Happy Sad Confused - Matthew Rhys

Episode Date: April 13, 2023

Matthew Rhys joins Josh to talk about season 2 of PERRY MASON, meeting Keri Russell on THE AMERICANS, and his disastrous James Bond audition. #happysadconfused #joshhorowitz #matthewrhys #perrymason   UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS! Ray Romano -- 4/18 at 92NY in NYC. Virtual tickets available! Get your tickets here! Jim Gaffigan -- 4/27 at 92NY in NYC. Virtual tickets available! ⁠Get your tickets here!⁠ John Cena -- 5/15 at 92NY in NYC. Virtual tickets available. ⁠Get your tickets here!⁠ ⁠To watch episodes of Happy Sad Confused, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Josh's youtube channel here⁠⁠⁠⁠! Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! For all of your media headlines remember to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Wakeup newsletter here⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact ConX Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Today on Happy, Said Confused, Matthew Reese, from brothers and sisters and the Americans to Perry Mason. Hey, guys, I'm Josh Horowitz. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Hope you guys are doing great out there.

We have a fun one today. Matthew Reese, a charming gentleman, a Welshman, a consummate actor. with tons of great stories, another live taping we did in New York City. You're going to enjoy that as the main event on Happy Say I Confused today, a first-time guest on the pod, and he did not disappoint. Before we get to all that, some reminders. Remember, if you're listening to Happy Say I Confused and you're not yet a subscriber, what the hell are you doing with your life, guys?

We're now on Spotify. We've always been on Spotify, but did you know on Spotify you can actually watch Happy Say Confused? That's a pretty cool new development there. So subscribe on Spotify, go to the YouTube channel, give us a subscription over there, it's YouTube.com slash Josh Horowitz, and check out our Patreon, guys. Patreon.com slash happy, sad, confused because you get all the early access to every single podcast and video and audio form. You get opportunities to get swag.

You can ask questions. It all depends on the tier level you choose. And you get discount codes for all the live events. And speaking of live events, oh my God. gosh, what a segue master I am. We have a bunch. We have a bunch coming up, guys. A couple of them just kind of came out of nowhere really quickly. So April 18th, 92 NY. I'm chatting with Ray Romano, guys. Ray Romano. I've never, I think I've done like one, like four-minute thing with him once at the Sundance, like 10 years ago. But I'm going to get a chance to have a full big conversation

with Ray Romano. I'm told everybody loves Ray. That was horrible. I hate myself. So coming out for that one, link in the show notes. Also coming up, Jim Gaffigan, April 27th at 92 NY. He is, of course, one of the great stand-ups working today, sells out huge venues. This is going to be a fun one. I'm going to talk all about his comedy, but also his acting career. He's in the new Peter Pan.

And Wendy Film, we'll talk about that. And then in May, guys, a big one, and I don't just say that because the gentleman is a large individual, May 15th, John Sina returns to Happy Second Fuse, but this time in live form at 92NY, all to support FastX. That's going to be a big special night. And I have some other cool stuff cooking around FastX. Fast 10? What do we call it?

Fast 10? I'm going to call it Fast 10. Anyway, and there's a bunch of more live events cooking, guys. So again, if you want the early scoop on all, all that and discount codes and all the fun stuff, go to patreon.com slash happy, say it confused. I want to say briefly, I was not able to be at Star Wars Celebration this year. I was kind of bummed, but I had some family stuff I was attending to, but I was really enjoying it from afar, especially happy that my buddy, Ali Plum, you guys love him on BBC, did a

kick-ass job moderating the big panel where they debuted tons of stuff and made some huge announcements. I want to give some love to our voice of Happy Sag Confused. Daisy Ridley, who's coming back to Star Wars. I'm so excited for Daisy and for us. She is a beam of light in the universe, one of my favorites. And yeah, I know she's really psyched about this and I am too. So that's awesome news. James Mangold is going to be doing a Star Wars movie. A huge fan of James's and I know this must portend well for Indiana Jones. They would not hand him the keys to a Star Wars movie if he hadn't done a great job on the new Indiana Jones movie,

and I desperately want that movie to be amazing. So here's hoping. So, yeah, I guess those are the major things. If you haven't caught up on recent episodes, guys, what are you doing? Go back to the Russell Crow episode last week. What a treat. Oh, my gosh. I still can't believe that one happened.

That was a really special one. I've gotten some really great feedback on that one. Thank you guys. Okay, so remember to review rate and subscribe to Happy Say I Confuse or else you're not going to be able to listen or watch episodes like this. I should also mention if you're not subscribing on Spotify, check it out over there because not only can you listen now on Spotify, but you can watch.

So yeah, there's the plug there. Okay, let's talk about Matthew Reese for a moment, shall we? Matthew Reese has never been on the podcast before. He's always been on the list, an equal measure for the career, which, of course, I admire and love so much of his work. But I also have known from seeing him in interview formats that this guy I was going to enjoy. Oh, do you hear, do you hear, Lucy? That's my dog scratching at the door because she wants my attention. But no, dear listener, you get my attention right now.

Anyway, Matthew Reese. There's a little snapshot of my real life. This is what I contend with. A dog who wants my attention 24-7. Matthew Reese is currently starring in the second season of Perry Mason on HBO and HBO Max. Don't take my word for it. The reviews are in for season two. They are better even than season one, which was well received.

And we cover it all in this conversation, guys. Brothers and sisters, the Americans, his work on stage, working with Tom Hanks, his James Bond audition. I don't think he's ever told the story before, and it is so funny. You're going to basically hear me giggle for about an hour in this chat. I apologize in advance,

because this Welshman, he's a charmer, he's a funny man. We had a couple, poured ourselves some whiskey. We settled in for a big night at 92 NY with a lovely live audience, and we had a great chat,

and now you're going to get to enjoy it. I'm going to go check on Lucy, she clearly needs some attention, some love. And you guys, your assignment is to enjoy, sit back and enjoy this conversation with me and Matthew Reese live in New York City. Enjoy. Hi guys. Welcome to a special happy, say, confused live. I love doing these at 92 NY. I'm Josh Horowitz. Thank you guys so much for coming out tonight. I'm so thrilled. I'm always thrilled with the entire guest list, of course, of happy, say I can confuse, but whenever I can get a new guest on the show,

someone I've long admired, not to mention a New Yorker in the house, I'm especially pleased. You know my guest as being, let's see, he's been a spy, he's a good friend of Mr. Rogers, also Tom Hanks, maybe both, we'll see tonight. He's a charming Welshman, which I don't think is a role. I think he's actually that in real life. And he is, of course, playing the iconic role, Perry Mason, Season 2 on HBO and HBO Max

I'd love to hear a warm New York City welcome for our own New Yorker but fantastic, the wonderful Mr. Matthew, Reese look at this. Look at this. Thanks. You should think of that as a topical anesthetic.

