The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Michael Cera

Episode Date: June 28, 2022

Michael Cera joins Andy Richter to talk about being a new father, working with the cast of Arrested Development, the immediate fame that came from Superbad, and more.

hi everyone we're podcasting um i'm here with michael sarah the actor musician uh bond vivant anything else are you throwing into any other qualifiers these days? It's just those three. Just those three. Yep. Just Vivant Bon. Yeah. I normally lead with that one because then the others just feel kind of like a happy afterthought. Right. Exactly.

And it's what you're proudest of too. I think it's the thing to be. I wish I actually was that. Yeah. What's the opposite of that? My French isn't good enough i mean it would be mal vivant i guess trees trees to be vaunt yeah yeah is that sad yeah sad liver sad liver yeah sad liver no um no i'm not sad no you're not that sad are you i'm not

no i take that back you better not be nobody likes to hear that. Trust me. When you're like, yeah, yeah, I have a career and kids and a full life and I make money, but I'm sad. They're like, fuck you. Wouldn't strive for that if I were you. Word of warning. Yeah. Use me as a crystal ball. How are you these days? I haven't seen you in a while.

I'm great. Yeah. No, it's true. I guess we saw each other kind of like five years ago or at least something in that realm. Something in that realm. Yeah. Well, there was a pandemic and that sort of fucked everything up. It was before that.

Yeah. Yeah. What did you do in the pandemic? Did you work much? Were you home much? I mean. I was home. I actually, I just moved into a house like two days before like the shelter in place

came in. Oh oh that's actually no in new york oh in new york and yeah and our moving date was like actually a few days later but my wife woke up with like a premonition in the middle of the night one night she's like we have to move the move date forward you know everything's going to shut down we're not going to be able to have movers we're not going to be able to move we're not going to have anywhere to live and she was right i mean if you hadn't done that it would have been really hairy because we had someone moving right into our apartment that we're moving out of so but anyway all that to say we basically spent the pandemic putting this house together and you know nesting yeah slowly well that's nice that's nice

yeah yeah and i and you had a kid right and we had a kid now because i know you don't talk about it much and we don't have to talk about it but well i don't um i don't know why you'd be ashamed of a baby no i'm not ashamed i don't like sort of publish op-eds about it but i'm not it's it's not a secret oh okay i don't scream it from the rooftop no i just i read the way i the way i read about it it was like it was like they wrenched the information out of you that you would procreated it definitely was packaged that way but uh yeah yeah it was not it's not you know it's not private it's just uh i just didn't tweet about it i uh man believe me i understand because uh these fuckers you know these fucking podcasters, they'll want everything from you.

And they give you nothing in return. Like, what are you getting out of this? Nothing. I'm getting 25 cents. I'm getting a sensational hour out of my life. Yeah, out of your life is the operative way to put it. It's gone. Never coming back.

Tell me about fatherhood. I mean, were you ready for it? Was it a COVID baby? Did it just kind of happen? No, no. It was something we had been, you know, I mean, my wife and I are together now. Well, not married this long, but together for like nine years. Oh, congrats. That's great's great yeah it's about time yeah she's been like for the last like eight years like

so baby baby soon yeah yeah and um and i was kind of like yeah you know at some point but i just i don't know i was um you know i never was a guy like because i i ask a lot of my guy friends like you know did you always know you wanted to be a father or do you do you want to be a father you know people who don't have babies yet do you strongly feel that and a lot of times the answer is yes you know but i that was never like a very strong like defined feeling that i had i could have easily seen my life you know without having a kid and i you know i kind of have a lot of people that I admire that have done that kind of life. So that seemed perfectly viable to me. But then being in, you know, a really great relationship with someone you love, it kind of just the natural course

where I love kids. I was never against it. I just took me time to kind of get there. Yeah. Why do you think that was? Why do you think, I mean, were your parents standoffish? They, you know, they, they, you, you were used to a cold relationship. Psychologically. Yeah. Well, cool. Yeah. I definitely, I have put it this way.

I have a negative relation association with parents and children, but I won't say more than that. No, I mean, and I'm kidding too. I'm kidding too. Because yeah. But I mean, yeah, because. Well, you have kids, Andy, right? I mean, I I'm kidding too. I'm kidding too. Because, yeah, but I mean, yeah, because. Well, you have kids, Andy, right? I mean.

I have two kids, yeah. When did you have kids? How old were you? I would have been 28 with the first one. Great. No, wait. No, no, no, that's absolutely wrong. I'm terrible at math.

