Happy Sad Confused - Lewis Pullman

Episode Date: May 16, 2024

Place your bets on Lewis Pullman. In a few short years he racked up credits like TOP GUN MAVERICK, LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, OUTER RANGE, and just around the bed, his MCU debut in THUNDERBOLTS. Josh and Lewis chat about it all, from growing up the son of a revered actor (the legendary Bill Pullman) to learning he doesn't need to beat himself up in his work. SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! ZocDoc -- Go to ⁠ZocDoc.com/HappySad⁠ and download the Zocdoc app for FREE! Storyworth -- Go to Storyworth.com/HappySad to save $10 on your first purchase! UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS ⁠Cabaret (Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin) May 20th in NYC -- ⁠Get tickets here⁠ Julia Louis-Dreyfus June 10th in NYC -- ⁠Get tickets here⁠ Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes, video versions of the podcast, and more! To watch episodes of Happy Sad Confused, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Josh's youtube channel here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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D.C. high volume, Batman. The Dark Knight's definitive DC comic stories adapted directly for audio for the very first time. Fear, I have to make them afraid. He's got a motorcycle. Get after him or have you shot. 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. I learned too late that you don't have to suffer to make something great. I learned that late. This is an important lesson. Really? I did.

I really thought that you had to just stelf-flagellate and suffer. And it wasn't, you know, until, I don't know, a couple years ago where I was like, when you're, the more relaxed you are, the more free you are to take risks. It's as simple as that. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. I'm Josh Horowitz, and today on Happy Say I Confused, Lewis Pullman is my guest today. If you've been paying attention, this guy has been one to watch for a few years and the momentum is only building.

He's racked up ginormous films like Top Gun Maverick, cool films like Bad Times at the El Royale and must watch TV like lessons in chemistry and outer range. And now Marvel is on the horizon. We're getting him today before he stops returning his phone calls. It's Lewis Pullman on the podcast for the first time. Welcome, man. It's such an absolute pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me. Congrats on all the success, man.

Sometimes when I approach a conversation, I'm like, what is there left to talk about? This person has done like 3,000 long-form podcasts. And refreshingly, to my advantage, I feel like I'm getting you at a good spot. Like, you haven't done a lot of this kind of like long-form chatting. It's absolutely true. I haven't been a big podcast boy.

You know, I don't know why. I love listening to podcasts. Here we go. This is it. This is your maiden voyage. Thanks for breaking the steel here. So you're joining the upper echelon of multi-generational talent on Happy, Say I Confused. Your dad, Bill, was on the pod a few years back.

Amazing. That's right. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, so you're joining the Gleesons, the Howard's. Is there like a sympathetic? Have you seen them across the- Russell's on there? Yes, I did Kurt and Wyatt together recently, actually.

Yeah. Good duo. Yeah. I mean, is there, I mean, there's not like a, club you all hang out in, but you must have interacted with some of these folks over the years. And is there a bit of a sympathico? Like, yeah, I got you. I clocked you. I know what it's like. I wish they were a club. That'd be interesting. I don't know what that'd look like or where we'd meet what we'd do together. But I do, yeah, definitely when you cross paths,

there is a little, you know, sting, nose tap kind of a nod. Yeah. So what is your life like at the moment. I'm guessing you're filming a super top secret project right now that we're going to dance around. Is that correct? I am just kind of taking life one step at a time going day by day, I'd say, Josh. Is there a camera crew within five miles of you right now? You know, you always fear that at every moment, once you watch the Truman Show, something like that can really take effect. No, I'm, I'm just, yeah, I'm in my house. I'm, you know, trying to, yeah, I'm definitely in a kind of transitional phase. I feel like I started a production company with two of my buddies.

And I actually, you know, it's very cool to be doing this because I haven't started a podcast that hasn't come out. And we kind of put it on hiatus. But with my friends from Top Gun, Danny Ramirez and Tarzan. What? um davis yeah he and so it's been an interesting thing to try and figure out how to do this i'm actually kind of stealing from you currently as we do this take the good and the ugly yeah there was a very cool transition between when we just met on zoom and then when the recording started which is a subtle radio voice which i think i need to nail i got to figure out my yours is very good

and smooth and not, and not too, like, cartoonish, it's very natural, which is why I think you have such a great podcast part of, part of why is there's this humanity to it and this pedestrian nature to it, which I think is what makes it feel like you're listening to like a conversation with your friends, right, not like a radio station. Well, you've got the first lesson down for being interviewed on podcast, which is flatter the host endlessly and say they're so awesome. So congratulations. Thank you. Yeah, yeah. Thank you for. allowing me to thank you. Wait, so what is the, what's the Tarzan podcast, that's Annie podcast?

