Podcrushed - [Rerun] Adam Brody

Episode Date: April 2, 2025

This week Adam Brody (Fleishman is in Trouble, Shazam!, The O.C.) stops by and wins the group over with his endless trove of middle school stories. Adam gets passionate explaining his take on marriage, and shares why he’s the happiest he’s ever been. Follow Podcrushed on socials!  Twitter TikTok InstagramSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lemonada Nava hit me I wish you were here so that I could actually hate you But I'm going to hit you with a question Oh it's like we prepared that one We served that one That's our next TikTok I'm going to find one where I have to like fake slap then

Like oh I'm sorry We were too close I just got a little Yeah Okay I was thinking about the other day in the shower I was thinking about, like, what was the first piece of, like, tech that I owned as a kid. Obviously, for a lot of kids listening, it's a silver spoon. For a lot of people listening, it's a phone, but I'm old.

So my first piece of technology was not a phone. And it was a little diary that you could, like, type into and it would save your notes, basically like a file, which doesn't sound exciting. But as, like, a 10-year-old, that was so exciting. It was, like, the most excited I was to get a present. And I was just curious, what was y'all's first little? like gadgety thing that you remember that you got really excited about. Oh, I like this one. I keep wanting to say spoon.

Yeah, it was. It was a spoon. I just couldn't figure out how to hold that. Is that because you don't have opposable thumbs, Lou? Yeah, it was, yeah, when I was born as a blob. I think my first piece of technology was actually a phone for a brief moment. I had a phone when I was in third grade because I'm the youngest child and I would just get like hand-me-downs.

And I think there was like an extra phone. At one point, it was in Nokia 3310. And I played snake on it. It was like gone within like a couple months. Something happened to it. Someone else in my family needed the phone back and then it was over. So that was my first piece of tech. You know, surely a phone came around the same time.

But since you guys have said phones, I... Mine wasn't a phone. My first was a digital diary. That's right. Sorry, I checked out. I was just like, oh, you mean, it was a laptop with one file. This is great. This is great. Spoon would have been better, Nobs.

Spoon would have been better. It was a digital four-track that I recorded music on. So I was 14, I think. And in fact, it was the same four-track that I recorded that song that are one of our earlier guests, Evan Rachel Wood, cited as a really cringy reference. line press no it was better than we recall but much worse

than I remember it wasn't stay with me didn't know you're not doing it go out walking go out talking no by the way it wasn't that

making a single here's what it was guys it was an opportunity to harmonize I just built harmonies on that thing like four part harmonies I didn't like the lyrics

so meaning like the phone didn't seem that useful actually they were still not exciting you know yeah texting took forever

and I think texting wasn't even really a thing yet And Snake was maddening to me. Oh, my friends like Snake. Penn still hasn't learned how to text. Yeah, this is it. I was like, I will never. Texting was crazy.

Like, the way you had to, like, to get to, oh, you'd have to press six, three times or something like that. You know, kids these days have no idea what third grade Sophie had to go there. Third grade Sophie, little state, man, she's like, shit, shit, shit. Actually, to this day, I think because I got an early start, I'm a very fast texter and people comment on it like frequently for years

people have said like you're very fast they watch me. Great, you can put that on your resume when you're looking for a new podcast to host on. Hashtack Penn needs new hosts. Oh, it's so good. Welcome to Podcrushed. We're hosts. I'm Penn. I'm Sophie and I'm Nava

and I think we would have been your middle school besties. And Penn's the guy who would have been invited to all the girls sleepovers. I'm so excited to watch Notting Hill again. Can we please get to our guest? Yes. Adam Brody.

The iconic Adam Brody. That's right. I mean, most recently, he's in Fleshman is in Trouble, which is a brilliant show on Hulu, the miniseries. He also had iconic and memorable roles in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Thank you for smoking and promising young woman. What a lot of you might know him from is a show about orange juice. that took place in sunny southern California called the O.C.

Adam had a lot of stories to tell. I feel like we could have spent a lot longer with him. So you will love this one. Please don't go anywhere. Please, for the love of our numbers, don't go anywhere. We will be right back. And don't leave before we can point out that Penn said, made an orange juice joke,

even though the initials of the show are O.C. I know. I was like, not OJ. No, we're keeping it. That's great. It's great. I was like, did I miss something? Yeah, I'm thinking to myself like, No, I didn't.

I literally did not. No, I think that's late. Let's keep us pointing out how dumb you are. This is what happens when you drop out in middle school, staying in school kids. I cannot tell the difference between letters or juices. They both have curves, you know. You're talking about the orange juice bottle now? All I can think of is a great glass of orange juice.

This is good content. We'll be right back. Does anyone else ever get that nagging feeling that their dog might be bored? And do you also feel like super guilty about it? Well, one way that I combat that feeling is I'm making meal time everything it can be for my little boy, Louis. Nom Nom does this with food that actually engages your pup senses with a mix of tantalizing smells, textures, and ingredients. Nom Nom offers six recipes bursting with. premium proteins, vibrant veggies and tempting textures designed to add excitement to your dog's

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committed to only giving him the best. I love that nom nom nom nom's recipes contain wholesome nutrient rich food, meat that looks like meat and veggies that look like veggies because shocker, they are. Louis has been going absolutely nuts for the lamb pilaf. I have to confess that he's never had anything like it and he cannot get enough. So he's a lamb p laugh guy. Keep mealtime exciting with Nomnum available at your local pet smart store or at Chewy. Learn more at trynom.com slash podcrushed spelled try n-o-m.com slash podcrushed. Why do we do what we do? What makes life meaningful?

My name is Elise Lunan, and I'm the author of Honor Best Behavior and the host of the podcast, Pulling the Thread. I'm pulling the thread, I explore life's big questions with thought leaders who help us better understand ourselves, others, and the world around us. I hope these conversations bring you moments of resonance, hope, and growth. Listen to pulling the thread from Lemonada Media wherever you get your podcasts. All right, so let's just, let's just, let's just get going. This is a joke that I didn't think I would ever tell, and it's not really a joke.

Let's just see how it goes over. Oh, great. What an intro. Adam, I'm very happy to have you here. Back in like 2008, I don't know, eight or something like that, when Gossip Girl was getting going, and the OC had been huge. And then Josh Schwartz, who created not only those two shows, but a third named, I think it was called Chuck

with Zachary Levi. Is that right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We each played his sort of avatar. You played Seth, NEOC, I played Dan and Gossip Girl, and Zach was Chuck and Chuck. And I used to say that if all three of us were in a room, that Josh Schwartz would implode. So that's my little, that's my...

