Happy Sad Confused - Joe Keery

Episode Date: January 1, 2026

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they used to, you need to see this. Watch Catherine Heigle's free video now at hscpet.com. That's hsc pet.com. Your dog's health will thank you. I was in this band called Postanimal. and went back after shooting the first season. It came out. We were playing shows.

And people started coming and being like, Steve Arrington, oh, my God, what's up? Hey, man. And so I realized really quickly, uh-oh, I'm about to be this guy for the rest of my life. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Hey, guys, it's Josh.

Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. We have a treat today for Stranger Things fans, for fans of Joe, the musical artist. or Joe Kiri, the Stranger Things actor, this is your place to be. Joe Keri on the podcast today. Hey, guys, thanks as always for joining me on my little old podcast that could.

We are celebrating Stranger Things again today. Of course, we recently had Winona on the show. We actually have one more, at least one more special Stranger Things episode coming up. That's going to be really special. But today, a first-time guest, Joe Kiri, someone who I've done a fair amount with over the years but has never done the deep dive with me

and I'm so thrilled it happened finally as we when we tape this I just moderated a panel with basically most of the cast of Stranger Things the night before so there's some context free there and no real don't worry about spoilers by the way this one really doesn't get into like specific spoilers of Stranger Things 5

but it is a nice career conversation about Joe's arc as an actor and as a musical artist you probably know that especially in recent years he's exploded as a musical artist Joe as in DJO I mean that's he's he's killing it I mean there's the acting and music and they are both equally prolific for him right now so I'm very happy for him he's just also like truly

oh when I when I do these stranger things events I always feel like he is ballast for me he is like someone I can connect with he's I don't know he's a steady a steadying force in the universe and just a solid dude so I'm very happy this one happened talented in all aspects of his career and happy to celebrate all the good things that are happening for him um without any further ado let's get right to it right guys let's just do it um this is my conversation with joe keary enjoy joe kiri you're on the podcast finally i don't know what took so long how's it going man Good, man. How you doing? It's the second day I'm seeing you in a row.

What a gift. We're both blessed. It's great. It's good to see you. It's good to see you, buddy. We had a great event last night. Correct me. I'm wrong. I know you're doing an event tonight, but am I like one of the last, like, official, Stranger Things interviews you'll have ever done in support of the show? Yes. Yeah. Definitely. Okay. I think this is my last, today's, yeah, my last day of press. Yeah. So let it all hang out. Everything you wanted to say about your cast members. there you go let it go

I kind of do wish that we could do the last bit of press after the show is out I know I could actually talk about all the things that you know people are going to want to talk about once the show's done you're well I'm doing I'm talking to Matt and Ross right after the finale

so you're welcome to hop on you should call me in if they if they want a phone a friend I'll be around that is kind of cool that you're doing that I'm glad that you're doing that yeah there's a lot to talk about and there's a lot to I mean the first four obviously like loaded with stuff but um the last there's a lot to talk about i guess yes so i so i gather um over the years you look you've done a lot of press you obviously have done

like solo stuff but you done a lot of your press like with with gaiton or maya or charlie and it and talia like what was the difference in kind of vibe between those folks like was a gaiton pairing much different than a maya they have much different vibes i would imagine what was the press tour like when you're doing something with gaden versus amaya or a Charlie, et cetera. Great question. Well, Charlie and Italia, we're like the OG kind of crew. The three of us were really like the teen cast to start.

So we've got kind of like, I don't know, working with them and hanging out with them and doing press with them reminds me of being 23, 24 years old. And then really like working with Gaten and doing press with Gaton and doing press with, he's so quick and so funny. and like it brings like a real levity and it's just like you know we're not goofing around

but it is we just did Good Morning America and it feels like you know you're just hanging out with Gaten it makes everything the stakes are very low so it's really nice right and then Maya is just like

so eloquent man I mean last night her talking about kind of how she sees her character this season where she's sort of like brought Robin it's like such beautiful answers you know

I know. So it's always kind of like inspire to be with her and feel like, oh, wow, that's really thoughtful and really poignant. It was fun to see some of the things that kind of sparked all of you guys when we were all talking last night. Like one of them was, and Matt and Ross kind of said this to me afterwards. Like as soon as you brought up how long the shoot was, we knew it was going to set them all off because it's like, I mean, it was a thing. It is a thing. It's obviously like, obviously no one is going to say this was not a huge blessing in all of your lives. It's changed all of your lives.

