Happy Sad Confused - John Cena (2022)

Episode Date: September 18, 2023

In this encore episode of Happy Sad Confused, Josh chats with John Cena about his transition from wrestling to acting, the lessons he's learned along the way, and finding a friend and collaborator in James Gunn. UPCOMING EVENTS! 10/9 -- Come see Josh and Josh Gad & Andrew Rannells at the 92nd Street Y in NYC! Virtual tickets available too. Get your tickets here! Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! To watch episodes of Happy Sad Confused, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Josh's youtube channel here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!⁠ NordVPN -- 🌏 Get Exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ ⁠⁠https://nordvpn.com/HappySad⁠⁠ It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌ BetterHelp -- This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/HSC today to get 10% off your first month Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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What do you mean blow up the building? From this moment on, none of you are safe. New episodes every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, it's official. We are very much in the final sprint to Election Day. And face it, between debates, polling releases, even court appearances, it can feel exhausting, even impossible to keep up with. I'm Brad Milkey.

I'm the host of Start Here, the Daily Podcast from ABC News. And every morning, my team and I get you caught up on the day's news in a quick, straightforward way that's easy to understand, with just enough context so you can listen, get it and go on with your day. So, kickstart your morning. Start Smart with Start Here and ABC News because staying informed shouldn't feel overwhelming. You have to know there's going to be shitty days at work. Always.

W.W.E taught me that. Like, there's going to be shitty days. But if you love what you do, the shitty days are less shitty. And you can always find that nugget to be like, yeah, but I'm going to be invisible today. You know, like, I get to do. You know, what's my biggest problem right now? Because I'm going to get to go out in front of a sold-out house and be invisible.

Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. I'm Josh Horowitz, and today on Happy, Sad Confused, John Sina, from his wrestling career to the peacemaker to his unlikely comfort movie. Hey, guys, Josh Harowitz here with another edition of Happy Sad Confused. This one's a flashback episode. This is from January of 2020. I reconnected with John Cedar in this conversation.

After many years apart, we went our separate ways. He became a global superstar. I did whatever the hell I did. And we got a chance to catch up over Zoom about a year and a half ago. And it was on the occasion of the peacemaker, debuting on Max. And it was a great chat. And it, in fact, spawned another chat that you guys might have seen in more recent months that we did live here in New York City.

But I thought with John kind of making the rounds right now returning those, a little bit to his wrestling career, this late summer, early fall, it was a nice opportunity to resurface this conversation, which not many people got a chance to see on YouTube. Many people are going to see this one for the first time. So, yeah, a good excuse to kind of bring this to the four and let everybody enjoy one of our really insightful conversationalist. John Sina, always with a morsel of wisdom. If you follow him on his Twitter feed, you know what I'm talking about.

And this is a great chat. I think you guys are going to really, really dig. But before we get to that, some news and notes that I want to keep you guys up to date on, New York City. Come on out, October 9th, a live happy, say-a-confused edition with Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells talking all things, including their new Broadway musical, Gutenberg. They, of course, came to the fore with the Book of Mormon years ago, and this is their re-teaming on Broadway. It's going to be a blast. October 9th, live in-person, New York City. come on out. The information is in the show notes, how to get tickets. And you can also,

by the way, it can't be there in person. You can watch us live virtually. There's a ticket option for that as well. I'm, of course, still floating through all the movies that are swimming in my head from the fall film festivals that I got a chance to see. But I also wanted to shout out one more movie that is coming out on Hulu this Friday. No one will save with our beloved Caitlin Deaver, who's just always exceptional. And this is an exceptional acting challenge that she more than rises to the occasion for. This is a nearly wordless film. Can you hear the honking? The New York honking? You can't buy that kind of sound design. But speaking of sound design, this is a meticulously crafted film about a young woman who is essentially alone in a

house, but it's not what you think. The intruder is not some sketchy guy. It's a sketchy alien. or two. And it's really well directed by a young filmmaker named Brian Duffield. I just want to give a little shout out. Check it out on Hulu. No one will save you. Great performance from Caitlin, great direction from Brian. Good things ahead for both of them. That's about it. I want to now introduce you guys to this conversation. This is January 2022. It's a bit of a career chat. It's fun to hear about John talk about his transition from wrestling to acting, the mistakes he made, his philosophy. on pushing himself into comedy in other areas, a lot on the peacemaker here, a lot on, this was at the time when we were talking about comfort movies a lot.

