Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers - NIA VARDALOS Took Pictures with the Queen of Spain

Episode Date: September 5, 2023

Nia Vardalos joins Seth and Josh on the pod to talk about how her whole family ended up in Winnipeg, which of her parents is a better background actor in her movies, what it’s like to take her daughter to Greece now, and so much more! *Note: this episode was recorded prior to the start of the recent WGA/SAG strikes. Thanks again to Nissan for sponsoring this episode of Family Trips and for the reminder to find your more. Learn more at NissanUSA.com. Right now LMNT is offering a free sample pack with any purchase, That’s 8 single serving packets FREE with any LMNT order. Get yours at DrinkLMNT.com/TRIPS. Thanks to BetterHelp for sponsoring this episode. Visit BetterHelp.com/trips today to get 10% off your first month.

This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan. Whether you want more adventure, more electric, more action, more guts, or more turbocharged excitement, Nissan is here to make sure you get it. Learn more at NissanUSA.com. Hi everybody, this is Seth. This is Josh. And this is a disclaimer that some of these episodes of Family Trips were recorded before the Screen Actors Guild Strike took place. So if people are talking about work that they have coming out, we just want you to know that they were not breaking strike rules by doing so. And moving forward, we're going to

make sure that doesn't happen with any future guests. Thanks. Hi, Pashi. Hi, Sufi. How have your travels been this summer as far as just planes taking off on time and the like? I had a big delay. I had one where I was flying back home. I was flying to Boston and I kept getting updates, email updates for my sort of departure time. And it was supposed to take off at 11.40 p.m.

And then I'd get an email that said, like, it's pushed back. It's going to be 12.30, but still get there for 11.40 p.m. And then I'd get an email that said, like, it's pushed back. It's going to be 12.30, but still get there for 11.40. And then I'd get an email like, oh, good news. Now it's 12.15. And then, oh, bad news, 1.15. And I probably got 26 emails by the time I got to the airport, and it finally took off at 2.30 in morning oh my goodness yeah yeah it was a bummer my craziest one was that someone had done something in the bathroom of the plane that they discovered when it had landed oh yeah and i think it's been a rough summer for travel a lot of it weather related and i try to have a lot of empathy for pilots and um you know flight

attendants and desk agents. None of them want your plane to still be there. They want to leave. Everybody wants things to be on time. Yes. But I think sometimes we forget that. And what I loved about my pilot is we were on the plane and he had to tell us the bathroom was broken. And it was the most I'd ever heard a pilot just sound like an angry stepdad.

I'd ever heard a pilot just sound like an angry stepdad. Because he was like, well, somebody fucked with the shitter. Like that's why he didn't use those words. He didn't use those words, but it felt like his tone was that's what he wanted to say. And he was so mad that we actually felt bad for him. Yeah. That was the fun part.

Yeah. And I'm like, oh, he played it perfectly perfectly right and he also told us you can get off and we're gonna see if we can get a plumber to come fix it but just know the best case scenario you're not going to be able to use the bathroom on this plane so if you want to get off and wait use the bathroom and don't complain when you can't use the bathroom on the flight what so it was one of those, like, somebody flushed something they weren't supposed to, likely and all that. Like a full ham from the sounds of things. I mean, I don't think this is a brag necessarily,

but you and I were in the same fraternity. We had our own plane. We had our own plane with two bathrooms. We were in the same fraternity. We were in the same fraternity. And I feel like guys that didn't used to live in the house anymore would like come to the house and like stick a whole roll of toilet paper in a toilet and then flush it. But they were like our quote unquote brothers. They were just like agents of chaos.

Yeah. That was a horrifying time. Yeah. Really glad we got out. Yeah, we did. We got out.'re gonna talk to um nirva dallas today i don't know did it come up have you been to greece yeah i went once right years ago i went to this island tasos or tasos um which was like a very popular destination

for the dutch uh interesting i, when I was living in Holland, I was dating a Dutch girl and went with her family. And we stayed at a place where the proprietor of the hotel looked so much like a French, a famous French soccer player. Do you remember his name? He was like huge in the 90s. Zidane, Zinedine Zidane? No, it was earlier than that. He's sort of like-

Thierry Henry? No, earlier was earlier than that. He's sort of like- Thierry Henry? No, earlier. Okay. Eric Cantona? Yes. Oh, look at that. Yeah. He owned this huge property and he looked so much like Eric Cantona that he wore his jersey

all the time and he would play soccer with all the kids that were there. And I looked him up. And someone has made a documentary because he had this, like, lifelong obsession of wanting to meet Eric Cantona. And he didn't initially know who he was. But people, like, there was a French family who went and stayed there and were like, oh, my God, like, you look just like him. And it became his calling card. And I remember being there and watching World Cup games. In the documentary, did he ever meet the real Eric Cantona?

He did, yeah. Oh, good. And he looked so much like him, but the picture that exists between the two of them, they do not look anything alike. It reminds me of two things. Once I was with our good friend, Brendan Hunt, and we were in Houston.

No, I'm sorry, we were in San Antonio, Texas. But we were at the mall, and there was a man in San Antonio, Texas who was wearing a Houston Astros jersey and it was a Jeff Bagwell jersey. And the guy kind of looked like Jeff Bagwell. And Brendan said, I think that's Jeff Bagwell. And I said, the one dude I'm sure it's not is Jeff Bagwell. Jeff Bagwell would not wear his own jersey to the mall. Yeah.

And that obsession with meeting someone, Colin Jost once told me a great story. He was in Spain, and he was visiting Scarlett, who was working on a Wes Anderson movie that Bill Murray was in. Scarlett Johansson. Scarlett Johansson, yes. His wife. And Bill Murray and Jost were golfing,

and I guess the word got out in this tiny spanish town that bill murray was there and a dude just burst out of the trees and came running towards them from the village and ran up to bill murray and rolled up his leg to show bill murray that he had a bill murray tattoo on his leg wow and i just like that you're in this little Spanish village and somebody must have heard that Bill Murray was there and was like, somebody get Silvio. Yeah, Silvio's got to hear about this. And then he got the news and he just realized, oh, I got to run as fast as I can to the golf course.

Yeah, yeah. And I think Bill Murray probably didn't know how to make heads or tails of the moment. I bet Bill Murray was glad that he had a golf club in his hand. Yeah, when a guy charges onto a golf course. You see people charging sort of athletes. It keeps happening on the field, baseball players, football players. And I guess these athletes can handle themselves.