What's the content? What are you doing? Well, I feel like I'm the only one really talking about it. I don't hear them talking about it, probably because I'm not supposed to be talking about it. But I think the more we talk about it, the more it's going to actually happen. We already have some great conversations down that we've locked down. We've got some great producers that we're working with. And the idea is that while we were working on Top Gun, we had the great advantage of meeting all these just brilliant minds. and we were getting such incredible gems of stories and lessons

and we were like and then the movie stopped and we were like we had such good rapport us three and we loved hanging out and we loved like we each have such a different way into what we want to learn from somebody and there were so many points on set where it was a different actor who would come in for a week and we could like stand around on the tarmac and just be able to ask whatever question we want and we were like well part of us felt selfish for just gathering those gems

and hoarding them. And then another part of us was like, well, what if we could continue this and continue to share it? And so the idea is like knowledge heist, right? So we bring these folks on and we each attack, you know, attack the conversation from different angles because we each had such different upbringings. We each have such different ways that we tackle acting. We're also not just interested in acting. So the idea was an excuse for us to keep hanging out, for us to get to have the opportunity to talk to great, great minds.

and that was the it was for fun mainly and it has been fun but it's also hard we're not just one Josh where we're three boys and so the schedule takes three grown men to do one podcast you guys are amateurs geez amateurs already no it's funny to hear you talk about that because like you know I was going to talk obviously about your trajectory and how you kind of came into the business and obviously you know your parents are both artists your dad obviously highly acclaimed as an actor like you would think maybe some would think like by the time you got started like oh you knew everything there was to know about being on a film set and what it's like but like the fact that you know you've been doing this a minute you've been doing this

seven eight years in film you're still learning you're still like soaking it all in absolutely i think that's the double edge sort of the whole thing that's what like that's why a lot of sadists go into it because it feels like the myth of cissippus like each project is just a whole new set of variables and you feel like you can apply whatever you learned on the last one to the new one and they all of a sudden your tools are breaking and shattering and you're like trying to make something up on the on the spot which is exciting and it keeps you absolutely invigorated mentally but it's also terrible so so your own trajectory give me a little sense like did you you know there are two different ways to go for a young person

again whose father is you know celebrated and has this like iconic career like you run in the absolute opposite direction. No fucking way. Do I want to even go near that? Or like, oh, he's had such great success and he obviously enjoys it. Like, I want to feel what he feels. And I guess both things can be true. There could be periods of your life where you run away from it and run towards it.

Give me a sense of sort of your own evolution of how acting came in. I would say it was probably the latter. It was both. It was, you know, initially very creative family. And, you know, my brother and sister are both musicians. incredible musicians. My brother makes like props and puppets and set pieces and masks for theater companies around L.A. And my sister leads a community chorus. And so I was a drummer growing up and did a lot of art and drawing with my grandpa, who was a great art educator. And

my mom was a modern dancer. My dad's an actor. So we were all, it was always, and we weren't like, we weren't allowed to watch TV growing up. We were only allowed to watch movies on the weekends. It created this very much like, we didn't have like video game consoles or anything. So we were always making, making stuff and putting on shows and we were living in our imaginations, which then eventually, you know, it creates a great kind of infrastructure for an artistic career path and not very much so a career path as a lawyer or as a financial advisor, you know, that would be, that wouldn't wouldn't really. excel in that department. In some families where you make the announcement, like I'm going to be an actor or an artist or a musician, like the parents

are like, oh, God, like that's such a roll of the dice. But if you had said, I want to be a lawyer, they would have been like, what the fuck are you talking about you? I know. I think that would have been, in some ways, been like announcing a death and the family. It would have been like, Jesus, what are going to talk to you about? What can a doctor do?

Yeah, these dinner conversations, you're going to get dull quick. But yeah, so I was like, I want to be a drummer, and I was in a couple of bands with my friend Kyle McNeil, who's an incredible musician, and I was in a band that I'm still in at a boy. And so I was like about to graduate high school, and I was like, I'm going to go on tour with my buddy Kyle and Indio, and my mom, I think my dad was like, you know, if that's what you want to do, you know, do it. And my mom was like, you are going to go to college. And I think, you know,

And she was, and she never really asked anything of me that seriously, you know. And she was just like, I think it was very important to her. And I'm very grateful that I did do that. And that I didn't jump into, into the touring life. And because I ended up going to this very special school and having these four years of experience that I feel like I'd draw on in, you know, in my private life and also in my, in my career thus far, is it. interesting school called Warren Wilson, which is like, it was originally at all boys college. And then they opened it up. I forget when they did.

But it's like, I think when I got there, it was like 800 kids. And it's on this farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Asheville, North Carolina. And it's all of surrounding this idea of the perfect education has these three components. It's regular normal academics, what we think of as academics. community service and work. So the work goes towards the school. And so like you could be on paint crew or plumbing crew or farm crew or weaving crew.

