Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - SIDE DISH: More with Josh Hutcherson

Episode Date: December 11, 2025

More of my interview with 'Five Nights at Freddy's 2' star Josh Hutcherson. Josh gets into braving LA highways on his vespa while filming 'The Kids Are Alright', how he put life plans on hold for his role in HBO's 'I Love LA' and why directing is on his to do list. This episode was recorded at Night + Market Song in Silverlake, CA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Speaking of meeting, all those moons ago at the SAG Awards, if you remember, he was there for the 2010 movie, The Kids Are All Right. It stars Julianne Moore, which reminded me of something that happened this summer. Okay, back to the conversation. You were so fucking sweet and nice. Nice. And also I love that movie so much. It's a great movie, yeah. Just saw Julianne Moore a month ago. She came to the very last performance of 12th night that I did at Shakespeare in the Park.

The very last performance, she came backstage. No one ever comes backstage, but somehow she found her way backstage. And I haven't seen her, I've seen her a handful of times in my career. She was with Leo Schreiber. I don't know why. They must be friends. And then Zoron Mandami. The new mayor of New York

It was like the craziest She wasn't with him But he came back separately And it was like absolute chaos So I sent her an email Because I happened to have her email I'm so sorry I didn't like take in more that you were there

But like so many things were happening That's a lot to take in But yeah That's funny It was a lot Yeah Julian In that movie I mean kids are all right

Like That was a really special movie It was a funny story about that movie So like we We made the movie and like obviously it's the cast is insane so good Lisa Cholidinko directing and we take we're appearing at Sundance and we're at the theater like the big it's the Echler the ec whatever the E theater is yeah and we were there and the movie starts up and like in the

first five minutes or so people are laughing a ton and I'm like oh my god they're laughing they're laughing this is a fucking disaster they're laughing and so I suffer through the entire movie because everyone's laughing they think it's hilarious and like into it and afterwards I'm with Lisa and I'm like I don't know I don't know what everyone's laughing at how do you feel

she goes babe it's a comedy and I was like it's a comedy she's like yeah I was like no one told me no one told me no one told me and she's like I no one should have told you you were amazing it was perfect because you didn't you weren't trying to do something and I was like

I was like this is hard-headed shit it's like lesbian family who's the thought like this is like drama shit man no it's like it's like a yes but no you know what i mean yeah i'm feeling of it gets a very lighthearted well not me me playing laser was like i am this is serious shit yeah that's so funny yeah but that that movie is special and that's that's one like i don't know for me too it was like i was 16 years old we shot it mostly in venice and venice california venice california Yeah. And I would, uh, I drove my motorcycle to work a bunch. I was 16 driving the motorcycle to work. And I remember like, you must have just gotten your like drivers. Yeah. Like I don't know if it's fully legal, but I was definitely driving a motorcycle to work. We're living. You were living in. I was living in. I was living. Yeah, I was in Sherman Oaks. That's a long, okay, that's a long drive. No, I'm sorry. I was driving a Vespa. I didn't have it. I didn't have my Harley yet. I was driving a Vespa to work. Because I got my Harley when I was 18. So I was driving a Vespa. Which is, you know, the first. I'm not a lot of the first. I was. freeway. No, you weren't. I was driving a little 300cc Vespa on the 405 up and over, like

like tucked in. That's not allowed on the highway, is it? Yes, it is. Interesting. If it's 300 Cc's or higher, it is freeway legal. But I would have that thing pin max. I was coming home in the evenings on the 405, I would tuck in behind it and have the throttle fully pinned. I'm lucky to be here and have full body functioning. Like, just crazy shit. color was a Vespa. It was a deep blue. Nice. Yeah.

I love that. I have a deep fantasy about Vespa's. I have a, I have an electric bike that I ride around. Those are great. My Killy neighborhood that I, I'm like this is the closest I'm never going to get to a scooter or a Vespa. But I don't know. I cannot believe you went at age 16 on the 405 on a Vespa. Yeah.

