The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Eric Stonestreet

Episode Date: May 6, 2025

Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) joins Andy Richter to talk about their shared Midwestern roots, the moment he knew "Modern Family" would be a hit, why he's speaking out about his Type 2 diabetes, his upcoming role in "Dexter: Resurrection," and much more.Do you want to talk to Andy live on SiriusXM’s Conan O’Brien Radio? Leave a voicemail at 855-266-2604 or fill out our Google Form at BIT.LY/CALLANDYRICHTER. Listen to "The Andy Richter Call-In Show" every Wednesday at 1pm Pacific on SiriusXM's Conan O'Brien Channel.

Hello everyone, Andy Richter here. I'm back with the three questions. And today I'm talking to my pal and really hilarious guy, actor Eric Stonestreet. He's best known for portraying Cameron in the ABC sitcom, Modern Family, from 2009 to 2020. He's been in films such as The Secret Life of Pets, Bad Teacher, Identity Thief, and much more.

Remember, you can hear the Andy Richter call-in show every Wednesday, live at 1 p.m. on Conan O'Brien Radio. If you want to join the conversation, you can find the number and submission form in the description of this episode. Now, here's my really good conversation with Eric Stonestreet, how are you? Good, buddy. We've known each other a long time, just kind of been in the same circles and then we sort

of live near each other. We just sort of see each other in the neighborhood. Well, you've been in my life longer than I've been in yours because of course, me going to Chicago and studying improv, you were my North Star. Oh really? Of course. Oh wow, thank you.

Yes. There wasn't anybody else? No, just you. Oh wow. Man, that publicist that I got when I was 19 really paid off. Yeah, well, you were amongst the first. Obviously, you and Chris were people that, as a big guy coming out of college

and thinking I wanted to do improv and comedy, you two represented a pathway for myself. Yeah, it is true because there's no getting around it. And comedy especially does fall into physical types. Conan and I worked together because we are very similar in many, many ways. But there were also contrasts. Tall and skinny and not as tall, although people are always shocked. You're tall.

Yeah, they're always shocked. News break, you're tall. Yeah. But also too, we just run at different speeds. I mean, there's just lots of stuff that's sort of where we played off each other. And you and Jesse were very much the same. Very much the same, yeah. Although they originally thought maybe my physical type,

our physical type was more of a Mitchell than it was a Cam. So, cause Jesse had originally auditioned for Mitchell. Oh really? Or Cameron. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, I've, I embraced it, but no doubt that you were somebody that I, and you know, look, I've told you this before.

Once I got to know you, like, how many auditions did I go on that said Andy Richter type? Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah. And now, you know, thankfully, there's probably some Eric Stone Street type auditions. What auditions there are. Yeah.

Those are an audition. My friend just told me he shot a commercial for the first time in five years, and that's a guy who works, from my perspective, constantly in commercials. It's crazy. It's just really crazy. And I mean, I have conversations. I've said that I've conversations with people

that are sort of like of our same collegial class, like white guys, forties, fifties, comedy guys, not leading men. And we're all just like, what do we even do for a living anymore? I mean, for me, it's like thank God for podcasting and radio and game shows and, you know, whoring myself on the streets on weekends.

I know, he's said for years that I had no other, I wasted, I don't know how to type. You know, back in the day, it's like I was, it was this or nothing for me. And thankfully, you know, I found the success that I'm like not relying on it, but my goodness. I feel for people. Well, all of my fallbacks are like voiceovers.

Right. You know, game show hosting. Casting, directing. Writing, and it's all like shit. It's all dependent upon the same, you know, ecosystem. Have you thought about craft service? A lot, but not working it. Just thought about how much I miss it.

Which speaking of, by the way, let's get this out of the way because one of the things that you're out sort of talking about is to talk about your experience with the medication Monjaro for your type two diabetes. Well, it's news that I'm telling anyone that I have type 2 diabetes. Did I just blow it? Yeah, thanks, Andy. It was typed on my sheet.

It was confidential. It was typed on my sheet. You know, here's the deal. We're funny guys and this is a great funny podcast, but the reality is, I was embarrassed of having diabetes. My parents didn't know, even though they were both type two diabetics, I never had the courage to tell them.

Cause I'd go home and see their medicines and I'm like, I don't want to tell them I'm on the same medicine. It's embarrassing. Girl, girlfriends never knew. I just would keep it quiet. And how long ago, how long? Oh six, oh seven. I was diagnosed and then, you know,

it got progressively worse, meaning that I didn't take care of myself. Like I wasn't doing what I could to maintain it. And I always thought, you know, well, it's just not that big of a deal. And then as I saw my dad progress with some of the things that come with having an uncontrolled A1C. I got more serious and then I met a great doctor who told me about Eli Lilly and this

drug that she was so excited that was coming out called Monjaro. I got on it two and a half years ago, not for weight loss, make it very clear, this is not a weight loss drug. There are other brands that tout themselves as that. Menjaro touts itself as a drug to help type two diabetics like myself and my mom. And dude, it works. I went from a very unhealthy A1C to now I'm borderline not diabetic. I'm pre-diabetic and it works. And I'm sure people will be like, oh, you know, the weight loss drug, or it's like, I have lost weight. It's a kickstart.

It's a kickstart. And then I'm kind of like held accountable because the science is like, legit. The science is something you and I can't understand because we're dumb actors. But like, it's doing its thing. So then I feel like, well, I gotta do my thing. So I'm eating better.

I'm walking more, trying to get 150 minutes of some kind of activity in every week. And, um, then I've told my mom and, you know, I told her about it. And then now we're, we're, we're, we're partners. We're, we're, we're teammates. And that's the whole thing. And it's working for her too. It really has worked for her. That's great.

It's incredible. Like her A1C is way down and she did, in her experience, have some weight loss, which was great for her. Yeah. She's 80 and living, I want to rap her in bubble wrap as we do with all of our parents, you know? My dad had leukemia and he died of leukemia, but Andy, at the end of his life,

what he was most complaining about was the side effects of having type two diabetes. That's what was bothering his quality of life. And so I just decided, watching from my perspective, him deal with those things like, okay, there's tons of shit in this world that can kill me. Tons of shit that can happen.

What can I control? And with Lilly and with Manjaro, I can control my type, my A1C, my type two diabetes. So that's what I'm doing. I'm happy to be doing it. And like- Now do you have another laundry list of self-improvements you've been putting on?

Yeah, yeah. That's every time I ever feel like I've conquered any one thing that's been bothering me, I'm like, oh no, shit, there's like 15 things more. Well, and we you know how it is The work never ends. It never ends. Yeah, and I'm just happy that I can check this one off right now And maintain this and I'm gonna do my damn best to stay true to what my part in this journey is Which is like I said, but you know, man we struck it it's a struggle. I don't know where it comes from, but we do know where it comes from,

but love food, love being passionate about food and just gotta control it. Yeah, and you know, and I'm one too that like, cause I actually have investigated getting on some of these types of drugs. I'm not diabetic, I'm not pre-diabetic, but I obviously have weight to lose and I have sleep apnea, which could or couldn't be. I'm sure being overweight doesn't help with sleep apnea, but there's lots of skinny people

that have it too, I tell myself. There are. Yeah, there are. There are, right? Oh no, I mean truly, truly, yeah, I tell myself. There are. Yeah, there are. There are. There are, right? Oh, no. I mean, truly, truly. Yeah, yeah.