But golfers, they got that nice, they got that weapon in case someone truly is coming at him with some venom. I should let our listeners know I do not play or watch golf. I have a great appreciation for them as athletes. I'm not judging. I just don't take any joy from it. But did you see earlier, wasn't there a guy who ran out once his buddy won a golf tournament? Oh, yeah. That happened recently, but security didn't know. Yeah, and he did run out with a champagne bottle he was popping. It did seem like security should have known that's probably not a crazy dude

if he has his own bottle of champagne. But it was a pretty effective tackle. Yeah. I mean, the worst, the best, I guess, of them is when someone runs onto a football field because those guys are, their whole lives they've been training to hit people yeah and they have the advantage of like full pads and you feel like a football player sees a fan on the field and it's like it's like someone has just thrown a gopher in front of i don't know what the number one predator of gophers is but coyote let's say okay sure yeah it is funny too,

because the people who do that are obviously inebriated to the point where they think they're elusive and they are not elusive to professional athletes. Very excited for our episode today. Nia is a delight and we hope you enjoy it as well. But first give a listen to Jeff Tweedy. Family trips with the Myers brothers Family trips with the Myers brothers

Here we go I'm so happy. Hi. Hi, Nia. Hi, you guys. Hi. I don't think your headphones make you look weird. I don't think that at all. Oh, yeah.

You're wearing very normal headphones, and we look like airline captains. Yeah, but these are like 1994. They're not really hip. How are you? A lot of your background sort of feels like 1994 are you it's true i'm actually i came to greece for a photo shoot and i'm staying in a house yeah that's a little vintage it's quite nice let's just start by saying it is very on brand that you are joining us from Greece. Completely agree. It's also, I think it just speaks to,

you will go there at the drop of a hat if you're going there for a photo shoot. That is a fact. I will go here for anything. If they say you have to go and pick up these arms and get them to this country that we're at war with, I will go. That is fair. Oh, you said Athens? Yes. I will be there. Gun runner. Yeah, I will do anything to get to Greece.

Nia, I want to start because I associate you first with Chicago, because I knew a lot of people that knew you from there. And then of course, I think like everyone, I associate you with Greece. And I always forget that you're Canadian. Yeah. Yeah. That's why my big joke with Derek was like, hurry up because I'm so Canadian. I would never. I would be like, oh, they need to cancel.

That's okay. Those brothers must be busy. So Winnipeg, Canada, right? Yes. Yes. I'm from Winnipeg, which is right in the middle of Canada. It's the prairies. And I feel as though it has a reputation for being brutally cold at a time back in the day when not everywhere was overcome

with weather tragedies. Yes. Well, yeah, it was very cold and also formative in that if you could learn how to parallel park in that snow, you were a badass. So I think it made me tough because as you mentioned, from there, I went to Toronto, second city, and then Chicago, second city. And when I got to Chicago and Toronto, people around me were fired. Like they were like, they were like, good, let's clean house. So then this Canadian shows up in the cast and it was just a hugely popular decision to bring me in. People are getting fired all around me. But in the end, I think my niceness, I'm not going to say it won people over. They got used to it.

Did Chicago feel like almost like a South Beach to you being from Winnipeg and coming from? Yeah. I was used to that cold, but I kept thinking, why did I defect to such a cold city? Why am I here? And that kind of wind is extraordinary. But then I got my citizenship too. I have both, I have Canadian and American citizenship and I wanted to vote. I wanted to like really be a part of Chicago. And, and, but yeah, that cold is no, it's a no. And were you, so your Winnipeg upbringing, was there a big Greek community in Winnipeg or? No, there were about 3000 Greeks from aged infant to in a casket. And yet we were still counting when they're in the caskets.

Yeah. Cause the beard still growing. The beard still growing. Yeah. So, yeah, we were expected to pick one of those people and marry into that family that we were probably partly related to.

And I, and I, you know, I, I have been, I've read things about myself, like not happy with that lifestyle. Vardalos then went on to become a sketch comic, blah, blah, blah. And I thought, no, that's not what happened. Nobody asked me to stay. Everybody liked my beautiful older sister, all the Greek boys liked her. And then I was just kind of like, that girl that did musical theater. So no one paid attention to me. So when I went off to theater school, no one noticed. It's not like the Greek boys were like, no, come back. I want to make

babies with you. How many of our Dallas siblings were there? There are three girls, my older sister, Nancy, me, my younger sister, Marianne, our younger sister, Marianne, and our brother. Guess what his name is? It's Nick. Is Nick the youngest? And from Winnipeg down to Chicago, where my dad's sister, who married his best friend, lived with their kids, our cousins. And we would drive down from Winnipeg to Chicago and we would drive in a big Cadillac and we'd play Trivial Pursuit. And we'd make the three girls would sit on the seat and we'd put our brother, no seatbelts. We put our brother down in the wheel well, you know, like in the footwell. And we'd make him we'd make him hold the Trivial Pursuit board up on his face like this while we tossed the dice and moved the things around to, you know, get pies

in our pie slices in our pie. That is really an era. We were a Trivial Pursuit family as well. I like that your parents were obviously in the car and must have been very proud of the fact that their daughters were pursuing trivia. Yes. And yet they also must have been aware that their son was just being used as a table. Yes, it's true.

They couldn't see back there, which is why we're all still alive, to see what we were doing to my brother. But he got his revenge on us in many, many ways. Like we had a curfew, of course. And when I was a teenager, he's seven years younger than me, he rigged a piece of dental floss against something in my closet so that when I walked into my room late, my foot, my ankle stepped against the dental floss and it pulled a light on a battery in my closet, which shone into my eye and I screamed and woke up my parents and got grounded.

That is subversive. I mean, I'm, yeah, I'm no stranger to that. I certainly would do stuff like that to Seth, but that's, I'm, I'm impressed with that. Yeah. He, he, he put the thought into it just enough that you made, it made us think he might be a serial killer. Just enough thought that was too much. So I have a brother-in-law who has two older sisters, two older Jewish sisters. And I've always said that in a way, I feel like he has three Jewish mothers. Does Nick have three Greek mothers? Are Greek older sisters, do they have

that sort of oppressive sibling manner? Always. Yeah. Always. We're still telling him what to do. And we hear it and yet can't stop. I guess it's genetic, but we're always saying he married a fantastic Greek woman who also tells him what to do. So it's a perfect life for him. woman who also tells him what to do. So it's a perfect life for him. Sounds great. Did you guys, was it imperative that she got on well with the, his three sisters? I think so, but we liked her immediately because we always used to watch.

She came for Christmas holidays when they were engaged and no, they had actually just met. She was a friend of our family and they came for Christmas and we were watching Sound of Music in the basement under a quilt that had seen better days. All of us, you know, our family tradition. And they were out visiting people. He was introducing her around Winnipeg and she came downstairs, saw us and went, Sound of Music, and jumped in under the quilt and pulled it up. And sure, it had dog toenails in it, and she didn't care. And we thought, oh, she's one of us. So you mentioned you would drive to Chicago.

What's a Winnipeg to Chicago drive time? I think it's eight hours, or it might be eight Greek hours, which is pedal to the metal. Hard to know. So it would be normal, would be a 10-hour drive. Could you do, is a Greek eight a sort of human 10? I think so. I actually can't recall how long it is.

And we did it a lot. Like if there was a baptism, we would just get in and drive there. If there was just anything, there was always something going on between Chicago and Winnipeg. And we went back and forth. We were really, really close with those cousins.