Confidence. Pretty crazy. Confidence. Blind confidence, yeah Yeah, poorly informed confidence But yes, confident I was That is amazing But that was such a fun

That shoe was incredible Yeah One of the interesting things about Josh Is that he splits his time Between Los Angeles and Madrid His longtime partner is Spanish So we related to each other On juggling long-distance relationships

And he told me What he loves about living in the two very different cities. Personally, I'm jealous. Like the long distance things, if we're both working in different countries and everything, it just kind of gives each other the space to grow independently. And then it's kind of exciting because you get to re-know each other

from this new thing. I don't know. I was away from Justin for, I mean, I would see him. Obviously, we weren't away this entire time, but I was working a lot this past summer. And I don't know. I feel like, I don't think it would have worked at the beginning, for sure.

Like, I think we needed to be around each other as much as possible just to, like, develop that, that foundation. Absolutely, yeah. Now that we've been together, but we'll have been married, we're coming up on our 13th wedding anniversary. Oh, wow. We've been together 15, 16 years. You know, that space feels so, I don't know, necessary, I guess.

I feel as necessary, and to me it's just exciting. Because obviously, we're FaceTiming. We're talking all the time. You find ways to, like, be connected. Yeah. But just being with someone in the same room, in the same space together, and just, like, cohabitating. It's a different dynamic. And so, I don't know, we spend that time apart when you get back together.

It's kind of like, oh, okay. Who are we now? What's the vibe now? What's the vibe now? What's Claudia's relationship with L.A.? You know, it's similar to mine over the years. It's a love, hate. Yeah.

It's, I think it's hard. For me, like, going to Spain opened up my eyes. to so much and like friendships and family and like this very communal openness um that i think la is challenging sometimes being european and coming here because can't get around anywhere like if you don't drive you're what do you do you're ubering everywhere there's traffic all the time nothing's walkable like a very it's very hard to be walkable that's why you move to this area because it's like a little walkable enclave so i think it is challenging and i think it's a city where also too like we just we haven't spent that much time here you know it's kind of like come for like

a month and then we're going to spain or we're both working so it's we never really have settled into like a routine here where you feel like oh i've got my yoga class that i go to three times a week i've got like my and you kind of like start to build your little work exactly yeah so it always feels i don't know it's a challenging city but i think that one thing that we both have been leaning into recently is in a way like enjoying the isolation here because in Madrid you're you live in the streets like you're always in a social environment right i think la is a city where you oftentimes are home alone or just you and your partner or like you know yeah in your car totally and so it gives time to like slow things down you can be more introspective and you can work on your own like

developing your own art and not just be like plans go social all the time you can just like slow things down in a way that in Madrid, you just can't. It's so nonstop in a great way. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Josh tells me a story about how his new HBO Max series, I Love L.A., put some life plans on hold. Okay, be right back. You know, it's that time of the year. Yep, when your routine starts to unravel a little, the travel, the late night.

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And we're back with more dinners on me. Tell me again about the girl who created I Love L.A. Rachel Sennett, yeah. Rachel Sennett, Beverly Sainter. Yeah, yeah. She created it stars in. and also wrote it? Mm-hmm.

Did you know her before this? I mean, I knew her work, and I think she's, like, so funny, brilliant writer, great actress, really unique and edgy and funny and, like, just goes for it, which I love. But, but, yeah, no, so I didn't know her before this came around. And I actually had just, because me and Claudia, like, split time between L.A. and Madrid, We always kind of dreamed about moving to New York or trying it out to see how that works And so we spent like months trying to find an apartment

Found an apartment Leased it for a year in Brooklyn I knew you were going to be in Brooklyn Yeah of course, come on Silver Lake to fucking Brooklyn man Like what do you think? That's right And so we're so excited We're like okay we're starting this like new chapter

It's so exciting we always wanted to live in New York and try this out My mom who lives in Montana We're in Montana Whitefish Okay Of northern Oh no way Yeah yeah yeah

Okay Montana's incredible But whenever I'm gone For long periods of time I take my dogs My mom's house in Montana She got her dogs Like property and stuff

So it's a great spot And the plan was that my mom was going to be Driving the dogs from Montana to New York So Maine Clower in Madrid We land in New York With our friend Alex And

In the car driving to Brooklyn to go to, like, start our new lives in Brooklyn, basically. I had friends renting out my house in L.A. And my agent calls and was like, hey, how do you feel about going back to the airport right now? Because Rachel, this Rachel shows, like, come back around. Because it kind of was, it was in my world, and then it went away, and then it came back. And I was like, shit. I'm dying to do this show.

