The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trump's Tariff Boredom, Hegseth Goes Diet Woke, Sports War: Super Bowl | Jesse Eisenberg

Episode Date: February 12, 2025

Jordan Klepper on Trump's boredom over his own tariffs, Pete Hegseth's half-woke Fort Bragg rebrand, and Eric Adams's "get out of jail" card. Plus, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, Michael Kosta, and Troy Iwata take a lesson from Mayor Adams on how to multi-task at the salon. Sports War: Klepper & Ronny spar over Super Bowl LIX and Kendrick's halftime show. Academy Award-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg sits down to discuss writing, directing, and starring in his Oscar-nominated film, "A Real Pain." They talk about carrying generational grief and grappling with his own life’s meaning as a descendant of Holocaust survivors, how his relationship with Kieran Culkin mirrors their characters, and how that influenced his role as director.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news. This is The Daily Show with your host, Jordan Clever. -♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh gets half-woke, and we'll tell you how New York's mayor stays smooth as a dolphin. But first, let's get into another installment of the second coming of Donald J. Trump. -♪ I'm gonna come. I'm gonna come. I'm gonna come. I'm gonna come. Donald Trump has been imposing a lot of tariffs

since he took office. And if the nature and scope of these tariffs confuses you, don't worry, you're not the only one. Thank you, sir. Next, in 2018, you imposed odd-valorem duties, tariffs on imports of steel at a 25% rate. Since that time, a large number of exclusions and exceptions to that tariff rule have been implemented.

Because of the damage to the United States steel industry that those exceptions and exclusions have imposed, we're now, this order would reimpose that 25% odd valorem tariff rate on imports of steel, and it's presented for your signature now. Okay. Do you understand what that means? Okay.

Do you understand what that means? Do you understand what that means? Do you understand what that means? Do you understand what that means? Do you understand what that means? Do you understand what that means? Do you understand what that means? I mean, why don't you tell me,

President of the United States, what that means? I mean, why don't you tell me, President of the United States, what this means? Explain ad valorem to me like I was a child. This is Trump's own policy, and he's so bored by it. And you can tell, because at one point, he gets so bored, he just starts peeking into a random folder on the desk. What's in here? Candy? Picture of boobs? What do we got? a random folder on the desk. What's in here, candy?

Picture of boobs? What do we got? Oh, oh, oh, just more folters. Why is this guy still talking? Trump's not the only one making moves. Yesterday, there was a big announcement from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Trump's top cabinet member,

if you go by blood alcohol level. Now, Hegseth got the gig by promising to go to war against woke. And yesterday, he won another decisive battle. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has renamed the Army base Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg. The previous name was changed, you'll remember, to Fort Liberty in 2023 as part of an effort to cut military honors bestowed on those who rebelled against the Union during the Civil War.

There it is. I direct the army to change the name of Fort Liberty, North Carolina to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. That's right. Bragg is back. Yeah, suck it libs. Oh, you didn't want this military base to honor a traitor to America? Ha-ha! Too bad! Woke is dead, and Confederate General Braxton Bragg is alive. But this time, Bragg is not a reference

to the Confederate general. The name now honors an enlisted Army soldier named Roland L. Bragg, who the Pentagon says was awarded a Silver Star, Purple Heart, for combat during World War II. Okay. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,

you renamed Fort Bragg after a different Bragg? So after all that bitching about not giving into woke history, you're basically admitting that we shouldn't name military bases after Confederate generals. Well, it's a good thing woke is over because I think I can say this now. That's a pussy move, Hagseth. I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. Just to be, just to be totally clear, Roland Bragg is not a famous figure in military history.

He's just someone who worked for this weird name switcheroo idea. Pete Hagseth basically said, find me a guy named Bragg who served in the army and didn't own slaves. I mean, he didn't even have a Wikipedia entry until today. Today! Today! Do you know how obscure you have to be to not even have a Wikipedia page? There's a Wikipedia page for cats that look like Hitler.

Hegsat, look, I say either commit to honoring a Confederate general or don't, but trying to find some kind of name loophole is just silly. I mean, why do I get the feeling Pete's gonna try to pull this with his wife? Like, baby, baby, I didn't cheat on you. Her name was also Susan, okay? I'm restoring greatness to our marriage.

