The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi - #112 Acting Scared with Elsie Fisher

Episode Date: November 29, 2022

Elsie Fisher (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Eighth Grade) joins to talk about the downsides of pretending to watch your friend get decapitated, shooting a movie during a global pandemic, making more money than your parents, and having a dog in New York City. Gianmarco also tells his awful dead dog story for like the 18th time. You can watch full video of this episode HERE! Join the Patreon for ad-free episodes, exclusive content, and MORE. Listen to our live weekly show on AMP, every Tuesday at 4 PM ET. Follow Elsie Fisher on Instagram and Twitter Watch Elsie in Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty on Prime Video coming in 2023! Follow Gianmarco Soresi on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, & YouTube Subscribe to Gianmarco Soresi's email & texting lists Check out Gianmarco Soresi's bi-monthly show in NYC Get tickets to see Gianmarco Soresi in a city near you Watch Gianmarco Soresi's special "Shelf Life" on Amazon Follow Russell Daniels on Twitter & Instagram See Russell in Titanique through February 2023! E-mail the show at [e-mail] Produced by Paige Asachika & Gianmarco Soresi Video edited by Spencer Sileo Special Thanks Tovah Silbermann Part of the Authentic Podcast Network Original music by Douglas Goodhart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stop offering her alcohol, Russell. Welcome to the downside. My name is Jamarcus Harazi. Jamarcus likes to try to cancel me at the start of every episode. We're here in the new podcast studio. Which means I'm now paying half the rent for this room. Let's go! I have no place to be doing that. Russell, what do you think?

I'm loving it. I like the couch a lot, actually. I feel like I have a lot more room to just kind of kick back falsely. It's very comfortable. Sometimes you don't want it to be too comfortable. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you might come here.

I'm leaning back. Yeah, this is like a work couch, though. It keeps you focused. Yes, it's yeah. Yeah, this is like a work couch, though. Yeah. It keeps you focused. Yes, it's nice. There's a kitchen, you know. There's a kitchen. Well, it's going to be a guest room. We can take a nap if we need to.

Oh, yeah, yeah. I don't know how many guests we're going to have. My first thought, I said, oh, Tova, now we can start a comedy club, and this is the condo that they stay at. Oh, God. And I'll headline it every weekend. Oh. We'll, like, cook the books.

Wow, you have big plans. Okay, okay. We're cook the books. Wow, you have big plans. Okay, okay. We're here with our special guest, actor, Elsie Fisher. How are you doing, Elsie? I'm doing all right, man. You're the youngest guest we've had on the show. Yeah, I was going to ask you. 19, right?

Yes, yes. Jesus fucking... I don't like having people younger and more successful than me on the pod let's come down first of all I'm like spiritually 40 for sure so hopefully you know well I'm literally almost 40 so

but hey nothing wrong with that still young too thank you it's you know we connected I think what happened you posted something on twitter Thank you. Yeah. It's, it's, you know, I, we, we connected.

I think what happened, you, you, you posted something on Twitter. It was, it was very funny. It was like, it was,

it was couples counseling, but it was like seven years old. Oh, that's funny. And you tweeted, this is just my parents' divorce. Yeah. And, and then I shared it

and I don't think I put, I'm terrible with names. So I had seen eighth grade. I didn't, I didn't know your name and I put it together. And then my shared it. And I don't think I put, I'm terrible with names. So I had seen eighth grade. I didn't know your name. And I put it together. And then my girlfriend often, like, someone writes me on Twitter. Or, you know, they respond. And they like something.

And she goes, like, do you know who the fuck that is? And then she goes, you need to have them as a guest. Wow, wow, wow. So it all worked out. Yeah, it was beautiful. You have divorced parents. Yeah, I do. How old were you when they got divorced?

Well, I think they've probably been separated my whole life. Really? They got an official divorce at 13. When I was 13. Not them. Child marriage. Child. Real fucked up stuff.

Do you have older siblings? No, I'm the eldest, but I have a younger sibling. Younger brother. So you said when you were born, they were already separated? Well, since I was like four. So like very early on in life. Me too. They were like, eh.

You don't remember them being together? Not happily. Sure, sure. I get that. And why did it take so long for them to get divorced? We're going right into it. No, I mean, this is great. This is my like therapy right now.

You guys are the children therapists. Good, we are going to charge you no i mean this is great this is this is my like therapy right now yeah you guys are the children therapists good we are going to charge you at the end of this uh uh what was the question wait why why did it take them so long to get to four to thirteen i don't know like paperwork's really dumb and it also costs money to get divorced for whatever reason yeah the law is like no you do love each other unless we have a couple hundred dollars they really they don't want you uh with mine in maryland this is my more my mom and stepdad when they got divorced in maryland they might have changed the law but you had to live under separate roofs for a year and i don't remember this you are not allowed to have sex

during that year with anyone or each other? With each other. Oh. You with each other. They put chastity belts on you. They're like, good luck, kid. But I do think, again, I think it's to discourage divorce. So number one, if someone doesn't want the divorce,

they could say, hey, you're on it. We fucked. Yeah. How are you going to prove that? And I also think it's- That could trap people. It could trap people. But also, let's say you do fuck someone else because you can't hold it in for a year.

Yeah. And then whoever didn't want the divorce can say, well, infidelity. I get all the stuff. Oh, my God. A lot of things. It's all my day shifts. They want you to get married. Also, that's Maryland.

It's not like, no offense to some states, but you would think they would be a little more progressive. You would think. I was right on the tip of the Civil War. It was like I guess also it's an older state sometimes. Right. Sure. Those East Coast ones like they might have your histories. Right. They didn't start with California. So we got to go into the music. I said, oh, yeah, something shitty.

What's something bothering me? What are you not like? What are you not like? Today even. Oh, no, I don't know today. But you know what's been bothering me is little kids who think they know. You know what I mean? Yeah. I do very much, Elsie, speaking to you right now.

Oh, thanks, man. Thanks. Cool. Little kids? This is the downside. One, two, three. Downside. This is the downside.

One, two, three. Downside. Downside. You're listening to The Downside. The Downside. With Gianmarco Ceresi. All right, Elsie, we'll get to you in a second. Uh-oh. So what did I want to complain about today?

We just cleaned out this apartment. We found two dead mice. In the apartment? In the apartment. Where were they? One right here. One right over there. What did they die of?

Well, it's more just, I don't know. Did you have traps or they just died natural causes? No, we have the humane traps. They're probably mice that I caught with a humane trap,

let them out right there on the highway. I didn't go very far when I let these mice out. Okay. You know. Yeah. And then they came

back and they died one of them was so dead i thought it was a dust pile other than the tail like it had cruelly decomposed oh my god you didn't smell it at all i think we just didn't we didn't come here very often did you when you came in it doesn't smell bad it doesn't smell they starved to death i don't think it was. I don't think like their loved ones came by and they said bye. Oh my God. I think it was a sad. Yeah. Sad death.

They weren't even together either. That would be really sad if you found two mice together. Like holding hands. Holding each other dead. Oh God. Oh my God. That's like, did you ever read the book um uh hunchback of of notre dame so the movie no but the real ending of it is like they're like and then hundreds of years in the future they find

that basically the the author describes finding the corpses of the hunchback holding like like the curved spine hunchback like the skeleton holding what's her name? Esmeralda. Like basically she dies and then I think he just goes to the tomb and like cradles her dead body and then just dies there. Well thanks for spoiling it. Yeah. I was gonna get to that. We're about to get to the ending. Speaking

of endings, I was doing my research I did all the research and I just, listen I don't watch any horror movies so I just skipped right all the research and i i just listen i don't watch any horror movies so i just skipped right to the ending and i oh my god you sent me searched yeah just the ending of texas chainsaw oh yeah and i was like i could have thrown up on my phone it was so so upsetting it was uh i can't do it you watched the whole movie i did watch the whole but you don't like horror movies well no it's something i used to love horror movies as a kid.

