Happy Sad Confused - Michael Fassbender, Vol. V

Episode Date: March 13, 2025

Michael Fassbender returns to the podcast (5th time!) and the cause is good this time as he's got an excellent Steven Soderbergh film to promote (BLACK BAG). But there's much more to this chat including a horrible Mad Max audition story, the time he thought he blew his Quentin Tarantino meeting, and more. UPCOMING EVENT! Nathan Lane -- March 20th in New York -- Tickets here Paul Feig -- April 6th in Miami -- ⁠Tickets here!⁠ C2E2 events in Chicago April 12th -- ⁠Tickets here⁠! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Quince -- Go to Quince.com/happysadco for 365 day returns and free shipping! 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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The twisted tale of Amanda Knox is now streaming only on Disney Plus. And I arrived in at the audition with Quinton. And first of all, like it was a massive hero. I had done a play of Reservoir Dogs when I was 18. I told him that. And he was looking at me and I was like, we gave the money to charity. And he was like, good, man. He was like, I don't want people making money out of my shit.

And I was like, okay, I was like, I was 18. It was in Killarney in Ireland. It was like, we had, I think, sold a 140 tickets. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Hey, guys, it's Josh. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. A big one today.

Returning champion, Michael Fastbender, for the fifth time. Yes, he joins the Five Timers Club on Happy, Say, Confused. It is a fun conversation. I'm very excited to share with you guys. a second. But first, lots of stuff to announce. A lot of things going on in the happy, say, confused universe, live events. And by the way, all of this stuff, as always, check it out on our Patreon page. That's where you get the early announcements, the discount codes, the merch, the autograph stuff, all the cool things. Patreon.com slash happy, say I confused, check it out,

give it a whirl, satisfaction guaranteed. Okay, so all the information for these live events is in the show notes, but let me just run it down for you. March 20th, the New York City. We've announced this one previously, but just to remind you guys, Nathan Lane, first-time guest on Happy Second Fused, that'll be a blast. Then we just announced this. This is so cool. We're hitting Miami.

Miami is going to be welcoming Happy Second Fused for a special live event where we screen another simple favor, yes, the sequel with Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, and then following that screening, that special early screening, I'll be sitting down with Paul Feig. He's going to be receiving the precious gem award from Miami. And then I'm going to be recording a live happy, say I confused event with him there. So very cool. April 6th, if you happen to be in Florida, if you want to make the trip, come see us there.

It's going to be a blast. Then, if you're in Chicago, if you're in the Midwest, come on out to C2-E2 guys. I've been to Chicago, but never to C2E2, which is a very cool con from the same folks to do New York Comic-Con, and I'm going to be hosting a bunch of really, really, really cool events there. It all happens on April, wait, when we get this right, April 12th, April 12th, Saturday, April 12th, four different events I'm going to be hosting. The big one, the marquee one, and settle in.

You ready for this? 40th anniversary of the breakfast club with the entire gang. I believe this is the first time they've all gathered together. Emilio Estevez doesn't do this thing, this kind of thing. He's doing it for us. Apparently, I've heard, by the way, through the grapevine that he's a fan of Happy Sank and Fused. That's pretty awesome. Never met Emilio.

Anyway, yeah, Molly Ringwald, Ali Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, and Emilio gathering for the first time in 40 years. Epic. I mean, I think they reunite maybe, I think actually, MTV movie or video music awards at one time, but this kind of event is very rare. So cool. Also, I'll be sitting down with John Boyega. Love John. He's on the podcast before. I'm going to be talking to a couple of the folks from Once Upon a Time, including Lana Perilla and a couple others, Rebecca Mayter, and Sean McGuire, I believe as well is going to be on that panel. And I'm also going to be chatting. And this is one that's making my nerd heart very happy.

Peter Weller and Nancy Travis to talk Robocop. Yeah, yeah. So that one's for me. I mean, they're all for me, but that one's like, that's in my bones, Robocop. Come on. So if you're in Chicago, if you want to make plans, make it a trip, get your tickets now. C2E2, they've got a lot of other very cool folks are going to be out there. I think Sam Hewans actually going to be out there.

I'm going to try to connect with Sam on there. Anyway, that's a lot. And there's more to come. All right. Let's talk about Michael Fastbender for a second, because Michael is one of those rare five timers now. Unhappy, say, I confused, and I always love chatting with him. We are very, we have very, very similar reference points and likes, and I think that's part of why I've always enjoyed chatting with him. I think we're almost exactly a year apart in age.

Both grew up obsessed with, like, 80s stupid TV shows like Night Rider and Hardcastle, McCorm. both can quote Bay Lobowski backwards and forwards. The only difference is that I host a podcast and he's one of the most charismatic movie and TV stars on the planet. But besides that, we're basically twins. But this is a really fun one.

We are chatting about, among other things, his reunion with Steven Soderberg. You'll remember he was in Haywire about 15 years ago. This new film is Black Bag. It's really great. It's getting fantastic reviews and justifiably.

So it's him and Kate Blanchett, Naomi Harris, Ray Gage on Page. And it's kind of a twisty, terny, who done it of sorts about spies. And Kate Blanchett and Michael are a married couple. Yeah, kind of the less you know, the better. But this is like a really riveting smart script by David Kep, one of the best screenwriters, most accomplished screenwriters of the last 30 years. So, yeah, check that movie out. I think, you'll, guys, we'll dig it.

And anyway, Michael and I, of course, cover a lot of other things. We hit some of the famous best, you know, films of his career, whether it's, you know, In Glorious Bastards, the X-Men films. But also talk a lot of fun audition stories, including one that I'd never heard him talk about. This is probably the first time maybe he's ever spoken about it. But I had heard that he auditioned way back when for Mad Max and got the dirt from him on what happened. And it's a fun story. So stay tuned for that, among other things.

