Happy Sad Confused - Anna Faris

Episode Date: June 4, 2026

It's a true full circle moment for Anna Faris. SCARY MOVIE launched her and now after a long time away she's back in the 6th installment of the franchise. And she's feeling grateful and nostalgic which makes for a great conversation with Josh about her beginnings, her unlikely rise to comedy icon, going dramatic, MOM, and more. SUPPORT THE SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! Rula -- Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.rula.com/happy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #rulapod Quince -- Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quince.com/HAPPYSAD ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping and 365-day returns. Limited Time Offer–Get Huel today with my exclusive offer of 15% OFF online with my code happy15 at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://huel.com/happy15.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ New Customers Only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show! UPCOMING EVENTS! 6/16 -- Matt Smith in NY -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tickets here⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One day, you're negotiating with suppliers. The next, you're installing a shelf in the back room. Running a business means moving in many directions all the time. TD's new small business banking accounts are built for how your business moves. It's how we're making banking more human. Are there things that you have kind of drawn the line at that you've said, like, this is just a little too far? Not really. No.

Yeah. No. Yeah. Okay. I know. I guess that's why you hire me. She's, I, there's got to be something. I'm sure.

But I can't think of one. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Hey, guys, it's Josh. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Say, Confused. Today on the show, Anna Ferris, first-time guest on the podcast, returning to the franchise that made her what she was in his scary movie, a singular talent, a singular conversation.

Thanks, as always, guys, for checking out my podcast. Remember, if you haven't already, hit that subscribe button on YouTube, on Spotify, whatever platform you're using to enjoy your podcasts. We are so thrilled. I am so thrilled to have the roster of talent we've had on the podcast recently and who's coming up is going to blow your mind. It's blowing my mind. We'll get to Ana Farris in a second, but to tease you a little bit, we've got some really amazing first timers that are about to come on the pod. So now has never been a better time to hit that subscribe. button. And also never been a better time to join the Patreon. Patreon.com slash happy, say I

confused, early access, discount codes, merch, autographed merch, bonus materials, Patreon.com slash happy, say I confused. And I know I say this every week, but truly it means a lot. Every single subscriber over there is helping us make this show. This is an independent show. Believe it or not, this is not some giant conglomerate. This is me. This is me. So support us over there. It helps us make stuff over here. It is much appreciated. And we do have some live events coming up, June 16th. Matt Smith, New York City, another one June 24th that I can't say yet. Huge star.

It will sell out. You'll get the first dibs on Patreon. Trust me, you want to be there. Okay, let's talk Anna Ferris for a second. Before we dive into the conversation, not much context needed. We all know who Anna Ferris is. She's been a part of our lives for 25 plus years. And this was a fun conversation.

She's very unique. I say that with all the love. I adore her. She's so endearing. So singular. And scary movie was the movie. It was essentially not her first movie, but it was kind of her first movie. It was certainly her first major movie.

And she was in the first four of those films. And it made her into a comedy star. And she branched out and did all sorts of comedies, whether it was smiley face, observant report, house funny, etc. Diverged a little bit to drama here and there. Bit parts in Lost in Translation and Brokeback Mountain. Then her TV run in Mom, a huge hit for seven seasons. and now kind of dipping her toe back into film.

And more than dipping her toe, this is going to be a big film. This is the Wayans back in the fold, making a scary movie with Regina and Anna. The whole gang is back together. So if you like the scary movie films, you're going to enjoy this. It's out this Friday everywhere.

And it's a great time, by the way, for a scary movie to come back with horror bigger than ever. I mean, look at what's happening at the box office with obsession and long legs and weapons. I mean, it's backrooms. Yeah, it's good timing. So anyway, this was a really fun conversation. She's a former podcaster herself.

She likes the talk. We like people who like to talk. And like I said, there's nobody quite like her. So we cover a lot in this conversation. So I know you're going to enjoy this. Without any further ado, enjoy me. And the one and only, Anna Farris, everybody. Anna, should we do this?

Let's do this. The cameras are here where Mike did. I know. I'm warmed up. I feel like I've put on an old pair of jeans back in my podcast. We were just reminiscing. I feel like this is the podcaster, really, of the inspiration. Let me talk.

I just want to talk. Congratulations in the movie. You were just saying you used the word surreal. This whole thing must be out of body from shooting it, from getting the call, from shooting it, doing the press. Well, from 1999, when I was graduating from the University of Washington as an average fifth year student. I had a degree in English because I couldn't, you know, graduate with anything else, really. And I was going to go to London and I had a job lined up at an ad agency, like in the mail room. I had pulled some strings

and sort of scrapped. You got that coveted mailroom job. You got it. Yeah. For a few months. I was going to live with my best friend and then I made an abrupt 180 decision to give LA a year. I would wait tables. I didn't have any debt. I figured, you know, I've got the Honda Accord. What more do you need? Right. Yeah. When you're that young, you can kind of take a risk. It did feel like I never had stars in my eyes. I really didn't. I didn't think I was. attractive enough to make it I've been around enough like cynical brilliant Seattle theater actors growing up that I I was aware of like shitty material like getting rejected for bad material would be a part of my life right desperate for like

the sixth lead on a CW show WB show like how do you protect yourself yeah from internalizing all of that. You know, I had, I wasn't naive fully in that way, but in every other way. And so when I made this decision, I managed to, you know, I didn't know anybody, but these young managers, I didn't know what a manager did, but agreed to represent me, friends of friends of friends. And they asked me to send in three audition tapes. two for pilots.

