Happy Sad Confused - Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Vol. II

Episode Date: March 28, 2016

It finally happened. Tom Hiddleston joins Josh after much anticipation to chat about playing singer-songwriter Hank Williams in I Saw The Light, shooting Kong: Skull Island, his interest going back to the theatre, and much more. Plus, Josh catches up with the lovely Elizabeth Olsen about I Saw The Light, Avengers, and condiments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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please contact ConX Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. Hello and welcome to a very special edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. I'm Josh Horowitz. Thanks, as always, guys, for checking out this podcast where I talk to some of my favorite actors and filmmakers making movies today. And this week, I give you not one, but two talented actors. And not only that, one actor that has been on the podcast before that we love. And not only that, but one actor that we talk about every freaking week, I feel like, on the podcast. And we finally got them, guys.

This week on Happy Say I Confused, Tom Hiddleston. Hold for applause. Yes, guys, we finally got Tom on the podcast. I actually came out to, I'm in L.A. right now. I live in New York, so I'm in L.A. on some other business. And the schedules kind of worked out where I thought I wasn't going to get Tom because he was going to New York. When I was in all places, L.A., I was like, oh, no, I'm going to miss Tom. But no, came straight from the airport.

I'm in a hotel right now. And I sat down with Tom, who was doing press for his, film, I Saw the Light, an excellent performance playing Hank Williams, a real special performance, a kind of a special biopic that stars him and Elizabeth Olson. And speaking of Elizabeth Olson, that's how we're going to start out the show. So we're going to catch up with Lizzie, as she goes by, catch up with her about all things I saw the Light and, yes, Avengers and Captain America Civil War. Really fun catching up with one of the best young actresses out there. I love Elizabeth Olson, and she, always a pleasure to see her.

And then you're going to hear, so you're going to hear Elizabeth first, a little catch-up, and then you patient folks, about 20 minutes into the show, I'd say, you're going to hear the main event, which is our very first extended interview with Tom Hiddleston on the podcast. Didn't get quite as much time as maybe we all wanted, but guys, let's not get greedy. We got Tom Hiddleston on the podcast, and it lives up to, I think, everything you would want it to be. He was charming and funny and delightful. And I'll talk a little bit more about that after the Elizabeth Olson interview. But for now, let's start out with Lizzie Olson talking about I saw the light.

Oh, look, who just dropped by. Oh, yes. I did. I dropped by or you dropped by? Yes, I was here. Yes, I did. You came to me. Yes, I did.

Not really. It's not a weird hotel room. You have such a beautiful house. I like to decorate my apartment I love your curigs Is that what they're called? I don't know What are we calling?

The ones that are like The coffee espresso machines I think they're called curigs Oh yes you're right You're right with a little thing Is that your preferred method of coffee? No, I have a drip Is that what it's called a drip?

Yeah, that's a trip Just American coffee It's not a press It's a coffee I've got the coffee of the drips I've got the coffee coffee It's good to see you It's a worse introduction to an interview

It's not an interview It's a conversation Welcome back to the podcast. Thank you. We've only recently started to bring people back on the podcast. So here's the thing. Because I don't want, like, we do kind of, it's not like a definitive conversation. We didn't even cry the first time around.

No, I don't think I cried. You didn't cry. But I cried afterwards, but that's a different story. But I like to mix it up. But then someone like you is like around doing stuff and I'm like, oh, I want to talk to her. So we're going to do a short little chat. I like it. I like a ketchup.

I don't like ketchup, but I like ketchup. but I like a ketchup. You don't like cats up? You don't like the ketchup? I'm not crazy about cats up. I'd rather have mutard. What is your, where do you come down on mayonnaise? I think veganase tastes better.

Oh, interesting. Yeah. What is it vegan? Couldn't tell you. Could not tell you. Are you vegan? No way. Jeremy Renner and I split a 25 ounce ribbi two nights ago.

That good way to come off the wagon though. Yeah. Not vegan. It's good though. I like some like a mock duck. I enjoy, I think, sometimes more than duck. Interesting. I've never had mock duck.

Mock duck is actually really good. You say your sound pretty good. Thank you. I try. We're talking about condiments and I saw the light. Yes, yes. I have my moutard line coming out as well. Nice, yes.

So I was talking to your buddy, Tom, was just in. We were chatting about this film and the weird cyclical nature of press tours and all that kind of stuff. Because we talked about this at Toronto, we're premiered. Oh, yeah, we did. Right? Yeah, we sat in a booth. So, do you remember it? Well, I feel a great deal of guilt about that conversation, actually.

You want to know why? Why? We did a dub smash at the end. Do you remember that? I do, but I don't remember what it was. It was. Was it Star Wars? It was.

Good memory. It was Luke Skywalker screaming, no. Yes. And I was new to dub smash at the time, and I deleted it by accident. Oh. I was wondering why I didn't go viral that week. like as soon as you did it you're like bam you're welcome internet you're going to crack in two internet interesting so my apologies um but is it odd do you ever find yourself on a doing press for a film where

it's hard for you to kind of like reaccess it because you kind of moved on three different iterations and you're like almost forgetting even the experience or how people are interacting with it Sometimes I feel like I feel like sometimes you know Marla. Marla will say like, oh, remember you said, you said something when we were talking about it months ago. And I found it interesting. So maybe you could say that again. It's like, oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Because all I can really remember is like, you know, generally just how special we all thought this project was.