But now, as I get older, I have a harder time with them. Like, I still like them. But something about them is more upsetting to me now than they used to be. I think I could just watch it before and be, like, totally tuned out from feeling anything. You like them. Yeah. Yeah. I think I do.

I have like a different relationship with them now because I was never a fan and then I ended up doing a bunch of them. So sometimes I feel like homework a little bit. Like I watch one and I have to be like, oh, she's like screaming this way, blah, blah, blah. But is it, I feel, I've never, I've never had to act a period.

It's been a while. But it feels like it would be exhausting to the scene is just the shot of seeing your friend decapitated. Oh, yeah. It just feels like a deep, deep act, intense acting. And just again and again, I feel like the shoot would be tiring. I mean, that whole shoot was pretty tiring. It was cool. We shot in Bulgaria, actually.

Wow. So we shot the film in like the midst of 2020, like the height of the pandemic in 2020. And they're like, want to go to Bulgaria for like four months? Sure. They're like, they haven't started quarantining there. Let's go to Bulgaria. Truly.

Weird fact about Bulgaria also. So there were maybe maybe i'm going on such a tangent but this is a show for that i figure but um it was like bulgaria and romania and one other country were the only three that were open open for shooting at the time and the reason bulgaria was one of them was their covid numbers were low because like 2015 another strain of of like covid went around and everyone got it and covid 15 covid 15 everyone got covid 15 and had immunity i've never heard this i know not at all this feels like it could have solved the whole problem for us well i mean i don't think anyone anyone knows Bulgaria exists. They were like keeping their secrets under lock and key. Sure. Yeah, I wouldn't share it with you.

But then you came there and you guys helped get those numbers up. Yeah, we really did. Because I left. You're worried about Leatherface. Worry about actors from America filling a horror movie. We were terrible, like going around all over. Masks off. Kidding, kidding.

When in 2020, what month are we talking here? I want to say they shipped me out in June. That's crazy because no one else is working. So few people are working. No one was working. No one was. We were at a cabin

in New Hampshire. Not working. Sounds like it's own little horror film. Yes, yes. When you went to Bulgaria, did you have to quarantine for 14 days? Not for, no, we had to quarantine for like three days,

but they put me in this hotel room that had no windows. Oh my God. It had a window, but it didn't open. So in this room for three days, like door dashing different. Yeah.

Yeah. I just feel like with horror movies acting wise, I can fake if I'm not in the right place. I could, you know, I could be angry. I could express it. I act whatever acting terminology you want to use. Yeah. But if I was like, I could see me like trying to be scared and like looking at the performance and going like, oh my God. Yeah. What was I doing? Yeah. trying to be scared and like looking at the performance and going like,

Oh my God, what was I doing? And you're just looking at nothing and you have to be like your head, your friend. You have to go, ah, yeah. Or screaming or crying.

It'd be tough. I would just get nervous about, do you, well, I, I think for me at least it's like using that anxiety because, or like, cause the nerves are the fear. So like, like it's like using that anxiety because, or like, cause the nerves are the fear.

So like, like it's almost like, you know, it's kind of embarrassing to act scared and like be vulnerable. But that's, that's the scary part that you tune into. Cause you're like, okay,

this is going to be embarrassing. So why not just like vocalize, you know, Elsie's like as a better actor than you. No, no, no, no. Come on. No, no, no, no. I'm not saying, I'm just, it's just a funny thing to be like, it's hard to act, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I'm not telling you you're wrong. Off-Broadway boy. Russell Russell's in one Off-Broadway play. And now he's a big shot. He's in Titanic. Ooh. Musical.

But yeah. So, well, shot. He's in Titanic. Ooh. He's a cow. But yeah. So, well, okay. You started so young. I did. I'm still pretty young. Yes. I'm still pretty young. When did you start?

Like when I was like five. Did you look it up at all? It's okay. It's okay. Despicable me. Best. I could do the whole IMDb. Wow.

Despicable me one and two but then not for three. No. Because of voice change. I voice dropped a couple octaves and they Wow. Despicable to me, one and two, but then not for three. No. Because the voice changed. My voice dropped a couple octaves, and they were like, no, no, no. Were your parents in the business? No. They were both waiters, which is how they met.

And they both worked in the restaurant industry. And they heard other actors complaining, and they're like, oh, yeah. How did you get into it then? So, okay. So, there's, where I grew up is this, you know Palm Springs? Yeah, yeah. There's like the mountains above Palm Springs. There's a little tourist town called Idlewild.

It's like sort of like a hidden gem, but that's where I grew up and lived there until I was 11 or 12, I want to say. But, yeah, so both my parents were waiters, and my dad, they worked at different restaurants in the same small town but anyways my dad worked at this place that was like a jazz place and there was this bassist Marshall who used to like get on the stage and like like do crazy stuff with a bass like upright cool bass and I think when I was really young I used to like get up on stage and like like like completely improv we just had this thing and it wasn't a big stage right it was just like the ambience for the thing so it's very low stakes for a child to be sure um but long story short like i think there are a lot of industry people who like pass through and

like and it was got scouted from this yeah i got like oh my god i was a pretty cute child one of those stories you hear. You don't hear them as much anymore. That's amazing. Yeah. These days, because people don't scout in person anymore, it's like,

oh, I saw this kid on TikTok. Yeah. Yeah, right. But back then they had to do it in person. I think that's amazing. When I was a kid, I used to dance like in the living room with like my parents,

separate living rooms. And we'd put on like It's Raining Men. Yeah. And this is where I think a lot of things came from was me you know dancing day it's raining men and uh i i told them i said i had this urge i was like we need i said we need to get our living room we need to recreate our living room on a stage so people can bear witness to this whatever that urge is in me for better for worse you can see it as a character flaw if you want, but you're an actor too, so shut the fuck up. No, I used to do little plays too. I just love the

But like there was an urge of like people need to witness this thing. It wasn't enough for me to just feel the joy. It also had to be witnessed to be fully activated. That's the weird curse that some people have. and so to hear if

if if my parents had actually taken me seriously i could have been a despicable me is very hard to hear you could have been young vulnerable kayla in 2018's eighth grade yeah so but your parents was your dad was he young at this time when you got despicable me he's still a server at the restaurant yeah he was i he was he was um like 30 i want to say something like that super young that's a young you're you're young vrl 30 yeah uh so you get despicable me are you suddenly i mean you're so young at this point you might remember but at what point did your income surpass your parents income oh like immediately immediately well yeah because like i don't know why because i feel like voiceover animation is a completely underpaid industry like voice actors are constantly struggling for pay but you know i i did the first film and the maybe maybe i to bring me back for the second i don't

remember i was five but like but like you know by the time i was like nine i was like well college is like paid for in the future and all of this was in a coogan account too like i did a coogan account coogan account is an account you have if you're a child actor and basically i i don't remember the story but where it came from was uh there was this guy with the last name Coogan. He was a child actor, and his parents took all of his money. And by the time he reached adulthood, he couldn't support himself, and he had no, like, other. And he should have had a ton of money. Yeah, and he should have had a ton of money.

