And I think he really wanted to say to his audience, look at what there is in this man

that you had no idea was even there, you know? And I think that was important to him. Yeah. Well, that's what I love so much about the film, is it really, you know, and I was talking about this, I had Kathy Bates on the podcast last week, me too. And we were talking, you know, she's having this great run in Matlock right now, which is wonderful.

And a lot of the themes of that show are how people of that age sometimes feel like as if they've disappeared. And she uses that to her advantage as Matlock, you know, solving these crimes. And what I love so much about Thelma is it really was, you know, taking these people who sometimes feel like, okay, people aren't seeing me fully, and yet they're taking control of their lives. But also just sort of that reflection on what we can and can't do when our bodies sort of stop letting us do those things, and how our will is sometimes stronger than our bodies.

And it's such a, first of all, hilarious film, but also I just felt the themes were so poignant as well. Well, I think, and I felt, you know what I read it, that this was important, that it was important that this be said, that this be told. And I think the audiences, oh, the older people who see it are just exhilarated by it, they just love it.

And the young ones always say to me, I'm going to take my mother, I'm going to take my grandmother. Or I have, you know, it's very important. Just to talk a little bit about what the film is, I want people to, if they haven't already seen it, be enticed to go. It's about this woman, Thelma, the title character,

who is scammed out of $10,000. $10,000 cash. But she's scammed out of this money and then decides to take it into her own hands to get this money back and goes on this adventure with her friend, played by Richard Roundtree. It is inspired from things like Mission Impossible and James Bond, and it's just so fun

to watch you in these scenes. And at the same time, you're doing your own stunts, a lot of your own stunts, you know, you're making your way through this store, and at one point there's an obstacle in this bed, and you do sort of a soft roll across the bed to sort of protect your joints. My bed roll, yes.

I mean, it's just fantastic. And how much of that physical stuff did you do? I really did most of it. And that was not what they had planned because they had thought, well, we'll just tell June to start these things, stop, and we'll get a stunt woman. And I felt that was not a good idea. And I wanted to drive the scooter.

I wanted to do these things. And as I read the script, I think I can do, I felt I could really do everything. But for one thing, remember when I ran the scooter into Richard, this scooter thing? That, they told me specifically, all right, go up to him, stop it, get off, and we'll have the stunt woman come and ram him.

And I thought, well, this is dumb, I can do this. And I rammed in, he did not know it was coming. Richard, he didn't know it was happening. And I just, and then I zoomed off with it, and I kept thinking, I hope they get this on camera. Because I'm doing it. But that was kind of the attitude I had. And they loved it.

It was just, they were so worried at the beginning about what I could or couldn't do. Well, sure. Yeah, I did the movie Cocaine Bear with Margot Martindale. Yes, yes. And she did a lot of her own stunts too, but there was some of it that was just too hard for, you know, even me to do.

And- You know, we lived next door to each other for 30 years. I do, I do know that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was talking about that too. But I know her so well, and I'm sure we both, we feel the same about so many things, you know, that I could understand her wanting to do that. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Yeah. And I know that she was very instrumental in maybe getting your role in Nebraska? Is that right? She first told me about it because they had sent it to her. And Margo got the script and she said, I'm too young. She said, you're the one that should be doing this. And so she gave me the script and she said, read this and see what, you know, and I read it and I thought, well, she's right.

Are you hungry June? I am. Good to meet you. Would you like a drink to get started? I'd like a decaf coffee. Okay, come over here. Yeah, sure. Decaf black coffee for June.

And I'm going to have Arnold Palmer. Arnold Palmer with black iced tea. That's great. Okay. What are your, what are you like known for? What are your specialties? Uh, so we just changed our menu. We added meat to our menu.

Oh, you were vegetarian before? We were all vegetarian before. I didn't know that. But now we have meat, so I would suggest the grilled chicken, the pan seared salmon. Shrimp tacos are excellent if you like shrimp, the grilled chicken, and the salmon. I suggested everyone.

I love it when I do this. I always ask people to tell me their favorites, and then I choose the one thing you haven't said. Do you ever do that? I think I'm gonna do the Zinc Club, the salami, prosciutto, roast turkey. Sounds really good. Would you like soup or salad or fries?

I'll do salad. Sure. Yeah, balance it out. I don't really have, no, I'm gonna have the grilled cheese. Sure, yes. And I guess a salad. Sure. Thank you so much.

Wait, so I want to finish. As Margo Martindale said, I'm too young. You should be doing this. Yeah. But the thing was they really didn't think that I was at all right for it. Only because you had played a sweeter character for the same director. Kind of a vague, bluish character. Yeah.

