Happy Sad Confused - Kate Hudson

Episode Date: February 19, 2026

Talk about symmetry! 25 years ago Kate Hudson burst onto the scene with her Oscar nominated performance in ALMOST FAMOUS. Now she's back in the Oscar race thanks to her role in SONG SUNG BLUE. She joins Josh to chat about her beginnings and the road that led to this career re-defining moment. SUPPORT THE SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! QUINCE -- Go to ⁠Quince.com/HAPPYSAD⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. NordVPN -- EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ ⁠https://nordvpn.com/hsc⁠ Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Saily -- 🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code HSC at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to ⁠https://saily.com/hsc⁠ 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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cameron and I, where we get along and where we will always love each other and see each other, you know, when you know people and you're like, I feel seen, it's the happy, sad. You know, we talk about it a lot. Like, happy, sad together is, that's the magic. And that's life. Like, life, that's what it gives us. It can be real happy and it can get real sad. And if you can, in those moments where it's happy and sad at the same time, it's like, it's like movie gold.

or literature gold. Kate, you know you're doing the best promo for this podcast that's called Happy, Sad, confused. I know. Yeah, well, you had to add the confused part. Well, that's just me. That's my go-to. Prepare your ears, humans.

Happy, sad, confused begins now. Hey, guys, it's Josh. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Today on the show, a first-time guest, an Oscar nominee. one of our brightest stars, the one and only Kate Hudson, on the show today, talking Song, Sun Blue, and her entire career. Thanks, guys, as always, for joining me on Happy Sag and Fuse, whether you're listening, watching on YouTube, watching on Spotify, however you're doing it, I appreciate you guys. Remember to subscribe to the podcast, 12 years, about 700 episodes.

We keep on cranking with amazing guests after amazing guest. I do my best on my end, and hopefully you guys get a kick out of what I do. Today's a real treat. Kate Hudson is not only one of the most charismatic movie stars. actors we've got on the planet, but also just a delight as a human being, a charisma machine, and a really enjoyable chat. This is a fun one. Before we get to Kate, as always a reminder, check out our Patreon. Patreon.com slash happy, say, I'm confused. If you enjoy what I do, you get all the early access and the discount codes through our live events, you get merch, all sorts of bonus features. Check it out. Patreon.com slash happy, say I confused. It keeps the lights

running over here and lets me make more fun stuff for all of you. So check it out if you're so inclined. As for Kate Hudson, only thing to say really is, of course she is on this Song-sung Blue Train, which has been going since about Christmas, and actually earlier when she started doing press, but this is a really great film from director Craig Brewer, who back in the day did hustle and flow, and this is telling a remarkable, crazy, true story based on true events about a Neil Diamond tribute band played by the likes of Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman. And it is their love story. It has highs and lows.

It is tragic. It is funny. It is sweet. It wears its heart on its sleeve. And it's a great piece of work. And Kate really shows off what she can do in this. Not only the singing, but the dramatic stuff, the comedic stuff. It kind of shines a light on all that she can do as a performer.

So it is justifiable and appropriate, I think, that she's getting, the accolades that she's getting. She is an Oscar nominee this year, and it's been a blast this year on this award circuit. I got a chance to moderate an event with her and Hugh and Craig Brewer that was introduced by Goldie Hawn, her mom, Kurt Russell, her stepdad. That was a trip.

But to hear Kate talk about her childhood and her parents and the way they brought her up and put a level head on her shoulders and taught her work ethic and taught her some perspective despite being the ginormous stars they are, is a great lesson, I think, for all of us. So I really enjoyed this chat. I know you will too.

Without any further ado, please enjoy my conversation with the one and only Kate Hudson. Kate Hudson, you're finally on the podcast. Long overdue, but this is for a good cause. Thank you for the time today. I am so excited. So it's been kind of both a marathon and a sprint, I guess, promoting this movie, putting it out into the world, spreading the good word, a lot of Q&As. Are you living a real life right now? Or are you back to the TV show? I don't know what I'm living. What is life like right now?

Post-Oskar nom during, I guess, post-production or production on the TV show? Like, what's happening? A lot. You know, I just try to tell everybody that I need like a certain period of time in the day where I could be with my kids if it's at all possible. And then I just tell my kids that this will be over very soon and that I understand that it's hard that I'm not like as present as I normally am. But we're also all having so much fun and enjoying it so much, you know, just because it's such a awesome time and experience. And so I feel like my kids are kind of enjoying it with me because they know it's special.

