Happy Sad Confused - Sam Claflin

Episode Date: January 18, 2015

Sam Claflin is nothing short of a charmer. He joins Josh to talk about how the film Love, Rosie has parallels with his own life, his first love being football growing up in Norwich, England, his awkward first meeting with Hugh Grant, and currently trying to prove himself as an actor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Try the new Squarespace with a free trial at Squarespace.com and enter offer code happy at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace, start here, go anywhere. Guess what, guys, it's time for another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. I'm Josh Horowitz. Welcome to the show. We're back at it. I'm back at it.

I never stopped. But I was in L.A. over the weekend. I, last weekend, rather, by the time you listen to this, another weekend will have just passed. But I got to go out to the Golden Globes, which was amazing. Amazing. Um, I've done it a bunch of years now, and it's silly, wacky, insane, stupid fun. Uh, saw actually a bunch of previous happy, sad, confused guests there, saw Eddie Redmayne, saw Michael Keaton, got a high five from Michael Keaton, which basically made the whole trip worthwhile. The fact that he knows that I exist and validates my existence in some way.

That's why I get into podcasting. I do this? No, not really. But it was a lot of fun and it was cool to see a bunch of some of the best actors and filmmakers working today and people wearing lots of silly dresses. That's what the Golden Globes is all about. Silly dresses and some actual talent sprinkled throughout. But I'm back here in New York, home base, very happy to be home for a few days before the Sundance Film Festival gets away. But I'll talk about that probably when I get back. on the next podcast or two. But in the meanwhile, you want to know about this week's episode probably.

That's why you're here. You're not here to hear about my travels. I talked to somebody that I've gotten a chance to get to know pretty well as well as anyone can in this industry over the last few years. Cool guy by the name of Sam Claflin. Sam Claflin has been in a lot of big, big films in a very young career. He, of course, stars in the Hunger Game series. He came on board during Catching Fires, Finnic, and that was a hugely sought-after role.

But prior to that, he'd already been in one of the pirates of the Caribbean movies, and, of course, Snow White and the Huntsman. And he is, so he's been seen by a lot of people. And now he's kind of getting to, as you'll hear in this interview, you know, some of the harder work in a way, some of the more interesting work. I mean, Blockbusters are fun, but Sam, I think, envisions more of a well-rounded career for himself. So that includes a film, like the one we talk a bit about today called Love Rosie, which is kind of an adorable romantic comedy, definitely cut from like the cloth of like those classic romantic comedies, those Richard Curtis romantic comedies that we all love. This one stars Sam alongside Lily Collins, who's awesome as well, and makes a tiny, kind of sort of

appearance in this podcast. Very brief. Listen out for it. Um, and, uh, Love Rosie comes out February 6. So check it out, um, in, in release. I'm sure it's going to pop up on VOD and every other method to see films. It's a good one. Um, Sam is a charmer. He's British. If you're British and you're not charming, that's a bad sign. Um, he is and he's awesome and it was great to catch up with him. Uh, and I'll toss over to that interview right now. Before I do that, though, just a little Reminder, as always, go over to Wolfpop.com. Check out all the amazing podcasts over there. Go to the message boards. Hit me up on Twitter, Joshua Horowitz. And most importantly, sit back, relax, continue running on the treadmill, continue driving, pay attention to wherever you're going, and just listen to me and more importantly, Sam Claflin. Here you go. I can't even see, like, shrouded in, it's fine. I'm hairy. It's like an inquisition. I feel like I'm accusing you being a communist. It's very strange. A really awkwardly high table, but only shin

chin length. We're off, we're off and rolling. This is happening already, Sam. This is, this is the way it should happen. This might be our most awkward setup for a conversation yet in our, and that's saying something. I don't know, I do feel like the top of my head, it does need to be microphone, so that's all important. For those that can't see, and that's the rest of the world besides the four people in this room, basically, we're sitting in a lovely junket set up in a hotel and in a very creepy dark room with really big lights in my face, so I can't even see Sam's face. That's a good thing. But he says he's very hairy, which I'll trust. It's good to see you, my friend, as much of you as I can see. Happy New Year, hey? And Merry Christmas and Happy Chavez. There you go. Happy

Kwanza. We're equal opportunity here at Happy Sad Confused. Good. Welcome to the podcast. We've done everything else. Why not do the podcast too, right? We have pretty much exhausted all other possibilities. So this is all it's left in my life.