This is to smooth over. To ease your pain, the next few minutes. Really, truly, you have just soared to the top of my guest list by bringing booze with you. Well, no, no, let's be fair. You brought, you did bring it. I insisted to bring it out.

I was like, that won't do. We'll have to bring the bottle. Shall we sample? Just to get this off to a good start. Cheers to these wonderful people who came out tonight. Thank you, folks. Yeah, here. So this is my first Welsh whiskey, I believe.

Yes. Doesn't it taste? like home. Well, someone's home. Yeah, yes. Like a damp Sunday afternoon. Is booze just in the blood out there? Yes, that and close part harmony singing.

That's it. One leads to the other. Did we get a good brand? I'm not like trying to shill for this brand. No, you did. You got the only brand, but no, it's a great whiskey that I love and hold dear to my heart. Okay. We're going to try and drain the bottle tonight if we can. We'll see if we can make

away to the bottom. I mentioned the fact that you are a New Yorker. You've been a New Yorker for some time. How did that happen? How did the pride of Wales become a New Yorker, Matthew, Reese? Like most things in my life, through by mistake, through default, because I'd been in a place called Los Angeles for quite a few years, and I thought, you know what, I don't think this is for me.

It's a little transient. I feel like I've been on vacation for many years, and it's time I left. And then I was literally packing up to go back to London after about seven years in L.A. And I got a call saying, would you like to do an off-broadway show with Adam Driver? A play, look back in anger. And it was a play that meant a lot to me

because I'd seen Richard Burton play that part on film in my early years. And it was a kind of seminal performance for me. So I said, yes, absolutely. God, we're really getting to the long answer here. No, I was going to get to the play anyway, so perfect. So, lo and behold, I'm doing this play. I'm going to drink while you're talking.

Yes, this is a long story. Off Broadway with Adam Driver. He tells me, he goes, I've just done a pilot with this thing called Girls. I was like, what's that about? And he told me, he was like, that'll never take off. So then one night, a casting director came backstage, and she said, I was meant to go to see something on Broadway. They messed up my tickets.

I saw this on. I came to see it. I have this project called The Americans. Do you want to come in and read for it? And I was like, yeah, okay. And I went in and it changed my life. And here I am a New Yorker. Flash forward.

Still wandering around feeling like I'm in a Scorsese movie. I do, I do. And do people still treat you like an exotic zoo animal thanks to the accent in Starbucks? Are they like, what is that? No, so poke me. Go ahead, get out of here. Yeah, show us your papers. Yeah, yeah.

No, not really. That's the kind of thing I love about New York. All are welcome. We're, yeah, hodgepodge. No one cares what you do. as long as you stand up for the right people on the subway. Exactly. Wait, since you brought up the theater,

I did want to actually ask you about that, because I looked up that point. Was that the last time you were on stage, by the way? It was, yes, yes. It was, oh, good God, almost 10 years ago now. So I found, like, some clips online. I could see that, like, there's, like, a moment where Adam Driver is, like, throwing you around, essentially.

Yes, I had no choice in that fight. He could have done what he wanted with me, and many nights he did. He's a large man. He's a large man in great shape. But clear to you that mutual admiration society that he was a force to be reckoned with them? Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I mean, in the play, I'm playing Jimmy Porter as an Englishman. He plays Cliff, who's a Welshman. And he walked in the first day of rehearsal, and we're talking for a few minutes and goes, wait, where are you from? And I said, I said, oh, I'm from Wales. And he went, oh, fuck you. So I've heard you mentioned before, like, so you grew up essentially listening to our sad, flat American way of speaking, right? Thanks to television. Yes, yeah.

Were you watching more of our TV than your own? That's all we watched. American television was so exotic to us. It's all we watched. It was like you saw things. You're like, oh, my God, that looks great. Oh, I wonder what a twinkie tastes like. That's how you spent your life.

And then you taste the twinkie. And you're like, oh, my God. What is that? Yeah, it's 18 years old It's the miracle of Twinkies I know But it is funny Like I think in your interviews

When I was reading up Nothing is mentioned more often than it's the Americans and the A team I feel like The A team seemed to have a clear influence on you as a child It was huge It was huge My Friday evenings

Were fish and chips And the A team And that was it And I was like a pig in poo I couldn't be happy So why do you not sound today Like B.A. Baracus? Because I've had to undis

train myself not to sound like howling Mad Murdoch or the face or, you know, any of them. Yeah, your first American words were, I pity the fool. I pity the fool. And they're like, stop saying that. No one says that. Yes, they do. I've seen it. I've seen the TV show. The most American

man. Yes, I love it when a plan comes together. So you must. Did you come to the States as a child? Like when was your first time visiting? No, we didn't. We came, we went to Canada. My parents lived in Canada for a long time, so we kind of peaked. I went to Niagara Falls.

The closest I got is the child. It's like, here's the promised land. The first time would have been... Oh, oh, so I was doing a play in the West End with Paul Bettany, called One More Wasted Year, whichever one called One More Wasted Evening, When they saw it. Wow.

It was harsh. It was a two-hander. An American Asian, came to see it and he said, have you ever been to L.A.? Do you want to come? And I was like, oh, I don't think so. And then I was doing a job in New Zealand and he said, well, look, on the way back,

why don't you come to L.A.? And I'll throw you in some auditions. So I did, and I came. And my first audition was with Julie Tameau. It was her, it was Titus, right. With Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lang. And I got it. And I was like, L.A. is brilliant.

You just rock up and get massive movies. And then I didn't get an audition. I didn't get an audition. I didn't plan it apart for like the next 11 years. years. Okay, we're going out of sequence. It wasn't my attention to go back to the beginning and the beginning, but you're a free spirit.

I have to follow where you take me. Like a Celtic sprite. Exactly. Let's talk a little bit about Perry Mason, then we'll circle back around. This show is back. It's fantastic. Congratulations on the new season. I think we're four episodes in.

This is, look, I grew up with Raymond Burr and that show had its novelties. It's a much different kind of a thing. And as I understand it, that was important to you. When this came around, you had no interest in revisiting what had been done. No, no, no. And they said, you know, there was a slight miscommunication. You know, I got a message saying they want to remake Perry Mason. I was like, you can't remake Perry Mason.

That's a ridiculous idea. And then it was explained to me very soon after that that it was going to be a reimagining of Perry Mason and an origin story. And I was like, oh, that could be interesting. And it was when I saw this script, oh, that is interesting. How much of it is the milieu, the traffic? because it feels like as much as like any young person grows up wanting to be a cowboy or superhero or whatever.