And so I'm just like, so basically in short, I mean, it's insanely busy. It is the longest sprinting marathon I've ever done. And I think I got, I think for me it's a little bit extra because we started promoting this movie for a Christmas movie. Right. So it's like I stopped filming Running Point and then we went right into promoting. And then it's just been like nonstop since, you know, about. October. Yeah, so the cadence is a little different than like, you know, a lot of the early festival stuff, like they do it and they go away into hybrid A and live their life and

then they come back around. But for you, it's kind of been nonstop. It's just been nonstop. Yeah. And it's awful, look, I mean, you know as well as I do, like it's rare when it all kind of winds up, right? And like, you know, you were kind of spoiled on that like experience and almost famous right out of the get go. And I'm sure as the like years go by, you're like, oh, wait, I knew that was special, but like every year that passes, like, oh, that was really, really special. And because I was so young, like I hadn't really spent many years professionally acting, you know. I was like two years in, or I mean, not even, really, like a year and a half in. And so, you know, it was more like this, I call it like a big invite to the industry on like steroids.

Totally. You know, like, welcome to the movie business, you know? And so the whirlwind was more like discovering something new versus like knowing all of the people that were there and really understanding and having people that you've worked with and that you've shared so much time with over the years. And now it's such a different feeling because there's so many people that I love to see at these events and there's like so many people. people in the room that I've had, like, shared months of our lives with and best friends

in the room, you know? It's like, it's a whole different experience. And also, I mean, you mentioned family, you mentioned the kids. It's also, like, I was privileged enough. I've done a bunch of Q&As for, like, all the exciting films this season, but I did a Q&A for you guys in New York, and there was Kurt and Goldie introducing that screening in New York. And, like, I can only imagine how surreal and lovely and bizarre that is for you. I mean, for me, I'm geeking out, like, oh my gosh. But like, what's it like to see it through their eyes? Yeah. It's pretty great. Because there's two parts of it, you know, which is that they're my parents. And so all of the, you know, therapy sessions that go with anybody with parents are, there's no perfect parent,

right? You know, we all complain about mom or complain about dad. So we have that like, you know, I feel like I have the best parents in the world, but it's still parents. So there's the personal part of that, which is, you know, those relationships and all of the things that we've been through as a family and how close we are and how much we like love our unit. And then there's like me being able to separate myself as an adult to see everything that they went through when we were kids growing up. their work, their business, their like talent, them is their own individual people as artists.

You know, I as the older I get, the more I honor that in them, you know? It's like you don't, you don't, you know, as a kid, you don't see that. You know, as an adult, you start to really see the full picture. And I think that we're in this like sweet spot of life where you really like, you really like, like honor each other's, you know, like if you have a really good relationship with your family, I think you really like the support system is so huge. And then I can also look at them and be like, yeah, and they're also some of my favorite actors. I've, I know. Like, maybe I'm biased, but I don't think so. No, no. This is accurate. This is accurate. It's real. And then to see them as like

professionals, not just my parents, sort of be up there talking about my work or honoring something that I've done. It's like, it's like supercharged feeling of, you know, support. And it's an interesting thing because you know what goes into putting the work in when you do it, you know, because it does take you away from your family. It is like a very demanding job when it comes to hours and things like that. And it's also incredibly rewarding. And, but it's nice to be seen that way from your parents. Like, they don't have to not under, they really understand this, you know, and I feel very seen in that, which is, which is interesting. No, it's, it's a beautiful thing. And I, and I've heard you also talk, and I find this, I totally

connect with this, like having covered movies throughout my career, like, how everything that does need to line up and how they're like good versions and bad versions. You go into everything with the best of intentions. And like your concern going into this was, yeah, we've got Hugh and we've got Craig and we've got the right team. But if this doesn't work, this really isn't going to work. So what in your head, like, what's the, what's the version you were concerned about falling into? What was the trap? For John Sun Blue? Yeah. I mean, I think that also just comes with. With like, you know, once you've been in the business long enough, you know, you know how hard it is to get a movie made, let alone a good movie made. You know, there's so many elements you're up against, right?

For this movie in particular, there was, there are there so many things. First and foremost, mine was if the love story doesn't work and you don't believe the love story, the movie's not going to work. And so there's that. And that's huge because huge. Every time I take huge, I think of Hugh and our movie Dream Huge. He should really trademark that. He should make that his thing. Seriously.