I know, isn't it weird to have Josh Schwartz inside all of us? Not the first time I've heard that, yeah. We definitely are cut from a similar cloth, and we have such a similar backing, a background. It's weird. And then, of course, I married Layton. I know. I don't know what that says.

You're the real, Josh. It's all a little too much. I was looking at, like, interviews and lots of pictures of you, Adam, last night. And I was like, if I squint, if I, like, put these far from my face and I squint, it's like, Adam, Penn, Penn, Adam. But it's not just us. It's a type. It's a very much. It's a type.

But there is, but I think, and this is a. popular phrase on, I was whatever, on Twitter. I was today years old when I found out so and so and so and so and so were different people, but I've seen that a lot for you and I. I like that. I like that. No, I mean, seriously, this is why I like having you on. It's like it's a special nod. It's a nod to the content that people want. So thank you again for coming on. You've never indicated and not, you know, you're not necessarily like sharing all your, all your personal details in press, but it didn't seem like you didn't indicate that you had a super awkward phase. In fact, what you said about growing up, little leads you've given

about high school and stuff, you know, you spent a lot of time surfing. I think you were playing music. You were in California. You know, you said you had some relationships. You know, it sounds like maybe you had some balance and even some ease and some joy in those years. Yeah. Is that, is that accurate? You know, the truth of the matter, and you know, I don't know, my parents will probably listen to this. And so sorry. But in many years, in many ways, junior high in high school were like the darkest period of my life with a few other years thrown in there. But yeah, yeah.

No, and I didn't shock it up to awkwardness, although I would say junior high was, and maybe like freshman in high school was awkward. But really like a sort of, I think a loneliness. I think a drift. It's a fairly lonely kind of scaryish time with also other great, you know, highs as well. Sure. I mean, I think parents, for better or worse, can't protect you from all those things.

And then they're often the source of those things. I've said a lot on this show, so I won't bore you with my story. But those years for me, I think, were the darkest as well. I'd say about 12 to 10 was the darkest way. Yeah, yeah. Same for me, same for me. 12 to like

8, 9, yeah, 12 to 20 and then with a like couple years in my late 20s, you know, but in this way we are also very similar. I guess I'm also curious, like, because you were such a performer for a living, not only do you act, you play music, so you were surely on this path as well.

So like, I'm just curious, keep painting that picture for us, this young kid who was, I guess, you know, as you say, struggling, and then on his way to making a living out of expression. That's really, you know, that's quite poignant if you think about it. When I was 10, 11, 12 years old, I'm roughly or like almost exactly the same age as McCauley Hulk. And I remember seeing Home Alone and going like, hey, I'd really like to do that.

And then meanwhile, River Phoenix was being real cool and dramas. And it's like, I'd like to do that. And I brought up to my parents and they were like, we can't take your auditions in L.A. I lived in San Diego. We work full time. but, you know, go do a play. So I did. I did inherit the wind at the local community theater,

but it was for adults, and I just was a newspaper boy, and I had a few lines and wasn't, you know, so it was kind of boring. It was interesting, but I didn't pursue it, and I completely never thought twice about it until I, you know, pretty much right before my 19th birthday. So all to say, I had really,

except for flirting with it for, you know, a couple months in sixth grade, I never thought I would be an act, That was something I sort of decided to try on a whim. And I think that actually, haven't I known what I wanted to do, that would have alleviated a lot of my stress. But I didn't. And in fact, in junior high, I was really into like,

I started smoking pot early and it was really, and I love pot. But I mean, like, you know. Too early is too much. Too early, I got, you know, I got suspended for it. in eighth grade. I didn't get to go on the Washington, D.C. trip, et cetera. And, but all to say that I guess I was into, like, pot and, like, grunge was big then, you know? And I was into music then, and then in high school, my whole four years was mostly built around surfing.

And I loved it, but I also knew, you know, I was already. you know at 14, like, you know, you're not going to be professional if you're not already amazing, you know. I knew I wanted to build my life around that somehow. I just thought, like, I'm going to live by the ocean. I'm going to surf. I can't wait to be out of high school and surf just when everyone's in school. It was really just as long as I have an apartment somewhere, somewhere closer to the beach

than I live with my parents. We lived inland and I was always trying to get closer to the ocean. And I thought that would be enough and exciting. And so I, like, went to junior college for a semester. I was like, I don't know even know what I want to do. So I'll just take two classes. And I'll work at Blockbuster and live in this apartment with, like, a couple other guys. And finally have my dream of surfing on, like, Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.

And it was so boring, so quick. You know, I was so, you know, it just felt so anticlimactic, so unglamorous. So, and it kind of freaked me out. And so very quickly, my roommate and I, you know, we had another friend in L.A. who was starting to be an actor and we thought, like, let's go just give it a try. And I'll give it a year and see if that's something that I make some headway in and have a nap for and I'll go from there. But that's that. I think part of what was missing for me was a sense of direction. And I was so uninspired by school. It was just, it was like a white noise to me. I mean, it just, it just forward me to tears. And to the point, like, I didn't, I understand now that I think I'm smart. I didn't even think that in high school. You know, I didn't think of myself as smart. I didn't think of myself as funny. So, I don't know. That's that. And then junior high in particular, you know, there's a socioeconomic element to this that I'll never, you know, I only have my own

myopic view on. But I went to, so I don't even know. It's tough. I'm trying to, like, say kind of what class I grew up a little bit. And, you know, it's middle, I think, you know, maybe it's upper middle per capita for the country, but, you know, they had an elementary school in my school, and that was fine, or in my suburb, and then we went to the neighborhood over. They didn't have a junior high. And although I don't think of it as a rough town, you know, or part of town necessarily, it was definitely tougher than where I grew up. And, yeah, I saw more, like, fights and violence and saw some, like, darker stuff in those two years than I did in my high school, the preceding or the following four where I went to, like, the new high school that opened in my suburb.

That's interesting. And, you know, I survived. Most of us survived. I mean, you know, not, I don't know, not everyone. I mean, a friend kill himself. But I don't think it was in junior high. Yeah, yeah, in eighth grade. It was one of the things, one of the kind of tragic things that happened there. And, you know, but yeah, it was, it was, it was, it was kind of violent, kind of violent, like, couple years.

We're like, all of a sudden, you're in elementary school and, like, you never seen a fight. And then all of a sudden you're in seventh grade and, like, people can get jumped, not just fights. It's like people are getting jumped, which is, you know, it's like, and I apologize for my naivete. This is probably most fucking schools, you know, but, which is a shame. But for me as a like pre-pubescent 13-year-old, it was kind of dramatic. I think also, Adam, it's like okay and normal and good to not feel comfortable with violence. Like, I feel like that there doesn't need to be any, like, nervous. Qualifiers.