So they implemented this law where if you're a child actor, like, 80% of your money goes into this account that opens up once you're 18. So. That's really interesting. So that all just opened up for you like last year. Yeah. Some of it. Yeah. And then I moved to New York.

Make it big in the big city. I'm like, I'm watching it go down just as fast as it came to me. That sounds like a movie. Like the Coogan account? No, like people waiting for someone, a child actor who made all this money to turn 18 to then kidnap them and take their money. Sure. Don't give away ideas for free, man.

Or maybe a Texas chainsaw. And it's like they're about to turn 18. They have one day. They need to stay alive. Yeah. That's really interesting. Because it's got to be related to like child labor, which is generally illegal,

but I guess with acting, they were like, well, we need to make an exception cause we want these TV shows. You know, what's dumb though is I got taxed on all my income as a child, which like good taxes are good. I didn't get to vote.

I was being taxed without representation. Yeah. Are you taxed though now that you take it out or were you taxed already? At the time. At the time. That's insane. Yeah. Yeah.

I would like to get some child actor. Let them run for president too. Yeah. Fuck it. Yeah. Let's get a child in the White House. Right? Yeah.

So Coogan account, I mean it's, do you, so your parents got to have 20% of your income. 20% of my income or whatever percentage was available for use. They never touched it.

Do they get some? I mean, they're doing some work. No, they were really like they. You're eating at the Ritz and they're eating at home with crackers? No, no, no. We were all eating Kraft Mac and cheese together. No, I mean, like I think was like, I helped them get a car when like my dad's car broke down, but that he was also driving me.

Yeah. Like hours to go to LA. Yeah. Like seven, like five days a week to go to these auditions. But, but they never, never like wanted it. Sure. Yeah. So it was just like also chilling out.

I think it's gotta be, as someone who I was financially dependent on my father for too long and it skewed our relationship, I just can't even imagine the dynamic of having your child suddenly making this insane income and how to balance it and the power dynamics of it and the, the, the, oh. Let's be clear though. to balance it and the power dynamics of it. And the, the, the,

Oh, let's be clear though. They still held all the power. Like I still had to ask to, to get the new Pokemon games. I'm like, yeah, sure.

So, you know, and they're like, fine, sweetheart, here's your credit card back. Exactly. Exactly.

So who was more into it? Your mom or your dad? Um, my dad was the more involved one but neither of them were like stage parents you know i spent like because they they had no ambitions um in any relation to the industry it was more just like taking me place to place and like are you enjoying it they had no like they had no like thing they wanted to do like career wise well they they had other things like my like my mom went on she's like a sommelier now oh yeah yeah so very very fun i took her to bulgaria like

had fun being in europe with the sommelier uh and my dad makes lamps which is cool that's fun right he like he just like builds these lamps so they're both very artistic. Isn't that what John Mulaney's wife does? I think so. She builds like X-Wife. Oh. Jeez, John Marco. I'm sorry. I need to bring it up.

Tova has a picture that she made. What's her name? The ex-wife? The ex-wife. Anna. Anna. Yeah. Anna.

That's it. We're all so delicate. The Anna Anna. That's it. We're all. The Anna formerly known as Miss Blake. So delicate. She has a picture I think in there and it's like one Anna took after the divorce where it's like her at like an empty. At a dining table. At a dining table.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the other plate's empty and it's like. And I always. I have this, you know, my ego where I'm like one day we'll have Mulaney on the podcast and I'll forget about that photo and we'll be like hanging right here. And he'll walk out immediately. A&W is now serving Pret Organic Coffee and you can get a $1 small coffee, a $2 small latte, or like me, a $1 small coffee and a $2 small latte. Available now until November 24th in Ontario only.

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right to your door on Skip. Um, so, all right. So your parents not getting along? I, you know, they're civil. They're civil. They're civil. That's good. I think they're just very different people.

But they had another kid. You said you have a sibling. Yeah. So they pretty much like had my brother and we're like, nah. Sure. They're like, that's good. I think they're just very different people. But they had another kid. You said you have a sibling. Yeah. So they pretty much had my brother and were like, nah. Sure. They're like, one last try. How much difference in age? Like four years.

Okay, wow. Yeah. What does your brother do? He's just chilling. He's 15. He's fucking 15. Yeah, he's 15. He's a stockbroker.

Who knows? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe with his genes they fucking. No, if anyone was like a stock broker at 15 though it would absolutely be my younger brother he's just his name is nathan he i shouldn't be doxing him sorry whatever he he's been in stuff before he's made cameos he's out really yeah i i did the show castle rock and there was an episode of that that took place in the past and he auditioned for a role on that show like like

and got it separate like performance i'm i don't know maybe there was nepotism involved i was not aware sure um but he was on the show and he like was great just for this little yeah role well speaking i always think about i think i have people talk about nepotism a lot these days they do and someone someone tweeted the other day, they were in a writer's room and Jerry Seinfeld's daughter was in the writer's room. Yes, yeah. And I guess the assumption being,

oh, she's 21, she shouldn't be in this writer's room, she didn't earn it. But there's a... It makes sense. Nepotism makes sense. If you succeed... I didn't see it.

Or if it's your show. I think people, what people sometimes seem to really misunderstand, like, okay, if you're Amy Schumer it or if it's your show i think people what people like sometimes seem to really misunderstand like okay if you're amy schumer and you have a writer's room you get to pick whoever the fuck you want for that room the room exists because of you it's not your job to then not put in anyone that you might want or to give a favor to but i also get it from the perspective of people i i know there's some people especially when it comes

with like famous family there's a whiff of I think it's eugenics where they think oh this father's talented the kid is talented too and there's this belief that so but I don't know

I just think the idea that nepotism is gonna go away is insane oh never no never it's never gonna go away if your brother gets put in a thing that you're in,

why not? Well, yeah, no, I, you know. Actors have gotten shit for way worse reasons. Yeah. True, very true. Yes. The only time it ever really bothers me is when there's an interview

where then the person, like, basically has to, like, pretend that that doesn't happen that's the only time it bothers me when they're like and my parents were like you know what i know we are the most we're billionaires who built an empire on this thing but they said you're doing it yourself and i did it myself like you know like that's the only time where it's like the pretending that there's no i think yeah so washington's son like said something he was like he was like he was like i don't he didn't go by Washington or something.

He basically was like, I don't advertise that I'm Denzel's son. And I'm like, yeah, they all know. Everybody knows who you are. Before you walk in a room, this is what happens. Hey, this next guy is Denzel's son. I mean, absolutely. Of course. Of course.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But there's nothing wrong with that. Well, at least he's very talented, too. I think the only thing about nepotism that irks me is if it's just like some guy, you know? Yeah, sure. Like he is just there because like. My favorite is when you watch something and it's bad enough that you're like, who the

fuck was that? And then you Google it and you're like, oh. So that is actually the worst form of it. When you're like, something is so noticeably bad that you Google it and you're like, oh, they're so-and-so's, you know, whatever. But that doesn't happen that often, I feel like. Not that often. I think.

Usually I'm like, eh, man, they're pretty good, you know? Yeah, right. They're fine. Credit where credit's due. Yeah. So you started this super young age. Did your parents, did it feel like they were like, I feel like we, you know, the general belief for you, if someone's young and they succeed as a lot of them get fucked up.