But like if Hugh and I didn't work, it would be like, who cares? You know what I mean? And so that for me was the first thing that I was really like, I really just. want to make sure that that connection that we feel comfortable and that we can pull that off, you know? And then after that, I mean, we're talking about a very specific tone, something that Craig Brewer does really well, like it's in his wheelhouse. It's like it's his, it's when he's in his pocket, you know, when he, he understood, I knew he understood how to make a movie like this. Like, how do you take this, these people, a Neil Diamond tribute,

band who really lean in hard. These artists who believe in their artistry be very easy to make a mockery of people who dedicate their life to something like this. But Craig and none of us see their life that way. And so, you know, there's a tightrope that you have to walk with the sequins and the commitment to this experience and their life that if we didn't get it right, you know, it could have just missed. It's also kind of counter in the best possible way to kind of like our times.

I mean, you're looking at like the most stereotypical, like cynical New Yorker, but like I love, I love like movies that wear their heart on its sleeve, right? Ernest films and like films that like aren't afraid to kind of go to emotional places. And this is a film that I think really like rewards you going into the cinema with an open heart. Yeah, without being like sentimental or to or to, you know, without going, leaning so far in that you kind of, it becomes sappy, you know. And I, I think like, I think that, you know, life affirming is a great word. It's that thing of like life is beautiful. even in its hardest moments.

And those are my favorite kind of movies. Like the movies that sit with me that I could sit in a theater and just cry and cry and cry. You know, they range in style, but they all have a similar kind of thread of hope and like life that make you look at your own life and go like life can be really good

if we choose to make it good, you know? What kind of movies are you? I'm thinking like James L. Brooks, that kind of vein when you say that. Yeah, or cocoon or like cocoon, parenthood, at terms of endearment, moonstruck, her. I loved, you know, I think that was a life affirming movie is as depressing as it was about love connection, the importance of it.

You know, it's a beautiful mind. I could go on, but there's this sort of this thing where you have these struggles and life is hard and it comes at you and there's tragedy. But what is the threat of hope and what is it that keeps you wanting to connect to the fundamentals, the thing, like the things that make us feel fundamentally a lot? which really at the end of the day is love. And making movies like that, I think, is, you know, hard to get, like, right in the sweet spot. And so when you hit it. Yeah, I really feel like I felt that when I saw it for the first time, I was like, oh my God, these are the movies that, like, move me to the point where I want to continue creating movies. I want to make movies.

I want to be in them. It's like what inspires me to be in a movie. artist. And then when I hear from people that have that that watch this movie and they just can't stop crying, it like hits something in them, whether it be something in their own life or their own tragedies or their own like struggles or their own sadness and depression that has been hard for them to get through, you know, that you kind of like, you're like, oh yeah, there's movies that we make that are just fun and that we like lean into and we love it because we're playing these wild characters.

And then there's movies that we make because you really want to move people and how the art form can actually like make a difference in someone's life. And that's what this movie feels like for me. It's very, and it doesn't happen very often, you know? We'll be right back with more HappySag Confused. All right, I want to talk to you guys today about Sali.

This is a worldwide e-sim service app by the makers of NordVPN, which I also use and love and I've talked about on this podcast. Sally is great, though, because, you know, for travelers like myself, and if you're a traveler, this connects everybody together because it avoids all those horrible roaming fees that are the bane of my existence. I've been burned by those roaming fees before. I'm sure you have to no longer with Sally.

It's also got, by the way, a built-in VPN so you can switch your virtual location whenever you need to. This is an app that also lets you track your data usage so you're not blindsided by overreferenced. It's also super useful here in the United States because, as you know, a lot of local plans here don't give you that much data, right? And then you end up having to buy all the extra data, all the extra gigabytes, and that is not a smart play. So Saly can bridge that gap for all of you. And maybe you don't want to switch providers because you have a family or a package deal. Well, you can try Saley because it uses a different network, which has coverage where your primary provider might not. So it kind of bridges that gap again.

Plus, there are all sorts of extra cool features that Saly offers, including Saly Ultra, which is more than just data. It has all these VIP travel perks like airport lounge access and fast track services and priority support, all the bells and whistles you could want and more. So, download the Saly app in your app store. Today, use the code HSC at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. Hi, I'm Brian Lucci, a former Chicago cop. Now I'm a producer on Chicago PD, and I'd like to introduce you to the official One Chicago podcast.