When you'd go to Chicago, would you do aside from family stuff, would you go see Chicago? Were there things about that city that you'd... Yes. Our cousins would take us around. We, of course, went to the Sears Tower when it was called that. We went all around and we saw everything. And I remember driving by Second City and saying to my cousins, I'm going to work there one day. I have a cousin, Nikki, who's honestly should have had her own reality show. She's extremely watchable. I'll put it that way. You can't take your eyes off her. And she talks like this, like everything is. And she would say things to me like, if you want to do it, you have to, like that. And so eventually,

eventually I, as I mentioned, got to Chicago and they were so supportive. I mean, you've seen how Second City is. It's a stage, it's seats, they're close. And the lights would come up with musical director playing, like starting something and the lights come up and here we are on stage. And my cousins would come with half the Greek community, take over the theater, sit right in front. They're so, so loud that the show always would start late. We'd finally get them settled with their drinks and their snacks. The lights would come up. I'd be in the opening scene. And my cousin Nikki in a bright yellow jacket would wave her arm in dead silence of the audience and go, hi, Nia. Now, again, we're talking about a cast that's maybe not that excited that you have joined to replace their fired friends. How do they feel about your Greek entourage in the front row?

Yeah, they would always say, oh, this is the night that Nia is going to kill. It's always like once a week, there's the Greek community. Anything I said in the improv set, I was like, I'm a genius. That's wonderful. It was not exactly welcomed by them, but I think they got used to it. Then we'd all get in a cab. We'd go down to Greek town. That's what we do as Greeks. We roll you into our world. We love a convert. We love it. And if you just like the taste of feta cheese, we declare you Greek.

I remember once my comedy partner and I, Jill Benjamin, did a show at the Live Bait Theater in Chicago, which was maybe 80 seats. And I came backstage before the show and I said, there are 11 people here and only two of them are not related to us. It was just like her family, my family, and two other people. And in the end, it wasn't a bad show. We leaned into it. It was not a bad show. But Josh and I went to Northwestern and we used to, our visit to Greektown was once a year we would go with our college fraternity. And I feel as though we represented ourselves a lot worse than your family represented themselves oh my gosh yeah what was that diana's yeah diana's is still there yeah we would go to diana's and it was like the i mean i feel like anytime an upperclassman

would make a toast everyone would drink so if you were a freshman it was really problematic it was yeah yeah probably not a great idea we like had to get in a bus afterwards with trash bags it was awful oh yeah yeah i did that too in college i remember drinking until you can't see and you wonder why why and the next day you bow you'll never drink again and then you have to i know was uh going to greece when did start for your family? Is that something you would do as a kid? We would go about every three years. And I think about this all the time, how expensive that must have been. But because my dad immigrated in the 1950s, 60s, his family was all in Greece, but slowly, but surely he brought his brothers over who then brought their other brothers over and their sister, et cetera. That's the way he did it. And in fact, this is a really crazy story, but, and we'll probably all go to jail for it, but here it is. Never told it, but here, my, one of my uncles

passed away and the next one under him, younger than him, took his documents that had just been processed for him to immigrate and went over to Canada as his name, because they all look so much alike. But that's what they would do. They would work, get papers for someone, put money into an account, get them over, get them employed. It's incredible, huh? And was your dad the first? Yeah, my dad was the oldest. My dad passed away. He was the oldest. And so that was important for him to bring his kids, all four of us, eight years between four kids. He would bring and my mom would bring us over to Greece to visit my grandparents. And I don't know if you know this, but sometimes European cultures, Greeks, worship the boy in the family.

And so my mom, before we traveled, would give us all a bowl cut, not kidding, with a Tupperware bowl and cut our hair, which was easy maintenance for the three girls. When we got to the village, which is like driving up a winding road, a winding road, we'd get to the top. And of course, my grandmother would have been alerted by carrier pigeon months before that we were coming. So she'd be waiting at the base of the fountain for us to

come. And she'd rip open the car door like a badger with a bag of Oreos and to find Nico, Nico, Nico, who was the baby. He was four years old. So she took my sister, Nancy. Mu means mine. She took my sister, Nancy, and she went, Niko Mu, Niko Mu. And Nancy with the bowl cut said, oh, I'm Nancy. And she went, ah, kissed her and kind of tossed her aside, went through each of the kids and finally found Nick. And they were like, it was like Lion King. They all held him up like the progeny of Gus Vardalis has come back to the village. And the three girls were, it just informed my comedy in that moment. I knew exactly who I was in the Greek society.

Was the plan to give you guys bowl cuts so there would at least be a moment where you would get the light of your grandmother while she thought you were potentially, just so you could see what it would feel like? It was, no kidding. It was pre-planned in some way, I guess. But yeah, we had low maintenance hair, all of us. I think looks were not necessarily as valued in my family as being funny. No one really commented on each other's looks. We all look the same. There were 27 first cousins.

We were all dorks. And we all went to Greece in the summer 27 first cousins. We were all dorks and we all went to Greece in the summer and hung out. That incredible. So we, not just your family, but all the other cousins would be there as well. There would be of the seven brothers and sisters. Well, one family still lived in Greece. And then of the others, there would be at least one or two other families that were also making the trip. And that's, we would just hang out. We'd go to the Isthmus of Corinth and have a meat on a stick. It's called souvlaki. We'd have a meat on a stick eating contest. We'd go swimming, we'd get brown, brown, brown. And then we'd go back and miss the first week of school in September.

It was just a given. It's what we did. Wow. How long was the total length of the trip? We'd go for three months. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. It's why we did. Wow. How long was the total length of the trip? We'd go for three months. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. It's why I'm fluent. It sounds just so amazing. You're like, we go to this mountain and our grandmother would meet us at the fountain. And then we go, you know, when your father was bringing his brothers over, I mean, no

disrespect to Winnipeg, but were they like, oh, thanks, Gus. I mean, land was cheap. That's all I'm going to say in Winnipeg, but it was a shocker for them. And I think about it all the time. Why Winnipeg? And there is one reason, but why did they all settle there is the question. One went to Chicago, but my dad and his best friend, as I said, also named Gus, they came over together on the boat. And my dad stopped in Winnipeg to visit a very distant uncle. And the very distant uncle said to him, as my dad was on his way down to Chicago to go to mechanic school, the distant uncle said to him, oh, you're a church chanter, aren't you? Because my dad had been trained.

The distant uncle said to him, oh, you're a church chanter, aren't you? Because my dad had been trained. There was so little food in Greece that at one point, Greek boys were sent to monasteries and nunneries to work the land, get educated so they could eat. And in return, it's unbelievably sad and yet poetic. In return, my dad was trained in the Greek church. We have like Jewish synagogues. They have a call and response.