I think there were two pilots and then one for a movie called Scream if you know what I did last Halloween. I had never done comedy before. I sent in my auditions off to my new managers. I was packing up my stuff to drive the Honda Accord

down to L.A. from Seattle. And they asked if I would fly down to audition for scary movie for the Scream if you know what I did last Halloween. And then, like, within a... It's intense, dizzying. Imagine, like, if...

Imagine going to a foreign country and everyone telling you that you're incredibly tall. Or, like, my... My fit with comedy was confounding. My fit with fame. My fit with, like, getting the role, it felt...

I was out of place. So, and terrified. Was there a point, and this is kind of a big picture question, but like a point in the journey of the last 25 plus years where you kind of went from like internalizing I'm a poser to like, oh, actually like I'm really good at comedy. Like I deserve to be here. This is.

Yeah. Yeah. You know what? I did. I do. Was there a film or a moment that were that kind of clicked in, you think? No, it's been the slow role of time. Yeah.

You know? And the acceptance that the gratification, really noticing my fan base, I guess, you know, like really taking in, as I struggled with my idea of like, I'm not funny. I don't fundamentally feel funny. I'm not sure why they laughed at that last take.

Right. And I've come around to feeling like, you know what, maybe it's okay that I don't know what makes me funny. And if I keep on just doing this thing and tricking people, I can keep paying my mortgage. And then some, hopefully. No, but the getting to act on set again with Keenan, with Marlon Wayans and Sean. and Kenan and relive and reframe that experience has meant the world. I went to my high school reunion, my 20th high school reunion, my 20 year, and I, it was like a B of a night, C plus, you know, unevent, whatever.

This has been emotional, emotional, really. Because it's also, it's been, I would imagine again, over this last quarter century, like kind of like riding that wave, the first 10, 15 years of your career, you always had kind of scary movie to come back to. Kind of, but I never felt that. I never felt a guarantee in any of, in any moment. Yeah. When people would say, oh, you've made it.

Or I was like, what does that mean? Right. I don't see a finish line. No. And I do think that I wasn't invited. to do scary movie five. The franchise got taken away from the Wayans Brothers after Scary Movie 2. Right.

And I was under contract to do Scary Movie 3. And I went on and did four. But, and then it wasn't asked to do five, but the conversation was still percolating. Like every few years, my agent would call. There would be a studio executive shift or something. Right. And it was out there. the conversation a little bit.

I always thought if I do a scary movie, it's going to feel like shit because I'll be a cameo. And I'll make money, but it won't feel like it's enough. You know, I think Regina Hall and myself were always undervalued financially in the franchise.

You're not even on the poster for the first film. I know. That's the irony, looking back. I know. So you're arguably, I don't know if you were technically number one on the call sheet, you should have been. I was. So that's crazy.

So you're number one on the call sheet, but you're not being paid the most, it sounds like. Oh, no, no, no. I mean, and I wasn't, I had nothing to back me up. Right. What leverage do you have as a 22-year-old with no experience virtually? It was a heady and in, and I can say this now, knowing more, a humbling, a start, you know, and a boot camp. They were sending me off to, like, stunt training all the time.

And what an awesome, you know, an awesome but tough boot camp because the Wayans Brothers also don't give up laughter easily. Right. So not only in my cast into comedy, I'm number one on the call sheet and I'm not funny. In your own head at least. Yeah. Yeah. But even on set, making the movie, I don't remember, I remember feeling like, okay, I'm the straight character, which I do serve that purpose. And constantly looking for Kenan's approval, being too afraid to ask if I was doing anything right.

I finally had the courage to ask the hairdresser. my, um, Linda, I was like, hey, do you think that that last take was good? Yeah. And she said, oh my God, it was great. You didn't touch your hair once. God. The criteria. Okay, okay.

Regroup. Yeah. We'll be right back with more Happy Said Confused. The war is over and both sides lost. Kingdoms were reduced to cinders and armies scattered. like bones in the dust. Now the survivors claw to what's left of a broken world, praying the darkness chooses someone else tonight.