I think that's about it. guess i'll just mention this sorry this intro is so long you can skip past it though here's a pet peeve folks that get angry at me i see the com i see occasionally a comment be like he's talking too much during the intro there's a fast forward button i'm aware of this i listen to podcast too i watch youtube i know there's an ability to literally just like move the thing over if you don't want to hear me droning on and on this is a free country oh my god this is all free guys What are we complaining for? Anyway, there's my rant.

You saw the dark side. I apologize. What was I talking about? Oh, I wanted to just mention. I got a chance to host a really fun event in Los Angeles a couple days ago. HBO asked me to moderate their FYC panel for House of the Dragon, which was a great honor. Obviously, I've done stuff with Matt Smith and Emma Darcy. did a New York Comic-Conn event with Tom Gun Carney and Fabi and Frankel.

So it was great to see all of them together. They had really not seen each other in a long time. Also Olivia Cook, who I'd done stuff with way back one that hadn't seen for a while and had never met like the showrunners, Ryan and Sarah, Steve Toussaint hadn't met him. Oh, and you and Mitchell, who seemed lovely, ran to him a few times at the hotel. Nice guy. And what a great performance in the show. Anyway, I don't know. There's talk that this may turn into a happy say I confused. I have to actually investigate. I think they captured it on video. So stay tuned for that. Hopefully I'll be able to share that with you guys as an actual happy say I confused episode because it was a really, it was a really special thing and a rare thing for the cast to gather together. And they're about to go into production very soon. very soon on season three. So some small teases for season three as well.

Okay, that's it. That was a lot. I apologize. But again, you can just fast forward, guys, if you don't want to hear from me and just want to get to the Fast Bender. Okay. By the way, thanks everyone for all the great responses

to Hans Zimmer. Maybe we'll do more composers. You guys seem to enjoy that one. I did too. So thank you for that. Okay. Michael Fastbender, main event, happy, say, confused.

Please enjoy it. It was great also to see him in person, by the way. And if you like Fastbender, if you like Steven Soderberg, if you like good movies, check out BlackBag. It is about to hit theaters March 14th, something like that. It's about to be in theaters. So check it out. And enjoy my chat with Michael Fastbender. Michael Fastbender in person.

I know. I don't think I've seen you in physical form in a thousand years. You exist. Why was the last time? I mean, pre-pandemic. I'm going to say 2016. Don't even say that. That would make me sad.

I think it could be. It's good to see you, though, as always. It's good to see you. You've a lot going on. We're spreading a good word of Black Bag, Steven Soderberg. The team's back together. The team's back together. It took, well, 15 years ago.

Yeah, we last worked together. I know. Okay, so we're going to get to that. But first, I was saying, you've been in New York for a minute. Yep. Is it All Press? Are you taking in any culture, anything? Yesterday, I went to a place where you hit, like, golf balls into a screen.

That's culture. I thought it was pretty good. It was cultural. You're a golfer. I am a golfer. Obviously, you're not a golfer. I mean, I'm a miniature golfer. You know what that was from?

No. Obviously, you're not a golfer. No, I missed the reference. Okay. Oh, I failed you already. Wait, give it to me. What is it? There's a bowling ball.

Capeen? Nope. Big Lobowski. Your go-to. What the fuck is this? Obviously, you're not a golfer. Right, of course. Does it look like I'm married?

The toilet seat is up. Anyway. There is no anyway. I was going to ask you to do your one man, Wabowski, so we're off to the races already. Oh, you were? Okay, great. You've never done theater here in New York, have you? I haven't.

In fact, I haven't done much theater at all professionally, just in my bedroom. I, you know, I did a play right out of drama school, and then I did a play in a play in a Edinburgh Festival. Right. And that was the last time. That was 2006. There's no hankering. There's no...

You know, I have been thinking about it, actually, recently. That, yeah, I'd like to go back to it at some point again. It's on my list for you. I know you want to know what's on my list for you. What my goals for you are? Yeah. One of them is the do theater here in New York. You know what I thought would have been...

Would make a great play is Steve Jobs, actually. I'm putting it out there. A million percent. Aaron Sorkin, if you're listening, watching. Yeah, he's a big fan. I think it would be a great stage play. And you want to be the man for the... Have you done it already?

It's in your head. I've done it already. It's there somewhere. Although, having said that, I was just, you know, talking about this yesterday. It's amazing how I forget lines so quickly. And yet, Wabowski's there forever. But your own lines. There's certain things, and Fletch is there forever.

You know, certain things have just stuck. But the stuff that I've actually done personally, I find it very hard to recall lines that I've done. Are you a Fletch Lips fan or just the original Fletch? The original. Yeah, Fletch Lips, the plantation thing's weird. There's some... There's some scenes that are good, you know, the bendover scene and stuff comes to mind. But no, the first one is absolute classic.

Could be like one of my favorite of that era, actually. I think Chevy Chase at that time was just king of the sort of... throw away one-liners. Totally. So what, in a nutshell, what is the genius of Wobowski? Is it Jeff's performance? Is it... I think it's one of those things, because I remember at the time, the reviews weren't great, right? And then I ended up watching it, it might have even been video cassette then, I have no idea, or a DVD. What I love about it, I guess, first and foremost, is that I just had no idea what was coming next. Right. You know, it's so, so much, you know, when you're watching a film, there's a familiarity there where you kind

of know what the trajectory is going to be. Right. And I just had no idea what comes next. And the idea, you know, that this guy's signing a check for carton of milk, just the opening of it, the writing, the characters, and then on sort of, you know, watching it sort of again and again, you just pick up each, you know, little details each time along the way. What's the favorite moment in the film? I'm thinking back there.