We also, like any young actor probably dreams of being like Philip Marlow and smoking and the floor and the whole thing. Oh, the Chandler element to me was huge, you know, and you know, in the guys who wrote the first season, they'd really worked on some of the kind of colloquialisms at the time and it was hot, and we were rehearsing and they kind of said,

you've got to stop doing that. And I was like, I've got to stop doing what. He's like, you're like doing a terrible Humphrey Bogart impersonation. You're kind of going, now listen here, sweetheart. You're like, can you just talk normally? That's how you're talking to the writers. Yeah, yeah, right me better, she or don't like me at all.

Yeah, so yeah, it was hard. I kind of had to get myself out of cliches. Right. And you're drawn to those cliches in the scenes. You kind of want to finish the moment with a cigarette, they're like, you can't finish every scene with a cigarette flick. I was all right, give me one out of three then.

And sort of, you know, fedora cliches, things like that, drinking cliches. I really had to rein it in. It does feel like the one thing you're missing is you don't get to do the narration. I feel like that's the, like have you campaigned for that? No, because in my head, I am. I was like, God, what's going on in my brain?

It's brilliant. Sorry, is that my line? Yeah. Do you have any association with Robert Downey Jr? Because he was long associated with it. I know he's still a producer on the project. Did he have to kind of give you the check mark to take over the role? You know, I really think it was his project.

I think originally he wanted to play Mason a long time ago. This has been 12 years in the development for Team Downey. So that's the name of the production company. So he has a great love of Mason. And it's gone through many kind of different configurations. and I think the plan was for him originally to play Mason Moore in a kind of like a HBO movie of sorts and then they were like you need that real estate and you know

he's a very busy man so I was like I'll do it if you don't want it yeah and the original intention as I understand it was it was going to be basically a one-off it was going to be a miniseries yes in the in the making of the first season was there a sense of like oh there might be more here Like, I mean, the first season ends with, you know, like... Charlie's Angels. Yeah, exactly. It's a little bit, like, with the three of us are in the office going,

do-da-da-da-da-da-do, we'll crack anything, including your walnuts, you know? So coming off of that Charlie's Angels moment, did you feel like there was more territory to be mined? Yeah, I was like, this is a gold mine. Come on. Start digging, everyone. Six more seasons, let's do it. Yes. That being said, it's a much different kind of, I mean, that you have new showrunners.

There are some tweaks that you guys have made in terms of tone, I feel like I think it's a better season in all honesty. Good, good, yes. You know, the new guys who came in and said, we do want to kind of, there's a few different directions. We want to, you know, try and lighten it or lighten him a little bit, you know, show different elements of Los Angeles.

So, you know, I think the second season can be tricky because you're so kind of elated that you've been green lit for a second season that you go, oh, what do we do? Do we do the same thing? Because that worked? Or do we do completely different and then risk losing the audience. So to degree bringing in new writers, it's in its way, it's going to be its own beasts

because they have their own ideas of what they want to do. So there's no real danger of kind of reproducing or trying to replicate something. I think also a smart thing is that even given that kind of like ending of the first season, he's still, as I've watched the first four episodes, he's haunted by the past, he's damaged,

he's got a bit of imposter syndrome a bit. Yeah, it's like any working out. actor. And then there's the role. And then there's the role. Oh, right, sorry, yes. Yeah. But you're a producer on this.

Yes. Do you? I sit at those meetings like this. Talk about imposter syndrome. They're like, what do you think? I'm like, ah! I don't know. But does it feel like you, I mean, do you want to have your,

is that your first experience producing your own work in this way? And how involved do you like or want to be, want to get? No. Susan Downey Robert's wife is kind of the lead producer on it. She's been incredibly inclusive and she's like, okay now you have to sit at the table and

you have to have an opinion. Bring some answers and figure it out. And I've loved that. I've loved being part of those conversations very early on about where the story went. You know, character arcs for the whole cast

and then being involved in the crewing of it, you know, looking, you know, finding DPs. In the casting, the casting process was, it's just heartbreaking and terrifying because you're just, you've been there so many times.

Have you, were you in on auditions? Yes, just going, you know, it's just seeing when the nerves get too much or it's, oh my God, it never ends that hamster wheel of death. We actually do have a clip for, I think it's the next episode.

And it's Perry doing his thing in court. Let's take a look, shall we? Look out for when I throw the cigarette at the end. Yeah, exactly. Here we go, Perry, Miss. Brooks McCutcheon was our city's last great shining star. And therefore, you do wonder, who would want to harm such a fine man? But when we introduce you to the real Brooks McCutcheon,

you won't be asking who in this town wanted him killed. You'll be asking who in this town didn't. And the punishment must serve as an example to the people of the people of the people of the people. this city, that barbaric behavior of this magnitude will not be tolerated. This prosecution is intent on manipulating, swaying, influencing opinion in the worst possible way. These proceedings have already become nothing less than a racist witch hunt. Ooh, drama, ooh. You always like the murmur from the crowd.

Don't clap. It'll only encourage me. Have you now spent more time in a fake courtroom or a real courtroom in your life? I'm starting almost. It's very even. I'm almost been more in the fake courtroom than the real one. Is there a mugshot out there that exists in Matthew Rees? Oh, yes.

Yes. Drunken disorderly. Yes. Yeah, a number of breaches of the law. When were you at your most wild in your youth? What years? 20s. That decade is a solid blur.

some hazy moments Was that coinciding with career success? Suicide Career suicide Sorry, success Look, okay Let's talk career

You were You went to Rada So coming out of Rada Did you think I got this made? Yeah, I got us I went to the Royal Academy where's my job? And that's how it happened.

Yes. Yeah. And then, well, first of all, I went to, I did a lot of theater in my kind of early days out of drama school. I was very fortunate to go to, I was at the National Theater, as a Royal Court theater, the old Vic. And then at 24, I auditioned for a stage adaptation of the graduate with Kathleen Turner as my Mrs. Robinson. not an intimidating force of nature Kathleen and Turner incredibly intimidating

in kind of the best way like just this powerhouse Hollywood icon smoked drank me under the table yeah we're of similar age I mean you grew up with those films romancing the stone body heat all of that I'm sure I was a mess

in rehearsals I was a mess a solid mess and I remember like it was day two or three and there's this moment where Benjamin kisses Mrs. Robinson and I had to kind of I was like hang on we haven't spoken

about rehearsal etiquette like do you kiss do I just lunge in so I kind of I kind of go up to her and not kiss and she goes she goes stop what are you doing she's like just kiss me I was like oh no no it's okay I'm sorry I just a little bit she went

come outside and we went out she was talking about the corridor and she just went kiss me and I went no I'm so sorry I just don't put it nervous me and talked about it I don't know what to do. She's like, kiss me. I'll, I will, I will. Let's just go back.