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Step into the whimsical world of Patrick Picklebottom, a precocious 11-year-old, with a love for reading and an uncanny ability to solve mysteries. Inspired by the beloved children's book of the same name, this podcast vividly brings Patrick's tales of deduction and everyday adventures to life as he unravels baffling enigmas and solves clever cases. Patrick Picklebottom Everyday Mysteries is perfect for kids and is just as entertaining for grownups who love a good mystery. The whole family can listen now wherever you get your podcasts. I mean, your relationship to like, yeah, because like a young actor, any young person, they're looking for validation, they're looking for anywhere, like tell me I'm good, tell me I'm did the right thing. And that's, that's a complex thing, especially someone in the arts, especially a young woman, I would imagine. I mean, you've talked, you're talking about, you know,

Keenan back then, you know, you've had good and bad experiences. Like we don't need to dredge up kind of like the my super ex-girlfriend thing, but you talked about, Ivan, back and That's not great to say the least. Like what's your relationship with kind of like, I don't know, serving a scene for yourself versus serving a scene for your director? Like who are you trying to please now on a set? I love how you have incorporated that question with the idea of have I realized my place in comedy because I do feel confident enough and I wish that I had earlier to bring

ingenuity to a scene, to an idea, and to have more confidence to try it. It is hard to try something and to fail there in the moment. And you learn pretty quickly that it's like, do you take the gamble of trying this line that you thought about and you want to try this improv line? Do you have, is it worth it? How am I going to gauge this? Because if it fails, you can really undermine your confidence for the next few minutes. Right.

Well, in comedy you kind of know immediately. It's like as opposed to a drama where it's like, you know, it's kind of an eye the beholder. It's like comedy either played or it didn't. You feel that in the moment probably. I love that my approach, because I don't know how to do it any other way, is character and sincerity of character. And so if I feel like I've got a hand.

handle on that. I love to expand on that idea. I am proud. I haven't talked too much about this. If you don't mind a little humble brag, more than a little humble brag. When Marlon called me in February of 2025, I hadn't talked to the Wayans Brothers in over 20 years. Wow. I know. And it had always been on my mind. When he called and he said we got our franchise back, And I was so thrilled. I still am. And I said, okay, what if Cindy is kind of MAGA? Like, what if she quarantined really hard?

And the reunion, when she first sees Brenda, it has to be like, you know. So I pitched, oh, Brenda, I wish I could hug you. But I'm a Republican now, so I'm supposed to be racist. And Lylan loved it, and I'm proud of that because it made the trailer. Yeah, yeah. And I loved it that he was receptive to me, you know, wanting to make Cindy a horrible person. No, but, you know, but. That's kind of a through line in your career.

You've never been afraid to play kind of ugly characters, not physically, but just like kind of ugly. people. Oh, thanks. Well, that's sort of my, I don't, I don't think I'm a leading lady kind of, I don't know if that's like a shoe that I fit. Well, you, to compliment you, what you're able to do is not many people are able to do that because you also have this other side that you engender so much goodwill. You are so likable and so you can do these kind of horrible, despicable things. I am eager to please. You contain dualities, multitudes. But like my sense is you've always been down, like game for anything. I mean, you just look at the scary movies, a franchise,

like the scenes you, the things you do, a lot of actors, actresses specifically, probably would not say yes to the things you've done. I know. And when you're first, when you get like broken in with scary movie. Right. What do you do now? You might as well just do anything. Who cares?

Josh, when I auditioned, I initially auditioned for Buffy, played by Shannon Elizabeth. it. And when I got the role of Cindy, they hadn't given me the script yet. So I'm on the plane reading the script. And there was definitely a feeling of like, you know, when you're reading on page 49, like whatever, Cindy, Bobby pulls down Cindy's jeans. Bam! An explosion of bats. Cindy gets sprayed to the ceiling It's scary Yeah

Yeah Have you I'm proud that I'm proud that I'm proud that I have gumption Yeah you should be Yeah And I wanted I wanted Keenan to be

proud of that he chose me You know that he picked me Yeah Are there things that you have kind of drawn the line at that you've said like this is just a little too far not really no yeah no yeah okay i know i guess i i guess that's why you hire me she's i there's got to be something i'm sure but i can't think of one because i don't know if i've asked really like properly asked or

expected to be fully nude right so i don't know if i've had opportunities to refuse So, it's still one day you'll say no. Take what I can get. That's right. One day I'm going to say no. Too far. Scary movie 12. Would you rather have like Nev Campbell's like straight on horror career or are you happy

that you have kind of the flip side, the parody career of the horror star? I think I have finally landed in a place where I feel so fortunate to have the exact career that I have. Yeah. I know that for a while, being associated with a spoof movie felt tough. You know, I knew that something incredible had happened being cast immediately in a movie. I knew that was a huge stroke of luck and opportunity. But then it was like, but then what do I do?

I would go on these, you know, meetings and auditions with studio executives. And frequently, a studio executive would say to me, oh, I didn't see that movie. But my kids said it was really funny. Like, I, it was quickly, I was quickly aware that this was not a movie that was associated with any kind of respect. Right. It had currency in terms of box office and success, but maybe not. the value you wanted it to have in an audition room. Sure, yeah.