Yeah, yeah. Like, you were 12, like, it was not cool that you were, like, exposed to violence. Like, no 12-year-olds should be. Yeah, exactly. It's a lot of stress to deal with on the way to chemistry. Like, am I going to get jumped? Am I not? Well, speaking of that kind of thing, I remember vividly, I'll never forget it.

And it's pretty funny. This one kid, white kid, like, shaved head, friend of mine, but, like, kind of a little bit of a provocateur um punk you know it was like punk was into um him and another friend this outside where like the parents pick you up right then right at the gate i remember like him running with his backpack my two friends running to the car to his mom's blue minivan with like in my mind a sea of people chasing them maybe it was just five probably more it was like a good a good 10 people chasing them to, you know, fucking hurt them. They dive in the car.

Literally, they're beating their moms. The other guys are, like, kicking in the mom's minivan as they're, like, trying to close the door and, like, trying to topple it as she peels out and he never goes to that school. That's the last time you ever went to that school. But a true, like, yeah, like a, what do you call, heroin escape? But that's something. I also think, like, oh, shut up, I'll be done in a sec.

There's the last thing I'll say, but, like, the hour's almost up. This is all about you have. But I also think in terms of awkwardness, like, as someone who, like, did not remotely start entering puberty in seventh grade. And, like, I think it was funny. It's like, you know, they go, all of a sudden, every day you have PE, and they're, like, getting those showers. Everyone get naked, all hundred of you, unsupervised.

Like, we're not really keeping close to eyes. It has an enormous cold shower. You have to shower every day. You better get in there naked. But also, like, we don't care what you do with your clothes. Those I never took home in a year. I mean, the, like, PE clothes. So they'd be everyone, no one did.

So, like, you'd have these, like, truly awful mildewy disgusting clothes by the end of the year that you would throw out at the last day. But, like, yeah, first thing, seventh grade, everyone, a hundred of you get naked in there in the showers. And then, like, yeah, fights in there. Everyone would like, not, I didn't, but like naked slip and slides through it. One time I was like, my leg was warm. I turned around like this kid's pain on me and then ran away, ran away.

Adam, you were a rich vein of middle school stories, possibly more than any other guest. You're just listing them. You're like, yeah, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, keep going. The school is Wagenheim Junior High School. I don't know if it still exists. I don't know if it's considered nice or bad, probably somewhere in the middle.

But, yeah, for me, that was more traumatic than the following four years of high school. Adam, you initially mentioned some feelings of loneliness. And then you did also mention these two friends. I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit more about your friendships. Do you have people you felt you really clicked with? Yes. I did you know I always like

I always wanted and maybe never totally had that like best friend you know I had like revolving best friends in my life but I never had that one that really stuck you know I mean for sure my best friend is Leighton and I was actually going to say I could feel that when you said that

by the way Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, and that's beautiful. Yeah, but, you know, and I have a lot of good friends, and I have a lot of guy friends, but, you know, I've always been even jealous of, like, you know, you meet the writing duos or directing duos, and it's like, they've been making movies since whatever, and I'm like, that's amazing, you know. And I have old friends for sure, but, um, so yeah, there was a group, but, um, like I said, one got chased out, uh, school, the other, um, died tragically. I don't know if it was, you know, I say suicide, but I think it was, this was like right after, he was, I don't know what it had to do with. It was his dad's gun. And I don't know if it had to do with Kurt Cobain at all. He did like Nirvana a lot. This is like the year of his death. And to me, I find he was also like the most popular of us, the kind of most developed, the most experienced. Like he was the, you know, if there were.

was a leader or someone who's the most confident it was him and i find it hard to believe even though i'm sure it's possible and i have no clinical experience but um that he was so depressed that he couldn't take another day you know i find it i feel like it was more an accident in some capacity or another um but that certainly cast a paul and he wasn't even my best friend it's not like i knew kind of yeah i mean it was in he was in our circle and i was very friendly with him but it was more just like a dark thing that happened that sort of, um, um, that clouded it. Like I said, you know, I also got suspended and that was a, who cares, but you know, in the, in the, I don't know, it just made it, again, it made it a little more adult in eighth grade and like I'm talking to the cop, you know,

and, and they're not going to arrest me, but we arrested the other guy who was selling you the pot and whatever. Um, um, you know, it felt like adults kind of quickly. The picture your painting is vivid and sort of technicolor, as dark as elements of it are, being at all close, significantly close to somebody who takes their own life or even just dies suddenly, especially with a gun. I mean, in this country, this is becoming more common, but it certainly shouldn't be because it's a tragedy that marks your youth. Yeah, and I think too, you know, hopefully, if there's any counterweight to that, and I don't, I think generationally, we are more in communication with our kids than every, you know, I think, I think we're, you know, communication is getting better between generations, you know, and so I just think like, you know, with my parents and all parents of that generation, like, you just didn't talk in the same way. You know, I have a hope my kids are much younger still, but like, I just have a hope that I will be able to have more, get on their level more and have more of a, you know, open communication and be more knowledgeable myself about how it might affect you and, you know, how it might affect them. And so I think when I say a little bit lonely too, I don't know, my parents were always a safe place. but, you know, I mean, anyone, you grow up and they receive more regardless, you know,

but I feel like, yeah, I don't know, you know, they were working as most people, as most are, but it's also like we weren't, I don't know how much we were talking and, you know, I mean, I do know, not that much. And I love them and I have a lovely relationship with them. But, you know, yeah, I think some of the things are generational. So if there's anything that gives me a little bit of hope going forward, it's that like the lines of communication, I think, might be more open. Yeah, we had someone on our show, Gabor Mante, who is a physician and author, and talks a lot about child development.

And Nava actually asked him a question. She asked, like, how can we prevent trauma that's experienced, or, you know, a traumatic event that's experienced in those adolescent years? How can we prevent that from kind of crystallizing into long-term trauma? And his answer, or part of it at least, was to talk about it, to have adults in your life who can talk about it with you. But he did specify, too, that it shouldn't be your parents. Like, he was like, if it is your parents, you're really lucky, but oftentimes it won't be.

Yeah, that for most people, they don't have that relationship. And that it's really important in communities that there be adults that you trust that you can go to. And actually, as you were speaking at him, I was thinking, I agree with you about like parent and children relationships and that's really important but we're like more and more isolated from communities and I think human beings just as like tribal sort of like our nature of our species

is actually to be in groups and we thrive in communities and we're like more and more isolated and especially with like technology like people being behind their screens this generation is the loneliest ever documented the most anxious the most depressed. I know

and it has to do with isolation like that just has to be a key part of why there's so much anxiety amongst this generation. Yeah. Sad. Yeah. I don't doubt that at all. Stick around.