But it's also like a real thing that the length of these shoots impacted your lives. And it was something to matter. Is that fair to say? Like, I mean, give me a sense of the last few years of, especially as new acting opportunities came up, the music career really was taking off. Was it a bit of a balancing act? Was it frustrating at times? How do I figure this all out and honor, obviously, my bread and butter, which is stranger things? Yeah, definitely.

And that's very important to me. time like that is the thing that has given you all these opportunities so it's really important to honor that i think um and i'm just such a fan of the brothers you know they were able to do this kind of incredible thing you know so rare it's like an original idea they kind of two unknown guys and they just did this thing so i i um apart from just like respecting them and really looking up to them I also just, yeah, as a friend, I'm like, yeah, it's cool to be friends with two people who are so motivated. But yeah, it's difficult to balance, that's for sure. But I guess my life just kind of shifted around it.

I mean, but since really the beginning, because your life changes when you're in something that, you know, gains notoriety anyways. Right. So, yeah, I just had for the last 10 years a great amount of time in Atlanta. And I, like, built a community of friends down there and had a whole thing going on, whole life going on down there, which was kind of an added element of sadness at the end because I was saying goodbye to all these people. And I'm not really sure when I was going to see them either. So not only is it like the on-screen, it's the character, it's the whole experience, but it's like kind of life of it all down there. Yeah, but it can be, yeah, it can be difficult to, um, actually. I guess like it is that conundrum right because it's like suddenly you get this exposure and opportunities start to come to you and then it's like wait I actually have to turn down I'm not I'm literally just not available for some of these opportunities that I probably would have killed for prior to the show of course yeah of course it's just sort of like the way that the universe works is the way that I think about it like I got lucky enough to do this thing that popped off so hard kind of early on and me kind of getting out there

They're really only about two years into kind of professionally doing it out of school. Right. And so, yeah, that comes with, you know, ups and downs, I guess. But to me, the ups far outweigh the downs. And it's kind of just a challenge to sort of force people to maybe think about me in a different way, which is another kind of interesting challenge, which I'm now sort of approaching. The war is over and both sides lost. Kingdoms were reduced to cinders and armies scattered like bones in the dust.

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new episodes every Wednesday and Friday. I mean, we're going to get to the whole music side in a bit, but like must make especially the last few years so rewarding that like you've been able to really stake out this whole other identity. I mean, and you know, you're a smart guy. You know, like at first when you start to like, you know, music has always been a part of your life. But when you really start to like go after this kind of new identity and you know some people are going to just think, oh, it's the Stranger Things guy. This is just the guy.

This is a fun little hobby for him. And to now, as we sit here today, we could only talk about the music career. And it would be like, the fans would be perfectly happy. And you have a huge fan base there. So it's, I mean, where you sit today, it's got to be like, you know,

a lot different than it was probably even six or seven years ago, where it was a little more tenuous of what else was happening. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I think you're kind of like, it's funny. When I first got on the show, I definitely had the thought of like, wow oh my gosh um i had done one season of the show and i think i had just been kind of like

promoted to a series regular for the second season i remember kind of thinking like oh my gosh like i feel like i'm going to be able to maybe like kind of pick and choose and do sort of whatever i want you know right and that i don't think that ever really is the case you know i at least i feel like i i don't know you're always kind of still fighting for that next thing um and i think kind of that's the way that it should be um yeah and i definitely feel like i i i have the most success at things that i really do enjoy and so the music side was a thing that i just really enjoy doing and just kept doing it because it was really fun and it was a really nice kind of companion to you know on set kind of tied up sort of don't have control of your time right and you can really

make use of that time that downtime i'm kind of a busy body and a little bit of a workaholic So it's nice to be like, okay, well, I'm here for five days. I got nothing to do. Let's work on that stuff. You know, other fun stuff to work on. I know the nature of a lot of the press you guys have been doing the last few months is obviously so much looking back, looking back at clips, looking back at arcs, et cetera. But it must have afforded you an opportunity to kind of take stock of like, I don't know,

hopefully stuff you're proud of from the show specifically, whether it's arcs, relationships, specific scenes. What has jumped out at you? is you've kind of like, people like me have forced you to look back at the work. Like, what are you honestly proud of or, I don't know, take some, yeah, take some enjoyment out of revisiting back through the last 10 years? It's a great question. Maybe I'm probably most proud of the fact that the, you know, the cast is actually still as close as we all are, almost closer, I think, now than maybe we were.