The first ever behind the scenes look at the iconic TV shows. We're talking Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med. Join me each week for an exclusive conversation with the writers, the crew members, and the stars. Void's doing the right thing for Void. Check out the One Chicago Podcasts from Wolf Entertainment and USG Audio. Available now, wherever you get you. your podcast. You mentioned, you know, obviously it's all about that chemistry, that love between

the characters that's embodied by you and Hugh. I mean, I feel like I'm like, you know, co-president along with 10 million other people of the Hugh Jackman fan club. I mean, he's, he's the nice, he's the real deal. He's like absolutely what he's the greatest human being ever. Like, it doesn't, like, it's almost like impossible. It almost like doesn't feel real, you know? You're like, how is this? How is this real? Um, but he does seem like, he's, he's the, he's, he's, he's, he, he's, he, he's, He is that guy that has found what he was meant to be. He's so comfortable in his own skin and is living the life, the dream in the best possible way. And I'm wondering, like, do you, in some ways, like, relate to that.

You strike me as someone that feels like very comfortable in their skin. Like, you know what you want, you know what you love, you know what you're born to do. Yeah, and we're not dissimilar. Like, we know, and we also know how to take a punch. You know, I think, like, if you're going to be an artist, And we're also good at saying that the punch might have hurt a little bit. And, you know, so I think, like, if you're going to be in the entertainment industry and you're going to put yourself out there like Hugh does, and like I do and just like wear it, wear it out there and do the best you can, you know, you have to be able to gracefully take those punches, you know, too. As much as you can, as much as you gracefully take the reward sometimes, there's as many punches as there are rewards, you know.

And Hugh is so able and so humble in all of it, you know, and has things he loves in his life and his children and, you know, he and theater. And so he, he's able to delve into other things and not like, you know, take it on too much. Right. Yeah. And he also, I think where we're also very similar is we really understand the experience really is the thing that you hold on to. Yeah. You know, that that experience of making it and putting your effort into it and putting your all out there. That's like what that is what it's really about.

And then the hope is that whatever you're making becomes something that you can gift other people. But you don't always win at that. So you just don't know. It's the only thing you can control at the end of the day. control your effort. Yeah. And he also doesn't take himself too seriously. I think, like, I grew up with, like, you know, take the, take the craft seriously,

but don't take yourself too seriously that you can't enjoy the craft, you know? It's like, or the process. So it's like, you know, I knew that, you know, the second you start believing your own hype, like, you're so screwed. And so I grew up, like, very. with a very humbled understanding of how, you know, what my relationship should, what my relationship should be to the industry. And Hugh has that, you know, innately. So you talk about growing up in the industry and understanding kind of the ups and downs,

probably through the prism of your parents, like every other actor that seemingly has had just ups and ups and ups, but has had, you know, everyone has the moments in between. I'm curious for you, though, like growing up, you don't strike me as somebody that went through an awkward phase. What is peak Kate Hudson awkward phase? What was my awkward phase? Yeah, like what years am I talking about where like, oh gosh, she's she's you know what's funny? I was kind of a loner. Now what I mean by that is that I felt like I felt like when I was young that I was like a hundred years old. So so it was always hard for me to relate to kids my own age when I was younger. I don't know if part of that was that I grew up like traveling a lot with my parents and

being around a lot of grownups. My parents weren't like, you know, we lived a very grown up life. I don't, so I don't know if that's why, but I always felt like it's like I came out. I knew exactly what where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing. And it was always like a discipline, whether it was dance or singing or theater or sport. Like I was always, so I never felt like I belonged to one crew. And so I think my entire, like, educational experience was awkward. I had friends. And like, some people would be like, no, that's ridiculous.

Like, she was popular, right? but internally I didn't feel like I connected really to anyone you know in the years where people were partying I was not partying I was like designated driver you know super like people would think I would probably have been a party I was the opposite I was like you know in dance class and in like theater conservatory and um you know was any of that connected you think to kind of like the baggage, good and bad, of having the parents that you did to kind of like, oh, I have to like, I need to prove myself. I need to show that I'm not coasting on someone else's name or career.

I mean, if I'm being really honest with you, I grew up in L.A. where I saw kids coast by with parents who gave them everything. And I had the opposite parents. I think maybe because we grew up, like they moved us to Colorado when we were really young, that that might have, in that being said it wasn't like we were in like, you know, the Colorado like back country. Like we were right outside of Aspen, Colorado. We're clearly privileged kids, you know. But I do think that my parents were so adamant about how none of it belonged to us, like that we didn't earn it. That like in order to get a life that we were living, we had to earn it ourselves, that that would never be available to us unless we had the same kind of work ethic.

And so I think in school, when you grow up and you're in L.A. kind of, you know, private school environment, you really do look around and you're like, wow, there's a, there's, there is, I was very aware of the privilege just based on how adamant my parents were. Right. So for me, you know, I really took that to, I was like, no, I can't, I will never rely on my parents. And that was my big thing was like, I will never take a job because of them. I won't, I don't want anybody knowing they're my parents. You know, when I first started, I was so happy. My last name was Hudson. It was like really, really important to me.