And we have that with Greek Orthodoxy as well. So the uncle said to him, well, you're a church chanter, aren't you? And my dad said, yes. And he said, before you go down to Chicago, why don't you stop by the church? There's a funeral today. And we don't have a chanter here in Winnipeg. Maybe the priest will want you to do the service for you with him. And you could make some money. And my dad was like, sure, I'll go and I'll meet some Greeks. So my dad goes, he makes $20. chanter here in Winnipeg. Maybe the priest will want you to do the service for you with him and

you could make some money. And my dad was like, sure, I'll go and I'll meet some Greeks. So my dad goes, he makes $20. He goes to this funeral and he's doing the call and response. And it was my mother's grandmother's funeral. So my mom and dad saw each other at that funeral. And that's why my dad went to mechanic school and came back and married my mom. He met her that day. But we always imitate my mom at her grandmother's funeral, like, oh, my grandmother died. Who's the cute chanter? That's unbelievable. Wow. Yeah. It is these tiny fragments that make up our lives, huh? You never know. It's really funny, the very idea of we met at a funeral. But one funeral and then to go to a big

metropolis like Chicago and keep her on your mind the whole time. Because again, I'm assuming when you're at mechanic school, you're just meeting ladies left and right. I think so too. I think those are the type of ladies that you do want to wed and bed in whatever order. But I think, yeah, my dad was quite smitten. And when he went to my grandfather and said, I'm a Greek man, I'm from Greece. And my grandfather as well had immigrated. And my grandfather, he's my dad said, I'd like to court your daughter. And my grandfather said, okay, you can court her only on the porch at the house. You cannot take her out because if it doesn't work out between you two, she will be ruined. Her reputation will be ruined. And isn't that uncanny? It's sweet,

but also horrifying. Horrifying. But I will say that it is nice to know the stakes ahead of time because obviously your dad then had to go into it with clear eyes as to exactly what he was putting himself out there for. Yeah. And my mom said in school, a lot of girls had been pinned and were going to be married after high school. Is that incredible how the times change? And she was a mom by the time she was 21. Unbelievable. And so she had four.

But then she was done. So she's done by the time she's 30, having kids, right? That's right, yeah. Were you, outside of Greece, outside of driving to Chicago? Did you have other family trips that you would take or was that sort of? Yeah, we did. We'd go to Sault Ste. Marie. We'd go to Brandon. There was a festival in, oh man, I just thought of it. Wait, where's Brandon? Right there. Brandon, Manitoba. It's outside of Winnipeg and they would have various stampedes and things like that which is a horse show and we would go to that but the best was in regina where we have family they had a food

festival called with a big banner taste of regina uh regina those would gets stolen yeah on the regular every they'd be like who took the damn banner again that might be the biggest example of how much times have changed is you used to be able to hang a taste of regina banner and it would not be taken it would not be taken regina isn't regina my sister-in-law's middle name isn't uh it's regine regine yeah my sister-in-law's middle name is regine but regine but sometimes she can act like a real regina she really did you ever go to any of those stampedes any of those kinds of shows yes we went to the calgary stampede and we walked through the 4-h club and we met the kid who had one for the biggest pig and here's the thing about my parents we laughed all the time but their one rule was we were not allowed to make fun

of anyone that was the rule at all times you could could laugh observationally, but you could not make fun. And that also has informed my comedy because when I gave my teenager a phone, I had to at 13 because in Los Angeles, the bar mitzvahs that they get invited to are drop off. So you're dropping off your 13 year old at a at Skirball Center in the middle of Earthquake Town. And I just couldn't do it. I was so scared. So I got a phone and said, this is your phone, but this is my rule. You may not use it to make fun of anyone. No texts, no video, no nothing, because that's the way I was raised. And I think

it matters because I think that type of humor that I do that I go, come laugh with me is much different than poking humor at someone. It's easy. That's an easy joke. I think. Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan. Posh, these days, too many people have to settle for the next best thing, especially

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Element offers no questions asked refunds. Try it totally risk-free. If you don't like it, share it with a salty friend and they will give you your money back. no questions asked refunds. Try it totally risk-free. If you don't like it, share it with a salty friend and they will give you your money back. No questions asked. You have nothing to lose. Except salt. And then you'll get it back with Element. You came from sort of this agriculturally based community, but we're at this point, obviously your dad's a mechanic right he's not into farming anymore even though he came from that sort of life and he did as well yeah he came from sheep on the

countryside and uh you know if they drank milk it's because they went and got it themselves from an animal yeah absolutely that was my dad's life he was a mechanic and then um morphed into buying and selling cars, but not individual cars. He would buy like a trove of cars coming from here and then turn them in and then became a land developer and made all these shopping malls in Winnipeg. And this is a person with a 10th grade education from a village. It's incredible, isn't it? And my mom, a sweet Winnipeg Greek lady, ended up working at one of the theaters after we all went to school, and she had nothing to do at 35 years old. She asked if she could be the bookkeeper at a theater that I worked at after Showcase. Oh, my gosh. I'm assuming they embraced the opportunity to have a

bookkeeper. Oh, yeah. They loved it. But my mom and dad, they went to one of the parties, and they were trying to tell each other in Greek that there was pots being smoked at the party. There was pot in the other room. But my mom didn't know the word for cannabis or joint in Greek. So instead, she said, don't go into the other room. They are smoking.

And she used the word for casserole dishes, like pots and pans, like that. How much Greek was spoken in your house growing up? Always and constantly. And being in the village for those three months made us completely fluent. We're all fluent. And when I got to Greece to direct the movie, I asked the office who were, we partnered with Faludo House, Playtone, you know, Playtone produces all these movies. Playtone partnered with Faludo House who are Greek based. And so I got to the office,

the production office, and I asked 25 production staff to only speak to me in Greek because I wanted to get my Greek up to a level so that I could direct actors who only spoke Greek and speak to crew who only spoke Greek. But when you do that with Greeks, 25 office staff, interns to a line producer, what you've done is invited 25 teachers into your life every single day. So I'd be in a meeting speaking Greek. We're going to put the cameras here and they'd be like, nia, nia, nia. When you say the cameras and it is plural, you must remember it is a feminine word. And therefore, ah, it was like a mistake. Yeah.

I imagine after that, you might need to smoke a little casserole dish and some pots and pans. Take a pause. I might have to light up a bowl. It means something different. Did you, so I want to, if you went every three years, so every three years you get a three month summer in Greece, were you miserable the other summers? No, I was miserable in Greece for half of the time, because when you turn 13, you just want to go to Clear Lake with your friends and share a cigarette under the dock. I didn't want to go to a village and watch my uncle skin a goat. I really felt othered at that time. And now I'm so grateful for it.

Right. So how many of your Greek trips were you that, did you have that jaded take on it? Did you have a couple? I had two of them. Yeah. Two. Because the first one was probably. The teenage.

Oh. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Because you know when you have a teenager, they go from being a loving little cat to a just, I mean, from a loving little dog to a cat. Yeah. You know, they're just like a little puppy,

you know, with their face against your neck. And then they're a teenager about everything. That was me. Did you ever when you were over there as a teenager, did you ever think maybe I should go to a funeral trying to make eyes at a chanter? That's so funny. I had all these protective cousins around us. There was no there was not even a make-out session. Really? Because, and you blame that on your protective male cousins?