I was, I was. Do you want to jump off the Zoom and come back oh no no because i was born in 66 and i had my first child in 2000 so that would have made me 34 not anywhere you know yeah i was i was 34 with the first one and then i was 39 with the second one. Great, great. Okay, so they're five years apart, yeah. Yeah, and we still kind of, among our friend group, we're one of the first baby havers. I don't know how it is with your peers. I'm kind of behind most of my friends.

Most of my friends are a couple kids that I grew up with. Yeah. Well, that's a different thing too, though. I mean, if you stay in your hometown, I think. It is. You get started. Yeah. I mean, that's true in my case. All my friends are years ahead of me and my sister, my older sister too. Yeah.

But I'm really glad that we came around to it. Yeah. I love him so much. He's like about to be 10 months old in a couple days. Yeah. And he's just so beautiful. So getting around too and scooting and cruising, as they say. Can he walk yet?

He can walk if we help him. Yeah, yeah. And he, yeah, it's exhausting right now because you can't you can't set him down it's like he he's i mean i know this is like a thing that people say but it's like they have an amazing ability to find the most dangerous thing yep even like a jagged you know um like floor you know what do you call it like what do you call the thing the baseboard like a jagged base yeah yeah just just completely concuss himself he'll just bolt straight to it anyway so it's very you know it's it's very

stressful at the moment but it's it's beautiful he's also becoming so much more fun and interactive we're laughing when they can start talking when you start getting a real person there because it's oh that'll be fun yeah i actually i'm dating somebody that has a two-year-old and uh the two she she talks but it's like you can't understand half of what she says right and neither can neither good same goes with the kid yeah terrible i really blew that joke um no um no but the two-year-old she she talks all the time but you go you kind of sometimes have to be like i'm getting better at understanding what she says. But there's so many times I'm like, oh, my God, can you just hurry up and become verbal?

Like, understandably verbal. Yeah, well, it's kind of like when you're having a conversation with someone who, you know, you don't speak the same language as them. You're just like in this weird nether space trying to understand each other yeah but i normally don't like think like well if i wait around a couple months this person will speak english but with a little kid yeah yeah it's it's um it it can be it it's a very i i and i've said this before on here, I've coined the phrase high stakes boredom for that kind of, because it's so boring, but it's also, you can't let your guard down for a second. Yeah.

Oh, that's a really good way of putting it. Yeah. But it also, in the boredom, you know, I mean, you have to pay close attention because even though it's like, you know, tedious and there's so much happening almost imperceptibly, like from one day to the next, you'd be, oh, you can do that now. You know, when did you, oh, oh, suddenly you're so comfortable at like just sitting up,

getting into a sitting position, setting yourself up and like so confident with it. You know, one day it's like just trying it. And the next day it's like, I got, you know, the mechanics are all baked in. It's amazing too, because the mental growth that you have or that you see in kids it's so fast and so and you get like my kids are smart

like my son's 21 my daughter's 16 but like when they were young and they were like my son was like i don't know he may have been not even four and he knew the solar system and he could name the planets by sight. And I was like, holy shit, this kid is going to be like a total brainiac. And like I say, he's smart, but it's like he didn't keep up that sort of level of like impressive intellect. Well, that's hard to keep that up. It sure is. Yeah. No, I mean, my son is just kind of clapping his hands, like hardly connecting them, but, you know, doing the gesture of it.

Yeah. And I'm like, he's a genius. Look at him go. He's going to be a professional audience member. He's celebrating. You're from a – you have how many siblings two sisters two sisters yeah and are you the youngest no i'm in the middle in the middle okay well that's good yeah that's good you know you know yeah yeah because you've got one that thinks less of you and one that thinks more of you yeah yeah yeah i don't even know which is which right exactly i don't but the thing about being in the middle like i think if you're if you're out of three and you're the oldest or the youngest it's very obvious what kind of complexes might

come with those yes you know people talk about kind of a middle child syndrome or a feeling but i wouldn't know how to name it you know i mean yeah i could come up with all kinds of pressures of being the first child or the oldest and the youngest i think is a really weird job too are you where are you in a formation i'm i'm pretty much the middle because i have an older brother and then a younger half brother and sister um who are twins so they sort of count as one you know? Yeah. How much younger? Nine, nine years younger.