You know, my parents, like, you know, you grow up and you see kids get cars that you're like, whoa. Like, we were the kids and we're privileged and we're like, wow, I can't believe their parents like bought them a new car. Like my parents just raised us the opposite like how they were raised. Well, again, and again, it seems like, yes. Well, but I think that with that came like this thing where it's like we were just, it was almost like beat into us that if you really want to do this, if you really want to act, like you have to, you have to like put in the discipline. And I loved it and wanted to do it so much that I just, that I was just very, very, very disciplined.

Which when you're young, I don't think kids really like that, you know. You're not like considered like the cool, the cooler one, you know, because you're like always doing things. You're so, you know, active and doing things all the time. I've heard you say, you know, you spent some time invariably on some of the sets as a kid. I was privileged enough. I've had Kurt on the podcast a couple times. One of the few posters I had someone signed for me was my big trouble in the little China poster.

That's, I, so you were on that set, correct? Best set of all time. Best set. Come on. Yeah. Tell me something. Tell me, tell me anything. What's that like?

First of all, John Carbender's just the best. Right. He's the coolest. He's the nicest. He's so, he's such a legend. And, and this is where I see my privilege and my opportunity. I got to grow up, like, immersed in what I see as like the most magical industry. on the planet. And I got to see it as through a little girl's eyes watching everybody work to make it happen.

Not just like my parents or like, you know, a red carpet. Like that was not what I was interested in. Big Trimal China was one of those sets that like every single thing was fun. I mean, you know, if you just go back and watch that, there was like there was a slide that you had to like go down because they had to like fall down this thing and then they all fell. into all this fish, you know. And we, and there were all these rubber fish. And we used to go down and slide down and go into this fish. And then we would watch them shoot the scene. And we would see everything.

And we were very like, you know, my dad and my parents were very strict about us being on set. We either had to work. We had to do something to earn being on set or we had to really stay out of everybody's way. But we couldn't just hang around. So on Big Trouble Mill China, like I did all the belts. Like I worked in wardrobe. and I braided everything. And I'd go and I'd separate like the clean, you know, clothes from the dirty clothes.

And so I felt like I was really a part of the crew. And, but I mean, that set was, oh, and I'll never forget, like, Kim Cottrell and her. I remember seeing her in her costume and seeing the girls in there when they were, like, kidnapped and in the thing and they have that beautiful costume. They were so beautiful and I'm little like looking at them going, oh my God, I I can't wait to do this. And the same thing with things like backdraft. I'll never forget being on the backdraft set and watching Ron Howard direct just extraordinarily big sequences of fire and dangerous sequences. And his how calm he was, how specific he was, how beautifully kind he was to us as kids.

and he really is a marker for me of what it is to be a great artist and human that art you can still be the kindest, most beautiful, caring man and make great art. And passing on again, the best qualities to the next generation. I mean, yeah, I mean, I did both Bryce and Ron did the podcast together last year, and it's just so sweet to see the love and the respect and everything. It's just like doing it right. And when you grow up and you really honor the industry, you know, you really want to do it for different reasons that I think how people might see it from the outside, which is okay. You know, they think it's a maybe sometimes people think it's more about celebrity or fame or, you know.

But it's actually not. It's something, it's a different drive. And when you grow up in it and you grow up with parents that really honor it, you can't help but be like, God, I hope I get to. I hope I get. I hope I'm good enough to sustain a career in this amazing industry because there's nothing more fun. More happy, say, confused coming up. The world of Sonic the Hedgehog has been thrust into a not-so-dark, not-so-stormy, hard-boiled detective story that probably nobody saw coming.

Follow Sonic and the Intrepid Chaotic's detective agency as they take on their biggest case yet. This high-flying action-packed adventure will take them across the world, fighting for every quill they can fight. It's one heck of a tale, which is good, because this story might be the only thing that can save their lives. Well, if that's all, I can just dispose of you. Wait, what? All will be revealed in. Sonic the Hedgehog presents The Chaotic's Case Fires.

Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. When the chaotic are on the case. I'm Mandy. And I'm Melissa, and this is Moms and Mysteries. We're two Florida moms obsessed with true crime. From infamous cases like Ellen Greenberg to shocking Florida stories like the Dan Markell killing. With 55 million downloads, we bring you new deep dives every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen to Moms and Mysteries on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Time is already flying by, but I want to hit some of your own great accomplishments. Obviously, okay, so almost famous. Like, we could do an hour on that alone. We could do multiple hours. But what's the scene that brings a smile to your face when you think about the production of it, how it turned out? Is there one that jumps out for you? There's a couple. One scene was the OD scene.

