Happy Sad Confused - Billy Eichner

Episode Date: December 23, 2024

Billy Eichner is living his dream. An obsessive pop culture junkie and performer from the start, Billy’s parents always encouraged him and while it may not be an overnight success story, he’s soared as a brilliant comic performer and versatile actor. Here he chats with Josh about it all from BILLY ON THE STREET to MUFASA: THE LION KING. SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Uncommon Goods – Visit UncommonGoods.com/podcast/HappySad for 15% off BetterHelp -- Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BetterHelp.com/HSC ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for 10% off Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes, video versions of the podcast, and more! To watch episodes of Happy Sad Confused, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Josh's youtube channel here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Billy on the street, by accident in 2004, you know, I created the perfect TikTok show. I mean, I didn't know I was doing it. I don't know. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. I'm Josh Horowitz. And today on Happy, Sad, Confused. Billy Eichner is here.

He's an actor, a singer, a comedian, and sometimes even a mere cat in ginormous films like Mufasa, the Lion King. He's also somehow never been on Happy Eichner. say I confused. This is long overdue, but here he is. Finally, just under the wire in 2024, it's Billy Eichner. Hello. I love that you said singer. Look, I know you fancy. This is like one of your true passions as singing, so I wasn't going to deny you that. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you. I was saying to you before we officially got started, I'm so thrilled that you're doing this because I feel like I've talked to

you on carpets, a little bits and bobs over the years, but we've never gotten to do the deep dive. So thank you, Barry Jenkins. Let's go deep. I love it deep. I'll also say we'll get to this, but I don't want to like, you know, preemptively say we're going to bond on a molecular level. But going into the bio-billy, you're going to discover we have a lot of very similar points. Oh, yeah. I mean, we kind of look alike. We're even wearing a similarly colored shirt today. That's the tip of the iceberg. I know. We could be related. I'm excited. Okay. We'll get to that. Okay. So first of all, as we were wrapping up 2024, and you just told me this is literally the end of your wild press tour for Mufasa. So congrats on that. Thank you. Self-assessment of 2024. I think from what I gather, my copious research, you visited Australia. You spoke at your alma mater. You've got this new ginormous movie. This is pretty good.

Yeah, it was a good one. I'm very lucky. Wow, you're really following me on all my socials. Um, yeah, no, it was great. It was, it was great. I'm very lucky. And I'm ending it in high style with you. Please. Um, all right. Let's dig into the movie first.

And we'll circle back around. Um, this is, look, for someone that like, you know, in the early part of the career was chasing opportunities and trying to get kind of like make it and get the big break, I would imagine when this kind of lands in your lap when Fabrua calls you, that's got to be a discombobulating a great phone call or email or whatever it was. Yeah, I mean, it was so wildly unexpected, to say the least. That's an understatement. John Favreau obviously directed the 2019 Lion King.

The first call I got about it out of the blue, completely out of the blue, was from one of my agents at the time who said, oh, John Favro wants you to play Timon in Disney's live action, the Lion King. and they said live action and I thought well okay number one that's fucking amazing like what you know Timon is an iconic

role so I couldn't believe it but also I was the live action part of it I said well what does that mean like is it going to be me and they did tell me Seth Rogen was being for and I love Seth

and I already knew him a little bit but I couldn't understand I said are we going to be in costumes, like with our faces, like sticking out, you know, like a silly Mirkat Halloween costume or something, like at a school didn't understand. And my agents didn't even fully understand it at that point. And they said, no, we think it's still like digital. They're calling it live action. Anyway, then, of course, we found out what that really meant that I was just doing the voice of Timon. And I was just, I don't know, in a million years, I couldn't have

predicted that i did know i'd met john fabro a few times over the years he was a big billy on the street fan um and a real early adopter of it and i knew that him and his kids watched billy on the street and loved the show and and he just offered me the role i and i'm still so so so grateful and he really took care of me and set in that process um i could go on and on about how much I love John. And, you know, and I certainly, it was up to Disney and Barry Jenkins, of course, to invite me and set back from Mufasa, but I wouldn't be here without John thinking of me for it. I don't think, I can't imagine anyone else would have thought of me for it.

Was it always baked in? You said that Seth was kind of part of the mix early on. And like, as you well know, probably most people listening to this podcast know, often the nature of these things, you don't necessarily record with your co-stars. But it seems like you guys have made a point. of actually being in the same physical space. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, John encouraged us to record together as much as possible in the 2019 version.

And remember, John's a comedy guy, you know, he directs these big, epic spectacles. Now he's doing Star Wars and the Mandalorian, but he did Elf, which I literally just rewatched for the thousandth time last night in my hotel room. And Elf does not get old. And I study Elf now because I've seen it. So I study Elf the way people study like a Stanley Kubrick film in film school, you know, because it is a masterclass in comedy. And it could have gone so off the rails, Elf, you know, what a crazy idea.

And it's a classic and it doesn't get old. And I literally look to see, especially knowing John now, I didn't know him when Elf came out 20 years ago or whatever that was. I looked to see like how he cut certain scenes and how he cut. but Will and how he framed Will, you know, who also liked performance, you know, in that movie the way I occasionally have known to do. And John just knows how to work with, John knows how to work with that and frame it properly and edit it. And so he really encouraged Seth and I to record together and improvise a bit.