And you know, and Kate certainly is not that. No. Kate was full of it. And my agents kept at them and kept at them and kept at them until finally, and this was way in the process, they said, okay, we'll send her a scene, and I think two scenes,

and tell her to film them and send them back. And it was like- You had to self tape? Yeah. Alexander didn't even... No. Alexander. No, I mean, they were so, you know,

we'll be nice to June and let her do the... Sure. Well, Alexander said he saw it, and he thought, oh my God, she cooked like Kate, you know. Because we're actors. And so that's what happened. And he told me later on, he said, the minute I saw your audition, I knew you were her.

Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, June tells me about being told to give up acting and making her feature film debut in Alice at 61 years old. Okay, be right back. So picture this, you're running a business and suddenly you realize, oh no, you need to hire someone like yesterday.

You've been there, right? But don't panic, I got you covered. Just use Indeed. Why waste time on other job sites hoping someone notices your post? Indeed's Sponsored Jobs helps you stand out and hire the right person and fast. Here's how it works.

Sponsored Jobs bumps your post to the top of the page for all the right candidates. That gets your post in front of the eyes of the people you actually want to hire. Indeed just makes hiring so much easier. I remember a time when finding the right person felt like a full-time job in itself. If only I'd used Indeed back then, I could have avoided so much stress and maybe even found time to, I don't know, go to cooking school. Oh, and also there's no strings attached.

With Indeed sponsored jobs, there are no monthly subscriptions or long-term contracts. You only pay for results. Want to know how fast they are? In the time it's taken me to tell you this, 23 hires were made on Indeed. 23, yeah, that's pretty impressive. There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed. Transapp presents a couple trying to beat the winter blues. We could try hot yoga.

Too sweaty. We could go skating. Too icy. We could book a vacation. Like somewhere hot. Yeah, with pools. And a spa We could go skating. Too icy. We could book a vacation. Like somewhere hot. Yeah, with pools. And a spa. And endless snacks.

Yes! Yes! Yes! With savings of up to 40% on Transat South packages, it's easy to say, so long to winter. Visit transat.com or contact your Marlin travel professional for details. Conditions apply.

Air Transat. Travel moves us. for details. Conditions apply. AirTrams at Travel Moves Us. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. I do want to go back to some of your early life and talk about your Broadway career, if we could. I made my Broadway debut at the age of 21 in a revival on The Town. I made my Broadway debut at the age of 21 in the revival of On the Town. Oh my God.

Which I just, I loved doing. And musical theater for me was my first love. Loved it so much. Of course the one credit of yours that really just jumps out at me that I'm sure you've talked about at Nausiumn is doing Gypsy with Ethel Merman playing, which stripper was it?

Elektra. Elektra, yes. How old were you when you did that? I think I was 26. I think I was 26. Incredible. And you weren't in the original cast. No.

You were a replacement, but Ethel Merman was still on the show when you did it. She played the whole run on Broadway. And then they were reopening at the Imperial, and that's when I went in. And we had eight months in New York, and then I did the rogue company because she was doing it, and they wanted me to do it, so I did it. And it was like another eight months

of doing it with her then. That's incredible. What was that audition like? What was, did you meet the whole team? It's funny, no. I was at a bar with my agent and this young man came in and my agent knew him and he was the stage manager for La Plume du Matin. And so my agent said to him, what are you doing now? He said, Yvonne Constant is leaving and we have to replace her, so I'm doing auditions for that. And Martin said, well June could do that.

And he said, can you do Point? And Martin looked at me and I said, sure. I had never been in a pair of point shoes in my life, ever. So he said, well great, he said, you look good for it. So I went to the audition. At that time, they called me to come in and sing. So I went in and sang and I didn't bother with the shoes anymore and this guy after I had sang, this other guy came up to me in the house and said he was

a stage manager for Gypsy and they were replacing a role and he said go downstairs, come back up and do some strip tease dancing. Well again, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. So I went downstairs, and luckily a friend of mine, a real dancer was down there, and I said, what is strip dancing? She said, oh just dip a lot, and do your bumps and grinds, and dip.

So I went upstairs, and they played strip music. Now I was on the stage I guess I don't even know what theater but one of the big Broadway theaters and I'm bouncing and doing all these things, bumping and grinding and everything and they called me that night and said we want you to come into Gypsy and it was Electra. So you did it well. That was the gypsy. Bake it until you make it is what they said.