And his comfort movie pick was a really kind of surprising one to me. So look forward to that, among other things. Yeah. So January 2020, enjoy this conversation. Remember, review, rate and subscribe to Happy, Say I Confused, spread the good word. And now, let's take us back into a time machine. Scooby-Doo sound effect, insert here. You are 2022, me and John Sina. Enjoy.

Thanks so much for doing the podcast today, man. I've always been a fan of your work. And this one, I think, is your best yet. Congratulations on Peacemaker, man. Oh, I'll take that feedback anytime I can get it. I'm glad you enjoyed it. So I see, as I always, impeccably dressed, I was partially hoping, I'm going to be honest, I was hoping a little bit for the peacemaker outfit this morning.

I know you have a lot of affection for it. No, I do. And I've been very bold. and adamant and saying, I'll wear it everywhere, but I don't own it. It's, I don't, they won't give me a costume. It's a, it's certainly property of D.C. And they guard it like the nuclear codes. Like every time, every time you see me in it, premieres or all the stuff for the suicide squad, it literally was like pulling teeth. And every time I would show up, there would be a costume handler and a props handler to make sure nobody ran off the helmet or the costume. That is

heavily guarded IP, as, as they would say. From the start, once you got into that, that costume, do people treat you differently when you're walking around in that outfit? They got it. You know, what a state of the, of that the world is in today? Not really. On the list of crazy things going on in our role right now, not seen that in this helmet is not. So yeah, but at the same time, like, you know, with all the, the ability to create content and because it's usually in like media hub.

or where we are doing a bunch of stuff like New York City, Los Angeles. I'm just, I have more anonymity in the costume than I do walking down the street. And we did a bit for Jimmy Kimmel, where it was like I was a few buildings down doing a bunch of interviews in the uniform. And I walked on the street to Jimmy Kimmel. And he's, he's right there in the thick of it. And I was passing like Spider-Man and Batman. Nobody gave a shit about me, especially because this is like pre-suicide squad. So who the hell is Peacemaker? Right. I could just walk down the street. It was great. Everybody just thought I was, you know, a guy trying to work the corner for some Polaroids or a picture or something.

Amazing. Amazing. Okay. So before we dive into Peacemaker and some other things, some context, because I've been talking to you for a while. I don't expect you to remember our shared experiences because you've done so much of the stuff over the years. But it does amuse me to think the first time I chatted with you, John, was that a Coldstone Creamer, here in New York City for 12 rounds. I do not remember that. I've had some wonderful, you know, experiences at a Coldstone creamery,

but I don't remember that one. Oh, wow, you've walked it out. So this, the idea of- I only got so many parking spaces in the parking lot, man. No, I got it. I don't take the fence, don't you worry, don't you worry. But the silly conceit was we were going to eat 12 rounds of ice cream to promote your film.

Oh, man, I would love to do that now. You're forward thinker, man. You're just ahead of your time. I mentioned that because it dovetails a bit with peacemaker in this respect for me. My sense about you is John Sina is down. John Sina is ready to go to interesting places if it serves the story, if it serves the narrative, if it serves the whole enterprise. Is that fair to say that you kind of like have that kind of spirit, that kind of attitude about life and career?

I think this may be fair to say. I don't take myself too seriously. So I don't, you know, we all, this is a crazy business. I have no idea what's going on. I play dress up and they pay me. And it's ridiculous. It's not to say that there isn't hard work involved and there is an effort involved and dedication and all that stuff. But I think anyone who has even a mild sense of sustainability in this thinks it's going to be over in a heart. because it's not a, hey, clock in and work for your pension type profession. It's, we like you one day and we don't like you the next. So I think as you're trying to gain that sustainability, you're trying to protect the attitude you throw out there. And especially, I've been so lucky to be doing this for a long time now and realize that I can just enjoy what I do and be comfortable with. self and it is going to end. And when it does, I should be grateful for the experiences that I've