But, like, I just moved to New York City. I rented an apartment for a year. I put a down payment on and paid first month's rent. And that's not cheap at all. No. But I got to figure this out. So I did it. I had a Zoom with Rachel.

We hit it off right away. Really vibed on like what Dylan, my character could be like and kind of ideas for how he can sort of develop and grow throughout the season and stuff. And then they told me that she wanted me to do it. And so I got out of the lease in New York. Wow. Came back to L.A. It was actually really nice because me and Clow were here in L.A. together with the dogs while I was here shooting.

So it was like a beautiful, beautiful time. in the neighborhood. So yeah, my New York dreams have been put on pause. It's always there for you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It felt like the moment.

But I also discovered, like, if you are wanting something. Oh, just make a big life plan. Move somewhere else or try to move somewhere else. It's just not, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. No, absolutely. I need a plan of vacation soon because I need a nice job. Yeah, great.

That's exactly what happened. But make sure you plan like an expensive, yeah, nonrefundable, expensive vacation. do that because then you'll get a good job that's the trick. Yeah. Wow. And that advice is foolproof.

It really is. Yeah. And there's something to, you know, having something that is so successful and so widely known. I certainly recognize this from modern family

and being on a ship for 11 years. You know, people see you as one thing. Absolutely. And you could have, obviously had many years of working as characters other than PETA.

And like, you know, all of a sudden it's like that's what they see you as. Totally. You know, you feel like you've been turned into a mold of a person that you can't escape from. Absolutely.

And it's also very exciting because you're part of this thing that people are so excited about and it's such a cultural moment. But at the same time, it's, you know, it comes with the price to pay. It definitely does. It comes to the price to play in multiple ways, you know? And I, like, I remember Jen and I used to always say, like, what was it? It was like, anonymity, like, losing your anonymity is something that you can't actually understand what it's like until you've lost it. Yeah.

Like, walking into a restaurant, like, it's hard to imagine walking into a restaurant and everyone, like, or at least perceived in your own delusional mind, which is also true in many ways, if you walk into a restaurant, everyone turns and they see you, and they instantly know who you are. Yeah. They instead of looking at their phone, looking up and looking, like, you know this, you've seen this and like. Or they have an opinion of you. have an opinion of you or they're trying to sneak pictures of you so you feel very you're like always on display yeah and which is also why they people want to see people fail and because like they they think that they know them and they put them in this box and they want to destroy i don't know it's it's it's it's dark in that way you know and it's a thing that like you know i'm i'm not going

to sit here and be like oh it's so hard being a famous person like there's amazing works and privileges and like to be in this position that any of us are they found success in that way is like incredible and so beyond lucky. It's just something that I don't think I can't imagine anyone who would want that even if you want the greatest success in your career. I think about that couple of the Coldplay concert. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like they lost their anonymity completely.

Yeah. Like they did not want that. They didn't gain anything from it either. You know what I mean? There was no perks there. There were no perks. But you know, it's sort of like, but that's sort of like that's sort of. like what it feels like all of a sudden like the entire world or whoever it's interested in you at that

moment has access to you totally and it's it's something i can't imagine anyone's like yeah that sounds fun no i mean there there are definitely people who want fame yeah absolutely but they don't necessarily realize that they don't know what that comes with you know and so yeah it is it is it's intense yeah it's intense for sure now for a quick break but don't go away when we come back Josh tells me about why directing is on his list. Okay, be right back. All right, here's a confession. Every year I tell myself I'm going to find the perfect holiday gift.

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and every step forward feels like progress. Not another wrong turn. Visit camh.cai to help us forge a better path. for mental health care. And we're back with more dinners on me. I bet you'd be a great director, Josh. Me? Yeah.

I love it. I love it so much. I mean, it's a thing that I love so much and that I respect so much that I keep on kicking it down the road to some other time. It's a thing where, like, I'm for sure a perfectionist in so many ways.