I know that we just focus on the fucked up ones though. You know, the ones that are doing fine. We don't focus on the ones that go into a different business. We don't focus on, we focus on the Aaron Curtis of the world. Did your, were you doing homeschooling early? Like what? No, I was,

I was public school until my freshman year of high school. And then I, that, that was when eighth grade came out and I started working a lot more. And then after then I was like this, there's no way to balance like the working and going to school. So I like did online school for a year and that was terrible. Uh,

and then I graduated early. Um, cause yeah. Yeah. Because of the, the online school, you're just able to get the credits done sooner. Uh,

well, no, California has like a test that's specifically for California. Yeah. It's just like an easy pass, uh, whatever, but I don't know you like I did a test

and they're like only 30 percent of people pass and then it was questions about long division yeah like okay cool when you made that shift I it's it's just so young to make that that decision do you ever look back and go like fuck I didn't get a high school experience uh yeah i i think i have like in the moment it felt so correct and i think ultimately i'm grateful that i did it but um i did i probably did put myself in a little bit of like uh an arrested development for a while in terms of interacting with other people my age because there's also this assumption oh work with other people my age and then that could never come um so like i i'm probably now just now especially moving to the city having sort of that high school experience and like and like the the like college experience vicariously through other people yeah yeah uh socially when you went from

public school like and then eighth grade comes out and you make that, what was that transition like for socially? Like, I'm assuming you had friends in public school. Like, were you able to maintain those connections or was that a difficult kind of? Yeah, no. And my life was so normal after eighth grade came out too.

Um, or like I would be going to award shows and like, that was such a beautiful, wonderful experience. And then people were like, come to the after party. I'm like, I can't, I have to go to math class tomorrow at 8 a.m yeah

um and people didn't give a shit they were like i think the trailer was maybe like it was it was like trending on youtube when it dropped or something um and and the kids at like mip class really giving me shit for it you're like oh the. Oh, you're in a stupid, dumb movie. That's so funny. That is so funny. This is a great story, too. Bo used to love telling this one. But I actually, I was in the theater program my freshman year of high school.

And I had auditioned for the school play. And I didn't get a part. And they still put you in the yearbook? I'm actually not in the yearbook in my freshman year either because i i was like absent for yearbook day photo so i think my name's in there but there's no photo of me in in my freshman year that's very funny where they fuck that up and they go we gotta we gotta include her in the theater department yeah this is so many there's times where like colleges because i went to college for musical theater And whoever succeeds

They feature them really heavily I think I wrote my college This is how bad my college was Where I was one of the people And I was like please don't use me Don't ever use me You wrote to them and said that? Probably to an email server

Way when I was younger and mad Were they threatening to use you? No I think it was just like The name was in a place to like an email server like way when I was younger and mad. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was one of those no reply emails. to use you? No, I think, I think it was just like the name was in a place and it just felt like,

it felt like, fuck you, don't, don't use my, don't use my name. I would never want any of my colleges. Especially to solicit more kids.

It feels like a ski, a ponzi. Oh yeah. Yeah. Don't bring, yeah, yeah. Were you,

did you take any acting classes along the way or were you really just just learning as you go? Were you reading the Stanislavski book? I've only recently been reading Stanislavski. Actually, I was going to bring my Meisner to read on the train. I totally forgot it. The red one with his face on the front?

Yes. Yeah. Do you think you're like, oh, fuck, I should have done that for the last 10 movies like a little bit i was i was reading um michael chekhov on the technique of acting though which is a book i randomly stumbled upon he's the gestures guy right he's the gestures but like so much of that like i felt like oh that's stuff i've actually been really striving to find the words to like talk about and tune in on and this guy like already knows all of it so i'm actually not inventing anything ever everything's already been done

yeah do your research it's uh i i don't know if i brought it up where i was uh my girlfriend and i we went to this governor's island glamping we did shrooms and there was a guy he helped us move the hammock and he worked there and I was talking to him and I was very high but he was like oh yeah I'm an actor

and I was like oh what are you doing he's like oh I study with so and so and they studied under Uta Hagen and I just thought like the dynasties

of these acting teachers you know because in my mind and I was nice to him but I was like who gives a shit? They say with Uta Hagen, a thousand people, who is Uta Hagen? Just an actor who, you know, had to teach. And it was just interesting how those names, these philosophies just

created schools that are watered down versions. But it's like this weird legacy system where, and why was Uta Hagen famous? Because she studied with Stanislavski in Moscow. legacy system where and why was it famous because she studied with dennis losky in moscow and i don't know it's it's i think sometimes i i used to be so into technique and then you get into the real world and you're like you abandon so much of it and you just have to make your own along the way yeah well i i think so and that that's that has been my approach for forever is like making this own thing. But I don't know. I feel like the more I've been working, thankfully, I just want to have it under my belt. I just want to like know it and then I can choose.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, basically. Yeah. Put it in my own words. I'm going to make my own with it. What is your acting? We did all those things the angry part

um uh yeah um no we well in grad school we did all we had all these books we had to read um and i would you know i feel like you i felt like in grad school you're so in your head about so much stuff that again it's like a thing when I left it was like it took you all to shake off some of that and then just be like okay there were some exercises and some things there that sure but I don't feel like ultimately I

have a process of. I just write a tactic for each like sentence. Yeah no no no. Oh yeah. Like the I feel that, I believe that, I, you know, I dream someday, you know, like all that.

Any kind of busy work that made me feel like I was doing something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so. So we're doing Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Yeah. 28.

And you have to witness me getting my head chopped off by a chainsaw. And it's just close up on you. Whoa, whoa. And I'm in the back like making faces like, whoa.

Now, can I be Leatherface in this scenario? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You gotta pull him out of the car with one hand. Okay. What are you doing to prepare for that shoot day?

For you getting your head chopped off? I'm saying like, me, anyone, Nicole, your dog, whatever you care about. I don't know, because I feel like

part of that is it's so shocking that you don't want to, I don't know how, like, you know, like you don't want to be like already ahead of the thing before it happens. You're showing up to set like,

hey guys. You want me to call action? I don't know. I have nothing. What? Oh no. These are not the? I don't know. I have nothing. What? Oh, no. These are not the things I'm cast as. Someday.

Someday. All right. So you're into Dungeons and Dragons. Yeah, I was for a period of time. Oh, you've left. I don't know. It's just been so long since I've even played it. Where did you find that information?

Because you don't even know the guest name. I do. I do. It's in been so long since I've even played it. Where did you find that information? Because I, you don't even know the guest name. I do. I do. It's in the Google calendar. Yes, it is. Google calendar. You, but you used to be, because I've never played Dungeons and Dragons. Russell's not into games.

I want to do a Dungeons and Dragons day so badly. Would you do it with me? No, I really don't want to do it. I'm sorry. It's just acting. I don't want to do it. I will do anything It's just acting. I don't want to do it. I will do anything else for a day with you. I don't know why. I don't like

I don't want to. He doesn't like games. I don't like games. He doesn't like games. It's really weird. He just wants to get drunk and talk. I want to talk to you. No, again, that's Dungeons and Dragons. Yeah, that's what it is. Getting drunk and talking. Okay, okay. Well, you know, maybe. Maybe. Is it like rules that and talking okay okay well uh you know maybe maybe is it like

rules that are off-putting to you yes i don't like learning like a new um no actually i just i don't like competing i don't like uh i don't like competing and i i really don't like the process of having to learn a new game like something about it when we're like okay here are the rules to this thing my brain is like i do not give a shit and i i i can have fun in some like i can do like a charades or something like i'd love charades those are i haven't played in years i would do anything those kind of things pictionary that kind of stuff i can have fun with but i think something about sitting down around a board Like It's daunting to me It's just like I feel life

Ending I feel like I'm gonna die someday and I'll be so Mad that I played this board game I'll be so mad that I wasted time doing this That's the I know that feeling When I'm in a bad conversation I remember my stepfather man There was just a time

When he was getting split up with my mom and it was a long divorce and he would be talking to me and I was going through like an existential crisis and I just had this constant thought. I was like, what if the universe crunches? Like whatever the universe crunches and this is what I'm doing.