There's one moment that always, I remember seeing it the first time, it was just, I'll tell you mine. I'll tell you mine. So when Jackie Treehorn has just like left the conversation and he scratches down and discovers what he's been. That is excellent. But there's so many when they go to see,

you're killing your father, Larry. That whole sequence to then. This is what happens. This is what happens, Larry. You know, right to the sequence when then they're in the car and the windows sort of, you know, gone in the front and the wind's blowing in. They're eating in and out burgers. That whole sequence is pretty great, but all of it sort of gold dust for me. I absolutely love it.

Do you tend to go back and rewatch movies or explore new movies, just in your day-to-day, enjoy me? Because I actually caught up with Alicia back at Toronto, and she said that you guys have respective kind of running lists of movies to watch. You have a list that's kind of like top of mind? You know, I was the other night actually, I was just sort of going to watch something before going to sleep and I was trying to get the French connection. And... Honour of Mr. The great Gene Hackman. Yeah.

And just, you know, I've just, I don't know how I stumbled across it, but I was watching sort of these Billy Freakins sort of interviews about shooting it and the whole process and you know, the casting of Gene Hackman and how they, he didn't, you know, at one point when Gene Hackman wandered out, I think pretty early on. Right. Didn't think, you know, he was right for the part and was sort of forever grateful to freak and for convincing him to stay.

Yeah. And then the fact that they didn't have any permits. I know, they always talk about the, the car chase that was really totally illegal and could have gotten everybody killed, basically. I know, and you just think, God, you know, that was the days of sort of, well, health and safety hadn't sort of been introduced.

Yeah. So I do revisit like old films like there. I watched again in the space of like six months twice. I watched once upon a time in America again. Sometimes I just go back to, you know, the sort of the classics. Do you ever look at one of my favorite annual traditions, speaking of like rewatching or watching stuff is Soderberg's list of all the media he consumed over a year? Do you know he does this?

No. Oh, you have to check this out. Every year he keeps out like a running log of every book. TV show movie he watches and consumes and then publishes it on like he's a website and it's fascinating. I mean, you know the man. Yeah. He, and it's like real housewives, Star Wars and like Tarkovsky. It's like every possible thing that he.

That's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he's such a brilliant mind and always just so interesting to sort of, you know, have conversations with him. You know, he's quite quiet on set. Right. But, you know, any time you sort of, you know, go to him and approach him and ask him anything, he's just sort of wide open.

He's super generous. It was a real joy to get back working with him again. Just the sort of atmosphere he sets on set and just the way he approaches the work, you know, and the fact that he's lighting, you know, operating the camera most of the time. Yeah, I was going to say that. So for people that don't know, this is, I mean, that's as unusual as it gets. I don't know if you've ever worked with another filmmaker that's operated their own. camera but I have um yeah sometimes and I'm trying to think who it was and but

it's not like a regular thing right this is he does virtually everything he does everything except the wheels he says he doesn't like right that there's probably a correct car no you do that that's the wheels of steel so how did that change the dynamic because often I talk to actors that like you know you get you you form a relationship with the camera operator the ACAM absolutely and this is your director So I don't know, just how does that inform your relationship with your camera operator who happens to be your director when it's Steven Soderberg? I guess it's just one less person to develop a relationship with, really.

But you're absolutely right. I always find that you do develop a relationship with the person behind the camera. You know, I guess there's different schools of thought. I like to always sort of acknowledge that the camera is there rather than pretend it's not. And to sort of, you know, establish that relationship. And then, you know, to sort of be able to technically, for focus pullers as well, like give them little tells to allow them to know that you're going to move a certain way because it becomes a sort of dance between you and that space between you. I really enjoy that, you know, that's sort of the technical aspect of that. And with Stephen, you know, you just feel this sort of energy behind the camera.

he just sort of gives at the beginning I guess on day one you're a little bit like oh my god is he happy or because we're moving on now after two or three takes is he just thinking that's the best I'm going to get out of this guy well after you've done Fincher you're like yes exactly and you know I always

think of the two of them because they're good friends right right they're actually very similar in the sense that I always sort of do this analogy I don't know it was probably because it's the only thing that I know outside of acting is like I think of it like a kitchen. Right. And it's like both those guys are sort of, would have started off washing pots.

Yeah, yeah. And then work their way through the different stations in a kitchen and now they're executive chefs. Right, right. You know, but they have a very deep understanding of how to make a film. Right. Each department within a filming process have a language for each department. and an overall understanding of cinema,

and the history of cinema, but very different ways of executing. Could it be more different. I mean, when you look at your filmography, from Malik to those two guys, I mean, it's all over the map. And clearly you get something out of every kind of collaboration. Because I was also thinking, like,

we were talking about, you know, Stephen offering the camera, you've probably worked with directors where it's like, they're in Video Village, they're like clear on the other end like Ridley you know would sit in the tent and there's five cameras going right and he's sitting there like a general going you know can't you know a camera you know moved down pan in move to the you know the camera tilt to you know to the right a little bit and it's incredible to watch and again

all of them are very generous so you know they'll share whatever you know their experience is with you and I love that you know you sort of when you jump on board you you follow the vision of the director. Yeah. One of the proudest sort of moments for me was actually introducing Malik to Ridley. Come on. You know, because we were doing promotion

for Alien Covenant South by South West. And Terrence obviously lives in Austin. So I was like, come around to the hotel room, you know. And they were sitting there like this, you know, Ridley and Terence Malik of that same generation, but very different ways of... Yeah.

of filming and the process of filming. I couldn't imagine, like, Ridley, I mean, you know, he's the alpha in every room, but like, does even he have a little deference to? It was interesting to see, because obviously there's, you know, respect there are between them, yeah. But again, just very different, you know, storytellers, you know.

