Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers - MICHAEL URIE Went on a Duck Boat in Branson, Missouri

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

Michael Urie joins Seth and Josh on the podcast this week! He talks all about family road trips with anxious parents, trips to Branson, Missouri to ride duck boats and hot spring adventures in Colorado Springs, what it was like getting the part of Marc St. James on the TV show Ugly Betty, and more! Plus, he talks about his new rewatch podcast, Still Ugly with Ugly Betty Co-Star, Becki Newton. Follow Family Trips on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok! Head over to our YouTube channel and hit subscribe so you never miss a new video episode! Support our sponsors: Visit Baltimore Baltimore is just a short drive or train ride from New York, Philly, and D.C. Plan your visit today at Baltimore.org Baltimore: You won’t get it ‘til you get here!” Get Soul Right now, Soul is offering our audience 30% off your entire order! Go to GetSoul.com and use the code TRIPS Quince For the dad who deserves better than basic—Quince has you covered. Go to Quince.com/TRIPS for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Cayman Jack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, Bajie. Hey, Zuffi. How are you? I'm great. How are you? I'm doing good, and I want to talk about something, which is very exciting. Every year the schedule comes out for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and we start planning which weekend we're going to go.

Yeah. And now there's a new fly in the ointment, but it's one that I'm really happy about. Is it my anniversary? Yeah, all of a sudden there's a fall weekend that's unavailable to us. Yeah, we always try, I mean, the trip was originally built around mom's birthday, which is October 4th. Feel free to send her gifts. Yeah, she would love it.

But now I've got an October 13th anniversary. And I didn't waste any time because you feel like we need to act pretty fast once these schedules come out. So I did tell Mackenzie, I was like, hey, it's been suggested maybe we would try to do this. We'd go to the October 12th game, but that fall and she knew right away what it falls near. And she was like, yeah, I don't think that's a good one. And I respect that. For our first anniversary out of the gate. First anniversary. Yeah.

I would tell you, we literally, Alexi could be anywhere on her anniversary and I likely would not even notice. Both of us got married on holiday weekends though, so that- Yeah. Sort of-

That's true. There's always things going on. Does your shift around a little bit more though? I don't know. on holiday weekends though, so that sort of- That's true. There's always things going on. Doesn't yours shift around a little bit more though? I don't know. I'm on Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day weekend, pick your poison there. And so yeah, so-

I'm a Labor Day baby boy. I think in your Labor Day. But I know it's the same for me this weekend, this year that it's still that weekend. Yeah, maybe it's always there. Yeah. But anyway, I totally, I respect it as well. And I respect her right to want to spend it with you.

I think that's more than fair. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it is very exciting that, yeah, we're going to figure out how to get to Pittsburgh. And then you might try to bring the boys this year. I think I'm going to try to bring the boys this year. And you know, we're very lucky. We have a ticket hookup at the Steelers and I'm hopeful that they have a couple boys.

So I'm hopeful that they will, you know, give the nod to the fact that I want to bring them and start a new tradition. Yeah. I went to a screening last night for part one of the Pee Wee as himself, Paul Ryan's documentary. Oh, I've seen the trailer for the documentary. It's great. And yeah, I got to see a lot of old friends there.

And it's just such a nice, just to plug this for a minute, but it is a, you get to see Paul, which so few people got to see. And I'm so happy that this thing exists because you can sort of sit with him looking directly at the camera, which is directly at you, and you get the same feeling you get when you used to sit with him sort of having a conversation.

I saw the trailer and thought, oh, it would have been so lovely to do this with him. Yeah. Although I don't know if he would have been a good guest for family trips, but I just hearing him talk was a real, oh yeah, he was such a lovely guy to have a conversation with. Yeah. So, yeah, keep your eyes peeled for that. It's coming out soon and yeah, that's great. You know, I know we, every now and then we plug works.

Man oh man, I just couldn't be a bigger fan of Andor. I got one left to watch. Yeah. And I'm, I feel like I'm like trying to wait as long as I can because, you know, that's the end of it. Right. But just a, just a delight. And hopefully, you know, we're trying really hard

to get Tony Gilroy and his brother who, you know, he created the show and his brothers are writing on the show and it would be very fun to get them on here. So, I'd like to get that done. I just had a thing happen, Pashi. What's that, TV? Sometimes I do other people's podcasts. I feel like, karmically, you have to throw it out in the universe that you should say yes to being a guest on podcasts, if you want.

I said Codcast by accident. Yeah, but that's what you say. Are you still doing your Codcast about great fishing spots? It's like family, it's family trips with a, just a focus on fishing trips. And you call it a Codcast. I mean someone now is going to be like, wait a minute, if that's not taken, I'm going to do it. Yeah, they're like, can I do a thinner slice than family trips with the Myers brothers?

And there are gonna be two brothers and then they're gonna have one who's like really affable and then one who's an asshole who's like, let's get back to fishing. Well, if that's the conceit of the podcast or the codcast. The codcast. So you did a podcast. I did a podcast and the guy just, it was like a lot of like, look at your whole life and like what were the sort of integral moments, the points of inflection. You know, and I feel pretty good and like, you know, I try to get my guard up.

I know when people are coming to try to make me feel emotional. Then right at the end, he said, this is coming out on Father's Day and he asked me to tell a story about dad that I told once before and son of a gun if I didn't get choked up on a podcast. That's great. I was like, I felt like such a sap, but it was genuine, you know? Yeah. Also I feel like it's helpful because I do think that sometimes unfairly we talk about

dad like this crazy rageaholic. But he's like also like the best dad in the world. He was like the sweetest dad in the world. I told a story on the podcast as well because I was like I do want to correct the record on just like how affectionate a father we grew up with. And I remember once going on, going to Yankee Stadium, and I brought a girl I was dating at the time who knows Alexi. And I remember when I first started dating Alexi, Alexi said, you know, your ex-girlfriend

told me the story that she went to Yankee Stadium with you and your parents, and she went to put her arm around you during the game, and your dad's arm was already there. ALL LAUGHING I was 28 years old. ALL LAUGHING He's a big old cuddler, too. I want to make sure we get the big old cuddler part of that in there.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Oh, did I send you the video of all three of them sleeping? Dad, Ash, and my brother, and then Tolya? No, I haven't seen the video. I've heard tail, but I haven't. Yeah, Ash was feeling a little under the weather, so he just fell asleep on a couch.

And then Tolya falls asleep. You can't tell if he's asleep or if his eyes are closed. And then Dad, you have never been more sure a person is asleep. Mouth wide open. I showed it to Ash and Ash said, I can't believe I slept through his snoring. When I was just home, we went out to dinner my last night there, and when we got back, we put on a basketball game or pardon the interruption or something,

and dad was on the couch and he was in control of the remote, but very quickly, he was snoring, and mom was right next to him and she looked at him with a certain amount of anger or something. Distain. Yeah, the stain. Then I had to pluck of like pluck the remote from his chest without waking him.

It was very Indiana Jones, I felt like. I should have replaced it with like a dog toy, but then Albert I'm sure would have jumped on his chest. I will say, I mean, it used to be so funny to us as kids, like how can dad just fall asleep in the middle of the day and it's all I wanna do? Yeah, you're good at it. Just fall asleep.

I know, but there's just no time because, you know, we don't, again, we were a sports family. So you would on Sunday, I think dad just had like six hours built in where the expectation was his whole family was gonna sit on the couch and then he would just go full snooze zone. Yeah. Yeah.

He figured it out. Uh-huh. You know, living his best life. And the good news is, and again, he's, you know, obviously he's asleep for mom's withering looks, but she's nice enough to save some of them for when he's awake. Yeah, she's got no shortage.

She's got no shortage of the withering looks. Yeah. Well, we have a wonderful conversation coming up with you. I really love talking to, you know, we've talked to a few people who their first trip to New York was because they wanted to see Broadway shows. And then years later, they ended up on Broadway. And they're some of my favorite stories. Yeah.