But the 2019 film was a remake, obviously. So there was only so much room for set that to make up our own lines and ad lib. And with Mufasa, Barry Jenkins is telling a completely original story. It's the prequel, which we've never seen before. We may have heard bits and pieces about it and other Lion King projects over the years, but we're seeing it in detail for the first time how Mufasa became a hero and how Scar alternately became a villain. And Barry Jenkins always says no one's born a villain.

and no one's really born a hero either. And I think you can really feel Barry's touch in the movie in terms of the complexity and the layers he's added to it, I think, and I really appreciated that. And with Timon and Pumba, again, you know, we had learned from the 2019 version how to do it. We built our foundation there.

We found our version of these characters that kind of nod to the spirit of the iconic original voice actors Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, We, you know, we nod to the spirit of that, but also try to put our own twist on it and bring our own personalities to it. And yeah, so we recorded everything together, which, as you said, is very unusual for these types of animated films. And we really improvised the ton, ad-libbed a ton, and went off script a lot.

And a surprising amount of that ended up in the movie, much to our surprise. We're talking about, like, how surprising this whole endeavor has been from the beginning. It kind of like one upset times a thousand, I think the whole world. when we heard that Barry Jenkins was doing this. Did you have the same reaction as, like, all of us? Like, that's insane and awesome. But what is, like, how, why, what? I mean, I was only excited to know that I would get an opportunity to work with Barry Jenkins.

It's funny. On another podcast I did yesterday, someone pointed out, you know, Billy, you and Seth are two of the very rare white actors to get to work with Barry Jenkins. which I thought was so funny. And I think I did say to Barry at one point, God, Barry, I hope I get to work with you again after this, even though I realized that is very unlikely.

And so the fact that this was a rare opportunity to work with him, he's such a good filmmaker, as we all know. You know, he's widely considered and for good reason to be one of the most skilled filmmakers working today. And I never expected I'd get the chance to work with him. I was so excited at that opportunity, you know, even if it's just to do Timon and Bumba. I was just, it's an honor to be in his presence. And like I said, Jay Jenkins touch watching this movie, you know, in terms of the complexity and the nuance of the backstories and some of the shots, even in this digital world that is being created, you know, there's real humanity in it.

And I think that's so much Barry's influence. Do you think had these two films led to a deeply meaningful and lasting relationship with Beyonce? Or do you have you? Oh, yeah. We're very close. Yeah. I think it's possible, if I'm not mistaken, Aaron Pierre, who does the voice of Mufasa in this movie, and Kelvin Harrison Jr., who does the voice of Taco, who becomes Scar.

I think they recorded together a little bit, I think. But other than that, we usually record separately. So, but, yeah, I met Beyonce in 2019 at the L.A. premiere and the U.K. premiere. And I met Blue Ivy, who was with Beyonce, at the L.A. premiere of Mufasa. So much of this press store, I would imagine another joy as you get to do it with Seth. I mean, eat your heart out, Cynthia Revo and Ariana Grande. This is the true dynamic pair of the holiday season. Have you been holding space for each other on this press store?

I've been holding space for Seth Rogen since I had two scenes in Neighbors 2, Sorority Rising, and which was my debut in a big mainstream film, which, interestingly, Nick Stoller directed. It's all very incestuous. That was the first time I worked with Nick, who ended up I did friends from college with Nick, his Netflix series, then we did Rose together, and Seth ended up

on the street, and then we did The Lion King and Mufasa, so it's all, we've been holding space for each other before holding space was even a thing. And, no, it makes it so much better, just so much more fun to do press with Seth.

You know, those press junket days, I'm not complaining. I love it. I just feel happy to be a part of something to be working no matter what. I'll gladly do press junkets all day long. But it's way more fun to do it with Cess, you know. And we are, we come as a co-duty duo in this movie, so it makes sense. Have you caught up, though, on the, I know you're a big musical fan.

Have you caught up on Wicked? Have you spent your time with Elfleda and Glinda? I saw the opening weekend in the movie theater. Yeah. I loved it. Though strangely, I'm a huge Broadway fan. Since I was a kid growing up in New York City, I have never seen Wicked on stage. Me neither.

It somehow alleged me. Which is very odd if you know me. I mean, there are musicals that lasted like a week on Broadway, which I saw. But I was so excited. I ran out to see Wicked opening weekend. I loved it. I think John Chu just knocked it so far out of the park. And I thought Cynthia Arrivo was remarkable.

It's such an incredible, I mean, her singing, we all know she's one of the great singers alive, but her acting. I was blown away by how she gave such a naturalistic performance in this big, colorful, larger-than-life musical. You know, I was really, it was so grounded and so natural. What she did in Ariana was perfect. You know, she's just perfectly cast. Oh, this is it, the day you finally ask for that big promotion. You're in front of your mirror with your Starbucks coffee. Be confident.

Assertive. Remember eye contact, but also remember to blink. Smile, but not too much. That's weird. What if you aren't any good at your job? What if they dim out you instead? Okay, don't be silly. You're smart.

You're driven. You're going to be late if you keep talking to the mirror. This promotion is yours. Go get them. Starbucks, it's never just coffee. Oh, hi, buddy. Who's the best? You are.