Let's follow this butterfly for the next 10 hours. But yeah, you know, but again, But again, what I found, you know, it's always interesting to find the similarities. Both of them have just unbelievable reservoirs of energy. Yeah. You know, it's, there's something about, I guess, that post-World War II generation. Right. Where their fathers had proven themselves in the highest sort of, you know, extreme circumstances you could imagine.

And they have that drive to work and just sort of amazing to think that they don't get tired. I know. I mean, it's an inspiration. That's very similar between both them. Yeah, I mean, in a career of like surreal moments is like being part of alien, those films, being directed by Ridley, being on those sets, seeing things that are reminiscent of stuff that you grew up watching. Is that pretty high up there? Definitely. I mean, you know, when I sort of got cast in Prometheus, I think I was shooting some stuff for shame. And it was actually Steve McQueen. He was like, you've got to enjoy yourself.

You know, you've got to enjoy it. Take this in. And that kind of resonated with me. I was like, at the end of the day, I've really got to enjoy this. Yeah. And it was, you know, again, first day on set with Ridley, just great little notes and very actor-friendly. I didn't have imagined that going into it, you know, that he would be like that. But he is very much like that.

Did I ever tell you, I had a conversation once with Christopher. walk-in for a movie and he ended up spending most of the interview talking about the end of Prometheus with me and really yes I have to get you this tape because you would you would really appreciate it on so many levels he I'm not going to do my walk-in but he basically was like where did that alien come from at the end it was albino what was it I'm trying to understand it so I think you need to talk to sir walk and explain the end of Prometheus is what I'm saying I've got to I can just imagine him saying all those things he was on a flight in front of me from Montreal to New York, and through the whole flight,

I was like, oh my God, I've got to approach him. What's your opener? What do you do? Well, we were leaving the plane. I was just like, excuse me, you know, Christopher. Christopher, Chris. And I was just like, you know, I'm a big fan. And he was like, oh, thanks, he didn't know who I was. You know, I'm pretty, but I was, it was a real moment.

I was very starstruck. Yeah. He's incredible. Deer Hunter, Dead Zone. Where do we go? True romance. you know him reading fairy tales you know in Saturday Night Live or whatever that is the Continental oh my god that yeah you know just just great and he was um actually

working with Jeffrey Wright had done um Shakespeare in the park with him here in New York and he said it was it's still remains the best thing he's ever seen watching Christopher Walken doing Shakespeare he said it was it sounded like he was just coming out with the there and there and then on the spot. During the Volvo Fall Experience event, discover exceptional offers and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of room for autumn adventures. And see for yourself how Volvo's legendary safety

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And that French cuisine? Book it. Yes, chef. Wait, what about Leon? Choose from our world of destinations if you can. Air Canada. Nice travels. All right, so circling back to this experience,

re-teaming with Soderberg after nearly 15 years, that's got to be a nice validation. It's one thing to cast you the first time, let's take a shot on this Michael Fastbender, but clearly he enjoyed the experience. Have you guys discussed other projects, before BlackBag came up? We'd always sort of, you know, through the years,

been in contact. But, you know, it's just one of those things. Nothing really sort of landed at the right time and, you know, right place. Was it very clear when you get this script and you have this conversation, this is... It happens very fast. He just was like, hey, what's up, Holmeslice?

He was like, got this thing for... Big Juno fan. Yeah, okay. He was like... I'm gonna figure that one, but sure. He was like, I got this thing, take a look at it, you know, what do you think? And then I emailed back the next day and I was like, I'm in. It was a very short, you know, emails back and forth.

It should all be that easy. I know. And then it all happened really fast. Then we were on set a couple months later and three months later and we were shooting. It was... What did you click into? What was about the script? It's basically...

David Kep is like so great. I mean, I just... It was like, you just start, I just started reading it immediately. I was intrigued, again, curious to see what was happening next. There's a real propulsion to the script. The characters, I could see all of them very clearly. You know, they were very well considered. And it was just obviously, you know, really intelligent and funny.

And it just moved, I just moved fast through it. Right. And then the idea of, you know, Stephen bringing his visual touch to it envision. I was like, yeah, it was a very quick decision, you know. And I think that was the same with everyone. Yeah, it's quite a cast. Yeah, I mean, it's like Mr. and Mrs. Smith with more dinner parties, basically. That's the shorthand. Exactly. It's like Poirot meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Yeah, it's a bit of that. Rather be in a weird way of like, I don't know if you ever saw, death trap, like, I don't know, there's some kind of like chamber drama aspect of it in a way.

It feels like there's elements that could play as a play, like, I mean, extended sequences. Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, I thought about that a lot. And what I also thought was like, you know, this genre is, obviously there's a lot going on in this genre at the moment. Yeah. There's a lot out there. And what I thought was interesting and, you know, we have a sort of lack of these days is that kind of film in that sort of budget zone for an adult sort of audience, you know, where it is entering into this sort of espionage universe, but it's really the intellectual warfare that's going on. Right. And also what's happening internally in this organization, as opposed to an external enemy, it's happening from within. Yeah. And one of the suspects on the list is George's wife who played George Woodhouse. It is Woodhouse, isn't it? It is, I believe. It's been a minute. You should know. I should know.