And that one happens this time too. Fun times with Michael Urie ahead. Give my love to Mackenzie and tell her I'm totally cool with her marriage ruining a longstanding tradition. We're gonna find a time. I know, but it won't be the same, buddy. Oh, Sufi. All right, love you, buddy.

Love you, buddy. Love you, too. Family trips with the Myers Brothers. Family trips with the Myers Brothers. Here we go. You look like brothers. We are. We are the takeaways we get. How are you, Michael?

I'm great. It's so nice to meet y'all. I love this show. Oh, thank you. I'm so delighted to be included. I also, I have a compliment to pay you on behalf of some members of my staff. We're at the GLAAD Awards and said you were just exceptional as a host. That's so nice. Whom from your staff was there?

Sal Gentile and Emily Erotus were there and we had been nominated. Oh, you were nominated. A segment for our show was nominated. So they had gone out to represent the show. And look, they're a jaded bunch and they go to a fair share of award shows. And it's the first time somebody came back and they said the entire show was just great. It was great. It was a really, it was a great night. It was one of those like, everyone,

we all sort of knew like everyone in the, it was at the Beverly Hilton, which isn't a very big room. So it wasn't, it wasn't a ton of people. And it was one of those things where we knew everyone in the room had done the work and deserved a party, you know, who are in this dumpster fire of a world with rights being stripped and attacked left and right. and here we are actually doing good things with each other. And yeah, and it was like sexy and fabulous and everyone looked amazing and yeah, it was really special. Thank you.

That's so nice. They did say that it felt like a party and they did say it was the stereotype of how fun you would think the GLAAD Awards were versus say like the Writers Guild Awards. Like the Writers Guild Awards, you're lucky if you see a little bit of color. I'm just delighted when you said you knew people who went and then Michael asked you who,

I was like, oh, don't not know names. Oh, that would have been so great. Oh, we have this tall guy. And then of course, gay guy. A gay guy was there. He loved it. So thank you so much for being here. Oh, my pleasure.

I'm so excited. I can't wait to tell you about my family. Oh, great. Well, you know what? When somebody's ready to go, we don't get in the way. Plano, Texas. Yeah. So how far, is that near Houston?

No, it's actually near Dallas. So I was born in Houston and grew up for, my first six years were in a suburb of Houston called Meadowdale. Look at you both drinking at the same time. You're so cute. Oh my God, I got that. That was.

And then we moved, when I was like six, we moved to Plano, which is outside Dallas. My dad worked for Arco, the gas company. Oh yeah. And they transferred him. Pretty cheap gas, as long as you're willing to pay debit. Yeah. Just saying.

Hey, hey, hey, Poshy, they're not a sponsor. Not yet. So we moved to Plano. It was one of those like mid-year moves too. So I actually was like really outgoing. And then we moved in the middle of second grade and I went in and I became very shy and went into my shell. And it took a long time before I got back out of it.

That is every parent's nightmare to hear a story like that because I'm sure everyone's like, look, they adjust quickly and to have somebody safe. And then it just sent me back years. All the progress I had made pre-second grade. Life's just, yeah, exactly. I mean, it was kind of like that because I was like the coolest kid.

I had like all the friends and I was popular and then suddenly I had no friends and I just stayed home and played with my GI Joes and didn't you know like yeah And then I like slowly you know came out of my shell But my sister was seven years older than me and she was in high school and she was obviously furious Right and my parents today the way they tell it they were like after we told your sister We were like well at least Michael's only a kid He won't care.

And then they came and they told me, I was in the bath and they came into the bathroom and told me, and they were like, and you just started screaming. So I think they thought I was gonna be the easy one. And I was not. They're like, we sequenced this wrong. Yeah, we should have told the boy first, tell the boy first. Tell the boy first.

Do you remember friends from that age? Not ones you still stay in touch with, but in your head at that age, second grade, are you like, oh, yep, there was this one, this one, this one? Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's one of my friends I'm still friends with, Stuart Boslow. He was my first friend after the move. Before the move, there was Corey Kilgore.

He lived down the street and he was like my best friend growing up and I think I still kind of know where he is. We had like Facebook friends or something. And then when I moved, my first friend was Stuart Boslow. And then there was John Green, Kyle Smith. I'm still friends with Kyle and Stuart. Elizabeth Derry, I don't know what happened to her. So yeah, I mean, I guess.

You know what, as you're telling this story, I'm realizing because we moved mid-year and I was in fourth grade. I was in second grade when we moved. You were a second grader too, Pashi. And I feel like you hit the ground running. Yeah, I don't know. I remember being,

we had to like line up in our homeroom rows outside. And it was my first day at school, because we moved mid-year, so it was like early January. And I remember there was some girl who had peed her pants. And I was like, well, I'm not going to be that. I'm already doing better than that. Oh, that's helpful. Yeah.

Like somebody- It would be a really nice thing if a teacher said, hey, we have a new kid coming to class, so we're gonna draw straws and one of you is just gonna fully piss yourself on his first day. Obviously, internally we'll know it was an act of kindness and we'll never tease you, but I just think that would make that person

feel more at home. That's kind of like the elementary school version of beating the tough guy up on the first day of prison. Yeah, exactly. Like somebody- I would like to think that I would have gone to that girl and been like, hey, it's okay, but I'm pretty sure I didn't. I would like to have taken the real high road

and been like a friend to all in second grade, new kid. Yeah, you gotta look out for number one. You started the new school after the Christmas break? Yes, yeah. I'm still very good friends with Greg Henrashawne, who I remember my first day, another kid came over and said he would show me around the playground.

And then Greg walked over and intervened, took me away from that kid and said he would show me around the playground. And then Greg walked over and intervened, took me away from that kid and said, you don't want to be friends with that guy. And to this day, Greg is one of my dearest friends. Yeah, but you also have no idea what that playground had to offer. He probably was like, also skip. No, Greg did not show me around the rest of it.

I'm just remembering on my first day, I played alone at recess and there was this like series, the playground had this series of concrete tunnels that were meant for children, but they were definitely concrete and gravel and you could like run through them and play. And I was playing alone because I didn't know anybody and nobody asked me to play and and I was running through a tunnel and this girl was running towards me and we

like almost collided and she hit her head and then went and told on me and I got in trouble at recess on my first day. Really? Yes gosh I haven't thought about that in so long but it it was, it was devastating. Yeah. Oh no. You don't want trouble. No friends. And now I'm in trouble.

And I'm a good, I was a good boy. Like I never, I never broke rules. And on day one, here I am hurting a girl. Oh my God. They immediately put you on a list. That kid's trouble. That kid from Houston is trouble. These Houston boys, they run with their heads down.

Oh. Did you, did your sister eventually find her way into? Yeah. Okay. She was in sports, so she was like a star athlete. So she was very angry with my parents, but she got into the, you know, she immediately started playing basketball and volleyball and was really good at it and made lots of friends and so she had a easier, ultimately an easier transition, I think.

I mean, she might tell it differently, but we were both, it was hard. It was a tough move. It was also my dad, now that I'm remembering it, my dad had been unemployed for a little while because he worked at the oil company and then he left and was trying to like other things and then realized he needed to go back to the oil company. So it was like, it was a tough transition. And my grandmother had just died.

Oh my God, it's all coming back. My grandmother died like a couple of months before we moved. She had, she'd gotten cancer and died. So yeah, we'd gotten, that was a tough year. And you were close with your grandmother? Well, yeah. I mean, my sister was really close and my dad, it was my dad's mom and his dad had already gone and so it was, it was, it was really sad.

It was also the first person I knew to die. Cause my, my, my grandfather, my dad's dad died long before I was born. So it was the first person I ever knew that died. A lot of transitions. Yeah. Because then you're a kid and you're like, oh my God, every time someone dies, we have to move. No pets, please.

It could have been like some kind of witness protection thing. When it's a pet, you don't have to move far. You just stay in the same town. Just houses. Yeah, you move houses. Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. Support for Family Trips comes from Airbnb.