Absolutely. We moved in a group, definitely moved in a group. But at the same time, every one of us was into something else in my family. So Angie was into skating. Mikey was into football. I was, of course, into theater. So this group of this rambling, chubby, dark, swarthy group of cousins, we would supportively go to each other's thing. So any piece of theater I ever did in Winnipeg, I had a bunch of cousins there, as this cousin, this cousin, this cousin. So there was that trade-off and I actually didn't want to leave that warm bubble. It's scary to go out into the world. I went to theater school in Toronto. It's this classical theater school that you have to audition to get into. And we're all like, I do love Sean Shakespeare. And you get

in there and everyone is, you know, clawing to get the teacher's attention. And that's when I realized some, some people are not so nice. And I had only grown up with nice in the nicest city. So yeah, it was, it was, I was awakened. It's funny because of course, I think for most people, they would think Toronto would be a nice city, but of course that would be coming from the States. And if you come from a smaller part of Canada, I guess. Well, also you're talking about getting into a theater school. I feel like any theater school you go to, there's going to be some backstabbing and some crawling over each other to get to the top. I made my closest friends from that time. In fact, I was in Second City with one of my classmates and then the generation of Second City Toronto friends. My best friend is from that group. So

you do find your people, your nice people. You find them. I really do. I even think in LA, that cesspool of a town, nice people find each other, I think, in LA. And I get burned a lot. other, I think, in LA. And I get burned a lot. But when I first got to LA, I did a lot of voiceover. I still do. And I was on the Sony lot voicing something. And I was excited to be there on the Sony lot. And I saw Drew Barrymore. And I smiled at her because, you know, when you first get to LA, you think you know someone and then you realize that's Brad Pitt. You don't know him. And so it was for me, Drew Barrymore. And she, I smiled and waved and she smiled and waved back. And I thought, if I am ever a known person, I'm going to stay the same. I'm going to be a dork who smiles and waves at people. I got to tell her that too, years later, after my Big Fat Greek wedding,

I was like, I saw you, I saw you on the thing and this happened. And she said, Oh, I probably just thought I knew you. And I was like, no, you were nice. It is Ben those moments where you had a chance and you didn't realize in the moment that you were giving someone else a memory. And when they then give you that gift years later and tell you how nice you've been you, by the way, I should know, I met you right after the success of my big fat Greek wedding because you hosted SNL in 2002, and you were a lovely host, Nia. That's super nice. I seriously, I was, you're super fan. I

was so excited. And then when I guessed it on your show, I remember like I wanted to say something like gushy, like I'm so proud of you. And I am. I'm so proud of you. Yeah. We're proud of them at home. Well, I should say like people from those first couple years, like 2001, 2002, I have had some very nice conversations, including this one, where people say something like, you know, I was really, really proud of you because you did meet me when I was just, I was a C as you would say, I did not have much purchase at that place. And so for people who were kind at that time, it means a lot. I know what you mean. I know that feeling of when you meet someone who has figured out the system

much more than you and they're, it's not jadedness. It's just a player, a game that I don't know how to do. And when you when you have a genuine exchange with somebody, you remember them. You really do. And I should note, like, I don't feel as though you were I mean, again, for anybody who doesn't quite remember, like it was the most out of nowhere. And I should say we're at this very exciting time where, you know, as unlikely a trilogy as you're ever going to have in cinema, right? And the most wonderful kind of trilogy, which is taking time. And so it's not just, you know, coming off the assembly line. But that movie came out of nowhere.

And the other thing about you in 2002 is you were not walking around like you'd figured it out or cracked the code. You were walking around like someone who was just genuinely overwhelmed with how much people liked this thing that you put your heart into. And it was really great to be around you then. Yeah. Thank you. I was overwhelmed.

That's one. The movie came out April 19th, 2002. We were in, I don't know, 11 theaters, 16 theaters. And then by the time I hosted Saturday Night Live, it was November 6th, 2002. So in that time, in that time period, my life and brain had exploded. And I was walking around so thrilled because Rachel Dratch and I were in Second City, Chicago together. And here I'm backstage at this institution. I know you must've felt this too when you got hired. You're backstage at this institution. I know you must have felt this

too when you got hired. You're backstage at this thing that you watched and dreamed about being in. It's crazy, isn't it? It's crazy. Although your version of it is you were there because you had earned the right to host. Whereas the minute I was there, I immediately started worrying that they were going to regret the decision. Like when you host, you know you're getting the whole week. Whereas I just constantly was waiting for them to realize they'd made a terrible, terrible mistake. Going back and hosting, it was weird having worked there for as long as I worked there.

I had no sense of how cool it was to host. And so you actually had an experience. It took me years and years to fully wrap had an experience. I, it took me years and years to fully wrap my head. Yeah. I would imagine that I felt the fear, like I, Josh, like the, in the, you know, in the writer's room, when people are waiting to have the material taken or not taken, like that fear is horrifying. It's just as you're waiting to know and if you're not in the show you're not in the show like it's I don't know but you guys are doing such a smart thing by creating your own job I always say if the phone doesn't ring call yourself and just hire yourself yeah you're so smart what

was the I mean obviously I know the reaction how What have subsequent trips to Greece been like for you after the phenomena of the movie? Is it where you're the most famous? It's hard to walk around. It is. But I always say like if somebody spots me in Greece and then I know I owe them a picture because it would be like if you see Jackie Chan in Chinatown.

It's like it's a coup. It's a coup. You're going to get a picture. Yeah. Years ago, I went to Thailand and I feel like every little like bar and hotel was playing the beach. And it was just like what they would play because it was like, oh, this is this was shot here. And and I imagine it's like Leo DiCaprio was walking around like he'd be left and right. And I feel like they must show my big fat Greek wedding at so many places at any given day.

It's so crazy. They play it like on a beach, like to show. And I'm like, where are my residuals for that? It's fine. It's fine. Those beach movies. I saw a beach movie in Greece once. Like it was great.

I forget, we were on one of the Greek islands for a wedding, and my wife and I were walking, and it was just in the middle of like a tiny little garden where they had like strung up a screen and were selling beers, and it was one of the Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes movies.

Oh. And it was just the perfect, we sat there for an hour, beautiful, you know, fairy lights strung up. And I was like, oh, this is a great way. And I do, I feel like Robert Downey Jr. did not see a dime off that screen. Yeah, there you go. Have you ever noticed, I know it's closed now, but at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, you can see anything there.