halfway through. Yeah, and to be genuinely close and have deep friendships with these people that we shared this experience, it's kind of, you know, fused us all together in this cool way. And I got to watch a lot of them grow up. And so that's been super special and important for me. But I'm giving you dispensation. I'm giving you dispensation. Think about scenes that you've gotten a chance to act opposite your friends, opposite Maya, Charlie, et cetera.

There's got to be some moments, whether you can take yourself out of the equation. Like, what are just like scenes from a creative standpoint that you think, like, your collaborator, the duffers, maybe even yourself you're proud of? Specifically scenes, I guess. Yeah. The ones that I've... I mean, I love all that... underwater stuff, but that's like kind of, I kind of, I'm split down the middle. That's like a filmmaking, the filmmaking side of me that, like, enjoys that.

Yeah. And being a part of like this massive squad of people who are, you know, making kind of these incredible shots happen. Right. Love that. In terms of like, I think I'm most proud maybe of like the stuff that I did with Gaten, I guess in season two. And it just felt like I really knew how to.

handle the ground ball that was hit to me and was working with this like incredible kid um and to me that that is maybe what i'll look back on and be like that that was the moment where i feel like that like unlocked the character a little bit more for me i feel like i had like a strong sense of who the character was based off of who he was to this other person sure um and just I'm also a fan of movies with kind of an odd couple and they certainly fit the bill there you know two characters should not work out

that do and kind of bicker and you know have fun together yeah that makes me sad that like maybe I won't ever work with him again you know which could be the case because we played these two iconic characters together would take a while

I've made jokes with game that we got to do some like we should do like waiting for Godot or something totally there's There's so many two-hangers out there. You could literally do the odd couple in 30 years. Yeah, there you go. Do you remember the first time you saw the Scoops of Hoy costume, and do you have any regrets that you didn't give any strong notes on what you'd like changed? A part of the show is also just kind of like signing over to like, well, they're doing whatever they want to do.

And it feels good in a way, just like to have faith in the brothers. I mean, I definitely throughout that season was like, I think I'd like take the smock part off to the brothers as we'd shoot. And they'd be like, you know, we're going out of the base, like the Russian base. Do you think you'd take the smock thing off? No, I don't think so. He keeps the smock on. So like, I literally wore that thing all year, I think for 99% of that season.

But on the other hand, it's a great Halloween costume for people. So that's kind of cool. that's a one and done the wedding officiating thing i mean because i know that was for a friend but like yeah you've i mean you unlocked so many you know fantasies for people now like oh he's available he will do this for a price yeah they would have to be i don't think i yeah no i think it's a one of done sort of like maybe unless my i don't know it would do it would be a special occasion do you in your heart of hearts do you truly believe You know, you're a smart guy.

You know as well as I do, like reboots, sequels are the coin of the realm. Do you believe you've played Steve for the last time? As far as I know, yes. I mean, I don't know. You think about, like, people return to stuff when they're older. But I can't imagine for a very long time, I think. But it's like, I think Charlie said it last time. you kind of like shake hands with the character that you played and send them on their way.

It's also like I've gotten a lot older and the part of me that kind of connected with that character has also changed. And each time, you know, we did the first season, get a little older, and then you come back and do the second season, get a little older, come back and do the third, get a little older. So the distance is widening each time a little bit. Yeah, definitely felt that way. It was kind of, coming back for this one, it was like maybe sort of the hardest in a way. And also just because of the scale of the show, it was like, we're going, we're in it.

And it's like, you know, there's a lot less time. Yeah, you're not easing back in. It's high intensity right from the, yeah, totally. Sort of. They're not going to be, you know, there's a lot, there's a lot of things going on. there's a lot of needles to thread. Yeah. So, yeah, there's only so much time, I guess.