I was on the tractor division of landscaping crew. So so and I studied, I studied acting. I just got into acting because I was like, it was a great way to kind of, I don't know. I was curious about it. And it was, and it was like scary, but it was. also very rewarding and um and so i was doing i was playing music i was taking social work courses and i was like you know would get out of class and go dig a you know dig a ditch for a power line and then go back into a mine class it was like i was like and there was all

800 kids it was like i was the most like activated i had ever been and um i was really and that was a great school and i i there was a point where i was like i should leave and go to new york and go to a real acting college. But I had this great professor, Candace Taylor, who's from Chicago, and I all of a sudden had all this one-on-one-one time with her. And so I was getting, like, very personalized advice and education from somebody that I wouldn't have really had that much attention from somebody if I was at a bigger school. You know, and so I was like, I think I'm going to stay.

I'm very, very glad that I did. So, and then backtracking before that, what was your wife, like, as a kid, Were you on sets much? Did you like tag along to an award show, if dad was invited? Like, what was your, how much fame, how much of the fame of dad kind of enter your life? You know, I thought my dad did it in a very good way that, you know, if and when I have kids, I hope to do it similarly. You know, it wasn't like it was a hidden part of his life by any means, but he also wouldn't,

I think we probably went to a handful of awards, probably went to like five premieres, with him but we would travel with him a lot right and so as a family me and my brother and sister and mom so we'd go like a little you know unit we'd travel there we'd set up camp we'd have you know tutors and um and we wouldn't really visit him on set that much you know which i think if i was him i i don't blame him i don't know how how a lot i that just seems wild to me to have from his perspective you mean like because yes yeah from his perspective yeah i can't imagine having my it's all about concentration and yeah exactly yeah yeah you're trying to keep the the feather in the air the feather of illusion in the air and every time you come back to the

trailer if there's your whole life is there it's probably nice and comfortable um but it for me personally would kind of like um it would pull me out of the world or that's kind of an illusion you're trying to manufacture. Yeah. Did you ever, wait, can I ask you about the award show thing? Because I'm always curious about this. And I brought this up with your dad. Your dad was part of one of my favorite award show gaffes ever that my wife and I still laugh about.

I think it was the Will Smith, like, tribute in 2006, where an announcer, like, had a brain freeze and called him Bull Pilman. Dude, Bull. Oh, yeah, Bull Pittman or something. Yeah, something like that. And your dad played it off so perfectly. it's it is one of for anybody that needs like

just a laugh 20 seconds of sheer brilliant skill on YouTube look it up that is a great deep cut that's one of our family's favorite little references Bill Pittman yeah

and he just he just ate it he was like here I am bull fucking Pittman I love it when they call me the bull sorry that was a digression but I had to go there

so it sounds like this was a healthy kind of attitude that like that yeah gave you a bit of separation acknowledged like the absurdity and the strangeness of it all but it wasn't in a way it wasn't too like

you know normal it wasn't too like you knew it was kind of like the workplace for dad in a way I thought it was a very healthy way to do it personally I mean at the time when you're a kid you're getting taken out of school and you're bouncing around a lot you can you know you're a little

frustrated or you wish you were there you were there but looking back on it my whole experience of it just sort of was around building my family unit and rapport and traveling and getting to experience different places and different kinds of people. And at a young age, I don't think there's anything better for you. It got Willa. They got my daughter. I need to find her.

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Please play responsibly. So jumping into kind of professional career, you have this amazing, like, college experience it sounds like. And by my count, like the film career really starts to get going, seven, eight years ago. I think I first clocked you.

I mean, some people might have seen you in things like the ballot of Lefty Brown, which your dad was in. You have a bit in Lean on Pete from Andrew Hague. But I think of bad times at El Royale is kind of a big one for me. I know some people saw the strangers as well. But give me a sense, like what felt like,

I don't know, a graduation moment. Like, okay, I've, I've kind of graduated to a certain level. I'm kind of like making it on my own and I can stand on my own two feet for you. yeah i mean strangers pray at night was a was a big moment because it was one of the first leads i had you know um the very first movie i was in which strangely lena or uh lefty brown comes first i shot that second but it it came out um first but the first movie i ever did was aftermath by uh oh yeah directed by elli at lester and i had like one scene where i put a gun against

I don't know, short things had. And, like, it was supposed to be, like, very emotional, but we were shooting in, I think, like, Ohio or something in the winter, but we were playing it for the fall. And so my face was literally starting to freeze. So my expressions were all of a sudden very, very minimal. I was, like, thawing my face out on a space eater in between day. That, I don't think was, you know, where I felt like,

I think what your question is, like, where I felt like I was, like, actually, I wasn't just surviving. I was actually starting to be able to apply. You know, my knowledge was probably bad times, you know, because that was, yeah, I definitely felt like strangers. I was just running, you know, flying by the seat of my pants, you know, trying to figure it out on the fly. And I was able to, with bad times, it took a while to shoot and it was, I had more time

to prepare for it. And so that was something where I was really able to kind of like just summon. and all of my resources and all my mentors and kind of try and try things out. And, you know, that was, and Drew Goddard is such an incredible director. You know, he, I think what I like about that movie so much is that each of those characters are, are a slice of, of the pie that is Drew Goddard. Like, so all of his direction was, he was, he felt himself in, in us, you know.