Hey, Pashi. Yes, Ufi. You know, we're taking this Amsterdam trip and heading over there with Ash. And one of the things that's so exciting for me is showing my son this town, this city, I used to live in. And it's really cool because you're gonna be there. A lot of the people we used to work with

over in Amsterdam are gonna be there. And it's so fun that he's gonna see it through my eyes. You know? Yeah, I'm excited too. You know, but when I lived there, I wasn't living in a hotel, obviously. You know, we fully lived there. So it's been so cool looking at Airbnbs that he and I could stay at because I want the

full Amsterdam experience as a guy who lived there. And it's so cool that people who are living there now are making their homes these incredible things for travelers like myself or my son to come and have an extra special trip. Yeah, and maybe you have an incredible home that you've created and you'd like to let other people stay in your house, maybe make a little extra money, share what you've created to make people's vacations and people's travels all that much more special.

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Charm City. We have talked a lot about fun that grownups could have in Baltimore, but now kids, everybody likes to take family trips with kids. Yeah. And if you're looking for a wild day out in Baltimore, Maryland Zoo, home to over 1,500 animals. And before you ask, no, 1,000 of them are not bugs.

That's sometimes a lot of these lesser zoos will trick you and then you find out it's mostly bugs. These guys, they got playful penguins, towering giraffes, roaring lions. You can feed, explore, and get closer than ever then dive into adventure at, based on the setup of dive into the adventure. What do you think I'm talking about, Poshy?

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Were you and your sister close? So, because she was seven years older, not really. We were very different. She was in sports and I was like band in theater, so we had very different interests. But then, when I became like a teenager, we kind of, our gaydar went off for each other. She's queer, we're both queer. So we like, then there was like, oh, we're cool.

And that became our thing. And she's also a therapist. So we both like, we were both interested in human psyche. So once I was old enough to be interesting, I think, and cool, she and I became tight, and we're really close now. Oh, that's great. That's wonderful. Did that take effect before she went off to school?

Did you have years where you were under the same roof, right, you were close? No, actually, she started college the same year I started middle school. So it was her, when she would visit. I think after she graduated, she came and lived with us again for a little while where she was getting on her feet or something like that. And that's when we really got, it was like when I was 14 and she was in her early 20s

and we started to really like click and... I would imagine a 14-year-old boy with a 21-year-old sister who thinks he's worth talking to is incredibly esteem building. Oh yeah, it was great. It was like, it was like, and because she was so smart and, and like, she understood the human condition and she was like the most amazing listener. She's the person in our whole family, extended family and everything that everyone wants to talk to and within five minutes they'll be crying because she's just like, is the first person to ever actually listen.

She's always been like that. Are your parents Texans? Yeah. It's always been like that. Are your parents Texans? Yeah, so my dad was born in Oklahoma and they moved when he was really young. And my mom- Who died? Uh, his dad. Oh, there you go.

Uh, literally, gosh, I guess that is a thing. Them's the rules. Uh, and my mom's, my mom was born in Houston, but her family were all New Yorkers. So they had moved from New York and they're Italian. So they like, my grandparents were first generation and they moved right before she was born from New York to Houston. And, and, and so, so we're definitely Texans and they're all there, still there.

When you were young and taking trips, it seems like everybody, did you have family outside of Texas or was it all nearby? Most of the family was nearby, but my grandparents moved to Florida. So we did that road trip to Florida, we did Florida road trips every,

I think every other year, maybe every three years, we would do this big pack up the mini van and two days in the car to Port St. Lucie, Florida. In the summer, yeah. We would stop. Nice, cool, breezy days. I would imagine on the Texas to Florida drive.

Were there any regular stops along the way or would you do sort of roadside attractions? We would do, we would stop, well, well, you know, my dad was very strict, so we didn't stop much, but we would stop usually in like, oh God, was it Shree, I want to say, these are the names that are coming to my head, Shreveport. Sure.

And what's that? What's that? Jacksonville? I feel like Jacksonville was a spot we would stop. And there was one, I remember vividly, where my sister was old enough to drive. And so she took a shift and she was like, we can keep going. We can, you know, the first night we would stop in a motel and she was like, we can keep going.

We can keep going. And my dad was in the back seat like, well, if you're driving and then we couldn't find a motel. And it was, we all started to panic because every motel was full. And then my dad, my dad's a bit of a nervous, he's gonna listen to this. So I wanna be respectful. He's a nervous traveler.

He's an, no, I shouldn't say nervous. He's a, he's an nervous traveler. No, I shouldn't say nervous. He's a anxious traveler. And he in the car, he'll sit in the back seat, but he's basically still sitting in the driver's seat. And he got very anxious that night. I would, I mean, I will completely align myself with your father. In case he's listening, I'd, I will completely align myself with your father. In case he's listening,

I'd just like to say shout out to your emotions. Because that thing of not having a hotel lockdown would make me, and again, different time. Totally, right. A lot more people didn't know where they were staying on a drive like that, but oh my God, I would lose my mind. Yeah, I mean, I would never do that now.

I would never travel not knowing, I mean, I will travel not knowing where I'm going to stay in a couple like that, but oh my God, I would lose my mind. Yeah, I mean, I would never do that now. I would never travel not knowing, I mean, I will travel not knowing where I'm gonna stay in a couple of days, but not the day, not day of. That seems way too risky. I would, but it's dicey. But I'm also like, I'm content at, you know, really any roadside motel if I'm like doing a big drive and need to just eat up miles.

But I've been in my car where I passed a last gas station for whatever and then didn't realize that whatever was like 60 or 70 miles in Colorado and for most of it was on low fuel. It was just me and my dog and it was awful. It wasn't worth it. I don't think it was cool. It wasn't fun. It was, yeah, it was nauseating. And when I finally, like, I was apologizing to my dog

the whole time and just like, we're gonna be okay. And he's like, I don't know what's going on here, but. I don't know what's going on, but dad's upset. So that's not good for us. I just had a, the other day I had a, I also should say that I am like my father in this way. So all due respect to my dad.

I've inherited it. I accept it and look at you drinking together again. Oh my God. We did it again. For those of you not watching on YouTube, we've had two perfectly simultaneous drinkings unintentionally. We've had two perfectly simultaneous drinkings. And on opposite sides, which is also very cute from my perspective. But I flew with my dog the other day from New York to LA and she is developed, she's 14, almost 14 years old, so she's an older dog, but she's always been a great traveler, but just the other day, or just in the last like year,

she's developed a lot of anxiety when my partner leaves or when it's when he, not when I leave, just when he leaves. And he left Saturday, and then it was just me and the dog, and then we left together Sunday. And on Saturday after he left she got very anxious and she got diarrhea and it was okay. It was like, I was like, I clocked it when we were walking. I was like, oh, that's, that's interesting. That's I hope that goes away before we fly tomorrow and it did not. And for the first time ever she in the flight, she always just like sleeps through flights

and her little bag and the seat in front of us. And she started scratching in the middle of the flight, she always just like sleeps through flights. In her little bag and the seat in front of us. And she started scratching in the middle of the flight. And I was like, huh, what's she scratching about? And then I, the smell came from the seat in front of me. And I was panicked because I was terrified. I was terrified anybody else would smell it, obviously. And then they would look and they'd be like, hey, aren't you on TV?

And I would be like, no, stop looking at me. So I just grabbed her and I ran to the bathroom, you know, airplane bathroom, tiny, and I pulled down the, you know, like the little shelf. The baby changing shelf. The baby changing shelf, exactly. Yeah. And I put the thing and I proceeded to wipe shit from the inside of her bag, from her, from her paws, and then it was all over me.

And I was in there for a very long time. Luckily I had bought like a little package of Lysol wipes because I had a feeling it was going to happen. And it was harrowing. Yeah. And then it happened two more times during the flight. Oh, my goodness times during the flight. Oh, goodness. Six hour flight.

It was, yeah, like I guess the worst flight I've ever experienced because... It sounds like you should be traveling with your partner. Your partner should just wait another day. Right? I mean, if that's what sets this off, then at least for the duration of this dog. What kind of dog is it?