One of us will die here today. My career is over after this. By the way, there's a murder-suicide at the end of each podcast. You knew that, right? Guess who? Yeah. I like it. Congrats on the movie, first of all.

It's a sweet, great, like addition to what I know is a genre that's close to your heart. I love romantic comedies. too. Love Rosie, the lovely Lily Collins. She's awesome. She's all right. Yeah. Well, oh, oh. I mean, let's not go crazy. She's great. It was, it was an amazing opportunity for us to eventually finally kind of actually cross parts. I mean, I feel like we've been living parallel lives, both being in Snow White movies, both having worked with similar actors and actresses. And, you know, this was our first opportunity to kind of, like I said, cross paths collide and create something that, you know, I think is very sweet. So it's no.

No chain mail, no tridents, nothing. I actually got to use my own accent as well. It's great. It's bizarre. My own haircut. It was really quite a wondrous, wondrous opportunity. You're like, where's the bells and whistles? There must be more to it than this.

You know, I'd turn up every day. They'd say, I'd been hair and makeup for about five minutes and back out. And I was like, wow, this is the best thing ever. Who saw me this bill of goods of being in pirate movies and snow art movies? Exactly. What the hell? So was it something that, I mean, because it is something that is different for you looking in your young career.

I mean, is it something that you were kind of looking for, or was it happenstance that the script came in? I think I always sort of secretly look for a nice romantic comedy, purely because I love the genre so much. But this took me by surprise. I'd read a fair few romantic comedies, you know, in my sort of five years of being an actor, and none of which had really kind of grabbed me. but there were so many sort of parallels to my life in this story

I think everyone's had a best friend at one point in their life that they kind of secretly fell in love with so you know that that whole sort of boy to man and you know you never really a real adult until you actually make choices that benefit you yeah it was a really sweet story made me laugh a lot and I think once I'd met the director knew that Lily was on board and knew his vision

and which way he wanted to go with it. It was a no-brainer for me. It's like a nice companion piece of boyhood. It's another film that I think takes place over about 12 years, right? Yes, quite literally, yeah, yeah. You shot this over 12 years, right? Exactly.

That was my real hair, that really bad wig. Amazing. So since this is, we have some time to settle into these seats, I want to talk about a bunch of things. First of all, just like where you're at, literally. So we're in L.A. right now coming off. I did my little song and dance at the Golden Globes. Were you, did you get a chance?

to see some folks there. Do you go to any parties? Were you in town? I wasn't in town. I only got in town last night. So I kind of missed that party. I wasn't invited. No.

But I had things keeping me in London, namely the BAFTA announcement sort of Friday morning. So I was sort of partying for Eddie across the globe. I was on the silver globe. I went to the silver globes. They don't talk about that one, but it's just as prestigious.

It's a more. special party. It's basically just you and Stephen Fry just staring at each other. In Norfolk clinking glasses, wearing Norwich City scarves. Yeah. But no, you know, I'm obviously naturally hugely proud of Eddie, who's sort of a peer

of mine, my first ever job. He kind of took me under his wing. So, you know, it's a real special moment for me to be able to kind of look at someone and go, okay, I'm about five steps behind him, but I eventually might be able to, you know. So it's really, yeah, I'm thrilled for him and for all the other winners.

Was that Pillars of the Earth? Is that the... Yeah, that's right. So was that literally the first, like, on-camera, TV film, anything? Yeah, my first day of filming ever was my birthday in the year 2009. And I just remember so vividly, Haley Atwell, grabbing me by the hand, before take one, just saying, it's going to be okay. But, yeah, Eddie Haley, I mean, Rufus Seul, Tony Curran, Ian McShane, who I seem to continue. continually bump into.