Makes me think of Snoopy. That's the next project. Is there a Woodhouse and Peanuts? Sure. Let's go with that. Is there? No, it's Woodhouse. is in The Simpsons, no? I don't know, you children that watch cartoons, not me.

Sorry. But no, there's something very pleasurable in watching like half a dozen intelligent characters really kind of play this game of wits, battle of wits together. That's right, and there's something also interesting about somebody who's not intelligent trying to look intelligent. No, it is that sort of battle of

the wits, you know, and it's a real who done it. You know, I think throughout, when I was certainly reading the script and then, you know, watching the film, it really does have that where you're second guessing all the time, right up to the end. Do you, do you fancy a dinner party? Do you, do you? I don't think I'll get invited to dinner parties. This might ruin the, after this movie, things that I'm drugging my guests. And with the DC, 27, whatever the hell it is that I put in the chana masala doesn't exist by the way okay good to know yeah because we were like what is that serum that gets people to tell the truth and you know Stephen of course did his research thankfully because I didn't and and he was like it doesn't

exist so like you know they were saying you just should make something up so that's where we made up DC whatever 17 I can't remember I bet in your illustrious fabulous celebrity life you've ended up at a dinner party and been like oh my god I'm sitting next to this person oh my god there in this room with me. Does anything pop to mind? I suppose, you know, meeting musicians. Yeah.

And Christopher Walken. Yeah. That was a plane. That wasn't a dinner party. That was a dinner. But we were sitting down next to each other, although he was in front of me. I was looking at the back of his head.

Strange dinner party. Yeah. I'm trying to think of dinners. Yeah, I guess I've been, you know, at gala's where there's certain, you know, I can't think I can't think of any I remember reading Laird Hamilton

which was a big thing and Michael Schumacher was a big moment for me so it's usually folks outside with walk and as an exception it's usually musicians, athletes I guess you know meeting Robert DeNior you know it happens a lot

and you know working with Quentin Tarantino doing a scene with John Malkovich and that Criterion classic Jonah Hex. I don't know if you've ever seen it. I have seen it. I covered that one. You weren't at the junket now. I was there, but I wasn't there.

No, no. What's the greatest thing that came out of your experience on Jonah Hex? You know, I love working with Josh. Yeah, he's fun. Yeah, and John Malkovich. Yeah, yeah. That was a real moment. You know, I've been such a huge fan for a long time.

To be in a scene with him, and he's so softly spoken. And then he goes into like a rain. like a rage. And then they're like cut. And he's like, when you're in Paris, where do you like to stay? He's just like, you know, garotted somebody or anything. And then, you know, Richard Gere recently, you know, being on a set with somebody like, it's happened a lot in my sort of working career where I'm on set with the likes of

Steven Soderberg. Yeah. You know, Ridley Scott and Quentin Tarantino, you know, where I'm definitely pinching myself. And what's been the most nervous you've been in an audition over the years? Wow, I messed up so many auditions If there's like Young or old actors out there That you know struggle with it

I struggle with it so much Yeah Yeah So I always like I hated the chit chat In an audition Let's just get to it Which is designed to sort of you know It did the opposite for me

You know I was like Oh I just don't care about you know I just wanted to get into what I had sort of rehearsed at home Right So I've always kind of And even like on set, you know, this film, whatever I'm doing, I'm always operating from a place of self-doubt. Still? Yeah, yeah.

It's like, I don't know if it's an Irish thing. I don't think it is. I think it's an actor. Every actor, this always comes up about like when does it go away. It never goes away. Maybe Denzel Washington. Like, I don't know. Who never doubts themselves?

I don't know. It's a little depressing, but I guess it keeps you sharp. You know, it's just the way it is for me And I guess it means I care You know, and it's just that thing And then when you start If you're in front of the camera And then you start going and doing it

Then you know those things sort of dissipate Sometimes But no, I always Kind of operate from that sort of place Of insecurity I guess Right So okay In my life as well

As a father I'm like Is that the right thing to do. Speaking of auditions, here's one that we've never discussed before. I came up in a book I read about the making of Fury Road. Did you audition for George Miller? Yes. Oh my God, that was one of the worst auditions, recent, I mean, recent that was back

probably 12 years ago. Yeah. But thankfully I haven't had to audition in a while. Can we relive that for a second? What was it like? Oh my God, it was awful. First of all, it was before, you know, I'm always trying to sort of think, could I get rid of my, you know, my phone, my smartphone?

And then I'm thinking for the one reason that I need Google Maps. Yeah. It's like my sense of direction is terrible. Yeah. So bad that like if my intuition says go right, I go the opposite way. And so I was going to like Warner Brothers in the valley, not complicated. I had those printouts, you know, on the seat next to me in the car, you know, take a left here or whatever, you know. And I got lost.

And I ended up getting to the audition almost like an hour late. And so I was not in the correct headspace. They were kind of like... Just like Max. Max was not a good driver. I know. I should have been more like Max where I'm like, whatever, you know.

But I arrived and I was like, I'm so sorry. And they were like, fine. And then George Miller has this acting coach. And it was like... It was so excruciating. You know, I've gone to... I've gone to, you know, I've not been classically trained. So, you know, I have my process of obviously there's an objective that the character has

and activities that I'm going to play to get it. So I felt like, you know, you're teaching your granny how to suck eggs here. This guy really got on my nerves. And he was like, I want you to say this phrase, get out of the room. But I want you to physicalize it, Michael. He was like, get out of the room. Get out of the room. So I was like, get out of the room.

Get out of the room. They're like, no, you don't have to do the hand thing. I do the hand thing. He was like, what are you doing? And I was like, no, I was doing the get out of the room. And physical, it was so, I couldn't wait to get out of there. So, obviously, I didn't get the part. That didn't go further after that day.