Now, with all this tariff imposing and Fort renaming, you might be wondering, is there anyone who's benefiting from Trump's actions? Yes. The breaking news, President Trump's actions. Yes. The breaking news, President Trump's Justice Department moving to drop the federal corruption case against the New York City mayor, Eric Adams. The mayor was accused of taking $100,000

in free plane tickets and luxury hotel stays from wealthy Turkish nationals and at least one Turkish government official. Oh, shit! If you're free tonight, head down to party at the Turkish Airlines Lounge at JFK, because shit is about to be lit. You know what? You know what?

I applaud Donald Trump for letting a blue-city mayor off the hook. This sends a message. Donald Trump is not about being a Democrat or a Republican. As long as you're criminally corrupt, you're his people. Now, I'm curious. I am curious. What was it about Adam's case that convinced Trump to drop the charges?

As soon as Donald Trump was elected, Adams began a campaign for a reprieve, flying down to Florida to meet with Trump, driving overnight to attend Trump's inauguration, the Democratic mayor declining to criticize Trump. Oh, God. Trump really loves getting his ass kissed, doesn't he? This probably explains why all his suit pants

have that little trap door on the butt, like old-timey long underwear. Now, to be fair... Now, to be fair... Now, to be fair, the Justice Department didn't say they let Adams off because he kissed Trump's ass. They had an even dumber reason. The Justice Department memo said it reached this conclusion

without assessing the strength of the evidence. Memo also said the case needed to go so Adams could devote his full attention to Trump's immigration policies. Yes, yes. Of course, Trump didn't drop the charges so he could hold them over him for the rest of his term. Trump did it so Adams could focus

on enforcing Trump's immigration policies. And now that Adams has the time, I'm sure he's bringing a new laser focus to the job. Mayor Adams has his plate full, managing the day-to-day business of the city. How are you? Today, he's taking some time for some R&R. Angela performed a 10-minute laser hair removal procedure.

Adams spoke with me exclusively during the process. When I'm able to come into the community and say, okay, we did this policy, we put these millions of dollars in, now let's go see the results. Boop. You don't have to do an interview right now. I mean, should we go? This feels like a private moment for you.

I mean, I thought I wanted more transparency in my government, but now I'm thinking, perhaps some secrecy is for the best. So while Eric Adams might waste his workday getting pampered at local businesses, we're doing the hard work to get to the bottom of this story, starting with our very own Grace Kuhlenschmitt. Grace.

Uh... Uh... Grace. Grace, uh, yeah, what's the latest? Uh... Grace... Grace, what's the latest? Jordan, the Adams administration is happy to avoid federal charges, but it complicates his re-election campaign because Democrats may punish him

for appearing to be under Trump's control. Excuse me, can I get some more cucumber water? Or even actually just some water? I have a cucumber I can dunk. I'm sorry. Grace, are you getting your hair done when you should be working? Jordan, when Sebastien has a chair open,

you take the appointment. Okay, yeah, I guess. It just doesn't seem very professional. How dare you? Sebastien is a complete professional. In fact, I can't believe you'd host this show without a fresh balayage. Okay. I mean, I am due for a balayage.

Let's get more analysis now from Troy Iwata. Troy, come on. I mean, come on. I mean, come on. Troy, what's going on? Jordan, Eric Allen has promised to not be affected by the pardon, but that remains to be seen.

I'm sorry. Troy, are you getting your teeth whitened? Yeah. You're supposed to be working. What's going on? Okay, Jordan, when Dr. Buccotini has a chair open, you take the appointment. Okay. Is he really that good? Yes, she is.

Women can whiten teeth, too, you sexist. Okay. Where is that ditzy bitch? Okay. Forget it. Let's go to Michael Kosta. Michael, look. Okay, good. Thank you. I'm glad someone's taking this seriously.

What's your take on the Adams situation? It's a disgrace, Jordan. I mean, what we have seen today is naked corruption, pure and simple. Ah. Ah. is naked corruption, pure and simple. Uh... And the message it sends to the American public is that they cannot trust their leaders to have integrity. I'm sorry to say that tonight,

I pray for the future of our republic. Oh! Whoo! Yes! Yes! Yes! Whoo! Whoo! Jordan? Michael, can you please not get your anus waxed

during your report? Hey, when Dr. Bucatini has an opening, you take the appointment. Wait, is she the same Bucatini who does the teeth whitening? Yes, Jordan. Women who whiten teeth can wax anuses at the same time, too, you sexist. And for the record, Jordan, this is technically work, because we're putting all of this on the daily show

credit card. No. You can't put your spa services on the show's credit card. That's embezzlement, Michael. That's a felony. It's not a felony. We're working. When it comes to my job, I am the utmost professional. Yeah! Oh!