had. So to say that I'm down for anything would mean that I have no boundaries. That's false. I do have steadfast boundaries and concrete boundaries and ones that are like, I just canceled an interview with another provider because they were just asking too many questions that crossed my boundaries. That's totally fine. But I am totally okay making fun of myself, being the butt of the joke of being a vehicle for other people to laugh at my expense. That stuff is fine. I don't have to there is no night in shining armor or, you know, real superhero persona that I'm trying to protect. I'm just a dude who is one of the luckiest guys in the face of the earth. So I'm in that respect, I think you're right. Well, it also, I'm sure, of course, depends on the company you're

keeping and the kind of collaborators that you're finding, whether it is, you know, working with Judd Apatow as you start to, like, you know, get into comedy, we're now finding this kindred spirit in James Gunn. James Gunn, you know, having watched, you only have to watch the first five minutes of the first episode, A Peacemaker, to see, like, oh, we're going to some interesting places with this character, and you would expect nothing less from James Gunn. Do you find that you, like, you found an immediate kind of kind of kind of kind of kindred spirit and James in that his sensibilities, his, what might some people might

deem as extreme in some ways actually suits you and fits your definition of entertainment and fun. So now we're shifting on to like professional exploration. And for me, I don't, I don't knock on anybody for their perspective and their choices. But for me, professionally, like what I'll do on camera as a character, I love to be challenged. And it's, man, being so involved in the WWE for so long, perception is reality. And people out there who make decisions and make entertainment only perceive you is what they see. And for so long, I was perceived as the John seen a character. And that's it, tip to tail, like that is it. Right. And then there were people like Judd and James, and there's a, there's a list of folks who were like, hey, you know, I think

we can we can pry something else out of that pair of gene shorts you got on there. And I'm grateful to those people because not only did they give me an opportunity to show more depth and put some more tools in the tool belt, but they made me better as a performer. James, it makes me better every day. Even when I'm not working on a project with James, I was saying to him yesterday, I hear his voice in the back of my head, these little, like, he very much reminds me of Vince McMahon. Vince McMahon has these little moments where it's like a small nugget of wisdom that never leaves you and you always remember it. And James has bestowed, you know, 10 or more of those

on me to make me a better professional. So when it comes to challenging myself professional, that's a lot less of giving of myself personally, letting someone into my life. I love being able to be to challenge myself to be vulnerable, to walk that talk, essentially. Like, you know, my character wouldn't do that. Is your character wouldn't do that, or are you uncomfortable doing that? And if you're uncomfortable doing that,

well, then why? And when you get to the core of the why, maybe you can find the courage to throw yourself out there. I mean, in peacemaker, by far, I will say, is my biggest swing to date. And I think that's because James and I had a, you know, real heartfelt conversations

on the suicide squad and we got to talk about a lot of life issues and when you take those personal conversations and you put them into a fictional character and that's man that's really what i love about performing entertaining you get to to dive in with almost uh with with with with no boundaries you can be as brave as you want to and i really love how james uh really went all in on that with peacemaker i think people are going to be surprised especially as you progress in the show, I've seen the first seven of eight episodes, you might think it's one thing at the start. And by the, you show so many different colors more than I've ever seen you as an actor in this. You kind of get to do it all. It's pretty remarkable. You get to have your cake and

eat it too. There's certainly big action and comedy and, and, but there's, but there's more dramatic stuff than you've ever done. Were you surprised at how, I don't know, just how many layers you were able to peel the onion in this in this enterprise no in seeing uh man you know uh james is extremely talented in in just writing crafting and developing narrative and uh i think he's at his best where he can get a group of toys that haven't yet been shown and then define exactly what they are you know i uh i was very very excited to be part of that especially when he called me up in the middle of the pandemic. It was like, hey, thinking of doing a peacemaker series, like, well, I thought peacemaker was dead. So what? And he's like, well, we'll, we'll fix it. Okay, I'm,

I'm in. But I think that's, that's also, I mean, I've never done episodic as a, you know, aside from WWE. And that's, if you look at the, the course of John Cena over the WWE, you know, the sentiment from lifelong watches is like, oh, there wasn't much character development, but if you look into the subtle nuances, there really was, but it's all really subtle in a performing stage where everything is so huge. Peacemaker, you can lean into those nuances and everyone has gravity and really enjoyed how James gave that to all the characters, It's not just peacemate. What was your relationship growing up with comics?

Were you a comic book guy? Were you Marvel? Were you DC, all the above or none of the above? I wasn't a comic book guy. My escape was obviously pro wrestling. You know, I was a damn near historian by the time I was 10 and fell back in love with it when the WWE was fighting Turner in the ratings wars.