It's not a bad person to get your career to. That's when you know your career is going in the right direction I think. But no, it was an amazing, amazing job. So, okay. So growing up, since I'm ignorant of anything outside of the state of New York,

where in England did you grow up? What kind of a town was it? Give me a sense of sort of where you were you? The best way describing Norfolk is that it's renowned for being like the capital of incest in England. Everyone's a bit backwards.

Everyone has six toes or a third nipple. You want to reveal today? I do have a third nipple. It's one of those things that... Where is it? It's sort of on the... The best way I'm describing this is in the sticky outy bit of England. Now you know, right?

I was not about your nipple. No, oh, yeah, the sticky outy bit of me. I didn't know where you were going with that. It's on the sticky outy bit of me. Yeah. You can use your imagination. Um, no, it's, yeah, so Norfolk, the nipple is on me. Thanks for clarifying.

The, uh, Norfolk is sort of in the arse end of England. Like, it's, it's the bumpy bit on the right side of it, on, you know, the East Coast, basically. Gotcha. Um, so that's where me and Stephen Frye were both born, uh, and then grew up. So was, because I know, um, I mean, was the first love for sports or was it, was it football? Was it, yeah. Yeah, it was, it was my only love, really. I think growing up. I remember one girlfriend once asking me

during a lunch break when I was playing football at school she came over to me and said it's either me or football I was like well football why would you even why would you even ask me that how shallow I am please

don't you know me at all I'm like 15 I'm not going to choose my future wife for the rest of my life or you know football is my life and then my only true love we parted ways when did you part ways what happened I was 16 and broke my ankle

basically Sean Lemon I still blame you our feet collided playing in a park and I remember calling my mum up and I was injury prone I was such a drama queen I used to make such a fuss over nothing I remember calling my mum that particular day

and saying mum I think I've hurt my ankle she was like oh shut up walk home I did I walked home four days later I was still hobbling, and she was like, okay, seriously, is this really bad? I was like, yeah, I think it's, it wasn't swollen, it wasn't bruised. You know, we went to the hospital and the doctor, even the doctor said, I mean, at most, this is going to be a sprain, it's fine.

And I remember him and my dad started laughing after seeing the x-ray results, and I just started crying because I was like, this is my career going down the pan. Did you think you think you legitimately had a, like, were you that good that you could have made a run on it? I don't think so. I think at the time I thought I was. But, you know, no, I look, in retrospect, no, I wasn't, I wasn't by any means good enough to play for Manchester United or, right. I might be playing for some team at the local pub, but that's about it, really. So when did that focus then turn to acting, I mean? Was it kind of like, okay, I'll shift everything I love and hold dear into this new thing, this new bucket?

Well, I think I tried to balance the two initially. I enjoyed any class at school that I didn't have to read and write. I don't know you have to read scripts for acting. You're thinking up that people just read them to you at this point, right? It's great. I have my personal assistant. Interior. Go on.

Box one. Mark says. Hi. Yeah. No, it was, yeah. So I always enjoyed drama at school and being physical and doing anything that meant I didn't have to be very intelligent. And yeah, I kind of, my love for it grew and grew. And I remember sitting on my, my ass for like six weeks, obviously,

whilst I was in plastercast and kind of then getting more and more involved than singing. Pain is for me to admit. Why does it pain you? Because I'm not very good. No, but I won a talent show at the age of 16 singing. There's a hole in my bucket, dressed half as a man and half as a woman. That video is out there somewhere. I need to take a break.

One second. I need to go watch. And I'm back. That was amazing. It was an experience. That's all I will say. It went on and on. But I managed to win somehow.

So has singing fallen by the wayside? A little bit. Yeah. Why? I don't know. I just, again, I didn't think, I initially when I auditioned for drama schools, went to try to pursue musical theater and realized quickly that I couldn't dance

and I couldn't really sing. So I then just decided to pursue the acting side of it. But it was one of those things. I was quite, not big-headed, I suppose I was quite quietly confident in myself and my abilities, like in small town Norwich where everyone has six toes and no vocal cords. I kind of went to London for the first time

to do a recall for a drama school. I just remember, like, walking into a room and all the men were wearing leotards and their heads are on their knees. And, you know, I quickly realized that I wasn't really right for it, I guess you could say. Did schooling, did, Did the craft of it, was that something that you enjoyed?