No, no, obviously, you know, Tom Hardy got the part and deservedly so. Speaking of Tom Hardy, so you are contemporaries. And here's, I found this very telling. He talked about how you guys went to school together. We went to drama school together, yeah. And how that... I think it was the year behind or maybe even two years behind.

I think he said that you were two years ahead. Two years ahead, yeah. And this is striking to me because I think of Tom Hardy as, you know, extreme, eccentric in the best possible way I love. I mean, I love Tom. I really do. Truly.

But he's talking about you in drama school as the guy that was extreme. Yeah, I was. He was like, you were doing a play, you were in a wheelchair, and you stayed in the wheelchair outside of the play. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was very much like that when I was younger.

Now I'm not like that. at all. But I was very much, you know, into, you know, the method. The actor studio here was kind of like the meca for me. I would have loved to have come here and studied in New York. But yeah, I used to very much like, you know, think, you know, live in it, you know, live and breathey character all the time while you're in it. And then, you know, as I sort of left that drama school and got into sort of, you know, working professionally, I then just sort of tailored my own. Right. style and now I prefer to sort of go in and out, you know, and to be able to step in and out of it. It's also self-preservation as a human being. Yes, 100%. Like if you're doing something like shame, like, oh my God, you don't want to be in that headspace. Yeah, that was definitely the darkest one, you know, that there, the residue sort of lasted a while with that. But I guess because the way I was working as well, I was jumping from one project to the next.

I used to do three, four films a year sometimes. Yeah. It was kind of, it wasn't by design. It just you sign up for something, it gets delayed. And next thing you know, they're all sort of back to back. So just for self-preservation, right. Yeah, and also, you know, to sort of keep friendships, you know, I didn't want to, you know, if you're meeting friends for dinner. They don't want to meet the guy from shame.

Henry the, you know, 8th is coming in again, you know, here we go. It's going to get messy. The guy from shame arrives at the dinner table is hitting on everyone's wife. Not a good look. No. So, yeah, I kind of made that sort of transit. You know. Take goodness for your kids.

They don't, yeah. They don't want to, to the characters you've played at home. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. When can they watch my films? Have you, I get, speaking of auditions, like I don't think, did you audition for X-Men or even in Glorious? I did audition for X-Men. Oh, you did.

And I did audition for Glorious. Oh, I'm wrong. Okay. I auditioned for X-Men and James was there and was so generous and great. It was a huge help for me. And yeah. He was already cast. So I came in, auditioned for Eric.

We did a couple of scenes together. Did you feel confident that wasn't a Mad Max situation? You felt in the room that you were... I felt good there. I felt like I, you know, I had a confidence that I was going to sort of get, you know, take this character, which was unusual for me. But I had gathered some confidence and experience, you know, through stuff that I'd done. Hunger was a big thing to do. And to...

I mean, looking back, it's remarkable. that casting, that film First Class worked as well as it did because you're succeeding to iconic actors and iconic performances. Definitely. It's good when the pressure's on, you know, I feel like pressure's good and it sort of, you know, really sort of... It focuses you up. Yeah. And then the Inglorious Bastard audition, I flew myself to Berlin on a Sunday. I was shooting Fish Tank and I think I've told you this before, but I had like, you know, they, you know, my agent, Michael Cooper in the States had really, like, you know, hunted down Quentin was like, oh, you got to see this guy. And we, you know, he was like, Landa's an amazing part. And they was like, you want to take a look at Landa. Oh, I didn't know that.

Right. So I was like, well, I'm shooting like Fish Tank and I don't have time to do both. So I did about 25 to 30 hours prep on Landa. No kidding. Yeah, because he speaks French, German, and then he speaks, you know, English with the German accent. So I did so much prep for it. I did nothing for Hickokx. And then I arrived in at the audition with Quinton.

And first of all, like, it was a massive hero. I had done a play of Reservoir Dogs when I was 18. I told him that. And he was looking at me. And I was like, we gave the money to charity. And he was like, good, man. He was like, I don't want people money making money out of my shit. And I was like, okay, I was like, I was 18.

It was in Killarney in Ireland. It was like, we had sold up 140 tickets. And then he was like, okay, let's take a look at Hickokx. And I was like, oh, maybe I could read for him. he was like a cast land on Tuesday and I was like maybe I could read for anything he's like look man he was like a cast land on Tuesday I was like what it's like hicclocks let's take look at hiccocks how are you in cold reads because you're about to get one yeah so I did a cold read on it and you know he's reading all the other characters opposite you which is a trip yeah yeah it's it's

quite surreal and um I let you know I thought I thought I blew it you know I thought I messed up the audition. I left the audition. I went to a bar around the corner ordered a double vodka tonic. And I called my parents. I was like, I think I just blew it, you know. And then, you know, went back to work on the Monday and the following Friday I got the call and got the job. So it was like, it was funny. make it happen with SAP. The AI-powered capabilities of SAP can help you streamline costs, connect with new suppliers, and manage payroll, even when your business is being pulled in different directions. To deliver a quality product at a fair price, while paying your people

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Did you see Deadpool Wolverine? It was kind of like a good buy to the Fox universe in a way. I know, I haven't seen it yet. But apparently they've taken a little extract because I signed off and something. Yeah, no credits. There's kind of like a lovely homage.

to the work you guys did. Oh, that's sweet. Yeah, no, I think, you know, for me, and, you know, I'm sort of betraying my own people, but I think my favorite of the comic book sort of series world would be Deadpool and Iron Man, actually. Oh, is that right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Just movie-wise or comics? No, movie-wise. Movie-wise, yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you ready for the inevitable? I mean, they're going to cast somebody as Magneto. You're going to pass the baton at some point. I think it's great. I'm excited to see.