One of my favorite things about my association in covering this show over the years is it's brought me close to the unicorn that is Winona Ryder. How would you describe Winona Ryder to an alien? How do we even approximate the uniqueness, the specialness of one Winona Ryder? She is definitely a unicorn, isn't she? You must have, you grew up with watching her movies and stuff, I'm sure. She was, I mean, not to make it weird, she was my childhood crush, like, and now she's, like, an acquaintance. Like, it's bizarre to me. Yeah, she's, like, a deep fan, too, which I did not.

Oh, my God. She's, like, such a star that I, maybe I thought she's, like, a movie star. I don't know. And not that she's not, but she's such, like, a deep, real fan of things and, like, such a nerd, I guess. Movie nerd and music nerd. She knows so much about music. And, you know, I love. I feel like I can always count on her to text me at some random time,

some amazing picture from her past with like a blurb and a crazy story about Tom Petty or, you know, hanging with Stevie Nix. They're just like, she's got all these amazing stories. And, yeah, I can't believe,

yeah, I still kind of, it's lost on me a little bit that she's in the show and that I've worked with her. Well, let's talk about that because this gives me a good segue. your own like growing up in your own interests as a pop culture nut or obsessive give me a sense okay so who was joe as a kid what were the posters on the wall let's let's start like on film and tv we can talk music too but i want to like a sense of what you're where you're and definitely

huge like fantasy sci-fi uh lord of the rings you know it was growing up as that was coming out so that huge um like warhammer 40k and like lord of the rings little figures that those were huge with my friends so though um you know who's still into that do you know that henry cavil is like the biggest war hammer yeah i saw this yeah like for real yeah it's i mean it's a it's a it's a very complicated hobby i think as i've gotten older i'm like i don't know if i have something has to give yeah something's got to give um so we're the rings was that like an annual is that like extended editions like the whole thing except i think the the theatrical release of the of the fellowship is still my favorite one that's like just

like lean and great and um reminds me also of like a very specific time but like all those movies uh like star wars the original star was a huge fan of those um Indiana jones love kind of like adventure movies as a little kid right um and also was growing up at the time of harry potter was coming out so I was a huge kind of those movies as well um so I did love kind of these like big epic stories which is kind of odd really that I ended up being in something that is kind of you know an homage to a lot of those things totally yeah I've heard you mentioned star wars before so it was mostly even though you grew up probably more with prequels I would imagine than the original like so you were but you you kind of your love is goes back to

the the OGs like what's your OGs yeah those were the ones were the ones ones that my my parents showed me um got up and i had the vhs tapes of those ones and you know like the remastered or whatever whatever um and then for music i guess it was like the first CD i got was a boston you know more uh album love that album but i had like a nice ACDC live at Donington poster Amazing Like How the West was one

Led Zeppelin poster Formative Concerts Do you remember first concerts You went to? Yeah I went to The two that I really remember

I went to Bruce Springsteen with my family at the Tweeter Center in Massachusetts And there's like a big lawn And he played It was like this bluegrass era

So It was amazing But he played for Three hours So at the end of it I was like Oh God We gotta get

That's a short show for Bruce. I mean, yeah. I know. And then when I was a, I got into Jamie Cullum is his name. He's a piano player. OK. This kid in school introduced me to him. And I went with him down to like somewhere in Boston.

We like drove down after school one day. But yeah, those were two concerts that were kind of like my first experience. But to be honest with you, like I, I wasn't like a total music head, really. Yeah. Actually, I was kind of, you know, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed listening to music, but I wasn't like seeing a bunch of live shows. I lived in such a small town that, like, nobody was coming through and to drive to Boston to see anything, it's like 45 to an hour.

Right. And so it was a whole event to really do that. I was really kind of isolated in this kind of small town. So did when you went, you went to school in Chicago, obviously huge, huge, cultural oasis like comedy theater music did that kind of blow your mind and kind of open your open your brain a bit yeah absolutely absolutely so what were you yeah what were you diving into whether it was at school or just like with friends what were you becoming passionate about when you were at paul i i was like deep in this theater school and it's such like a tight tight

community and your whole life really revolves around the happenings at school socially um and so all throughout school i'd say i was like really deeply tied into that and you know you're working on when you're like a freshman you're like on the crew for these shows and then you're you know and i would like go back home for the summer and then i guess like slowly as i sort of you know met more people in Chicago, I kind of started to become aware of like the music scene that was going on at the time, which was like Twin Peaks were really big at the time. I think like this was before Whitney, I think there's been the Smith Westerns were this kind of playing around town and kind of started becoming aware that, oh, there's like young

people like doing really interesting stuff. And then also seeing theater, a bunch of theater. Obviously Steppenwolf was there and the Goodman Theater and a bunch of different theaters. and a bunch of different theaters, Red Orchid. Sure. Yeah, one of my spirit animals, Michael Shannon, keeps going back to Chicago. Did he see him back in the day in Chicago ever? Yeah, definitely.