Ricola! Whoo! And hey, if it is a felony, then I just make a trip to Mar-a-Lago and I tell the gracious Donald Trump to pardon me with his enormous penis. Hey, yeah, me, too. I would like some penis mercy, Mr. President. Yay, penis mercy!

Okay, now, all right, you know what? Grace, Troy, and Michael, everyone. That's a totally useful. We'll come back, we'll decide who won the Super Bowl. Stick around. -♪ Who, who, who, stories in the world of jocks and straps, we turn to Sports War. Get ready for battle. It's time for Sports War.

Brought to you by Gamma. Gamma, it's the Super Bowl of Addiction. -♪ Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da from Progressive. Oh, come on. No one wants to see Travis Kelce in an apron. Yeah, tell that to my Pornhub search history, Ronnie. Now, Sunday officially marked the end of the football season. We laughed. We cried. Ronnie tried to kiss me after every touchdown. And we crowned the Philadelphia Eagles our new champions. Utter domination. There is no other way to describe

what the Eagles did to the Chiefs. Talk about a blowout. Woof. Even I was like, is there a mercy ball here? The most boring game you could expect. I mean, some people might have gotten to bed because they turned. It was an old school clunker. Uh-huh.

That was the worst Super Bowl in history. The Eagles dominated the entire evening. And just like Ronnie, after eating dairy, the Chief shit the bed. You know what? I think I speak for everyone when I say, no more Super Bowls. NFL, you had a good run. You ended racism, cured breast cancer,

and found a woman under 30 who wants to see Bill Belichick naked. Jordan, have you been doing Iowaska with Aaron Rodgers again? Okay, we can't cancel the Super Bowl. It's the only thing keeping ground from going through all garbage at night. Plus, I don't know about you,

but this was the best Super Bowl of my life. I mean, yeah, it had touchdowns, Tom Brady's new face, seal as a seal, and Jordan losing an ass ton of money betting on the chips. I mean, what happened, my homes? You look like Ronnie out there, completely lost with a terrible haircut.

The Chiefs were my ticket out of this hellhole, and now I owe a lot of money to a very, very bad man. Which brings us to my Jordan owes me a lot of money better than night. Which big Italian man will I send to Jordan's house tonight as always brought to you by gambling. Gambling. You have two kidneys for a reason. No.

While Philly dominated the big game, it's important to remember the Chiefs weren't the only ones getting dragged all over the field on Sunday. For 13 minutes, Kendrick Lamar provided the world with a halftime show that stayed true to himself. Just as we thought, it might not happen, Kendrick took the elephant in the room for a walk around the Superdome.

King Kendrick went hard, leading the stadium in his accusatory taunt. Ain't you tired? Trying to strike a chord and it's probably a minus. The knockout blow in his public battle with Drake. I've had it with these motherfucking Drakes on this motherfucking plane! Hey, Kendrick, the world's on fire,

the president's in the stands, and you're using the biggest stage on the planet to go after Drake again? We get it. You don't like him. Save your petty beef for the group chat. Like Ronnie's fake accent, you're overdoing it. You don't like him. Save your petty beef for the group chat. Like Ronnie's fake accent, you're overdoing it. All right. Well, I disagree with you, Jordan, because unlike you, I love black people.

And I thought Kendrick's performance was incredible. I mean, he proved what I've been saying for decades. The halftime show should always be about petty grievances. I mean, next year, I want to see Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni jousting to the death, presented by gambling. Of course, gambling. Unlike Drake, you can come back from this.

And finally, let's not forget about a huge update rocking the world of gambling. The former interpreter of Dodgers star Shohei Otani was sentenced today to nearly five years in prison in a sports betting case that made world headlines. Ipe Mizuhara pled guilty last year after impersonating Otani in a bid to steal millions to cover his gambling bets and debts. Asian representation! We shouldn't be sending Shohei's interpreter to jail. We should be giving him a medal. I mean, you think Shohei has talent?