Kiss me. And I was going, and I was like, oh, and then just kind of, I had this total out-of-body moment. I was like, I'm going to cart it over school because we're using like one of their halls.

And I'm kissing Kathleen Turdo on the mouth. Things I thought I never would have told me 12-year-old self. So that's around, by my math, that's around 2000, I believe. Yes, exactly. And you mention around this time also is when you do Titus, this amazing film directed by Julie Tameor, fellow Welsh actor, the great Anthony Hopkins.

Does he take you under his wing a little bit as a fellow Welshman? Yes, yeah, I remember this kind of moment where he kind of brought me into the trailer and put on a pot of coffee and just kind of imparted some of his wisdoms, which, you know, which were kind of very simple. And he's like, just do the basics, learn your words, know them inside out.

I've heard him speak of that. He kind of like strips all the art of it, like the bullshit out of the way. It's just like... If you know your words, Inside out, it's the most liberating thing you can do. When you see him in the far, you kind of see it. Like, he dances so, the fluidity is mesmerizing

because he doesn't, he's not thinking about saying the words they're in his body. And that's very big for him. And he's like, know your words, be early. Be bold and greater gods will come to your aid. I mean, there's not a false note that comes out of that man's body. No, no. So, I mean, as you mentioned, there does.

seemed to be a bit of a fallow period leading before brothers and sisters, which is arguably the one that really changes your career. So in those intermittent years, were there, like, was there the role you had pinned all your hopes and dreams on? Like, looking back, was there something like an audition that, like, you thought you had nailed that didn't come to pass? There was, there was a film, Anton Fouqua film of King Arthur that I was desperate to do, and my roommate got it. He played live... He and Griffith, yeah, who's a fantastic actor. And we grew up together in Wales, and he went to Rade as well.

And we were both like, have you seen this script for King Arthur? I was like, yeah, yeah. And we were both desperate to get it. And he got it, and it was amazing. But I was like, oh, that's the one I really, really wanted. And then I was a year out of work after Titus and the graduate. I didn't, I couldn't catch a cold. So you had a series of well-known Welsh roommates.

You also lived with Michael Sheen for a time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That seems like a dangerous pair. That was, the whole, like I said, it was the messy 20s, or the roaring 20s, as we called it. Forget the wine show. That's the reality show. That's the camera should have been on. Oh, I dread to think we wouldn't be, we wouldn't, yeah.

Who was the better roommate, who was messier, who was had their shit together more or worse? They're both pretty similar. Like, they can both, they can both go hard. And then when they need to, like, turn the switches, they're like, it got, it got, it goes on. They're both very similar in that way. I wouldn't pitch one against the other. Fair enough. Okay, so let's talk little brothers and sisters

because that's a big moment in the career and it lasts for several years. Yes. It must have been like your first experience with like fandom too, to a degree. With like, I mean this wasn't friends but it had its core devoted audience to the stay, I'm sure. Yes, yes. It was actually it was actually the last episode of Colombo that took me to brothers and sisters because I got this BBC little BBC job with Bob Hoskins James Fox and Peter Falk of Colombo and at the end the very end the very last day he said

I'm going to do one last Colombo you aren't being it and I just thought oh he's lying it's like yeah of course I went sure I'd love to he's like I'd like you to play the murderer and I was like mm-hmm and then and then and then like three to four weeks later my agent called you He went, I've just spoken to with Peter Fulke, Colombo. And I was like, yeah. He goes, he wants you to come to L.A. to play a villain, a murderer in a Colombo TV movie. And I was like, true to his word. Not only that, he then called, he then called me, because he wanted to talk to me about it personally.

He called me at my home in Wales. My mother, I can hear my mother going, yes. Yes, yes, I do know who you are. Yes, I'll get him for you now. She's like, Columbo's on the phone. It was a very surreal moment. And then, so he got me my visa and my sag card. Yeah.

And when I landed at LAX, he picked me up at the, I know, Peter Fogg in his beautiful range robe. And I was like, I owe that man everything. He's a true prince. So Peter Falk, Kathleen Turner, all in your impression, repertoire, what else makes the cut? What's in your top five celebrity impressions, now that we've gone there?

I mean, I was a bit rough on that, Peter Falk. I have to admit. I wasn't prepped for that one. After a couple too many whiskeys, what do you bring out? What's the go-to celebrity impression? Oh. I do a very bad Pacino. Everyone does.

I know, so you either do walking... Which Pacino? Like, which era, which... I don't know. You decide. I don't know. Come on, Josh. You decide. So it's not the over-the-top sense of a woman. No, it's not, I don't do hoo-ha anymore. I hoo-hahed in my 20s. I heard that, yeah.

And got arrested for it, yeah. You want to reminisce? Let's look at a clip from brothers and sisters. Spit take. You don't have to watch. Let's watch, brothers and sisters, here we go. I'm gonna have watching fear. hitting people.

Oh, God. You know what? I am so sick of people telling me what to do and how to feel. Kevin, the person who want to hit his name. A waiter? A waiter? Really? It's so obvious. I didn't give you more credit than that.

Kevin, I had no idea he was going to be here. Oh God, more excuses. Just say it. You even want to say it all week. No, because I don't actually want to talk to you. You have to talk to you. You did this. You ruined our marriage.

Everything we fought for. For what? So you can... Groped by a 24-year-old I can't you're angry I am not angry. I am in pain and you put me here the person who's supposed to love me more than anything Kevin I knew supposed to be better than this I'm not I'm just as lost and damaged and screwed up as the rest of you I'm not perfect Kevin I am not perfect Luke McFarlane is so good-looking.

It's almost obnoxious. Sometimes just get lost in his cheekbones. You must be proud and happy for your old buddy and bros. Did you see bros? Yes. Yes. He's incredible. Yeah, amazing.

Kisses like an angel. We should talk about this show called The Americans. Yes. Which is just obviously, I would think, a personal and professional high water mark for you. You get an Emmy out of it. You get a life partner. You get a child. Rank those accomplishments.

Oh, God, well, the Emmy's still not out of the box. Oh, wow. No. You seemed very comfortable accepting that Emmy. I watched your speech. You seemed so chill. I've never been more, like that kind of overwhelming blind panic where you can feel your body shaking because you look out, you look out, and everyone is famous.