Yeah. And you sure did. I did. But we all did. Oh yeah. It was like of course. Oh I would say I could do everything and then I would just deal with it in the moment.

Yeah. I found myself in several auditions I should not have been in. Like auditioning for the ensemble of cats. I can't dance. Yeah. I can't dance. I cannot dance like that. And just kind of slowly walking out of the room

and it got a little too difficult for me. I was like, they're not going to even remember I left. But yeah, fake it until you make it. But we had such balls. Yeah, absolutely. Was theater your first love? Yeah. I never, that's what I kind of understood.

I never thought in terms of film, I really didn't. And I always thought I would end up on stage in New York. It never occurred to me I'd be doing this. So it just always was something you wanted to do. I know you told stories about your, was it your mother taking you to bars and having you stand in the bar? My grandparents, my father's parents, used to take me around to local bars because I

love tap dancing. I would get on the bar and tap dance and they would get free beer. And that's really what it was. It was the free beer that did it. So those were your first performances. Tap dancing for beer for your grandparents. On those old wooden bars, I love that. Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Oh great. Thank you.

Okay, that looks good. That looks good. I don't think, do you need cutlery? Yeah, I'll take some cutlery, please. That's good. That's good. Yeah. I don't know.

That grilled cheese looks amazing. It is. Okay, back into some of these questions I've got. You turned 21 in 1950, which was a very interesting time for women. From what I understand and from what my grandparents have told me, it was a time when you kind of chose a career or a personal life and you didn't always have both. I mean, what was that? What were those early years for you like? Obviously, you got married at 23 and you had a very successful career on Broadway.

But what was it like for you? Well, my first marriage lasted seven years. We were at the Cleveland Playhouse together, that's where I met him. And we did go to New York and I loved it. I couldn't have been happier, he hated it. So I think that was one of the first big signs. I think I gave up on the marriage before he did really.

I gave up on the marriage before he did, really. And I was successful and he wasn't. And I think by then I had really come to the conclusion that the best person to tell me what to do was me. Yeah. And I was then unmarried for seven years. And there was a lot of great stuff in that time and a lot of not so great stuff. Sure, yeah.

What were those years like for you before, you know when you're on your own, you've had a relationship and you've closed it the wrong way? I raised hell. You were what? I raised hell. Good for you. I raised hell. You were what? I raised hell. Good for you.

I really did. I mean I can imagine some, you know, in your 30s in New York, successful theater actress, you know, I'm sure you were having a fun time. Oh yeah, oh I was. Good for you, good for you. I love that. I think I wore myself out, that's why I got married again.

I love that. I think I wore myself out. That's why I got married again. I remember the year, the summer before I met my husband Justin, I was doing Shakespeare in the Park in New York City. So I spent the summer there. Modern Family had had one season. So that was a big success and I was doing Shakespeare in the Park with Al Pacino and you know living my best life in New York and I had a summer of fun for sure and I'm

so, Justin always says I'm so glad you had that summer before we settled down because I needed that. What made you decide to get married again? Obviously you met someone wonderful. I met meeting someone, yeah. I don't know, and I realized that I didn't want to have a child, and I was 40 when I had my child. But I don't know, he was, the man I married

was such a great, he was an acting teacher. Yeah. And I think that part of me said, you need him, you know, The man I married was such a great, he was an acting teacher. And I think that part of me said, you need him. You know, this is somebody that is going to be valuable in your life. Really? Right. I just love the chapters of your career and how like at 61, 61, 61, you finally made your film debut with Woody Allen and Alice. That was your first film audition?

Yes. Wow. I went to my agent, we were all once getting all this film work in New York. And I went to my agent and I said, look, I know a lot of my friends that do stage that are doing these new films that are coming in. I said, I think I should be doing some. He said, okay. And a week later, I had an audition for Woody Allen.

But what happened? Do you know Ellen Lewis? How do I know that name? Casting director. Yes, yes. She worked for Juliet Taylor, and Juliet did Alice, and he hired me. And then Ellen Lewis went off on her own,

and she was casting Son of a Woman, so she brought me in for that, and I got that. Then she brought me in for Scorsese's Age of Innocence, and I got that. And like all at once, everybody, you're a filmmaker. I mean all at once, but it was one, two, within a few months I had shot three films. Big ones.

Well and Scent of a Woman was a fairly big role. I mean it was not just, the others were small. I was the housekeeper for Woody. And for Martin Scorsese, I was a maid. But for Son of a Woman, I had a role that really kind of mattered, that people noticed. So it was just all at once. I mean, and I didn't understand it.

