The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Mary Elizabeth Ellis

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

Actress Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny, A Man on the Inside) joins Andy Richter to discuss growing up in Mississippi, her love story with Charlie Day, working with Ted Danson, grappling with the potential end of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” after twenty years, and much more. Do you want to talk to Andy live on SiriusXM’s Conan O’Brien Radio? Tell us your favorite dinner party story (about anything!) or ask a question - 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the three questions. I am the host of the three questions, Andy Richter, and today I'm talking to Mary Elizabeth Ellis. You've seen her in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Santa Clarita Diet, licorice pizza, and much more. You can see her in a man on the inside with Ted Danson on Netflix, which just returned for a second season. Here's my conversation with Mary Elizabeth Ellis. Can't you tell my love? It's the story of my life. No, I get it.

It's Mary Elizabeth. Why do you think you're entitled to so many names? That's what I'd like to know. There's a lot of lady in here. No, I mean, is that something that your parents just always calls you Mary Elizabeth? And then it just stuck. Yeah, I'm from Mississippi. Yeah, yeah.

So, like, everybody's Mary something, literally, like, marry some shit. Mary, like, Mary Stone, it's like you're, it's like whatever you're, you're, it's like, it's like whatever you're. mom's maiden name was often, they'll just throw it on the end of something. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Like, I grew up with a Sarah Love lady, Sarah Love. Well, it's, I guess, you know, it is Mississippi, so it's, you got a lot of time. It's hot. People have more time. It blows my mind. So you might as well say Mary Elizabeth. Mary Elizabeth. My dad still will, you know, like I'm like, I can put the phone down and like walk away. and come back and be like, you're still not to the point. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, I can do that with my mother, but there's lots of words. Sure. She's talking fast, but I can still just put it down and, you know, just occasionally go, uh-huh, and then put it back down. Yep, and then put it back down. Yeah. I can't believe they did that. That's a good one.

I feel like for parents. Those fuckers. Yeah. Yeah. You're right, mom. Gosh. Yeah. Yeah.

Now, tell me about growing up in Mississippi because that's kind of. of a rarity out here, like to, you know, you were Southern Southern. Southern. And you obviously have exercised, I mean, exorcised your accent. Yes. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't actually like purposeful. I, but I knew I wanted to be an actor. I actually, I grew up in a small town called Laurel. There's actually an HD TV show called Hometown that's based on my hometown. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Have you seen it? Uh-huh. So that's my hometown. So I'm I also will, like, watch TV and be like, oh, my God, oh, my God. And again, my husband is like, you've worked with very famous people.

And I'm like, but why is my guidance counselor on television? I partied in that house. Yes, exactly. I've thrown up in all of these basements. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so that's wild to see. And it's like kind of this really special town that, like, kind of churns out, I don't know, very successful people. Parker Posey went to my high school.

Oh, wow. So I grew up, like seeing photos of her on the wall, like in the plays. So I was like, oh, this is like a possibility. This is real. That's the thing that people can do. That is kind of sometimes all it takes is like, you know, is like, okay, yeah, all right, that is doable. Because for me, I was the same way with show business. Like, just is it doable?

Where did you grow up? In Yorkville, Illinois. Wow. Which is a small town about 60 miles west of Chicago. Okay. And 70 miles west of Chicago. It doesn't really matter. But it's going to bug me.

No, but. Google it. But there was no, there was no frame of reference. But there was a big turning point for me was the James Con movie Thief was shot in Chicago. And so much of it was like, I know where that, you know, like that bridge where that murder took place just now. Like I know where that is. And that made it seem real to me too. Like that made it seem like, and I went to film school in Chicago, too.

So I wasn't even like allowing myself to fully think that I was going to be an actor. I was just going to somehow work in film production in some way. Is that what you? Did you sort of study like behind the scenes? Yeah, I went to film school and learned to. I was a screenwriting major, but you do, you know, you, and then it was ages ago. So we actually did like cut film. We shot 16mm film and cut it.

And video was just big three quarter inch tapes. There wasn't any digital video. It was all analog video. And now, like, you know, my kids, my film school is in their phone. Yeah. You know, like stuff that's way more advanced than anything we did at film school is in their phone now. Yeah. I know.

It's so true. Yeah. My son is almost, he's about to be 14. Yeah. And he makes, like, all these stop motion videos on his, like, iPad. And, yeah, we had to, like, edit in, like, camera. You know, it was. It was so much more challenging.

Yeah, yeah. But it looked better. It did. Do we need to shoot things on 8K? Do we need that many Ks? It's too many Ks. I don't need to see that much of my face. 1K is plenty.

1K is good. Thank you so much. Yeah. Well, in how do you know you want to be an actress? I just like, I got cast in The Miracle Worker as Helen Keller when I was in ninth grade, which is probably problematic now. I don't know that that's... Somebody's got to do it.

Somebody should be telling the story of Helen Keller. Somebody's got to... That play will be around forever and somebody's got to play that character. It was amazing. And I learned the American Sign Language alphabet and I still know it because of that. Yeah, yeah.

So it was very educational. But we had like a great theater department and my teacher Anita Boyd was like really lovely and just very encouraging. And then we always did drama competitions, like national competitions. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I got to go to like Chicago. Like forensic speech team kind of stuff. Yeah, yeah.

So I was traveling around and doing that. And I think just because I've heard a lot of people on podcast talking about this. I think like it's so hard to be a person. And so when you get positive feedback about something, you're like, oh, love, love. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then I decided I wanted to be a theater major. My parents told me I had to stay below the mice and dicks and line and on the east side of Texas if I wanted help with school. So that narrowed my choices by a lot. But you went to SMU, which is in Texas. In Texas.

Did they include Texas? So like the western edge of Texas is where that's as far as you could go. Dallas was like three hours from Shreveport, Louisiana, which is where my grandmother lived. And I had an aunt who lived there, so that was okay. Okay. Just like as long as someone could get to me when I inevitably was involved in some sort of an emergency, which I was. Some sort of big time Dallas type emergency.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I studied theater there. And then I got cast in The Tempest as Ariel, like right out of school at PCPA, which is in Santa Maria and Solving. Oh, yeah. There's like a theater in Solving.