And I think that, like, I seem to start making stuff because it's not going to be perfect because that doesn't exist. But it's always that thing of like, I want to find what the story is. I have some ideas. I have nuggets of things to write. But I'm always like, yeah, but no, I'm going to do this. Yeah, but not. You know what I mean? I keep on, like, evading it.

But when that day comes, I will be ready. And I'm part of that, I'm sure it's from a respect from it as well. Like, you want to do it, right? But I just say, yeah. I mean, I do look at banks. is like Elizabeth Banks is like such an inspiration because I also want to direct and I talk to her often

about this and you know her advice is always just like dive in and like know that you're not going to do everything perfectly and the thing is as a problem because I'm a perfectionist too and she reminds me of this and I already know it but it's nice to hear

say it you know when we're putting something together whether it be a play or a movie or a TV show there's all these all these departments that are there to, like, do what they do best. And, like, Liz was just, like, you have to remind yourself that you know, you don't have to know about the lighting.

You don't have to know about all these things. Like, these people are here to support you. And, like, you do what you do well and with confidence and you're going to be fine. And I feel like, I guess I look at directors as, like, having so much knowledge about everything. Yeah. I don't know, though.

You've also, I know I have. I work with some directors. You're like, yeah, turn. How are you leading this thing? Right. Well, that's what I'm like, well, then I should absolutely be doing this. I know. I do the same thing.

I've worked with so many directors where I'm like, you walk on water, you're incredible. I don't know how you are so brilliant. I've also worked with a handful that I'm like, they gave you $30 million to make this? Like you? Like it's, whoa. So I think that we can chill out a bit.

Yeah, I agree. And I think so much of it is surrounding yourself with those, that's one of the things I love so much about being on sets and that I have since I was a kid was the collaborative thing. And like getting to see all these different people who are specialized in their fields coming together under the conductor of the director to like bring this weird art project into existence. During my conversation with Josh, we got on the topic of raves.

Yeah, let me just say I'm not well versed on this topic. Justin, in this area, they would do a sunrise rave in the morning. and Justin went once. Do you remember? Yeah. Daybreak. It was called Daybreak. And I have a few friends who went,

and I was like, that's not my thing. I'm not a morning person to begin with. But also then just like I'm not a, like I don't want to go to Coachella. I don't want to, although I have been to Coachella. I don't want to be a Burning Man. The word rave just alone is like that's not for me. But it was a morning rave party.

I've been at raves that go to. Same. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The one that starts. One that starts in the morning. You set your alarm, wake up and go to a rain. That's like in Berlin when you go to Bergheim. Yes.

It's like you go like 10 a.m. on Sunday is a great time to arrive. And you're like, huh? Yes. We were in Berlin and we toyed with the idea of going there. But we didn't do it. Have you been? I've never been into Burgheim. I've been to some other spots in Berlin.

Yeah. We shot Hunger Games there. The last, we were there for like a month on the last part of like Mockingjay part two. Um, but never got to Bergheim. Yeah, I don't think it's for me. I don't know. You never know to your, I mean, maybe you do know. Maybe you know.

You know, maybe you're just like, it's, I just know it's huge and there's different floors with different things. Different activities. I think that activities is great. Yeah. Yeah. And I just feel like I'd stumble upon the wrong floor and be like, how do I get off this floor? Just walk out. Where's, where's, where's, where's, I need to, I need home goods.

I'm embedding in our own goods, you know? That's amazing. Sleep. Yeah, I like a dance party. So that was a little more from my chat with Josh Hutchinson. And if you haven't heard our full conversation yet, make sure to check it out on Dinner's On Me. This episode of Dinner's On Me was recorded at Night Market Song in Silver Lake, California.

Next week on Dinner's On Me, you know her from her scene-stealing performances in films Crooklyn and Twelve Years of Slave and TV shows like True Blood and The Practice. She's now starring in the Apple TV Plus series The Last Frontier. It's Alfred Woodard. We'll get into her growing up in the South, her 42-year-long marriage with actor and comic Roderick Spencer, and get into some behind-the-scenes details on The Last Frontier. Dinner's 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 Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans Dale She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison.

Special thanks to Tamika Balance Kalasni and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.