And I think the misconception that it's easy work or that it's niche, that was hard. And I felt guilty about bemoaning anything that happened to me. But it was there. I felt myself competitive with my peers, wondering why other actresses, my age and my category were, you know, were succeeding. Yeah.

And lost in translation must have been kind of like a big moment that for a thousand reasons, because that only comes a couple years after scary movie. It was. I, yes. And my journey, I can't believe I'm saying. I'm going to wait with myself. It's on podcast you're contractually obligated to talk about your journey as an actor. Thank you.

Thank you. I was, I had two, I was a part of two movies that were critically acclaimed Lost in Translation and Brokeback Mountain during those early years. I had small comedic roles kind of in both of them, loud and splashy, and it was incredible to work with those directors, intimidating. When I was on set of, I auditioned for Lost in Translation about six months before I got the role. Yeah. And so I didn't, I got the role. I think last minute, they were in Japan shooting. So they were already shooting when you were.

They were already shooting. I think the story goes, I think this is accurate, that Sophia offered the role to Naomi Watts. Oh, wow. And she passed on it. So I got the role. And I remember being there and performing. performing in my first moment the way that I had the audition that I did in front of Sophia, which was loud, which was a lot of volume.

And every, the other actors were muted and I were down here. And I was like, I am ruining this. I'm too loud. Like the, I felt very out of place. But I also didn't know how to mute her. Right. Well, that's the nature of the character that you were playing the right. I had to have a degree of confidence in that.

Yes. Even though tonally, it was very hard for me to gauge because I had so little experience on a film set, very hard for me to gauge tone and appropriateness of performance. And I guess I still, I don't know if I could ever, you know, hold it in, bring it back, tone it down, make smaller. faces. Did you, I know you've talked about this in the past and it's kind of been, you know, Sophia's talked about it, you've talked about it, but for decades it's like it was Cameron Diaz that everyone's ever assumed that you were playing Cameron Diaz. Did you ever have to like,

I'm sure you've crossed paths with Cameron Diaz? Like have you had that conversation? Can I, um, can I tell you I was always a little annoyed with that accusation? Yeah. because I, it felt like it took a little something away from my flavor. Yeah. You know? And because I had auditioned for it and earned it as that performance, I always felt like, no, I'm not part of some grand weird sabotage. Right.

It's not a vendetta. This is a performance. No. And she was never, to be clear, never in your mind, never discussed. No, and I certainly, I like. Like, truly, L.A. was so new. I hadn't met any celebrities. I had an idea. When I first moved to L.A. from Seattle, I encountered a kind of person that I had never met before, which is what I call a self-describer. A person who's like, I am this, and I am spiritual, and I'm really creative. and my aura is this. And like the, let me define myself for you.

Right here in front of you, you know, just so we sort this out. That was always really amusing. So I felt like I was tapping into that. The kind of person who thinks everything they say is fascinating, which is now the kind of person I've become. Anyway. No, but that it was, Cameron came on. my podcast once and I because I had read in an article that she was her feelings were hurt.

Right. I didn't know like I wanted to send her flat. I didn't know how to really approach that. And then I never had the courage to ask Sophia to clarify it for me. Yeah. But you cleared the air when you had her on the podcast? Only kind of. Kind of.

Maybe should we clear the air on this podcast? Once and for all. No shade to Cameron Diaz. We love you. Yeah, totally. Well, I, because I didn't know if I should launch. I only had 25 minutes with her. I didn't know if I should launch immediately into like, I'm really sorry that I wasn't doing that. Anyway, I don't know if I handled it well.

I did tell her that she does something that I call the Cameron Dia's effect, which is that a scene in Charlie's Angels when she is dancing to Baby Got Back. That sounds right. Yeah, I think so. Oh, man, she's having so much fun. The audience has fun. You're loving it. Yep. And I was able to give her that compliment.

Nice. Whereas, is Smiley Face top tier for you? It has to be. You know how to make, no, no. You know how to warn me up. Smiley face is, was like a pin, I was just talking about it this morning because it was such a pinnacle of acting joy for me on the, ground, scrappy, Gregorocky. Grega Rocky.

And playing this character that I did not think, I kept asking the writer, Dylan, how did you know to write this for a girl? Like, well, this is, because everything about Jane was asexual. And up until that point, all my characters, there was always some kind of love interest. there was always some kind of pressure to be a very lovable, you know, likable girl, which that, I don't know, that's a lot of pressure. And so it was liberating. Yeah. And it rim, I think of that time so fondly, and I love it.

If a fan comes up to me and says, smiley face, I feel like we're in this club together. Yeah. So thank you. No, of course. I remember it vividly. I mean, it is funny, like, so you talk about those early years and you're balancing, you're getting some cool dramatic work. I mean, what are you going up for? Like, are you getting many opportunities outside of the comedy realm?

Like, is that something that you kind of, like, had to kind of reconcile, like, and actually, you have a couple of things coming up that are kind of more in the dramatic vein. It seems like that I do want to talk about. Yeah. But, like, it seems like, I don't know, it's been a bit of a struggle to kind of, like, convince people. this is what actually I am passionate about. I had an audition for six feet under. Oh, wow.