And how I also just remember viscerally like how I felt doing the scenes and the work we did. and it's really a personal I think Tom I take everything personally with my work but it was really personal film and it was hard to get there but it's nice to

the reason why it's fun to act is because you like get to be in this cocoon of another character but and have all your secrets but still access all those parts of you

and it's really fun what's weird is that I know I couldn't like tomorrow just jump in and like Beaudry. Right. Because I have been doing gun training for two months on this other project.

And I just feel like I'm in a totally different world. Right. I'm glad you finished that sentence with on another project. I thought you were just training for a militia or something. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to get political. But no.

I am not doing any of those things. But I am a pretty good shot. And I'm firing like 600 live rounds. on weekends. Wow. Yeah. This is you and Renner. Yeah.

Reteaming in a different, much different kind of capacity. You're an FBI agent? I'm an FBI agent, white, blonde, young FBI agent that gets called onto a reservation for a girl who went missing and is found dead and raped.

And on reservation land, if it's a homicide, then you can get a federal team in to investigate it. But if you can't argue at a homicide, it's reservation. Police Territory. Oh, interesting.

Okay. So there's a clash of that kind of. Yeah. And everyone hates me because, like, I represent a lot of things that they hate and they send me, you know, in their mind young and experienced, who doesn't know this land. Right. But it ends, it's a really special film, I think. We're having fun. We've only filmed a week.

We're in the second week right now while I'm here. Does it feel a little weird to run away for a couple days to do this kind of thing? Are you like, no, I'm in it? I'm feeling it. I thought it would feel weirder, but I'm not. I've been wanting this movie to come out for such a long time. Right. Right. Do you got to see it through? I'm really proud of it. And I really, like, I want to celebrate tonight. I have so many,

I've literally 18 friends coming tonight and family. But like, there, I have a lot of people coming tonight because it's been such an important job to me. I don't know what we just, it's just one of those. It's like that and Martha been like the two most, um, the most important experiences I've had. So you, you were talking about like shooting with Tom and feeling. kind of a visceral kind of like satisfaction or whatever it is. I mean, can you, can you elaborate on what that is? Is it, is it, yeah, it's, it's like, it's a, it's a safety net that the director creates. And Mark put it a little more articulately today when he said, we were doing a junket and he

was saying how Tom and I, um, don't keep a boundary between like cast and crew. Right. Like we engage the crew. Like we, everyone is there for a reason and everyone needs to be there. Right. and everyone should be treated equally. A novel idea. Yeah, pretty basic.

And so with that comes like a very collaborative safe environment that the crew can be a part of as well, where you feel safe to play, to be uncomfortable, to be vulnerable, to make mistakes, to fuck up, to experiment. and then Tom and I are just both our whole thing is like just to be just being present and engage and like it's not about us it's about the other person and that play and so a lot of people I'm sure work like that but for some reason and we figured that out when we did this audition together

forever ago we could see that we liked like we'd say something and then we'd and we're both trying to figure out now what are you really thinking and so there's that fun game that you can that you get to do which which is so satisfying. And then you get a, and that's when you got to get lost in this scene and not think about whatever it is you have to do next, because you just know that you guys, that both people

are in it. So that's really fun. What about, I'm curious now, like, when the reverse kind of happens in a scene or you're with an actor and you're realizing they're so in their own head and in their own performance. Yeah. Yeah. And that's kind of a bit of disconcerned. Yeah. And, and, but you have to even take that into, you have to take that as information. Right. You're, you end up, allowing yourself to then have your character judging them for that narcissism or something. Right. That makes sense. You just play with what you got.

The hard thing is when you're with someone who can't remember lines because then you just can't do anything. Right. Because they're stopping by going, oh, what is it again? Well, it's just taking you out of the moment. Yeah. And so that you can't really do much with. We've got a baseline guy. Just know your lines.

Yeah. So that's acting one-on-one. Any other tips for the beginning beginner actor? Know your lines. Know your lines and show up on time. Show up on time. Actually treat the crew like they actually exist as 100% human beings like you are. Be kind to people.

That's what Tom's great at leading that on set. Yeah. Yeah. So you've been pretty protectful, protective of this character. Yeah. Right? I mean, and you have to. Because this is the kind of thing that like some people can see it a certain way.

and your whole thing is to create a full body person that maybe on the surface seems unlikable but your job is to create a fully flesh human being that has colors. Yeah, and also the more I learned about her, the more I realized, well, you know, like she was a businesswoman, she was manipulative,

and she did want to be the center retention, and she wanted the fame, and she wanted to have her own career. She also was pretty smart and pretty pushy and was making the same phone calls. A male manager would be making, but she was making it so probably made her seem

just as a woman at that time more irritating but she was also dealing with a husband who was a full-blown alcoholic and you know a genius which when someone is very talented at what they do it's all consuming

and you can't it's hard to interact with that because you then you're just playing for when do I come in right And she, I feel like that was, that was, it was a root of a, of a larger issue. And, you know, he just, he wasn't a great husband or father, I would think. So, switch the years a little bit that probably the next time I'll see you as going to be on a

ginormous press tour. Yes. So. Jeremy's going to be here for all of it. Like, I get these days off to do this and he gets those days off to do that for our movie. They can't do much without both of us. That makes sense. So are you, you feel like a veteran at this point?