I loved that. I loved shooting that. there was humor in it and it was it hit all of the notes and even then working on that with Cameron doing that with Cameron it was so beautiful and it was even though it was this sort of really like heartbreaking sad moment there was so much innocence in that scene it kind of hit a little bit of everything and I loved doing that you know I'm tired and I'm retired that that whole thing, Cameron and I still always see each other. We do that. We do that. Go right into it. Yeah. I really love the happy. Like Cameron and I, where we get along and where we will always love

each other and see each other, you know, when you meet, no people and you're like, I feel seen. It's the happy sad. You know, we talk about it a lot. Like, happy, sad together is, that's the magic. And that's life. Like life, that's what it gives. That's what it gives. That's what it gives. us. It can be real happy and it can get real sad. And if you can, in those moments where it's happy and sad at the same time, it's like, it's like movie gold or literature gold. Kate, you know you're doing the best promo for this podcast that's called Happy, Sad, Confused. I know. Yeah, well, you had to add the confused part. Well, that's just me. That's my, that's my go-to. the hand in Patrick's face, in Will's face, come from?

Was that scripted in the tiny dancer sequence? I think it was an adlet that I did. And I have to ask Cameron. But I think I don't want to take credit for it because it could. I mean, I never remember. I think I remember Cameron saying that I did that. I don't, I'll have to ask him. But there was a couple things that, you know,

like the you know like the the the what kind of beer that was a Cameron line but that whole scene the profile the choices like Cameron we were like you know we were rushing against time that scene is a great story because we didn't know if we had it or not and he went into dailies and just was like oh my god like came back to me two days later and was like we you got it like because we were so that scene was so important to to penny to the movie um and he was so happy but but you know it was those moments for me max is kansas city realizing that i wasn't on the outside um the the the scene where i'm dancing in the paladium was we weren't supposed to be there everybody had to go home we had shot over a time they asked if i

I push Cameron's like, well, you just go out there and we'd done all this stuff and it looked like a disaster. And he's like, said to John Toll, he's like, can you, can we just put a camera up and just shoot this? And everyone went home and it was just me and Cameron and a couple grips in JT. And we just, I just danced around the palladium. And I'll never forget, sat there, Cameron played music. I'll never forget sitting on that floor. and thinking about, for me, I was thinking about the movie. I was thinking about everybody in it.

I was thinking about how much I loved the experience, not just about Penny Lane, you know, and the movie. So that was a big, that was a big moment. I'd love for you to explain to folks what's so special about, you didn't end up getting the part for Mulan Rouge, but you got the opportunity to have the audition process for Baz, which is unlike anything else. I know what he puts out.

through in the best possible way. It's like you have a full on months-long experience, camera tests, the whole thing. Like, what do you remember about going through that process of going up for Moulon? I'll just never forget our work session. Like, the way he, his enthusiasm, his curiosity into me, again, like, who is this actors?

Who are you? Like, how are we going to work together? I mean, he just moves the camera. He'd move his. own camera around. We'd be, we were, you know, dancing and singing and doing different things. And it was just like, there was so much energy and so much. He gives so much life. And he's so, like, exuberant. And I just loved, I'll never forget it, you know. I'll never forget it. And I love, I love the auditioning process. I got to audition for so many amazing directors. And it's so

nice to be able to just say like I got to have that opportunity to work with them, even if it was just for a moment, you know. Was that where you, I don't know who you read with, whether it was, I know, Jake Gyllenhaal and you went obviously ended up getting it, but Heath obviously was up for it too, and you ended up working with Heath. I did on Four Feathers. I got very close to Heath, yeah. Yeah.

He comes up so often in my conversations with both the actors that worked with him, but also this generation now that rightfully puts him on a pedestal for the way he hired himself. Yeah, he was great. He was so talented and tortured. And I think that's such a sad thing because Heath was such a light, you know. When you knew him, you knew what a light being he was. And loved his family. Ma, I loved his mom and dad and his, the whole. his siblings like that he always talked about them and clearly came from a strong sense of like like like like big love yeah um and loved the craft and and was very very tortured by it so you know i think anybody who experienced working with him knew how much he cared about

what he was doing and also knew the struggles that he was experiencing. So, but I feel very lucky that I got to have that time. I've had a lot of time with Heath and, you know, we were the same age. Our birthday was like, we were like, you know, birthday twins almost. And yeah, you don't ever want to lose friends that early, you know. it would have been amazing. I've seen what his career project, projectory would have been.