And you just go, and there's a jumbotron. You stand there, and the jumbotron goes, 45, 44, 43, so you're going, and so I forget a whole host of people. And then when it goes to zero, they just flash, stop talking, stop talking, don't talk, don't talk, and you're going, so you're, awful. Is it true that Kerry said not to propose during the speech, did she warn you not to do that? No, I sort of made that bit up. Okay.

Yeah, I was like, I'm trying to get a comedy element of it. So in retrospect, did you chemistry read with Kerry for this? Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's bizarre to think. You were chemistry reading with your future partner. Yes, yeah. To see if you had something. About three times.

And we did this same scene, which is in the pilot, where she slaps me. And the first time, Joe Eisberg, who created the former CIA intelligence officer, he said, well, one of the reasons got you the part was when she, she slapped you that first time, you didn't react. And I was like, because I had no idea it was coming. Like, she got like, she wound that thing up from, you know, the week before. And it hit me. I was like, that's why I wasn't reacting.

It wasn't because I was like, I'm tough in any way. I was just like, oh, I can't feel my teeth. It seems like a show, yeah, drink up, please. The hard questions are coming. Painful memories. It does seem like the rare show that had an astounding amount of consistency and even built through the years. I mean, you know more than anybody, like, how critical people are of, like, finalies of shows. The finale was praised.

Did you find that, like, you were almost shocked in a great way at, like, how rewarding the material was year in and year out? Yes. I don't think I have worked with writers who gave a five-season arc so much thought. All they did, Joe and Joel, they would take these huge walks through Brooklyn and they would just talk everything out

and then they'd write things down or this is how we were, and they kind of, and they almost, you know, they had the ending and then they worked back retrospectively. And then we did six seasons. You know, they're all set for the fifth, and then John Lungrapp head of FX went, we're going to do six seasons.

And they went, ah! We don't have six! We have five! So in fairness to them, they kind of stretched out when they brought up this, you know, fantastic stuff. So really, there was five, and then they were so tight-lipped, well, to me, because they knew I'm like a foghorn.

They were so tight-lipped about the ending. I was like, how's it going to end? And they were like, shut up, we're not telling you. I'm like, is it like butch and sundance? They're like, no, it's not. not. And so then I remember I was on a train to Washington and they finally gave me the script and said, don't text anyone, don't tell anyone. Try and keep this one under your hat for once. And I read it and I started to cry on the train. The woman said, are you okay? And I was like,

yes, very much so. My series is ending. Because it's a great ending. I just hope they can clear you too. Yeah. According to the old trusty IMD, the fans of this show included the likes of Gary Oldman, David Bowie, and Ben Affleck. Quite a trio. Yes, incredibly. So, Gary Oldman, Kerry worked with him, did Planet of the Apes with him. And at the time, he said he and David Bowie would watch it and then call each other about it. And I said, I can die now.

Also, Pete Townsend, which is why we got to use the music from The Who. And one of my favorites is Oliver Stone. Gosh. Loved it. Wanted to direct one of the final episodes. Came in and told you to do and everyone's really excited.

Oh, I'm still coming in. And he said, one of the first questions. So they said to him, they said, so on average, we shoot around seven days.

And he's like, for what? And they were like, per episode. And he's like, bye. Yeah. That clocks.

Yeah, he's like, not a chat. I always say, one of the strangest plane flights I ever had. I sat next to Oliver Stone on a flight to L.A. We watched the movie New Year's Eve together on a flight, and it was all the madness you could imagine from an Oliver Stone five-hour conversation.

Oh, my goodness. What a man. But he delivered, I mean, some of the great films of all time. But a madman in the best possible way. Yes, yeah, the best of a madness. Do people still look, I mean, obviously, you and Kerry going strong, you're the pride of Brooklyn now.

Pride of Brooklyn. Where do you rank in the power of Brooklyn? couples. Paul Bettney's there, right, I think. Is that, there's a dangerous square miles, like Paul, Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connolly, John, you know, John Grisensky, Emily Blunt. Oh, wow, that's a tough one beat. It's like sharks in the jets every morning. At a school drop off, we're like,

I showed, I showed Sam and my son, because he's kind of into all that, and he loved it. He was like, oh my God. And then we're walking to school, and we see, we see Jennifer and Paul, and I was like, that's, that's the Labyrinth. He's like, what? I was like, that's the girl of the girl in Labyrinth. He went, and she was with Paul Bettney. And he went, is that the Goblin King?

And I went, yes, it is. I told Paul, I was like, you're, you know, Goblin King slash David Bowie. It's a little known fact. Paul Bettney does call himself the Goblin King. That's his nickname. No, you'll see it in the toilet. G.K. was here. Were you a Felicity fan back in the day,

and did you have a preference, Ben or Noel, for Felicity? No, this is all very much new to me during the Americans. And I dived into this, you know, when we shoot outside and all these people would come up to and go, oh, my God, Felicity. So I had to kind of deep dive into that and say embarrassing things like, how's a hell of a wig you wore? That was a very controversial haircut for her. This is what I've learned.

This is what I've learned. It really changed America, is what I like to say. You weaseled your way into one of her works. Weasel is correct. The unlikely hit, maybe not unlikely. I just watched it the other day. Cocaine Bear, ladies and gentlemen, Matthew Reese appears. I mean, I mean, I like to doff my hat to Universal who just went,

let's take a bit of a swing on this. Yeah. Let's take a movie called Cocaine Bear and see how it does. And hats off to Elizabeth Banks. off to Elizabeth Banks. She did like the time and the money she had for that movie, she pulled out a conjuring trick.

It's a crazy movie and you kind of set the tone not to ruin anything for you guys. I like to think that I do. I like to think that I do. In fairness, that guy needs his own prequel. Because Andrew Thornton the third, if you read his Wikipedia page, you just go, holy God, how does he not have a TV

series of his own? The dance moves on the plane. All my own stunts. Is that you in the club? that what it looks like? That's what it used to be like, you know, bit of Elvis, Circa, you know, Las Vegas Elvis, Kung Fu moves. Thank you for mentioning Elvis. We didn't go back all the way. This man was Elvis when he was, what, 17? He's 17 years old. Before Austin Butler did his thing. Yes. Yes. Pre-butler. What was your Elvis like? What was your interpretation? It was, it was pelvis heavy. It was all in the hips.

Was this a school production? School production. It was white kind of tip me into the Royal Academy. I was just like, this is all life for me. Yeah. Yeah, it was, you know, I'm 17. I played him from 17 to, you know, Vegas jumpsuit. I was like, it was a, it was a gamut. It was a stretch. Does that, in relative seriousness, does that give you a different perspective when you watch the movie Elvis? Are you like, oh, wait, I went through that to a degree? I won't watch that movie. I won't watch that movie. Too close to home? Too close. It's too close to my stole your part. Yeah.