Or are you more of kind of like, I mean, background-wise or what you rely upon in terms of your skills? Do you, are you more of an instinctual actor or do you kind of like call upon kind of like method or whatever you found? I think it depends on the project, depends on the character, depends on the part. You know, I think usually my instincts are, I think, right? Of course, I think they are. But, you know, I definitely appreciate. I think what drama school really taught me was how to work with other people of all different ages and places

and different directors have different methods and you know I think you kind of take what you need from each person but I think you create your own method at a drama school you know I'm not I'm not sort of anyone's sort of I'm not following in anyone's footsteps I believe I'm kind of crafting my own my own career my own method and you know it's slowly but surely not really going very far but fast but it's it's i can't complain and you know i still have a lot

more to learn and you you know each job i do i have the opportunity luckily to work with an incredible actor or actress and i'm able to take things that they do or they use and yeah used to my advantage who was the first peer of yours like in your age group that like you saw like they got the big gig or they started to like make inroads and was that was that important for you to see, like, okay, there's a path. Like, I see this is actually possible. I think Eddie, Eddie has always been, um, not only a friend to me, but like an inspiration. I think the sort of forwards motion of his career and how he's cleverly picked incredible

parts within working with incredible people, no matter how big or small. Um, you know, I was a fan of his before I'd even met him. I was aware of him in Tessa the Derbaville's, for example. And, and, oh my God, what's it called? the film that he did funny enough featuring incest with Julianne Moore yes I'm blanking myself

yeah but I sort of so I knew him and knew of his work and when I had the opportunity to work with him meet him properly and realized that he was so down to earth so cool so calm and collected about his career and he was then

I remember helping him with his lines for Red which was the play that he did with Alfred Molina which is an incredible yeah one of Tony one Olivier like incredible performance and so you know just sort of seeing him slowly but surely

kind of win the golden globe has been you know really really inspirational so speaking of folks like you and Eddie and in the last few years of getting to know people like you know maybe a little older than you like you know Hiddleston and Cumberbatch let's talk about the annoyingly

seemingly effortless British charm is that something you have to cultivate to make it look effortless is it something they learn at their posh schools that they go to I never really quite going to hang of it. So I use humor. I use my funny face. Use your park jokes.

I'm desperate. That's what I am. They're charming and they're all, you know, yeah. But I don't think about it. I don't know whether they do or not. Is there something like, what is it to that?

Like, is it just sort of random? Like, why is traditional gentlemen, isn't it? Like, we're gents. We open doors for people. I think that's what it's perceived. if it's a good thing. Right. Then there are the scary ones like

Daniel Craig or Tom Hardy that are amazing, but like I, they scared the shit out of me, I'll be honest. I think it's because of their physical prowess. That doesn't want.

I mean, it's, you know, I know I've met Tom Hardy a few times and I can't say I've been lucky enough to meet Daniel Craig, but, you know, again, I admire their careers equally.

Like they've similarly crafted such an incredible career so quickly. Not say so quickly, but over, cleverly over many years it's interesting to look I think they're charming in their own special way they all definitely are

I'm a huge fan of both don't get me wrong but I'm talking about like also kind of like these other these kind of English acting icons like in one way I feel like and I know you've mentioned him as somebody to emulate in some way like Hugh Grant for something like this

like this is back in the day this would have been his kind of thing like what's what's insanely bizarre is that my friend knows Hugh Grant and we were out watching a World Cup football match and Lily, funnily enough, was in town in London and sort of came out with us

and someone had said, oh, do you know what, we should go to Hugh's house. We should go to Hughes and meet Hugh. And I was like, yeah, yeah, cool, cool, yeah, let's all go. And Sandra Bullock happened to be there and Lily had obviously worked with Sandra and the blind side, so it was all like,

oh, this is perfect. walked in and my friend who knew Hugh just the way he introduced me was something the way not to introduce anybody is saying this is the new you oh my God

I'm like what why would you ever you've been replaced by a younger version of you this is you 20 years ago but this is you he's funny you know he's great he does you perfectly Hugh and Hugh's fate