She's a Chihuahua Boston Terrier mix. Her name is President McKinley. She's a great traveler. That is not behavior that arose to the station of the title. Hardly presidential. Not presidential at all. I remember once I, we were flying back from Madrid to New York and I had food poisoning and we had our six-month-old also had a stomach thing.

And so I slept the entirety of the flight and Alexi went through, she had 12 diapers and we land, she'd gone through 11 because he was just basically every 45 minutes just blowing one out. And to this day, and again, I had the same, obviously I was knocked out by the same thing he was, and yet she had so much sympathy for that baby and none for me. Were you also running to the bathroom or was it? I just like, I was out cold, like it was like flu-y and I fortunately slept and did not have the same. And to this day, anytime you say, this stinks, you say, this stinks because of the Spanish people were all saying it.

That was, that was- Oh, the stinks in this plan. I think that's from Barcelona, Posh, not from Madrid. Oh, you think it's, uh- Yeah. It's Bar-th-a-lonathrid. So when you got to Florida, what would you do there? Yeah, what was the destination? Where were you eventually going? Port St. Lucie.

We would all stay at my grandparents' little house. They had one of those like, it's not a trailer home, but it's one of those homes that they like could put on a truck and move, you know? And it was awesome. And it was like a little bit of, it was one of those houses where the vents are beneath the house, which I always loved. I loved like playing around the vents and the floor.

And we would stay for two weeks and we would go to their pool. They lived in like senior communities. So it was all old people and then like occasionally their pool. They lived in a senior community, so it was all old people and then occasionally their families. And then we would go to their pool, and then we would go to the beach. And a couple of times we went to Disney World, that was the thing. It was great, I loved it, I loved going.

So you were excited the whole drive? Yeah, it was fun. That was a trip that I remember really liking. And even when I was a trip that I remember really liking. And even when I was like a teenager, my grandfather had died, I loved my grandmother, and I really enjoyed going. And yeah, it was great. The road trips would get tedious, but I played alone a lot. I played with my action figures alone a lot

and I could really occupy myself. I used to play with G.I. Joes and other types of action figures, but I would act out movies. So I wouldn't just play G.I. Joe, I would play whatever movie I had recently seen and liked. And then I got, I remember it like, I actually remember when I was in Florida,

my parents do not know this, and this is going to be embarrassing because they're definitely listening. I discovered my sexuality on one of these trips that I was like, I started to, I guess I started puberty and I started to like feel things down there. And I would like, and I think I did it

with my action figures. Not that I did it with my action figures, that's not the right way to say it. But I would start, I realized like I would play, I would play action scenes with them and then I would play love scenes with them. Well, any good movie. I mean, yeah, it's all about love at the end of the day.

I didn't know I was queer yet, but I knew that I liked that part. Your G.I. Joe dolls knew before you did. And there were not very many lady, lady, lady, right? So you know, one thing led to another. And I'm like, hey kid, we got something to tell you. Sergeant Slaughter. Sergeant Slaughter. No one's half the battle.

Would your sister sort of, did she age out of thinking it was cool? Would she go even when she was like in college? Yeah. When she's making these trips? No, probably not actually. I think maybe that there was a trip that she didn't come, I believe.

I think the last one, I think she didn't join us. I think I had an easier time growing up than she did in part because my parents were like so, so they were so much older by the time I was a kid. And so they were, I think a lot mellower with me. And I also came out later. So I think that was a little trickier for her being, being more queer in Texas as a high schooler

and stuff. Back then in the 90s, it was not as cool as it is now. And I didn't really come out until I'd moved to New York. And that was for Juilliard? Yes. I moved to New York when I was 19 to go to Juilliard. Did you go to New York on trips before you moved there? Just one. So I didn't go to New York until I graduated from high school.

I graduated from high school and I went to a community college for a year before Juilliard. And that school, which was called Collin County Community College, also known as Quad C, did a field studies trip. And so before I'd started, before I enrolled there, I went with them on this field studies trip and it was awesome. We saw 13 shows in 10 days. Yeah. And, and toured Juilliard and NYU and, and it was like, I had been dreaming of going to New York.

I was dying to go to New York. And the minute I stepped, you know, we flew into JFK and then took the bus to Port Authority. And I came out of Port Authority on Eighth Avenue in the middle of summer smelling hot garbage and said, I'm home. It was like, I just knew. I've taken a similar trip. I was in college and did an internship in New York and I do

remember a hot summer day and thinking, if this is the worst it is, I want to live here forever. Yeah, totally. It was like, it was the dream. And then we, and then we like, you know, I just didn't realize like, oh, Broadway is right here. All these shows are right next to each other. And I went, I went, the teacher, we got to our hotel, the rooms weren't ready. And our teacher was like, I'm going to run around and drop notes off at the stage doors of all the theaters that we're going to, you know, get, we're going to, we had talk backs

with a lot of the cast. And he was like, anybody want to, anybody want to go with me? And nobody raised their hands and I was like, I'll go. I didn't even know him yet. And I was like, I'll go. And we just bounced around from theater to theater, knocking on stage doors. All these like stage tour guys would be like,

what, what, what, what? And we'd be like, I got this letter for you. And then run to the next one and run to the next one. And they were all right there. It was so cool. Just a real shout out to the Quad C educator here. Absolutely. I know.

This is fantastic. I know. I mean, 13 shows in 10 days, I think you'd be hard pressed to figure out how to do it ever and to have someone put it together for a group is like as fascinating. And we didn't all see the same shows. It was a big group and sometimes we would all be together

and sometimes we'd split off and it wasn't, as I recall, the whole trip was like $1,500. It was like incredible, an incredible deal. And do you remember a favorite from those 13 shows? Did one pop more than anything else? Probably Ragtime. The first one we saw was Ragtime,

the original production of Ragtime with Audra McDonald, Brian Sertz Mitchell, and it was so incredible. I can remember everything about it. It was partially because it was the first, but it was also just a stunning piece. So Sue, the theaters on Broadway are much smaller than the touring houses that we all grew up going to.

And so I was like, I couldn't believe how close I was. I'd never been so close. But we also saw, we saw art with Alan Alda and Victor Garber and Anthony LaPagli. No, I'm sorry. Anthony LaPagli was in a few from the bridge. Alfred Molina was in art. And we got to meet so many of them. We got to do talk backs with so many of them. And yeah, amazing. And then we went with downtown and so on.

I think you never feel the same about it. Once you see an actor on stage live, no matter who, how many times you've seen them in movies, it does, I feel like you have a connection with them forever. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I feel like you have a connection with them forever. Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I feel like Alan Alda is my friend. I've seen him, I've never met him, but I've seen him on stage three times and he's so incredible.

I mean, he's great in everything, but to watch the way that, to see that this guy that I've always seen on TV that I remember from movies and TV shows that my mom loved, and then to see like he's right there and he's putting it together moment by moment, you never forget it, you never forget it, and you respect him.

There's also that thing at a Broadway show where if like a big name actor like an Alan Alda, or just someone who's like really known on Broadway, when they make their entrance, it's not built into any given show that there's gonna be an applause break show that there's going to be an applause break. But there is sometimes a hold for applause because the applause happens, so you don't want the dialogue to be lost.