It's, it's an ambitious, for those that haven't seen it, it's a hell of a piece of work and it's like Drew you know I think he shot it on film there's like that famous oneer in there it's just like it's a it's a big swing of a movie and it was a very sought after project as I recall the cat look at the cast it's insane and like your part like I mean again that's got to be a really great moment when you land that role because as I recall there were some big names they were looking at and you did not have that name yet I don't at all I remember that audition so clearly. Yeah, I had the time was more contacts.

And I remember taking them out before I went to do that audition because I was so terrified and I loved the role so much. I was like, maybe I can kind of eliminate some of this stimuli and just blur it all out. And so I took my contacts out. So I was almost blind in that audition. But I was able to like, because sometimes, Sometimes you, you, I'm such a sensitive guy, you can, I react to every little micro expression

and any sort of I can see a little flicker of doubt or confusion or something. So I was like, all right, that will bleed into your, your like immediate instincts. I was like, I can just maybe cauterize that. And, and I just remember, yeah, that was a really, yeah, I actually have never asked Drew, but there was, I remember rumors that they wanted Tom Holland, Tom Holland, he was shooting something. Yeah. And so if that's true.

I should shake Tom's hand one day when I meet him. Because that movie was such an incredible experience. And working with Jeff Bridges was one of the highlights in my life. I mean, talk about pound per pound, one of the best actors, most naturalistic, like not a false note possible from that man. And just like a gentle, good soul of a human being, right? It's completely pound for pound. Yeah.

So I want to hit upon because, I mean, you know, I want to hit upon the two shows that we should mention before we backtrack because there's more to talk about Top Gun and other. stuff going on. But I do want to mention Outer Range, which I talked to Rowan for the first season, actually. I mean, again, talk about consummate actor, genius, eccentric

in the best possible way. I can only imagine the... I mean, also tell me this, like, because you talk about the band, so your connection to the Brolwins goes back, as I understand. Did you know Josh through his daughter way back when? I did,

you know, loosely. Because his daughter, Eden, Brolin, his incredible actor, an incredible singer. I went to high school with her, and she's the singer of my band. I guess I'm the drummer of her band. It's how she'd make that. No, no. Nope. It's the drummer's band.

But, yeah, so I think, you know, there's a period where, yeah, I think one of my first girlfriends, Amy Kassowitz, was best friends with her. And so there were some times where we, you know, he, would take us to movies or pick us up and stuff and he was always i was just remember him being hilarious and like because josh to me is like a perfect blend of like an old man and a little teenage boy in the most beautiful way and so he has this this ancient wisdom and then he also has this very playful part of him and that as a you know teenage kid was like i mean just so so fun and funny and um and so then when i auditioned

for it i didn't i didn't you know i always i didn't really know him but i he was i'm sure part of when it was being cast he was told that um i was maybe up and running but i you know i didn't have any many interactions with him um until until i was finally cast and he was and he gave me the sweetest phone call when i was cast because i was very i was really nervous um because that was a a world that i really related to i that was one of the first auditions where i was I was like, I didn't just leave it up to fate. I was like, well, if I messed that up or I didn't do the well, it's not, it's not, you know, it's not, you know, it'll happen if it happens or whatever. But that one I went in, did one of the worst auditions.

I felt like it was one of the worst auditions. And I followed up. I was like, I need to do that again. I need to send in again. And I think I send in two more things. I was like, please have them send me. Because the scripts were so incredible. Brian Watkins, the showrunner on the first season, is one of my favorite artists alive.

working to date he's like somebody who I'm the most curious about watching what he does next and he built this world that was so grounded amongst this kind of dreamy right it was a poetic type of sci-fi you know it wasn't so technical it had this esoteric kind of like um just very just like um boundless kind of way of looking at this world that I thought was so intriguing and then And on top of it, it was set in this environment that I grew up around in Montana. My family has got a lot of family in Montana. So we grew up going back and forth. And so I was like, I know these guys.