I know. Yeah. I was performing there. And so like I got out of college and I was like, I'm a professional actor. And went right to California. Straight to California. Yeah, yeah. And then moved to L.A.

Wow. Yeah. And then, like, tested for the very first pilot I ever auditioned for and was like, this is going to be so easy. And then I think, like, didn't test for anything again for like five years or something, you know. Yeah. See, that's the thing is you get that positive feedback, which I am of the belief that the whole notion of like, you just need to believe in yourself. That's bullshit. Like you have to, somebody's got to tell you, hey, you're pretty good at this thing. Yeah.

And because it does, you know, the comment cards need to be filled out to know whether or not the restaurant is any good. Yes. And that's, and that was certainly happened for me where I didn't, I didn't know, you don't know if you're any good at something. You feel like I like doing this, but then people say, you're good at this. And you go, oh, okay. Yeah. I'll believe you. I won't believe me.

Yeah. But I'll believe you. Or believe both of us. Yes. Yeah. And then you get to, but then, you know, you do. you step up and you're and it's like oh yeah but that sure I'm good at this but that doesn't really matter yeah I was in a small pond yeah yeah yeah did you didn't want to give me the

million dollars no you wanted to give stephen spillberg that right right right right so you tested for that thing and it just went another way yeah I didn't get that one yeah but then and then we started sunny we started always sunny in 2000 well we probably shot a pilot in like Uh-huh. And then we- Because you and your husband, Charlie Day, met before any of that happened. Were you in L.A. when that, when you met? I was living in L.A., but I had friends who were in New York, and they were putting on a play,

and they were like, we can't find anyone to play this part. So will you come out to New York and sleep on our couches or whatever, and we'll do this play? We can't find anyone else. Will you do it? Well, I guess will you do it? Yeah. That's like, I'm not going to, I'm either going to throw this out. Do you want to eat it? Yeah, and I was like, I would love to eat that.

I'll come there right now. It tastes disgusting to say, sign me up, yeah. Couch, mm-hmm. Yes, please. Love it. So I went to New York and I did this play, like, off, off, off Broadway. And the friend who was directing it had been to Williamstown Theater Festival and was like my friends at Williamstown are doing this play.

And I went and saw it and Charlie was in it. And we just, like, chatted at the bar that night. So, and then I went back. to his house with him, like a slutty McSletterson. And it happens. One night stand that's 24 years later. It happens. I hear he's really good at fucking.

Yeah. Yeah, good, good. He asked me to say that. Did he also text you? He asked you to say that as well? It's on TikTok. It's on Reddit. I'm not on TikTok, so I had no idea.

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's all over TikTok. It's him doing selfie videos about how good he is. I'm so good at fucking. I'm so good at fucking. And all the things I'm good at, fucking's probably number one. No, I think that happens more and more these days. Like, you know.

Being good at fucking? Well, no. No, no. First, go home with someone on the first date and then you end up getting married. I don't know. I hear the kids saying it's pretty like gnarly out there and they're all on the apps and it seems pretty not fun. I'm happy to not be involved in that. Yeah.

But I mean, that doesn't have anything. anything to do with us. No, no, no. You're wearing a Corning Wear shirt. We know, we know where we stand. That's true. Which I was happy to compliment us. Yes, yes.

You saw and you knew what it was. Yeah. Yeah, no, it is very strong. I mean, the reason I was pausing is because my ex-wife and I, we were first daters staying, getting together, but then we're divorced now. So it didn't work out. It was 25 years we were married, but, you know. Got some kids out of it.

Yeah. But yeah, and then I had to do dating apps. I mean, I didn't. You did? Yeah, yeah, I did. How was it for you? It was wonderful. I mean, my wife is here, so I have to be very careful about what I say about it.

But she listened to the podcast anyway, so she'd hear it anyway. But no, it was, I, when people complain about it, I was like, it was great. Yeah. Like, it didn't take. Well, being so good at fucking as you are. Well, we'll get her in here and see what her take on that is. No, I mean. I mean, it was, I just, I think I just was really lucky that I met somebody that I clicked with in that way.

Yeah. So quickly that it, you know, that it didn't kind of matter the, the method. But yeah, I hear other people, they're like, oh, I've been doing these for years and I delete it and then I go back to it and then I delete it. Yeah. Yeah, that sounds awful. Yeah. That sounds shitty, yeah. I mean, I think like anything, I was talking to someone about it,

yesterday. Like anything else, it's like built, it doesn't want us to find love and be successful and have a match. It wants us to stay a customer, right? Right, right. So it's like, we'll throw you one every once in a while, but mostly it's just like hot people that you're like, am I this? Am I this? Am I this? I don't think it's that calculated. I don't know. I don't think that they can really. I don't, yeah, yeah. I don't think that like somebody at, I don't know, Bumble is like, look, you're just going to get lemons, you know. No one is as evil as the president of Bumble. Just kidding, I have no idea.

No, well, we did hinge and it seemed to be, you know, seem to work. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It worked for you. Yeah, yeah. You should try it just to see what it's like. Okay, I will.

You get a little experience. All right. Charlie won't mind. It was going great for Charlie, and now it's not. Can't you tell my love's a girl? Well, we're about to do our 20th wedding anniversary, actually. Oh, wow. Congratulations.

Thank you. Are you having a big shindig for it? I think we're going to go to Italy. Yeah. He's never been to Italy. Yeah, yeah. And day comes from Del Giorno. His great grandfather was a del Giorno.

Oh, wow. So I'm like, I got to go to Italy. I don't remember. Where's he from originally? Is he from Rhode Island. And from Rhode Island. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Well, that must be a culture club. to take him to Mississippi. It was very like, everybody was like, oh my gosh. He's an Italian. Well, he's a Yankee. Oh, wow. And the South. And do they really take that seriously?