We'll be right back. All right. So let's just real talk, as they say for a second. That's a little bit of an aged thing to say now. That dates me, doesn't it? But no, real talk. How important is your health to you? You know, on like a one to ten?

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I do it. I think it tastes great. I use the liposomal glutathione as well in the morning. Really good for gut health, and although I don't need it, you know, anti-aging. And then I also use the magnesium L3 and 8, which is really good for, I think, mood and stress. I sometimes use it in the morning, sometimes use it at night. All three of these things taste incredible. Honestly, you don't even need to mix it with water.

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courses for life. Visit Rosettastone.com slash podcrush to get started and claim your 50% off today. Don't miss out. Go to Rosettastone.com slash podcrush and start learning today. This is a hard left turn, but I do. I do want to go maybe to some lighter topics, or maybe not. Maybe you experience some heartbreak, but we want to ask you about your experiences around relationships in junior high, maybe even into high school. Like, what were your first experiences around love and heartbreak? Even in like second grade, I remember, I mean, you know, and I think she felt the same.

I'm not sure, but I, in my hindsight, I feel I had a girlfriend briefly. You know, like I was early to dating, early to, um, um, yeah. falling in love or at least in lust and like and friendship all those things um and so i felt like i had a couple girlfriends in elementary school um they were both tomb boys that i believe like were very good athletes that turned out to be lesbians i don't know i don't know what that says but it's uh it's a funny coincidence and then um you know i kind of felt like by the time i got to high school. And I think, honestly, part of the reason I was so, like, one of the reasons I was so underwhelmed with my high school and high school in general and more drawn to the beach

and that culture is because by the time I got into high school, like, I knew the small pool of girls. And there was just no one excited. Like, I felt like the dating pool was too small. And, you know, and so, yeah, it didn't have that, like, glamour or appeal or excitement to me, you know, a little bit when I was in the younger grades and there were older girls, you know, to have crushes on. But basically, like, yeah, by the time I was older, I was dating girls, like I met at the beach and things like that in that world. Because, you know, the beach I went to. A few of us surf from my high school, but then... Wait, four year of high school? No, from my high school. Oh, sorry. I kind of...

Like they had a surfing team. No, well, they did have what we did have. It was kind of this like, it wasn't this scam, but it was, this explains a lot of my high school. A nice way to start that sentence. I'm excited. We had, like, four of us in our school, because there's only like four serious surfers in my school, was an inland school, had what is, you know, what was called surf PE. And it was like, basically, you could do it for anything if you were training to be an Olympian or a professional athlete. You could, like, ostensibly, I'm going to be an ice skater in the Olympics for six um first fifth period i need to go and train at the ice rink i'll have my professional

coach sign a bunch of papers you sign up for and then somebody an adult you know professional signs the papers and you get the free period and nobody's checking on you and that's what we did but it's not like i didn't surf i mean i surfed we would get up at 530 in the morning and surf and consequently i slept through all of high school i mean that was another reason it was not interesting to me because i was i was asleep i was so tired um but anyways yeah so all to say, like, I was much more drawn to, like, you know, whatever, everything that was happening culturally at my local surf spot. Adam, just before we leave this topic of love,

and I think you listen to it, so this will be fresh for you, but Leighton shared a sweet story of the first time she, the first time you entered her consciousness was on someone's screensaver, actually, before you guys met or she was aware of you as an actor. And I'm wondering if you remember the first time Leighton entered your consciousness. I think the first time I saw her, is when I met her and forgive me I don't know if you'll know if you were there or not

and I remember us having an early conversation on a rooftop in Manhattan I remember being in a party or something with you Yeah, small party But previous to that At Canters, the deli in Los Angeles I used to eat there all the time And I think Josh, I was there on my own

With maybe a friend or two And Josh happened to be like taking a bunch of the cast of Gossip Girl through like after a party for like your first upfronts and I saw her and yeah that's when I that's when I saw her and yeah I was smitten instantly and I was

you know smitten for a long time I didn't I didn't get to know her for many years after even though we even worked together briefly and you know I didn't get to know she she was she's so lovely and she's

she's so sweet she's so nice she's so good and yet you know and this is to her credit um because but she remained elusive to me for so long you know and aloof i didn't i couldn't like get a total read because you know even though she professes to be to have been interested in me and all those things you know you know not only did she not pursue that I mean, she was perfectly willing to let that never happen if it never, you know, like many, many false starts. And, yeah, she was, she was letting, perfectly willing to let that message in the bottle return to sea and, and at several points. That means she already had faith in your love.

She was already letting you go. She says, oh, it's because I knew if we did, it would, it would be the thing, you know, or like, you know, it's too powerful. That's a line. That's what I said. I need stuff. That was actually a line in gossip girl and she's just reciting it back to you. Well, you two have been married for quite a few years now. I don't know how many.

Yeah, we just had our 9th anniversary. Nice. Congrats. Wow. Well, I'm wondering if there's anything sort of surprising about marriage or about relationships that you've learned with Leighton. Yeah. well let's see here. I mean, there are the basics like, because I've been in, I thought I was

in long-term relationships before. And while I was, I had been in a few two, three-year relationships, a two-year relationship. And, you know, they felt significant. And they are in certain ways. But there's no comparison in my mind to the level of like, they didn't require teamwork in the same way. You know, we didn't have to be on the same team. We had to. to like tolerate each other and enjoy each other. And as soon as we weren't, go our separate ways. And not only when you're married and have that commitment, but oh my gosh, when you have kids, you know,

you are partners on the most important project of your life. And there's a lot of work required from both of you. And it's not just, even though it's immensely, it's the most pleasurable thing in my life. It's not always instant pleasure. and there's a lot of, you know, compromise and pride swallowing and, you know, but we're very fortunate. And I also think, if done right, if you can be so fortunate, you know, and this is kind of Layton's line, but like I believe it too. And I don't, I don't, hopefully it doesn't sound condescending or like gloating, but we kind of both, I think, believe, and I think it's just a romantic in us maybe or our penchant to not fight.

We're just, I've never been like a, I'm never at screaming matches with anyone I've ever dated. But like marriage shouldn't be, you know, there's a trope of like marriage is hard. And I don't think so. I don't think it's in its best form. It shouldn't be. Raising kids is hard. It's very hard. And, you know, you got to, but ideally like you're complimenting each other, you know, your skill set and you're growing together.