And you're stuck doing that. This is what I'm doing. And there was something like visceral. And I remember I would turn my feet. I was reading a book on body language. That's how deep I was into acting. I was like, let was reading a book on body language that's how deep i was into acting this book on body language and it said like oh you can see if people's feet are facing the away so i'd be like consciously my feet and then you start moving like the fucking exorcist with my head behind me and he couldn't he couldn't see it at all he couldn't tell

um okay so fuck Dungeons and Dragons. You're done. You've left that behind? No, I mean, maybe I'll revisit. I'll play a few play. We could play a game together. Sure, yeah. Fuck, a celebrity Dungeons and Dragons.

Yeah. And Russell. Who's your character in Dungeons? Do you have a thing that you like to do? No, I make up a new one. I don't remember what my character was. Yeah. But that's the's the thing is like

you enter every like it's it is like an acting exercise in a lot of ways i think because you create this person out of numbers and then you're them for like hours or whatever and there also is no board it's it's all in your mind so that's the thing with dungeon dragons i think i didn't fully understand was like it really you're really making up as you go. Everything. There's like, there is no rule. There are rules you can follow. But I like, so probably why you bring up Dungeons & Dragons is I used to have a podcast about it my own when I was 15, 16, whatever.

And I had an episode where I didn't know how to be like the dungeon master or whatever but A24 put together this thing where like I was the dungeon master and I did an episode where it was Bo and Gillian Jacobs and Gerard Carmichael it was so much fun none of them wanted to learn rules no one knew anything so I just like wrote on a piece of paper

just like vaguely follow these guidelines and we just played for like an hour and you just like throw dice to tell you, you know, like a, or you could play it with like a magic eight ball or something. Yeah. I think maybe, okay, that sounds better.

I think maybe. We just, because of the, if Bo's there, you're down for the game. I know, I meant like, I meant like, I thought there was a board. I thought there was, I thought there was lots of cards. I mean, there are,

but you can just be like, no. I also think that, I think what's going, specifically Dungeons and Dragons, what's going against it is the name for me, Dungeons and Dragons. I'm not a huge fantasy person. So I think that there's that that was going against it too, is that it sounds so, you know, like fantasy, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, right. But I can get into anything.

I hear you okay good yeah um so i am curious because as as a you know i was listening to various interviews with you and it's so interesting because because you did it so young i mean it's it's too how do you feel when you're going through all that press stuff as a kid i'm sure there were some people that talked to you like a kid and were like hey how you doing yeah and then other people who like related to you as an adult yes and like what do you i don't know what was there it's it's just people don't know how to relate to kids sometimes well yeah and i think i think that's the world as well as press is it's like always understanding okay what kind of conversation is this going to be? Yeah.

And figuring out how to navigate that. And then sometimes it's just like being recorded for whatever various news sites. Did you ever say anything in an interview that looking back you're like, oh, fuck. Do you ever really botch one? Because you're so young. I'm sure if I was talking at eighth grade. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

The things I might have said. I don't think I have a botched interview. I think I probably like, you know, just watching them and seeing that sort of reflection of yourself in and of itself is disturbing. Yeah.

So it's like hard to, I don't know, like I don't necessarily agree with everything I used to say, not because it's wrong, but I just feel like I've grown as a person, which hopefully I have in the past almost five years. Yeah.

I was listening to one where in the middle of the interview, your dad texted you, stop saying um so much. Oh, yeah. I thought that was such an interesting, because I would be that dad. If I had a kid in the interview, I could see being like,

oh, sweetheart, she's saying um too much. Okay, let me text her really quick. In the middle of the interview, I could see like being like, oh, sweetheart, she's saying I'm too much. Okay, let me text her really quick in the middle of the interview. Well, I'm the wrong one though. Why was I checking my phone? Sure. But I think like it was like it was like a loving thing,

but also like it's whatever your dad's role is in all of this. I mean, it's a complicated dynamic because your parent wants to help you. Yeah. But at some point you got to let go. And like, have you, did you ever struggle with that?

Like now you're of age, your parents aren't driving to you all this shit anymore. Was there a phase of them like kind of falling out of your decision making and all these things? Sort of. Yeah, I don't know. Because also something sort of strange that happened is i was always anticipating that transition but then um like the pandemic hit and by the time i was really doing anything in the world because even working in bulgaria i was 17 about to be 18 so like i had a parent with me when i was there um but I wasn't doing a bunch of stuff in person and every audition was self-tape.

So by the time I turned 18, it wasn't this slow fade out. It was just like, oh, it feels weird to like bring you to events now unless it's something you really want to go to. So it was pretty stark, but I think, I don't know. It feels normal now.

When you were on set did you was you said you went to bulgaria with your mom this is for texas chainsaw yeah yeah was your mom on set for these scenes were you like mom please i couldn't imagine acting anything intense with my mom at all yeah that's that's always been a big struggle for me actually um because it was it was usually my dad on set and when i was doing like that show castle rock he he would like watch at the monitor which i get that he's very excited for me and stuff but looking back i'm like oh i was i probably was like like feeling crazy anxiety i didn't realize because how can you be vulnerable around your

parents in any capacity and then then to have that recorded. Yeah. Whoa. Cause I, I act now and I'm on my own on set a lot of the time and it feels so much more freeing. And I was like, why is this? Yeah.

Then I'm like, Oh, I don't have to like live up to my parents' expectations. That's the thing with, with like with standup is people for the big events, people want to come to it. Yeah. And sometimes it's like, I don't want you there. Yeah.

And it's really hard. It really is. When you do those shows that are so exciting when you're like, oh, I actually don't know anyone that's going to be in this crowd. Yeah. Which is really exciting. When it goes really well, sometimes I'm like'm like oh i wish they saw this thing but like i think especially with stand up i it's always embarrassing i think when i have to do two shows uh in the same same night that the service the staff the wait staff they're seeing me tell some of these jokes again and there is a feeling of

like oh god you gotta yeah you get to see me faking you get to see me i think it's very cool because i think um i think of when i went to your taping for uh what was the taping you did uh infinite bris oh no no shelf life shelf life yeah um uh you were like infinite bris was not the one i was impressed by at all that was good but um the um self that that one shelf life um what was impressive is because you were doing a taping and we watched the whole show and then that we were like oh we have to go back and do a few moments and what was really cool is to be like it was a good reminder you're like oh you're a really good actor in the way that like you made it all seem

like i did i did a stand-up bit where i saw my friend getting decapitated and i nailed it no but it was like it required you to jump back into the middle of a bit and do this thing and make it really believable and and you know sure but sometimes i think that ideal for i think it's embarrassing because when i do that it reveals that oh i don't i was faking it before yeah but like i was like i feel like that's a thing where people see it and like, oh, they're like a really good. Sure, sure. It's like, I don't know.