Yes. Oh, my God. But I think not in a mean way. I think more in a like, y'all, y'all beat us in that war. We're going to come back, though. We're going to get y'all back. It was going to be so fun. Yeah.

Yeah. Because your moral standing in that war was pretty good, South. Way to go, the South. I'm like, well, it kind of is. is coming back yeah it is yeah it is unfortunately yeah um yeah because i can imagine well was it weird for him too i think i think it was like just an incredible like brave new world of like whoa like he's like you know i grew up in the northeast like it's like all the girls were like and like trying to just like not freeze their asses off with like um you know

giant coax on all the time and he's like the women here like look like like they're in a pageant. Every time you leave the house, it's like, you know, I'd go to leave and I'd be like, okay, let's go. I was always late. And my mom would be like, oh, no, ma'am, you need to go put some color on your face, you know, like it was like mascara, like always like, you got to dress up. So I think for him, he was like, this is, the culture is just wild. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But I mean, but you obviously don't, you didn't do that. You weren't wearing pageant makeup when you met him. I mean, no, I wasn't. And when you went back home, did your mom finally give up and not expect you to wear pageant makeup all the time? I was home for, we were just recently home for Thanksgiving, and it was lovely, and we got in the car to

drive back to the airport, and I was like, not a person said something about my nose ring, which is kind of shocking. Like, usually people like need to tell you that maybe that's not what you should be doing. Or just to say something. Just to say something about like, well, look at that. Yeah. What a brave choice. Yeah, a bit that hurt. Yeah. That kind of thing. And I was like, that was kind of amazing. Not a tattoo comment, not a, not a nose piercing comment. Wow. I know. That's, you know. We're all growing up. Yeah. Or they're just used to it. They've given up on you. They've given up on me as what's happened. Yeah. Yeah. I think too, like as much as they talk about like Yankees and stuff, my mom told me she was at a funeral once and this woman came up to her and said, I heard Mary Elizabeth State and a Yankee. And my mom was like, oh, yeah, we like him though. And she was like, well, just as long as She's not dating somebody from California. Those people are weird. Well, they're not wrong. They're not wrong.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is a weird place. Yeah. We find ourselves here. So let's get back to you. You come to L.A. You get that, you think it's easy and it isn't. Yes.

And what is your life like during those times? I was teaching gymnastics at the YMCA. That was like my. And you and Charlie are together at this point, yes? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, he was still living in New York, so we did long distance for a while. But I taught gymnastics at the YMCA. I was a hostess at the Burbank Olive Garden. Nice. Nice. And then I was still, like, doing theater auditions. So then I went up to, I forgot what it's called, A-R-T theater in Portland and did Killer Joe, Tracy Let's play. Yeah, just, you know, the hustle, the hustle that never ends. Yeah. Do you like theater more than, I mean, do you have a preference? I really like both of them, but I'm kind of like recently been doing theater again.

I just did a play reading last weekend. Yeah. And I do really love that relationship with the audience, right? Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry for being ignorant. Do you do stand-up stuff as well? No, I never did stand-up. I mean, I dabbled and then quickly decided it wasn't for me because I don't like being on stage by myself. one thing. And a live audience, they're nice. They're perfectly, it's, I understand their usefulness and I'm, I'm glad they came, but I don't get that thing. Oh, yeah, yeah.

I have so many, especially comedians, they'll come in here and they'll say, like, I did an open mic in that first big laugh. I just was like hooked. And I'm kind of like, you know, a big laugh from them is nice. But I've always said I want to make, like on the Conan Shore for all the years, I was trying to make the cameramen laugh because they, they're a much tougher laugh because they've heard everything. Yeah. So the strangers, like, I don't, you know, you know, and I went to film school. I like, I like this sort of like little band of people that's on their own making something

together. I mean, you know, Sonny was like that too, I'm sure. Yes. I mean, you didn't have to worry about an audience, you know, invite an audience into your timing, which for comedy, I think, is, you know, in doing multi-camera sitcoms, it drove me crazy, where it's like, you say a joke and then, and then there's this unnatural pause as everyone waits for laughs. And it's just like, I never, I always was like, it's hurting the next thing. Was your show a live studio audience or was it single cam show? No, um,

Andy Rector Controls. Oh, no, I didn't do, oh, I did one, I did Andy Rector Controls the universe for two mid-season and then I did a show called Quintuplets, which was a multi-camera sitcom. Oh, yeah. For Fox. Yes. And, and, you know, the hours are nice, but it is, there's just a lot of it that's so unnatural and so weird that I do not prefer it.

Yeah. It is, right? The first time I ever did one, like, you come out and you talk and then you're like, Oh, I can hear my own voice being shut out to the audience. And I do find the timing of those really weird and hard. And then also too, because this really matters to me, the audience is there and they're excited to be there and they want to be helpful. Audiences, they're there and they're excited to be a part of this thing. So they're told, we're going to do maybe six, seven, eight takes of this.

And we want you to laugh just as hard every time. Yes. So you're in a complete world of inauthentic laughter. Sure. And it just, it never feels right. You never feel like I don't know whether this is working or whether these people are just happy to be here and there's a T-shirt gun and they caught a couple T-shirts and, you know. And I never felt like it was conducive to the best kind of work,

comedy-wise, you know. You don't really know, you know. Yeah. I love the idea of you just screaming at the audience, like, stop pandering to me. Well, there are, when I, when I did come out here from doing the Conan show, because, you know, the Conan show, I didn't, I came there, like, very, very raw from, like, just doing improv. And I had had a couple of professional jobs. I'd done the movie Cabin Boy, and I had another part in another movie. But I had, had just done, you know, our improv and then got to the Conan show. And it was very, it was, first of all, it was very white and very male. And so there was this like comedy macho kind of thing about like, we're not going to sell out. We're not going to pander. We're not going to

do, you know, hacky bullshit. And it was the 90s? 93, was when it started. Gosh. So, and it was, and we had that, you know, and kept up a high standard, a high absurdist standard for years and years and years. Yeah. And there was a lot, you know, throughout the whole run of the show, it wasn't just, well, just this'll work. Put it, this is, this will work and this is already shot, let's put it on. Yeah. If it wasn't funny enough, we wouldn't put it on. And then I came out here. I was there for seven, eight years, and then came out here to the sitcom world and was absolutely shocked at all the, you know, like doing a run through on the stage and a, you know, a, there's, you know, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. And then just shrieking laughter on what is at best a lukewarm kind of, you know, straight down the pipe kind of joke.