There truly are. But so it's like it's always been something and I've investigated it and just it's cost prohibitive to me at this point. They're so expensive and my insurance is not covering them. The CPAP stuff? No, no. Oh, the drugs. Yeah.

Whatever class of these kinds of drugs you want to use. But even if I took one, I'm like, if somebody's like, oh, you took a drug to lose weight. Yeah, fuck you. I did. Yeah, I sure did. It's like, you know what I used to do? I used to hire a trainer. Like you throw money at problems because you can't do certain things yourself.

100%. So it's like, why should I be above the human race? Why should I have something? Because there's certainly plenty of people out in the world that are struggling with this stuff. And why am I somehow like I can overcome the human condition out of sheer willpower, says Guy on the internet. And so I just am like, look, whatever it takes, whatever it takes to get healthy and whatever it takes. And what's the point of technology and science if not to apply it?

This is exactly how I thought about Tinder back in my single days. Why should I be deprived of this thing called a dating app? Because I'm on a TV show. Now I'm very happily with my Lindsay for eight years, so I'm gonna make that very clear. Love her dearly, and she's one of my teammates too. I'm proud to be able to share with her and not be embarrassed

that I have type 2 diabetes, so that's great. But, you know, that's how I thought about Tinder. Like, no, I mean, this is a thing that's available to everyone, and people are meeting people like this and not in church and grocery stores anymore. I wouldn't do it. I met, I met my wife on hinge. And I did.

And that was after being divorced for a few years and having dated and had a, you know, a nice time, but just for one reason or other things weren't working out, but I was, and I had this very old fashioned idea in my head that like, Oh, dating services, you know, growing up when you're a kid and you see them on TV, it's like, well, that's where losers go who don't have any game or whatever, you know, as if I have game. But, you know, I was like, nah, I'm not going to do that. And then it just occurred to me like, well, come on, give it a try. And then the minute I started it, I was like, oh yeah, of course.

This is the, you know, the metaphor I would use is like, if I wanna play pool, I'm not gonna go to the grocery store. I'm going to go to a billiards hall. You know, because that's where the people that wanna play pool are, you know? That's where those people are. Yeah.

And I found it back in the day again, love, Lindsay, this is my past I'm talking about, but, you know, I found it, like, better because you had to sort of get to know each other the old-fashioned way, like... Yeah, you text first, yeah. ...love letters back and forth. Yeah.

Here's Sergeant Stone Street, you know. Hope the war is treating you well. You may have... Your profile might have been incorrect. Right, I think it was. A little dishonest. But, you know, clearly people reveal themselves for what they're there for.

Yeah. And then people, you know, it kind of forces you to go slow if you're both on the same page. Yes, yes. Yeah, and I thought, I actually found something sort of, there was something kind of beautiful and vulnerable about the whole thing. You know, that like, it was basically people saying like, I need more love and attention

and affection and I'm feeling a little vulnerable, so here's some photos of me and some silly questions I answered and please make the loneliness stop. Yeah, it's 100%. You're here, I'm here please make the loneliness stop. Yeah, it's 100 percent. You're here, I'm here, here's my dog. I don't really look like this anymore. Yeah. But who does? Yeah, exactly.

But who does? Oh, did you find it like, is this really Andy or I don't know, Hinge? Did they know for sure they were dealing with you? The first picture anybody saw of me was like a headshot from the Conan show on set in a suit. Because I did not want any kind of, I didn't want to be coy at all. I wanted to be, hey, look, this is me. Yes, it's me.

Because it was just first names, I think. Like there you go, it's me. And then I think I even put in like a picture of me in Vanna White on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, too. Just to be like, see it really. And also, cause I was proud that I was on Wheel of Fortune. I think you and I were supposed to be on one of those things together at one point.

I have a memory of saying, hey, can you do this? Andy Richter's already confirmed. And I'm like, yeah, I'd love to. And then I didn't get to do it, maybe because they didn't want two people that looked exactly like... BOTH LAUGH They would have had to balance out the set somehow. Well, I was on, the first time I was on Jeopardy,

I was on with Brian Dennehy, and we're both similarly thick, you know, beige people, so... I couldn't have hung with you on Celebrity Jeopardy. similarly thick, beige people. I couldn't have hung with you on Celebrity Jeopardy. Although I do have a picture of myself when I went to read clues one time, they had me come and read a series of clues. And I have a picture of me that they let me take

that looks like I had $10,000 and I'm clicking and that's as close to winning on Jeopardy as I've been. Yeah. But, yeah, but so I, and then I, so yeah, I didn't want anybody. And I could tell to, by some, I could sense some of the people were sort of more treating me as like the TV guy. You know, and I, that's not what I was looking for. Okay, here's one for you.

Yeah. Think about this person. I would get sent people pretending to be me on dating apps. Meaning they posted a picture of me that they clearly got from my Instagram, wrote a bio, and they were trying to meet people. So girls that were also on dating apps,

friends of mine, would say, hey, you have imposters on Tinder. Oh my God. How sad is that? On dating apps? Yes. Wow. So they would upload pictures, public pictures of me, claim it was me, and then try to meet girls as me.

Wow. That's sad. I mean, like, I don't... But also isn't it a little bit like flattering? Yeah, but I go to the fact of like, I don't really love being me that much. I know. So like, how the frick are you loving me? Absolutely. Can't you tell my love's a girl? Well, now you're, you are Midwestern. Yeah. And you are, you spend

a lot of your time still in Kansas City. Yep. And you are also like part of that Kansas City famous guy, Cabal. Isn't there a name for you guys? Well, we have a charity called The Big Slick, which we would love to have you come to anytime you want to come. There had been times when I'd been approached and I just couldn't swing it. You don't care about kids with cancer. I get it. You know what? What have they done for me? Yeah, exactly. Not a lot. Granted, early in my career, they did a lot for me. I get it. You know what? What have they done for me? Yeah, exactly. Not a lot.

Lately. I mean, granted, early in my career, they did a lot for me. Right. But not lately. But it's an open invitation any time you ever want to come and I'll give you the details. It's the last weekend of May this year. Yeah, but it's me, Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis,

Rob Riggle, Dave Kechner, our mutual IO guy. Yeah, yeah. Well, and Sudeikis is as well. And then Heidi Gardner, we just added because she's also from Kansas City. So it's nuts and there's more actors coming through the pipeline that are from Kansas City that hopefully we can just kind of turn this over to. But Riggle, Rudd, and Sudeikis started it in, I believe, 2007 or 2008

before I was on Modern Family and then that happened for me. And then they asked me to join and I think we're up almost to $30 million that we've raised for the hospital in Kansas City. Yeah, it's great. That's great. And it's just different events and it's usually sort of centered around. Baseball.