I mean, you know, I am a film actress now, oh, okay. I know it took, you know, on this planet, 61 years before getting your film opportunity, your first film opportunity, but when you line it up like that, I'm like, gosh, you really got it easy. It just shifted over. And then, give it now.

You didn't pay your dues at all. No, not for film. Not for film. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, June tells me about her next leading role in Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut. And we hear about who she'd want opposite of her in a rom-com. Do I sense someone has a crush?

Hmm. OK, be right back. Okay, be right back. Calling all sellers, Salesforce is hiring account executives to join us on the cutting edge of technology. Here, innovation isn't a buzzword. It's a way of life. You'll be solving customer challenges faster with agents, winning with purpose, and showing the world what AI was meant to be. Let's create the agent-first future together. Head to salesforce.com slash careers to learn more. Tex and Diane had it all.

Until the night, neither of them wished to relive. The night only one of them can. She said, Tex, what did you do? You shot me. Join us as we dive deep into a world of power, money, and greed, and one man's secret quest to grab the million dollar fortune of his deceased wife. From Sony Music Entertainment and Waveland Road,

this is Deadly Fortune. Listen wherever you get your podcast. Deadly Fortune. Listen wherever you get your podcast. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. Talk to me a little bit about where your crew was at before you had the... I mean, obviously I know about Schmidt, but before you're kind of... It's so weird calling it a big break because you were 84 when Nebraska came out and It was such a huge moment. But what was your career like before Nebraska? Did you just sort of?

imagine just a life and doing more film and Maybe were you gonna think about dating like what was going on? Well, I never really did the dating thing after my husband died. I tried a few times in New York and I tried a few times out here. And I would get so bored. I just, I really did.

That's an awful thing to say. But so many people bore the shit out of me. What is a dating pool like for someone who's lost a husband at that age? Very slim. Very slim. It is very slim. And I'm sure that's a part of it too. Have you considered joining Tinder? No. Okay, just asking. Just asking.

But yeah, I mean, it was such a shift when Nebraska happened. Did it feel like, obviously you're working with the director he'd worked with before, but did it feel like a big moment when you were doing it? I think to all of us, yeah. This wasn't just me, I think Bruce felt it, Will certainly felt it, it was a new thing for him.

Before Te'ah. Before Te'ah, and Bob Odenkirk. felt it, Will certainly felt it. It was a new thing for him. A forte, yeah. A forte, and Bob Odenkirk. I think that everybody involved with it that had something to do felt that this was something very special. Yeah. The crew felt it, believe it or not. They were going around as we were shooting and they were, you could hear them talking about the Academy Awards. Really? Yeah. That seems like bad luck. Well, maybe it was, but you know, it was like crazy.

Everybody, but everybody felt this is something very special. No one knew what it was going to be or you know, I don't know that Alexander did anything. Right. He's really one of my favorite filmmakers. I love him so much. I've never met him. Oh, he's great. I talked a little bit about how Margot Martindale sort of was part of the story of you getting Nebraska, but what's this about Beanie Fels scene

of also maybe being someone who helped you get the role of Th and she did it right how Well, what happened what happened? He and I had done humans together The film yes. Yeah, we're very good friends. We were at her wedding I mean, oh you were her yeah us nice, you know really close Anyway, she was she's family friends with Josh But anyway, she was, she's family friends with Josh, who wrote and directed, etc, etc. And she was at their house, and he had just finished the script. And they were talking about Josh's new script.

And so he told her about it. She said, well, who do you want to do that? And he said, well, I would love to do the script, but I don't know how to get a script to her. She said, I'll get a script to her. She texted me, I'm sending you a script. I texted back, okay, and that was it. That's incredible. And the script came, I read it, and I knew I had to do it.

And I have someone read my scripts too. And she called back and said, you've got to do this. You've also done so many incredible genres, from musical theater to, I'd classify film as an action film, would you? Yes. I mean, I would. Of course.

To kind of darker comedies. Are there other genres that you would love to do? I keep saying, no, I want to do a western. You want to do a western? You want to do a western? I've never done a west, have you ever done one? I haven't, no. And I just think that would be, I used to ride when I was a kid.

Oh did you? Oh yeah, a lot. So I was a fairly good rider. I don't know that I could now. I suppose once you got me on the horse I probably could stay on. But I think, you know, there's always the saloon keeper or the brothel keeper or something like that.