And like it shouldn't, you know, I personally would be unhappy if I thought my big takeaway from marriage is it's fucking hard. Yeah. You know. Yeah, I don't know. I'm a romantic, and I've, I sort of have, I, I, I, you know, and to, to, to, to, to, I'm so fortunate. And to brag, you know, I've like, I pursued a career. And I'm so, I don't know what else I would have done. I could, there's a million ways it could have been stuck in something I like, okay, but I, I was so fortunate to be able to pursue and have a career in something I love. And I feel the same way about, you know, my relationship and marriage. And, and, and, and, and, and so. yeah and it's a dream and it's also funny to have been at this sort of milestone of time and look back and go like you know you're different people you start you're you're now both different people um than you were uh when you started and the world is different and not only that but you're you're so fused you know forever yeah um and so much of who i am is her and

who she is is me now. You know, it's, it's, and we're just fortunate that, you know, we're fortunate to love each other like we do because, um, yeah, it would be, it would be tough if we didn't. But anyways, I don't know. I don't know if those are surprises or anything. They're not exactly, but those are not. That's beautiful.

I'm really happy you shared that. Yeah, me too. Okay. And I was just thinking too that like you've come a long way from the adrift, uh, the, the, as you described, the, the, the adrift youth. Like, you know, you did. I thought you were to say lonely away. the adrift's lonely book.

No, I don't talk in pop culture sound bites, Nava. It didn't even enter my mind. You know that one. Honestly, like, you know, you described, I don't want to put words your mouth, but I mean, it sounds like you're kind of aimless, feeling aimless at least, feeling adrift, feeling like, you know, you really didn't know

what was going to happen, but you pursued a career and achieved it. And, you know, having a healthy and successful marriage and family with kids, That's an amazing thing. So, like, congratulations is the wrong thing to say because it's your life, but, I mean, it must... I'll take it. Do you get a sense of, like, gratitude or satisfaction

or happiness or just the sense of how you've grown? Absolutely. I mean, I'm... I'm the happiest I've ever been. I'm the most content I've ever been. I'm the proudest I've ever been. And, you know... To go on bragging further, oh my God, you know, I mean, the proof of it all to me is in our kids,

you know, like they're so great and we have such a great relationship with them, you know. And I feel like that's the ultimate, that's just the ultimate. I don't know. That's the reward and that's the satisfaction. And that's even where a lot of the source of pride comes from for me. a big part of perhaps our happiness, a big part of our, is the fact that we are so financially secure and we have such dream jobs with such dream schedules, that we are allowed the freedom. We are free from the pressures of 90, a lot of the pressures, not all of them, but a lot of

the pressures that 99% of people have. And also, we have more time, unlike even my parents, to spend with our kids. You know, I mean, that's one of my favorite things of this job. out me and an adult is the work-life balance. And so that puts us in a different realm, and it's a, it's a real different context. So, you know, I could sound, I'm aware that I could sound wildly out of touch when I say the stuff about my marriage. And I also say the stuff about our kids, but, you know, I just think the idea, and I think people feel this way less and less but it's an outdated idea you have kids and then you work work work and then you're off to college and you're 18 and you're out the door and you're done and i'm just like why would you do it why would

you do it it's the most work you'll ever do if you're not going to be best friends if you're not going to want them sleeping in the fucking bed why you know like your bed i mean not always but you know like if you're not going to want to hold their hand every minute of the day like, God, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work just to like, you know, just to go like, I did it. You're successful. Job done. Come see me at Christmas.

You know, I don't know. I mean, perhaps that's satisfying enough to most people. And, you know, most people, again, are just putting one foot in front of the other. And so are we to an extent. But like, I just feel like so happy and fortunate to be able to drink it in. Because holy shit is it, you know, hard work. But also, hard work's rewarded. It's nice and it's refreshing to hear someone say with some confidence, like, to talk about their happiness.

It's a really lovely thing. Oh, yeah, okay. Cool, thanks. Well, I just feel so fortunate and I feel like also like, well played, Adam. Well, play. Okay, well, you know what, that's enough. Pat and back. Now I've had enough.

We're editing in that one. Adam, let's talk about your career. a little bit. You've done some of the most iconic, I think some of the most iconic projects ever, some incredible movies. I just want to ask you one question about the O.C. because we would be remiss to you. Yeah. I actually just want to know if you could share

one of the most joyful days on set and one of the hardest days on set. You know, I don't recall a particularly hard day. And I think of it all is mostly joyful, you know? even in the second half, which I've been very open about, you know, being much more disillusioned with. And while I still maintain that I was friendly to everyone, I certainly was not as respectful of the work as I could have been.

But also, you know, it is what it is. And anyways, even with that said, because I knew everyone so well, because I was so comfortable, Because it was, for whatever reason, I was able to do so much reading on that set, just stuff like novels or, you know, newspaper, whatever. It was a very comfortable, but I had my dog around. It was a very comfortable set. So even in the latter years when, you know, the work was less invigorating. And even when I dated my co-star for a big portion of it and then we broke up and we were still hanging out, like a day later. It was still fine and friendly and still hanging in each other's rooms and chatting.

And like, so I'll just say, like, I don't recall it particularly hard or dark day. And in general, the whole thing was pretty fun. Yeah. I heard you say something in an interview that I really admired. You were talking about acting. And you were saying, like, there are some projects that you've been extremely proud to be part of. that you like respect the art and you and you loved and then also on the other hand you also see it as a job and so if there are some roles you want to take um to be able to work and to be

able to feed your family you're going to do that and i think that's not always how people talk about acting in that industry but it is a job and hopefully you know it's also a way that you can express your art and your creativity but i just really loved that take i feel like i hadn't heard anyone say that before? Yeah, I think, you know, a lot, I mean, listen, I think people don't want to disparage the projects they're in, so anything they're doing press for is always the most challenging and it's exactly what I want to do, because X, Y, and Z. But, you know, I mean, myself, it's like, I watch a lot of stuff.

How many things do I really like a year? Five, ten, you know? What are the chances I'm going to be in one of those? It's in anyone. I mean, a great script, a great original story is very, is very. hard to come by and everybody knows it and everybody wants in and so it's competitive and it's um but that said i've had as much fun in fact maybe the most fun i've had are on comedies that aren't particularly good where they kind of require a lot of improv and we're all just making each other laugh

and the script certainly is not sacred they don't turn out to be the best products uh but that's kind of where i have the most fun honestly there's another excitement to when you're doing something you're like, I think this might be kind of special. We might be, you know, that's its own kind of excitement. But in a way, that comes with a different level of, like, stress. And in some ways, I think the worse it is or the more one-dimensional it is, the more I can kind of like, the freer I feel, if it's really good, I'm like, I just want to do this service.