You've been through two. I feel like I'm part of the gang. You're not the newbie anymore. You don't have to go to the hazing rituals. Black Panther is the new guy, please. Yeah. You're old. I'm part of it.

I mean, we did these weird viral videos for promoting it. I don't know when they'll hit the interweb. But there was a little sketch Mackie and I did with Chadwick about teaching him how to be the new guy. Amazing. If only Mackey had some personality and. could light up a room a little bit. Oh, if only Mackey decided to not be such an introvert. The world would be a different place.

How there's enough oxygen for the rest of us while Anthony lives. I'm gasping for air and I'm in the same room as Mackey. So were the Russo's a fun kind of different kind of vibe? Obviously everybody loves Joss, but the Russo's are now, I mean, they kind of are running the show. They are. They're cool. They're fast shooters too. That's amazing for that kind of film.

Yeah. Like we won't even cut. We'll just do series in that kind of a movie, which. is crazy. Yeah. Have they, do you have a sense? I mean, when you do a film of that size, do you feel like you have a handle on what that film is?

Or do you just have a handle on kind of the stuff you're in? I have no idea what these movies will ever become. It's always a shock to me. I think I know now better how they're going to make my powers look. Right. And I trusting that fun things are coming out of your hands. So that I got. That I understand.

Other than that, like I truly, I don't understand the mind that can, I've told them this. I was like, I don't know how you guys know what pieces to put together. Like, yeah, there's pre-vis. Those are cartoon video games. Like, I don't know how you, how they can think of all of this. And now with Avengers 3 coming up, the third phase of Marvel, it's a lot of us. Yeah.

There's a lot of us. There's like dozens, literally. Yes, there's so many people. And I have, I don't even know if. that's how they're, like, in my mind, like, well, are you guys writing the script based on people's schedules? Like, oh, you know what? We got Tilda and we got Chadwick. They happen to be available the same day. Let's put them in a scene and make it make it make sense. Just an organizing schedule. We got creative. I don't know how they're doing it. It's overwhelming

to me to think about. I don't have anything to do with it. I just show up. So you know your to do list. Your two-do list is finished this very cool new film with Renner. Yeah. And then a ginormous kind of crazy hopefully not that will kill you this press door and then i'll go do something else that isn't official yet but it would be fun um can you be more vague i don't know i because they haven't announced yeah we can't be we can't be more vague i can't i can't be more vague don't don't yeah so the voice behind the screen it's not like a big thing it's just like a small project that it's going to be fun to work on um we're a cool small project we'll yeah and then i'm i'm i'm developing some things which is exciting for me but i guess when

you're on the developing side, you're like, does this take six months or does this take five years? So I don't really know what's going to happen. We'll root for six months at least. Sort of closer to that. And we'll keep tabs on you next time around on Civil War. We'll get an update. Congratulations on. I saw the like getting finally getting to the theaters and letting people see these great performances. It's a hell of a piece of work from both of you guys. Thank you. It's always a pleasure to see you. Thanks. I'm happy you came to see us. Of course. See you next time. Okay. Today's sponsor of Happy, Sad, Confused is Casper Mattresses, obsessively engineered American-made

mattresses at a shockingly fair price. And now, guys, you can get $50 towards any mattress purchase by going to casper.com slash happy and using the code happy. Listen, guys, you spend about a third of your life sleeping. Let's make sure you're doing it on a good mattress, okay? Casper brings together two comfy technologies for better nights and brighter days, latex foam and memory foam. So they've got just the right sink and just the right bounce no matter how you sleep. Plus, they've got a risk-free trial and return policy. They'll deliver it straight to you, and you can try it for 100 days, and if you're not happy, they'll pick it back up. At the store, maybe you get a minute to try mattresses with Casper. You actually get the sleep on it. It's $500

for a twin-size mattress and $950 for a king-sized mattress. Comparing that to industry averages, guys, it's an outstanding price point. So get $50 towards. any mattress purchase by going to casper.com slash happy and using the code happy terms and conditions apply are you guys ready for the main event here comes my conversation with mr tom hittleston a lot to talk about with tom he has just finished shooting kong skull island his ginormous king kong movie in which he is he's action hero action hero tom hittleston like we've never seen him before. So that should be a treat. We talk a lot about that, a lot about him, uh, singing for the first time on screen in an extended way. And I saw the light. We hit up on high rise and, um,

uh, all sorts of other upcoming projects. His, his interest in going back to theater, um, his friendship with Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne. Um, we reminisce about his childhood favorite movies. There's so much in this conversation. We jam packed a lot into about 35, 40 minutes. So I hope you enjoy it. Please enjoy my conversation. with Tom Hiddleston. How is I confused the podcast? I've confused the podcast. We finally have got the man the myth of the legend

Tom Hiddleston. We've met in the middle in L.A. We have. I've come to you. Yeah. I've come to you. You've come further than I've come for you. I have, yeah.