Okay. My brother's three years older. And then my mom remarried when I was eight. You had twins. Yeah, and then she had twins when I was nine. But I mean, the middle child thing to me and I don't know if this is just my personality or whatever but I think it is like it's like you're kind of the the peacekeeper you're sort of yeah trying to keep all the plates spinning and the morale

keeper you know I definitely was the morale keeper I definitely was the one that like when things were tense and dysfunctional felt like yeah i better make everybody happy you know yes that's a hard thing to shake off isn't it yeah i'm having to you know as i'm like going through life have to keep reminding myself not to manage how people are feeling or experiencing you know just don't do that you know just yeah i think that comes from that i mean i think there is there is that you know and yeah i think that comes from that i mean i think there is there is that you know and that's something that you have done in the past and yeah yeah yeah i mean you know yeah i i struggle with um like try not to um you know solve other people's problems yeah or

get involved in that way just be there and support you know this is and accept people this is what i'm always working on i do think i'm getting better at it because i you know i can consciously understand that that's what i have to work on right right myself but um that's a tough one i don't know maybe that's just something a lot of people do i mean i just worry about people a lot no no i mean well and it the problem too is that that kind of Well, no, I mean, well, and the problem too is that that kind of, that instinct or that urge is sort of the basis of all human kindness. And so it's hard to look at it as like, well, this is something I better change. No, you have to change it for your own sanity.

Yeah. You know, right? to change it for your for your own sanity yeah you know right i mean i get just so worked up about things you can't control or change you know yeah yeah and you're setting yourself up for disappointment too exactly exactly you're always like you know you're setting yourself up for disappointment that you didn't get like that you're not magical enough to make something change and that this person didn't change in the way that you were rooting get like that you're not magical enough to make something change and that this person didn't change in the way that you were rooting for them like i found you know having you know been dating the last few years like there were just people that i would be like i'm rooting for you to get more healthy and then i'd have to be well, how about you just kind of step away?

How about it's not your job, especially like at the age that I am in the age that the people that I'm dealing with are. So, you know, I wonder, like, can people change? Or because I think if people want to, you can't you can change. I don't know if you could change a hugely fundamental level but i think you can change certain things about yourself i kind of hope for myself that i'll be able to like listen if anyone i really like feel knows me very well and loves me says you know you're doing this you know yeah although it's hard hard to be like have something pointed out about yourself but i don't know i kind of want to stay open to uh criticism even though it's really hard to hear it's yeah oh it's super hard to hear and i but i do think it's i do think change is i mean i feel like i've changed i've i feel like i've changed i I've been, you know, I've been in therapy for many years. And I do feel like I have made progress in my life.

There you're still, like you said, you're still basically who you are. And I actually just, I was talking to mini driver was a guest on here and we were talking about how, you know, like the most you're never going to get like the full 100 of what you want to be you know like i'm like i wish i i wish i had more ambition as a writer i wish i had more the ability to just sit down and crank out ideas and make a script and that wish is still there but i kind of feel like as as much as i can do for the amount of time i have left on this planet i bet you i could get like maybe 15 better you know like yeah maybe 20 better and that sounds like such a drag because i still have a i have a younger brain than i do the actual you know like everybody does everybody feels like they're younger than they are but i i just i there's still part of me it's like nope i'm gonna turn it all

around i'm gonna become the person that i've always thought damn when i'm really firing on all all my cylinders i'm gonna be you know and i just kind of feel like no probably just kind of feel like, no, probably just kind of be like a little bit more better of what I am. And to expect more than that is just not realistic. It's funny because I feel like that kind of engine that you have to put under yourself in this business. sort of just like a almost like a necessary function or survival instinct to working in a business that it's sort of you know kind of can can go a lot of different ways for you depending on how hard you work at it you know what i mean like yeah because that engine i think will always be there like an engine of almost like dissatisfaction that just keeps you you know it's a weird curse in a way that you can't really enjoy

like what you have done or where you are you know yeah i think it's a very common thing though with people that we that do what we do in that it is not you're not like the notion of like what's going right like think about but look at all the things that's going right it's like why the fuck would i do that what is that what's that going to get me no i need to focus on what's wrong yeah because that's where i need to start tinkering and that's where you know it's the same thing as in an audience a hundred happy faces and then one sourpuss and the sourpuss is all you can see that's all you can see. That's all you see. That's right. Can't you tell my loves are growing?

You started doing this so young. I mean, and I mean, and you've come through it like pretty healthy because you can. There's a lot of young people that get chewed up and spit out and i'm just wondering like like were you aware of kind of the more sort of dangerous aspects of putting yourself on the line like this and i'm you know i mean i know we're not fucking frontline workers i first of all anybody out there being like you know don't be bitchy we're talking about you know talking about the perils yeah yeah but i mean but yeah for young people especially it's really i you know, people will ask me like, would you put your kids in show business? And I say, no, no way, because there's too many fucking exploiters and too much judgment and too much chance for them to feel bad about themselves. That's all very, very, very true, especially

the last one. I mean, it's, it's just such a, it's like blow after blow, you know? I mean, the thing about, you know, when I was a kid, I was like nine and went on a commercial audition, the first one I ever went on and I booked it, you know? Um, it was like such a nothing thing to, it wasn't even really acting. It was like a day of summer camp activities and they filmed us, you know? Um, but because I booked it, uh, it was such a great feeling, you know, that I think if I hadn't, but because after that, it was like a just marathon of not getting anything and going on, you know, hundreds of commercial auditions. And I was not a good, like, you know, commercial child actor.