It's a great signifier to people who might not know what they're seeing, to be like, oh, this woman is like a legend who maybe I didn't know coming in here. But there's a lot of respect being paid in real time from the audience to the actor that I feel like is unique and you don't get that when you go to a movie theater. Totally. And I remember the first moment of art actually, it just, the lights came up and there he was sitting on,

sitting on a sofa or something and he said, hi, and like talked right to us. And it was like, oh my God, there he is. It's Alan Alda. He's right there. It was, I did see one time when I was still in Dallas, the national tour of Sunset Boulevard, the musical came through and Petula Clark was playing Norma Desmond, you know, from, she sang downtown and like a great, great, you know, recording artist. And there was a matinee

in Dallas and there's no better entrance than Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. It's just this incredible grand at the top of a staircase entrance. And you're like waiting and waiting and there's a buildup and buildup and buildup and then she comes on and she came on at the top of a staircase entrance. And you're like waiting and waiting and there's a buildup, a buildup, a buildup. And then she comes on and she came on at the top of the stairs and there was no applause. And it was so, and I was like, like, like, do I, do I start it? And I even, I knew even then as a kid, I knew like we should be, we should be clapping for Patilla Clark. She sings downtown and nobody clapped and this guy, this guy behind me said kind of

under his breath, Patula Clark. Like he was a radio DJ or something. And then she just started and it was like, I felt so bad for her. I was like, oh, I hope she doesn't give us a lesser performance because she's mad at us for not applauding. Yeah. Do you, top of the stage, what's that called? The proscenium?

Is that the top? Well, the proscenium is the whole box. Okay, gotcha, the whole thing. So the top of the proscenium. But I remember Martin Short had a show on Broadway. And there was the same thing where there's a long set of stairs. And he stepped out. Do you know this joke? Yes, I saw it. I saw that show.

When he steps out and the stairs are too high, so the top of the proscenium blocks you to see his neck down. It's such a good joke. That was a really, really... Fame Becomes Me. Fame Becomes Who's the Show. Such a good joke. That was a really, really, fame becomes me. I remember. Fame becomes who's the show. Such a good show. So funny.

Do you remember that he did Jiminy Glick in that show and there would be a special guest every night. It was Jimmy Buffett. Oh wow. And they probably were friends. Yeah, probably. It was really, it was really cool. And do you remember Brooks Ashmanskas?

The great Brooks Ashmanskas was also, because it wasn't just, he had other actors and it was original score that Mark Shaman wrote. I guess Mark Shaman and Scott Wimman wrote that score, but Brooks Ashmanskas was the other guy and he played all these like parts. Like he played Barton Short's brother at one point and then he played Tommy Toon at one point on stilts yeah and then he played he played Bob Fosse there was this because the whole premise was that it was like Martin Short's fake autobiographical show all these things that didn't really happen that oh my god.

Our friend Nicole Parker was in it right? I don't know. But I do think you know what I'm going to do right now. Tell us to get back to Family Trips, we have one more story. I have one more story though, and it ties into this. Because this was began as a trip, but it's a trip down Broadway, Posh. So anyway. Is it a show that one of the three of us has been in?

Hold on. Or no, you're just gonna, just talking Hollywood. I was the special, I was actually the special guest on the Jiminy Glick night. So I got to go up on stage. Oh my gosh. And the thing I always remember, and I love to remind Marty of, is I was wearing like a button-up shirt, jeans, and like nice boots. And he brought me up on stage, and I remember he said, now you're on Broadway tonight,

but did your friends tell you you were going bowling? And just for him to, I mean, again, he had some like pre-can questions for everybody, but his ability to like make fun of him on the fly. The best. That character is like the greatest invention. I cannot get enough. I will go down a rabbit hole watching that character.

Now, Josh is sort of, if there was an archetype for Josh on this podcast, he's the dad who is angrily gripping the wheel saying, we need to get back on the road. I understand. I've broken three ring lights, just crashing them with my fists. Did you guys ever take any more like one-off trips if you were going on a family vacation, not to Florida? Absolutely. We did a trip to, my parents took my cousin and me

to Branson, Missouri and Hot Springs, Colorado. And Branson was very cool. And I was really starting to like shows at that time. I was in like middle school or early high school and I was really starting to like shows. So I was really interested in all the shows we saw. We saw Jerry Lee Lewis's brother. Right. Who was also, you know, a recognizable person. Mickey, Mickey Gilly, is that his name?

I can't remember now his name, but. It's better than if his name was like Larry Lee Lewis. Yeah. Yeah. Ah! And then we did one of those, on that trip, we did one of those, do you know those, I think called amphibious duck? Yeah, duck boats.

Duck boats, where you drive around, it's like a tour of the town, they drive you around in a duck and then you go into the water and it's, oh my God, now we're in a boat. It was really fun, but on the way out of the water, thank God it was on the way out of the water, it caught fire. And like the, I guess the exit out of the water, what do you call that? Whatever the duck had to do to get out of the water, overextended the duck and it caught fire like right by the driver slash pilot slash captain. And my dad was on the aisle and he's the one who spotted it.

And I remember even though he is like, he was cool as a cucumber. He just goes, you got a fire. Yeah. You got a fire. By the way, I don't blame him for being an anxious traveler if his duck boats are bursting into flame. Yeah. Coming out of the water.

How does that possible? Yeah. Thank God it was coming out. That's when you'd be your safest. I do like that you made it both driver and captain. And I like to think that when it starts, the driver makes an announcement. He's like, just remember when I'm in the water, I'm a captain. When I'm on the road, I'm a driver.

I don't answer to the other one when we switch. So how did that fire get extinguished? Did everyone have to abandon ship? Abandon ship? I think so. I think he stopped and we pulled over and we all had to get off, but it was a small fire and he put it out pretty quickly and no one was hurt.

Did you, it seems like your, these are trips obviously where your parents appreciate that you have this sort of, I don't know, a love of theater and they're sort of building them around you. Yeah, exactly. There's another one that we went to, we went to Vegas and my dad got us front row tickets to Siegfried and Roy. Because he knew, I mean, he probably knew a lot at that point,

but he knew I liked shows and would like these fancy guys. And they were amazing. And Roy shook my hand because we were in the very front row and that was very cool. And that was my first time in Vegas and it was so much fun. We saw the... We went to Vegas with our parents years ago and I've never felt better in Vegas than being

with our parents just in terms of health-wise because we weren't like getting lit. We'd have a couple cocktails at dinner, but it wasn't like, you know. What else would you guys do? Were you like pool people during the day? Were you gamblers? No, we're not gamblers at all. We would like pool, probably pool,

and just like see the various sites, like the Bellagio fountain and wander through the different casinos, things like that, but we would definitely never gamble ever. And I still do not, I'm an, I'm like would never. Yeah. When the four of you are sort of moving around and like go, hey, let's go walk out

and see the Bellagio fountain. What is the family dynamic? Like, how do you all interact with each other? Well, my dad is, you know, usually like, uh, let's go here. Let's go. Let's go here. My dad has a couple of things. Um, when he's ready to go and we're not, he'll say, um, burn in daylight, burn in daylight.

And he'll like, if it's like we're leaving in the car, he'll be like the, the, the car he'll like stand in the middle of the house and go, the bus is leaving in five minutes. He gets very anxious like that. And then there's, is this the right, I don't even know what this means, but dollar waiting on a dime? You ever heard that? Yeah, I heard that in something recently

and I was like, I know what it means. Was it sinners? Yes, yes, I just saw sinners too. And they said it. And I was like, oh my God, my dad used to say that, but I don't know what it means. Dollar waiting on a dime, but it's something to do with like being late.

And also is it like the bigger, more important waiting on the lesser? Yeah, that's what, as I'm looking this up, I've taken the occasion to Google what you guys were talking. It does seem like that's what it is. It's getting your priorities out of whack. Yeah, the dollar should weigh on the dime.

So sort of like, can't see the forest for the trees or. I think it's like just reminding your children that their dimes, and they should be waiting on the dollar. He's the dollar and he's waiting on the dimes. If anything. And they should be waiting on the dollar. He's a dollar and he's waiting on the dollar. But it seems there's a, certainly the way you're saying it now, this is an affable way to tell your children to keep it moving.

Like buses leaving, it seems like there's a bit of a light in your father's eyes as he's doing this. Absolutely. He was so excited to go do whatever we were going to do. So it was like partially that he was anxious about being late or you know, whatever traffic or miss, you know, whatever delays might happen. He was anxious about that, but also he was excited. He was excited to go. I mean, he loved an outing.