And especially like the writer who wrote it is pissing his pants and how fucking funny this line that we've all heard now 25 times is. And I, you know, and I would complain about it. And they'd say like, well, we have to know, like we have to get a sense of the time. And we have to. We have to. And I was just like, no, we don't. You can't like, you can't in a run through go like, well, this will get a laugh and I'll, we'll time it for then. You have to fake laugh through fucking everything. Yeah. And having writers tell me like, you're a really tough laugh. And then saying like, no, I'm not. If it's good. If it's funny, I'll laugh at it. And because there's also, there's plenty of times. I'm sure that I'm sure that you've encountered this where it's like, oh, that's a really good joke. But nobody laughs because it's like, we're all magicians. And so, like, card tricks are not astonishing to us. Right, right. So you think up, it's like, oh, yeah, that's a great joke. Yeah.

It doesn't make you scream with laughter. You're like, that'll work, you know, that's good. And sometimes when you're like, ah, you can see how, like, when writing it, you'd be like, oh, my God, that's so, like, clever, right? Yeah. And then you say it out loud and you're like, oh. It's not that great. It doesn't. It's not right there.

That's the other thing with comedy is that you need, you cannot, as going back to what I was saying before, you cannot just, like, rely on your own instincts. I mean, I guess some people could, say, like, an Andy Kaufman, you know, like a real iconic class could maybe do that. But if you're, like, working in a group, you know, in a group on a show, it's a train that doesn't stop moving, and, you know, you come up, something so funny. Guys, what about this? And then it just, you're like, I guess it isn't that funny. Nobody else thinks it's funny. And you have, and you have, have to believe them. You know, you have to, because otherwise, yeah, you have to, you know. It's what flies for each world too, right? Don't you think like you're like, this is a great joke

for like Sunny, but if I say this on like a man on the inside, it's like, um, rude, you know? Or like if I'm trying to make like a kinder softer joke on Sunny, it's like, if I'm going to push the a little bit more, you know. I just was on dancing with the stars and there was a moment at which, kind of early on in the show where there was talk about having Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, surprise me and come on and insult me on the show. And when I heard about it, and I wasn't supposed to know about it, but I heard about it beforehand anyway. And I was like, this is not the crowd.

Sure. This crowd does not want to hear like a puppet go like, you know, like, you'll move pretty good for a fat man or whatever. It's like this, there's no room for insult. in this room at all. Yes. This will not. And the only way that the triumph, the insult comic dog works is that the insults are pointed

and spicy. Yeah, yeah. It's true. The meaner, the better. Right. And if it's, if it's lukewarm, don't even do it, you know. Yeah. And it's not the MTV movie awards from 1994, though.

People will just be like, no. Yeah. You're being mean. I'm watching this with my children. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I was like, it's, you know, yeah, you have to keep it in context. How was dancing with the stars?

How's your body? My body. Was it so hard? It was real. It was, it's a lot of work. There's a muscle there, huh? Well, yes. But I mean, but I mean, I'm, I am a wreck anyway.

I have bad knees and I'm getting a hip replacement, which I knew I was needing before I went into it and talked about it so much, but just, you know, I'm going to get a hip replacement. Great. And, but yeah. I was very, the only solace I could take, because I was the oldest person there, and I'm 59, was at, like, the young people were sore too. And they were lined up for physical therapy. And, you know, we all were just, but I, you know, I would wake up in the middle of the night just because my legs hurt.

Yeah. Sure. Yeah. So, yeah, it's a lot. It is kind of a crazy thing to just throw people into. Like, I have this, I have this pitch for the Olympics. I'm sure they're listening. So I'm just going to go ahead and pitch it.

But I- Hello, Olympics. Hey, Olympics. So I feel like when you watch the Olympics, everyone's so fast that you're like, that guy's a little faster than, than like, everyone else. But he doesn't look that fast. Right, right, right. Everyone's so fast that they should pull someone from the audience.

Like, whoever's in seat, B-12, B-12, come down. One rando. One rando has to, like, run with them, you know? And then you can be like, oh, shit, these people are so much better. Right, right, right. at this than normal people. And it's kind of crazy that they, I mean, that's basically dancing with the stars. I can't believe how people can hang in there

with professionals who are incredible. Well, I mean, they cater it to each person. You know, I mean, it's like the, you know, Jordan Childs, she's an Olympic gymnast. I'm not going to be able to do the things that she does. So, you know, Ezra, who was her partner, choreographed things for her that were in her, wheelhouse. So and my partner, you know, definitely push me to the limits of what,

what I could take. Yeah. Because towards the end, I made it to the quarterfinals and I don't think I would. If I'd gone further, I don't think I have my knees. Because I was rehearsing for an hour and then icing my knees and then rehearsing for another hour and then icing my knees. And it just, yeah, I don't think it, it got to a point where because the workload does get so big. I guess you go on. Right. And as I went further there, I did have a moment of like, oh, my God, do I want this? Yeah.

Do I want to do this? This is. And then they would talk about like, well, then there's this challenge and that challenge. And I'm like, oh, my God, that sounds so fucking hard. I don't know. And then at a certain point, I was like, fuck it. Let's see how far I can get.

Yeah. Let's see, just keep going. And, you know, if I, if it gets beyond me, it gets beyond me. And that's when I find out, oh, yeah, okay, I got to, you know. Yeah. And also, too, I got out at the right time because people were starting to get really pissed at me because I was still around and people that were better dancers were going home before me. But it's, you know, it's a TV show first and foremost. So I happen to do well on television, you know, I know how to be on TV.