I think he was just judging me for the rest of that that introduction I then lied about my schooling because I didn't dare tell him that I wasn't Hugh I didn't he said where do you live I sort of told him he went oh I went to school there and I went yeah yeah yeah so did I I don't know why to this very day I don't know I wanted to impress him I guess right but he is a hero of mine like I love everything

he's ever done yeah and in this sort of a film he is the standard I mean he's the king so I notice there's a bit of the stammer that pops up in this one I feel like Because this kind of character has, you know, trouble articulating in key moments. It's the awkward, the awkward English, polite, not knowing what to say quickly. Yeah, it's, but I guess I did grow up watching him and, you know, a lot of my personality. I'd like to think it comes from that man. So, yeah, we'll see. This episode is brought to you by Lute Crate.

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which I'm leading a much different sort of a life than you, but I get a chance to also kind of like talk to these amazing people. And it's like, honestly, it never gets normal. It's always bizarre and insane. For you, are you able to kind of compartmentalize and enjoy kind of the moment and also freak out in a way? I think, I think there are moments of both. Like, they're specific, I mean,

walking into Jennifer Lawrence's apartment the first time in catching fire, seeing Woody wearing a lady's crop top. that I thought was his top. You know, I thought, oh, this, this looks about right for Woody Harold. How I imagined Woody Harrison to be him with a tasseled cropped up. I thought, yeah, do you know what, that's totally normal, I think. But so, you know, moments like that are the first meet and greet with anyone. I immediately kind of feel anxious and sweaty palms and, you know.

But I think over time and the more time I'd spent with them, the more you realize that they are just like you, but from a different setting. I guess I get used to it but I still have moments where I just take myself away and go what the fuck So then going back to like for instance pillars where it is an amazing cast that they assembled for that

people like Eam McShane especially like that had this like storied career Were you nervous considering that was your first kind of major gig? So nervous I mean I just felt like I didn't deserve to be there basically and I knew a lot of actors who had also auditioned for that part mainly my friends from drama school funnily um so part of me was like i think they've made a mistake i don't are they going to realize they've made a mistake i don't really feel like i belong and yeah i never really felt at ease at all um i mean other actors the crew they

all made me feel at home but i think a part of me never felt worthy enough um to be in their presence and then i'd get invited out to like cast dinners and i'd be like why am i here I remember the first time I ever came to Los Angeles as well, actually. There was like a Pillars reunion in L.A. Like, they were coming over here to do press. And I just happened to be here auditioning for pirates. So they were like, come to the BAFTA tea party. And I was like wearing jeans and trainers.

I looked so out of play. You know, everyone was wearing suits. You know, I just didn't really feel like I quite got the hang of it. And even now I'm kind of trying to get the hang of it. Because I don't get invited to these things as much as everyone else does. So it's all very new to me and I'm learning a lot. I'm learning on the job. Talking about, you know, big auditions and stuff.

Actually, Eddie was on the podcast and we talked about some horrendous audition stories. You know, he talked about his, sadly, his Star Wars audition. He said it was embarrassing. Basically, they just had to cut it short. Like, it's not working and Hobbit. Like, he has all these horror stories and he's amazingly open about it. Are you a good auditioner? Do you enjoy that or is that a horrendous part of the process for you?

It's definitely been some horror stories on my end. I remember actually auditioning, one of my first ever auditions was when they were making bird song that Eddie ended up doing they were making it into a film and not a TV series and I was auditioning for a small part

like first audition at a drama school, very nervous, walked into a room, they didn't want to see me for an initial audition but just the sort of recall where all the producers were sat in a room in fact sat around a boardroom table and the scene was my character

crawling through a cave or a tunnel and he had two lines one was no and the second was they're coming but you know they didn't give me the script until I got there

I sort of flipped through I mean it was like how do you expect me to audition crawling on a tape like whilst I was sort of sat at a boardroom table with like 16 people looking at me there was like action So I sort of flipped through the page, went, no!