You're little because I know, yeah, I was actually, I almost made it out to Skull Island, but I couldn't quite make it work. you couldn't get through the storm war apparently oh yeah there you go teaser um but how are you doing i mean because yeah we were talking as you walked in the in the room here today um i always tend to see you right before you go off on an adventure and then post-adventure so are you a change to man i have i have i have josh horowitz bookends to my skull island experience right um hopefully in the middle it was more entertaining and exciting than our conversations no well it was it was certainly uh an adventure god it was

an adventure. We were in three continents, three countries, started on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Then we went to Gold Coast, Australia, and then we finished up in Vietnam. And I'm slightly, I sort of need to be, someone needs to put me in solitary confinement for a week because I kind of landed on Friday. And I've come straight here and I don't quite know which way is up because sometimes what's so interesting. about being an actor is the juxtaposition of experiences is

sometimes the thing that never gets remarked on. For the last two weeks, I've been running through a swamp in rural Vietnam, which is a real swamp. There's nothing studio produced about it. There were little spiders

dancing across the surface of it. They said the water was clean. I had my shots, but it was you know the crew were in waiters and we were all in there basically um you go from yeah you go from you go from academy awards golden globes red carpets to it's a job i mean it's a beautiful job but it's also as it can be arduous and taxing mentally physically all of it and you're sort of chasing the daylight always because when the sign goes down you can't shoot anymore and you've only got a certain amount of time and then you jump on a plane

say goodbye to your temporary family who you've got to know for the six months and come to California to talk about a film you made 18 months ago and that's always that that's always the disconnect the weird disconnect the actual present tense for me is is that you know

Skull Island is in everyone else's future because it comes out in 12 months but it's in my immediate past and I saw the light is coming out this weekend but I made it 18 months ago and it's this crazy time travel and we talked about it at a film festival and it's just the nature

of release schedules and whatever it's like yeah it's got to screw with your head to a degree you you mentioned something though that that i've that that i brought up with other people and other people have brought up with me that i find fascinating and i'm wondering was there like a shift when you start out and you and you think you know on the first film or two or theater project or whatever that this bond is so important like we're going to be friends forever or whatever and that it ends and just the nature of the businesses you can't keep them all with you it's just everyone's your travel your traveling circus you know yeah did that ever hit you hard in the beginning like, wait, where did everybody go? You've all, you've left me behind, I've left

you behind. Is that strange? It's something you kind of become accustomed to. The great pleasure is when you realize that actually life moves in circles and you run into people again and you meet up with them again, you pick up where you left off. And some people you don't see again, but you can still feel pride from afar as they go off and do different things. But it is nice when you come, when things come around. And actually, Skull Island was an incredible experience. We were an amazing crew. It was such a disparate group of people.

But we had so much fun. And I don't know whose idea it was, but we did so much together. Right. It was that like Brie, did a lot of organizing of like special kind of... We had a weekend. She was flying back and forth from Hawaii to L.A. in the autumn. because room had opened and was garnering all the attention that led her to win

8,000 awards for it and so she had to keep coming back to LA but there was one weekend that she was in in Hawaii and so she called it the brinkend and the brinkend was was packed with activities which included laser tag go-karting karaoke and a whole other

resorted group I can only imagine you in laser tag. I feel like you're competitive. It's far too embarrassingly competitive. I get very frustrated with the technology. I was pointing my gun at the target, pulling the trigger, but the lights didn't. Right. Why didn't your lights go off?

I'm sure of my shot. I've done it right, guys. If you were on Jeopardy, you would be that jerk contestant of being like, Alex. Well, the buzzer, come on. Can you make the buzzer work, please? There's a bias about the way these buzzers are. It was out to get you. So, okay, so in the case of something like I saw the light, is this a case where it's like, it scares me a little so it's worth doing?

It scares me a lot, so it has to be worth doing. Right. I think because I've always, I've never wanted to play one type of role. And I know it seems probably it seems strange to think. of it now, but when I first got cast as Loki, it seemed very far away from me. It wasn't immediately people's idea of who I was as an actor. If you presented, if you broke down the character of Loki and sent it to a casting director, at the time, most people wouldn't have said, oh, you know, you should do that is Tom Hiddleston. Right. And part of what I've

enjoyed so much about my very short career is that I've always tried to sort of think outside the box and be quite deliberate about that and say, I know you don't think that I can do this, but let me just show you. And I enjoy that because I think that we are, for me, it's, I come away, the experience of acting is about emotional and intellectual expansion. It feels like traveling to foreign territory and you come back with a broader idea of what binds people together that actually different people feel very similar things and um and i enjoy that that's a huge huge um personal gain um but it's also fascinating to to to bridge the gap between yourself and somebody else who's very far away and find the common ground and with hank so interesting because there's

so much about hank williams it's not like me right i was born in london in 1981 um the perception of me is almost overwhelmingly British. And Hank is an icon and part of the fabric of America. But he's a performer and he's someone who understood the genuine connection between his performance and his audience. And he had a huge joy that he could. communicators, I think, through his music, and I feel the same way about acting. And I always believe there's a very real ancient connection between people who are performers and their audience. And so I related to that.

And music is a massive part of my life. I've never played music. I've never been a professional. But it's always been an inspiration. It fuels you, right? Yeah. Right. Well, I think music's the most immediately emotional art form.