He loved company, loves, he loves, he loves like, he's a very social friendly fun guy. And so he loves all that, but he's also super anxious about, you know, timing and being late is like, plane travel, things like that is very, can get very anxious. And my mom, so my mom will go the opposite. She'll just like, she's sort of like shut down and let him do it, which I think makes him crazier. I can just imagine them listening to this. Because I told them I was doing it.

Sometimes it's like you open a can of worms, but sometimes, yeah, these things need to be addressed. It happens when we talk about our parents all the time. We end up in conversations we wouldn't have had otherwise. That's why we have a podcast. Yeah, pretty much. It's definitely like cheaper than therapy, I guess, but they'll get a kick out of it because they know.

I mean, they're fully aware that this is how they are. And my mom will just, I remember one time they drove to see me in New York and they lived in Virginia for a while and they drove to see me in New York and that's not a short drive, it's like an eight hour drive and they arrived and they came in and the energy when they came into my apartment was like, I was like, oh, what's been going on? My mom was just like looking at me, like looking down, but then looking up at me and my dad was sweating and like they just traversed, you know, they just, they just like done the Lincoln tunnel and it was like everything and they've mellowed out a lot lately and

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go see the shows, when your dad said, let's go see the Bellagio fountain, is that something that in your head as a kid, you remember being excited to see? Well, I don't think I would have known what it was, but I remember once we saw it, thinking it was the coolest thing. It was, and it still is, I still love that fountain. And I remember it played a big spender. And I think we saw it, we went a couple of times.

We went and watched the show a couple of times because it was so, we loved it so, so much. I mean, I know the fountain, but is there like kind of a set show? Is there like a half hour you could stand at a certain place? Yeah, well, it's like every 20 minutes or something, I think. Okay. Every 30 minutes.

So you can, and you'll see the crowd gather as it gets closer. Gotcha. Yeah, I've never done that. Oh, it's very fun. Yeah, all right. There's things sometimes my kids will fight when, because my wife is very much the your father

in our relationship, when she suggests something and they almost are never disappointed when they actually get there. Oh. Whereas I think I'd be a kid who would say, I don't think I need to see the fountain. Right, right. But then, you know, it turns out kids are, I don't think I need to see the fountain. Right, right. But then, you know, it turns out kids are, you know, they don't have any taste, so everything's

cool. Yeah. You're also still a man who's like, I don't need to see the fountain. And I'm just now asking like, wait, so it's a show I can go. I guess we both kind of miss the fountain. But now when I go to Vegas, I'll see as many shows as I can. Yeah, that's great. They're just so, I just see as many shows as I can. Yeah. They're just so, I just think-

Do you go often? Do you make trips there? No, not very often. Like maybe once a year, but I went recently and I went, and I'm a huge Barry Manilow fan. Yeah. And so I went to see Manilow and I went to the Sphere and saw the Eagles.

How was the Sphere experience? The Sphere is incredible. Strikes me as something, if it was the Sphere experience? The Sphere is incredible. Strikes me as something, if it was the right show, a kid would be mind blown by it. I think so, yeah. I know you went as an adult, but. I went as an adult and it was the Eagles and, you know, like, it was, it was a lot, like, I think mostly adults, but they're doing the Wizard of Oz there now. Next, like that's one of the next things.

Oh, wow. And the whole thing, I guess. And that's how much of the show are you looking at the band and how much of the show are you looking at the sort of the whole sphere? Looking at the band, almost none. At least where I was sitting, I think if you're up front, I would say sit in the back or sit up if you can, because you you wanna be able to see everything.

Right. And then sometimes they'll have a camera on the band and it'll be huge on the sphere. And then that's fun. Then you see like, you know, you see the guys from the band up huge on the screen. But what's happening on the screen is it's like, it defies your imagination

because you know you're in a sphere but then suddenly it will feel like you're in a cube or it will feel like you're in an endless hallway or something like that that seems totally impossible. It's like a decade ahead of any technology I've ever seen. It was, and the sound, it's also the best sound I've ever heard. It was absolutely incredible.

I can't recommend that enough. That's one, I mean, I feel like that's the most resoundingly positive review of the sphere I've heard. Five stars. Have you heard bad reviews of the sphere? No, I've heard more tempered reviews of the sphere. Nobody has said it's not worth it, but you're the first person to describe it in a way where I think I kind of understand why it's worth it. Yeah, I would definitely go again. I would see the Eagles again,

but I would go see anybody that I would, like I'll go see Backstreet Boys for sure. That sounds like it'll be crazy and amazing. I'm glad how fast they're sort of people are figuring it out and rotating through to do it. That's exciting. Yeah, I don't think all artists would work there, but like certain, especially like a big sound, I think they should put a, like they should do like a James Bond show

or like a, like John Williams music or something like with an orchestra because the sound is so amazing and the more intricacies in the sound, the more, I don't know, it's trippy. There's something trippy about it where you're watching. Is the Wizard of Oz show the, is it the old movie or what is it? It's the movie. Yeah, well, I mean, like I've seen plenty of shows like that at the Hollywood Bowl or, you know, the Walt Disney Concert Hall,

but to have that kind of a screen, because even at the bowl, like you kind of want to be giving your attention to the Philharmonic and at the same time, you're sort of tilting to look at the screen because you want to follow the Bowl, like you kind of want to be giving your attention to the Philharmonic. And at the same time, you're sort of tilting to look at the screen because you want to follow the movie. But it would be better if that movie was... Was everywhere. Yeah, was a thousand times bigger.

Yeah. Yeah. Cool. I know. Do you remember anything about the Hot Springs trip? I remember that we got a boat with my dad rented a boat and we'd like went out on a boat, but that's, and I remember, you know, I was, my cousin,

this is, my cousin was one year younger than me and we got along pretty well, that's why we invited him. And my sister did not come on this trip. She was, I guess had been in college or had moved out or whatever. And we got along great, my cousin Jason and me, but we did have a couple of fights and one of them was about, and I was like, I was probably in the throes of puberty and my feet were, my feet smelled and he called me out on it.

Like there was a, this is so gross and embarrassing, but I was in the front seat and I guess my feet were in the air vent, in the path of the air vent and the smell was going back to him and he called me out of it, out on it, in front of my parents who was like, I smell feet. And I was mortified. I think Josh and my parents said that about me so much. It was like a catchphrase in the house.

Yeah. It wasn't like doubt about what it was. No. And it's so funny. I was like, oh, was I supposed to be embarrassed about that? Yeah. I mean, we were wishing was I supposed to be embarrassed about that? I mean, we were, we were wishing for a dog with diarrhea in those moments. Mr. President, where are you?

President McKinley, President McKinley, quick, eat this. There is like, it is a, there's something really gross about foot smell though, I guess. That's like, that's just imagining. I do want to go back and just clarify. The more you've talked about your dad, the very fact that he rented a boat means that I am a hundred times more anxious than he is. And I feel like it's unfair that you framed him

that way to begin with. I'm like, oh, guy just wants to be on time. He's the kind of dude who's going to rent a boat. He seems pretty cool to me. He is cool. He's really cool. Did you go to any actual hot springs? I know that's going to rent a boat. He seems pretty cool to me. He is cool. He's really cool. Did you go to any actual hot springs? I know that's the name of the town.

That I don't remember. We must have at some, but I don't actually, I don't, I don't remember that. I don't think we did. I think it was just, that was the town and I don't remember. Do you like the hot springs Posh? The only one I've been to is the one we went to in Iceland. Although as we record this, I'm in Mammoth, California, and we might go find a hot spring this afternoon.

Oh. Yeah. Because it's volcanic. That's what created this mountain out here. So there's a lot of geological stuff. There's a lot of places you can't get in the water because you'll burn up and die. So I just want to be sure we're not getting into one of those.