Yeah. Those kind of folks are crazy, where they're kind of frozen in time for us forever, right? At that moment, it's very poignant. And yeah, and how we need to take care of each other. I think, you know, look, we're real right-brained people, you know. It's that that brain, you know, if you don't, I'm you know I'm if you don't have and the ability to be able to have structure and that structure and that support with your linear brain which so many artists we know don't yeah you know it can be really really really really hard and that's why I think artists communities like we know it's it's it's it's we see so many people struggle with you know addiction and and and mental

health challenges and and and I think that that right brain left brain correlation is very is very has a lot to do with it so you know it sort of highlights that we need to like remember that artists we are we are fractal beings yeah and I say this not like it's just our community I mean that in everybody every community you know you might not be you know a Heath Ledger movie star but but you are a creative brain a right brain an artist and that brain needs to be supported differently. And, yeah, yeah, he was. I guess the, he was a special one.

The irony is, I mean, I know folks who often talk to you about the what if of Spider-Man. If you do Spider-Man, you don't get that Pete Ledger experience. That's right. There is that. I mean, is there, like, when you come close to doing something like that and it becomes what it becomes, is there like a period of morning where you're like,

I can't watch this movie? like I'm going to need a minute before I ever watch this movie because of what it might have been for me in my career. You mean, no, I'm not like that. I'm really not like that at all. I just, I'm like a big like, like I, it's like when people say like, I don't look, I'm really not a look back person. I look back when it's affecting my, my life and the people around me. And then I have to be like, okay, where is this coming from that? Then I'll reflect.

But things like that, it's just like it's in the past. There's nothing to do, you know? I am an Aries through and through. I'm always looking for what's new. You know, like, what's next? Where, what are we doing today? What's happening? I'm in, I'm right here.

And I think that's why my memory is awful. Because I'm so, I just like, fucking, I just forget it, you know? And I also really believe that everything really does happen for a reason. And all of it is supposed to. to sort of take you to exactly where you're supposed to be. As long as you're like, as long as you're paying attention, not to like be like blind, you know, just to live like, you know, blindly through life

and have no reflection, but you know, I don't because I look at like, I look at where my career is gone and what, where, what I, what, it's, it's so full. It doesn't, it doesn't just exist. And I love the sliding doors of life. The truth is like, you never know. Like, I, I could have done Spider-Man and it could have led me down a whole other thing that maybe I wouldn't be here today.

Who knows? Kate, you could have ruined the franchise. Who knows? Maybe that maybe a little bit of done. Yes, exactly. I could have made it awful. No, you went. I'm joking.

I could have been the worst Mary Jane of all time. But I really don't. Like, I don't. I don't think, I think I really have this thing. If a direct, you know, it's one thing. if, you know, there's the, there's respecting, like, the artistry of it and, like, I know people's egos get in the way of things because they, you know, it can. But like, if someone doesn't want me for something, like that, they need to make exactly what they need to make. Like, there's a reason for it,

you know? And so I never take it personally. And it's also about, I mean, this tying into song song Blue, it's like what goes around, it comes around often. I mean, Craig Brewer, your relationship with him goes back decades. Like you were talking way back when and the right thing doesn't happen then. It came around. It happens. It happened when it was supposed to happen. Oh, yeah. I feel that way about so many directors. Like, I'll see their work and like some of their first stuff and then I'll talk to them and then I'll want to do something else and then maybe they didn't want me to do it. Now, like, that's a great example of like in our industry, how ego can kind of get the best of people, you know, where it's like, wait, I was your fan from way back when, you know, I'm, I know I'm right for this part. Why didn't you cast me for this part? But the reality is, is that just, I just love people for the work they want to put out in the world. And whether I fit into it for them in the right time is, is what it's going to be, right? Like, still cheerleading that, still being like, I just want people to make. the best version of what they think what they're doing is, right?

And I've met so many directors like that, and Craig was one of them. Like, hustle and flow, saw that movie, was like, I have to meet this guy. He's so talented. And we loved each other, you know, but it took 20 years to do a movie together. We're sadly almost out of time, Kate. We're going to end with this. We end the podcast with the happy, sad, confused, profoundly random questions. Okay.

Okay. Okay. I know the answer to this, I hope. Dogs are cats. Dogs. Big time, right? Yeah. You're a dog family, the whole fam, right? Yeah. We have like a thousand dogs.

If anybody's seen seems like old times, which is my mom, she's got a thousand. That's like how I grew up and we're all like that, all the kids, too many dogs. It's insane. Just so you know, you've done the podcast. I have just launched this week my celebrity and dog talk show. I kid you not. Stop it. I have four, so I'm in.