Right. and the most naked means of expression. And that's why we revere singers, especially the greats like, I mean, even if you have people now like Adele or Amy Winehouse or Nina Simone or Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan, there's some, you know, back when I was a student, everyone talked about Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake and there's something very pure about the human voice, which is different from acting and different from painting and different. from writing. And I had such respect for that. And this film was a way of exploring that

in myself. Well, and it's why that question often comes up in my kind of conversations with actors where it's like, you know, what music did you listen to you to get into that headspace? You don't necessarily ask what, I mean, you could ask, and it does happen, what movies are you watching, what TV are you watching, but you're right. It's a visceral, it's an emotional shortcut in a way for many of us. You talk about similarities and differences. I mean, one, like, seeming major difference beyond just the cultural background, et cetera, is that he's a pretty self-destructive.

Yes. Self-destructive guy. You're seemingly not much of a self-destructive guy. But I mean, is there something that you can tap into, something you can relate to, something you've seen in others, something that's inherent in performers in all of us that's...

I think it's... I've always been fascinated by the electricity that comes off individuals who seem to live without a safety net. Right. And I think especially performers who don't have that, who seem to live with a layer of skin, with one less layer of skin. And they could be actors, they could be musicians.

And there's something very compelling about, it's as if they are standing at the edge of a cliff and they lean out and are unafraid of the fore. and if they make art in that moment it's very compelling right and they can be musicians they can be they can be they can be writers or actors but i think that there's something so courageous about that fearlessness that makes the art so powerful and and um i don't have that i i get to the edge of that cliff and i can stand there for a bit and i take a step back but i also i i think that's a good thing and because I don't want to so many of those artists don't make it and they die

and they so many have died young Hank died at 29 James Dean Jimmy Hendricks Marilyn Monroe Janice Joplin Jim Morrison Heath Ledger they're not they're not with us anymore and and I'd be so interested to see their work as mature artists you know it's it doesn't have to be the case that you only make good art by by by living as dangerously as that I don't believe that um there are so many people who may, who've done their finest work at the end of their lives, you know, um, I'm trying to, or if you even look at someone like the, who's not at the end of their life, but who's been doing it for 30, 40 years is something like Sean Penn, I think of as like that electricity that's always there. Right. That feels like he's on the edge and it's taking

risks. Yeah. Um, but yeah, there's something electric, something very alluring about that. I think that's, whether we're talking about music or film or TV, whatever. Yeah, I think it's sort of the impetuosity of youth. Mm, that there is something that has something that happens when you're young, that your instincts are pure, that you're unguided by commercial instincts. You have a song in your heart and you sing it and it's, and you know, and that's what, and that's what's, and that's what's crystallized in that moment. And then maybe as you grow older, you become, you become more jaded, you become more sort of sophisticated or something. But, but I think of, I'm trying to think of, I mean, there's so many actors. Think of,

Jeff Bridges think of Anthony Hopkins continue to do such beautiful work in their maturity or like I said, Sean Penn. I'm pretty sure Tolstoy wrote War and Peace when he was an older man. Right, you know, that wasn't the work of a young man. But it's an interesting conversation,

especially where Hank is concerned. I'm also curious, I mean, you kind of alluded to this already about kind of like, you know, pushing yourself into areas that maybe others wouldn't necessarily think of you is being right for coming out of an experience like this, just either coming out of the experience

of it or seeing it, how is your toolkit expanded? Does it feel like I now have I've sung on a screen, I've portrayed someone else on screen that lived and people know very well. Does it feel like, does it give you a little bit more juice going into another project?

Sure, I don't know what that project will be. Right. But, you know, it's, I have less fear about, about music now and where I, and if someone I've called upon, want to be musical in something, I will always have a little bit more confidence because I've played Mike Williams. Right. I have more proficient in the guitar than I used to be.

I can yodel. I don't know how that's a transferable skill. I can do it. It's a variety of show night now. Yeah, exactly. A game of truth or dare you're really good in now. And then something like, Skull Island, I'm curious about in that, like, I remember talking to you right before you went off to that.

And some of the challenge of that would seem to be like, and people discount this sometimes, but like it's a real challenge to be the hero, to be the archetypal kind of like center of attention in a film of that type, that size. Yeah. Did it feel as you thought it would? Was it challenging in ways that you didn't expect? It is interesting actually because, because if you're sort of the leading protagonist in a film, quite often the...

the interesting jagged edges are given out to other actors or other characters. You're a straight man. Yeah, but actually I did enjoy that responsibility, especially as there was, it was probably the most physical thing I've ever done. The character I play in Skull Island has a particular skill set that is unique and useful to the group. and is tested and challenged when he gets to the island and it's a physical one because he's somebody who has an affinity with the natural world

he's someone who's experienced in the jungle and so I quite enjoyed that responsibility there's a lot of physical training and a lot of stunts and I enjoyed having that at my feet if I'm honest speaking of the skill set and the many skills you possess we know you are a master comedian and thanks to, if nothing else, to our work together.

That's just the work of folly. Please. Folly in embarrassment. Oh, my God. Again, we say this every time we get together for one of those sketches. It's like I don't know how to set the bar any higher or more left field or right field because they're going. Yeah, I'm pretty sure wearing a tucks on a rocking horse shouting I'm a cowboy is a career high for me. You actually cried in that monologue.