I just would love to be there, live that, you know? Yeah, for sure. I could totally see that. Like a revival of Best Little Horror House in Texas or something. Bring all your skills together. All your stripping, your singing. Singing, dancing, western. I mean, what about a rom-com? Romantic comedy.

And if you could do a rom-com, like who would your dream love interest be? My love interest, oh God. I guess Robert De Niro would be bad. He's very, very talented, very handsome. Yeah, and very, he could be funny as could be too. He's very, very talented, very handsome. He's aged very well. He's very funny.

I find people who are really serious, like super serious, to be hilarious. In fact, that's sort of what, that was the basis for my character Modern Family. I just thought sometimes when people are so serious and so straight edged, they can be really funny because they just take everything way too seriously. You all were so brilliant doing that.

Oh my God. Thank you. I love doing it with you. I know. The short time I did. But oh my God, I love watching it. Thank you, thank you. There were so many incredible jobs

that you did after Nebraska. I mean, you showed up everywhere all of a sudden. You couldn't turn on the TV or see a film without seeing June Squibb. I know you were about to do something with Scarlett Johansson. Another- I did it.

You did it already, how'd it go? Oh, I think it's gonna be great. I've seen it twice and some people have seen it and they're really loving it. So I think it's going to be very special. This is her directorial debut. Yeah. Well, it was so great because she, as an actress, really knew where I was, where I was going,

what I was doing, everything. And I think she and I both took chances. And I think that's kind of great. I mean, if you feel that confident, you know, with your actor and your director and the whole thing, and I think we did, I think we took some chances. Can you tell me a little bit about what the movie is? Yeah, it's an older woman who lives in Florida

with her friend and the friend dies. And her friend was in the Holocaust. So this is a large part of it. So she moves back to New York and she's very lonely and she meets a young woman and they become very, very good friends. She thinks she's going to a singing group in a Jewish community center,

and she ends up in the Holocaust Survivors group. And they assume she is a Holocaust survivor. So she then says she is and starts telling her friends stories as if they were hers. says she is and starts telling her friends stories. Oh wow. As if they were hers. It's like Dear Evan Hansen but an older person for depth.

And it's the Holocaust. Wow. And it's about grief and it's about remembering the Holocaust and it's about friends, what friends mean to you. Sounds so interesting. And it's about friends, what friends mean to you, you know? It's, it's. Sounds so interesting. It is. It was all shot in New York City, all locations.

Wow. Did you visit Margot Martindale? Did you visit your old neighborhood? I had dinner parties at Joe Allen's. Good for you. Oh my gosh. I wish I'd run into you. So Margot and Bill came. Perfect for you. Oh my gosh. I wish I had run into you. Marco and Bill came.

Perfect. And other friends I had. I just adore you so much. I think you're fabulous in Thoma. Obviously, there's a bit of buzz around you. This might be another fun award season for you. But whether or not that happens, you are just incredible in it. And I am so happy that you are doing such rich work

at this time of your life. I think it's really inspiring. I said the other day, it's wonderful to feel relevant in your industry. You are so relevant. There's a hat that you have your name on that I'm trying to get a hold of. I would buy a JuneScope hat on eBay

if that's where I had to get it, but fortunately, your team's gonna get me one. Yeah, no, she'll get you one. She'd listen if she'd known she would have brought it today. I know, I know, I know, I know. It's so funny. I told Gabriel, I was like, I'm gonna have to get a hat myself.

I almost stole his. Thank you for doing this. Oh, well thank you for inviting me. This was fun. Anytime. Dinner's on me, of course. This episode of Dinner's on Me was recorded at Zink Cafe and Bar in West Hollywood, California. Next week on Dinner's on Me, he has three Tony Awards, two Emmys, and a SAG Award. You know him from the hit

movie The Birdcage or on stage, The Producers, and his upcoming TV show from the creators of Will & Grace, Mid-Century Modern. It's Pepper Salzberg from Modern Family, also known as Nathan Lane. And if you don't want to wait until next week to listen, you can download that episode right now by subscribing to Dinners on Me Plus. As a subscriber, not only do you get access to new episodes one week early, you'll also be able to listen completely ad free. Just click try free at the top of the Dinners on Me show page on Apple Podcasts to search your free trial today. Dinners on Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Angela Vang. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans-Dyl She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balanz-Kolassani and Justin Makita.

I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week. I tried the Y for free and I never looked back. The instructors empowered me. One more, you got this. The gym strengthened me. The pool soothed me. And the pick-up games energized me.

Great game! The Y is everything I needed it to be. Because the Y is so much more than my gym. Try the Y free for seven days at TryTheY.ca