I just like, it doesn't even need my input. It's perfect. Let me just try and sing this how it's written or whatever. You know, I mean, look, the perfect blend is both. It's like it's written beautifully, but it also wants a bunch of new inspiration and take it in a bunch of different directions. But, again, oftentimes when it's not as well written, I feel like the stakes are a little lower and I feel like there's more blind spots in it or room to throw in extra ideas.

And so, yeah, I don't know. That's fun. But so, yeah, I guess to sum up, summarize, be creative in anything. high-brow, low-brow, whatever. And it's all, you know, it's all a lovely way to make a living. Speaking of five good projects, I love Fleischman is in trouble. I think it's like one of the best. I'm obsessed with that show in succession.

For me, those are two of the best written TV series I've ever seen. And with Fleischman, I really liked it because this is a little bit of a spoiler if you haven't seen it, but there's like a, I don't know if it's guest-stalt or just stult. Yeah, so I am actually in finishing the second episode I for once I am really enjoying a television show And I know and I know we want to talk about it But I rarely am ever in a position

Where I'm caring about spoilers And I finally am And for the sake of my podcast You want us to talk in a coded way No no I'm going to have to sacrifice it I'm going to have to sacrifice it All right all right okay fine I have sacrificed the question, or you're going to sacrifice?

No, no, I'm getting, and I was like, no, we're not sacrificing a podcast. You know, if it's any consolation, I read the book first and the scripts and then still, it's still satisfying. The show pulls off this switch in perspective on a character in a way that I've never seen. So you feel one way about Claire Dane's character, Rachel, pretty much to like half, a little more than half. And then there's an episode where you see everything from her perspective. And it's not that you're seeing, like, she has a secret left. It doesn't pull anything like that off. It's just that suddenly she's reframed.

The exact same series is just reframe. And your point of view completely changes and your understanding of what the show is about completely changes. And I just, I don't know, I just found it so stunning. And your character was a bit of a surprise. You know, you think he's just going to be one way. And then he ends up being like the most grounded of the three, the most mature of the three,

although he starts the most, you perceive him as the most immature, the most sort of superficial. And he's not that way. That's a very long ramble. But I wanted to ask you, from your perspective, what is the show about? Because my idea of what it's about keeps changing, and I haven't quite landed. In some ways, it's like the death of the American century, you know, happened then, I feel like. And so I think it, for me, it speaks to that.

But I think it also, very much, there are, you know, it takes what is a male, a popular male P-O-V and trope, really, the man, the midlife, the sexual reawakening, and philandre, he's not a philander, but the sexual reawakening of a middle-aged man, which is popular in literary forms mostly, and it has a very novelistic feel. It was a novel, and then it also has a ton of the voiceover to it, which I like, because it feels like it's about writing, even though, you know, it's really just a subplot. But, and then, much as Lizzie Kaplan's character, who is a stand-in for, or Taffy Ackner, who is the writer, was a magazine profile writer, and she would often say I would always write about men

for these men's magazines, but I would have to, like, Trojan Horse my woman's story. I kind of make it about me, but, like, feed it to them as it's a man, and then they would, like, pay attention if I sort of, if I Trojan Horse myself into it. And that's what happens in the show. I, like, want to scream because it's so good, you totally think it's about him, Jesse Eisenberg.

And then it's about the women. It's incredible. Yeah, yeah. And it's about, in fairness, it's about him too. It's just, it starts and it serves you up this thing you feel you've seen before, even though it's really well done. And I think still has a freshness all its own. But then it's sort of, it just subverts.

It's about subverting a genre. It's definitely sad, but I also find it personally. And I think, you know, the reason a lot of people watch it as well, I've heard it's wrecked a lot of people. but at the same time I find it very hopeful and I do find it romantic. I don't find it bleak. You know, I think they will all live in love again and it's beautiful, it's shot well, it's lyrical,

it's New York City, it's gorgeous. It's like, it's still aspirational. So, yeah, I mean, I mean, but I mean, I guess most ostensibly it's about a bitter divorce. I mean, you know, if I had to give the one line, but I think it's, I think there's more going on there, which is the beauty of it. Claire Daines has a traumatic, but very common, all too common, birth story in the show.

And I think that really hit home for a lot of people, women and men. And it hasn't been dramatized in popular culture in this way before. I don't think it's been quite shown exactly like this. So that also seemed to really speak to people. last scene. Is it Lizzie Kaplan closing the book? Or is that really happening? I can hear you. I can still hear her. This is not a spoiler. I didn't say what the scene was. You're asking, but you're asking, is it real or imagined? Yeah. Is it real or imagined? I definitely don't know. And I think even Taffy would not, you know, would probably has both opinions.

you know, I mean, I'm sure even to her own self, it's, it's undecided. But, you know, for me, it's the book, you know? That's my take, too. I think it's the book, too. Yeah. There's all, I mean, it's just, I mean, look, it's literally what she just said, how the book is going to end. Also, there's a great cameo in it, and it's a perfectly meta-timed one. But Lizzie says, that says how, this is how I think the book's going to end.

she walks out into the like outside to wait for Toby and right when she goes outside to light a cigarette in the foreground but well lit is taffy that's the only cameo she has in it and then she passes taffy so i don't know i feel like the author appearing right there in that moment where potentially everything from here on out could be fantasy um there's something there that's so cool i didn't notice that thank you adam yes i didn't realize it was based on a book and it's just, it all sounds so brilliantly conceived from start to finish. Yeah, it is. It is. It is.

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kind of, you're like, this is special. You can kind of feel it when you're doing it. And you were in Promising Young Woman, which is hands down my favorite film. And I'm wondering, what was it? Yeah. It's one of my favorites too. When I was typing the question, I was like, I, this is my favorite movie. And then I came back to it later, I said, hands down. Yeah, it's so great. It's very hard to connect to your favorite anything. It really is. You're like, does this this speaks for me this is the best this is the you know but yeah yeah yeah no i mean so far i think it's my favorite film and great i'm wondering what it felt like to shoot that did you know while you were shooting it like this is going to be impactful yeah yeah i did um you know i watched a short

that emerald uh fennel the director did first and it was very similar it was like it was candy colored and it was mean. It was nasty. It was like, and funny and dark. And then this script read like, I don't know, it reminded me of some of these scripts I've seen over the years. And some went on to be really big movies and some not. But where you just, like everyone knows it's edgy and well written. And it's also at the same time very broadly circulated and very industry friendly. You know, it's not like a little indie script that you and it's, you know, you're cheerleading in it. It's like, no. The town knows like this is the cool um this is the hip one yeah um but anyways uh uh um yeah and then

the cast was like you know they just yeah there's just it's just filled with great cameos but anchored by kerry mulligan and so um yeah no i i knew for sure that that this the floor for that movie was wouldn't be pretty high every time i think about promising young woman, which I also really loved. It's one of the only movies that I've watched, like, back to back. Like, I watched it with my dad, and then I went back and watched it the next day, because I was like, I need to process this. Like, it's so powerful.