And it's the best movie you've ever seen. If you see it at the Cinerama round it's like a big theater that's where you have to see a movie in a theater i think yes yeah i agree and i mean i i had never seen gone with the wind i saw that at the cinerama dome i saw like it's a mad mad mad mad world there and yeah i mean for people that don't know los angeles plenty if you won't but it's a great theater and it's been closed in the pandemic and i'm yeah I had a lot of points I had a lot of points racked up at the arc light that I've lost but I'm hoping they come back you never know right I always thought Amazon or Netflix would buy them I'm sure I'm not alone in that thought but I always hope that but for yes for the listeners

it's it's shaped like a planetarium it's a giant giant theater. It's a great big screen. I saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon there. I'll never forget it. That's a perfect movie to see with people. That's what you want, I think. When you knew your big fat Greek wedding was a hit, did you ever go to watch it with an audience? Just sort of sneak in the back? You know, I don't know if you know this,

but I'm quite a cool person. Of course I went. Of course I went. Constantly. All the time. Yeah, I did. I actually had one experience. I swear to God, this was by accident at the Grove. I didn't know it was still playing there. And we were going for dinner and we were standing in front of the theater. My group was meeting at the Grove as the audience came out. So I looked like a bride greeting her guests after reception and I took a thousand selfies. And of course my friends were like not saving me thinking

it was the funniest thing in the world just to have me standing there like a cardboard standee. But yeah, I do. I love, look, we love people laughing, right? It's the best sound so yeah and again you as you said like it is really a sweet the fact that it was comedy that was not mean-spirited at all makes it then you don't have to worry as you're standing outside afterwards that the someone's going to come up and say you know i'm actually i'm actually the butt of the joke in that film whereas very much I felt like that was your entire life experience was the butt of the joke and so that yeah and now we're going to take a quick break to hear from one of our sponsors this show is sponsored by better help there have certainly been times in my life where I cannot sleep well I feel uneasy and I've been lucky to have people in my life I can talk to. BetterHelp is also there

to be one of those listeners. I remember the first time I sort of wanted to talk to a therapist. I was talking to you and I was like, I don't know, this feels weird. I feel like I need a therapist. You said, I've had a therapist for like 10 years and I couldn't believe it. It's great. I love talking to someone who is just there to listen, to help you through any unease you might be feeling or any questions you might have about your life and how to be more at peace or work through some things with someone who's just there to help you.

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I have a teenager now. You have a teenager. What about you, Josh? No, no kids. And mine are not even close. Mine are, my oldest is seven. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, I started late.

So I've got three, but it's seven, five, and one. Oh, my God. When do you sleep? See, Josh, that's why you look good. Yeah, that's why Josh is really good. This is not a visual medium, but Nia's pointing out that while we look alike, one of us looks a little bit more well-rested. No, one of you has a ring light.

That's what's going on. But Seth's, I mean, Seth's kids go to bed at like crazy early hours. So there's, there's plenty of time for sleep over there. It seems to me, I don't know.

I'm not there. Yeah. We had a night last night where the oldest one is now staying up a little bit later. And we, we had people over at our in-laws and Ash, my oldest, walked out onto a balcony that overlooked the sort of fire pit. And it was very Shakespearean how forlorn he was. We just all of a sudden one of our friends noticed that he was just standing up there leaning over this balcony staring at us.

Because I think he felt as though he'd been lied to that there was a a party taking place after he'd gone to bed yeah that was the beginning of the FOMO we all experience and so your uh your daughter has she how often have you brought her to Greece is this a destination all the time yeah not this time because I'm here for a photo shoot for press. Yeah, so I'm just here for a work trip and then headed right back. But I bring my child all the time for the simple reason that, number one, you got to be fluent in the language. And so everyone,

all the kids just get shoved into the village and they just hang out and they run around. My only rule is you got to be in a group. And we go home at about two o'clock in the morning. It's uncanny what the kid's life is here. It's great. There are no cars. There's nothing to worry about in this village road. And they just have a great time. But on the film, my kid was put to work because that's the ethic that I grew up with. Right. And hauling water, like just doing stuff.

It was really fun to watch. She worked on the movie. Yeah, have to. Yeah. That's great. And now does she, do you feel like in her teenage years, does she dread going to Greece as much as you did as a teenager? Or does she have a different?

No, because no, we may, I make it fun. We don't go to the village. We go to islands and I make sure that her age range is around, but fluent Greek speakers so that it's not easy to communicate. And that's the only way you learn. But I'm lucky because my teenager wants to learn the language. So that's good, I think. Yeah. And is it, do you like, is she good at it? Does she have a nice, is her, is Greek tongue, is that the right way to say it just her pronunciation everything's strong her accent is better than mine because i learned greek uh from with a canadian accent and my child looked greek learned greek from greeks in greece so often i

will say something like except that there which is like it it depends and she'll go, mom, it's ex-arfate. And I'm like, okay, take it easy. You mentioned your father passed away. Is your mother still with us? Yes. Yeah. That was a tough time during the pandemic. And my mom is doing great now. Great.

And now have you been able to, I would assume, did your parents and your mom now, have they been able to travel sort of with you and probably a slightly nicer version than the way they traveled with you as a child? You know, my parents were always background actors in all my movies, every single one. I've put my parents in it. And my mom said, you know, there's a movie filming in Winnipeg and your dad and I were thinking that we'll go sign up to be background actors. I was like, no, no, no, mom. No, no, no. It is way different. It is way different. There's no trailer for you. There's a, there's like a row of peanut butter sandwiches. That would be, and she's like, oh my goodness. And I, anyway, so she's learned what it's like to be on a movie set and she likes it. And my mom's so Winnipeg that she wouldn't even want to be

treated any differently at any time. But I, they all came to Canada, I mean, to LA for Christmas this year, we had 14 people sleeping at the house. And then my mom stayed with me for three months because I thought, why are you going back to Winnipeg? I'm here editing the movie. I know where I'm going every day, which, as you know, as actors, you never really know. Sometimes you're on the road or something. So I knew where I was going to be for three months. So I said, stay, just stay with me.

And I could have gotten nine more movies out of it just from watching her. I found her iPad. It was so old. It came with a crank. And I said, what is this thing? No wonder when you FaceTime with the group, no wonder you look like you're covered in Vaseline. I thought she was just doing some Oprah Winfrey lighting or something. So I took her to the Apple store to buy an iPad. First of all, she brought that one in her purse because she thought she could trade it in. And when she pulled it out of her bag and showed it to the guy, I mean, I've never seen an Apple employee's upper lip curl like this. Like they were like, what is that?

And she went, it's my iPad. Like, oh, he meant what model is that? Because I don't recognize it. Anyway, I bought her an iPad and it's the kind that has no button on it, right? It's the new one where you have to swipe up. Oh, there's nothing better. I FaceTime her now and it gives me life to watch her trying to answer it. I say, you've answered. I can see you, mom. I can see you. And I can see her face doing, well, it's not a visual medium, but her face is up close to the lens and her finger is hiding her, her eye. And she's pressing, pressing, pressing and say, I don't know how this things works.

And I'm saying, I can see you. I can hear you. How is her relationship with your daughter? Do they have a nice grandmother, a daughter relation? Yeah, everybody knows there's a meme that goes around. Grandmother is yeah, yeah. I think I mentioned earlier on the podcast. And there's a meme that goes around. It's a kid doing a fist pump, a little kid. And the meme is sleep at your ya's. No rules, right?