But I was like a fringe fan when the Batman movie. came out, when the Keaton Batman movies came out, I was right at the right age to be influenced by all that. But I really never got into comics, but like watching Hannah-Barbera animation half hour before I went to school, I would see Fantastic Four. So there are certain comic book characters that stand out in my mind and I remember. But nothing, I wouldn't say I was, I was definitely not as much of a fan of comics as I was like sports or pro wrestling. Was there was part of the, you know, the, the way you molded your body, the way you devoted yourself to creating like this, this image, this physical personification of yourself, was part of that motivated by one one person? Was it about just being obsessed with wrestling? Was it, I mean, like, I talk, for instance, I'm kind of buddies with Joe Mangonello. And Joe Mangonello basically decided, like, I'm going to become a superhero that I read about. Like, I want to turn my body into that. For you, obviously, it wasn't comic books but was it watching professional wrestlers or Arnold or was it something like what was that

about no it was actually probably the the closest um correlation would be an ad you'd see in the back of the comic book for the the dude kicking sand and the wimpy guy's face I just wanted to develop an extra sense of security a sense of armor if you will I got my ass kicked every day and I remember asking my dad for a weight bench at age 10 and him denying me and then in age of 11 and him denying me. And then in age 12, my grandfather, rest of soul, he probably was like, John, just get the kid an effing weight bench. And he did. And what my dad didn't realize is I was getting beat up and picked on for the way I looked, the way I acted, the way I dressed. I wasn't brave enough to tell my dad like, hey, this is why I'd like to have this piece of

equipment. But as soon as he got it for me, I started working out. And it wasn't to look or emulate anybody's behavior or look like anyone else. It literally was to just get people. to stop picking on me. Right. In terms of, I mean, you've already talked about sort of in the wrestling career how there was, there was acting involved and maybe more than people imagined and more variations than people imagined. Do you remember when you started to think seriously about pursuing an acting career outside of the ring and did it feel within your grasp or intimidating or what? I think every shift in our shell of comfortable is intimidating and when we're used to something and we decide to do something

else or change something in our lives it could be if you're used to a morning cup of coffee and you ditch it that's intimidating um i began to look at when i hit about the the 10 11 12 year mark in the wwe every show every night all the time i was still so excited about going out there every night. And I think that's, regardless of how people feel about me as a performer or character, I don't think they can say that I lack enthusiasm. So being a former football player and going into sports entertainment, that was a way for me to stay fit, for me as an athlete, to have a purpose,

a season, something to train for. I didn't lose what I gained through the first 10 years of physical training. but then it morphed into something else and 10 years after being on television it was the ability to tell stories i didn't love the strength i didn't love the falling down i didn't love the hey i want to challenge myself to do a new stunt if anything my athletic ability was getting less and less so i had to challenge myself to tell different stories and it was then because you know back doing the marine and 12 rounds it was a business decision hey we want to want you to go build WW films so more people will come to WWE events.

Right. Serving that the mother's a great idea. Yeah, yeah. But when you, when it's a money grab, I wanted to be back in the ring. I wanted, you know, 15,000 people cheering you on because there's no energy like that, especially as a young 20-something man, I was riding a lightning bolt. I wanted to get back to the lightning bolt. But then as you get older and wiser and maybe a little bit more seasoned physically,

I still had a passion for going out in front of a live audience. And it wasn't because I wanted to prove to them I could do a flip. It was because I loved trying to get a story across. And then I was like, man, maybe maybe I was looking at this thing all wrong. And originally, when I got to be on film, I hated all the wait time. WW is live and it's fast and it's done and you're on to the next one. I didn't like the fact that there was an instant feedback so I could tell if I did something good or not.

I wasn't very proficient. So it was ditching that morning cup of coffee where I felt nervous and vulnerable. And I wasn't, I was just getting that ball rolling. So I was like, I don't want to do something wrong. So this will all be over. Because I mean, I shouldn't have this job in the first place. But, you know, after after a decade in with the WWE and having some sense of security and stability and like, yeah, you know. it's going to end and it should probably end around now.

So let's take a couple big swings here. I also realized that I had a passion for storytelling. And that's kind of what brought the ability. Like it started with Brian Robbins taking a chance on me in the Fred movies, literally being a parody of John Sina. And then Judd and so on and so forth. And it just became, yeah, I'd like to do this. And of course, I was playing the same character in W.