You auditioned. You auditioned for it. When I heard, Baslo was making it, was like, this is it. This is my chance. And my agent was like, Tom Hanks is playing Colonel Tom's son. I was like, oh, wait, what? Yeah. It's like the moment where, like, because I'm obsessed with Jaws.

And he's like, my agent was like, I've got good news. He's like, what? They're going to make the movie of the SS Indianapolis, the speech that Quint in George says about delivering the bomb. And I was like, oh my God, amazing. He goes, so I want to put you up for the old captain. I went, No, the young sailor.

I was like, what do you mean the old captain? I want to try up for young quint. He goes, exactly. He's called young quint. He goes, you're older now than when Robert Shaw made jaws. I was like, what? To be fair,

Robert Shaw had a lot of hard living. That's what I said. As in Robert Shaw, it's about 65 in that. I could play young Robert Shaw. Hello? Hello? Bastard. Yeah.

I mean, how high? your voice just went, I think you could play a child. You see? I've always said, my range is massive. No one believes me. Do you want me a portion of more? Oh, I'm so sorry. Yes. Allow me. Do you resent... Everyone, yes.

Working actors. Let's get to the real stuff. Yeah, come on. Kerry's been in a Star Wars movie, a Mission Impossible movie. Yes. Where's your big franchise, buddy? I'm still waiting. I mean, look how many franchises are. Franchises are out there. And she's done Planet of the Apes now that I think about it.

She's done all of them. She's done every. Yes, I'm just, I'm going to. Where do you fit in? Is it Fast and the Furious? What's your franchise? I'm literally like this. I'll take any franchise.

I'll do any franchise at this point. I'm not proud. Have you auditioned for a superhero? Have you, what's the most embarrassing audition story you can give me? Don't go all the way back to King Arthur. Give me, give me something. What do you got? So, so one of my, so.

After I did Titus, and I went back to L.A. thinking, right, I'll just get another big, you know, Hollywood film. It's great. So nothing. But so I would go back for pilot season every year. And then one year, Sylvester Stallone was producing a pilot. And I went in, and when you do it for network, you do about seven or eight auditions for different producers, and it gets crazy. And then so you're like, you're going to network, which is when you're in front of all the network producers. So it's very, everyone gets very stressed. out. And you work with the casting director, you work with an acting coach, there's about four or five you left and you, you know, working for an afternoon. And then they were like, Sylvester's

going to come in and talk to you. You're like, oh my God, Rocky's coming in. And he came in one at a time, like to speak individually with us. And so I've done all this work. He's very, very, very quiet, kind of, you know, contemplative piece and very understated and subtle. And he comes in, he's looking at my resume, he's like, you do theater? And I'm like, I'm like, yeah, yeah, he goes, let me hear you shout at her. And I was like, yeah, yes, I could shout at it. It's not quite the piece.

He's like, use your lung, shout at her, right? So then, and this is literally just before you're going into tradition. So I'm now, I'm like, what do I? Like, he's the producer who told me what to do. I've rehearsed it one way, so I go in, and you only use half-assed two things. in your mind at the same time. And then your third eyes going,

this is terrible. And you can slightly see Stallone kind of going, you're not really shouting. And then you can see all the other acting people going, what's he doing? This isn't what we rehearsed. And it was a very important Hollywood story for me. The worst audition was having to audition to play,

we call them pot noodles in the UK. It's like, you know, instant noodles. Uh-huh. And you're like, you're a pot of noodles. And you're like, what? you're like a crazy pot of noodles you're like a crazy pot of noodles you're like oh my God

that was the most that was the most demeaning moment of my life before now, before tonight this ranks highly yeah did you have to audition for Spielberg you were in the Post no well Spielberg was a producer on

that was another weird moment he was one of the producers on the Americans and he said come in to have a meeting on a talk about this movie I'm doing called The Post with Tom Hanks he's like oh so he's telling me all about this this part um danielsberg and then and then right in the middle of the meeting he just goes like this he goes anyway i want you to play the part right and i had that moment where i go i'm not sure if he said i want you to play the part

right so i go i can't go i'm so sorry this is people could you say that again right so i'm sitting there going and and he's two producers next to him kind of going oh he doesn't didn't seem that happy about it, because I'm just like this. And then he finishes it, I go, thanks very much, thanks, bye. And I walk out with a priest who walks around, she goes, everything okay? And I was like, did he say he wants me? She goes, yes. And I went, oh, that was my moment to stand up and cry and hug him and do the speech from

jaws. Are you looking for a young quince? Yeah, he's like, stop doing it. Quint, what are you doing? Y'all know me. You know how I make a living. Why, I mean, this is a stupid question, why Jaws is a perfect movie? I don't know.

It was just one of those movies that just catches you. You go, oh my God, it's like one of those, it was just one of those visceral moments when I was young and you see a movie that you can't quite believe, that it moves you in such a way, you're going, oh my God, what's going to happen next? It was, it's like to me the perfect movie and it's just stayed with me in that way. It's one of those rare, that and the Princess Bride, if it's on TV, it's, it's If they're on TV, I'll always, you're like, right, that's it. Cancel everything, we're in.

No, no, it is a short list of perfect movies. Those two are on the list. Yeah. They are. There's no fat on the bone. It's perfect, right? Every scene is perfect. I'm very proud of my six-year-olds have started going, see, the clips of insanity?

And saying things like, inconceivable. And I'm like, don't be an actor, yeah. Is it true you speak to your child in Welsh? It is, yeah, yeah. I was raised as a first language Welsh speaker. And it's a big I think, you know, it is a big deal in Wales because it's a threatened language

and our parents were really fought in the 80s for it to be recognised as an official language, even though it's one of the oldest in Europe. So it's something very intrinsic, you know, for me, for his upbringing, for him to have, to be the only person in Brooklyn who can speak well.

And it's a way to keep secrets from your partner, from Kerry. Well, no, I thought so. I did think so. But she Her Welsh is far better than I thought, so that's ended badly a few times. We have some audience questions, but before we get to that, I've got the Happy Second Fused Perfamily Random Questionary. You ready for some random stuff?

As if what I've done before hasn't been random. I lived my life randomly, yes. What's the wallpaper on your phone, Matthew Reese? Oh, God. It's something very pedestrian. I don't think I have wallpaper. No, I don't look. It's still factory settings.