There's something where I'm like, that's a good performer who like knows, has crafted this kind of performance of this thing rather than like, I'm going to do a whole different show. That would be insane. You know, every night, you know. Do your parents like, do their compliments move you anymore? Whose compliments move you? Wow.

Because you're young, you're an actor, you've been doing it forever. Everyone's showering you with praise. And I think at some point you get numb to a lot of different praise. Who is it that when they text you or they see it, makes you go, oh. I don't know. I mean, I almost feel the opposite of get it like numb because I think I feel everything so much more. Like all the good feels just like so good. And all the bad feels so.

Not that I'm like getting a lot of that. You know, like you see shit on Twitter or whatever. Sure. But who's coming after you on Twitter? good um and all the bad feels so now that i'm like getting a lot of bad yeah but you know you don't like you see shit on twitter or whatever sure um but who's coming after you on twitter yeah who's oh i don't know probably like film twitter whatever is oh i i i had a lot of people for a while being like whatever happened to lc fisher um which was so interesting to me because i've been working regularly whether you're seeing it or not and then also like there was a pandemic like people were out of work for a while and we're sort of just now coming out of that that is brutal um and also it's it's only been a couple

years guys come on yeah 2018 to now and there was a pandemic like do you think that's just because of of the how big eighth grade was and that then also you grew up a bit and you you know your hair short like you you look different than you did in the movie eighth grade so i feel like people might just be kind of dumb and well because you didn't remember from barry yeah yeah i was like oh yeah remember from barry he didn't make the connection yeah no I mean it's like yeah I don't I think it's definitely part of it

is me changing which is good because I feel like it's so hard to reinvent yourself once you become like a personality or not that I'm a person but like an actor

performer in any capacity to like especially coming from being a child actor so I'm kind of in a weird way like roundabout grateful that people are like

what happened because at least I'm not stagnant yeah but did you go a hair short for a role or was it on your own no i just always hated having long hair really yeah like and bless my parents but they you know they never really got me like haircuts and stuff so like why it was as long as it was in eighth grade was just because like i was 13 and i didn't know how to go ask for a haircut yeah yeah and then like january 2020 i cut it just because i wanted to and it had sort of been like chopped and whatever and and yeah i don't know it just felt right i've always wanted because i i always get scared about big hair changes and i

always back i used to have the fantasy of like oh I'll have the roles that'll make me do that. It was like that. That's how I once the cast director came up to me. And I mean, I like now it was not working. And she was like, would you play a skinhead in a movie? And I mean, you're like, you know, of course, I'll play anything in a movie. But I felt like, OK, where did I see this one on one? Oh, it was like before a workshop. Like she was on the street.

You play a skinhead. I don't know if that was a casting director. But I thought like, I was like, okay, cool. I'm going to see what I look like bald. Because I would never do that on my own. Sure, yeah. I would do it for a play. It looked horrible.

I had to be bald for a play. What, you're talking about when you did Annie Warbucks? No, no, no, no, no, no. That was a bald cap in seventh grade. I've seen thatbucks? No, no, no, no, no, no. That was a bald cap in seventh grade. I've seen that picture. No, no, no. Because that one's great.

No, it was for Julius Caesar I was doing and I had to shave it and Where's his pictures? I tried to get rid of them. I got to find a picture.

It really like because in my head before I was like yeah, sure, I'll shave it no big deal and then I did it and I looked in the mirror and I was like

oh, it's awful. It's so bad. Was it like buzzy'll shave it no big deal and then I did it and I looked in the mirror and I was like oh it's awful it's so bad was it like buzzy or was it like your ball it was like very short buzzed but like so short that you could see my skull and I had like a weird line in my skull where I was like it looked like a scar

almost it was horrible I don't know if I have one. I want to do... We should just shave it right now. Hey, 100 Patreon members, Russell will shave. Yes. No, I'm going along for the other show. I'm going to keep it long.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I would like bald. I would like blonde. I would love deep blue. Deep blue? That'd be cool You should do that Like a real blue Would you have to go blonde first

To then go deep blue I think so Well I went through A brief goth phase In high school I think I saw a photo of this Yeah I don't have many

But I wanted to do Blonde highlights But because my hair's so dark It came out orange Just a horrifying orange It's just gross I hate orange I think orange just doesn't

well that's very like spooky though you know like it was spooky that was just not the goal i was going for i was looking for cool right right right yeah yeah yeah um so uh before we go into uh this has got to stop you you're now in new york how long you've been in new york uh i've been in new york since like february yeah okay so other than the good things about new york that you like honest, what are the downsides of being here on the East Coast in this fucking city? In this fucking place. What area are you living in?

I'm in like Hell's Kitchen. Okay. Very nice. Yeah. I love it. It's hard to talk about what I hate because I think I'm still so awestruck. How soon have you been out? How long have you been here for?

Since February. So a couple months. Are you taking the subways ever? Are you? Yeah. All the time. Really? How long have you been here for? Since February. So a couple months. Are you taking the subways ever? Yeah, all the time. Really? After the cougar? What is it called? Not cougar.

Cougan? What's the fund that opened up? The cougan? What? What's the money that opened up? What fund? No one knows. Oh, cougan.

Cougan. Cougan. The cougar fund. I thought you were talking about like a serial killer. After the cougar? After the cootie attacks. What's my cougan fund? Because I you were talking about like a serial killer. After the cougar? After the cootie attacks. What's my cougar fun?

I'm Ubering everywhere. I've been Ubering way too much. I feel so guilty about spending money. Yeah. I like, like, I'm like, this is a bill, right? I need to work harder to be able to Uber. So you've been on the subway and you have no downsides about the city? No, I mean, I think like, I don't know.

Maybe, maybe maybe maybe uh i i mean i do have downsides but i'm so hesitant because i i don't feel like a real new yorker yet yes i'm like i'm such a piece of shit if i complain about this place i don't i don't know i don't know anything okay but maybe that's the downside is like there's such a there's such a stigma against people who move here not Not being real. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

It's like, fuck you man. I just think it's a weird time. There's a weird thing where it's like, to complain about New York, you feel like you're playing into some weird political thing. You know what I mean? Sure.

It's scary to cry. You know, like it feels like a weird political thing, you know, but it is scary sometimes. That's my problem. It is, but it's always relatively been fucking scary. It's the, it's New scary sometimes. That's my problem. It is, but it's always

relatively been fucking scary. It's New York City. It's the fucking center of the universe. You know what you're walking into when you move here. Okay, one thing I do hate though,

I got a thing. I recently became a dog parent, which is very, very exciting. I have the fucking cutest dog you've ever seen. He's half Chihuahua, half Husky.

It's crazy. But he's like an asshole when there's other dogs and that's our thing deal with i'm gonna go get him training like he's gonna be a good boy but other people with dog like like my dog will start freaking out and other people with dogs won't do anything no they're they're they're it's insane i have a dog too and my last one who is dead was would get like you know dog aggressive

and there are people because I have a park right next to where I live people off leash they just let them go and the dog would run up to and you're like my dog's aggressive and they're like oh my dog's fine well mine, they're like, and they're like, oh, our dog's fine. You're like,

well, mine isn't. So get your fucking dog away from mine. Because then you're liable if your dog like attacks the other one. Like we were in Central the other day and this old woman had her dog off leash and it didn't have a recall command. So he came running up to me.