Flipped through the next page. He has a line. Okay, my line, no, no line. I was just flicking through and just went on for about 15 minutes with two lines. I mean, it was just an absolute mare. I still think one of my favorite stories of an audition that, you know, was nothing to do with me, in fact. But you hear these sort of horror stories about commercial auditions, and I've never been to one. I remember walking into this place

where a lot of auditions take place in London and coming out was one of my friends from drama school, tiny little bald Irish guy, ginger, you know, tiny bits of wisps of hair on his face. Coming at this audition, so I was like, oh, what are you here for, man? He said, oh, I'm a commercial audition. So I expected to walk in and there be, you know, 25 people of the same ilk, the same sort of build. I walked in there was 25

I'd say 7 foot black men who were built like so large men and I just sort of walked in was like he must have come to the wrong audition and they were all wearing like speedos and I just remember sitting there myself kind of going this is so awkward I feel so out of place

and I was going to a different audition different room but he had been there for that audition and I eventually called him after us what was that about and he went oh it was a before and after type thing he said but I quickly realized I wasn't black I needed to do yeah but I mean

you know some of those stories just incredible yeah they stick with you for a lifetime the um the first time I think I know I met you was when I sat down with the cast of Snow White and it was it was the four you know key folks which was I love that movie and I love

that cast I honestly that each of you guys like in your own ways are people some of my favorite people to talk to to, but you're also, we're so wildly different and are so wildly different. Yeah, all four of us, I suppose. Yeah. It seemed like a very, like, bizarrely, like, great, disparate kind of group of personalities. It's so true.

Did you, did you gravitate towards one? Did you bond with one in particular? Did you feel like you were? I think naturally, because despite my feminine persona, you know, a part of me is very masculine. I like to look up to Chris Hemsworth as the man that I want to be. uh will never be uh and in fact there's a funny story only recently or randomly he was coming off the back of avengers i think and i went to my local gym uh as you do um and in comes chris hemisworth to my gym i said hey he said hello mate so you know we sort of went

to the change rooms got changed to go to the gym and i start working out and then next to me comes chris i'm like i please don't work out next to me man like seriously i usually feel pretty good about myself and this gym is usually full of old men but the fact that you're standing right next to me doing double the amount of everything. He's like asking for more weight. He's like, barely breaking a sweat. I'm like, get out of my life.

But he really is. Like, we got on like house on fire. I'd like to think. And, you know, then obviously with Liam during Hunger Games. So I knew that Liam was a good guy, knowing that Chris was a good guy. And yeah, we kind of bonded quite a lot.

I think over music mainly. And then over everything else. Did you see that video that popped up? I think it was actually for catching fire promo, but it just popped up recently that Woody apparently until like an interview did not realize that Liam and Chris were brothers no come on I swear to God you have to look this up it's actually amazing I mean we love Woody but he's in his own kind of fantastic world

it's the thing is I could just picture him being so confused well and here's the best part of it I'm omitting he's sitting next to Liam at the time and Liam's just like you didn't know and no way he must be joking no I don't think so it's amazing that guy he I love, I literally love Woody. I am in love with that man. He's the nicest, most gentle, humanitarian, like, seriously. He'll ever meet.

He really is. I just want to hang with him and where is he, like, Hawaii or something. Is that where he has a place? Yeah, yeah. I mean, he's just so cool. He's just so cool. So was, we've talked obviously about how, you know, catching fire and Finnic came about and how obviously it was a huge casting search

at the time. Was that, does that feel like in, in retrospect, in this young career, like, that was the biggest shift, because you'd already obviously done a couple of major franchises, but did that change in terms of level of fame, in terms of how you live your life, how your career has gone? Yeah, I think now more so than ever, I do occasionally get noticed or people give me a dirty look.

I don't know this because I just have that face that people want to punch, or they kind of think they're like. You look sketchy. Let's be honest. You look like a sketchy dude. I look reasonably familiar. You look a bit like that guy. But, no, you can't be. You're too ugly. No Trident.

There's not CGI on my face today. But no, you know, it's, it has definitely catapulted my career. In that sense, it allowed me to walk into some bigger rooms and meet some bigger people. But, you know, at the same time, I definitely feel like I live my life pretty much as I always have. You know, I don't take anything for granted. I'm very appreciative to be in my position and gracious. You know, it's, yeah. I still feel very lucky to be here.