Oh, no. Yep. Yes. My family mean nothing to me. There's no inner soul. There's nothing. There's nothing. This is like me. Nothing. What is? Because I'm the person going, giving to the 15 year old going, how do I change this? No. What is that? I don't speak that language. Okay. Backstage, we're going to put quint on at least. We're going to do that. Okay. That would be good. Yeah. Yeah. Favorite adult beverage will be close. What do we got? I think the, it's a toss up. I mean, I mean, I mean, Penn Denham for Special. occasions, it's between Guinness and red wine. Never both. Sometimes, yeah, yes.

Guinness. Let's see, James Bond or Doctor Who? Dr. Who? Yeah. I feel like that could be your skill set. This is the role to manifest. Yes. Doctor Who?

Yeah. Yeah. If they came calling, interested? Yeah, 100%. I did audition, you know, when, before Daniel Craig, when a number of people were invited to interview the Broccoli and I was invited to go in the broccoli offices which look out

over Hyde Park unbelievable and we were told to put on a nice dark suit and to read Casino Royale and so in I go like everyone is outside just like oh my God this is the life-changing audition and I go and sit down and the first question is like

what would you do differently with James Bond and I went I was like, that question hadn't even crossed my mind because I thought, it's a trick question. If we say something very different, they were like, you know, like, or if you say, oh, are they looking for the person who's going to do something entirely different?

Right. So, like, as a joke, I was like, limp. Crickets. And then I tried again. I was like, I patch. And then I was like, um... You're doubling down, you're going in. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Anyway, nice to meet you. Yeah, thank you so much. This is a great office. Daniel Greig's outside. He's great. What a great story, though. Did you, uh, did you practice your Bon James Bond in the mirror prior to that meeting? Yes, because Yohan, my flatmate also was doing the same.

We're all, two pair of us are in the bathroom going, names bond. Like, stop impersonating Connery. That's the last thing we should be doing. Yes, very nice to be here too. Oh man. I know. Let's see. Tattoos, yay, nay.

Can't show you. Okay. Well, I wasn't, okay. You had some? No, no, I don't. I just like to say that. What's the worst note a director has ever given you or could give you? Don't do anything with your face.

In fact, stop moving your face. You're like, ah. Another great one was, it was a, it was a, I was going to say a foreign director. I'm foreign. I'm the foreigner here Yes And he was like He was arguing with another actor

And he was like You think I know fuck nothing But I know fuck all I'm not I mean that's a James Bond villain Yeah I was I was like That's what I should have done Forget Bond I want to do the villains

I know how I'll play it Who's the last big time movie star He's texted Who do you text? Who would name drop? A big one? Yeah, go us. Yeah.

Didn't text back, though. Hello? Father? Is still you? Are you still using this number? I love you. In the spirit of happy, say, confused, who's an actor that makes you happy?

Robert Shaw. What's a movie that makes you sad? Kramer versus Kramer. That's a good one. What's a food that makes you confused? Spaghetti. What? It's a joke.

I'm like, how do I start on this? A spoon. I don't know. I'm a great lover of food, so nothing, it doesn't confuse me. I might see it's a challenge. I don't there's nothing that's really confused I was in one of my my greatest indulgences were always to take long horse trips in strange places and the most confused I've ever been was I was in Mongolia on a big horse trip and we would

ride from kind of you know they were all kind of following nomadic herdsmen and we would ride and they would set up a camp and then we'd go in and stay the night with them and and this guy this one guy, we just came in, it was freezing, it was snowing, and he puts this metal bowl in front of me. And I was like, what is that? And it was kind of a bit like yogurt, a bit like custard.

There's a lot of kind of horse hair in all, like animal hair in it. And they give me a spoon, and they go, and I was like, are they telling me to eat it? So I just go, I went, thanks. I was like, oh my God, what is that? And then they're trying to, they're like, I was like, is it milk?

It's like, is it curdled milk? And they were like, and they explained to me it was like the first milk, you know, when a cow carbs and they take the first milk and they let it set. And then they just kind of eat it like a custard. Except there was so much hay in it. I was like, oh.

And then May, he had followed it with May's milk, Arach, May's milk. That was a tough day. Yeah. Yeah. And then a warm beer. They give me a warm beer.

Oof. Bless them. They were so hospitable. They were like, They warmed the beer. I was washing it down with like a hot Heineken going. Some audience questions. Aaron wants to know when reading a pilot script,

what do you look for on the page? What do you respond to it? Oh, very, very first thing, where does it shoot? When does it shoot? Yeah, no, who, what do I look for on the title page? What was the question? In the script? What do you respond to you?

Oh, I don't read the script. I just turn up. Yes. I mean, all the... What for your name? I mean, the thing that's always for me is, like, do... How much do I want to get to the last page? I'm always like, if I'm in, I'm kind of in.

So that's always like, is the kind of... Spielberg always says, I just... When I'm reading something, is it the thing I want to... I, as a person, would want to watch. And I totally agree with him. If it's the kind of thing you go, oh, my God, I would love to see this. Then inevitably, I'm in. If it's not that great, then I'll ask where there's a shoe.

Who's catering? Yeah, things like that. Will there be curded, warm beer? Yeah, Iraq, yeah, and a hot Heineken. Let's see, John wants to know, I grew up on Raymond Burr's Perry Mason. Did his performance influence your interpretation of the role, if so, how?

It didn't, and, you know, the show was big in the UK, but I had a real memory of it. You know, I can't name any episodes or any famous guest stars who broke down on the stand or, you know, confessed. And I very, very deliberately didn't go back. Because I have, I do have, there's been a couple of instances, the graduate being one, where I did go back.

And then inevitably, I know myself too well, I just will imitate and copy and steal. And you, things like a graduate, you can't steal from the graduate because people are like, that's in the film, you're thief. Yeah. Make up your own performance. Dustin Hoffman came to see it. And that was my introduction to kind of when famous,

people go to see plays to see other famous people they don't know because I didn't know like all these famous people will come to see Kathleen Turner and I was like I didn't know you knew all these people she goes I don't they come around afterwards and say congratulations like but you don't know them you're in the secret club now it's the secret code it's a club yeah and I'm like oh my god and she'd very kindly invite me in to kind of meet all these people and then I don't know why he did this company manager one day we're literally about to go on he went Dustin Hoffman is in and I was like what? So then we all kind of huddle afterwards, going, waiting for him, not actually, but kind of around the corner, waiting for like,

do, Ms. Turner, you ever go, go, get, didn't come. And I was like, oh, he must have hated it. Or he must have seen the bits where I nicked from his performance. He was like, that was my performance. So there's no closure on that to this today? Open-ended. If I ever see him, I'll be like, what was it, Dustin? Come on.