The pilot in front of Alan Ball. Like I was a, it was my callback, so I'd already like earned that. But still like because of, I think some actors, if their launch, if their movie launch had been as successful as scary movie, but it was in the dramatic realm. Yeah. Maybe they would have gone straight to Alan. And I did not mind auditioning because it made me feel like I'm earning it for an appropriate reason.

But anyway, so I'm at this audition. Alan Ball is across from me. And I'm doing this scene where my character's getting high on crack and with her friends or whatever. And she gets a phone call and her dad has died. This isn't a pilot, right? Yeah. And so I'm doing the scene and I'm pretending to answer the call and it's an intense scene, of course. I mean, you're high and you find out that your dad's died.

And I'm doing the scene and Alan just starts laughing. He just starts, ha, ha, ha, ha. And I'm like, you know, whatever I, whatever the lines are like. And he is laughing and I, and I'm still going forward. with my dramatic stuff. And the scene ends, and Alan said, oh, you are funny. I'm too good at comedy.

I'm too inherently funny. Yeah. I mean, it was... Well, it's that Will Ferrell thing. It's like when Will Ferrell says anything, you're predisposed to let... Some people have that, where it takes a hurdle for good or for bad

to forget, oh, wait, they're... They're not trying to make a joke. I always felt like I was bringing a particular intensity. Yeah. You know? But, I mean, at least I walked away with Ellen Ball remembering me and having an impression, you know. But yes, it was hard. And then doing press for the first time.

And one of my constant questions was, are you afraid of being typecast? Right. I don't remember how I answered, but I remember how I felt. Which was like, yes, yes, and this question keeps getting. It's reinforcing. Yes, it 100%. And what does this mean? So eventually, around 2006, I really felt like I'm going to go work at that ad agency

unless I am proactive in my own career. How do I do that? Yeah. And that was the house bunny journey. Right. Which began with you. That was a story idea you had, right? Yeah, well, a character.

Yeah. My story was different. It was dark. It was darker, right? Yeah. Yeah. Back in my early MTV days, that's probably the first time I interviewed you. I vividly remember.

Oh, wow. You do? When was it? Take me back. No, I remember interviewing. I think it was a group of you. I think it was you, rumor, and Emma together. Oh, okay.

Okay. So 2007, maybe? 2007. That's right. When I started an MTV TV. 2006. And I mean, yeah, that must have been empowering, for lack of a better word, like, to create something on your own because it sounds like you had that epiphany, like, I'm going to need to make my own opportunities. Yeah. And also, there's a whole roster of

other house bunny ideas that didn't make it to House Bunny. You know what I mean? Gold Diggers. Well, there's a bunch. Anyway. But we pitched that movie 24 times all around. around L.A. and on the 24th time, it was Happy Madison, Adam Sandler's company. And he was like, all right. We didn't even get to pitch to him. But he saw me in the waiting room. And he said, what are you doing here? And I said, I'm here to pitch you a movie. And he said, what's it about? And I said, a Playboy Bunny who gets kicked out of the mansion. And he was like, okay, all right, that's pretty funny. Okay, he walks away. And then we sold it. That very, it was like our lot, There was no one else.

Wow. It was amazing. And then six to eight weeks later, I was on set in L.A. with a crew of like 200 people. I was, that, like, that was. Well, it's funny because it's like so much of it also is timing and where the industry is, too. If you look at your career, you kind of were lucky. And it makes me sad because the industry isn't making the kind of things that I loved

that you were making back then nearly as much, right? It's like, I feel like what's your number was like the last like sex comedy. I feel like these like, I don't know, comedy generally is not on the big screen, right? Yeah. Did you kind of like, is that part of why you went to TV, why you went to mom?

Like, did you kind of see a change in the weather or no? No, I, I wanted to, well, I'm, I'm always, I always want a job, you know? And in fact, I think potentially a mistake that I made was maybe not being discerning enough, I think. You know, but I don't know. I've had, how could I, how could I say that? I've had so, so much opportunity, so many building blocks, each experience being its own particular. education but um i i i the comedy has given me it's given me an ability to laugh at myself you know that's

that's liberating it's given me i think longevity in my career yep it's giving me a broad fan base that is generational doing this press tour. I am so in awe of how many young people have seen my work. You know? What's the most inappropriate quote you get from your films

quoted back to you? Maybe by someone that's a little too young. Are there quotes that sometimes you get and you're like, you really shouldn't be saying that. Oh, I wish I had a super quippy answer for this. My, Cindy Campbell doesn't get the actual one. Yeah. I did rewatch a little of a movie 43 Does anybody ever say, will you poop on me?

You really did watch that movie? Well, your part. That's really sweet if you. Did you feel depressed a little bit? No, I'm fine. I've seen worse. I've seen worse. I didn't watch Yogi Bear.