I wish I could spend all day with you instead. Uh, Dave, you're off mute. Hey, happens to the best of us. Enjoy some goldfish cheddar crackers. Goldfish have short memories. Be like goldfish. I have to say, I'm a little shocked I haven't seen you in like a live action movie musical or even on stage, knowing your background, your passion. Like, have you come close?

You must go up for these things. No. I have, you know, like I said, I grew up in New York City and my parents weren't rich. We were middle class people growing up in Queens. You know, they were nine to five people. but they loved the theater, you know, and one of the great things about growing up in New York City is that we weren't in Manhattan,

but we were a half hour outside of Manhattan, so we had close proximity to so much theater, Broadway, off Broadway, off, off Broadway, you know, just everything, so much culture, obviously. And so when I came along, and I, from a young age, showed a very deep and profound interest in the performing arts, really,

show business and just all aspects of it. So we really bonded over going to see theater. And so for me, when I went to Northwestern, I was a theater major. My whole trajectory was about becoming a theater actor in New York. Yeah. And it's strangely the one thing, I think it's pretty much the one thing that's never happened so far. But I'm always looking for something. And I'm always on the hunt for the right project play or musical.

Broadway or off Broadway, I'm dying to do it. I mean, it's so crazy to me that I haven't. It is crazy. Legit, it's crazy. So what is, is it just not literally the right fit hasn't happened? Because I'm sure you've had at least conversations. It's just not, it's not lying out. The truth is I've been offered things over the years.

Mostly plays. I'm not sure people are aware that I can sing. It's, you know, I have sung in a few projects, but it wasn't, those projects weren't. about singing or about me singing, you know, it wasn't central to what was going on. So unless you really followed me closely, you may not know that. So I've been offered mainly plays.

But yeah, you know, I don't want, I want to feel so, so excited about the play, especially if it's my debut, you know, I want to, because you have to do that show eight times a week. And I have so many friends who do theater and I, and I've seen so many plays over the years. You know what? If that play gets bad reviews, you've still got to show up and give it your all eight times a week.

And if it gets great reviews, now there's a big expectation for you to show up eight times a week and do it live. And at the very hard, and I know it's very hard. You have to live like a monk if you're in a musical to protect your voice. And I'm willing and able to do all of that. But I want to be really excited about the part. And I want to be really excited about the show. Now, there are some shows that I would love to do. revivals, but they've done them already, you know. And so you can't do that. You know,

so, you know, it's hard to find the right thing. But I'm always looking. If anyone has any ideas, I'm serious. You can, I don't know, DM me on Instagram or something. Guys and Dolls movie or Mamma Mia 3, which would you rather do at this point? Oh, well, either. Guys and Dolls is so great. And I did hear that they're making a new Guys and Dollars movie. Rob Marshall is doing it. Yeah, yeah. Rob Marshall, who's a friend of mine, actually, we're not besties, but he's an acquaintance,

a lovely man. Well, you know what, Josh? I'm going to text Rob Marshall about that now that you mention it. I think there are some roles in there. I could see you in. There are, and I don't even need to be the lead. I don't expect to be the lead, you know, but they can make me one of those gangsters or something, you know, Big Julie.

There's a character, Big Julie, who's supposed to be very tall, which I am, at least by Hollywood standards. But yeah, that's a good idea. Look at you doing more for me than my own 50 representatives. I'm just putting that's a joke, everyone, that's it. I'm joining Team Eichner. Well, the reason I mentioned that, by the way, okay, so here are some reference points that we share in common. We're very similar close in age.

We're New York City kids. I mentioned guys and dolls because we saw that I heard you talk about that production, which I saw was very formative for me growing up with Peter Gallagher and Faith prints, like they were amazing, like amazing. Yes. Wait, where did you grow up? So I grew up on the mean streets of the Upper West Side. I'm two years older than you. I went to Stuyvesant.

I took a Stephen Rosenfield stand-up class, Billy. Wait a second. So did I. I know. This is why I'm telling you this. Why would I mention that? I can't drive. How do you even know that, though, Josh?

No one knows that. You've said it at some point. I can't drive. I never got a driver's license. Billy. Oh, my God. Wow. This is crazy.

I love that. I mean, you're, well, you're really just describing a New Yorker of a certain age. I suppose. Wait, I didn't even, I can't believe you went to Stuyvesant. How did I not know this? Well, I will say, no, no, no. I only went to Sivasin for a year. And I basically skipped school that entire year to go to movies, worked out.

And I ended up going to Zadison. Yeah. I ended up going to. Dalton. But you, you were smarty pants as a teenager like me. Oh, I was smart. I was smart, but your parents were rich. That's the difference. If you've been to Dalton, I was from Farstills, Queens. Okay, working class, community. You're an Upper West Sider. Let's tell everyone the truth. We were doing all right. That's, that's fair. That's fair. So you would have been, no, but Josh,

we would have been friends if we had known each other. We totally would have. So it sounds like, and again, reading up on you and hearing you, talk about it. Um, your parents sound like they were, they were amazing and really like fostered this love of the arts and it was like just part of your lives, even though that wasn't their vocation. It sounds like it was just part of your lifestyle growing up. Do you, do you, is do you account for a lot of what you ended up being by what they exposed you to back then? Absolutely. Um, my parents are the reason that anything good happened for me and show business. And, um,

I'm working on a project, which I have never officially announced because I've been, what I've been working on it for so many years that, I don't know, it's finally coming out next year for Audible. And it's really, we'll talk about that another time, I guess. I don't want to get into trouble by saying things I'm not supposed to. But it's really, the whole project is I've been writing it on and off for the past five years or so, and it's finally going to come out in 2025. And I'm so excited about it.