And I'd already been told, like, hey, there's going to be no deviation. You're going to be this guy. During the Volvo Fall Experience event, discover exceptional offers and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of room for autumn adventures. And see for yourself how Volvo's legendary safety brings peace of mind to every crisp morning commute. This September, Lisa 2026 XE90 plug-in hybrid from $599 biweekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall experience event. Conditions supply, visit your local Volvo retailer or go to Explorevolvo.com. While other money managers are holding, Dynamic is hunting.

Seeing past the horizon, investing beyond the benchmark, because your money can't grow if it doesn't move. Learn more at dynamic.ca slash active. Dynamic, actively different. And that's fine, but then you have these other entities being like, hey, you want to be a, weird confused guy who maybe is naked and curses a lot and then you want to do this and then you want to be a drug dealer for Tina Faye in this movie. So it was, it was really fun. And I also began to have more respect for people on set and what they do and why it takes so long. And I began to have more understanding of the process. And now I'm at a comfortable space where I enjoy all of it. I find it also interesting when I was looking back at sort of the evolution of the film

career. Outside of those early films like Marine and 12 rounds, between then and now, you didn't do a lot of action vehicles, actually. You weren't like being like, that wasn't the lane you were traversing. I mean, Peacemaker arguably is kind of like an F9, it's kind of like you're getting back into that kind of action genre, you really devoted most of your film career to comedy. And I'm curious, like, you kind of alluded to this a little bit, but I don't know, if I look at some of your contemporaries, a lot of them tried repeatedly to kind of like do the action thing from the get-go, maybe because- Well, I also, I fall into that group. I tried, but it was only because the people kind of giving me those opportunities, that's the best I could get.

it finally got to a point. I remember my, one of my best friends and agent, Dan Bame, is on this call silently. I remember getting to a point, it might have been in 2009, where we had just done another bad movie or another, you know, without, and then when I say bad, I mean, my heart wasn't in it. Right. And, and I, you know, I didn't give all I could to the performance, so it's, it wasn't something people were interested in. And I remember us having a, just a dinner and me saying to him and this is his job like hey we're never doing movies again are we and he's like no i don't think we are wow so you know i have i love him for many reasons but honesty and communication are right up there at the top of the pyramid and he was and this is a guy

who's like no person i'm supposed to get movie work for we're probably never doing that again so i also came to grips with the fact that um it would it would be over And I think the reason I was okay with that is, in my mind, I always thought, if I'm going to do an action movie, do it in front of 20,000 people. There's nothing better, you know, and I can do 250 action movies a year. Right. You know, and so, you know, you want to be an action hero. Dude, you're already a fucking action hero. Right.

So I was fulfilled, I guess, in that sense. And now, I guess that's why I was drawn to comedy. I always wanted to do jokey stuff. I mean, I really did my best to try to integrate that in WWE, but with the PG constraints and, you know, just all the limitations. A lot of people were like the stupid, quirky Sina comedy again, I wish you would just be kick-ass John Sina. But I wanted to try because I felt I had to.

And then you get an opportunity to be a different character and to try to make people laugh. And I really enjoyed that challenge. And it's funny now, I mean, coming full circle, peacemaker kind of blends it all together, right? You kind of get, again, get your cake and eat it too. You get the comedy, but you get kind of the action chops in there, too. And it's just kind of the, it seems like the character that you were born to play.

I don't know what that says about you. No, and honestly, I've, this is my second straight day of interviews, and I've heard that multiple times, and that is the most flattering thing that someone can say. because I always go back, I relate everything to WWE, and they can't, the audience can't view me as anything but t-shirt, jean shorts, ball cap. When I grew my hair out, everybody's like, you ruin my fucking childhood, man, what are you doing? You can't do this. You can't, because they are used to me, that was the role I was born to play.

And that's a gift because it allows me to have a wonderful extended career as that role, but it's also a super challenge because it's tough to get people to take a chance on you. So when people say, man, Peacemaker was a role I feel you were born to play or like, I don't see anybody else playing Peacemaker but you. That's so flattering because I got my heart and soul in it. And it didn't take 20 years to build up that cyclone of like, I don't see anybody else playing peacemaker except John. So that's that's truly blattering when I hear that, man. Thank you.