Who doesn't? The latest crazy rumor, I don't think this is real, by the way, but is Denzel. As Magneto. Yeah. I mean, brilliant. He's a heavyweight.

Yeah. If you're going to pass the baton on, maybe that's a good one. Yeah, I mean, I don't even think I could pass a baton to Denzel. I mean, yeah, he's incredible. I just, I love that film, Flight. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. That was a return for Zemeckis. That was a good one. Great return, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And he's so strong. Speaking of filmmakers, movies that we grew up on, what's the 80s movie, or TV show rather,

to reboot as a movie that you want to star in? Do we go Night Rider? Do we go Greatest American Hero? Are you playing Alf? Who do you want to play from the 80s canon? Hmm, good question. I would go for something maybe a little bit more obscure. Okay.

Hard Castle of McCormack. You could play both of them? Which one is hard? I don't remember which one. The guy in the white, was it Alensia? I can never remember what that was in a kick car. I don't think I've seen Hart Castle in McCormick since I was nine. Yeah.

I think that would be a good one. I mean, if we're talking about, you know, Black Bag, I guess Scarecrow and Mrs. King is that's that world. That's good. I love Miami Vice, and I actually love the Miami Vice film as well. I do too. I think it's great. As soon as it opened up with like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah, yeah, it's a, and the Range Rovers pull up outside, you know, the club, I was like, I'm in.

And then, you know, taking the cigarette boat to Cuba for mojitos, I was like, I'm a fiend for mojitos. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Colin, who like... I thought it was great in it. Colin is great, and he's talked about, like, he was not in a good way. Like, this was like when he was going through it. Yeah, and somehow he squeezed out kind of a great performance. I thought it was great.

Plus, you're following the great Don Johnson. I mean, you know, he is Sonny Crockett. Yeah, yeah. The pilot of the series, I think, is amazing. Totally. I love when, you know, they're driving to the sort of, you know, the meat at the end of the movie and he's like how much time we've got and Tubbs is loading the shotgun in the air tonight you know Phil Collins is playing then they

pull over and he gets into this you know phone box right brilliant you know calls the ex-wife he was like it wasn't all bad was it brilliant you'd be great Michael man have you ever met with Michael Mann I have met with Michael Mann yeah and you know obviously one of the absolute greats but you know getting back to Don Johnson delivering those kind of lines. There's two actors that stand out for me that can deliver lines that border, let's say, on cheese. On self-parody a little bit, yeah, yeah, I got you.

Patrick Swayze. Yep. And Don Johnson. Yeah. Nobody does it better. Well, the trifecta. You could do it. Oh, you know, I'm trying.

I did a film called Kung Fury 2. We'll never see it up. Which we were just talking about. I mean, you shot this five, six years ago? This is legal crap, though. Did I show you what I look like in it? No. Can you show me after, please?

I really hope it comes out for David Sandberg, you know, more than anybody, but it's, yeah. Was there ever a real bond conversation? I mean, I guess if you're of a certain age and you have a certain accent, you're in the bond conversation just through the media. But like, did you ever meet with Barbara Broccoli and have that conversation? I've met with Barbara Broccoli just, you know, through passing. And I actually went in for like an audition phase. before Daniel was cast.

Oh, really? But I was never, you know, I don't think I was ever in the mix, but I remember going into that room and sort of, you know, a meeting with her and Wilson and, right, and I was like, I think Daniel Craig is, you know, I don't know why I was promoting him,

I shouldn't promote myself. This is what I was saying, I was terrible a lot of auditions. Here's a list of other actors, no, no. Yeah, and obviously Daniel, you know, did a fantastic job and went on to, I think, be the most successful bond in history. But that was it, really.

There was never a conversation after that. You would have been a kick-ass bond. It's not over yet. You still could be. I think it's over. It's over. But reggae, who's in this movie. They always mention him.

He could be great. I think after, you know, people see his performance in this, he could be a frontrunner. Maybe you move into Bond villain territory. I also thought Aaron Taylor Johnson was a really good call. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a physical beast. by the way. I don't know if he's shared time with him. And that guy walks in the room, you're like, oh, he's going to kick

the ass of everybody. He walks out. And he's also very good. He's great. He's great. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, on the agenda, have you done Hope yet with Alicia? Yes. You shot it? Yes. Wait, did it, but, oh, yeah, I heard an interview.

You didn't shoot together? No. You know, we were so excited. This defeats the purpose, Michael. What happened? I know. We were like, finally, we get to do a film together, and we're huge fans of director now. Right. I love the whaling and the chaser, Yellow Sea. And so she actually reached out to him some years back

and they were sort of then in correspondence. So then it just came to us, this film that he was doing. I actually, because of black bag and because of the agency and my schedule, I had to go out first and do my stuff and then I worked with her stand-in. And then she went out, you know, month later and did the same, you know, worked with my stand-in.

Right. But I'm super excited to see what they come up with because it was so much fun. I love Korea and Koreans and just the, you know, the chance to work over there and experience that culture. It was, you know, a real treat. So I'm excited to see how it turns out. Do you tend to talk about each other's work? Because this came up again when I was talking to her pretty recently that like she doesn't

necessarily enjoy watching her work for the first time with you. No, and I hate watching my stuff with her. I hate watching my stuff, you know, it's like listening to your, you know, your own voice and a phone. But certainly with her, because, you know, I really want to impress her. Still trying. One of these days. You'll earn her respect.