It's, I've never done anything like it. It's very personal, and it's about my childhood and growing up in New York and Josh, you're going to love it. It's going to speak to you. I'm a target audience right here. But it's really a love letter to my parents and how encouraging and supportive they were. You know, it was pretty obvious. I was most likely gay from a young age, and they just didn't care. I had very liberal parents.

They were both native New Yorkers themselves. And I just really lucky. out and beyond lucky, especially for, you know, we're talking about the 80s and 90s here. I wasn't fully content at the time, but, you know, I'm sure my parents were. What I'm talking about is the fact that these were the peak years of the AIDS epidemic in New York. But I was never taught to be fearful of being gay or any type of shame at all. I had no shame in that.

And when it came to the performing arts and to show business, they just saw how much I cared about it, you know, and they took me to, you know, in sixth grade, they took me to see Madonna's blonde ambition tour, you know, and I sat in between them. Well, you know, I was a big sweaty, gay Jewish kid like vogueing in my seat, you know, and I was 13 years old and there's like all her dancers are gay and they're making out on stage and, you know, she's masturbating on stage. None of this was a problem for my parents. In fact, they loved Madonna, right?

begged them when Barbara Streisand first started touring again she hadn't toured in 27 years and I was only like 14 she finally toured again and she came to Madison Square Garden and I begged I said I pleaded with my dad I was I have to see this and um because we didn't have a lot of money and those tickets were you know Barbara she she charges a pretty penny to see her live and I begged and I pleaded and they and they loved it too you know we were we we would blast Barbara Streisand and our little apartment and bet midler and show tunes and sondheim and madonna and everything and i mean i'm going on and on and on and i was just so lucky and they i was always in the school musical and then i said i wanted to go to northwestern and be a theater major and that's a very expensive

school and when i got in and i was surprised to get in but when i got in my dad looked at me and said if you want to go, we'll make it happen. You know, and that's just how they were. Yeah. Yeah, I'm not going to start. Not going to burst into tears, but I could. Yeah, well, yeah, and I don't want to prompt that, but I just were in context for the audience. I know they didn't see all of this, but they really like, they made this happen.

It sounds like in every conceivable way. So I'm sure they're. Yes, yes. My mom died when I was at Northwestern when I was 20. And then I had an older dad. you know, he had me in his mid-40s, which in the 70s was unusual. That was very late to have a child now. It wouldn't be.

And so, you know, my dad died in 2011, a month before we sold Billy on the street as a TV show. And so in 2011, 2011 started with me broke, no health insurance, planning to pitch Billy on the street as a TV show with Funnier Die, the company. And my dad died that March. then we pitched the show a month later, sold it. We're shooting that summer and it was on TV at the end of the year. But he was, you know, he was 80 years old at that point. But, yeah, it was a strange timing. So, I mean, look, we could have hours of conversation about the Billy on the street phenomenon.

And it was, it's a long story of how it kind of like gestated and then kind of slow burn and then exploded. But I guess just like looking back at it, like, what was Apex Billy on the street for you? you felt like, oh my God, that we have gone, we have gone nuclear in a way that I never thought even possible. You know, it was such a slow burn, you know, Billy on the street, the first video I made was for my live show, my live sketch comedy show that I wrote was in with my friend Robin Lord Taylor, who's an actor and other friends of ours from Northwestern pitching in behind scenes. And it was, you know, that's where I developed that character. It was on stage at small

stages in New York. And then I said to my friend Jamie, who was directing the show, it might be funny if I went outside and kind of stopped people on the street and made them deal with this character I was doing who, you know, above everything else going on in the world, had a desperate need to talk about pop culture and discuss it with people and opinionate about it in all kinds of ways. And we would put that video together. We shot it on a cheap Radio Shack camera because it was the cheapest one that we could get. That's why the microphone has a wire because it was cheaper than the wireless mics, which we couldn't afford. And I just kept the mic with the wire throughout the years because it became part of the show, I thought. And so, you know, and we would

show it on a screen. This was 2004, a year or two before YouTube even came along. And many, many years before TikTok came along and you know you're asking me what's the apex of Billy on the street it was such a slow burn we never Billy on the street never had a big opening weekend you know it just kind of kept rolling along and what's crazy is that TikTok which wasn't even around really when we were doing the TV series it has exploded in popularity on TikTok and I barely even do it anymore once in a while we'll bring it back for a special video but I literally Josh just Just this morning, someone tagged me in a video on Instagram, and there is a young girl in a high school in Queens,

in East Rockaway Queens. I'm forgetting her name. I think it's Liza. And it says, move over, Billy Eichner. We did Liza on the street. And she's running around doing Billy on the street in the hallways of her high school, in East Rockaway Queens asking people holiday trivia and like yelling at them and giving out dollars the way I do on the show.

And I watch this. I sent this to my friends. I said, can you believe this? This girl wasn't alive when, I mean, when even maybe during the TV show, I'm sure she doesn't even know it was a TV show. It's just from TikTok. And so, Billy on the street, I don't know if there isn't apex. It just keeps rolling along. I do think when we had Michelle Obama on the show, we did a segment with Michelle Obama and Big Bird together and Elena, who if you know Billy on the street is a person I ran into on the street, this hilarious older lady who we keep bringing back on the show.