I forget what the show is, but he would be walking around. You'd see him everyone so well. His, like, mentor, there was a casting director who was a teacher at the school named Jane Brody. And she had, like, a lot of great stories about him and about how kind of, like, unorthodoxy was as a student. And it was, like, really cool to hear. about him is this, you know, kind of like rare. Yeah. Like a unicorn sort of guy.

So were you getting some validation back then? Like were you getting a sense from your experiences there on the stage that like this might actually pan out there might be a career for me, whether it's in theater or TV or film? You know, you go through and you try to get good parts. And you're in school. But you're competing with, you know, a very small pool. Yeah.

I was hopeful I don't know I was it's hard for me to even remember it to be honest I feel like there's like a line in the sand sort of in my mind which is like before and after strangers things which is like this thing that struck out of the canon yeah totally I know and beforehand I'm like was I just like stupidly confident to pursue this like because it very easily could have gone any other way um but no I think where the arrogant and stupidity of youth serves you. Serves all of us. It's good to have a little bit of that when you're 20 to 22.

And then it slowly kind of like wears off a little bit too, you know, the older you get. But no, I just really like I just liked it a lot. And I, you know, I had some luck. Like as I was graduating, there's like a showcase and you go to New York and you go to L.A. And I was like, maybe I'll, I don't know, maybe I'd move, but got some representation in Chicago, which was great. So I stayed there and, you know, like they've got to. TV shows, like Chicago Fire, I booked a two-spot thing and commercials and slowly you're

like, okay, like I'm working my day job and getting some, that was validation for sure. I was like, okay, I'm like, you're booking something. You're getting some real stuff. I wasn't like sure what the next level was, you know, do you have to move somewhere else or do you have to stay here? Like, not a lot of stuff comes through Chicago. If they're casting like a lead thing, they usually kind of. We'll either do that.

Yeah, I mean, even now, it's like, you know, hard. So were you in L.A., New York, Chicago when Stranger Things came around? Like, where were you? Chicago. You're in Chicago still. So were you, and as you look back, were you getting big, I mean, were there close calls on something that, in retrospect, could have changed the career in a significant way before Stranger Things? Yes, there was one. I flew to New York to audition for this movie called The Intern.

It's Nancy Meyers' film. Yes, we got it. Exactly. I flew to New York. It was very exciting. Oh, my God, was I excited? Like, sent in a tape or whatever. I'm like, oh, it would be great if you could fly.

So flew myself to New York, like, went to, I mean, I thought of this and forever. Stayed, I don't know where I stayed. I think I stayed with, like, a friend who was on Broadway at the time. like slept on his floor and sat in the waiting room was waiting for you know to tape and i remember robert de nero like walked through this because he was reading with someone else they were you know doing some other thing it was the intern by the way you were right i was wrong the is correct yes anyways um flew back found out that i didn't got it but was kind of like okay like i got far on that like i actually was you know i was in i've did you read you read you

with Nancy Myers, with De Niro, with Anne Hathaway, any of them? No, no, I read, I think, I read with Nancy Myers. Okay. And it was exciting. Yeah, it was like a very exciting moment. And then found out that I didn't get it. It was like, oh, man, too bad. Okay, well, you know, back to it.

And then we're back to Chicago and just kept, you know, down on the pavement. But I think that was, like, that was maybe like six months before. Okay. So things were starting to percolate and bubble up. Something was going to happen. The right thing happened. From the darkest corners of our imagination, comes a game show that's more ridiculous than terrifying.

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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. Okay, let's jump back into the music side, because I'm curious about this. So, like, obviously this was a part of your life that you'd been, you know, in different bands prior to launching this new, this solo career, is Joe, right? I guess talk to me a little bit about strategically, because you have to think strategically, I would imagine, because you are, you have this.

fame, you have this association with Stranger Things. Like, was the persona, was that part of, like, creatively something you wanted to do? Or was that kind of, like, something you felt was necessary to do to separate yourself from Joe Kiri of Stranger Things at first? Both. It was a definite both of those things. But it was driven by the fact that I was, I don't know, I was in this band called Post Animal. And went back after shooting the first season.