As you well know, prior to Peacemaker, I mean, again, partially because of the physicality and the WWE stuff, you had been fancasted like repeatedly for different superheasers. roles. And I'm curious, like, were there any that you came close to? I mean, I feel like I've asked you about, and many people asked you about, for instance, Shazam over the years. Was that one you went up for? Was that one you really wanted? I can't tell you how many superhero roles I've been rejected for. Shazam is certainly one. But there was a brief try at the Deadpool universe, rejection. A lot of...

I assume. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shazam was a... DeKambe Mutumbo. There was a few in the Marvel universe, rejected. So, but I, you know, I kept trying.

Was there one that you really, in your heart of hearts was like, that kind of like, you really wanted, that felt right for you at the time, that kind of stuck your off? I think because of the fact that I, here I am saying this in a way, waistcoat and a half Windsor, I think like a child. So Shazam was was super interesting to me. And when I read the script, a lot of times, like, this is the thing. I don't just chase, I want to do this. I always have to read it. James Gunn is the only person that gets a free pass.

If he says, I'm doing this thing, do you want it? And the only reason he gets a free pass is his reputation is a storyteller. He just does not let up. He's claws in every piece. And I know he, I know it's going to be good because he starts from a blank page and that's it. But I always read it. I always read the story to make sure, one, I like it and two, it falls within my skill set. I do want to challenge myself, but I don't want the first time I do something to be on screen for a paying customer. I want to get practice and be able to perform at a level that's, you know, consumer quality. So I read all those scripts and I read all those parts. And I was like, man, And I really think I could, I could add to this and just rejection after rejection, after rejection, after rejection.

But I guess that's what makes, you know, the lows make the highs high, you know. And the crazy thing was I wasn't first on the list for peacemaker. James had a long list. And it happened by accident, too. He's like, hey, I'm in Atlanta. I just love to come and talk to you for a second. sat down in his pre-production office, which was literally like a war headquarters where you could see the whole movie and poster board taped around his office. And he started talking

about peacemaker. And I was like, well, I think you should do it. So I'm not rejected. This is the point. You usually say like, hey, love you, man, but we're just going to another direction. So do we shake hands in part ways? Or are we going to do business together? And the ones that I tried for, I got rejected for, and the one that I wasn't even looking for kind of fell in my lap. I always like to talk to folks about what movies they consider their comfort movies. I asked you for yours, and you chose an interesting one. These are always fascinating to see what people choose. You chose an Adam McKay film, but maybe not the Adam McKay film that most of people would consider a comforting film. John, tell me why you chose what you chose.

So I chose the Big Short, and it's a wonderful film by Adam McKay with a star-studded cast. He He certainly is really good at wrangling a bunch of talented folks all together. And he's also good at hitting you in the face with some real shit. And at the same time, you can laugh about it and you can have fun. And he's also good at explaining really complicated things. And he does have a unique style of filmmaking in the Big Short in particular, shattering the fourth wall and the cutaways of like Margot in a bathtub or the late Anthony Bourdain telling you how to make more of your restaurant

product and explaining the mortgage-backed security market and explaining what a tranche is. Like, I learned something. I learned something with every Adam McKay film. And he makes me laugh and I learned something in the process. And I think he's got a really just a wonderful talent for that. But it's a film that I'll never turn off. It's a film that I watch at least once a year and it just there's a lot of core takeaways for me being greedy certainly is is a is a lesson he hammers home and it's just how blind people are by greed to the point that they don't even know what they're doing so um so in my life as these opportunities come up you know i want to be able to chase opportunities that i'm passionate about not simply

be passionate about greed because that will eventually lead to meltdown and they also say that history repeats itself so i keep i can i now keep a close closer eye on um what i'm doing personally uh the the the interest rate market um the global housing market you know um there's a the ever grande experience right now halfway across the world is is is teetering on the the the potential of another big short. And I think there's, that's a movie that he takes you on an entertaining ride through mortgaged back security. Another one of those. Yeah. I just think anybody that can do that, anybody can take such a topic like that, like a boring topic. And the reason it's boring is so people can get greedy off it. They don't want you to know about it. And I really

think it's informative. And everyone who sees it for the first time is, is, is, blown away. No, you're speaking my language. I worship at the altar of Adam McKay. I mean, I loved his, the, I mean, I think he could have retired on his comedic work. He's one of the finest comedy writers ever. And what he's done with Vice, big short, and don't look up. Don't look up. Yeah. I love that he's using. He's putting his chips in where he can actually, you know, you don't expect a movie to change the world, but you got to give it a shot in these times, man. You got to, like, talk about the issues we're confronting or like, what are you doing? Well, I mean, not necessarily you can just make something for people to laugh at.