I definitely think it's any matter of time before people realize I can't act. But yeah, long may it continue in the meantime. I'm going to make the most of it while I can. Spoiler alert, everybody knows about your character, obviously, is it's not going to end well, presumably, for Mr. Finnic in the last installment. Was it emotional, interesting shooting that final scene?

It was the worst day of filming I have ever done in my life. I think I actually got hooked up to oxygen. in tanks because I was so it's so it's awesome I don't want to talk too much about it but it was a really hard day of work for me brutal it was just me

you know all day and yeah I don't want to talk too much about it because obviously it's not out yet but it's it's I'd like to think this whole entire last segment of the you know the ending the conclusion to this franchise is

won't disappoint people it's bigger yeah i'm very excited so what um looking forward i mean i've seen you in this one which was exciting for me especially you know we've obviously uh done some comedic stuff together and i know your sense of humor is awesome and bizarre like my own hopefully um and it's great to see that side in here and and riot club which is a much different kind of film but a great film i'm not sure when american audiences are going to get to see it but it's it's soon hell of a hell of an ensemble in that

one too um is this is this an exciting time in terms of like getting to okay like you've done you've done the franchise thing and I would think in the back of your head I don't know I mean I don't know how careerist you are in terms of thinking strategically like do I want to be the franchise guy like it's great I don't I really don't I do I do enjoy and I'm not saying that I'll never do another franchise because absolutely I'd love to but I think for me at the moment I'm trying to prove myself as an actor and it's not to say that franchise movies don't allow you allow for that but I think you know for me i've done nothing really but except love rosy in the right club i've done nothing but yeah big franchise movies so it's time to kind of get away from that and i'm very sort of focused on what i'm doing next i'm very excited by it um what's the next thing it's it's a film called me before you um based on a novel by jojo moyes um that amelia clark is going to be um my fellow cast friend I think Sam just had a stroke, everybody.

Can we get a medicator? My fellow cast friend. What hell is that? It's early morning you just got it last night. It's all good. So yes, I'm looking forward to her being my fellow cast friend. We'll be friends together, cast together. But no, it was a grueling casting process.

And I know it's similarly to Finnic, there was a lot of people being seen for it. It's a really incredible story. about a quadriplegic and the relationship between him and his sort of carer, I guess you could say, over like a six-month period. And of course, there are some happy moments and not some happy moments. It's a romantic drama with a touch of comedy in there again,

but mainly very dramatic and physically, obviously, very, very challenging. So I'm in the process of getting prepped for that, which I start in April, I think so. And then looking again at this kind of film that you've just, that's about to be. really love Rosie in the comedic side. Well, I'm curious, like, growing up, what were your comedy?

We talked about Hugh Grant, but, like, how would you define your sense of comedy? Is it meshing well with your wife? Is that, is that important? Can you see the same kind of comedy with her? Only, I have to find this video. But she continually says that I am Paul Rudd, like off camera. Like, on camera, I kind of seize up a little bit. Right.

But off camera, like, my humor is very Paul Rudd. This is a huge compliment. I pull the faces. I do the moves. There's a video she sent me last night, which is quite literally myself. I thought it was me. I thought she'd taken a video of me in the shower. I don't know if I could.

And it's Rudd singing and dancing doing his thing? I'll narrate. It's Rudd, yeah. Singing in the shower. Mugging shamelessly in the shower. It was early, early Jim Carrey was very, very, you know, up my street. anything that Jim Carrey did I learned the rock

Dwayne the Rock Johnson I learned how to you know do both my eyebrows because I wanted to smell what the rock was cooking so I basically have an elasticated face and I think I like gurning a lot you're gonna have to start popping your pecks they go to the next level that's a little far from that