Yeah. Is it, I have never watched Dancing with the Stars. Does the audience vote? It's a combination of the judges' scores and the audience voting. and they vote by text. And there is one really weird aspect of it, which I don't know. I mean, they used to dance one night, then vote, and then they'd have a results night on the second night.

But now it's just you can only vote while the show is live. Oh. And it starts from at 5 o'clock so that on the East Coast it's at 8. Oh, wow. So it's 5 to 7 here on Tuesday nights. So if you want to vote in the Western time zone, in the Pacific time zone, you have to vote before the show even starts. Wow. Yeah.

And it's Pacific and Mountain. You've got to vote just based on, I like that person. Yeah, I like that. Yeah. It's not, it's very, you know, so it's essentially the sort of real time voting of it, it's for the Atlantic and central time zones. Sure. So it's kind of like that's who the show is for east of the Mississippi is the real sort of, you know, accurate voting. Yeah, yeah, the reference.

On dances with the stars. Yeah. But it was it was fun. It was definitely fun. It was a lot. It was a lot, though. It was like I can see because, and I've also like I've recommended people to the person that does casting there like friends of mine are people that I think somebody will occur to me and I'll think, oh, they'll be really good at that. but I it does it is kind of like yeah but they have to be able to give up their entire life for conceivably three months over three months yeah it is consuming it is very very consuming yeah so but it was fun that's cool how nice to challenge yourself and just try something new yeah and thank you for having me on your podcast I'm so happy to hear about dancing with the stories with Mary Elizabeth Ellis I've it's the idea is that I've never watched the show and people

explain to me what it is. Yeah, yeah. So I feel like we're doing great. So there's dancing. I know what that is. Yeah, yeah. There's stars. Can't you tell my loves to grow?

So you've been a part of Sunny since the very beginning, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. We shot the, like, pilot presentation in my house. I lived with Artemis Pep Danny, who's also on the show. She plays Artemis. And, yeah, we were. Rob Mack was writing stuff and he was like writing silly stuff and we would shoot it outside of like the Olive Garden or whatever. And then he was like, I wrote this show and we were like, let's just try shooting it. Like let's just see what happens. And it just happened. You know how it is in this industry too where it's like sometimes just like magic of where you are and the timing and they are all with three arts. And YouTube had like kind of started but not enough that you would really want to put stuff on there. So.

Um, three arts packaged it and like pushed for it to get made, you know? And then John Langroff had just started at FX. And, um, I was telling a friend this the other day. And we did season one. And it went like, fine. But it was like the shield. Like that's what was on FX at the time. Right, right. So they're like, yeah, you guys need some like old white dudes to like fit in our demographic. Because that's what FX was at the time. Yeah, yeah. And Langroff was like, Like, what about Danny DeVito? And we were like, okay, does Danny DeVito want to do our show? I'm sure he wants to do our basic cable show. Because at the time, like, moviesters weren't doing television. Right, of course. And then because Langroff had run Jersey Pictures, Jersey Films, Danny's production company, they had a great relationship.

And Danny has three kids who are awesome. And they liked the show. And he was like, okay, I'll give you 10 days, like the first season for, eight episodes for him to be in maybe 10 episodes. Right. So I think we shot all of his stuff. Oh my God. You know?

I think they shot all of his stuff out. Maybe it was like two weeks or something like that. Yeah, yeah. And the continuity in the trailer of like trying to match makeup and everything, you know. And then they just sort of, FX just, I feel like, sort of kept giving us a chance because like it was doing well enough and they were building a new network. And yeah, it's been 20. I was 25 when we shot that, and I'm 46.

So it's been 21 years. Yeah, yeah. Which is really just crazy. Yeah, that's really fun. Now, are you involved in the writing part of it too? I don't write that show. Yeah. And just Charlie Wright?

Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Because it's the, is it four or five of them? It's three of them. Well, the three guys are also writers, Glenn and Rob and Charlie. Right. And then we have great writers, you know, great comedy. writers who come in and write every season

as well. Yeah. But yeah, it is, I think you're, because you've been involved in Simpson's stuff too, right? Have you done voices? They just cone and yeah. I mean, I think like just being able to, how do you come up? Charlie's

like people pitch stuff in the room and they're like we've done that. Like when you've been going for that long, like not only has that been done, we've already done that. So coming up with fresh new things and it's really challenging. I do every time I talk about those guys, though, just like also have to say it's pretty incredible to have working relationships with someone for that long where you're really like pushing

up against like your creative edge and that they still respect each other and love each other. And David Hornsby just had his 50th birthday. He's been involved the whole time he plays Rick 80 Cricket and we were all at his birthday party. And it's just really lovely to like, I don't know, get older and success together. Yeah, yeah. It's a nice, like it doesn't feel lonely at the top kind of thing. Right. It's like, oh, we've all been doing this.

It's been like summer camp for 20 years. And there's lots of spousal connections. Yeah. You know, yeah, and it seems like, yeah, it does seem like a family business. Yeah, it feels like coming home. It's very unique in television, I think, that show, just because it was so, I don't know, it was grassroots, but it was homemade. Yes, it was.

It was definitely a homemade show that ended up becoming a very big deal, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, never won any awards, but yeah. Well, I mean, what do you want? An award. Yeah. Just won.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, well, I've won a couple of Writerskilled Awards. Those are nice. That's cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Those are great. I'm surprised you got, have you been nominated for Writerskilled Awards? No.

They've only, I think they won of maybe a or got nominated for people's choice award. maybe one of people's choice award and got nominated for like best stunts one year. Wow. That's so weird. It's great. That's so weird. It is. I think it just sort of like we came up at a time where like what was winning was like two and a half men.

Yeah. You know? And now that like the bear wins best comedy every year, which great show. But funny, I don't, I don't think so. It also, when you, when you hear like the median age of the Emmy voter is like late 60s. Is it? Yeah. Wow.