You know, I know them so well. And this is a world with TV where it's like I hadn't done that much TV because I had been told, you know, by many people that, like, don't do TV unless it's a character and a world that you feel like you could live in forever. And I read that. And I was like, I could do this for the rest of my life. like this is written so well and the character's so intriguing and obviously the cast at that point was so so excellent so yeah that was a really exciting one for me to be a part of but yeah Josh called me when I got the role and it was like very um he dispelled all of my anxieties very rapidly and very sweetly and yeah I got a big soft spot for him

so the new season more forceback riding more bull riding more shirtless Josh Roland falling into holes? Can we count on all of it? Luckily for Josh, there's no more sure it was falling into holes because that was rough on him. That was winter, you know, I think he, that was so hard on him. But yeah, I think we can definitely count on that. I, um, I haven't watched it. Um, but we, you know, we, we definitely go into, it's, it's an interesting world that there's so many different components. It's like, you know, Shakespearean, there's so many different characters. And, um, and, um, and So, yeah, it's interesting to see where the story kind of like hones in on and zooms in on.

And yeah, I just love that whole cast on that thing is like my family. I like one of my, some of my fondest memories are working out in New Mexico with that gang. And then this speaks to the breadth of your work. We couldn't talk about something more different than lessons in chemistry, which obviously has played such huge acclaim on Apple TV Plus. I mean, your team leader there in a much, like, I can't think of somebody more different in many ways than Josh, than Brie Larson, except that they share great talent. Yeah. But, um, Brie, a unique team leader. I remember, like, I've talked to, like, other cast, like, I remember, like, Kong Skow Island.

She was talking about, like, organizing, like, you know, amusement park trips every weekend. She's, like, alpha, like, I'm going to entertain. We are doing this and you're following me. Is that fair to say? that's very fair to say and very accurate and and a rare trait i think in a leader you know and i think that that's the kind of thing that makes for those kinds of memories because i learned too late that you don't have to suffer to make something great i learned that this is an important lesson really i did i really thought that you had to just step flagellate and suffer

and it wasn't you know till i don't know a couple years ago where i was like when you're the more relaxed you are the more free you are to take risks is as simple as that yeah and like the risks are sometimes horrible and but nobody ever sees them and it's all just the memory of the day and and and and then sometimes it's what makes makes a show you know and and and um and makes a movie and uh and so that kind of an attitude that like yes you're exactly right brie has which is like almost like camp counselor your favorite camp counselor where it's like you know games on set like themed days um just like even in some of the hardest content you know there's a lot of really tough stuff in this and a lot of stuff that she had to do that i i'm sure was not that was really hard and and um and but you know

in between would be sure to like with all of her might you know try and inject this this this warm glow on in the set. And it really made a huge, huge difference in every, I think everyone on that set had a good time. And speaks well to your talents again. I know you won't probably volunteer this, but I'll say this, for those I don't know, and this never happens, by the way, you were, for those that haven't seen the show, we're not going to spoil anything, but you weren't going to be in necessarily a ton of episodes. And that changed. That changed on the fly, which is pretty really significant and a great feather in your cap. Thank you, Josh.

That was a pleasant surprise. You know, I, yeah, I was supposed to just be in the first two episodes and maybe show up at the end. And Lee Eisenberg, the showrunner on that, he's such a brilliant, brilliant mind. You know, he did that show, jury duty, which is just like reinvented, just like, I don't know, the storytelling form. But he, yeah, so he's like an expert, um, expert improviser i guess that's not the right word but like creating on the go and and you know not being so beholden to these ideas that you had that you that must make their way into the final product he's very much like time is moving the world is spinning like things are changing let's

grab this grab that this is working let's zoom in on that and and that i think is rare you know to have that kind of bravery um and so i was very you know i i i i am forever indebted to him for that because I was really excited to be able to further kind of excavate Calvin Evans' story in that show and and continue to work with all these great people, you know, and learn from them. Don't miss Swiped, a new movie inspired by the provocative real-life story of the visionary founder of online dating platform, Bumble. Played by Lily James, Swiped in.

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And face it, between debates, polling releases, even court appearances, it can feel exhausting. even impossible to keep up with. I'm Brad Nilke. 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. Let's talk a little more about the gift that keeps on giving Top Gun Maverick, which I feel like I'm going to be talking about for the next 50 years of my career, and you will too, by you and me, Bob, yeah. You shot it 25 years ago. It was on the shelf for 20 years, and then it came out and made a gazillion dollars.