It came out. We were playing shows. And people started coming and being like, Steve Arrington, oh, my God, what's up? Hey, man. And so I realized really quickly, uh-oh, I'm about to be this guy for the rest of my life. Right. You know? And so it was started out of that.

But I'm also like, I'm a fan of kind of like, you know, Mark Bolin or David Bowie, these kind of like glam rock guys who. And also a lot of it was sort of like Andy Kaufman really at the beginning, like a little misdirection. And a little old Nathan Fielder, Tim and Eric kind of fun sort of odd thing going on them. So I'm a fan of comedy, I'm a fan of music, and it felt like kind of the, I don't know, like a fun experiment, I guess is what it felt like. Like I have all these songs that are, you know, didn't work with the band because I ended up leaving because I was like, you know, I don't want to taint this, you know, band with stranger things kind of. and yeah just sort of felt like that was like a fun outlet and a way to sort of I mean in a way it was kind of mitigating the risk as well actually by not releasing it under my name because if it sucked people would have been like oh you know you'd have to really dig to find it but were there were other names you were considering besides yeah definitely that was a very last minute one that I was kind of thinking like yeah it'd be kind of nice if it was like my name but not my name and and it you know I uploaded it on like a, this streaming, I forget, I mean, it was AWOL at the time, but it was not what it is now. It was just like you upload your music and they uploaded it on all the things.

Right. And so it was, you know, night before, how do I do? Yeah. Can you think of any ones that you almost chose? I, there was one, I had gone to maybe, I forget, maybe somewhere in Germany. And when I came home, I was like, oh, I've got a great name. Leroy Merlin was the name that I thought. It was really cool.

But then remember that that was basically, I must have seen it and copied it because it's like, I think it's like the Home Depot of Europe. So. Some baggage. Yeah. Does anybody ever come up to you, like, claiming to be like a huge fan of the music and then betray themselves by mispronouncing Joe as like, I love Dejo or I love Dejo or.

I don't blame anyone for that because it is honestly confusing at this point. I mean, I really don't care. Would you rather have someone mispronounce Joe or call you Steve Harrington at a Starbucks at this point? Probably mispronounced Joe. But honestly, it makes sense. I guess it depends on who it is. But, yeah. So Stranger Things is this bizarre thing that no one can predict.

But even by the standards of a surprising career, the way Joe. and certain songs have exploded beyond any human expectation. This must be, have been mind-blowing the last couple of years, succeeded like your wildest dreams. Is that, is that fair to say? Definitely. Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

Is there a lesson there? It's like, I mean, I guess the lesson, and there was, it was very, this is very pure. This is a very pure pursuit for you. This was not like, I need another, like, gig. I need another, this is like something you wanted to do and it was going to fail or not, but you wanted to do it. I guess there's something to that.

Yeah, I think so. I think just doing something because you are really interested in it, and I feel like the song that I wrote was really specific about something that I had going on in my life at the time. And yeah, just sort of like, you know, there's a bunch of stuff floating around, and then this one thing just kind of caught the right stream. Right.

You're talking about the end of the beginning, which obviously, like, I mean, what's the peak weirdness of, like, cultural saturation of that song? Is there, like, a number that comes in a place where you hear it randomly where you're like, this is, I'm, you know, the Matrix has exploded. So many. There's a ton of moments like that. Absolutely.

Give me one or two. I went to this, um, Manchester United Man City game in London and they like played it at the half time thing or something. that was crazy I did this I can actually I won't say that one there's been a lot of brain breaking moments

or people you know people that you look up to being like hey I'm a fan I think that's really cool those are always like wow okay cool holy shit like musicians like fellow musicians or definitely did that laneway festival

and met Charlie through that, X-E-X, and she was always really amazing and supportive and cool. Apparently, a Cinephile, I've heard. She's got a lot going on on the other side. She's making the reverse move. She's killing it. Yeah, she's killing it. Yeah.