To be fair. Oh, that's good. Okay, that's fine. You don't need to. Which did well, by the way. Like, no shade to Yogi Bear. Come on. That has an audience.

Everything has an audience. But I do. I really have operated on really feeling like I'm not going to get the next job a little too much, you know? Yeah. And... Well, I don't trust the people that are too comfortable. I mean, it's...

I don't either, but they're all over the place. Are they? They're pretending. They're not secure, right? Yeah. I mean, I'm just... I don't know. I just reconcile that I will always be worried intense and...

I also, along with the self-describer. The kind of person that I met in LA when I first moved there that was new to me was also the nepo confidence person who it felt like I met a handful of people who felt like fame for them was just a matter of when. When they wanted to come out. I wish that. You know what I mean? Like they had been around their parents were in movie. Like that mentality of, of like, that, it's not a mentality, it's a core of, it's going to be okay if you don't get that job. It'll be okay.

Yeah. Your friend will get it. Right. And then you'll do the other one. It's bigger, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like that innate, that core I have, I never had and I was intimidated by it. Yeah.

You know, am I making a correlation kind of between the ideas? Yeah, 100%. Good. More happy, say, confused coming up. The world of Sonic the Hedgehog has been thrust into a not-so-dark, not-so-stormy, hard-boiled detective story that probably nobody saw coming. Follow Sonic and the Intrepid Chaotic's detective agency as they take on their biggest case yet. This high-flying action-packed adventure will take them across the world,

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When the chaotic are on the case. Hi, I'm Whitney. And I'm Katie. And we're the hosts of True Crime Campfire. We set out to make a true crime podcast we'd want to listen to. We get right to the story. We don't do a lot of extra talk in, and when we do, it's usually to roast the short hairs off of some loser,

murderer, or scammer. You laugh, but only at the people who deserve it. Like, which serial killer would you most like to shove into a lot? B.TK and his awful poetry. Dude got caught because he didn't understand what a floppy disc was. We look for the stranger than fiction stories, like the case of Patty James, a killer catfish before the internet was even a thing. Or Howard Walmsley, a sentient wad of damp laundry who convinced his town he'd won the lottery, fleeced local businesses out of thousands, and then became a romance scammer. We've covered tons of cases you've never heard of,

cults, scammers, killers. So come find your next great binge. Listen to True Crime Campfire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Friday. So, I mean, Mom takes up a big chunk of your life. Oh, Mom, that's what it was. I was going to say, I mean, that's what seven seasons you did. That's as 9 to 5 a job as an actor gets. Yeah.

When you look back at that time, I mean, that's, in a way getting back to theater roots in a way that's, you know, like, was that part of the idea of that? I mean, was there a learning curve or anything that matter? I was thinking at the time I was thinking stability, I think. But I also, at the time it was just a pilot. And while it was a Chuck Lori pilot, it was a pilot. I always felt like maybe there's a little wiggle room. And also it was a really funny pilot. It was a really interesting pilot.

And I did think I'm getting older. You know, like I'm getting older. maybe I should settle down. I think I didn't think that the movie landscape looked wide open at all. And... What it had been drilled into,

especially actresses, it's drilled into you from like the time you start, like you have a shelf life. Like it's gonna end at 35 or 40, like, which is horrible to say, but it's like, that's a real thing in the industry. Completely.

Completely. And I think that was where comedy started, like I started to be like, well, comedy, though, there's Betty White. You know, we can, like, I can Betty White this, I think, hopefully, if people like me enough. Yeah.

You know, so I, so there was a bit of that, you know, comedy, the recognition that, oh, an avenue to longevity in Hollywood could be comedy. Yeah. If I can attempt to. become comedic like they think I am. Anyway, but doing the show,

Mom, I loved the live audience. You do have to recognize that they are the happiest live audience you can imagine incredibly generous. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

It's not the generosity of like the Seattle theater audience. Surely. Show me. Exactly. Exactly. And, but And I loved the on-the-ground work, you know, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, literally rehearsing without hair and makeup, you know, you're on the ground like a play, like you are like putting the pieces together. Yeah. I love, and my brilliant cast and Chuck, too, I do think I, the, the intensity, like, towards the end.

And I think I started to lose my focus. Like, I think the marathon. It just accumulated. I never had a job for, I mean, besides waitressing, like for over three and a half months before. Right. So that was part of why you decided to leave after seven just to like, you knew it in yourself that you were. You know, that is, it was a complicated time. And I think that I should work it out probably on more podcasts.

Our second podcast, we'll dig deep into that one. I truly, like, I'm always hesitant to really chew into my experience on mom because seven years is a huge chunk of time and filled with any chunk of time that seven years gives. Right. and being a part of an intense, amazing project. I have people that come up to me like the other, like there's smiley face, and then there's mom people. And I feel really moved that I have been, that I've touched lives.