And I love escapeous entertainment, but I mean, I also like the ambition to go for it, to try. What I really enjoy about him is he makes you think. Hey, Michael. Hey, Tom. Well, big news to share it, right? Yes, huge, monumental, earth shaking. Heartbeat sound effect, big. Mink is back.

That's right. After a brief snack, nap. We're coming back. snacks we're eating snacks we're raiding snacks like the snackologist we were born to be mate is back mike and tom eat snacks wherever you get your podcast unless you get them from a snack machine in which case you call us goodbye summer movies hello fall i'm anthony i'm anthony 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, he'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 two. Tron Ares 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. Yeah. And even in parody situations of like, I know that's a parody, but is this the way it really is? You know,

and there is some stuff that'll hit you over the head more like Vice, and there is some stuff that'll make you think, like, don't look up. Yep. When it's completely done in parody, but at the same time, it makes you think about a lot of other things.

And I, uh, who is it, Jimmy V that said, think, laugh and cry in one day, and that's a great day. Right. Okay. It's official. We are very much in the final sprint to election day. And face it, between debates, polling releases, even court appearances. It can feel exhausting, even impossible to keep up with. I'm Brad Milkey, I'm the host of Start Here, the daily podcast from ABC News, and every morning my team and I get you caught up on the day's news in a quick, straightforward way that's easy to understand, with just enough context so you can listen, get it, and go on with your day. So, kickstart your morning, start smart with Start Here and ABC News, because staying informed shouldn't feel overwhelming. working ahead for you always a busy slate i'm excited that you worked with um matthew vaughan

on argyle which has an insane cast and matthew is a very unique talent and uh i'm glad you're now part of the ensemble of the matthew vaughan universe i am uh am like a kingsman super fan i just love that franchise and how he did it and how he developed it uh And I'm certainly a fan of his work, and it was, man, it was a pleasure to be involved in such a big project. It was, I can't wait for that one. So, F9, you obviously joined the ginormous franchise as Jacob, who we see in a much different spot by the end of that film than he is at the outset. Do you know the plans ahead? Do you have you seen scripts?

Have you heard anything? Nope, but I know that I love the Fast Universe and I have ever since the first movie came out. I've always been an auto enthusiast. And I know fast has evolved into something different. It is now just global, knock you out of your seat. What are they going to do next? And now, honestly, even to a point where, and I love this, as, you know, as the golden numbers of the sun sets on the mythology,

they can wink at themselves as well. And I love the fact that they're starting to do that and take the audience on a, this is kind of the end of the book and we're wrapping it up. and we're going to space. You know? You guys wanted us to go into space? We're going to give you that. We're going to give you.

We hear you. You know, I really think it's cool that they are having fun with the mythology as it comes to an end. I'm eager to find out if I can, you know, get in the car and drive again. But somebody who's as into cars as I am. And the franchise still is littered with wonderful automobilia. the Helen Muran dripping through downtown London and a noble. Like, there's nothing more kick-ass than that, you know? I just, I like the fact that there's still something for the enthusiast in the franchise

and that it still is very rooted in car culture. And that's a, that was a dream get for me. That's something, again, I thought would never be possible and kind of fell into my lap. And what an amazing opportunity. Pop culture-wise lately, any stuff that jumps out at you that you're obsessed with, I mean, I know, I believe you, I've heard that you're an anime fan. I don't know if you saw Arcane. I just watched that one.