One of these days. So, you know, I'm always worried about, you know, how she'll, you know, take it. And I think she feels the same. You know, we're very similar as well in terms of our insecurities and about how we approach the work. So, yeah, I'm always most nervous watching it with her. I bet you're really good story time for the kids. You do a lot of voices, impressions.

I could imagine Michael Fastbender doing all the, you know, when it's time to do Harry Potter, you're going to do all the voices. I hope so. You know, there's sometimes, you know, when my son is sort of, of asking me to, you know, tell me a story, I gotta make one up. Or I'm just like, I'm so tired. I was like, you know, and it's,

I would like to think that it can take a good story, but then I hear, like, my nanny, and I was like, she's doing a better job than me. I gotta work on this. That's what's giving you sharp now as an actor. Exactly, exactly, I was like, how do I keep my child entertaining? Don't look at me, I'm good, watch.

So agency season two is coming, that's next on the docks. It must have a sense of almost relief, because I'm sure that's a big thing to jump into. To do that ongoing series, 10 episodes, you'd never done something like that. Absolutely. The caliber of actors speaks for itself, but like the fact that it worked, audience responded and you clearly found it creatively satisfying. Yeah, listen, I was very nervous, to be honest.

You know, it all, like, it was an intense year last year because both those projects came in the same week, and I sort of, you know, joined on to Black Bag. And then this came and I was like I really want to do this yeah and we managed to make it work But I you know for sure first time doing television massive respect for people, you know in that field of of you've got to hit the ground Running you've really got to understand like you come into scene you've got to block it quickly And you know the volume of dialogue to learn obviously it's 10 episodes and then you just hope that you know audiences are going to take to it yeah and thank God yeah it's sort of worked out that way all right we're gonna end with the happy second fuse profoundly

random questions Michael got it you ready for this I'm ready you've got this there's no way to get this wrong though you might be the first who knows we'll take that could happen yeah dogs or cats dogs okay I like them both though okay yeah do you have a favorite video game of all time you know what I don't play a lot of video games I guess racing games okay You know, but I do remember the Atari. Sure. Our neighbors had one, and I was very jealous,

and there was a helicopter game that I loved. It was just sort of the helicopter went through. I can't remember what it was called. It's the same movement in the Mad Max audition. Get out of the room. Slowly. And then I did, you know, exit the room in that audition. Do you like this?

Because I'm doing it for real. Yeah, I'm going this time. This is the Dakota Johnson Memorial Question. She asked me this. Would you rather have a mouthful of bees or one be in your butt? Yeah, I'll take it in the butt. Everybody just let it sit there. No one speak.

That's acting. Look at that. What's the wallpaper on your phone? Oh, it's my family. Yeah, Alyssa and the two boys. Nice. What's the worst note of director has ever given you? Okay, good one.

Oh, geez. Go to that dark place. I'm trying to think. I guess getting a note, this happens, or I'm doing it already, and the director will give me the note of something that I was showing. Right. Then you're in your own head. You're like, what do I do? I'm like, I just did that. Right. Yeah.

Right. But now, like, whenever I get a bad note, I go, got it. Yeah, just ignore, basically. Just continue. But it's been a while. In the spirit of Happy Second Fe is an actor who always makes you happy. You see them on screen. You're happier. Jonah Hill.

Nice. I love that. Yeah. Movie that makes you sad. Just talking about it recently, a star is born, but it makes me happy also. Yeah. When's the musical? When are you?

I've been putting it out there for years. Nobody's approaching me. It'll probably coincide with my Christmas album. Okay. and a food that makes you confused. You don't get it. Tofu. What's the purpose?

Not tofu, sorry. Fondue. They sound the same. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Fondu. I don't know. It just makes me think of swingers.

Not the movie, but... The actual, yeah, yeah, yeah. Come over, couples, just a lot of cheese, the hot cheese and sex. I don't know why I see, like, pajamas and... Sure. Cheese and... This has really turned into the worst therapy session ever or best.

I'm not really sure. We've had a number of great therapy sessions over the years. In fact, this is your fifth time on Happy Seg Confused. You know what happens. You get a hat. Oh, really? You get a hat. Nice.

Wear it with pride. I love it. Look at that. This is fashion. This is fashion. Welcome to the Five Timers Club, buddy. It's always good to see you. Black Bag.

Everybody check it out. Soderberg doing what he does best. Amazing cast, David Kapp, what more do you want people? I know. I'm very lucky, and I think it's a great... It's a movie, you know. It's made a movie, and it should be seen in the cinemas, if possible. Yes, it's good to see, man, as I always said.

You truly appreciate you. Thanks, bud. 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'm a big podcast person. I definitely wasn't pressure to do this by Josh. I'm Amy Nicholson, the film critic for the LA Times.

And I'm Paul Shear, an actor, writer, and director. You might know me from The League, Veep, or my non-eligible for Academy Award role in Twisters. We love movies, and we come at them from different perspectives. Yeah, like Amy thinks that, you know, Joe Pesci was miscast in Goodfellas, and I don't. He's too old. Let's not forget that Paul thinks that dude too is overrated. It is. Anyway, despite this, we come together to host Unspooled, a podcast where we talk about good movies, critical hits.

Fan favorites, must-season, and case you miss them. We're talking Parasite the Home Alone. From Greece to the Dark Night. We've done deep dives on popcorn flicks. We've talked about why Independence Day deserves a second look. And we've talked about horror movies, some that you've never even heard of like Ganges and Hess. So if you love movies like we do, come along on our cinematic invent. Listen to Unspooled wherever you get your podcasts.

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