Don't do that, yeah. I went to policy. You know what I think about hot springs, right, Posh? They smell like your feet? Overrated. Also, again, when people are like, I'm going to go to a hot spring, I just want to make sure I don't get in the one

that kills me. It's like, just don't. Get in your bath. We got in the hot tub here yesterday, and just wanna make sure I don't get in the one that kills me. It's like, just don't, get in your bath. We got in the hot tub here yesterday and there were two couples in the hot tub and this one woman was telling the worst stories and the longest stories

and we couldn't even get through a beer each. Mackenzie was like, I gotta get outta here. Oh wow. This woman was like telling stories that other people she knew had told her that were like the worst stories those people I feel like had ever told anyone. And they were so long and it was just like, who cares? To ruin a hot tub for you, that's got to be a bad story.

Yeah, that's where I was just wishing we were at a nice hot spring. Although when you get to a hot springs, I feel like you're gonna see a lot of people just peeling down all the way to nothing and dipping their bits in those natural springs. Hot bubbles and bits. No thanks. I was thinking about that movie Dante's Peak when they jump into a hot springs

and then they die from lava. So I think I would be nervous. I would be anxious to jump. Yeah, because you could get burned by lava. So I think I would be nervous. I would die, I would be anxious to jump. Yeah, because you could, you could get burned by lava. Yeah. How do you, how do you enjoy being a podcaster? How do you enjoy doing Still Ugly? It's really fun. Thank you for asking. It's really fun. You know, I do it with Becky Newton and we've been rewatching Ugly Betty and it's, it's, it's been so, I mean, she's like my best friend anyway.

And so we have such a good time together, but rewatching the show has been like, we were in our twenties and- Did you meet on the show? You and Betty? Yeah, we met on the show and we became immediate fast friends. Neither of us had really done anything.

Like I had been doing off-Broadway and she'd been doing commercials. And so we got on TV together and we were like, what is our life? What is this? What is this world? And it was also back then, we made the pilot in April and we were on TV by September. So it was very fast. And it was an out of the gate hit. It was like one of those shows that was a hit at the very beginning. And so we were like suddenly in magazines and on billboards and stuff and it was wild. And we really clung to each other. And then because we clung to each other and we became friends, they wrote our friendship

into the show. So they made the characters friends and it was very special. So it's very nice to redo it and we've been reconnecting with our castmates and- Are you surprised doing the rewatch things you had forgotten? Uh-huh. Yeah, there are things that I forgot and there are also things that are so vivid. It's kind of, it's wild the dichotomy of things that like I remember like it was yesterday and things that I don't remember at all. And I think some of that has to do with like

how long we spent on a scene. Like, you know, like if you shoot a scene in a conference room, it could take all day because there's so many angles and so many people. But if it's just like a walk and talk, two people down a hallway, you might just spend like an hour or two on it.

And some of those scenes are the most delicious to rewatch because I don't remember them at all. But I was also, when we started the show, I was 25. And I was still in that phase where things feel, I don't know, more monumental, you know that period of your life where the things you love, the things you're a fan of, the things that you become obsessed with,

they just stay with you forever? Yeah. I was still in that. I think I was still in that period of my life. Yeah, it's funny. There's certain songs that bring me back to being 25, whereas I don't feel like I'll ever hear a song that will bring me back to this age.

You know, unless it's like wheels on the bus or some dumb shit my kids listen to. But so that's, it's cool. And it must be, yeah. Those, those, those memories must feel so tactile when you're watching work you did. Totally. I also feel that like that, that like when you, you know, like a teenager and early twenties,

when you've fallen, I mean, at least for me, and I think people in our business, when you fall in love with an actor or a movie or a director or whatever, that those are the people you become starstruck around and not necessarily much bigger stars that you meet later or you come to like later. But those few heroes from that time are the ones that you're like, I don't, like Martin Short for me, Martin Short, I have met him one time very casually and I was petrified. But he's somebody that I would probably avoid because I would be afraid to meet, because I'd be afraid that, like, what if he doesn't like me or, you know, it would ruin me forever.

Matthew Grange Did you watch Ugly Betty when it was on? Would you like? David Kemp Yeah, for sure. I was like, I would, and I would watch my scenes over and over again because I was I was also like learning I think I was still like You know like figuring out how to act on camera and and I did this weird thing where you know How when you shoot a scene that they move the camera around so like there's the cameras on me And then the cameras over here, and then the cameras behind you because I had been in theater had come from theater

I and then when you're on because I had been in the theater, had come from theater. And then when you're on stage, you cheat out to the audience. I would cheat to whatever camera was on, like wherever the camera was. And I learned pretty quickly to stop doing it because nothing matched. I would see myself on TV and I'd be like, I'm never in the same place twice. I have to stop cheating. That's why they moved the camera. Did an editor have to come up to you and be like, you're killing us, man. Like, just...

I think a DP was like, you don't need to... Yeah, you know, we can't cut any of your scenes. Was that a real, like, do you remember? Because again, to some degree, maybe it's the same, but to get a network pilot back in the day, you know, it was a big deal. Oh, huge. Cause those could be shows that were, you know, again,

there must've been 20 plus episodes a season of Ugly Betty. Right, exactly. So it's life changing. Do you remember getting the call that you'd been cast in it? Actually, yes, I do. I remember getting the call and it was actually in the pilot of Ugly Betty, my role was a co-star, not even a guest star, a co-star.

And I had been getting the breakdowns, the casting breakdowns and I saw this role and the description was, Mark, bitchy gay assistant, that was it. And I was like, that's me. I can do that. And I had done the year before, two years before, I think I had done another pilot that did not get picked up, but I was a series regular on that. And so my reps were like, you can audition for a co-star because you've already been

a series regular. And I was like, but I'm broke. I need a job. I think I could get this job. And they were like, we don't want you to do this. And I finally, and I finally convinced him to let me audition for it. And, and I, and I was right. I got, and I got it. And then we shot the pilot and I thought, well, that's that, you know, I have no deal. They had this idea. I was Vanessa Williams assistant on the show and they had this idea, I was Vanessa Williams' assistant on the show and they had this idea that she was such a difficult boss that she would have a new assistant every week. So I was like, well, you know, I'm sure that that's what they'll do and that's a great

bit and when we were shooting, I was just trying everything. I mean, I was throwing everything against the wall and I was like, I've got no, I had no stakes because I knew I wasn't going to continue with the show. So I was just trying anything. I also had no shame and I was fearless, I guess, back then, but I was just doing all these things. And one of the ideas I had was that he would, that my character, because he was her assistant and he was obsessed with her, he would physically

emulate her behind her. So if she would like, if she would flip her hair, he would flip his hair and if she sat down a certain way, he would sit. But she didn't know I was doing it because I was like behind her and someone ratted me out. Someone went and told her that I was doing that, like somebody on the crew or something, and she came up to me and she was like,

hey, I hear you're doing me behind me. And I was like, I'm fired, this is it, Vanessa Williams hates me. I was like, yeah, yeah, I am, I thought it would be funny. And she goes, it is, what else can I do that you can do? And so suddenly I'm pitching her bits that then I can do. And then she's like, she's like, yeah, that's great. Let's do that.

Let's do that. That's really funny. Let's do that. We'll turn at the same time or I'll sit and you sit at the same time. And then she's like, oh, and also stand closer because you're not in the shot. And so now she's like, she was the greatest. She is the greatest. Wow.

And she was giving me, I get, when I tell this story, I get like a little bit emotional because she was giving me all this space to like play and be and she was teaching me how to be on set and teaching me how to work with a camera. Cause I didn't know where the cameras were. I didn't, I didn't. I mean, obviously I thought you were supposed to cheat to every, you know, and she, and by the end of the pilot shoot, they put me in the cast photo.

So I still didn't have a deal and I still was like, you know, this show probably won't get picked up. And, you know, even if they do, it's probably not gonna happen. And so we finished the pilot and I went away and it just so happened that a very good friend of mine was very good friends with America Ferreras, then boyfriend, now husband. And he, I was doing this Shakespeare rep in San Diego and my friend Graham came to visit

me while I was doing Othello and Titus Andronicus. And he came to visit and he was like, Hey, congrats on Ugly Betty. And I was like, what do you mean? What are you talking about? And he's like, oh, well, America said that it got picked up and that you're going to be a series regular. And that's how I found out from my friend, Grant. I was like, she what?