Any, what's the genre? What's the franchise? What that's obsessing on scene lately? Man, books? I'm reading more. I literally, between breaks, I got the talent code by Daniel Coyle. That's the latest one I'm trying to rip through. I just finished the first volume of the Gulag Archipgeo.

or archipelago, that's a, that's a long book. My goal was to read one book that I don't think, or nor do I want to read in a year. And I just managed to squeeze that in before we turned to 2022. So that was an informative route canal, but it was, it was a lot of, a lot of reading. As far as shows go, Ted Lasso's been the only one that I've been like, I just rifled through that. And I, it's tough to get me to sit down. for more than a half an hour and that one I think I got through in like two days yeah it was just

really good and where are you at right now in terms of the material you're getting do you feel like are there still kinds of films TV parts that obviously the aperture has widened for you significantly in the last 10 years but is there still um are there still kinds of things that you wish you were thought of more for nowadays so so I think that's a great question and And if I want to be considered for something, there are things within my control that I can do. I just basically I'm confident in the abilities that I have. I'm trying to challenge myself to widen that scope

and be a better performer every day. And I'm just ready for when, I'm ready for when Vin is like, do you want to be in fast? I'm ready for the moment where James Gunn, says, I'd like you to be peacemaker. I'm ready for the moment where Matthew Fawn says, hey, can you slide into London to sneak into Argyle? Like, I don't know, I believe opportunity finds us. Right. And all I can do is be ready. I had a wonderful experience in New York filming a film called The Independent, where I got to play a role that I never would have been able to

play. Got Brian Cox in there, some really heavy hitters, right? Yeah. God. It's, and not only was I was not the smartest person in the room, which is a great thing, but I was also doing something that was way like not comedy, not physical, true drama, true character work. And that's fun and that was cool. And if that opportunity spawns to more opportunities, then great. And I'm currently looking at some stuff that is on a different path. And you just have to, like if it's important to you make it important, it shouldn't be about the money. unless the money's important, then do that and be okay with that. And that's your driving force. A lot of the choices for me have nothing to do with financial reward because I know

that that comes with good good work. It may not show up eventually. It may not show up immediately, but it'll show up eventually. So I just, like I said, my litmus test is read it and like it. And if I read a story and like it, when I read a script, I don't want to know who I'm reading for. I want to read it. And that way, if I'm involved, I'm like, hey, you can put me in any part. I don't care. I just, I'll, I'll do it. You know, so that's kind of where I'm at.

I read all the time. It's a good thing that I'm, you know, trying to dive into books because I'm also reading scripts. I read, you know, hell, I must have read 300 scripts last year. Wow. So I, and I love reading. And if I can't make it through page four, it could it could be the big short it but i just won't i won't lend myself to it because i don't want to do

that project wrong you know if i go on there got to keep the lights on and i go on there in a grumpy mood and like i just want to get out of here and on to the next one that is infectious man but if you read a piece of material cover to cover in one shot and you're excited and then you start gathering the group people that are going to do it and you're excited and then you step on set the first day and you're excited. You have to know there's going to be shitty days at work. Always. W.W.E taught me that. Like, there's going to be shitty days. But if you love what you do, the shitty days are less shitty. And you can always find that nugget to be like, yeah, but I'm going to be invisible today. You know, I get to do, that's, you know, what's my biggest problem right now?

Because I'm going to get to go out in front of a sold out house and be invisible. And I think that that helps those shitty days. It's not to say they don't exist. They don't exist. They exist on all of our lives. But even, you know, there's a lot of performers that this, this process is arduous. This press, I got like 60 interviews today. But this is part of the process. And when I sign up for peacemaker, the reasons I sign up for peacemaker, I can't pretend that this doesn't exist. So I'm excited about this because I'm excited about peacemaker and that goes all the way back. That's like trickle down to me reading it and being like, yep, let's go. which it helps all the way around i appreciate the time today man especially i think i'm one of

60 for you today so i appreciate the um one at a time right uh congratulations man it's great to see the progression of the career the attitude you have and the talent that you bring to every project uh as i said i'm a big fan of this one i'm a big fan of yours and um i hope to see you at a coldstone creamery in the near future man i tell you what we we have to make that happen i'm not not to say that i'm going to do 13 rounds i don't know if i i don't know if i could make it through page 14 of that script i can't take it either but that uh that coldstone challenge might be there might be some merit to that fair enough i'll see you there buddy thanks again 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 pressure to do this by Josh. American history is full of infamous tales that continue to captivate audiences, decades or even hundreds of years after they happened. On the infamous America podcast, you'll hear the true stories of the Salem Witch Trials and the escape attempts from Alcatraz, of bank robbers like John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd, of killers like Lizzie Borden and Charles Starkweather, of mysteries like

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