About baseball, yeah. And you are part owner now of the Royals, are you not? A little bit, yeah. Ooh la la. A little bit of money in the Royals. Yeah, well that was just a momentary thing. It's like how often am I ever gonna be able to say I have part ownership of any kind of professional team.

Do you get to go whenever you want? Yeah, yeah, I have a credential. That's awesome. I went to opening day, sat in the boys, we have 13 year old boys and so we sat in the front row and it's great. That is great. That is really fun.

Yeah, yeah. Now is it difficult because do you feel split allegiances as I do? Because I know your time in Chicago made you somewhat of a Cubs fan. Lived right by Wrigley Field. Living here, you know, you end up being kind of a Dodgers fan. I'm a big Dodgers fan. Yeah. Now, how do all of those?

It's more, it's harder for people to understand than me. I wore a Dodgers sweatshirt in a video, just promo something that I was doing, and a bunch of people were like, what the fuck are you doing wearing a, and it's like, I've lived here for 25 years. Do I not get to enjoy the local teams.

Oh my God. It's like we it's like you're over eavesdropping on my conversations. Literally, I said, OK, so let me break this down for you. Yeah. I'm a fan of the sport of baseball and the pageantry of baseball. I like hot dogs, popcorn and a soda. Yeah. In order to.

An incredible tension. Yes. And in order to experience that, I can either go 14 miles away from my house that I've lived in for the past 15 years and watch the home team, or I cannot do that but every once in a while and go to a Royals game that's 1326 miles away. So can I just be a fan of both teams? And newsflash, American League, National League. Yes. I'll only have to deal with it when they play in the World Series. I'll root for my home team in the World Series. And other newsflash, do you know who gives a shit about who I root for?

The actual players. Yeah, yeah. They could give a fuck if I'm a Royals fan or a Dodgers fan. They wear the uniform that pays them. They're also that way. And they move through, none of them, you know. God, you got me pissed off now.

I mean, I let this go. And you know what? Mark Walter did me a solid, the owner of the Dodgers, because the Kansas City Royals were coming to Dodger Stadium. And I'm like, Mark, I'm a season ticket holder at Dodger Stadium, but the Royals are coming. What do I do?

And he goes, wear your Kansas City Royals hat, sit in my box next to Sandy Koufax, and that should shut everybody up. And he let me wear a Royals hat next to Sandy. And I'm like, thank you. Thank you, yeah. Thank you. I'm a fan of baseball.

Yeah, yeah. And sitting next to a legend in my hometown hat. Good enough for everybody! I was at a Dodgers game at the end of last season. It was towards the end and they were playing the Padres. And I ran into Tim Heidecker at the game and he was, and he's like, yeah, I'm here with Kyle Mooney, who's sitting with the owner of the Padres

because Kyle Mooney's from San Diego. And Kyle had said, don't wear any Dodgers gear. Eric was like, okay. So he's wearing very neutral, sort of like a very neutral outfit, because he's like, it would not be cool if you were Dodgers gear and sat next to the owner. It would not go over well, trust me.

To the Capote Tutti Padres. Yeah. Hilarious. Yeah, no, it is. It's really silly. And I, you know, because I still consider myself a Cubs fan and a Dodgers fan. Yeah. I mean, and, you know, it's been easier to be a Dodgers fan as of late because they,

winning is really fun. And they're also just such a fun, great team. But I still love the Cubs. And... But you can love the Cubs for something completely different. That's my point, is that's the beauty of sport. You love the Cubs for the atmosphere, for the fact that you rooted for them. It's my personal history.

It means the history. And going... Ernie Banks! You know, being dragged to games as a kid and, you know, by the fifth inning. Yeah. Being like, can we go now? You know? And it's completely two different experiences.

Walking to Wrigley Field and driving to Dodger Stadium. Yeah. I mean, life is about experiences, right? And they're both, they're the two most beautiful, I don't know Fenway, Sean and I were just talking about this, my producer was just, he's from Massachusetts and was at a Red Sox game. And it's like, they're the oldest parks. And you know what the fourth oldest park is?

It's Kansas City. Yeah, yeah. It's crazy to think about that. That was built in the fourth oldest park is? It's Kansas City. Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy to think about that. Yeah. That was built in the late seventies. I know. When I was like four.

I know. And it's the fourth oldest park now. Yeah. And then the Chiefs, but to be fair, I only root for one football team. Yeah. Because I don't have a connection. I have a more of a connection to that sport

than I do with baseball, meaning I'm a passionate observer and knowledgeable more about football than I am, would never root for another team. Doesn't mean I wouldn't go to another football game. Would never root for anyone else. And then with hockey, I didn't have hockey in my life in Kansas City.

I went to one Blackhawks game when I was in Chicago, but then I didn't become a fan of hockey until I lived out here. And I'm like, well, how's this not been in my life? So boom, I'm a hockey fan and I root for the Kings. So whatever everybody. Whatever, yeah, get off his back. Come on.

Fuckers. Fuckers, leave him alone. I'm carrying enough weight, I don't need you on my back. Well, do you think that there is something, I asked this of Midwesterners, do you think that there's something like, cause there's so many funnywesterners out in business. I mean, you just listed a bunch of them.

And I don't know, you know, I guess there's never been any sort of like, I'm sure that someone's done a study or a census about, but it just does seem like there's something about comedy in the Midwest and whether it's, you know, Second City, both being, and Canada too. I just consider Canada the Midwest. They are, they're the Midwest North. Right.

But do you have any ideas about why that is? Have you ever thought about it in a theoretical sort of way? Well, I have, and it kind of goes back to what I said with you being sort of a North Star for me. I think it be gatsby, gatsby, gats, because it's like, I, you like, I was told I was funny at some point as a kid. I never wanted to be an actor.

I wanted to be a clown in the circus. And so then that's what I start focusing on. Well, then when I go to college and read the book, Truth in Comedy, and my improv teacher, how crazy was that at Kansas State University? My reading material was truth in comedy, right? Yeah, yeah, which is an improv Olympic book.

Right. That close and sure on a hell break. So that put me on that track. Well, then I start reading yeah. Which is an improv Olympic book. Right. Del Close and Sharna Helper. So that put me on that track. Well, then I start reading about all the people that have done that. And so then I'm like, well, I want to go there. I'll go do that. Yeah, yeah.

And so I think that's part of it, is there's so many great examples of funny people before every other funny person that if you're serious about honing your craft, you say, you have a clear path. It's like, well, that's what Richter did, that's what Farley did, that's what all those people did and I'm gonna go attempt to do that.

And hopefully bring some natural talent. But it's pretty crazy when you think that Wriggle, Rudd, Sudeikis and I are all basically around the same age. I think two of them knew each other in high school. I didn't know any of them, but the fact that we all found the kind of success that we found being from a 25-mile radius area of Kansas City is pretty nuts. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it is.