Yeah. And that's my daughter's life. Absolutely. When my mom is around, they cook, they clean, miss classes, just hang out. Now be honest, who was the better background actor of your two parents? That's amazing. I'm going to say my mom because my dad was a natural ham. And for some strange reason, he somehow figured out which side of his face was the better angle. So no matter where I put him,

he would turn his face to go the other way. We were only getting his good side. So now I would think, this seems like the interesting balance to me because I would think a Greek father on set would constantly be bragging that he was on his daughter's movie, but a Canadian father on set would never mention it.

So which one out? Was your dad, when he was on the set of your films, which was the... He was number one Greek. Number one. So he was letting people know that while he might, on the outside, look like a background actor, that he was in fact... No, no. He was absolutely too close.

Always too close to me like telling people who he was do you know who i am and they were like i think i do i think i do my dad was so excited when i became a known person that he would walk behind me at the mall and say to people it's her that's great and they didn't give a shit yeah and my dad would be going it's her it's her then one time I was filming my life in ruins another movie I did in Greece and my dad I had like an hour between shots and I said to my mom and dad we could go shopping in the plaka and my mom and I turned to my dad and said you cannot out me like you cannot he's no no no I won't I won't I'll be good I'll be good we're

in his homeland and so my mom and I are shopping in the placa and we look up ahead after 15 minutes and my dad is standing surrounded by a group of people and as we got closer one of the guys is holding like my dad like kind of by the arm and we're like what did he do and we stand there and realize I guess we get closer we realize my dad is standing with the queen of Spain, who is Greek. He's standing with her. And thank God we walked up at the moment we did, because apparently he cut through her security when he saw her, Queen Sophia. And he went, you're Greek, I'm Greek. And she was like, I know we're in Greece. And he said, do you know who my daughter is? And she went, I do not, sir. I do not. And he said, it's Nia Vardalos. And she went, wait. And then thank God we walked up and we ended up taking a bunch of pictures with the

Queen of Spain. Wow. See, that's again, that's where this sort of bareheadedness or the bullheadedness of dads comes in handy, right? You never in a million years would have approached the queen of Spain. No, I would have let her be. But haven't you both had a lifetime of people knocking a fork out of your hand to say hello? Like you're, I don't want to interrupt your dinner, they say. And, you know, you don't want to set a bad example in front of your kids. But do you have, I mean, do you have boundaries as a family? Just to speak to our dad, oftentimes, you know, back before the strike when we were doing a show, every now and then my assistant would say, friends of your dad are at the show tonight. And he wanted to know if you'd say hi to them after the show. So after the show, I'd go to the green room and I'd be talking to people, always very lovely and polite. And then I would say, how do you know my dad?

And they would say, oh, I was golfing with him. And we weren't together, but I was wearing a sealer's hat. Our dad's from Pittsburgh. And so we started talking about Pittsburgh. And then he mentioned that you were his son and asked if I ever wanted to go see the show. So it's literally like, I think they might genuinely be there out of politeness that my dad somehow presented it like, we're trying to sell tickets,

anything you can do to help. And so I'm actually at some point realized I've now spent more time with them than my dad has backstage because he just met them at a bar. And then their eyes looking at you are, we're glad we could do this for you Seth yeah we're glad so anyway hopefully please let Larry know we we came through and and hopefully now we don't owe him anymore so this is very exciting this is the the third of the trilogy yeah I mean I can't even imagine what the creative journey must be like and yeah you directed this

one too yeah I did I I, you know what happened with the first movie? Do you know who Gary Getzman is? He's Tom Hanks, one and only partner at Playtown. He let me go into the editing room on the first movie, which is a daunting experience to see yourself up close and big take after take. And I'll, you know, it, I would drive to the editing room and think your nose is bigger than you think. Okay. Have a good day. And I would drive to the editing room and think, your nose is bigger than you think. Okay, have a good day. And I would just learn, learn, learn. And I watched how a film was stitched together and how if you do one take and you fump or a line, but someone else is in the scene, you can cut to them or a plant or something. And I watched editing and I watched how

my character was shaved so that all the sardonic ironicness was taken out of it because I'm nice, but I'm also an asshole. Let's face it. We all are right. I can be extremely, um, we all are, there's no way I could go through second city and be that nice,. Right. And there were edges to Tula that weren't exactly in the PG-13 mold. And I watched that happen and I was completely hooked. And I'd always been a theater nerd. And now I was like, oh, I'm a film nerd. So I studied and I learned and they wanted me to direct the second one, but I didn't think I was ready. And so I watched and I learned, and then I went off and did a play. And I went every time I was on a set, I just would never be in my trailer. I just watched, I did a fully improvised movie. I just watched. That's what I

learned to watch the director, watch the camera, watch the monitors, watch what people doing, wonder why is that the set list shot list? is it what is it and then I decided to write a journal of how I would direct the movie John Corbett said I'm not doing it unless you direct and the financier was like I'm not financing unless you direct so it was I'm going to direct and I'm so glad I did it because I'm annoyingly organized and you have to be and I made look I just don't lose it I just don't I don. I just don't. I don't lose it as a parent. I never lose it. And that's how you have to be when you direct. So stuff happened. Like the steadicam operator, the night that we were filming the dances, his COVID test came back

positive. So suddenly he was there and then gone, like vaporized on set is how they would whisk them away. Sure. And because of the atmosphere that we had created on set by only hiring nice people, by only having a good camaraderie, honest, firm, but we never missed a day. We never went over time. We couldn't. And we had to finish on this day because we would lose actors because we only had a window of time with a giant 14- member ensemble cast. I had to be very disciplined. And the night that we lost Steadicam operator, I had a big smile on my face and I was looking at the shot list and went, okay, here's what we're going to do.

And I had no idea what I was going to do, but you know, from our worlds of background of improv, you just smile away. And at that that moment one of the camera operators walked over to the a cam and unscrewed it it was a locked off camera the steady cam was the b he unscrewed it from its pedestal and picked it up with another person it's so heavy that it took two grown men to pick it up, and said, he's British, oi, would this work? And they held that camera for me and shoved it into feet and pulled it out with my arm linked through one of their arms going, great, swing, swing, swing, right, get the drums, great, swing left, get his foot, good, swing right, get the guitar, swing left, like that. And that's how

we filmed the dances because dances have to be an immersive experience. So over and over again, I kept thinking I'm hyper organized. That's how I made the movie by directing it, writing and acting in it. But in the end, it was the kindness of strangers that pulls you through. So everyone should grow up in Winnipeg. Everyone should grow up, or every director should at least. Yeah, also you saying that you never lose it, and that's why it makes you a good director, that means our father can't be a director. Nope.