It's like a late 60s male is like kind of, that's what, that's what's choosing the Emmys. Then it feels extra insulting because I feel like those are our people. Right, right, right. We put Danny DeVito in there. What more do you want? Come on. We gave me Danny DeVito. Yeah.

Give us an award. Give us an award. Yeah. Honestly, though, the award thing is so strange and having, because we used to get nominated for the Conan show, usually just for writing. I don't even know if we ever got nominated for best show. show, show, or whatever you call it, best comedy variety. But I just got used to, we'd go to L.A., and then we'd go and lose. And then we'd go, where, what bar are we going to now?

And then just would escape. And towards the end thing, I think I stopped going to the governor's ball just because it's like, yeah, why, you know. Yeah, what am I doing? And it's, and it, and then having gone to them afterwards, too, it is, it just, it feels like high school. feels like you're, like, you're there and like, yeah, you got this thing you're doing, but then you look and there's like the really cool kids are over at another table and you're like, oh, I'll never be that. Yeah.

You know, and also, too, it's the same thing. Like, you had two and a half men. For us, it was always daily show and now, you know, it's John Oliver because it's kind of those are seen as kind of important or meaningful. and highbrow and yeah you know and it's just like well i don't hey i don't find the news funny i don't know how i don't know how to do that yeah and so i'd much rather you know do absurd stuff like that we always did yeah um and they did they did win after i left they won an emmy for writing on on late night oh um yeah so that was good just snuck in there and gotten one somehow yeah it's all right

It's all right. I, you know, the other thing about awards that I can't believe is that it's a, it's a room full of people who have made it. Yeah. And they still want to feel rejection. It's like, it's like, it's what got us here. Yeah, yeah. It's like, it's rejection junkies. It is.

There's like groupings of whatever it is, eight or ten people, and it's only one of them gets to feel good. You're all successes beyond your wildest dreams. Yeah. But tonight you get to feel like a loser. Hooray. That's who I really am. You see me. Yeah.

Back to that. But it is. It feels so comfortable. It does feel nice to get to a point too, though, where you're like, oh, I've been in this for so long. Like I know pretty much everyone in this room, you know? And at least you're like, oh, mostly good, mostly good people. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. It's, and I imagine it's always been nice, too, to have Sunny as a home base for you. Yeah. Like you've never. had to feel like, you never had to go back to Olive Garden and get your host job back. I haven't, which has been like pretty incredible. And as they talk about like wrapping it up, which I'm not sure if they'll come back for more seasons after this or not, it does feel a little bit like this is going to feel, I don't know, really wild to be sort of out at sea without having this,

yeah, home base. It's like anchor, this port that we've had forever. Because it was always There was always going to be that in your year. There's always that, yeah, with whatever, like, other fun things pop up. Yeah. Because, I mean, because you've done, you know, you've done and been, you co-wrote and directed your own little movie or quiet little marriage, not a little movie, but, you know, I saw a little. You saw a little. Yeah, yeah.

A quiet little marriage, which, I mean, that's got to be fun. That was cool. That was so long ago. But we won slam dance, and that's, like, sort of how I got an agent. and oh wow yeah yeah that's great yeah but yeah i write with artemus and i wrote um mother may i dance with mary jane's fist a life tone original movie for adult swim which is um insane yeah and i'm really proud of it and um i just wrote and directed a short film a couple years ago called last to leave that's on vimeo right now that um i'm really proud of that's like like indie film horror kind of

And I have a feature that I wrote that I'm trying to get off the ground right now, go direct. And, you know, when you're creative, it's like you just kind of kind of keep pushing yourself like, you're like a junkie, right? Like you're like, okay, like alcohol did it. And no, is there some cocaine around here? And now I'm like, okay, I've been the cocaine for a while. Is anyone doing heroin or whatever? Is anyone doing directing? Yeah.

So I'm just, yeah, I want to just shoot. I want to just shoot some directing straight into my, into my veins. How is that, though, to like, you make a short film and then do you, because I mean, I've, I've only, I've, I've directed, but commercials. I've directed some commercials for a company in Chicago that I know everybody for a million years. Nice. And I like, and I like it. It's fun. Yeah.

It is a fun because it's very contained and it still is like making short comedy films, you know, little comedy bits. And I have friends who have directed indie features and stuff. And it just, to me, it just, I feel like I don't think my heart could take it, you know, just because it's, you're, it's so much work. And then you don't know if anyone will ever see it. Yeah, if anyone will see it or if it'll lead to anything else because I would think that, you know, that's, that's the reason you're like, I'm going to make something small and then I'll make something a little bigger and then I'll make something a little bigger and, you know, and it'll eventually grow. I mean, I do think, um, that's, that's the reason. Also, I feel like every time I talk, I'm like, as I've gotten older, but as I've gotten older, it's a huge thing. It is. And having like a little bit of wisdom and like a little distance, right?

It's like I made a short film because I wanted to see if I liked directing. And I really liked it. And so now I'm like, okay, well, I want to try making a feature. And I want to see if I like it. I don't know. I'm open to when it's over being like, that was too hard. Like I really didn't like that so much. Yeah, yeah.

But I have this idea. I had this idea. It had to come out of me. I wrote this script. I can see it all. So I really hope I get the chance to see what happens from here to here to here. Yeah, yeah. You know, and then just kind of go along for the ride and like do it for myself.