It takes real skill to steal money from someone you work with. Especially when you have to guess their mother's maiden name. What is it again, Jordan? A Pekowski? Is that with a K? It's with a C, you dipshit. And you keep my mother's maiden name out of your mouth. See, this is my point. Gambling shouldn't be about hurting the people closest to you.

Whatever happened to doing it the old-fashioned way? Making dogs fight each other. As someone who had their identity stolen by a certain Japanese co-worker, this is a disgrace. Well, I know you can't be talking about me, because I'm Malaysian. Oh. Stop making up new types of Asians.

It's offensive. Which brings us to my Jordan's Big Dinger, Bed of the Night. Which Malaysian celebrity will go to jail next for Otani's gambling? As always, brought to you by Gambling, Gambling. Got Pete Rose into heaven, why not you? Well, that's all the time we have for Sports War. Join us next week when we debate whether the NFL

should expand to a 52 game season. 52, it should be at least 104. That way they have no time to get injured in between games. 52 makes the most sense. That's what you need, you need more games. Do the math. You want to go to a game? -♪ Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, who Award-nominated actor who wrote, directed, and stars in the Oscar-nominated film A Real Pain. Please welcome Jesse Eisenberg.

["A Real Pain"] ["A Real Pain"] ["A Real Pain"] ["A Real Pain"] ["A Real Pain"] ["A Real Pain"] ["A Real Pain"] ["A Real Pain"]

["A Real Pain"] Beloved, Jesse. -♪ I'm on the road to God bless you. God bless you. The movie is great. Thank you. Thank you. Were you thinking, like, oh... Thank you. ... Were you thinking, I'm gonna do a Holocaust film, but with humor?

Were you like, oh, that trope again? Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Another hysterical Holocaust. Oh, here we go. No, I was thinking the exact... I mean, I was thinking, like, oh, that trope again? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Another hysterical Holocaust. Oh, here we go. No, I was thinking the exact... I mean, I was thinking, like, really, like, if I'm gonna do a movie about, like, this theme, and it's something that's on my mind all the time,

as, you know, third generation American Jew from Poland. Yeah. You know, I wanted to just make something that felt like something I had not seen before, something, like, not sanctimonious or academic. There are a lot of Holocaust movies that give you the sense that, like, they're punishing you for being in the audience

and not being brave enough to be in this film. Right. You know, so I didn't want to do that. Well, this film really, it dissects grief. Right. And how we deal with grief, how we internalize it. Yeah. But it also places grief next to historical grief.

Is that something that you were grappling with early on in the writing process? Is that sort of the nugget you wanted to unpack? This is the nugget I've been trying to unpack for like 20 years. Like, once I learned about my family's history, I just became so aware of my own good fortune, but also my own misery compared to their horrible fortune

and the way they appreciate the world. And, like, I just couldn't reconcile, like, why am I miserable when my life is so, like, fundamentally safe and fine? And why do they seem happier than me when they suffered? And I still can't figure it out, but I suppose it comes from, like, some lack of meaning in my life,

and so that's kind of what the script came out of. And so after going through this process, you still have that lack of meaning and clarity. For some reason, the lack has gone deeper. Wow, is that right? Yes. Just like a worthless pursuit. It's even worse because like now, I mean,

and I thank you so much for like clapping or anything, but like, because I'm like, no. But a waste of time, but a total waste of time. No, no, no, no, no. No, but like, but like being like celebrated for something where I was trying to like find like meaning in my good life and now my life got like let's say three or 4% better

because the movie, people like it. Now I don't even know what to do. Yes, so are you happier? No, that's what I'm saying. Not at all. Just not even 3% happier? No, no, because the abyss got bigger and so now I'm just, I think more confused.

Yes. Is that what your next film will be about, like, ambition and the emptiness there and the confusion you have? Exactly, exactly, exactly. It's called The Abyss. The Abyss? Oh, I got bad news for you. That movie might exist. Does it really? Yeah. Then I'm not going to make it. I'll make something else.

Yeah, we get something completely different. I really do. I love this movie. I want to talk about a scene. I don't think it's a spoiler. Okay. There's a scene in this movie where Kieran Culkin is a complicated, difficult person. And he says goodbye to the tour guide after some time with this tour guide.

And there's this beautiful scene where the tour guide sort of explains to him how meaningful he was, even though he was so difficult. And then he says goodbye to you in a heartbeat and walks away. Right? And we left. It was a theater. Everybody left. It was a very funny moment.