But I heard Carrie Mulligan tell a story about, you know, the scene. I'm spoiling. I'm ruining everything. Where she's suffocated with it. And that she almost died. And I think about that all the time. Like, I don't know why, but I think about it all the time. Like, how do you protect actors from something like that?

Wait, she actually almost died. Yeah, they had come up with this. So he basically, he suffocates her with a pillow. And when she and he had practiced it, they had talked about, she would say a safe word if it was going too far. Yeah, yeah. And he was going too far, but no one could hear her. And she was screaming under the pillow and she was dying.

And a crew member noticed. And then they pulled it off for and she had to leave and she was like sobbing because she almost died filming that scene. And I like, I just think about what would have happened if she had died, how it would have ruined. I mean, how many lives would have been ruined? Like, I don't know. That story really shakes me up.

That scene in particular, it goes on forever you know that's what's so brutal about it's not like a movie like oh she died he's holding the pillow for like two minutes you know i mean it's just like you watch like a fish flopping on the boat for you know as long as it takes um which is particularly uh brutal i mean it's maybe it's not as brutal but i just recently on a plane rewatched casino and the joe pesci and his brother death always stayed with me because it's so freaking long and um you know you're just anyway so you know, real-time deaths in stuff are pretty, pretty visceral, pretty powerful. I don't know if you've gotten asked a fair amount, like, what did you turn down or what do you not want to do or what, you know, and I never say, not that it's been so much, but like, it's just impolite.

You know, I mean, you don't want to go or, you know, saying, going around saying what you turned down. But what I never get asked that I would is, what did I audition for that I never got, you know? And I don't know We probably have a few famous roles between us That we ran for that Yeah I'm trying to So one that I've actually spoken about recently That I've now had to

Tell the story a few times In this, you know, our beloved press cycles Was it was the role of Jesse in Breaking Bad Aaron Paul's role Oh wow We were the two We tested against each other And I thought I was going to get it

I really I really was tired of television wasn't wanting to read television scripts that pilot season I'd already been doing it for something like eight or nine years and that one was so exceptional the voice in that script was so

I mean you know when you read a lot of scripts it's like there's a similar voice throughout many of them nearly all of them and that one just had such a different voice and you know nobody knew about AMC at this point it was like AMC sure sure sure

Of course, nobody knew getting the script exactly what was going to happen, but I wanted that role, and which has only happened three times, and two out of the three I got the role, I thought I was going to get it, you know? Yeah. And then I didn't.

And I don't even recall being heartbroken or crestfallen, but I was like, all right, you know what? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Then that's it. I'm not going to do any more TV. I did nothing but more television. Yeah. What's your, you know, I don't know if you're similar,

or my philosophy is, you know, a lot of people, I think most people, most actors, they read for something, they want it, and then they kind of like try to forget it, don't, you know, put it on your mind, you know. And for me, it's not that it's back for it. You know, I always kind of try to enjoy the moment and go like, well, it's just,

if you're going to fantasize about having it, really fantasize about having it. Oh, you mean when you're saying before you've, like as you auditioning about it. Before you know, you didn't get it. Yeah, like, if you read forward and you're like, I don't know if I got her yet, you know, and you try to like not have your, you know, most of the time, I think most people, you try instinctually to like, camp down your expectations, yes.

And for me, I have kind of just taken to embracing that moment and that like euphoria and just kind of going like, no, I'll let my mind go there. I'll enjoy thinking I have it. And if I don't have it, I probably won't be any less crushed than if I tried to like put it out of my mind and then I find out I didn't get it and then I'm like okay fine right yeah yeah you know like I so I don't know I can't recall the last time I don't know what your philosophy

is no I think yours is probably healthy it's again you just continue to express nothing but emotional health here I think um I don't know I I can't recall a time recently that I've had a long wait period I mean the truth is with the pandemic

and my show becoming so big as it is right now I've not I've not really And then having My first biological son I've not really had the time To like pursue a role like that Or to get excited that I could yeah

Sure same same I mean I most of my work comes with a phone call And not with a You know audition So it's not but I mean There's been things I do I mean

You know what I think I have That I've overcome Or am overcoming But it had for nearly all my 20s was probably like a tough cynicism about the industry and about the likelihood of things going your way which is actually statistically like true you know i mean it actually doesn't i mean i did i mean i did have one role that i really loved where i played jeff buckley and that was um you know that was like that was like the the peak experience of dreams feeling as though they were coming true

you know uh i can't i can't call any others though that like where Because I know, I was listening to a lot of, I was listening to a lot of Tim Buckley, and Layton can't stand it, but I like it a lot. Tim is an inquiry between us, you know what I mean? He was in the backer. I was like, oh, really? This guy. I'm like, he's got some good ones. I had a therapist tell me that it wasn't about acting.

I'm not an actress, but I can't even remember what it would, it might have been about relationships, but that I would, like, not get excited because it was like so painful if it didn't work out. And he was like, if it doesn't work out, it's going to be painful anyway, but you've now depressed. yourself of like those days that you could have been really happy and excited. That's a good experience. That's a good feeling to have. That's exactly how I feel about it. Like, I'll get my hopes up. Why not?

Hopes are fun, you know? I love that. And I don't feel like I'll be more crushed versus if I tried to camp that day. Well, according to this therapist, you won't. According to him, you will feel a disappointment that you fail. I believe them. I believe them. You know what just came to mind?

I remember I really wanted that role in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Wow. Was that even a role, like, up for grabs? I didn't even, you know. No, see. But you read, do you read for it? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. And then, and then we were still at that stage where when you got, I was like, yeah, of course I have already got it. We're in a fight club shirt. Yeah, yeah, it's all very cute. My recollection of that because Doug Lyman, who did the OC pilot, directed the movie. And so, like, you know, you called me or I got offered it. And I was like, that's amazing. And, you know, at the time, and even in it still, his name, the nickname is Tank.