So I know you're a New Yorker now. Welcome to the city. You've been here for a minute, though. So talk to me. For a couple years now, yeah. Right. I've seen a bunch of your co-stars in recent. years on the stage here, whether else, Sadie, Gaiton.

I didn't see Maya. I know she did off Broadway recently. I missed that one, but obviously you've got a lot of talented folks that want to mix it up on the stage. Is that on the list for you at all or no? Certainly. I think that would be a really great challenge for me. And something different, you know, I did, I kind of come from that world.

And I think it's, you've got to be sharp. It tests your endurance. It'd be really different than it would be kind of like a combination almost of the things that I've been doing in a really kind of cool way. So, yeah, I would love to do something like that. I think if the right thing were to come along, I'm a big believer in, you know, the right thing sort of coming to you at the right time. I mean, are you also, I mean, you kind of alluded to this earlier, and this is something that comes up in a lot of conversations with actors where, like, you can only kind of steer your own ship to a degree. This is the illusion everyone thinks, unless you're Tom Cruise, you're kind of like taking the best that's out there. That being said, like, you know, you're entering a new phase.

Like, whether you like it or not, this is kind of a demarcation moment in your career. Yeah, definitely. What is the next, I don't know, if you had your druthers, what does the next three to five years or year or two years? Whatever, whatever increment you want to choose look like in your career. Yeah, a lot of people have been asking me about this and saying, like, what are you going to do? You can do music? You can do acting? If you had to pick, which one would you pick?

And, you know, I don't think I would pick either of them. There's things that I like to do about both of them. It's really fun to be able to be in a studio and write music, and it's also great to be on set. And I think the thing that I'm really looking forward to is just having a bunch of new experiences. It's kind of been my focus, I guess, has sort of shifted to, like, the process of what it is

and how that can kind of influence the result. I think that's the direction we took with making this last record. And certainly, musically, I'd like to do that again, kind of shift the boundaries or, you know, how you're doing it. And I think I'd love to do that with film, too, thinking about, you know, what makes the process of making this movie different than other movies. And, yeah, I think that's really what I'm after.

And to just, it's a real privilege, but to find something that is extremely exciting. Yeah. is my goal. Because again, I do think that if you love it, you're going to do your best work. So that's what I'm looking to try to find. What's been exciting for you as just the enjoyer of pop culture,

film this last year, filmmaker that excites you, actor that excites you, anything pop out? Man, I've been, I just went to totally, not related to film, but I went to that, Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall Show. That was so cool to see that guy did that. He's kind of broke my brain when I figured this out. He's Gaten's age.

And I was like, wow. It's so cool to find somebody who's, you know, he's like a young budding artist that has, like, really found his voice and is, like, tapped into it. And a lot of people have connected to it. So that was, yeah, that was just really cool and really super-powering. powerful to see. I just also saw, um, sentimental value. I thought that would. So good, right. Yeah. Yeah. Very, very cool. All the acting in that. Renata's amazing. I did the podcast recently,

L did the podcast. They're all amazing in that one. Yeah, they're all amazing. Yeah. And that's being a process, speaking, because, you know, you're at that, you know, you've been doing it a minute, but you're also at that stage where you're going to get these, like, you know, without the shackles. And I mean, that in the best possible way of stranger things, you're going to have more time to, like, dip into different experiences. Like, this is the time where you can really, like, give yourself over to other kind of filmmakers and i've heard them both talk about like yokeem trier this fascinating like lots of rehearsal and it's just a very new process it's like this is the time to like try all the shit and see like what what you love well that's exactly what i'm talking about and exactly what i'm looking for is to kind of just like have that diversity of experience and um

you know yeah hopefully will the universe to send those like no way we're manifesting we're doing it Okay, we're going to end this with the happy second fuse for family random questions for you, Joe. Are you ready? Let's go. Dogs or cats? Dogs. Are you a dog owner? No.

No shame. That's okay. Not yet. What are you looking for? Any kind of big, small? Do you have a predilection dog-wise? My sister is an artist and her studio mate has a dog named Ralphie. And this dog is kind of like a weaner dog mix.

little tiny dog that was a really nice dog yeah i just saw this dog today i was like that would be a good dog to have i've got a small apartment so probably a smaller dog we've got like a mid-sized dog i'm a obsessive dog dad so get a dog and we'll walk our dogs together in new york i've got a pit mix she's about 50 pounds but the sweetest thing sweetest thing fantastic the best uh what do you collect um right now vhss i have a bunch of yeah i have a bunch of I love that. What are your prized VHSs? I have lots of Arabia.