And Michelle Obama was the first lady of the United States, the sitting first lady at this point. This was 2014, and we went down to D.C. and shot this really funny, surreal segment. And I thought to myself, as we were waiting for Michelle and Mrs. Obama to arrive on set that day, because she couldn't be out on the street because the Secret Service wouldn't allow it. So we shot inside a supermarket in D.C. It's on YouTube. You can see it. But I was just standing in the supermarket very, very nervous waiting for her to arrive. And I thought, how has this happened? What has happened?

You know, but that's happened with Billy on even, but when I saw the video of running around her high school today, I started this thing 20 years ago. And now there's a 13-year-old girl still running around because she saw it on TikTok. So I don't know. I'm very grateful. And it took on a life of its own that was completely unexpected. And I don't know. It's just one of those things. And as you know, as being like a student and lover of pop culture and the history of pop culture, like, you're on that continuum.

It's like from like Steve Allen to Letterman on the street and Conan and you. And this will continue and it will reiterate. And whether it's like, I mean, I'm sure you resonates with you. I see like some of these things are not great. But I see a ton of people like doing the, you know, like tell me how big you're apartment is or how did you get to be so? I mean, that's Billy on the streets. There is a real drip down effect. And you're totally right about the continuum because, and you're speaking one of the apexes of Billy on the street and just my life and career in general is that I got

to do Letterman. Yeah. You know, I got to do Letterman as a guest twice right before he retired. And word came down through the grapevine that Letterman loved Billy on the street. And this blew me away. Also, I grew up, again, my parents let me watch everything, you know. They let me watch things that only adults were watching, you know. I was able to watch quirky things and sophisticated things and all kinds of things. And one of those things was Letterman when he was on at 1230. And I would watch Johnny Carson with my dad. And then at some point during Carson, my dad would go to bed, you know.

And I'm a child at this point. And then I would go to my room where I had a little TV. and I would watch Letterman when he came on at 12.30 and then I'd wake up and go to like fourth grade the next day. And of course, Letterman really created men on the street as we know it.

I mean, that very particular new created, it was really Jack Parr and the original Tonight Show, and of course, it was candid camera, but you're right. So that, I absorbed all of that, like a sponge, and then years later kind of created my own version of it, you know,

but all of that was in my blood and then he becomes a fan and he he ends up doing billy on the street like and when he did it with me his producers at the time said billy letterman hasn't left the studio in 20 years to yeah by the time you were doing this that he had you know he'd settle into that at solven theater and was happening exactly yeah yeah but but when i discovered him as a child he did on the street stuff all the time so you're totally right about the continuum and yes i see all over TikTok, you know, kids are running around New York and their high schools and also other cities with microphones. I don't, well, I don't want to take responsibility for that because I know it annoys the shit out of people. So yeah, you're responsible basically. Yeah, you're responsible for

the hawk to a girl. Sorry, Billy, basically. That's all that's on you. Oh, the hawk to a girl. Yes. I'm curious, like that that character, which was a character for those that don't need to know, very heightened, like specific character you created. You must have pondered other things to do and whether that character could fit into other scenarios. Like, have you pondered a scripted story with that Billy on the street character? Would it sustain like a full-on evening talk show,

hour-long talk show? I mean, you've got to at least consider these things, I would imagine. I considered that sort of thing very briefly because there was interest in those things, but I don't want to, I don't think it would work creatively as well. Billy on the street is, and apologize for talking about it in the third person, but it really is a character, you know. So Billy on the street, the natural habitat for that character is New York City.

It's the streets of New York City interacting with other New Yorkers. And to put it in a more scripted, controlled environment to bring him inside I just don't think it would work as well. And also, I don't want to lean into just the one character for the rest of my life. But I also creatively don't think it would work. And yeah, so, yeah, there were moments when I, of course, had to give it some thought

because the show had taken off. But I knew better than to try to milk it in that way. You know, part of the reason I stopped doing the TV show when I did after five seasons, is number one, everyone was online anyway. So I figured, you know, why don't I free up my schedule? I can keep doing it, you know, when I want to. And it will also free me up to do other things because the TV show was so time-consuming.

And also, I wanted to, you know, I didn't want to exhaust it. Yeah. You know, and, you know, I want to, I don't want to, like, overdo it. So just to do it occasionally, have it pop up, I think is the right way to do it. do it. I agree. Not to compare you to a hand puppet, but it's like the way I think of Triumph, who is amazing. And like every time Triumph pops up every two years, I'm like, this is gold, but do I need an hour with Triumph every night? Not necessarily. I probably hate Triumph. Exactly. Look, you have to, you know, I'm grateful, Billy on the street by accident in

2004, you know, I created the perfect TikTok show. I mean, I didn't know I was doing it. I don't know, you know, but, you know, Billy on the street works very effectively on platforms like that as short, you know, short little bursts of energy and joy that people can scroll through and see and hopefully get a laugh out of throughout the day. And I love that. You know, there are fans who post clips from the show on TikTok. I wasn't even on TikTok. Someone said to me, Billy, do you know how popular Billy on the street is on TikTok? And I said, what the hell you're talking about? I'm not on TikTok.