And, you know, obviously there's irony there. And, like, I sort of thought, and I still, so I'm surprised to hear that because we're of a type. My thinking was, and Doug works this way, is very scattershot and he's brilliant, but, like, it takes along, you know, many drafts to come to the right, you know, and a lot of wrong turns to come to the, the, the, the, the, um, to find the right path. and I kind of thought that they had no idea that the character was such a blank that they didn't know were we gonna go with like the rock type person

you know or or what are we gonna do with this and then it was like the idea was wouldn't it be funny if Adam because he's so not this type right right you know maybe that would be fun

and I just work with him come on over and do it like was my son surprised that they sort of were reading similar types I have no recollection of yeah but I do I know that I read

for it, and I know that I was interested to see who it was. And I mean, it's not, you know, it's an iconic memorable role, but it's not a huge role in the movie. So it's like it wasn't... No, nor am I particularly good in it, you know? No, you're so good in it. I disagree. I disagree.

I think it's iconic. Look, tonally, clearly the movie's a hit so like it all works, you know? It's a well-regarded movie, and it was very good. But, you know, for my own, it's a shame for me that, and all it would have taken for me to, like, feel differently is like one smart improv that I thought was funny you know I had the room

if I could have just came up with one thing that I thought was clever I would it would be the difference between me liking it and hating it but as it stands I can't bear it which is a shame because it's a classic movie you know it's like um maybe the biggest stage I've ever been on but what are you going to do the last 20 years we've seen so many superhero films that no one was prepared for the last two decades of superhero films I don't think I did not see that coming Back in the day, you know. I mean, we live in a, it's like those are the biggest films in the world and have been for a long time.

Shazam is markedly different from what I understand. I mean, what is your experience of it, and what do you think makes it different and sets it apart? The differential is that they're kids, and it's a big concept where kids say the word and they become adult superhero versions of themselves. So even though they're adults, they have kid brains, and they're talking like kids, and they're acting like kids,

and nobody knows their kids. And therein lies the whole concept and the fun of it and the kind of joy and innocence of this versus the darker stuff. And it is markedly different, especially from recent DC that is so dark and dramatic. Yeah, and no disrespect to that. I like that stuff too.

But yeah, you know, I mean, Marvel has had some lighter stuff. You know, Spider-Man is, I think they're like, you know, the Tom Holland Spider-Man. and stuff is probably the closest tonally to what we're doing because he's like, you know, they went with a young, you know, he's a kid and they play into that. And I think that makes that fun as well. So David is my husband and he's a producer on the show. But right now he's in Australia and on a different time zone.

So he wasn't able to own up to writing this. But he had written that back in the day movies had like an at the end of the movie, maybe at the end of credits, they would have like a BTS reel of bloopers. Bluper reel, sorry, not BTS real. A blooper reel at the end of the movie that would play these fun moments. And I want to know for you, if Shazam had that,

what are some fun moments that you think would play? What would it be? Well, I mean, I think like, we spend a lot of time collectively freaking out over a dragon that's chasing us. So if you remove the CGI dragon, you don't even need to like have bloopers.

You can just use the take. without the dragon and it's um you know it's quite it's quite preposterous that's like my show if you remove a voiceover you just left with nothing you got nothing yeah yeah so i don't know that and then i guess like what else all of us with our fans and our here you know this one was Atlanta the other one was Toronto the first one we did so that was cold so it was like people running out to jackets and our superhero suits and like get me my mittens give me you know And then this one, yeah, we're just over. We're cooking.

So it's like people running out, like this water and fan our sweaty chests. And yeah, yeah. That's good. We have a final question we ask every guest. If you could go back and talk to 12-year-old Adam or spend some time with him, what would you say? I mean, what I want to say to him, and I don't even know that it's fair, but all these things you think are colossal. You know, I could be humiliated. What if I, you know, what if I got beat up and cried in front of the whole school, you know?

Like, and it wouldn't matter in 10 years as well as is that they wouldn't. I mean, it might. It might matter to, but it's not going to be relevant to anyone you know, you know, in 10 years. And it's like all these things that are so colossal when you're young are such a, they're formative to be sure. But, you know, I remember. I failed my driver's test when I was 16. I took it on my birthday. And I didn't know about a green left turn yield.

I didn't know you yielded. You were supposed to yield. No. So I didn't get in an accident, but it was clear I didn't know that. And I was failed. And I remember those two weeks were like the longest, most embarrassing, awful two weeks of my life. You know, I was humiliated.

And I was like, you know, I was just. shameful and you know does those two weeks you know is it because how do i do you know how do i feel about those two weeks now and so to communicate that somehow the sort of monuteness and insignificance and at the same time i don't know because a i don't know if conceptually 12 year old anyone can really wrap their head around that and also does that invalidate their feelings then you know um because what does that mean that like deeply felt feelings don't mean anything or, or, you know, the highs and lows of their life. Well, you got, you lost the tooth. So what? You know, it does it's not a big deal when you're

older. You know, does it mean that nothing should have a lot of significance? So the idea that nothing will really matter until you're older is, I don't know. You know, and it just, it just, don't worry about, you know, I, so I don't know. So other than that, what would I say? I guess I would say that, like, well-read and being well-educated is really a wonderfully powerful tool and an attractive quality to do anything you want in life later. And so, I don't know, to communicate the sort of necessity and the joy of it and the attractiveness of it. Because it just not only did it not appeal to me in the moment at the time, but it also didn't even seem that, like, practically. you know like my dad was the um was the sort of role model and in many ways anti role model for me he was a lawyer he seemed to hate it or at least if not hate it be dispassionate about it you know

and so he admonished me for not getting good grades and he didn't ask for much he's just like just get you know a B average and get into a decent school it's not it's reasonable and at the same time I just thought like why so I can have your job you don't seem to like it's not track, you know, and I didn't realize, you know, the, um, the opportunity that that affords you and that I would want someday. So I don't know. I guess I convinced myself to get your grades. And if nothing else, I would have bribed me. You know, I don't think my dad bribed me. I would have said, like, you were the first one. Get to our fucking aim and I will buy you a new circuit. You get a this and this and I will take you somewhere you want to go. Like,

you know, if nothing else, I do that. I love that, Adam. That's going to the top of my list now. Bride him. Bride him to do better. Adam, thank you. Thank you for coming on. Thank you.

Thank you. It's been really fun. I already told this story on the podcast, so this is just, I just want to share this with you. I've met you. You did a movie with my dad in Puerto Rico called Welcome to the Jungle. I know, oh, I know this. I listened to Layton's episode and she told me as well. And that was very sweet.

And I was so pleased that like the one good thing I've done has come back around in a public forum. I mean, what better. Yeah. But my whole family really loves you. So they were very excited that I was talking. Oh, that's so neat. Oh, great. Stitcher.