It's, well, I look back at, you know, just coming up, as I did through Chicago, and how many people now are successful working actors. And at the time, it certainly didn't feel like that was going to be the case. how many people now are successful working actors. Legends. At the time, it certainly didn't feel like that was going to be the case. We all didn't, you know, it was just, it was fun. It was just really fun and really good.

And I, I was around people that seemed to be very career driven, which to me was like, what are you, what are you doing here? Yeah. You know, in this bar, in the back of this bar doing improv. But they were like, nope, I'm here, I'm gonna get on SNL and I'm gonna, you know, which always just seemed, I don't know, I just had this sort of sense of like,

I don't know if that's the way to really do it. To be that like, you mean to be more focused on the business than the comedy or were they relying too much on you? Yes, oh no, they were, you know, that was the horse. Was the desire to achieve, and then fill in the blank, you know. Whereas I kind of felt like,

no, I think you should probably get good at this and then see what happens, you know. Well, all I'll say about there is we're only focused on the people that we know that have made it. There's a tremendous amount of people that had some very unrealistic expectations and unfortunately fell short of those. John Belushi once said about the Midwest

and in explanation, he said that it seems like people in the Midwest are fairly content to be there, which I think is true. And I think that like a lot of, like I don't know that if I could have made the same kind of of, like, I don't know that if I could have made the same kind of living in Chicago, I don't know that I ever would have left. Exactly the same. Yeah.

I moved to Chicago to stay in Chicago. Yeah. I did a hundred percent. And there are people that figure out a way like Dave Pascuasi, you know, he was T.J. Yeah. And T.J. Jagodowsky.

There are people that have figured out a way through advertising, different kind of things to make a nice living and have a very comfortable life in Chicago. Voice over people do that a lot. Voice over people, commercials. But that just wasn't going to happen for me, so I had to leave. But John Belushi said, people in the Midwest tend to be pretty content. And I think he meant specifically Chicago. He said, whereas when you look at the coasts, New York and LA, they seem to want to be in the other

place. The people in LA want to be in New York and the New York people want to be in LA. And I also think the centeredness of it sort of does, you have a perspective in the literal middle that makes you see extremes as being like, take it easy guys, which is an inherently funny making kind of perspective. Because it's a very observational place to be to sort of see through bullshit. And there's also an allergy to bullshit in the Midwest.

As I've said, an allergy to self-congratulations is something that I have. Michael Bryan was just on and we were talking a lot about Midwestern because he's from Michigan about the Midwestern condition and how much it helps and hinders. At a certain point, you have to be like, if I want something, I'm not an asshole. Right. If I strive, it doesn't mean I'm, you know, that's, it's not unattractive.

It's actually something you're supposed to do. Exactly. Yeah. That's a hundred percent right. And I remembered what I was going to say about the people in Chicago that we know. I remember being out here and being invited to parties, you know, with like Jerry Collins and people like that,

where, you know, all these people that I really looked up to were at. And I remember thinking like, I really know like some of the funniest people in the world. Like our friends are really truly... It blows your mind when you think about it. It blows your mind when you're in a party and you're doing bits with not people on TV, but like friends that happen to be on TV that are also amongst the funniest ever. Nuts. But I moved, Andy, I moved to Chicago because I had done a couple plays in Manhattan, Kansas.

And they said, hey, you should pursue this. And I'm like, okay. I believe that somebody in Manhattan, Kansas was right. And so I moved there and I, because I was familiar with the city, I had gone there on a spring break and took a Grey Line tour and loved the city. And I'm like, well, I'll just go there. And I went there, the idea of,

I'm gonna be a professional actor in Chicago. That was it. And then I did Improv Olympic, I went through the Second City, and it was only when I found out that I had finished the conservatory at Second City that no one in the hiring positions had come to watch our show. I'm like, so did, John Hildreth was my level five teacher.

And I'm like, so did, you know, was Kelly Leonard here or anybody watching the show? He's like, no. So no one knows, no one knows I'm in the pipeline? Like at all? He's like, no. I'm like, okay, well maybe I'll. Cause Saturday Night Live was not necessarily

what I wanna do, because I never considered myself a great writer or really applied myself. I wanted to be an actor, so I'm like, well, Frick it. I'll just, I'll move to, I just said Frick it, like I'm a Midwestner. It came out. Card Farnet. Yeah, yeah.

Oh. So I just said, well, I'll move to LA and start falling on my face there, and that's what I did. Yeah, yeah. I do wanna go, because I'll move to LA and start falling on my face there. And that's what I did. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I do want to go, because I want to get to that beginning in LA, but I do want to go back to, because you mentioned it, clowning. That was like your first showbiz drive. And I am unaware of anybody that I've ever interviewed where that's the case.

And where did that come from? Was there like a moment where you were like... 100% a moment? I wanna frighten adults? Andy! So that was one of my first TV jobs, was a hard copy John Wayne Gacy reenactment. Then you were him? I was the victim of the famous rope trick. Oh. And we were filming,

cause they bulldozed that house and rebuilt it, but we were filming about a block away. They for some reason. What suburb was he at? Like somewhere down Cicero or something? I know it was like near like Payless something. I don't remember exactly. I know, it was like near like Payless something. I don't remember exactly. I know it was north.

I think it was on like near north. Sean will look it up. Yeah. He's got- John Wayne Gacy's hometown. He gets Gacy Google alerts. Yeah. Norwood Park?

Norwood Park? Oh yeah, Norwood Park. Yeah, yeah, Norwood Park. It's one of those ones you drive through and you don't even know you've been through there. But he, we were filming blocks away with a fucking dead ringer. Like this guy looks so fucking in your wrist, just sitting around, you know, it's on a high falutin shoot.

He's sitting in the kitchen, you're sitting in the kitchen with John McAsey and then pretty soon you're going to go down to the basement, he's going to strangle strangle me you know in slow-mo yeah and and it was a bunch of people from the annoyance theater that were Joe Bill yeah yeah it was well I remember Mike Coleman was with you know Mike Coleman was when I can't remember exactly going back but but yeah that was one of my first things was Casey and it was it was a very chilling day and And then when it aired, because it aired in the afternoon, there was a viewing party at a bar and I popped in and there were some of the cops that arrested Gacy were there for the viewing party at four o'clock in the afternoon

or whenever it was. And one of them says, Jimmy, hey, come here. Let me show you something. He pulls out his wallet and he pulls out John Wayne Gacy's platinum card, his Amex. He's like, yeah, carry that around with me. Yeah, that's his right there. And I'm like, that doesn't seem... Shouldn't that be in evidence? That seems like problematic.