I know. It was the end of a very long press. if you were summoning the emotions of a press store but oh I guess my question is do you um because you really haven't done something at least a farce in that kind in film I would love to so much right you need to you must

I would love to I keep trying to find I keep I'm putting it out there you know my I always tell my agents when they send me scripts which involve you know I'll read a script and it'll be the most intense emotional kind of desolate, heartbreaking story.

I'd be like, guys, remember that conversation we had about comedy? I'd like to see you said. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'd love to do it, and I'd love to do it with someone, you know, with a group of people who were experienced and, you know, there are directors and actors who'd constantly do the stuff,

and it would just be nice. Again, it would be a new territory for me. It wouldn't particularly be new territory. Honestly, as a kid, when I started acting, it was always about making people. people laugh. Right. Always.

It was about the purest farce, running into walls and falling over. It was never about, you know, it was always about entertainment in that regard. So I love to try something. I don't know what it would be. So let's talk a little bit about that growing up in terms of, I mean, we've geeked out to a degree over the years. Um, heat. Oh, you know, I had Michael Mann on the podcast recently.

Wow. I mean, it was a moment. It was a moment. I thought of you. Um, yeah. Um, but what were the first films or directors that really? made an impact on you maybe even before you knew

what it was or what you wanted to do just the stuff that stuck with you. I loved the Indiana Jones films. They really were, when you asked me that question, you see him running in front of a boulder.

Yeah, I do. Or I see him in the Temple of Doom standing on the bridge holding the Shankara stones about to sever both sides of it. Oh, Rahm,

I'll see you in the hell. Exactly. I really did. I used to love them so much. Everything about them. You know, the sort of the good humor, the warmth of it, the heroism, the theme tune. I love that theme tune. And what else was there?

Back to the Future I loved. Really used to just love those films, especially the first two. I think it was the concept of it. It was so much. mind-blowing as a child that this crazy crazy old scientist had invented a time machine and Michael J. Fox is so good-natured in it and so he's such a great avatar for all of us, you know, because he's so confused.

Yes. Well, as he would be. So, yeah, those are, I guess those are films I loved growing up. And then things like Short Circuit 2 and... Wait, Short Circuit 2? The second one? Yeah, Short Circuit, Short Circuit 2. Gremlin's. You know, I'm a child of the 80s. I hear you. Gremlins to the new batch is the best. It actually may be better than

Gremlin. What I love is just it's a totally different genre. It's a genre list. It kind of skewers all around. Yeah. Ghostbusters. I think we've talked about ghost buses before. But it is kind of a perfect movie. Yeah, it's perfect. I love it. I mean, it's that era of filmmaking that I love most, I think, part of my lizard brain. Well, you work with Spielberg. I did. On War Horse. Is that a case where you just bottle it all up? Or is there a day on set where you...

No, there was a day... Well, he was so generous with it. I mean, he must get this all the time of working with younger actors. We were shooting the cavalry charge. And he was very happy making that film. And because in so many ways, it was his way of tipping his hat in respect to the people who'd inspired him,

especially that cavalry charge was his homage to David Lean and all of that. And it was a beautiful summer in London in August of 2010. And we were waiting for the horses to come back around or we were waiting for the camera trucks to align themselves so we could reshoot. And I think Benedict Camerbatch and Patrick Kennedy and myself just to turn to him and said it's so Stephen. We've got some time. So let's start a little close encounter.

It's think of all right. And he was, he told this amazing story about, um, about the last crusade and there's a scene in an airship, um, where, uh, Sean Connery and Harrison Ford are sitting, having a sort of, having father-son banter. And, um, because Sean Connery is Sean Connery, he can do it every once at that time. Um, it was very hot in, in the, on the set. And, um, Sean Connery just just turned to Stephen and said, uh, Stephen, um, um, um, I'm, um, um, um, I'm going to take my trousers off. It's a little hot.

You're shooting me. Yeah, you're shooting from up here. Don't you? So he did the whole scene with no pants on. Oh no, you've ruined the film for me. Well, maybe he helped it. And then what I love about it is then,

apparently, Harrison Ford, not to be outdone, goes, I'm going to fucking take my pants off. You've got Harrison Ford and Sean Connery doing a scene from Indiana Jones, the last crusade with no pants on. That was not in the director's commentary. There was no director's commentary. A trouser is Indiana Jones. And the trouser of

Sean Connery, just shooting the breeze. So to speak. You've been in a cocoon. Do you know they're doing another Indiana Jones? Have you heard? I did hear that. Yeah. I mean, all I hope is the headline. And that's all there is to say at this point. But I mean, this is exciting. This is good news. I'll take Harrison Ford at 97th, Indiana Jones. Please. He's the only, he is Indiana Jones. Right. Speaking of icons, what's all this James Bond talks? I mean, is this just, is this just fun? Honestly, pure speculation. Right. Have you practiced in a mirror saying,

my name's Bond, James Bond, ever just for Chits and giggles? I mean, maybe when I was 10. Your voice is cracking. It's one of those things, I think, as a British actor, I mean, when it comes up in conversation, you know, someone who's been a fan of the series as a child, and you kind of go, really? Right. Like, you've got to be kidding.