Double cassette, obviously. Yeah, double cassette. And I have an unopened matrix one, which is so good. What a movie. Add that to the list from earlier. That movie, like, the movie that blew my mind. Wait, is it within reach? I want to see a physical VHS tape.

Can I see it? Might take me a second. That's okay. That's what editing is for. I just want. field of dreams Josh had field of dreams Makes me cry every time

Long classic too Well Lawrence Arabia Perfection I love it I love it And then Also double Forget the criterion closet

It's all about VHSs Forget TVs It's fun to have like You know Physical media Whatever I respect it What's your favorite

video game of all time my favorite what video game of all time probably the one I've played the most oh that's hard maybe like Pokemon red okay probably very simple

but I probably some runner-ups would be the ocarine of time fantastic love that game as a kid and then Civilization Okay, running the gamut, all over the place. Okay, good. Yeah. What's the wallpaper on your phone?

My niece. Sweet. Last actor you were mistaken for? Bob Odenkirk thought I was the actor from, from, what's Jason Bateman show on Netflix? Ozark. Oh, Oh, I had her from Ozark. I can't even think of who that would be. The brother of... Wait, was Tom Pelfrey on Ozark? Is it Tom Pelfrey?

Yes, not him. But not that guy. The brother of... You look it up, right? Yeah, Julie Garner. Yeah, yeah. Ozark. Talk amongst yourselves.

Yeah, he was... Yes, the brother of Julia Garner. Ozark. just want this for the record for posterity. Yeah, he came up to me. Oh, Scott. Not Skywer, Gaitner? Which are these?

Which are these folks? Any of these? Can you say? That's okay. Well, we'll solve it later. I'm not that guy. I don't know. Someone from Ozark.

Yeah, he said, hey, I loved you. I think he said, man, great job this season. And I said, oh my God. Thanks so much. I'm a huge fan. And then he said, I love Ozark. Me too. That's okay.

That's good, though. He's a good actor, so. Someone of note that I won't mention. Charlie Tehan is his name. Okay. Charlie Tahon. Someone of note once mistook me for Justin Hurwitz, who is the composer of Walla Land. Yes, okay.

Not me. Great, great talent. Not me. Not me. Almost there. Worst note of director has ever given you. Oh. Oh man, worse note

I'm going to try to actually think of one so I don't get maybe like do more do more Just do more That's like Do more

Yeah More is what you want And in the spirit of happy second fuse Who's an actor who always makes you happy You see them on screen you're in a better mood what do you got that actor who always makes me

I'd say like Julia Louis Dreyfus maybe perfect yes so great always happy to watch her a movie that makes you sad oh man

there's a lot of good sad movies out there um would have you cried I know. Deer Hunter is a good one. I mean, feel the dreams is a good one. These are both.

I literally almost brought the double, the double deer hunter I have up there over here. But I was like, I can't do that. It's too sad. So that'll be my, that's kismet. I'll say deer hunter.

Deer hunter it is. Food that makes you confused. Wrap it up strong. What's the food you don't get? The food that I don't get. Why do people eat that? What's up with that? Maybe.

I'm a pretty open-minded guy when it comes to food. but like a boba tea. Oh yeah, the little, yeah, yeah. Really? Yeah. Or honestly, pudding. Really? It's the consistency.

You're just not like a... I'll eat like tiramisu or like a crumbruillet, but a pudding is just like, I don't know, yeah. Or like half and half, actually. Oh, okay. You said you were open-minded, but you just rattled off like six things. You're right. There's a few I just don't fuck with, I guess.

There's your head. John Kerry doesn't fuck with half and half. No. Good to catch up. Long, long, long overdue. Man, it's always good to see. I'm glad we had a chance to see each other in person last night. I'm going to go a little bit deeper today.

And don't be a stranger. Fellow New Yorker, Joe Keri. Thank you. I'm going to see the dog part. Exactly. Get your dog, though. First you need a dog. Don't be a creepy guy without a dog.

That would be creepy. Thanks, bud. I'll talk to you. soon, I hope. All right. Have a good one. 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.

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