Yeah. How does it feel when you're out there doing it? Does it feel hopeful? Does it feel? Because I, you know, it's rough out there. Yeah. I found a production company that has signed on to help me. Oh, nice.

having like one like production company like um two people that I can just be like okay I'm not like pulling this up the hill on my own these people are also on my team and they someone to go to meetings with you yeah yeah and they've done it before so I think the scariest thing is like standing at the beginning of it and being like I I don't even know the first step to take yeah yeah yeah it's like sitting in front of a blank page when you're like okay yeah right right right yeah at least a blank page you know you just push the keys on the computer and their letters will show up. But like with a movie, it's like, do I get a camera? Yeah. Or is someone else in charge of getting the camera? Yeah. Who gets the camera? Yeah. Who's going to blow up the car? Yes. Yeah, no, it's, it's very daunting. And I mean,

it's something that I, you know, I would love to do. And especially television, I feel like, for all the years that I worked on the different iterations of the Conan show. Like, I know how to take something from the words and make it on screen. You know, like, I know how to block things. I know I'm a problem solver kind of thing, but it's, but it is just the how you get from here to there. Yeah.

And I think directing, I mean, I haven't directed television, but obviously I've acted in a lot of television and seen other directors. It seems to me that, like, You know, on television, it's like the showrunner's show kind of, like, they know what they want it to be. They have the idea and the director comes in and is like, how about this? And maybe the showrunner of the DP are like, or how about this?

And then the director's like, oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. So I think with filmmaking, like being kind of you get to answer to yourself. Yeah. And then indie films. So. Yeah. Do it.

I think you should do it. All right. I get in this podcast because I got to go out and direct an indie. okay uh somebody find me an abandoned gas station in the desert because they love that shit that's where you're gonna make it happen yeah old motel with a rusty swing set that's man there's gotta be scary shit and yeah yeah some boobies right right or uh torrid romance all of it why not all of it bad yeah all of it exactly torrid romance with vampires and monsters at a gas station at a gas station At a gas station in the desert.

Now, you said you told me that you have a child. You have a 14-year-old son. Is that right? Correct. Yeah. And was that, was like, did you know for sure you're going to have a kid? I mean, because it can be hard to fit a show, a kid into a show biz life. Yes, I did.

And as I've gotten older. Yeah, yeah. And I have friends who are like, I still don't know if I should do this or not. I'm like, don't do it. Really? Yeah, but also it's the. most incredible and wonderful thing of all time. Because once you do it, there's no going back.

Like, you're that person's parent for the rest of your life. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. But, you know, then you have your friends who are like, I don't know, we didn't have anything to do. So we were like, let's go to Japan. And you're like, oh, that's a way to live. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. No, I mean, well, I mean, I love having kids, but it's, it's, you know, for a man to say, like, I love having kids is, I, I mean. can't even think of the right metaphor. It's like, you know, somebody that likes to watch surgeries on TV going like, surgery's great, you know. Seems cool. Yeah, really cool. You open up a body and dig around. It's like, yeah, but you're not doing it, you know, and I mean, and it's, and it is the burden of child making is, and also mothering, you know, it's like there is these sort of natural roles that just kind of happen. And you, you know, I mean, I'm, I'm, you know, and people make fun of me, too,

because I will call myself a feminist. But there's also like, I'm the one taking out the garbage. You know what I mean? Like, there are gender roles that just kind of, and as you said, as you get older, you're just kind of like, it just sort of, that's how the dust settles, you know, it just kind of falls into these different sort of patterns. Yeah, I mean, I, because my came from such a traditional household where like my father worked and he, my mom did the budget and he gave her money and blah, blah, blah. I was like, I definitely knew that that was not for me. I did not want that. And Charlie came from a very egalitarian household where both of his parents work. They're both music teachers. His father is a professor in college. His mother teaches at, um, taught at like an

elementary school. And we've built our life way more like that, which is great for me. Yeah, yeah. I'd rather take out the trash than do the dishes. And he'd rather do the dishes than take out the trash. Oh, I have to do both. My wife's got it really good. You better get back on Hinge. No, no, no, no. You're here, I assume, I mean, aside from...

I'm here, I am here. Yeah, you know, I mean, the reason being, you know, just because who wouldn't want to do this, is that you're on Ted Danson's show, the Netflix comedy, A Man on the inside. And there's season two with that already. Ted Dancent, it's unbelievable. He was on this podcast. And I just like looked, when you look at how much television that man has, they're going to, you know, he's going to be working from the grave. I mean, I think he would love to work from the grave. Yeah, yeah. I think he's also not going to the grave because of how much he works. Like he's 77. Yeah, I know. Remember those lines.

It's hard to believe. Yeah. You know, he's, I mean, he's an amazing person. He is. The sweetest kind is almost kind of, and another thing that's amazing about him, too, is like, how such a gentle, earnest soul has been this successful in television and in show business and has remained a gentle earnest soul. Yes. I mean, I think that he would say he arrived there, you know, through some, yeah, through some hard times and some missteps and some. um, falling down and getting up and cleaning himself up. And he would also probably say that it's

Mary that made him like that. Yeah. Yeah. I think, you know, he just, he loves her so much. Yeah. It's really sweet. Well, tell us about that show. What's, how is it working on that? It's the best. Yeah. It's Mike Scher who, you know. And, um, he's just like, when we were talking earlier about like, understanding what's funny, he just has such a vision of like, this is the world. This is the comedy that fits in this world. And so this is what we're going for. And Morgan Sackett, who's an incredible producer. And the cast is amazing.

And the story is just like so sweet and also funny. And I think especially, you know, season one taking place in a retirement community, it really touched people. And it was about Alzheimer's and losing people to like dementia-related illnesses. And that touches everybody. And this season was, yeah, just really fun. And first season we shot at Universal And second season, we shot at Paramount

And they're both so close to my house I was very happy No Fox for you No, no Sony, screw it But hopefully we'll get a season three Hopefully we'll find out soon And Mike has said he'd like to shoot a lot more of it In San Francisco, which would also be really fun

Oh wow! Yeah. Is how many episodes is a season? I think eight, yeah Yeah, those are, you mean, it's come and go so fast. They do. And there's so many of them. And like, I don't know, last night we were looking at Netflix and there's some like homeworky kind of movie that's like the number one movie.

And Charlie's like, you slave away. You ride and you write and you try to make the best thing. And this is the number one thing. And it's like, yeah, because there used to be the Hallmark Channel and HBO and the reality show channel. And now it's just all in the same place. It's all in the same bucket. Yeah.