Was it? Yeah. You couldn't come around and just say one congratulations, even to Kathleen. I'm walking here. Tony wants to... Tony wants to know

what is Perry's motivating drive? Justice, compassion, a desire to stick it to people in power. In your mind, what's the driving force? What guides the performance? It is justice. And I always thought it's a far... I like to think it's a far simpler take

for Mason that things are just ultimately right. In fact, it came It came from a line in the first season when he goes, there's what's right and there's what's wrong. And then there's how you go about it. So that's what I love about Mason. His life lives in the mess and the gray,

but the things that are very clear to him is when something is right and when something is wrong. And when it's wrong, and it should be righted, then you have to do something about it. I love his simplicity in that respect. Stephen wants to know. Perry seems to be in a lot of dangerous situations, chases, horses, motorcycles. Do you see him as a secret thrill-seeker, a reckless fatalist?

Kind of a little bit of everything. You know, he was, in the origin, they made him a First World War veteran. So, you know, in that respect, he's seen a number of things that I think some of the situations he's now and don't really bother him that much. and I think in this season they wanted to kind of see elements they were like where do we see

what does Mason like where do we see his private moments where's his escape we know we've done the booze but like where's and the motorbike that came of that was like where's these private moments where he feels a moment of peace

or freedom or whatever and then and then the horses they were like what do you want to do I was like I want to get back on a horse and they were like all right so they wrote You seem very happy in that scene I just saw. There was a lot of like unbridled happy. On the horse?

Yeah. Yeah. I used to own horses in L.A. and ride them around Griffith Park. So they very kindly wrote that scene. All the trails I used to ride. Got to use your producer power for good. Yeah. Put me on a horse.

Bring another two of these. Yeah. What's on the list for season three if we get one? We don't know. So we wait now until all eight of it and then the numbers come in. And then, you know, the calculators come out and they see whether so it's worth making a third season. And I want to mention extrapolations,

which is a series that is important on a number of levels because my wife's here, who works in an environmental group, and it's obviously, I don't want to spoil anything, but he has a memorable pivotal role in the series. Well, that's what I told you. It's pivotal. It is a pivotal role. What's the motivating factor to get involved in something like that?

That's got Meryl, this amazing ensemble cast. I was very fortunate to know, it's a show on Apple of the moment called Extrapolations, the writer-creator Scott Burns is a very old friend of mine and who is heavily devoted to using this medium to try and push these environmental issues. And it was a tough sell, as you can imagine. You go, you know, he went to all the streamers with this show and they're like, ooh, it's a bit dark, isn't it?

He's like, yep, yep, yeah, oh, sorry. Yeah, just needs a song. And he was like, look, I love it if you, you know, came aboard on this. And I was like, who else is in it? Streep? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, I was in as soon as he said, I love his writing and I love what he fights for. So I was in immediately.

So where is the song in dance? Have you ever sung that out? They cut that out, you know. Well, going forward, have you ever sung on camera? Have you ever, is that an interest? No, God, no. No. They're trained professionals who do that, and I leave it to them.

Karaoke nights and shower. Oh, yeah, yeah. Karaoke, you know, Tom Jones gets a thorough outing on karaoke. Is there, like, a little bit of a Welsh club? Like, do you like, tutor Taryn Edgerton? Like, oh, you're the next guy? We got a... Well, no, the first time I met Taryn.

He's like, up for every award under the sun. I was like, oh, you're doing all right, you know. I was not anything for me. Yeah. All right attention for James Bond. Yeah, come back, we're both Welsh. Yeah. Yeah.

No, there's a great number of them doing incredibly well, so, you know, they need nothing from me. But we, you know, we're a small nation who kind of rally together. And, you know, it's those nations, sometimes when you've got neighbors like England, you need to shout louder to make yourself heard and identified, so we tend to be a bit raucous. Well, if you hear a couple people speaking Welsh in Brooklyn, it's either this guy or his son. So yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, your guesses would be pretty accurate, I'd imagine. And finally, I feel like this is the only conversation you ever had where the boat isn't mentioned.

We should mention at least once. I know, I'm a terrible... It's kind of a fascinating story. If you guys don't know, on a late night, I don't know if there was booze involved. It was this exact brand of whiskey. So you're trolling the internet, you're looking around. At all boats, which I would like to do, grew up, you know, sailing a bit, and then... And then...

Next thing you know. And a bit of a Hemingway fan. And then I see this old Wheeler playmate on eBay. And I'm like, oh my God, it's the same class that Hemingway had, you know, Pilate. They were built in Brooklyn in the 30s. And then I saw it. She was named in 1939.

She was named Rearbit, like Welsh Raybitt. I was like, this is fated. I must buy an ancient old wooden boat and restore it to its former glory. Wake up, darling, I've got a great idea. How many other stories like that are there of things you've purchased that didn't work out with... That's where I've begun and ended that kind of madness, because it was a four, three and a half year restoration and we put her in the New York Harbor last summer and she can, she's now available for Charter. You can charter her and take her out.

This guy could show up, you never know. I've done several when we lose the deck hand, I'm like, I'm in, I'm in, put me in. and I like make rare bits with a blow torch and, you know, it's madness. It's a wonder we're still alive. All right, I might sign up and bring one of these bottles with me.

Bring one. We'll never make it home alive. Oh, gosh. It's been a pleasure. It's a shame. Look, he's a talented actor, but he's not a charming individual, as you can tell. Whiskey. It helps everything, right?

Yep. Enjoyed the new season, if you haven't already. Perry Mason is fantastic. It's on HBO and HBO Max. It's right, I guess we're right at the midpoint right now, so check it out if you haven't already. And please give it up one more time. Our first time guest on Happy Say Confused, the wonderful Mr. Matthew Reese. We did it.

Cheers. Cheers. 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 I should do this by Josh American history is full of infamous tales

that continue to captivate audiences decades or even hundreds of years after they happened. On the infamous America podcast, you'll hear the true stories of the Salem Witch Trials and the escape attempts from Alcatraz, of bank robbers like John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd, of killers like Lizzie Borden and Charles Starkweather, of mysteries like the Black Dahlia

and D.B. Cooper, and of events that inspired movies like Goodfellas, killers of the flower moon, Zodiac, Eight Men Out, and many more. I'm Chris Wimmer. Join me as we crisscrossed the country from the Miami Drug Wars and Dixie Mafia in the South, to mobsters in Chicago and New York, to arsonists, kidnappers, and killers in California, to unsolved mysteries in the heartland and in remote corners of Alaska. Every episode features narrative writing and cinematic music, and there are hundreds of episodes available to binge. Find Infamous America, wherever you get your podcasts.