Shouldn't that be in a baggie somewhere? And also if you get hit by a car, aren't you gonna be worried about like, hey the guy had Gacy's credit card. He had an accomplice everybody. It's a corporation. Yeah but anyway going back to clowning, what inspired you? Where did you find your... Pretty straightforward. The circus Ringling Brothers came to Kansas City every year around my birthday. And I went to the circus for my birthday every year. And it was a line in the Fizzbo episode

of Modern Family verbatim out of my mouth as a kid that was once I figured out clowns were just people with makeup, that's what I wanted to do. Wow. And so my grandma started making me costumes. My mom let me use her makeup. And this is where I always have to give credit to my Midwestern dad, right?

He's no longer with us, but he never thought I was anything other than a great kid because I said, I want to wear wigs. I want to put on my mom's makeup. I want to feed my pigs. I want to play football. And I want to do magic and balloons. And he was like, go for it.

You know, and I could to do magic and balloons." And he was like, go for it. You know? And I could have gone so wrong back then with other families. So I'm so thankful for that. But yeah, he connected me with the Shrine Clown in Kansas City that taught me how to put on makeup. And I was doing parties when I was like 11. Oh, wow.

For kids. How do you do, I mean, how do you get up and act? I was actually just at a little kid's birthday party that had a birthday magician and I was like, this is a, there's, you know, this is an act. This is, this is a set tried and true, you know, bit that he's doing. Well, that's a really good question now as I'm thinking about it because there wasn't YouTube and there wasn't anything I could watch. So I think mostly what it came from was going to the magic shop in Kansas City.

We had a great place called US Toy where you could go into this big magic shop and see clown gags and magic tricks and things like that. And so you just curate your trick. But clowning, as you know, you're essentially a clown as well. And I mean that in the nicest way. No, I don't take it as anything but. But you know how to make people laugh in certain ways,

and I happened to be what was called an a-goost clown, which translates to the buffoon. So I wanted to be a clown that was always sort of the butt of his jokes and other people's jokes. So that fuels what bits you would do with the magic wand that breaks or whatever, and things like that. So I just bought stuff and had a suitcase,

an old Samsonite red suitcase, and my dad named me Fizbo the Clown. And off I went. Why Fizbo? Well, because the most famous clown in Kansas City, like Bozo, was in Chicago. Kansas City had Whizzo. So apparently it needed to sound like that.

I see, I see. And my dad said, you're Fizbo. He understood marketing. Yes, he did. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I became Fizbo. I had cars. And it was Fizbo marketing. Yes, he did. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I became FISBO, I had cards. And it was FISBO on Modern Family, too. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, Ibriss brought him in the article. Well, he already had a following. Yeah, yeah, yeah, big following. Big, big, big, huge following. Honestly though, Andy, I will tell you, since I became recognizable on Modern Family and as FISBO, more than five people have sent me pictures of me performing at their birthday party in Kansas City.

Oh, wow. Oh, that's great. Yeah, brought a tear to this, uh, this, this, uh, a goose clown's face. BOWEN LAUGHS Do you do any, have you done any clowning? Like, do you have any interest in doing it anymore? I kept, I kept one of the Fizbo suits because I got to design that.

It was like, Levitin, to his credit, when I told him, like, hey, if we're gonna do this clown thing, we're gonna do it right, and we're gonna do it... Oh, so they didn't even know. When I got the job, I told him I wanted to be a clown, and Chris Lloyd was like, we're gonna need pictures of that. And so I brought him in pictures,

and I brought him in a bunch of articles that were written about me as a gay in Kansas. Oh, so that was an aspect that you brought to it. They had, oh, I see, okay. I need pictures of that. And so I brought them in pictures and I brought them in a bunch of articles that were written about me as a gay in Kansas. Oh, so that was an aspect that you brought to it. They had, oh, I see, okay. No clue. And so I presented Brad Walsh and Paul Corrigan, two writers, with this article

and they delivered an episode called Fizzbo. I called my mom and dad from the front seat of my F-150 on a rainy morning on a Wednesday and I said, at 20th Century Fox, I said, you're not gonna believe this, I have in my hand an episode of Modern Family called Fizzbo. Wow. It's just like unbelievable, full circle,

because it's true that I wanted to be in the center ring of the circus and I always say I became in the center ring of the biggest circus of all time. Absolutely. But I went from K-State, I came home and told my parents that I wanted to audition for Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Clown College and my audition was at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.

Wow. So I flew up and auditioned and didn't get in and then I went to Kansas City and auditioned the next year and didn't get in and then just kind of decided to move on from there. Yeah, yeah. It's stringent. It's crazy. It's rough. It's amazing.

Well, and first it was in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Or no, the first time I auditioned, I would have gone to... No, it had moved to Baraboo by that time. Um, so... That's where the college is now? It's gone now. Oh, oh. Does it not exist in any way? Not the Ringling Brothers from college.

I would have been in one of the last classes, actually, and I would have been in with Steve-O. Steve-O's a graduate. Oh, right, that's right. And looking back, uh, if I would have gotten in... Steve-O. Steve-O's a graduate. Oh, right, that's right. And looking back, if I would have gotten in, and I was damn close the first year. Like they didn't send me the rejection letter.

They called me and said, hey, you didn't make it. And it was really a guy named Steve Smith who called and said, hey, Eric, is this Eric Stulstreet? Bad news for ya! It's a Steve Smith from Ringling Brothers in Barnum and Bailey College. Get ready to have your heart broken. You're not coming.

And so I didn't get in because the rumor was that if you did get accepted, they would send you an acceptance letter filled with confetti. Okay. And so didn't get that. Oh, wow. Got the phone call instead.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, looking back at that class, Steve-O was in that class. Right, right. You would have had to, you know, have sharks bite your genitals while they're covered with krill. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you took the high road.

I'm happy it worked out. I did. It worked out okay, but that's what I wanted to be, was a clown. Well, that, I think that was like my first, my first image, like my first memory of the Modern Family show is you at a gas pump in Fisbo, like angry. The combination of those two things is just like never ends. And that was based on a real story with Ed O'Neill. Ed O'Neill was at a gas station

and a guy bumped into his car and the guy wanted to kind of start shit with him. Well, Ed O'Neill is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Ed just politely said, get back in your fucking car right now. And so that's where that came from. And then they put me in that situation as Fizzbo. And then another little fun side bit trivia there,

the guy who bumps into us is one of my college best friends who auditioned for the job and got the job. So completely separate, completely separate. So that year when they were showing clips at the Emmys and all those kinds of things, it's me and a buddy I've known forever. Oh, that's nice. It's me and a buddy I've known forever that was fun. Oh, that's nice. That's nice.

MUSIC MUSIC Can't you tell my love's a-growing? Well, that show, did you expect that show to take off the way that it did? Mmm. You know, I read the script. It was hard for me to get an audition for it at the beginning because, you know, I was working as an actor

and I was one of those guys that people, like, you know, would have traded places with. I was working in commercials and I was working on guest star stuff, but I didn't have, like, major traction that I was auditioning for every pilot that came out every year. Yeah. So, it was tough for me to get the audition, and then I got it, and they passed on me twice.