Yeah. It is strange that it can be like, these are the top things, like a hallmarky kind of movie. And then Claire Dane's like uncovering a serial killer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And then, you know, Mr. Beast game show. Yes. Yeah, yeah.

And then baking fails, which I love. Yes. Yeah, the baking stuff, the British bake off. That's. Yeah. Like, you got sucked in. You get excited. Yeah.

Oh, there's a new one. Yeah. Yeah. And, like, certainly. much like watching surgery. I'm like, I'm pretty good at baking now. Yeah, yeah. And it's always things like a classic Waldorf sponge. Like, I don't know what that is. Today we're making traditional Bigelthorps. Oh, the Bigelthorpe. Oh, I've had them, but I've never made them. You know, this old is weird English shit. It is. Puddings. Yes, yes, puddings. Some sort of a

pudding. Yeah. Is directing, is that kind of what's left undone for you? Do you have any sort of other, you know, you're looking to open a bar. You know, since you've got some experience. Definitely not looking to open a bar. I actually have not. I've been sober for three years. Oh, congratulations. Opening a bar would probably be a bad.

Probably, you know. Yeah. I don't know what's next, which is also kind of exciting. I mean, I love acting still so much. Like, it's my soul. It's like, I feel like definitely part of the purpose, my purpose on the earth, like to, work through my own shit through acting. But I do really love writing and directing seems like it would be really fun to do

because it seems like it's just like finding the people who are really good at everything that you don't know how to do and just being like, come over. Come over. Yeah. Let's figure it out. Yeah. When you say working through your shit in acting, is that dependent on parts? Like, do you, like?

I mean, I guess so because I don't really do like acting classes. I mean, I'm open to finding. I know there's like a lot of really cool, weird acting classes in L.A. where it's like bringing your dream and then like you'll play like apart from your dream. Yeah, that makes me tired. It makes me tired too, but it also makes me. I'm like, I'm going to play like, I don't know, a lamp with teeth. Yeah, but then you got to sit and listen to everybody else's dreams.

Yeah, that's true. Which is just, you know, I, David Cedaris wrote something great about how like, one of the most hostile things you can say to someone is, I had this dream last night, you know. He's amazing. Yeah. Yeah, but it's, yeah, I mean, because it's interesting to me when you say you work through it in acting. What is it? I mean, what does that mean?

I mean, I do, you know, I do therapy as well. And I don't, I'm like, I don't know how deep you guys get on this podcast. But did you see Stutz, Jonah Hill's documentary that he made about his therapist? I know about it. Yeah, yeah, but I did not watch it. I thought it was really great. And I thought that this, it's called The Tools and this guy, Phil Stutz, with Barry Michaels, created this style of therapy, which is very for me because I feel like I would finish every therapy

session and be like, and what is my assignment? Yeah, yeah. You know, and for this one, it is kind of like, this is what to pay attention to and, like, working with, like, the shadow parts of yourself that hold the things that you feel like if people saw them about you, you would be unlovable. And then learning how to bring that into your life experiences and not hide that part away anymore. And they call it part X, this part of you that's like, you know, it's always so basic. Like you're too old. You miss the boat. You're not a good mom. Nobody thinks you're attractive. Everyone thinks you're not talented. And learning to be like,

this shit is not real. This is like outside voices that I've learned to internalize, you know, or my fears. And so in doing this like therapy, this kind of shadow work stuff, getting to bring it into my acting. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. It's really fun.

Yeah. And it's easier with, you know, it's one of the reasons I really love doing a man on the inside because it's not just like, da, da, da da da da da da da, but do, do.

Like I went to Harvard. I know the way that a joke should sound with the rhythm of a joke and say it like I wrote it. Yeah. It's like, no, there's like real emotion that we get to dig into.

Nice. Yeah. Nice. Well, what do you think is the best lesson you've learned? This is the three questions, and that's the last one. What have you learned? Here today. Whatever.

I don't care. We got to wrap it up. You're tired. All right. Well, I had this stream. Just kidding. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's the best lesson I've learned?

I don't know. I think like, I think my favorite lesson right now is like there's not really usually a right or wrong way to do shit. You just try something. And if it, if you fuck it up or it doesn't work that way, like, I don't know, just try something else. Yeah. It's okay. Yeah, yeah. There's not usually like a one plus one equals two and you got the problem right.

Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And in there again, it is like as I've gotten older. Yeah. It's like I really recommend. men getting older to everyone.

Yeah. You get the hang of shit so much better, you know. You do. It's the best case scenario. That's what I've been saying. My line lately has been the thing they don't tell you about life is that it takes four or five decades to get the hang of it. Yeah.

And it really does. It does. And you might need a new hip or some knees here there. Whatever. I'll be more machine than man. I can handle it. Yeah. I've heard new hips are great, just FYI.

Oh, I can't wait. Yeah. I cannot wait. Skateboarding to work. Yeah, I am going to finally learn to twerk. Oh, that's what America needs. I'll tell them, I want a twerk model. Give me one that twerks.

Number two on Netflix this week. All right, well, a man on the inside, season two, is already out there on Netflix. Is there anything else you want to promote? Go watch my short film on Vimeo. Okay. That's called Last to Leave. Last to leave. You go do that right now.

Yeah. Why don't you? And binge 18 seasons of it's always sunny in Philadelphia. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Might as well. Might as well.

Well, Mayor Elizabeth Ellis, thank you so much for coming in. I love talking to you. Great to see you. I'm happy to have you. And thank all of you for listening and I'll be back next week. The three questions with Andy Richter is a team cocoa production. It is produced by Sean Doherty and engineered by Rich Garcia. Additional engineering support by.

by Eduardo Perez and Joanna Samuel, executive produced by Nick Leow, Adam Sacks, and Jeff Ross, talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista, with assistants from Maddie Ogden, research by Alyssa Graal. Don't forget to rate and review and subscribe to the three questions with Andy Richter wherever you get your podcasts.

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