I'm only slightly exaggerating. That sounds right to me. Yeah, right. Take me back to the beginning. When you auditioned, was it specifically for the character that became Bob, or what were you up for? rooster or who knows like what part were you even going up for it was specifically for bob

and I was at the time in Sardinia shooting catch 22 the Hulu series and all the I had to kind of like that was one of the most luxurious like embarrassingly luxurious jobs because I worked two weeks pretty much and then I would work like a day every other week or something and I was just on this sort of beautiful

island with some of my the best friends in the world. And so I was lucky to have, I had some time and I got the Bob audition. And there was, I was like, this is, funnily enough, kind of similar to the role I was playing in Catch 22, not really. I wonder if, I still don't know whether this was intentional, but Bob's introduction is very similar to Major Major's introduction in Catch 22, which is this kind of like play on your name and your rank.

and and so the scene was like initially even closer to the scene which is like you know what's your what's your name or what's your call sign it's Bob and it's like no what's your what your your call sign he's like Bob and so there's and in in catch 22 it's like what's your who are you and he's like major and he's like no what's your rank he's like major and he's like so you it's it's very much in that zone so I was like trying to figure out how to differentiate it and modernize it and my friend grandpatrick Martin I think it was him It's either him or Garen Howell, who, like, they were all working. So I had to record their lines with gaps in between them for my lives. Just iPhone in my room alone. And, and, and it was a, it was one of those things where I was like, I'm never going to get this. This is a legendary movie. Everyone under the sun is going out for it.

And, and so I was very surprised towards the tail end of that shoot when I got a call. I was having dinner with my friend Josh Bolt and Garen and Chris Abbott and I were like you I think the minor team was as surprised as I was there like you got it dude and I was like there's no other staffs and they're like no Joe's Joe's ready to you know go for it and and they're like do you like flying I was like love love love it love it love flying little did I know like my experience of flying was vastly different from what we would actually be doing no kidding yeah Okay, was either shirtless Bob or Dead Bob on the table? Was there ever a consideration?

Shirtless Bob on the beach, the famous, you know, flag football kind of scene or Dead Bob? Because all the signs in a movie like that are, oh, Bob's going to be the goner. He's dead. Totally. Surprisingly, Dead Bob was never on the table. Okay. It was, it was jump scare, Dead Bob was always there. And but shirtless was.

was never it was because I weirdly hear about that a lot more than it it was one of those decisions on the day where we showed up it was supposed to be skins versus shirts right everyone was like had been working out their their butts off to get ready for this and some people were like devastated that there might be on the shirt scene meanwhile I was always like well he I don't think he cares about that kind of right thing like he he is nose to the grindstone like pieces there's no vanity in him um he's all and so i was always like my body's going to look my body's going to look like i'm just going to i'm just going to eat how these guys eat and and live and then there are some of those guys that are i don't know but some of the there's like a couple

wizzos that i really respected and got to know that i was like they were just like brilliant geniuses and and their body was just a vessel to get them from one you know massive problem that they're going to solve to the next and so i was always always always just watching everyone work out watching glen powell like i would like go in there for moral support glen powell you know his famous mantra on that was montages last forever which i'm sure you've heard but i was always i think i was the first one to clock that he was literally i was whispering it as he was doing some peck flies or something i was like wait to glen what he's saying he was like he's like you know i've just been thinking about it and fucking montages you know they they last forever

and and i was like it's so true and like and it's really true but i was like so i was like so i was I was like, I don't know how I'm going to make an impact on this montage. But when I got there on the day, finally, Joe was like, all right, I guess we can all do skins. And I walked up to Joe, and I was like, I don't know. And Joe was kind of like shaking his head. He was like, yeah, I don't know. I was like, let's just, I think we keep it on.

I think Bob keeps his shirt. I think he's a shirt on the beach kind of guy. We were both like, it was just kind of, it wasn't like a we really toss it around for long. It wasn't focused group. It was just like a gut thing. And now for the next, again, 50 years, you're going to be asked about, why wasn't Bob? going to Sherlockless, what's the deal?

Right, yeah. I think also, to be totally honest, I had learned on Catch 22 with these military movies where it's a lot of, a lot of guys in uniforms, it can be easy to be washed in, fall into the wash. And it's hard to stick out, despite how, you know, despite how, you know, maybe eccentric your character is, when you look back in your memory on a show,

even saving private Ryan like it's you're kind of like I think he said that I think he said that and so any I was like any way that I can differentiate myself would would probably be beneficial right could I have a peg leg could I walk with a win yeah I should damn it I should have talked to you before I did it the peg would be great one of my favorite subjects and you could do a drinking game every time I bring it up related to top gun is the infamous cruise cake do you get the cruise cake Lewis. I am a lucky, lucky man. And I get the cruised cake. And every year it is a family ritual now where we, it's like, because it comes around when my dad's birthday is. So usually we can have the cruise cake for my dad's birthday. And we have found, the Pullman's have found that