I've got three pecks to do I also need to grow about seven inches but yeah I'll get there eventually I'm talking about height as opposed to it's funny you say that because I literally once made that reference with Dwayne saying you've got about six inches on me and then he looked at me and I was like oh god

that came out wrong that sounds horrible do you know what but he I used to love wrestling I used to love I yeah anything sort of physical I guess so I what I'm trying to say is I don't I'm not great at the one liners and yeah the quick quip but pulling a face at the end of the line I'm I'd like to think that

I you know I mastered at a young age it does seem like I mean talking about this next film you're going to do, thinking about some of the roles you've done, that physicality does actually take, like, is a huge component in all of these roles in terms of changing your body or using your body. I mean, like, you know, Finnic is its own thing. The body is as important as anything to that character in a way. But I think, I think that's how I approach, as an actor, that's how I personally approach a character. I obviously take the text and what, the facts about that said character, but I sort of work from the outside in. And a lot of things,

people I know work from the inside out but I find the physicality the character how he walks what he does I'm obsessed with hands I always have been I don't know why like I was sitting on a tube and I'm interested in how people what people do with their fingers

without being on camera this is so strange it's strange in the room too I love watching people and what they do with their fingers suddenly I'm putting my hands underneath my legs I don't want to look at my fingers I'm judging you do that

thing you did with your fingers again, Josh. I don't want to, Sam. Are you impatient? Oh, he's calm. Yeah, no, it's, yeah, that, that for me is, I'm also, do you know what, I just remember one of the first time I was ever met you was during the snow white press stuff and you giving me 50 shades of grey. That's right.

The novel, the first time. I read that novel in the end, by the way. Oh, how, how do you enjoy it? I enjoyed it in certain ways. I definitely got some enjoyment out of it, but, um, you know, I'm excited for the film. Funnily enough, I met Jamie Dornan through Eddie Redmayne on Pillars of the Earth.

So in the sense of being excited for him and what's to come, you know, I think he's a very exciting actor as well. So, yeah, I'm excited for that film. You know, I just sort of only just thought of it because I saw your face. I'm glad that my face is associated with 50 shades of gray for you.

That's what I think about. When I was reading the book, You wear my Christine. I enjoy it. This isn't as sexy as. As everybody else is saying it is. You are the Anastasius steel to my, Christine Gray. I was going to say, at least my face in a pop over anesthesia.

Exactly. Yeah, that's it. Who, and then in terms of, let me ask you this, actually. I'm curious. Is theater something that's important to you? Is that something that... Yeah, it's something, you know, my training was in theater. Like, growing up, that was what, you know,

gave me the acting bug in the first place. So I definitely wouldn't be opposed to going back to the stage. It's just a matter of finding the right project and the right part again. But also the right amount of time. And I don't mean to sort of, I just don't want to be sort of doing the same thing over and over and over again for like about a year and a half, you know, which can happen. But I think for the right part, I'd be happy to, happy to jump, tread the boards, as they say. So, yeah, there have been a few options thus far. And there hopefully will be a few more to come.

in our winning moments I think we both have to go because a junket day is at hand are you excited for the junket day it's going to be fun no it's the first one I've done since like November so I'm not very much looking forward I'm kidding I do enjoy this

and it'll be good to see Lily again who I can hear whispering in the background a cameo by Lily Collins on the podcast God should ruin it always I'll let you get to the horrible junket shenanigans I'll lead off that day too, so you can't get enough of me.

I know you can't. I can't wait to see you again. In about three minutes, or maybe 30 seconds. It's always good to see you, buddy. This is a good one. Thank you, dude. Always pleasure. Never a chore.

That's the show, guys. I'm Josh Horowitz. This has been happy, say I confused. Hope you've enjoyed the show. Hit me up on Twitter. Joshua Harowitz. Go over to Wolfpop.com. Check out all the amazing shows over there.

and most importantly, check back in next week for another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused? Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! The Old West is an iconic period of American history and full of legendary figures whose names still resonate today. Like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, and Butch and Sundance, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Geronimo, Wyatt Earp, Batmasterson, and Bass Reeves, Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, the Texas Rangers, and many more. Hear all their stories on The Legends of the Old West podcast. We'll take you to Tombstone, Deadwood, and Dodge City, to the plains, mountains, and deserts for battles between the U.S. Army and Native American warriors,

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