You know, they not in an aggressive like you suck way as you know, it's just like not what they're thinking. And then they said, well, why don't you come back? But I knew when I got the script that it was special because it was funny. Yeah. And then when I found out Jason Weiner was getting to directed who I knew in Chicago and had improvised with him there, then I was like, okay, well, that's really good. And then I saw that Ed O'Neill was gonna be it.

I'm like, okay, well, that's good. All these things start coming together. And as you know, you read a pilot, very rarely do you laugh on the page at some of those pilots. And it always is like, well, on the rewrite, it'll be funny. Oh, absolutely, but because it's true.

And then when we edit it, it'll be funny. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then we'll casting, of course, is gonna be, you know, modern film, it was funny on the page. And so I thought, well, that's different than other pilots that I've read. And then I took the pilot home once we were picked up, you know, once they had done it at upfronts and I'd taken it home and my parents,

I told my parents, invite everyone you want over, have a party, and we'll do two screenings downstairs in their basement. And I watched people in the Midwest crack up I told my parents, invite everyone you want over, have a party, and we'll do two screenings downstairs in their basement. And I watched people in the Midwest crack up and I sent an email to Steve. Oh, and this was on tape. This was on DVD, yeah.

On DVD, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so I sent Chris and Steve an email and said, I can report from the breadbasket that we're funny. Yeah, yeah. Like, people are laughing out loud. And so then I knew it was probably gonna be good. Yeah, yeah. And was that, what do you think,

what was the biggest change to your life that that brought? Well, people knowing me, you know. I mean, money, you know, yeah. But I was the least paid actor on the show in the beginning. And you're still mad about it. I'm still upset. Yeah, yeah.

Fucking fuckers. God damn it. Yeah, I was a nobody, but I don't. Yeah. Fucking Bowen. Ferguson. Fucking Bowen. Yeah.

Obviously money, but you know, that was, people are always like, oh, do you wanna be rich and famous? Like, oh no, I wanna be successful. And one of the things that comes along with success in our business is fame and, you know, being comfortable potentially. So. Well, and these things generate a lot of money, so it only makes sense that you're gonna get a taste. is fame and, you know, being comfortable, potentially. So... Well, and these things generate a lot of money,

so it only makes sense that you're gonna get a taste. Well, nobody, that's so funny. Nobody ever puts together that actors in a production are kind of the everyday working man. Yeah. Believe it or not. Yeah, yeah. We're a small, tiny little piece of the giant pie.

And somebody's making a hell of a lot more money off the thing than the person that's getting dressed up like a clown. Yes, thank you. And when we were going through our negotiations and being told we were greedy and worthless at the same time, I'm always like, look, here's your choice.

Do you want the guy dressing up like a clown when getting a dollar, or do you want Rupert Murdoch to have another dollar? Which is it? I mean, come on, be honest. So, and we didn't invent the process. It's not like we said for the first time, like pay actors more money.

It's like there's a tried and true thing that happens when a show, all boats rise. And we get a little bit bigger piece of the pie. Right. I have a distinct moment when my life changed. I would go to Katsuya at Colfax and Ventura for my whole life before, when I moved out here. Go in, sit down, have my compache

and crispy rice tuna and leave. And on Thursday, the day after Modern Family aired, I went with my friend Barrett and it took me a minute to get to the table and it took me a little bit to get out of the table, out of the restaurant. And we walked out of the restaurant and she's like, holy shit, like,

I just watched you become famous. Like, TV is immediate. And that was your first week? That was Wednesday night and I was having lunch Thursday morning. And people are like, oh my God, great show. But Andy, those are the golden days of TV. Oh, they sure are.

They don't, yeah, yeah. It doesn't happen like that anymore. It's like everyone tuned in. Right. And watched it as a family. Right, right. And so that changed. And then, you know, you know how it is.

People know your name all of a sudden and know who you are. Yeah. And want to talk to you. Yeah. About their problems. Was that mostly a comfortable fame or did it get to, cause I have seen, I have seen people that I knew

who were well, you know, like started on a TV show and then really got famous. And I have watched a number of them get what I thought was like, oh no, he's kind of become a dick a little bit out in public. And then you spend a little more time and realize like, oh no, no, that is a necessary boundary setting. Because if you don't start setting boundaries, you get no peace, you get no personal space,

you can't go out in the world without being public property. And that's, you know, so there is that level where you do have to sort of learn how to diplomatically put an arm's length to you, to people who love you. I would imagine you and I are exactly the same in situations. I give people exactly what they give me. If they are nice to me and wonderful,

they get the best version of me and the actual who I am version of me because I don't wake up and think like, how can I be an asshole to somebody? Yeah, yeah. I love creating joy in this world. Fizzbo the Clown says that in the episode. All I want to do is bring joy.

So I love that. And if somebody comes up to me and grabs my elbow to pull me over to meet somebody, that doesn't go well for them. I treat them exactly the way they're treating me. It's like, I'm not your deal. Come over here and say hi to my friends. Like, I'm Dinchinors, I'm here with people.

And they're more than welcome to come over and say hi to me. I never say no to people when they wanna take a picture. I might make it uncomfortable for them when they ask, you know, if I'm with my kids or something like that. Yeah, yeah. But, you know, at the end of the day, it's a win-win for everybody.

Yeah, I have a, I'm with my family, so sorry, but no, not right now. Just cause it is like, I just do feel like. And I don't, and what people don't understand about that is I don't wanna normalize that for the kids when we're out. Like I don't, I want them to, I don't want them to see me as anything other than

the guy who gets mad at them when they don't do their stuff. Yeah, yeah. I don't want them to think of me as famous. And maybe they will at some point, but I wanna keep that away from them as long as possible. So all my interactions are super great, but you know, here's the deal. Like being recognizable has brought amazing opportunities to me. And what I mean by that is when 9-11

happened, I was sitting at Hollywood Way in Verdugo in my apartment and I'm thinking like, what the fuck am I contributing to the world right now as I'm watching these people die and run into buildings? I have a Sears call back on Thursday that's probably canceled. Like, so it wasn't until really that modern family happened that I kind of got into perspective of like, we do have a role in this world. We do have something to make people feel better. And it was because of my interactions with people that would come up to me and say, seeing

you here today at Nordstrom is like being with my daughter who passed away because during her cancer chemotherapy treatments, she watched Modern Family and laughed and you provided her with her last laughs on this earth. That's a meaningful moment. Just recently I was somewhere and a kid comes up to me and he's very nervous to talk to me. Yeah. And he's real, real scared. He goes, um, I'm gay and I haven't told my dad. Yeah. And I'm like, buddy, like, so all the sudden I go from not knowing someone to being very, very intimate in a conversation. And realizing how meaningful, How meaningful it is. That even a fictional character that you play,

how meaningful that is. So those experience so overshadow any rude asshole that I've ever experienced. But Ed O'Neill, right when we got on Modern Family, he gave me a piece of advice. Avoid drunk people. Yeah. And pee in a stall from here on out.