the cruise cake is as good, if not better, frozen. Frozen. Do you defrosted or you like it kind of like crunchy like a little like a little it's it's not quite even crunchy it's like it's almost like an ice cream cake because the icing is so rich and like dairy late i don't want enough enough enough i'm i don't know what my tactic is at this point i'm literally just talking to every person around tom trying to secret because i will never ask him to his face because i'm too dignified and classy that way but i don't know any tips you can you don't give me now but just think about it how i can get on the list because this is like a lifelong dream. I just, I'm not going to buy it for myself. I know you can buy the damn

cake for yourself. I'm not doing that. It's like an Oscar. You can't do that. You either win the Oscar, you don't hold someone else's Oscar. You get your own cruise cake. That's my philosophy on it. I think I see the cruise cake in your future. And if you want, I'm sure Glenn and I can, you know, slip him in encouragement. I've, Glenn is sick of me mentioning it. But yeah, sure. I'm hearing rumblings of a potential Top Gun 3 maybe in the not so distant future. What's your spidey sense telling you? My spidey sense is, I'm to be totally honest, that I think if there's a script that Tom feels like, you know, it was such, Tom would always say this top.

gun maverick was like hitting a bullet with a bullet that was his phrase which is like meaning you know the the amount of variables that needed to align perfectly for that to be a success was was infinite you know and so he he was it was not unbeknownst to him that he was taking a massive amount of risks in tainting you know sacred ground and and he took that very seriously did not take that lightly at all so I don't think he would do it just for the sake of doing it, it would have to feel like a continuation that really is earned and really needs to be told. And so I'm sure there's some of the best minds behind this whole team that they could do that. You know, whatever that looks like, I don't know. But I think if that happens,

that would be possible. You're saying within a week or two, Top Gun Bob is going to be announced because obviously we can't do we're sticking with the name convention roosters too easy you're not doing maverick two it's bob's time i think right it's top gun colon bob you can just get like four people showing up in the theaters for that thing i'll tell you you're you were my niece's favorite i asked them who their favorite

pilot was they all said bob i don't know what that says about a young lady or young man when they when they choose bob that's comforting i think that means that they're you know intrigued by the less vocal, more kind of backseat kind of vibe, which is not nice. I like it. Yeah. Okay. It's time for our final topic, which you're going to be very, you're going to be very evasive about.

But we can say, you are in Thunderbolts. You have been cast. That is official. And this is a moment. I mean, how exciting is it to be officially joining the MCU, man? I you know I think the MCU is a is always something that I've watched and felt like is a is a beautiful world that is kind of untouchable you know and never and so but I think that there is something about joining that world that is similar to probably joining television which is like when whenever somebody joins it you want you would want it to be um you'd wanted it to be a character that you can live in for a long time, and you would want it to be, you know, an aspect of the world that you'd want to be in.

So if I were to ever get that call, it would be very important to take those things into account, you know? Okay. You're being difficult. I loved you until this moment, but I'm going to, we're going to go with this, man. The journey of the, we know, I guess I'm just. curious, like, how far back this goes. Because Stephen Young, we know, was going to play this role. And for a variety of reasons, it just didn't work out.

Did you audition way back when, when, or did this kind of come, like, after Stephen had to bow out? You know, all I know, Josh, is that all I know about the eye contract is gone, all the LOLs are gone. He's like, ask me about the cruise cake. I'll answer anything you want. What happened to the cruise cake topic? We didn't even finish a lot of that story. I didn't talk about the white chocolate chips and the coconut flakes, brother.

Have you ever seen this character? Blimpsed that. What a beautiful costume. Yeah. Have you ever worn anything similar to this in your life? Not me, first. Look at those locks. My God.

I don't have a box like that. That's actually not so dissimilar. If you had a costume, what would you your costume be, Josh? It would not be that tight. I'll tell you that. I do not need to accentuate every curve in my body. Absolutely. Wait, here's a question for you.

Yeah. It's the superpower question, but here's a caveat if you were to have any superpower. Do you know that there's a loophole to that question? If you could have any superpower, what would it be? There's actually a correct answer to that. Well, is it like the superpower to have all the superpowers? I mean, how big is this loophole? I mean, damn, I didn't even think about that.

I was, yeah, I guess that's the loophole, the loophole. I think it's shapeshifting. Oh, because if it's shapeshifting, you can have any power of anybody's. Got it. So you are confirming that you play Century, who in this version of Thunderbolts is a shapeshifter is what you're telling me. I haven't looked into Century. That's first I've heard that name.

but I sentry sounds like a snaky kind of shape-shifty kind of a vibe read the comics. Did you, here's my last thing. Did you, did you grow up on comics? Are you a comics guy or is this kind of a newfound exploration? I grew up on,

yeah, I mean, my dad, you know, we have this family farm in upstate New York and, and where he grew up. And there was always a lot of comics there. But they were a lot of old comics.