They're like, yeah, you're, you don't have your own page. but other people are posting them and they have millions of views. And someone said, like my agent at the time said, you know, we can shut all those pages down and you can, you know, because that's your work. And I said, why the hell would I do that? Like, who cares?

I'm glad people are watching and I'm glad people want to see it. I already got paid for it when I made it the first time. Like, you know, and I did start my own page just because I thought, well, I have access to all this content that people want to see, but I don't even monetize it. You know, I'm just happy. It's out there.

You're living off those sweet fuse and true TV residuals. Use residuals. Yeah. You'd be surprised, Josh. I'm happy for you if that's the case. Good. Goodbye. Summer movies.

Hello, Fall. I'm Anthony Devaney. And I'm his twin brother, James. We host Raiders of the Lost Podcast, the Ultimate Movie Podcast, and we are ecstatic. to break down late summer and early fall releases. We have Leonardo DiCaprio leading a revolution in one battle after another, Timothy Salome playing power ping pong in Marty Supreme.

Let's not forget Emma Stone and Jorgos Lanthamos' Bougonia. Dwayne Johnson's coming for that Oscar in The Smashing Machine, Spike Lee and Denzel teaming up again, plus Daniel DeLuis's return from retirement. There will be plenty of blockbusters to chat about, too. Tron Aries looks exceptional, plus Mortal Kombat 2, and Edgar writes, The Running Man, starring Glenn Powell. Search for Raiders of the Lost podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Hey, Michael.

Hey, Tom. So big news to share it, right? Yes, huge, monumental, earth-shaking. Heartbeat sound effect, big. Mait is back. That's right. After a brief snack nap. We're coming back.

We're picking snacks. We're eating snacks. We're raiding snacks. Like the snackologist we were born to be. Mates is back. Mike and Tom. Snacks. Wherever you get your podcast.

Unless you get them from a snack machine, in which case, call us. We call us. I do want to talk a bit about bros, which was such a passion project and, you know, must hold a lot of space in your heart a couple years removed. I hope you still take away all the good of it because those that saw it loved it. And it's a very funny, sweet, a great film. And, but I know, like, I don't know, was there a period of almost like morning, like, oh, God, the box office, the, it just wasn't, we were so close and it just didn't, it didn't go where I wanted it to go. Or is it all good? Give me a sense of your perspective on Brose right now.

I, above all, remains so proud of that movie. Because I just love the movie, you know, and it's really hard to make a good movie. And, you know, it's hard to make a good comedy especially. You know, we made an R-rated comedy about middle-aged gay men who are sexually active. It was honest. It was unapologetic. You know, I wanted my character to say things in that movie to be outspoken and confident, you know, to not be a common of a gay man, which we often see in pop culture, especially in, you know, when a gay man does pop up in a more mainstream. style comedy, they're often not written with that much complexity or dimension.

You know, we're just joke machines, and I've been a joke machine, you know, and I wanted to, and by the way, it's fun to be a joke machine when the jokes are funny, and I'm happy to do that too, but it was such a great opportunity to go beyond that. And we did it through the major studio system, you know, the same studio that made wicked and that makes fast and the furious, you know, makes thoracic world, you know, they made bros. And, you know, I've stayed in touch with all the folks from Universal Studios who made it. They reached out to me, you know, someone from like the marketing department reached out to me a few months ago even and texted me and we're not like, we don't socialize or anything like that. And he said, you know, I just caught bros on, it's on cable.

And, you know, he's a gay man. And he said, it's such a good movie. He was like, you made such a good movie. He was like, I'm just proud that I was a part of it. That's pretty amazing, you know, for a studio that, you know, obviously, like, we didn't get the big opening weekend that we, you know, wanted. But what remains is the movie, you know, and I'm so proud of it. It is one of the great creative accomplishments of my life, and I think it will always be. And I have been, you know, it is one of those movies.

I think more people, you don't get to streaming numbers, but I would imagine just from anecdotal evidence, one of those movies people ended up watching at home when it became available. And I have gotten, I could sit here, Josh, and I could read you, I won't, but I could read you, I don't know, hundreds of messages I got privately on Instagram or from mostly gay men, not only gay men, but mostly gay men and gay men of a certain age who really understood why that movie was so rare, you know, and really appreciated what my character, Luke's character, you know, the issues that they were unpacking in that movie. And they have reached out to me, not publicly, not for cloud or clicks or Instagram comments, you know,

not jumping on any sort of bandwagon, but just reaching out to me in a private message that only that person and I will see to tell me in a very heartfelt, sometimes very specific way, how much that movie meant to them and how many times they've watched it, you know. And if I was able to give those men, and again, it's not just men, but, you know, that movie is very much about a middle-aged gay man, unpacking, you know, the things that he grew up with in order to find his, you know, in order to be in love, to be vulnerable, to be insecure. And it's complicated. And the fact that it spoke to those men and they reached out to me and continued to that it moves me so much every time. And I'm just, I'm really proud of that. Not many gay men in my position in Hollywood

have gotten the chance to make that sort of movie. And I, it was a privilege. It was very challenging. Don't get me wrong. That's a lot of weight was on your shoulders. So I could imagine. Yeah, it was an enormous amount of weight on my shoulders. Of course, but, but, you know, what, like I said,

what is ultimately, what ultimately you are left with is the move, you know? And, and for people, who haven't seen it. It is streaming and I recommend it. And I'm very proud of the work that I did. And that the work we all did. Yeah. Talk to me a little bit about going forward. Acting-wise, the opportunities you're getting, the opportunities maybe you're not getting that you want to get. We just had briefly, you're going to be in Ethan Cohen, Tricia Cook's new film. Honey Don't, I believe, is the title. That's a hell of an opportunity. That's exciting. Yes, Honey Don't.