Even the notion of being in conversation. But I know it's all. come from the night manager, which is this series that's already aired in the UK. It's airing in the US in April on AMC. And I play a spy. I play a former British soldier who is recruited by MI6 to become a spy. And there's a seduction and a glamour to that world. And he's seduced very much by Hugh Laurie's character, he plays an international arms dealer.

right um and um and so people have made the link uh but but honestly i think like who's going to be the next bond is it's sort of like one of those national past times right it's it's a fun bar yeah it's like exactly there's like five conversations there's like who's going to be the next james bond who's going to be next factor um when is the england national side going to live up to its full potential um is britain going to leave the EU uh of those i will take the bond talk and what happens the next in last night's episode of EastEnders so um all I'm saying is following that model

that's how it happened for Daniel Blair cake was kind of his like glorified audition right that got in Bond well let's see I mean there's as far as I'm aware there are about 75 names in the heart

all of whom I think would be great you know Idris people talk about Idris for a long time he'd be amazing um Tom Hardy Damien Lewis just make it like you could do like a round Robin, like a steel cage match, you all just fight to death, whoever.

That way, we earn some money for charity, too. Okay. Yeah, maybe, let's make it charitable. Right. Yeah. Do you feel a little, do you feel disconnected from the Marvel movies, having like, you know, it's been a little bit of a gap, obviously. It's been a long time.

Yeah. I haven't. It's an interesting perspective to sort of see them. I actually enjoy, I really enjoy, um, uh, watching it progress in a way. Yeah. It's kind of, um, I saw the trailer. for Civil War and I was like wow it has come to this

I thought shit was going bad when I was doing. Yeah my God. I feel like if Loki were in Civil War he'd be sitting on a rooftop somewhere going oh how marvelous the children are fighting but yeah I think it's cool man I think it's I'm excited to see it and

intrigued by the notion of I don't know if you can say anything or not but I'll just throw it out there that Kate Blanchett, I guess, could be involved in the next door. That would be extraordinary. I don't know if you were able to say or not, but the prospect of you and Kate together would be kind of amazing. I mean, I don't know if she's definitely doing it, but obviously, you know, she's an extraordinary actress.

And if she's up for coming to Asgard, that would be interesting. Yeah. Yeah, well, it's coming around, you know. I saw Chris Hemsworth in Australia. He lives about an hour away from where we were shooting Kong, and it was so good to see him. Nice. and he was full of

full of beans about Thor 3 yeah very cool I just saw Tycho Waiti's new movie everyone says it's great it's so great comfort older people I saw it at Sundance it was I haven't seen it yeah fantastic so I mean you referenced this but night manager high rise which we talked about which is a banana's crazy movie but anyway

any of it knows Ben Wheatley I mean you should know if you're walking to the theater you're going to get something amazing and out there this one I feel like I'm missing something too there's a at least three or four The high-rise, I saw the light and the night manager. That's it. Only three, that's it. Oh, my God.

No, but I mean, you must, do you take a certain pride in, I mean, the breadth of that work, the variety of that kind of work and coming off of something like Skull Island? Yeah. This is what it's all about. This is probably what you wanted out of a career. It's everything I dreamed of. It's so interesting as well because I had, I really had, I have no control and we'll never have any control over how these things are released.

and what's so bizarre is that the experience of making high-rise ice or light and the night manager constitutes the last 18 months of my life if you take Skull Island out of the equation. It's a huge commitment of time and energy to make those three things that took me a year and a half

and suddenly they're all out one after the other and it's interesting talking about them because they feel very different the experiences were very different. Sure. And I think that really is my greatest privilege is that I'm allowed to be in so many different kinds of things that people trust me with different stuff is very cool.

You alluded to kind of the circular nature of the business and seeing people come around in different ways. But, I mean, it's got to be fun, cool to see, you know, Eddie, Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch and all these guys that you work with in different capacities or not in different capacities, like ruling the world in their own different ways. Yeah.

It's amazing, actually. And you feel such pride. I feel such pride on their behalf, you know. How many autographs of Benedict Cumberbatch's photo have you ever signed? Have people given you, I mean, you guys don't look alike, but I would imagine. People gave me lots of interesting. Recently gave me lots of pictures of Tom Hollander from the night manager. I was like, just saying, that's Tom Hollander.

You're not going to get him to sign that. And I've signed a few with Benedict and me in it. from Warhorse but um no it's so great when you see like i've known eddie since i was 14 and he was always gifted um he really was a star then um and um had a very singular talent very unique um sensibility um and to see that grow and change in the way that it is it's like it's amazing and he's still so gracious about it totally um and um and um Benedict on the other hand. No, grace at all.

No, he's doing great. I think the last time I saw Benedict was I went to see Hamlet just before I went off to Skull Island. And I think he started Doctor Strange at the same time. I was starting Kong. And I haven't had a chance to, I haven't been home. Did he give you a call before he did Strange just to compare Marvel notes?

Yeah, he did. He, you know, it's course it has its own challenges. Sure. which are mostly the, it's the sustained stamina of imagination because you're constantly

having to generate responses to things that aren't physically there. Right. In, you know, in environments which will be enhanced by visual effects, that's the job.

It's to continue to kind of make it real so that the audience believe it when they see it. I think he's having fun. And he had more to cast. Yeah, I can't wait to see what they're doing. I mean, it seems like a little bit of a different Marvel movie, which I'm really intrigued by.