Seth can't be a director, and I can't be a director. No. If that's what it takes, if that's the prereq, then we're out. You have to pretend you're in charge and you know what the next move is at all times. And when it was over, I could have gone home, but my teenager was away at a camp and there was nowhere to go. And I just had a relationship fall apart. But I had no time to deal with it because I was directing a movie and it was the best way to end something almost like being in a coma and my best friend one of my closest friends came to visit me in Greece last summer after I finished the movie and he said

let's go to dinner and I was a puddle because when I walked away from that set, all I could think was no one died because as the director, you are in charge. You are wholly responsible. Plus I'm one of the producers on it too. So I was really worried for the safety of things that we had to do, falling off cliffs, stuff that we did, driving scenes, everything. And as we walked to dinner, here I am at the puddle, putty, and he said, you're going to meet a Greek man tonight. And I said, I have never dated a Greek man. So I don't know what you're talking about. And I met him that night because I had finally willfully given up control after being clenched and in control that night.

I mean, for four months. Isn't that amazing? And is his name Nick? Yeah, it is his name Nick. It is now. And I hope that that first date was on a porch only. I hope it didn't leave the front porch.

You are not too old to besmirch your reputation. That is completely right. Don't besmirch me, sir. Hey, we are going to let you go. But Josh is going to ask you some questions that we ask our guests. Okay, I am ready. Here we go. You can only pick one. Is your ideal vacation? Are you relaxing? Is it adventurous? Is it enlightening? Or is it educational? Relaxing. All right, very good.

Do you prefer to travel by train, plane, automobile, boat, or on foot? Plane. Very good. If you could take a vacation, a family vacation with any family, alive or dead, other than your own family, who would you take a vacation with? Nick. Very good. Just any Nick.

Here's the thing. Most of my cousins are also named Nick. So they all, my brother, everyone thinks right now I picked them. That's very smart. All right, very good. If you were stranded on a desert island with one member of your family, who would you take? I would pick my sister, Marianne, because she's a professor,

so the conversations would be good. Gotcha. Marianne is the older or younger sister? She's the younger sister. And what's she a professor of? She's a sociologist. Oh, great choice. Yeah. But I could, of course, take my kid, right?

Like, my kid's always with me in all these scenarios. Yeah. No, look, how old's your kid? 17. Might not want to be with me. She doesn't want to go. Yeah. Bring your sister.

Also, if she knows that you picked her to bring her to a desert island where you would essentially be marooned. Yeah. Yeah. She'd be mad at me the whole time. Does she have her phone? No, she does not have her phone. She might have it, but no service. Yeah. So even worse, because she'd keep checking it.

Yeah. And you're from from Winnipeg. Would you recommend Winnipeg as a vacation destination? I absolutely would. I will tell you why. Yeah, there will be no crowds. would. I will tell you why. There will be no crowds. That's a very honest break on how. That's the Winnipeg Board of Tourism slogan. That's right. No crowds. Come on down. Come on down. We can't wait to see you and just you. And Seth, do you want to ask your final? Yes. My final question. Well, it's a two-parter based on the first answer. The first part is, do you want to ask your final? Yes, my final question Well, it's a two-parter based on the first answer The first part is, have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? Yes, I have been to the Grand Canyon

Okay, then are you happy you went? Yes, I am It's one of those places I think you must see I went in the time when it was pinks and the purples And I'm glad I saw it. Why do you think it's overrated? I just have no interest in it. I've never been, but this is the first I'm hearing about this pinks and the purples. Have you, did you know about this, Josh? Well, I was going to ask a follow-up on the pinks and purples. I'm guessing that's the, uh, that's the

sky or is that? No, it's the, the stone for some reason in a certain time of year. It was November. Apparently, it turns pinks and purples. The only thing I will say is I did have a friend go recently, and the amount of social media influencers trying to get that one shot, it makes it a precarious journey. I see. Yeah.

Well, I think with any, with any national park, you need to go so far into a trail, uh, that the people drop off that it feels more like Winnipeg. Yeah. You want to get that Winnipeg field. They say that Winnipeg has never, there's not a single photo of Winnipeg on social media. That's how few people. you that's how few people it's the last it's the last people are like is it is it pretty up there no one knows no one knows you have to see for yourself if you search geotags of winnipeg i promise you it is a very very nice city but it's the type of town that when you go and they bag your groceries that person doing your groceries will know everything about you i mean this is pre my big factory buddy they just know everything about you in any other situation where that is happening any other city that's a stalker but not in winnipeg they just know who you are where you

went to school how's your sister doing it's a nice small city does winnipeg have a giant nia pride as well is winnipeg are you sort of a favorite daughter of Winnipeg? No, because Monty Hall is from there too. Oh, well, yeah, you can't, no one's knocking him off the top spot.

I had the craziest moment. David Steinberg is from there too. And when David Steinberg was publicizing his book, we're both from Winnipeg. And I said to him, I mean, we know the prairies cause it's flat. And I grew up informed again by his comedy, right? He's so incredible. And I said, you, I mean, we know the prairies because it's flat. And I grew up informed again by his comedy, right?

He's so incredible. And I said, you know, David, we know that joke that in Winnipeg, it's so flat. If your dog runs away, you see it going for two weeks. And David Steinberg said, I wrote that joke. Wow. Yeah. That's pretty amazing that you have the joke about Winnipeg. Isn't that nuts? I said it to the guy that wrote it. Wow.

That's pretty awesome. Well, again, I feel like it feels like there's a lot of massive differences based on the flatness of Winnipeg between it and the Grand Canyon. So I think it's very lucky that you have seen both. Yes. Yes. It's interesting that you don't want to go. I see. Where do your kids want to go on vacation? Did they say? They're now finally sort of aging into wanting to go to an amusement park. They finally, I think, want to go to Disney World.

The oldest and the, you know, the boys are two years apart. So whatever the oldest wants, the youngest kind of wants to jump on board. So I think that that is probably coming up. You cannot go wrong with Disney World or Disneyland. It's so magical. It's so lovely.

It's really. And then, Josh, are you an adventurer? Yeah, more of an adventurer, I would say. Than being relaxed? Yeah. Josh is often hiking. Josh is often going to higher ground. Yeah.

I prefer mountains to beaches. I feel like beaches were made to higher ground. Yeah. I prefer mountains to beaches. I feel like beaches were made to hurt me. Yeah. Josh is very fair skinned. Yeah. You are. With the ring light.

I see. For the people listening. Don't have a ring light. The ring light is within Josh. Yes. Because you're enlightened. Well, it has been so lovely speaking to you from Greece, no less. That is the perfect way to get Nia.

Seriously, I'm such a cliche. It's just a joy to speak with you both. Well, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. It's great seeing you again. Same. This was super fun. I can't wait to see you in real life.

Okay. And we'll hug for a long time until it's inappropriate. Bye. Bye. Bye. Okay, and we'll hug for a long time until it's inappropriate. Bye. Bye. met at a funeral But married and to have three girls and also a little boy The middle girl was near Made a first waves upon the second city stage

Then she struck gold with the wedding film So big and fat and Greek Would you believe that she's not from Greece? Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. What? Mia Bartolos Isn't it Bart Dollis? Yeah, but for the purposes of this song, it's... Mia Bartolos Yeah, but for the purposes of this song, it's... Mia Bartolus Yeah, she's from Canada

Mia Bartolus Mia Bartolus From straight up Winnipeg We're in a band