They can't control them. And I had to like pick up my dog. He was like biting my head. I'm come on get your dog yeah that is you already got the new york accent down there you go get your dog get your fucking dog lady come on they're supposed to be on leash at all times is that the rule or if if they're not if they're not you they better be able to listen to your command like like that like yeah because they don't people are just like nah my dad's fine like but then they're like like they just keep running they want to like they'll run up to your dog you know yeah and then you get in trouble if your dog bit their dog exactly and it's

like you could be in the middle of training your dog you need their full attention all this stuff and then all that's out the window yeah like some little it's like running at them it's terrible I never forget I've talked about it before I hate this story it's the image I'll never forget where it was a dog

killed another dog on 23rd street and it was like this woman was holding this small dog who's clearly dead clearly dead and she was like

the nanny or the dog walker? Oh, no. The dog that killed him. I mean, it was just very clear that this was not the dog's owner. And she just looked like not sure what to do on the leash with this big fucking dog. And then I just remember the other dog,

the other owner of the dead dog coming running out of the store like, you know, Sparkles? What happened? Spark sparkles are you okay and then it was like everyone's watching this dog's dead can I tell you just can I tell you there's this is this is not as bad the

can you imagine listening to the downside they're like fuck your mark is gonna tell the God like Mark Marin tells how he didn't get SNL a hundred times. I tell the time I saw a dog get killed by another dog. Dead dog on 23rd Street story again. I know someone who twice now, twice now, they've gotten a call being like, hey, we have your dog.

And they were like, well, what do you mean you have my dog? Their dog walker walks so many dogs that they have lost their dog and not even known that they lost their dog. And they've gotten a call because their dog's been turned in somewhere. And two different dog walking services. But can you imagine walking so many dogs that you lose one and you don't remember? It's like a big thing of balloons. One goes off and you're like, okay. Yeah, that is terrible although now i wonder like is it because everyone has a small white curly hair dog

named bella or something yes yeah because it could be that and which and it's hyper allergic you know it's like one of those ones they make in a lab um he loves little peanuts they always have some quirk jim mcclelland loves talking about dogs um i want a cat now But Tova's deathly allergic Oh yeah Are there hypoallergenic cats I don't think so

Sphinx cat Hairless Hairless Yeah Oh god You know those things Ugly There was

I don't remember how I learned this But like Some vet's office Had a sphinx cat That went around And they were like It's butthole suction cups Every time it sits down

Cause there's no So you're like that does sound fun um all right let's go on to our our next segment this has got to stop this has got to stop uh do you have this got to stop um i think people have got to stop having opinions about everything what's an opinion recently that really made you just go shut the fuck up I'm sure I can think of I'm sure I can think of

yeah you give us a few because I feel like I see stuff all the time and I'm just like you don't know anything why do you have an opinion on that you don't know anything okay I'll talk about this thing I'll talk about this thing i'll talk about this thing are you're mad about me what did i do no no i'm gonna talk about i'm gonna talk about uh uh i'll try to keep it vague but i think i'm gonna talk about it okay well i'm so nervous there's so we're obviously we're very uh our podcast uh trans-friendly podcast absolutely 100% and

there there is someone recently sometimes you have friends and they start expressing transphobic views online suddenly

and sometimes in a way where like it seems to have caught their imagination and like it is their number one cause

and they're radicalized now it's like they're radicalized and you're like what happened but this person and you're like, what happened? But this person, and we're going to keep it as vague as we can, but it's not going to be that vague,

is a psychic, a medium, talks to spirits. And I think I find it hard to imagine that you believe in ghosts, but not gender fluidity. I think there's something

about that that feels very much at odds to me because I saw Casper, the friendly ghost Ghost and I don't remember a cock in there at all. I remember a very vague tale that could have been fucking anything. Yes. And I think it is. It's very strange. I mean, the same thing with with J.K. Rowling, where where it becomes all consuming.

Look, I have enough problems with those views, period. But when they become the number one in the world consumed with so many things. It's like me. It's bizarre.

And it felt like like happened like that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, and it's just like, it's happened and I've seen it with like bigger celebrities, but this first time where it's something a little bit closer where I'm like,

why now? Why so intensely? And just, there's so many other things that you could be fucking dealing with. Yeah. Then, then this conversation. And again, I always think of James you could be fucking dealing with than this conversation. And again, I always think of James Acaster.

I've talked about this before. Comedian James Acaster. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where he talks about, he was talking about how Ricky Gervais always makes transphobic jokes. He's just like, yeah, you know who needs to be taken down a peg? Trans people. It's like, this is not the heroic cause. This is not people making the decisions.

It's very, and this one was shocking because i think it's like it's it's with people who are liberal yes which is where i'm like well i'm gonna tell you who your allies are gonna be on this and they don't agree with you on anything else no and you gotta you gotta ask yourself why yeah it's very upsetting yeah so it's very upsetting. Yeah. So it's just, but I just think that's the funniest thing of it is this idea of if, if you're going to believe in, in ghosts and spirits and all these, uh, you're asking the world to hold a lot of space for,

for who you are in this world and what you do. And in non-physical realities. Yeah. And so, yes, exactly. And then to then be like, to then say that this thing doesn't exist and blah, blah, blah, is seeming, it's a really hard stretch. And then when you use, this was the other thing,

when you use the fact that you can converse with spirits and whatnot to reaffirm your beliefs. Cause now this is my problem with it from the beginning. This is my problem with the religion period where now you're like, well, spirits have, you know, shared with me that they, they're also transphobic.

Everyone who's ever died. In fact, it's transphobic. Well, I can speak to them and now you're stuck. Cause you, you've, you've granted them a degree of people who died transphobic. I mean, we could, who knows? I, Well, I can speak to them. And now you're stuck. Yeah. Because you've granted them a degree of. Are the trans people who die transphobic?

I mean, we could. Who knows? I don't know what spirits they're talking to. But I'm just saying like when you talk to spirits, one of my biggest problems is then that gives you carte blanche to claim whatever you like. Right. The spirits all agree with you. How fucking convenient.

Right. I would love a medium who like argues with the spirits. Like they don't hear what they want to hear. Yeah. No, you're wrong. Like you're straight up wrong. Do you watch White Lotus? Yes.

Did you see the most recent episode? Last night. I haven't seen last night. You can spoil it. It's okay. Okay. It's not too big a spoiler, but what's her name?

Jennifer Coolidge. Jennifer Coolidge has like a medium and basically asks like, does my husband still love me or whatever, and the medium's like, there's another woman, and Jennifer Coolidge is like, you're so negative.

I hate you. You're negative. You have to leave. You're toxic. But it was just so, her character's so funny because she's so brutally unaware to this degree where. She is aware though, too.

She's aware, but unaware. But it's like, she's like, she wants a positive psychic. She just, she realizes she just wants a psychic to tell her what she wants. But still can believe in it in some capacity. Right, right. And that's what this, this reminds me of. So it's, it's, that's just one in particular that's been really bugging me. And, you know, I don't know.

It's just it's like we did a live episode with the drag queen the other day. And they were telling us about wherever they grew up, they just outlawed drag shows. It's like some fucking 1800s shit that's happening right now. Like, yeah, it's really i just especially with the drag stuff where they they claim like oh they're grooming kids and you just go like there's some thing where these are the religious people and the people who i'm sure have funded the boy scouts and there's just something where you're like what is your what is your brain doing that you're not that you're ignoring the things that have actually happened and projecting it onto

this what is it i don't obsession with like pedophilia it's like a a very weird obsession i think it's because like that like they all it's the child in them that's scared of something that's different so then they need to like project it on the children of today somehow. Like some, some like Freudian shit. It's also weird to talk about freedom so much and then be like, but here's 80,000 things that you can't do. You're like, but why? Yeah.