Okay. I'll hold you to it. I am a thousand percent in. And they're all rescues except for one, but I consider him really a rescue. But that's for the other package. We'll save that conversation for the next time. Okay. What do you collect, if anything?

Oh, my gosh. I love collecting things. I collect guitars. I love guitars. I collect little boxes, like Limoge boxes or little pill boxes. Anything that's little that opens, I love and I collect and everywhere I am in the world, I make sure, especially if it's a new place that I get something from there and do that. And I collect Arame's scarves.

Very nice. Do you have a favorite video game of all time, something from childhood that you played? I mean, I was like a Mario Brothers 90, you know, 90s kid. So that was really my, and then after that, video games weren't my thing. What's the wallpaper on your phone, Kate? Right now, it's my daughter and my nephew, boom. Wyatt and Meredith's youngest. Sweet.

Who's the last actor you were mistaken for, if it ever happens? Oh, my God, all the time. It's always a different Kate. It's, it's, I'm either Kate Lancette, I'm either Kate Home, Katie Holmes. I'm either Kate Winslet. But looks wise, I get Drew a lot. Okay. People think I'm a good company to be in all the time.

Yeah, but it's usually like Kate Lanchett. And I'm like, yes. Yes, I am. I would love to be Kate Lanchette. today. So yes. What's the worst noted director has ever given you? Oh. I don't know just something else.

Whatever that was, don't do that. Let's try something else. I'll tell you who it was, because I love this. It was the Russo brothers, and we were doing, we were doing Yumi and Dupri, and it was Anthony, it was aunt, and he kept coming up and he didn't know what he wanted. And it was like this silly little scene. And he finally comes up and goes, and I go, I go, Anthony, what do you, like, what do you want, though? Like, because I want to give you what you want. We've done this now like a million times.

He's like, I don't know, just something else. And he left and I was like, what is that direction? Like, just give me like an adjective. Like something, it was so funny. So I say that with love because it was such a funny direction. I don't know just something else, which made me feel incredibly insecure. Like, I can't give this. I can't give him what he needs.

But what those guys were really fun to work with. It's worked out for all of you guys. And finally, in the spirit of happy, say I'm confused. An actor who always makes you happy. You see him on screen, you're in a better mood. Okay. jumps to mind. The first person that just popped in my head was Catherine Hahn.

Love it. She is a beam of light in the universe. She was like, she was the first one. I was like, she always makes me happy. A movie that makes you sad. I mean, Shawshank is like the ultimate sad for me. That was like the one as a kid that really was like, maybe the first one that really made me like sit and like as an adult like cry, adult cry. cry. Also, terms of endearment, it just always gets me that movie. That's kind of my go-to, I always say. It's just like- In a good way, yeah. Oh, I just can't handle it.

And finally, a food that makes you confused. You don't get it. Why do people eat that? A food? Yeah. Oh, Marmite. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's like, I'm like that, I'm like, it's so weird how you either hate it or you like love it. And it is so gross to me.

And I love every, like I love food. Also, um, there's this Japanese, um, food. I think it's called Nato. Uh, I don't know. Okay. Yeah. It's called Nato and it's like a fermented. Oh, I can't even say it.

It's so. And anybody, I. You know, listen, my partner's half Japanese. So, you know, so anybody who, like, grew up in a Japanese household knows what I'm talking about right now. I think it's a fermented soybean. Yeah, N-A-T-T-O. And it's a traditional fermenting of soybeans. And it's, I can't even, like, I can't be in the same room if someone says that.

and it's there, it like makes me, like, it does, like, I have like a body. I see it. I see what's happening right now. I hope there's no Nato or Marmite in the Oscar nominee gift basket this year for your sense. Oh, God. If someone wants to, like, play a rink on me, that's what to do. Congratulations on all the well-deserved love for Samsung Blue. You kill it in this.

Have a blast Oscar night. Yes. And truly, I'm so thrilled. Finally, we got you on the pod and next stop the dog show. I can't wait. And thank you for all your support. You're the best. 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. From the parents behind Law and Order comes a mystery the whole family can enjoy. Patrick Picklebottom Everyday Mysteries. Step into the whimsical world of Patrick Picklebottom, a precocious 11-year-old with a love for reading and an uncanny ability to solve mysteries. Inspired by the beloved children's book of the same name, this podcast vividly brings Patrick's tales of

deduction and everyday adventures to life as he unravels baffling enigmas and solves clever cases. Patrick Pickle Bottom 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.