Yeah. This is a hard left term, but you live through one of like my worst nightmare things. We can talk about this if you or not if you don't want. But this carbon monoxide story is so scary to me. Yeah. So for context, I think this was like Thanksgiving, like 2019. Yeah.

And there was like carbon dioxide poisoning in like an Airbnb or something you were in. Well, I, there was a lawsuit. So I can't get too specific. But what I can say is that carbon monoxide is odorless. and it is deadly. And so, yes, my husband and I and my family, there were 14 of us. We had rented a house in Lake Tahoe during the winter. We had all the heat going.

And my dad wasn't feeling great. We all weren't feeling great. But we thought it was altitude sickness and being hung over. Or, you know, like we didn't, we just weren't feeling great. Who thinks of that first? Right. Yeah. Yeah.

And my dad, he was having some health issues. My mom said, why don't you go to the hospital? At the Lake Tahoe emergency room, they had the wisdom to check his carbon monoxide levels in his blood. And they sent over, next thing you know, like Michael and I were passed out. My husband and I were passed out. And we were being, like, shook awake by firefighters. I have this hazy memory of being told how lucky I was by a firefighter. And it was awful.

That's horrendous. Yeah, it was awful. And there were 14 of us, and my sister-in-law was pregnant. And there isn't a lot of study on kind of the long-term effects of carbon dioxide poison. So, anyway. It reminded me, I've always been like, oh, I need to bring, like, a portable one wherever I go. Yes, we do. Yeah.

That's a no grader. It really isn't a bad idea. But if you're questioning at all, so when I brought up the heat, this was a house that hadn't finished an inspection or something. So we were, we had all the windows closed. It was winter. We were feeling low, dull, constant headache, drowsy, sluggishness, the opposite of euphoria. Yeah. So audience, if you're feeling, if you have those symptoms, just don't rule out carbon monoxide.

Yeah. There's a PSA of the day. That can save something life. That's insane. Yes, yeah. I know that's the left term, but like it's one of those things that I've always thought about. And when I read that, you read through it. I'm glad you.

Yes, because we were all clocking it. Yeah. We were like, are you feeling like shit? Yeah. This feels awful. Yeah. We knew something was afoot, you know? Yeah.

You know. So, okay, so scary movie is going to make a gazillion dollars because this franchise always does. And it's so, the fact that we got all the original players back, it's just amazing. And it works. If you want a great scary movie, movie, you're going to get it. Where are you at right now? You've got spa weekend also this late of summer. Yeah, spa weekend coming out.

You're also in prime time, right? I have a tiny role. That's cool, though. It was awesome. It was really cool. For context, this is, I think, Glan, Hans Oppenheim? Yeah.

And this is Robert Pattinson playing Chris Hanson, like Dateline Chris Hanson? And I just have one scene as his odd, strange wife. And it was incredible. It was. I had this moment where I'm stretched out in the bed and Robert Patinson is grabbing my foot and pulling it down across his face. This is why I got it to the business right here. This is awesome.

I made some, so many right choices. That's right. I made it, guys. Something's happening. I'm not dead yet. They haven't put me to pasture. No, that's, they always say if Robert Pattinson is, that's the old axiom. Yep, yep.

I was really nervous. My foot was dirty, and I know it was dirty, because I had been walking around on the set. Anyway. I'll ask him when that press store comes around, how he feels about it. Okay, all right. Just generally speaking, where are you at in terms of, like, are you looking for a specific kind of experience right now? Are you, like, where are you at just in terms of, like, career-wise? It's been so fun to kind of get ahead of myself a little bit.

Yeah. in a way that a year and a half ago I wouldn't have imagined. Like, you know, things start cooking because you're on this press tour and all this, you're grateful for the momentum. Yeah. So I am allowing myself to imagine some awesome dreams. And this is why it's been emotional. That's amazing.

I'm, yeah, I'm thinking about how do I lean into my strengths, you know? Yeah. Because I've had people over the last 26 years remember characters that I've played and really loved them. Yeah. And how do I, I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't think there's anything more satisfying. And if I'm not acknowledging that, oh boy, you know? Yeah. We lost our house like three weeks before Marlon called me.

So it is really like... That must have, yeah, if you don't believe in something in the universe and some kind of... Right, completely. Like, what out of the ashes? Yeah. What? New memories? No.

Like, I can't believe it. Yeah. All right, we end happy second views with the profoundly random questions. Ready, Anna? By the way, do you? Definitely not. No, I'm not. I really am not that witty. No, you're good, you're good. By the way, do people still screw up the name? Yes, but it's not their fault. It's my parents' fault. And I got famous before I could even consider my signature or the pretentious pronunciation of my name.

For the record, there are many Anna's. This is not one of them. This is an Anna. Yes, but it is spelled like Anna. And my parents did that to me. We've talked about it. It's too late. I called you Anna when you walked in and then you started destroying things.

You started just like, we took an extra half hour to build up the set again because you went crazy. Oh my God. Could you imagine if I spent my life being upset about that? It really is my fault. No, it's not. Your parents' fault. You said that. No, no.