It's, I mean, obviously I'm not saying anything. It's more just trying to understand. It's like, what is, I sometimes think with kids, like I always had the thought of like, if you're a dad and you're straight and you have a son and they're gay, there might be a feeling of like, oh, I can't relate to my son on this thing. And like, so maybe there's a fear of, I will not be able to connect with my children if they do something different. So I'm going to gonna just there's this idea

of like i'm gonna protect my kid from even seeing this right yeah and it must be some fear in there of just you won't be able to connect to your kid i imagine something's fueling this that i don't understand because i'm just like fuck it be a drag Yeah. People ask me with my kid, do I have a boy or a girl? I had a drag queen. I think, yeah. It's all fear. Oh, my God. He walked in heels for his first time.

It's all fear of how people, yeah. It's just that everyone's scared. Yeah, well, everyone just needs a thing to be mad about. You're right. That's the other. Because also, no, I mean, the way people talk about trans people is how we look at how people talked about Trans people is how we look at how people Talked about gay people and like you You know and that was fucked up and we're

Only barely now I guess Getting over that so people need a new Like group to be Socially acceptably mad at I think we've talked about this before but I feel like Another thing is like there's Some for some people like You know we do things that we love every

Day that we're really passionate about and i feel like sometimes if you don't have that in your life the easiest thing to feel something like with is rage and like like at least i feel something and i feel like that's a lot of people in america sadly it's like the a way to. And it's like a way to get passionate about something. And it's not a good passion. It's not like, ooh, I'm having fun. I'm laughing a lot with my friends. But it's like something that makes them feel

and they can get really passionate about. And it creates a community. It's kind of like, I mean, I think we always talk about, especially with the internet and social media, where like there's a real lack of human connection and community building. And like the one thing that does build community is a mutual hatred for

something. Yeah. And like, it like gives you something to talk about. It always gives you new fodder. Yeah. I mean, that's kind of the thesis of the show in a lot of ways I feel like is like,

you know, like agreeing on feeling bad about or disliking something. Exactly. It's a, it's a very human thing. It just sucks when people sort of abuse it in the way they do. Yeah. Too bad.

I feel like being a guest on this should make you not transphobic, but guess that's not always the case. All right. We're going too close. All right. Let's go on to our final segment. You better count your blessing. All right, let's go on to our final segment. You Better Count Your Blessing. You Better Count Your Blessing.

You Better Count Your Blessing. Russ, you got a blessing for us? Yes. Happy, when is this coming out? It's coming out the 29th. Great. So you already missed it. But happy to announce I am doing Titanic off-Broadway full-time,

eight shows a week. Come see us at the Dale Roth Theater now through end of February, as of now. And we just did Seth Meyers. So check that performance out. Well, I haven't done it yet. So full disclosure, it's happening soon.

But it will be airing on November 22nd. And so check that out online. You'll see me, hopefully, unless they cut me or I die before we tape next week. That that's gonna be the sad thought like if you die suddenly oh god that part of me will be like oh we gotta edit this out because it's like very depressing oh they they had to fail find someone else for seth meyers uh because he couldn't do it uh no i would like re-release the patreon episode we discussed what we want for our funerals. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because you want me to go up there and say, just so everyone knows, Russell did not want to die. Did not want to die. He wanted to live as long as possible. That Russell wants it to be clear that this is not what he wanted at all. He loved life. He loved it. He loved it. It was his favorite thing.

I guess my blessing is that, you know, it's wonderful to see everyone I know get on late night before I do. It's such a blessing to always have something to aspire to. And I know that if I ever achieved my dreams, then there'd be nothing left to look forward to. It's nothing, kid. So out of the three of us here, how many of us will have been

or have been on late night? Is it just two out of three? Yeah, because I have. Two out of three people. You will. That's a good ratio. You'll do it someday. I'll put in a word with Fallon for you.

Please. I've been on a couple times. We're pretty close. We're pretty close now. Oh, man. Idea of a blessing for us, Elsie. I'm blessed that hopefully most people listening to this, as well as myself and us, have all 10 toes.

Specifically 10 toes. Yeah. You ever met someone who's missing a toe i've well i have a friend who's missing all 10 wait your balance your balance out the door like oh you're talking about your friend who had his legs removed yeah oh christ no no but like i think like like i mean very sorry for that obviously not. Not so much a blessing. Yeah. But I had a conversation with a man recently and he's missing his big toe on his left foot and he like can't. Oh, balance stuff.

He can't like run. He can't run places because it just doesn't work anymore. I wonder what. He has to get a prosthetic like toe to be able to like walk normal. They think of everything. Wow. So be thankful that you have all your digits and whatnot because it could change your life. Would you rather be missing one toe or one thumb?

Ooh. I think toe. I think toe I think toe I think getting around is Well he can get around Maybe he can't run Yeah He's not like

It sounds like he's walking He's not like I don't know He's not taking two steps And like falling everywhere Have you ever run Through the rain And spun circles

And felt the freedom Of being alive That's so true. But he still can get a prosthetic toe. Sure. But is it going to be the same? I'm sorry. I'm not dissing any amputees who may be listening or alive.

Are you connected to the little shoe story? That's your story, right? Yeah, I don't want to tell anyone here. That's a good story. Be thankful for your story well i just remember that story and i was like that's the best story of all time that's no we're not talking that story great um am i gonna have to believe that what i just said no you're fine okay good no i think one of our listeners will know what that is and that's fine that jackie will know jackie will laugh yeah um right, so this is coming out the 29th.

You already plugged it. Go see your show, Titanic. Titanic, eight shows a week. And also, I guess in the future, we'll have a Christmas Uncle Function show coming up December 17th. December 17th. Yeah, you say it with your chest. September, no. Saturday, December 17th at Asylum NYC.

Saturday, December 17th at Asylum NYC. Come see Uncle Function's Christmas show before they tear Asylum NYC down to the ground. I'll say anything you want to plug. Yeah. Watch season two of The Summer I Turned Pretty whenever that comes out next year.

What is it on? It's on Amazon. Amazon. Yeah, yeah. Working for the Zon all day, baby. Yeah, I hear. Us too. No, I know, I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did my research. Amazon. Yeah, yeah. Working for the zone all day, baby. Yeah, hey, I hear. Us too. No, I know, I know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did my research. It's good, good, good. For me, let's see. Join the Patreon, patreon.com slash downside. The only place you can hear our live episode with Dusty Ray Bottoms. And for me, I'm recording a clean album

December 12th, December 4th. December 4th, Sunday, December 4th, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. I'm recording a clean album for SiriusXM. Please, please come out. I need this recording to go well. It's going to be clean so I can make the money off all the Christian stations. And then they come see me live and I go, I'm a Jew. Ha-ha. And I get them.

and then they come see me live and I go, I'm a Jew, ha ha, and I get them. And, you know, whether your body is torn asunder by a leather face with a chainsaw or by the bugs in the ground, one day everything you know will be broken up into a million pieces. This is The Downside. One, two, three.

Downside. You're listening to The Downside. The Downside. With Gianmarco Cerezi. Dude, the music on this is sick. Yeah. It's real good. I think Douglas did it.

Yeah? It's great.