And I talked with my wife about this afterwards. I was like, who do I want to be in this moment? Like, I'm curious. There is this character who is complicated but consequential in a lot of pain. And this other character who lacks consequence in other people's lives but in a lot of pain. And this other character who lacks consequence in other people's lives, but in some ways less pain. It's stable. It's somewhat stable.

Yeah, exactly. When you are writing that and working through that, where do you project yourself in? Who should I be in that situation? Yeah, that's my big question. My character and also me, Jesse, I'm so envious and jealous of people like Kieran's character, who kind of walks in late to a room,

but somehow everybody loves him, and I get there early, and I'm help setting up the chairs, and everybody's kind of annoyed that I'm like, you know. And like, and for just some reason, the world loves that person and doesn't like me. And a lot of that just has to do with that, that person seems like real, you know? And so I think about people all the time like that.

And I think like I'm so envious, I wish I could light up a room like that. But then I get home to my relatively stable life and I wonder like what those people are doing now. Like what happens when the music turns off and what are they left with when they're alone. And it makes my envy turn into something like sympathy, you know. And that's kind of what this movie is. Like you're kind of annoyed by this character that Kieran plays, but by the end, hopefully, kind of, like, brokenhearted

about who this person is and what they have to deal with when they're alone. Yeah, I mean, when you originally were conceiving this, you imagined yourself playing the other character, correct? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and so you find yourself flipped and playing this character. How would this movie be different if you had flipped?

Would you be happier? Whatever money it... Yeah, yes. You know, it's so funny. Yes, I'm delusional. I just did this movie, Now You See Me 3, okay? And it's like a big... That's right. And, um... No, but, like, so the movie's like a big Hollywood movie and everything,

but I play this very confident, like, magician, and I'm an incredibly confident performer in the movie, and I end every day on those sets going, I did great. And I never have that feeling on sets going, I did great. And I never have that feeling on sets ever, but because my character's so confident, I'm standing in a different way,

my face is doing different things that are tricking my brain into thinking it's really happy, and it's like the most amazing thing. So in this movie, yeah, I kind of felt like diminished at the end of every day because Kieran's character's like diminishing me. Yeah. Yeah. But you're also wearing,

you're a director, writer, and actor there. Yes. You feel like somebody who's thinking through every moment. I am. But, you know, Kieran, I was, like, technically his boss, but because the nature of our characters in the movie, where he's, like, constantly condescending to me and making fun of me, he would do that,

like, in between takes. Yeah. And so I did not have one feeling on the set one day of feeling, like, in control. He was constantly just like... So he'd be kind of mean to me in a take, and then we'd call cut, and then he'd say, what stupid shot are you gonna do now?

And so, like, I had no experience of feeling, you know, I guess, good. Do you see that as, like, part of his genius, or is he just sort of being a dick to you and unprofessional? I truthfully don't know. I-I-I-He came to the set a day before shooting. He was, like, gave this unbelievable performance. I don't know if he read the script

before he got to Poland, like, before shooting. He lit, he sleeps, like, two hours a night. He was walking around Poland all night. I don't know. We got a call that his mattress was on the floor. Like, he's so unusual and so brilliant. And so it and so brilliant. And so it was so great. I just didn't want to tell him, like,

hey, could you be nice? Because he was so great. In the movie. Yeah. He's nice. He's nice. He's a lovely, lovely person, but this dynamic we had was so all-encompassing that I didn't know how to separate out what was, like, the character and what was him or what was I doing.

Maybe I was also being self-deprecating in a punishing way because I was playing my role. I don't know. Are you open? Is there improv in a process like this? Does it start with open space to, like, find and discover as somebody who wrote this and sat with this for quite some time? No. I mean, I don't like improv.

You know, I'm not gonna come up with something, like, funny, you know, on the set. You know, so, I mean, maybe, but it's like, you know, it's always, like, last-minute jokes that people improvise about spaghetti. You know, something stupid. But, like, but it's like, you know, it's always like last minute jokes that people improvise about spaghetti. You know, something stupid, but like... As somebody who spent 30 years of my life doing improv, I want to tell you that is spot on.

No, but I just, you weren't doing a Holocaust movie. You know what I mean? Well, we got some, you know, we got some pretty risque suggestions back in the day. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. Give us a location. Okay, well, maybe a new location. Yeah, exactly, okay.