They were not new comics. And so, yeah, they were even stuff like, you know, Donald Duck and Archie and stuff like that. But there was also some Marvel comics in there. And so that was like, I would spend a lot of time diving into those. But I love like, yeah, I love graphic novels and comics. And I think like there's something so cool about that world, right? Because it's basically mythology. Yeah.

Like it's, and that's what's so awesome. It's like kind of camouflage mythology, which is what's something. interesting about it. I'm just excited that. Again, you've confirmed that your century is loosely based on Daffy Duck and Richie Rich, apparently. Richie Rich, dude, I love Richie Rich. All right, let's end with this. The Happy Second Fused profoundly random questions. Uh, great. Lewis, dogs or cats? What are you into? Dogs. Well, we always grew up with dogs. I have my favorite person in the world is my dog. What kind of dog do you have?

A blue healer. His name is Bodie. Love it. My dog is out in a walk now, but she says hi. Lucy says hey. What do you collect, if anything? What do I collect? I collect hats, even though I only wear about two hats.

I have so many hats. And I collect patches and I collect T-shirts. That I have T-shirts, you know, a lot of T-shirts. I can't get rid of them. What's your favorite T-shirt? go to. Most treasured t-shirt. Something that I'm trying to replicate that I can't find is when I was a kid, my favorite

T-shirt was this, it had a horse on it, but then it had a flap where its mouth was and you could lift it up and see inside its mouth and see its teeth. I can't find anything like that. So I'm on the search for that. All right. I'll look on eBay for you, too. What's the wallpaper on your phone? It is my mom.

Aw. Good son. Well done. last actor you were mistaken for mistaken for um i do people say that i look like a

an older or like a washed out tom holland i definitely that we both get the whole frog in the mouth thing like i've heard that that we have that we are like resting face looks like we're holding a frog in our mouths to keep it from leaping out amazing

well good company to be in at least What's the worst note a director has ever given you? Just, what is it? Maybe worst a note. Well, sometimes this one works. Sometimes you hate it, but like, just do it different. Just do it differently. Whatever you just do it.

Don't do that. Just do it differently. Yeah, that's probably like, sometimes that's, you know what? The best version of that note is, I love that. We got that. I don't know. I don't think we need anything more.

So just do it differently, whatever you want. That's nice. But then to just do it different. Start a negativity with a no, whatever you did, don't do that as opposed to you're nailing it. Let's just try one for fun. Yeah, exactly. All right. In the spirit of happy, sad and fuse, an actor that always makes you happy.

You see them on screen, money in the bank. Dan McBride. Love it. Love it. One of the funniest human beings. I mean, I was on set for this is the end. And to watch that man in like a group of improv masters, he was the one that made me laugh the most.

Like just genius. I'm so jealous. You had that experience. That sounds incredible. Insane. Movie that makes you sad. Always makes you sad. Diving Bell on the butterfly.

Tragic, yeah. And finally, a food that makes you confused. Oh, wow. That's a good one. food that makes me... Boba. Oh, yeah. The bobo-tie thing, yeah.

The little booboo-a-tee. Yeah, chewy little tapioca boogers in a smoothie. I can see by the form-fitting shirt that's not on the diet right now. You've got to go get into your costume that looks something like this. I have to guess. Lewis, you have successfully evaded every Marvel question very well. You're not fired today. Congratulations.

Actor, podcaster. a collector of hatches and t-shirts. It's the one and only. Do you say hatches? Yeah, what did you say? Oh, hats, but hatches or hatchets would have been cool. I've got a pocketknife collection. There you go.

Okay. I wasn't so far off. Sorry to interrupt your beautiful outro. No, no, no. I'll try to correct what you just screwed up there. No, not at all. Everybody check out lessons in chemistry if you haven't already on Apple TV Plus, the new season of Open Range, out of range, rather, on a prime.

And, man, thanks so much for the time today. This is a lot of fun. Thank you for having me. I've been so hoping to get to meet you and hop on this thing. It's been such a pleasure. 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. Goodbye. Summer movies, Hello Fall. I'm Anthony Devaney. And I'm his twin brother, James. We host Raiders of the Lost Podcast, the Ultimate Movie Podcast, and we are ecstatic to break down late summer and early fall releases. We have Leonardo DiCaprio leading a revolution in one battle after another, Timothy Shalame, playing power ping pong in Marty Supreme. Let's not forget Emma Stone and Jorgos' Borgonia. Dwayne Johnson's coming for that Oscar in The Smashing Machine, Spike Lee and Denzel, teaming up again plus Daniel de Lewis's return from retirement there will be plenty of blockbusters to chat about two tron aries looks exceptional plus mortal combat too and edgar

writes the running man starring glem powell search for raiders of the lost podcast on apple podcast spotify and youtube