Those were really solid. And I guess. And then somebody else very famous told me through a friend I was close with Alanis Morissette. I'm sorry, I just named her up that as well. That's all right. I'm sorry, it's just reality. And I asked her, I said,

Alanis, like, I think I'm gonna be like famous on TV. Like this show's kind of big. Do you have any advice? And she's like, you're gonna have to learn how to gracefully end conversations. Because as you know, people are excited and I understand it.

I've been excited. I saw Gene Simmons one time at Second City and I didn't know what to say to him when I was trying to seat him at his table. And she's like, you're going to have to help people out. You're going to have to be like, well, it was great meeting you and thank you so much

because most people just keep talking to you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, they'll stay there Yeah, and I get it like I'd want to you know be there with cam Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, you know, I always I I very rarely have to kind of get short with people and I always and I will Sometimes be with people who will start to get like feel protective of me Like they have to you know, like cut things short and I I'm always like, no, no, I know what I'm doing. And I can handle myself. Yeah, I can handle myself and I can get out of this

so that this person goes away feeling nicely. But they do go away, you know? And I always say every sort of unfortunate interaction I've had with people, and there have been some, they will never take account for their participation in it. They'll say Andy Richter was an asshole, but they won't say, I came up to him and said, wow, you're a lot skinnier in person

than I thought you would be, Tubby, or whatever. But people say things like that. They sure do. And so I act back accordingly. It was like, well, you're not very attractive yourself, or whatever it is. And so then they'll still be like, Eric Stonestreet said I wasn't attractive. It's like, well, after you called me fat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, whatever. So. Yeah, it's fun. Fun, fun. All positive. 99.99%.

But it's more fun to bitch. It is. It wants to listen to a podcast where people talk about how good they've got it. Right, right, right. I'm sure that there's lots of wellness podcasts full of gratitude that you can all listen to, but this is where you will get the bitching. You have been cast as a serial killer in the revival of Dexter, which is, how fucking fun is that? Fucking fun, they've been on since 2006.

I've gotten to be a murderer a couple times and it's the best. I killed people on TV before I got Cameron Tucker, which... You did? Yeah, yeah, I was at a Roma cafe over there on Tujunga one time with a friend and the girl making the coffee was like, oh my God, you stabbed me in the stomach! -♪ Hahahaha! Hey! Hi! Hello! I'm gonna see you again!

Wow. Yeah, and my friend was like, what? I'm like, yeah, I stabbed her on cold case or whatever, whichever one it was. Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm stabbing chicks all the time. Yeah, and my friends like what I'm like, yeah, I stabbed her on cold case or so whatever whichever one Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm stabbing chicks So yeah, it's a blast The other thing is was so funny about that is people were like, so what are your parents thinking you playing a gay guy? And I'm like they're happy. I'm not murdering. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, right. They've already had him

You gotta watch Eric stab a woman. Yeah They've already had him. You gotta watch Eric stab a woman. Yeah, and die on death row. Like, we're good with him playing a fun, loving gay guy. Trust me. Absolutely. Yeah, Dexter's been fun.

Working with that cast has been incredible. They've been on since 2006, and this is like the reboot continuation of it. And it's myself and obviously the main cast. And then there's a group of guest stars this year, including Peter Dinklage, Uma Thurman, myself, and obviously the main cast. And then there's a group of guest stars this year, including Peter Dinklage, Uma Thurman, myself, Neil Patrick Harris, and David Dossmullian.

And Kristen Ritter. I mean, I'm looking around going, holy shit. Really, really cool. I got a few more days to shoot of that. They're shooting in New York, but it's been a blast. And I'm just so thankful that those producers, you know, thought of me. You know, as you know, you get, you know, people will be like, Andy and that, he'll always be Conan's guy on the couch to me.

And it was like, okay, well. I know, no, I get, I, well, now everything is, you know, these self tapes, and I'll send in a self tape, and the feedback I'll get is like, he's a really good actor. Yeah. And it's like, yeah, yeah. That's what I did.

I've kind of done it. But yeah, I've done that for a while. Well, and that's- And that is a, I mean, people's attention spans are very short. Very short. And I can't, I'm not on my, I can't get on my high horse because most people in the public eye, I think about whatever I saw them in the last five minutes and I don't have a comprehensive set of, you know, like a comprehensive idea of what their resume is in my head.

So I, you know, I had to cut some slack, but it is, it does get to be like, yeah, I know. I see. Yeah. But yes, that's what I had. I've told the story before after the table read of Andy Richter Controls the Universe, the first... Great, awesome show, by the way. Thank you, thank you. Love that fucking show. After the first table read, the head of Paramount came up to me and said, you really can act. I thought, well, what the fuck are you paying me for then?

Yeah, what did you think? What did you think? Yeah, what did you think? Rolled the dice on me? Yeah, it was just my good looks? Jesus Christ. Awesome. But all right, okay. I'll take it.

I can act. Thanks. Well, going back to when we were talking about Improv Olympic in Second City and what I'm driven to do, I just remember thinking all I wanna do is be characters. Like Tina Fey was my level two teacher at the conservatory at Second City. And that class, I think it was two and then 2A.

And 2A was characters. And it was then that I was like, well, this is what I want to do. I just want to create characters. And so people were surprised when they would meet me after Modern Family that, you know, that was a character. And I hadn't played that character before. It's not like something I had done

on a bunch of other TV shows. And so I look at Dexter the same way. I get to play a guy who's from kind of, I've made him from Mundelein, Illinois. He lives in Racine, Wisconsin. And, you know, he's just a real great guy and just a real fun-loving fella. Yeah, just loves to murder.

Yeah, just loves to kill. Yeah, no, I, that's, for me, you know, I always said I didn't want to be myself on camera. Of course. I don't like that guy that much. I want to be myself on camera. Of course. That guy, I don't like that guy that much. I want to be other people. So, but I mean, I have had a wonderful, you know, I had a wonderful time being myself on TV

and was on a show that I got to act all the time. Yeah. But it is kind of, you know, it is just kind of like, I did not set out to be a broadcast personality, but yeah, you know, whatever. It's a, it's been a great, it was so great. Every once in a while I'll see clips of you guys doing your thing and old

Brian stack will walk into a clip or whatever. And I mean, you can't say that's like, I mean, you can, I guess, but I don't even know if it's like true cut what, what you guys did on Conan in 96. It just seems like so relevant now. So I guess you say it was ahead of its time, but that also seems like a weird thing to say about Conan. Well, we did, and I'm, this has been talked a lot about lately,

cause Conan got the Mark Twain prize. And actually Brian Stack does a hilarious bit in that with Nikki Glaser. But we always, you know, like, topical humor is very rewarded in the present, but silliness and absurdity has a long, long shelf life. You know, like, you'll never get tired of watching Masturbating Bear.