Well, no, so, but this... It feels like Kieran is a, if not an improviser, well, maybe a new location. Yeah, exactly. OK. Well, no. So but this, um. It feels like Kieran is a, if not an improviser, is loose in his performance style. He's loose, but like he, you know, he wouldn't stand on a mark I gave him. So I'd spent like three months in Poland with my amazing Polish cinematographer,

you know, blocking out the shots and shot listing. And you have an idea of, you know, all of the, you know, this character standing here because the tree is on their left, which represents the, you know, lack of roots and their life, whatever, and, you know, and Kieran's like, I'm not gonna stand anywhere near there. And I'm like, where are you gonna stand? And he was like, I don't know, let's shoot it,

see what happens. So, like... But he was so good. He's so brilliant. You just said, okay, yeah, let's just follow him, and I can't make this great rootless metaphor anymore. -♪ Ha at a concentration camp in Poland. What is that process like? Took a long time to get access. Like these concentration camps are museums and cemeteries, so they don't want movies shooting there,

because most movies want to turn them into like 1942 war movies, where they have extras in Nazi uniforms. But what we did is it's a modern day Holocaust tour. That's what the movie is. And so it took a long time to try to explain to them what we were doing and show that we actually had the same mission. Their mission is to show kind of modern tourists

what these places are. And my mission in a roundabout way is to show modern movie audiences what these places are. So once we figured that we had a meeting of the minds, it turned into this amazing, beautiful relationship. And I also have to say, the people who run these concentration camps, like, they're not Jewish. They're like young academics who could do, like,

any job that they want in Poland. They're like brilliant, highly educated people. And these are the people that, like, choose to spend their lives, like, driving every day to, like, a concentration camp and eat lunch at a concentration camp because they believe that they're doing good work, which they are.

And I just felt like, as an American Jew who, like, never thinks to memorialize my family history, I just had such indebtedness to these people who are doing it for no other reason than like the good of their hearts. Oh. Uh. Uh.

Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh.

Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. Uh. A lot of very deliberate choices. One choice I was curious about. You, throughout the film, are wearing a shirt that you button one button.

Not at the top, but the second button. And none of the bottom buttons beyond that. What is that choice all about? Listen, Jordan, if that's not obvious. No. Well, my character talks about, like, OCD in the movie, and it's like, you know, I know what that is. And, you know, sometimes, like, OCD in the movie, and it's, like, you know, I know what that is. And, you know, sometimes, like, you know,

that is, like, more of, like, a fixation rather than, like, a fashion choice. So my character's not, like, a fashionable kind of person, but this is, like, a fixation kind of thing from his OCD. Yeah. Yeah, so that's why. I should have known it. I should have known it. You know, pretty much everybody else who saw the movie like got it. I know. I know. I should have known it. You know, pretty much everybody else who saw the movie,

like, got it. I know. I know. I need to watch these things closer. You've sat in this movie. You've created this film. It's now out in the world. Yeah. People really enjoy it, so much so that you have Academy Award nominations. Yeah. Uh... I'm not kidding.

Thank you so much. With you. Thank you so much. With that comes promotion for Academy Award nominations. So you're on shows like this. You're doing all of this publicity tour. How does that sit with someone like you? Do you like doing publicity for a movie like this? Well I've been wanting to do this show for 20 something years. I mean yeah.

So this is amazing. And does being here with me make you just a little bit happier? This is amazing. Stuff like this is totally surreal. It really is. And yeah, that's been like Terry Gross last week. And I didn't. Stick on this. Stick on this one.

Stick on this one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was telling her this is terrible compared to the Daily Show with. Stick on this one. So, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was telling her, this is terrible compared to the Daily Show with Jordan Kleffer. And she said, I get it. She gets it, right? She gets it, and she said, I might actually quit. So, I didn't want to announce that here,

but she's quitting because of the show. Yes, hang it up, Terry. It's about time. It's a truly remarkable film. And it feels like an adult film about grief that has so many entrance points for people who are sitting with these conversations in their own hands. So thank you for making that. Thank you so much. What an honor to be here.

A Real Pain is in theaters now, streaming now on Hulu. Jesse Eisenberg, we're gonna take a quick break right back after this. Thank you so much. Jesse, thank you very much. Good to see you. That's our show for tonight. Now here it is, your moment of zen. I've been told I have 30 seconds, so I am going to tell you that we do have to... I don't swear in public very well, we have to f**k Trump.

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