That is exciting, yes. Yeah, I have a small role, but I was very happy to be a part of it. And I got to work with Margaret Qualley and with Ethan and Trisha, and that was super fun. I haven't seen the movie yet. I just ran into Aubrey Plaza a few days ago. She's in the movie as well, if you didn't mention that. And she said that her and Margaret had just seen the movie, that Ethan had screened it for them, and she was really happy with it.

So I can't wait to see it. Again, I'm just a small part of it. but in that cast, happy to be a small part of it. And to work with a Cohen brother and Trisha, you know, it doesn't get better than that. So what are you looking for? Is it a specific kind of a role at this point or chasing filmmakers you admire or, you know,

what's the hustle right now? It's a little of all of those things. You know, I am, I think, you know, it feels like I am entering. I know actors always say this, but it really does. part of it is age. Part of it is just that I've been doing this now a long time. You know, I'm not the new kid on the block, you know, anymore. And I like that.

I'm starting to look a little older and I like that, you know. I want to evolve, you know, I want to change and I want to branch out. And yeah, you know, one of the happiest times of my life was being a theater major at Northwestern, right? And in a way, I feel that that was. I don't know, how do I put it? I just felt like me there because you got to, you know, every day in acting class and then the plays we did that sometimes the teachers directed or sometimes other students directed, you just got to do such a wide variety of roles, you know, and you got to do the classics, you got to do more contemporary things. We did Chekhov, we did Shakespeare, we did scenes from Angels in America, you know, current playwrights, well, playwrights who were current, you know, in the late 90s, you know, who are all still. around, you know, Richard Greenberg and Nikki Silver and, you know, actually one of those writers is Paul Rudnick, a great gay screenwriter and playwright, who I am now writing a movie with

for Amazon. Amazing. If and when they make it. But yeah, we just started the writing process. It's a Christmas movie that Paul and I came up with. I'm a Jewish person who's obsessed with Christmas because it was withheld from me as a child. as is Paul and so we're writing a Christmas movie

for Amazon that will be like a big ensemble family type of movie my version of a Christmas movie so you know it's not your typical Christmas movie but it is a holiday film

so there's that so in terms of acting yeah I'm always looking to branch out and almost get back to who I was you know before Billy on the street

and you know Billy on the street it's a blessing it's nothing but a blessing But I'm a creative person. I'm an artist. I'm an actor. You want to branch out.

You know, you don't want to be stuck in one lane. And so, yeah, I'm looking to just, you know, try other things, play other roles. And yes, of course, work with great filmmakers, work with actors that I love and that I admire. You know, I think that's always the goal. And I'm writing, too. And, you know, there's the movie at Amazon and there's my audible project and other things I'm writing. my spare time. I've been working on a Paul Lind biopic off and on for years, which I was working on and then Rose came along. I'm not very good at multitasking writing jobs. Some people are,

like people I've worked with Judd Apatatow, Ryan Murphy, they can work on like a hundred projects at once. I don't know how they do it. My brain just as a writer doesn't work like that. I have to focus on one or two things at once. So yeah, all these things are, you know, things I'm working on at any given moment. We're going to wrap up with this. I know we're running out of time, but I want to give you the happy, say, I confused profoundly random questionnaire because it's not a happy say I confused appearance unless we do it, man. Here we go. Dogs or cats, Billy? Dogs. Good. Okay. I'm allergic to cats. Even though I had a cat when I was a kid and then got allergic to cats over the years, which I've heard happens. Anyway, my cat, yeah, you can look it up. Okay, maybe they didn't

teach you that adult and should have stayed at Stuyvesant, Josh, okay? Um, but no, no, I had a cat as a kid who I named Jovey because I was obsessed with John Bon Jovi. Makes sense. That tracks. What do you, what do you collect, if anything? What do I collect? Yeah. Um, I'm not a collector in that way. Okay. I mean, I love music and books and plays, but I don't, I don't collect that. I don't think of myself as a collector. Okay. What's the wallpaper on your phone?

Nothing. It's just whatever it comes with. Wow. You know what I mean? Yeah. You're just, okay, okay. That's fine. Well, I don't have children, you know, I, when I see people who have kids every

time, you know, they have their kids on the phone, that I would have. I don't have a pet. Okay. You know, what's it going to be my IMDB page? You know. Who's the last actor you were mistaken for? Does it ever happen? Oh, John Prisinski.

Because we kind of vaguely look alike. I don't know, sexiest man alive, by the way. You should take it. Yeah. I feel like I look like learning disabled brother or something. You know what I mean? He's a handsome man. But that happens sometimes.

I'll always hear people say, oh, I thought you were John Prisnich. I saw John Krasinski in something, and for a second, I thought it was you. And I'm like, you thought I was like, what's that guy? Jack Ryan? Like that where you're confusing me with? What's the worst note a director has ever given you? The worst note, it's not so much a worst note. The thing that I have found shocking, even when working with very acclaimed directors and producers over the years, is the lack of notes.