But you can hear a joke, you know, I could... I mean, I look at like some old tweets of mine that were about something happening in the news politically and I don't even know what the fuck I'm talking about. Because it's like, well, these guys over in Iowa City sure don't have it figured. Like what am I, I don't even know what that is. So silliness will live on. Is there, is there stuff that you, that's left undone for you?

I mean, what's in the future that, that you kind of, is there stuff, or is it just kind of keep plugging along and staying happy and staying busy and owning baseball teams? Honestly, you know, to bring it back to sort of what we started talking about, which is I've, I had an awakening in that I got 13 year old kids, right. That are Lindsay's, but I've known them since they're three. And I want to live, like I want known them since they're three and a half. And I wanna live, like I wanna be around and go in with the spirit of like,

like I said, there's enough that we can't control. My diabetes is something I can control. So my point is, is I wanna clean that doorstep up first so that I can continue to do the things. Like just shooting Dexter and being in New York City. I mean, you lived in New York City all the time. I never went to New York City until I was on Modern Family and I went to do The View.

Like that was my trip to New York City. Wow, wow. But walking around there and like being a little bit healthier and being more in shape, thanks to doing what I'm doing right now with the drug. There's a pep in my step and I feel it. At airports, I feel it. So my point is, is I'm working on that so that I can work on other things. But I want to do another TV show, but I don't know if that even is possible.

I have, we have something that we're, we have at Amazon right now that we're waiting to see if they want to pick up great, great fucking part for you in there. So hopefully we'll be together. I wanna do that. I wanna continue to do what we wanna do and that's create characters. But that's why I was saying it was so flattering to me that the producers and creators of Dexter thought,

it's good to see if we can get Eric Stone Street. And they didn't see me as that person. So I wanna do that. It's such a good feeling when you're like, oh, they see beyond just what they've been presented with. Cause I've had that happen. And I did an indie movie in the fall that was definitely that kind of thing

where somebody had been watching me for years and knew that like, yeah, I could be funny and I could wisecrack and stuff. But then there was also another skill set that they had seen and that they wanted me to draw on for this movie. And it was just, it makes you swoon. You're like, oh, I feel seen. Thank you. Thank you.

So, yeah. Want to just keep living and keep having opportunities in the business as long as there are them. What's the best advice you could give for people and it doesn't have to be show business, just be about life, about, you know, getting to this point in your life. And so much of what you're saying is stuff

that I relate to in that, I mean, first of all, kids, they're gonna tell you to this world like nothing else. But also just feeling as I've gotten older, I feel more stake in staying around. Whereas like 20 years ago, I'd be like, meh, you know, this life, I could take it or leave it. It's been okay, but a big long forever nap wouldn't be so bad right now.

But I definitely now, it's like, no I want to be here. And I'm wondering if you have advice like kind of that comes from that that you know you could give to people. Well like you say, it could be show business, it could be whatever. Padgett Brewster said, if you want to sharpen scissors, cut them with aluminum foil. That's what she's learned. So that's a good, you know, and I've tried it. It works. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to try that. Thank you, Padgett. That's very nice. You know, when I moved home after modern family, COVID happened, my dad's leukemia was progressing and Lindsay, my wife, I call her my wife, but we're technically

engaged. Common law. It just feels weird calling her my fiance at 53. Uh-huh. So I just say wife, wife, wife. My partner. My partner, my life partner, my person, my people. Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Lindsay.

And I'm home, and I'm sitting quietly in the room with my dad. And he just said, well, Eric, I sure never thought you'd come back home. And it's just such a simple sentence. But I was like, well, shit, I guess I never, I never really did either. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that comes from a very simple rule that we have been taught on stage forever, which is yes. Yeah. Right. And I always tell people,

yes, you have no idea what the outcome is. No, you've pretty much walled yourself off to what the limitations are. So I think understanding reasonable yeses in life and knowing like what won't get you in trouble. Yes. You want to take this heroin, that's a no. Yes. But yes to things that are scary. Yes to things that make you nervous. Yes to things that seem challenging because they just keep opening doors.

And my point about going to New York is, and also is this, that I've just was blown away. That no other city, greatest city, right? You go to New York and you start off at a dinner at 56th and 7th, right? It's a great dinner. And then you meet somebody there's like, hey, I'm going to a party down in Soho a little bit later.

Do you want to go? Yes. And you go to that party and then you're there and you're having a great time. And then you're like, hey, we're going to go grab a bite at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at,

at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, All of a sudden you've created this incredible, memorable night by just saying yes. That's the sort of minute portion of saying yes.

And then the grander thing in life of saying yes, you just have no idea where it's going to lead you. And me being willing to take opportunities and take challenges led me to Modern Family. It led me to auditioning and that led me to this and that led me to this. Yeah. It led me to auditioning and that led me to this and that led me to this. And then I think the biggest advice I have for people is you put out in the world what you want in return. I truly believe that being nice to people and being thoughtful brings that back to you. I was just somewhere walking through a casino

and there were these guys sitting there and I just walked by them and I threw a 20 down and I said, hey, go get them. They didn't know it was me. I mean, I just walked by and just said, go get them. And then later that night, I'm sitting with Lindsay and I hit a jackpot for $1,249 and she's like,

are you fucking kidding me? And I'm like, I put this into the world an hour and a half ago. I gave a stranger $20 on a slot machine right over there. So this will be the system that ruins you. Yes. Yeah. I swear it's gonna work again.

Yeah. So those are big things for me and just, you know, being open and willing to do stuff. Bravery over fear. Follow the fear. Del Close used to wear a shirt that said, follow the fear. Yeah. And I was like, oh my God, that's such a good mantra.

Yeah. Good mantra. Well, Eric, thank you so much for coming in. Dexter Resurrection will be out later this year. And the big slick fundraiser that's happening, you said the end of May? End of May. End of May, so anybody down there that wants to see some funny people having fun and help a good cause,

check that out. And take care of yourselves, people. Well, and that's, again, that is a huge part of why I'm excited to be doing this with my mom is with Big Slick, the celebrity helps us help kids with cancer and our faces and names and stuff bring recognizability to things. And right now, I'm passionate about telling people, don't be ashamed of your type two diabetes diagnosis and share it with other people and talk to people.

You need help and you need partners. that's what I'm doing right now. Yep. It's not a sin to ask for help. Nope. It's not. Thanks, Andy. Well, thanks, Eric. And I'll see you around. I hope so. And I'll see all of you back here next week or at least I'll hear you or you'll hear me. I don't know whether you people, what you're doing. Well, maybe stop referring to them as you people.

But they are. They're people. The people. The people. The people. The people. The people. I'll see you next week, everybody. Bye. Bye. We got really quiet. Engineering Support by Eduardo Perez and Joanna Samuel. Executive produced by Nick Liao, Adam Sachs and Jeff Ross. Talent Booking by Paula Davis, Gina Battista with assistance from Matty Ogden. Research by Alyssa Grahl. Don't forget to rate and review and subscribe to The Three Questions with Andy Richter wherever you get your podcasts. And do you have a favorite question you always like to ask people? Let us know in the review section.