I would call myself Anna. Maybe you are the problem, yeah. Okay, dogs or cats? Cats, even though... Okay. What do you collect, if anything? Okay, hold on. Because I used to collect.

Yeah. I wanted... Our house was in the Palisades, which was a community that I never really fit in very well. and I just didn't feel polished enough. But our house itself, inside, felt like a natural history museum. Yeah. But weird oddities all over and fossils and insects and bones.

And I guess I liked mortality. I had some very, I had a cool parrot and I had an old payphone. And I was a collection. of things that made me smile or things that just intrigued me or questioned things. So I am kind of building it back up. Yeah, I was going to say rebuilding it from scratch. What makes it happy? One of the things about losing your house is there are some clean slates in a sense.

Wardrobe, who am I? How do I want to present? Time to reinvent. Right? Am I all yellow? I don't know. I could be. I could be. The door is open. Do you have a favorite video game of all time? Zelda. Nice, okay.

The Dakota Johnson Memorial Question, she asked me this. I ask everybody, would you rather have a mouthful of bees or one bee in your butt? All right, I know we've got to be faster. No, no. On your own time. I really like bees. I want to be a beekeeper. So I guess a mouthful of bees.

More bees the best? Yeah, okay. I can start my own hive. What's the wallpaper on your phone? My son shooting a basketball. Lovely. Last actor you were mistaken for? Amy Puller.

I know. Always a compliment. Great. Yep, always a compliment. Great. What's the worst note a director has ever given you? The worst note. You can see you in your face like, whoa, you're taking me back. The trauma is real.

I would say, I could. I could never, I'm not prepared at all to call this a bad note because, but David Zucker and I would communicate with face numbers. Oh. Anna, give me face number three. That's amazing. Yeah, and it was sort of like a rye joke between us because he knew that I just wanted to act like an actor. And he would reduce it to. He knew that I was hungry for something else.

You know, you're familiar with Galaxy Quest. Don't get me started. Alan Rickman. Yes. I have definitely, I associate, as we all do, but I associate. I live associate. That's amazing. The character you most associate with is that.

Take me seriously, God, man. And finally, in the spirit of happy, sad, confuse. An actor who always makes you happy. You see them on screen. You're in a better mood. Oh, great question. Michelle Buccio. Great.

Movie that makes you sad? Oh, movie that makes me sad. I don't know why I love actually. But I'm sad annoyed. You disagree with some of the storylines? Oh, yeah. I actually don't like it. I don't like it at all, but also I watch it.

Okay, it works. You know, but I don't like it. Right. I get it. And then I'm sad. That it worked on you. Yeah. And then I'm like,

and a food that makes you confused. Why do people eat that? A food. I don't know if I'm prepared to pass judgment. I will tell you foods that have confused me. That's fine. But I don't find them off putting. Okay, that's fine.

I would say, um, forgive Tamago. Oh, yeah, the egg. It's just, you know, visual expectation as a, I just, as a 49-year-old American white,

whatever. Right. You didn't grow up with Tomago. Surprise. Oh. Another confusing food, I would say would be,

what is really? Oh, crickets. Oh, well, yeah. I mean, I want, I support the idea of like eco-feed. Sure. However, we're going to have to evolve to manage, you know. Let's give it a whirl.

But, man, they're really scratchy going down. It seems like it would be. That is a tough bang for your buck there. That's a journey. Yeah. Again, no judgments. So confusing, I guess. Confusing, like, are we really going to do this?

Is this really good for me? Is this good for my throat? Yeah. We learned a lot today, Anna. Thanks. Thank you so much for the time. Congratulations. Scary movie. It's not scary movie six. It's just scary movie. We don't need a number. It's just scary movie. Marlon is insisting on this. Where are you at on it? I'm like I'm here for the ride

That's her attitude. She's here for the ride. Yep, yep. They're blurry for me too, man. She's here for the ride always continued success and thank you so much for stopping by today. I appreciate you. Thank you for letting me monologue. I love it. I'll never need a therapist. I'm here for you. I'm just going to be waiting for you. I know. Until you bring back your podcast, I'm here for you.

Truly, one podcaster to another, you are excellent at what you do. And because I was a host in the space, I do feel unintentionally critical of my fellow podcasters. And Josh, you're excellent. And I really appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you very much. And I'd love to monologue again. You're immediately welcome any time without gushing.

Thank you. Thanks, Anna. Thank you. And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't...

Should do this by Josh. Hey, I'm Ashley, host of Crime Salad. And every week, my husband, Ricky, joins me. as my partner in crime. We know the true crime space is crowded, so we skip the loud, bubbly small talk and get straight to the facts of the most gripping cases. If you want to see what we're all about, check out our recent two-parter deep dive. She saved him, can you save her? Covering the baffling Rebecca Zahow case. If you want a true crime podcast that feels authentic and respects the details, come check us out. Search crime salad wherever you get your podcast.