Well, last time you were on stage was Coriolanus? Cori Linus, yeah. Any plans at this point of it? Are you itching? Do you feel that itch? Is that how it happens? Were you kind of once in a while? Yeah, I'm sort of, I'm definitely thinking about it.

And I have a couple of ideas. I think it's, I think what I, the thing I miss about it is the momentum of, of a performance every night is that when you're working in film or television that you have the luxury of precision in every moment that you can refine each moment

over and over again and then you leave it forever and in the theatre you don't have that precision because you have to move on to the next moment because it's all sequential but as an actor you you have, you can, you have a perspective on the whole that you never get as an actor in film because you leave that to the editor and you leave that to post-production.

And that's the thing I miss is, is that sometimes if you get your ducks in a row and you're in gear, the entire performance can elevate because it has a, because every moment has a domino effect. Right. And suddenly you have a performance, which is unrepeatable. And the audience were with you, and they were in a good mood, and it was a Tuesday night. And you have no idea why it was the best performance you've ever done. Right. But it works.

And then the tragedy of Wednesday morning, when you realize you have to do it again, and you don't know how. It's funny to say that, because, like, Don Chito was on the podcast. Right. I was just talking to him, and he was telling this, I guess, a famous story that Olivier said, where he did, like, an amazing performance. There's Othello. It was like Othello. He walks off stage, destroys his dressing room and realizes he can't do it. He doesn't know how to do it again.

Yeah. That happens. Yeah. But it happens. It's a very famous story. I think it was Maggie Smith who asked him now. She was playing Desdemona. And Othello famously, what I'm led to believe,

wasn't one of Olivier's greatest performances as a Shakespearean. It was actually comparing them with some of his others, with Hamlet or with Falstaff. I think it was false stuff. I may be wrong about that. But with his Richard III, for example, which is hugely famous. Othello wasn't quite up there, but there was one night when, obviously, the stars aligned, and it was unforgettable. And he stormed offstage, and Maggie Smith went into Jones and said, what's wrong?

You were magnificent tonight, and Olivier said, I know, and I don't know why. So, but then, you know, that happens in films sometimes, too. Last thing before I let you go on this crazy press store for three different projects. Um, the first time I chatted with you, uh, was at Comic Con and it was a big, it was a big moment for Thor and that cast. I'm just curious like what your memories are. Did that feel like a moment in terms of like a shift in your life? I remember that very well. I remember where we were. I remember the interview. Um, huge, huge turning point. Um, and even, I think there's a tendency sometimes to attribute meaning. to experiences retro retrospectively, which perhaps they didn't have. But I know that at the time we made Thor, and Chris and I talk about it, we knew it was going to change our lives in a weird way.

Because it was such a good, it was such a happy experience. And also, Kenneth Branagh was so on it. He was just, he was so precise, and he was getting performances out of everyone that felt really interesting in terms of that kind of movie and then yeah that comic con was a when they when they first played that the first trailer i was like oh this is going to be interesting by this you mean the rest of your life yeah yeah but it's still it's still completely surprising i mean it's still there were no guarantees and um by then i had already met joss weeden and sat down with him and he told me

it was going to do with Avengers. But all of that had yet to be written and yet to be executed. And there's always, it's such a delicate recipe that's so easy to screw up. So the path of it, my journey to this point, is still unbelievably surprising. It's a sequence of accidents that seem to have gone very well. Well, I'll never forget that that conversation actually. I mean, I truly do remember you making a great impression that day and being like, Guys, I don't know who this guy is, but he really seems like someone that we should pay attention to it. So I'm glad that I was proven correct. Thanks, man.

Your name has come up a disgusting amount of time on the podcast over the last couple of years. So I'm thrilled that finally we got you on. It's good to see you, buddy. Congratulations and I saw the light. Thank you. High rise, the night manager, Skull Island. Oh, my God. It's obnoxious.

Sorry. Thank you, man. I really appreciate it. It's nice to see you and it's good to be on here. It's good to see, as always. Until the next time we do. something stupid. We'd like to alternate stupid and smart.

Yeah. It's smart today. Yeah. It was nice. Yeah. We kind of crammed a lot in there. We clasped up the joint for a change. It's all right.

But I'm very happy to, I don't know. Where do we go next? I don't know where we go in terms of our skits. It's not possible. It's not, it is possible. Believe. Would it be for Skyl Island? Maybe it will.

Yes, it will. Until next time, buddy. Thank you, sir. Just what is the mysterious secret of Uncle Bertie's botanarium. This is it, Solander. My uncle Bertie's botanarium. My word. Look at that big statement.

It sounds very tantalizing. Could it be a treasure map or some sort of evil flower? No. It's the latest Howell original, starring Jermaine Clement. Become famous, you will go down in history. Do you have any psychic credentials, cheesemonger? Yeah, just out for the back. One minute, sir.

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This has been an Earwolf production, executive produced by Scott Ackerman, Adam Sacks, and Chris Bannon. For more information and content, visit Earwolf. Thank you, Wolf.com. Hey, Michael. Hey, Tom. You want to tell him? Or you want me to tell him? No, no, no.

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We have big news. We got monumental news. We got spectacular news. After a brief hiatus, my good friend, Michael Ian Black, and I are coming back. My good friend, Tom, Kavanaugh and I are coming back to do what we do best. What we were put on this earth to do.

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