You know, I'm always going up to the director and saying, you know, please, am I doing okay? Like, give me a note. I know it can be better. Right. You know, I want notes. And what has surprised me time and time again, and I've heard other actors say this, too, you know, if anything, when you're, I guess, dreaming of being on a movie set or a TV set, you just assume, oh, the director is going to just, like, pummel you with notes. Now, I'm sure there are directors who do, but I've worked with a lot of people at this point. mainly me asking for feedback, honestly, and surprise that I have to.

You know, sometimes they're more concerned about where the camera is, you know, than the performance, or maybe they think I'm doing okay. But, I mean, I could always be better or you could always try something different, you know. And a little tiny bit of validation here and there also can't hurt. Well, what usually happens is they'll be like, oh, no, you're great. You're great. Yeah, it's great. And you're like, um, okay, but I know it's not great every time.

Like, and even if it's great, like, tell me, give me something else. Let's try something else. Let's try it a different way just so you have options in the edit room, you know. And then in the spirit of happy, second fuse, an actor who always makes you happy, you see them on screen, you're in a good mood. Mm-hmm. Lisa Kudrow. You like it. Remember the opposite of sex? Yeah.

Well, the comeback is my. People need to watch that movie. Remember that movie? The Opposite of Sex? Yes, I saw it in the theater because, of course, I did. It is a good movie with Christina Ricci. Yeah, people forget that one. I haven't thought about that movie probably in 20 years.

Movie that makes you sad. Every day, Josh. I haven't stopped thinking about the opposite of sex. The movie that makes you sad is? It's the most cliched. It's okay. one is coming to mind, I mean, terms of endearment, but I mean, give me some credit, both my parents are dead, so obviously, I mean, you know, that Deborah Winger in terms of

endearment, what an unbelievable performance. And it's such a good movie. And, you know, sometimes I'll say that I'll talk about those types of movies that you and I grew up with, you know, terms of endearment and broadcast news and movies just about families, very human movies but they weren't walking on eggshells you know um and they do not exist anymore they do not make them and i'll i'll mention movies like this to me it's a cliche to mention terms of endearment but for certain age won't even know what i'm talking about and that type of movie has disappeared and those were the types of movies that made me love movies same and they don't make them and that that that breaks my heart a little bit so if you haven't seen terms of endearment watch it great

double feature with bros, by the way. No, James L. Brooks did direct a new movie. It's in the can. We have a new James L. Brooks coming. We do. I heard about that. Yeah. Okay. And finally, food that makes you confused. What food do you not get? Yeah. I'm not really, like, thrown off my game by food ever. I mean, a food? I'm not that confused.

Well, I'm not saying you don't have to, like, go, you know, a conipion fit. But, like, you're like, I don't get it. Why do people eat that? That doesn't seem that I don't get it. You know what's interesting? I love raw fish, but I don't love a raw, like, steak, you know, but I'm not confused by it. It's just not my thing, you know? Fair enough.

Okay. We'll accept it. All right. This has been a lovely chat, Billy. Thank you for connecting with me today. You lived up to everything I hoped and dreamed, fellow New York City kid from the wrong side of the tracks, though, unlike me and my Blue Blood upbringing, apparently. I know.

Look at you up there in your Nora Ephron Dream World. I did. I will say. Central Park Reservoir listening to Dreams by the cranberries with your Zabar shopping bag in one hand. I will say, You've Got Mail did very really speak to me. That is like my. Can I, yes, you know, I went to see you've got mail. This is, we'll end on this note.

Okay. A movie I absolutely love, by the way. We literally show it in Bros. I'm watching. You've Got Mail. I went to see You've Got Mail on opening weekend at the Lincoln Square cinemas on the Upper West Side. And then in the movie, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan go to a movie in that theater, I believe. Right, right. And the entire audience burst sent up into a block. I don't know if it's like a sense memory. I feel like I had that same because that was my, that was my theater, the Lincoln Square Theater. I probably, we have been

circling each other. It's finally happened, Billy. We've connected. I really, this was great. All right. All right. Well, I'm glad it finally happened. And thank you for having me. Of course. Anytime. Good luck with the movie. Enjoy the break. The holiday break. You're a Christmas guy. Enjoy it. Revel in it. And hopefully I'll see you in person one of these days. Thanks, man. Happy Hanukkah. Thanks, buddy. 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 pressured to do this by Josh. The Old West is an iconic period of American history and full of legendary figures whose names still resonate today. Like Jesse James, Billy the Kid and Butch and Sundance. Sitting Bull,

Crazy Horse and Geronimo. Wyatt Earp, Batmasterson and Bass Reeves. Buffalo Bill Cody Wild Bill Hickok, the Texas Rangers, and many more. Hear all their stories on the Legends of the Old West podcast. We'll take you to Tombstone, Deadwood, and Dodge City, to the plains, mountains, and deserts for battles between the U.S. Army and Native American warriors, to dark corners for the disaster of the Donner Party,

and shining summits for achievements like the Transcontinental Railroad. We'll go back to the earliest days of explorers and mountain men and head up through notorious Pinkerton agents and gunmen like Tom Horn. Every episode features narrative writing and cinematic music, and there are hundreds of episodes available to binge. I'm Chris Wimmer. Find Legends of the Old West, wherever you're listening now.