What? So were you in tights when you found out? Were you? We're like, what's sayeth thou? That's amazing. It was really cool. It's been so wonderful to talk to you. So lovely to meet you.

My gosh, thank you. Is this it? Wait, are we done? No. Well, you're done. Josh is gonna now grill you with some speed round questions before we let you go. Excellent.

All right, you can only pick one of these. Is your ideal vacation relaxing, adventurous, or educational? Adventurous. Great. What is your favorite means of transportation? Road trip, car. Okay.

If you could take a vacation with any family, alive or dead, real or fictional, other than your own family, what family would you like to take a vacation with? Matthew Knapp I would like to take a vacation with Taron Killam's family. Do you know him? I mean, yeah, I worked with him on SNL.

Matthew Knapp Oh, yeah, of course. You were on the show at the same time. He is the greatest guy. We did spam a lot together. The greatest guy. And I had every intention of not liking him because he replaced somebody that I loved and who couldn't do the Broadway run. And I was like, who's this guy?

And he was like, I don't know. And I was like, I don't know. And he was like, I don't know. And he was like, I don't know. And he was like, I don't know. And he was like, I don't know. And he was like, I don't know. And he was like, I don't know. And he was like, I don't know. And he was like, I don't know. Greatest guy and I had every intention of not liking him because he replaced somebody that I loved and who couldn't do the Broadway run and I was like, who's this guy? And then I completely loved him so, so much and I love his wife, Kobe, and they have these

two amazing gorgeous daughters and they love and I think they would and they go to Disneyland all the time and that's the family that I would choose. Great pick. And just because we talked, hopefully Josh will allow this because we just talked about how you found out you were on Ugly Betty. I was lucky enough to call Taron to say he was hired on SNL. Really? Yeah.

One of the, one of the joyful moment for me professionally. Did you get to do that with a lot of people? And he was like, it's not Lorne? Lorne doesn't call? Yeah. I was like, oh, you're never going to's not Lorne. Lorne doesn't call? Yeah, I was like, oh, you're never gonna talk to Lorne. Did you get to do that a lot? Was that like your-

I didn't, you know, weirdly, I don't think I did it that much. And which is why I think it really pops as a memory for me. I got to hire a lot of writers, but I don't quite know why I was lucky enough to make that call. Wow. What a that call. Wow. What a fun call.

It was cool. Did he pick up right away? He did pick up right away. Did he like know it was? Then he hung up right away. I was like, what? That was weird. Did he know it was you or did he just pick up because he was expecting it?

Oh, that's a good question. And maybe I think after you audition for M Messonel, you take an unknown number. Yeah, sure. Yeah, that makes sense. If you had to be stranded on a desert island with one member of your family, who would it be? I think it would be my sister. Great, good pick.

Based on everything you told us, good pick. Sorry, mom and dad, but I- No, that's fine. I choose Laura. She's very- I can tell you as a parent, I think nothing makes you happier than when your kids wanna hang out together. Oh, that's fine. I choose Laura. She's very, very fussy. I can tell you as a parent, I think nothing makes you happier than when your kids want to hang out together.

Oh, that's very nice. You're from Plano, Texas, correct? Correct. Would you recommend Plano as a vacation destination? No. Totally fine? No, if you want to go, if you want to have a great- There's a reason no is in the name,

is what it sounds like. Also a reason plain isn't. No, it's like a super suburb. So like if you wanna hit up a Chili's, Plano's your place. If you wanna Barnes and Noble, I got two for you. But no, I wouldn't say, Dallas is cool. I mean, if you want to go,

like there's some really cool stuff in Dallas and great restaurants and some great art in Dallas. How far is Plano from Dallas? It's like 20 minutes. It's really close. We have friends that just went to Dallas and they're like Dutch friends who came to LA for like two and a half weeks

and they were like, we want to try a new city in the middle. And they went to Dallas and they were like, it was great. Wow, that's the one they picked? That's the one they picked. I mean, they've been to a lot of places. Oh, okay. And so they're very well traveled. And they were like, let's try Dallas.

And they went over to Fort Worth and they saw, not like the stampede, or they went to like the stockyards or something. Yeah, Fort Worth stockyards. Yeah, and they were like, it was fascinating. Yeah, Fort Worth is, even though they're really close to each other, they're very, very different.

Fort Worth is, there's, you know, rodeos, and it's like a lot more Texas, and then Dallas is super metropolitan and super wealthy. There's a lot of really rich people. Yeah, they said the restaurants in Dallas were great. Yeah, really great restaurants. But Plano, Chili's, Barnes & Noble. Listen, I love Chili's.

Two of them. And I love Barnes & Noble, but that's... Yeah. And then Seth has our final questions. Michael, have you been to the Grand Canyon? Yes. And was it worth it? It was so worth it.

Ooh, yeah. It was like, it was kind of life-changing. Tell us a little, tell us more. I went with my sister and her wife and kids, and you're giving up, you don't wanna hear it. You said, took off his headphones. You hate the grandkids. Well, I just feel like Michael's really convincing

and I didn't like how this was starting. I didn't think I was going to like it. I was going just because it was my parents and my sister and her wife and kids and me and that was it. My partner couldn't come and I knew it was going to be a special memory that we would have forever with the kids and the kids were, you know, it was like they weren't quite teenagers or they were just becoming teenagers. It's like this they weren't quite teenagers or they were just becoming teenagers.

It was like, this is the last time they'll think we're cool, like that kind of a thing. And it's a Grand Canyon. And it was incredible. I was blown away. It's so beautiful. It's so vast. And we were together and we went and we got up early

and went to see the sunrise. And then we came back and we went and we got up early and went to see the sunrise and then we came back and saw the sunset and it was just like, you know, it was very, a very moving, very moving experience for us all to be there together. And we didn't go all the way down, but we went, we did like a nice hike down and, and it just felt, it just, it felt like a big human moment to like experience this thing and be together. And then when we left, my parents had driven from Texas to meet us and I flew in and my sister and her family had rented a car or something and they were in one car and my parents and I were in their car.

And my sister and her family had rented a very small car and it was packed to the gills and we were, and it's, you know, we were driving, we were caravanning away towards wherever airport we were going to and my flight was earlier and I, I'm a last minute airport guy. I like to roll in at the very last minute. And their flight was later. And so we left and because their car was so small and it was so full, they couldn't go very, and I guess we were in like a lot of hills, they couldn't go very fast.

And we were caravanning for a while. And then we realized I'm not gonna make my flight. And so we were like, we gotta leave them behind. And my parents were like, they were, my dad was getting stressed about my flight. And I was like, maybe I should drive. And we started to really, and we ended up, and for some reason I didn't have my driver's license.

I had lost it or something. But I ended up driving so fast to make my flight without a license with my parents freaking out in the car that it became like another memory we'll always have. Like my parents thinking we're gonna die or I'm going to be arrested just so I could make this flight. And I didn't want, I wanted to make the flight because there was no other options.

And we got there and I did make the flight and my parents, when I got there, I said, I said, I made it and they said, we're getting a drink. I'm glad you added the last part because now I don't want to go back. Just so stressful, Posh, did you not hear that story? It's so stressful. Yeah, but it's a memory. It'll have forever. Yeah, it's true. It is a memory.

This is a memory we're going to have forever. This is just great. Thank you so much, Michael. Thanks, y'all. What a pleasure. I've been so looking forward to this. You guys are the best. I really like it.

Thank you. Have a great rest of your day. All right, guys. Thank you. It was senior living But Michael thought it was pretty cool Playing in the air vents Splashing round in the pool First signs of sexuality For Mike Played with G.I. Joe's, who were handsome bros.

This is not an exact account, but they took love scenes that Michael had seen. And then they would act them out The action had changed but these toys had brains Well the men making out they'd put their guns away Nice not mean when they'd say I'm going to

Take you out Sister came out before him Not to go out on the limb When his father brought his boy To go see St. Freed and Roy, he knew. you