Right. Like that style of actor. I couldn't do it. And I didn't book any really. But if I hadn't gotten the first one, there's no way I would have gone on all those other ones and kept going. You know, like it would have been just too, you know, it was too hard and you've got to drive into the city and then back home,

you know, and. And are you aware of like that you're putting your parents, like you're making your mom or dad do all that yeah yeah you're aware of that yeah but i mean i had a lot of support from them and encouragement they were really you know they were really behind me yeah but without without like foisting it on me in any way you know it came from me but they were very supportive no oh i was and i wasn't even getting at that i just mean i'm'm projecting. I'm projecting if my parents had had to drive me in Chicago for repeated rejections, I would eventually start to feel like, I'm sorry. Exactly.

Well, I fortunately kind of booked a thing here and there. Yeah. Otherwise, we all would have said, let's stop. Yeah, yeah. It wouldn't have been. But yeah, i can't remember why i got onto it was something about oh pushing yeah i mean um well why did you end up normal oh yeah yeah oh that yeah yeah i yeah i would hate to see you know anyone i care about

and don't just get really you know hurt unless hurt unless they get lucky. I mean, you gotta kind of be lucky too. Yeah, yeah. And some people do and then they get, you know, otherwise I think people maybe would just quit after a certain amount

of rejection. Right, right. But being, as far as being normal, I think I had good people around me. Like I think you're just,

you know, unlucky if you, if you get, you know, kind of sucked up by bad, you know, corrupting forces.

I think like the generation kind of before mine was sort of much more um like you know vulnerable to that or exposed to that maybe maybe because i know a lot of kids you know kid actors that i grew up with that are you know my age now that are you know they're all seem pretty like normal yeah and didn't have didn't have those experiences maybe they were protected you know yeah yeah the way that they had to be um but i'm sure there are also you know i'm sure that that's still happening too you know i'm sure there are a lot of kids my or people my age that started when they were young who uh had you know like less luck than i had. But I think I just, I was always surrounded by great people. I mean, Mitch Hurwitz was basically the guy who like shepherded me into my,

you know, career that I'm still kind of, you know, like connected to, like he's the start of my career that I'm still on. So that's like an amazing guy to, you know, come into my life. It was just, you know. Yeah. Very caring, loving guy. you know come into my life yeah it was just you know yeah very caring loving guy although mitch hurwitz's brand of love is very very like whenever anybody talks to me about arrested development and how funny it was that i played quintuplets i have to tell them that it's because i was on a show called quintuplets that was shooting 200 yards away that i was that was you know that

was a fine show but i was a little embarrassed by it and went over and hung out with you guys because i was like oh man i'd so much rather be on a show like this and so with i swear when mitch put me in there it was like let's make you quintuplets because we know how uncomfortable you are with being attached to the notion of quintuplets. So it's like everything. That's great. I love that. In some of the later ones, like when I was working with Carl Weathers and every person that approached him and it's like thought he was Cuba Gooding Jr. And then they were disappointed when they find out, oh, no, it's Carl Weathers.

I was like, doesn't that sting a little he's like yeah a little bit like yeah that's like yeah i'm really happy that they wanted me to be here so that they could insult me repeatedly you know yeah right but i mean you know that's just it you it was part and parcel of it so yeah well now was that the first real state because i know you'd had some movie work you know but was it mostly up in canada well and then you did some series work up there too right yeah you mean before rest of development yeah yeah i was on a kid's show yeah i was a kid um that was a well it was actually it aired here but we shot it in canada it was called i was a

sixth grade alien and um it was great because it was a bunch of kids, my own age, and we were all friends and, um, it was great. It was fun. We did two years of that. And, um, And were you in school or did you, did you have to drop out of school for that? No, you kind of do school, you know, you kind of do school while you're working. Yeah. You do it on the set with a tutor and you kind of keep up with your school and, and then just drop back into school. That's kind of just a socially odd job to keep – you kind of keep getting pulled out of school and thrown back in and get caught up with your friends and with all the inside jokes that have developed without you being there.

You kind of have to keep reestablishing yourself. Yeah, yeah. But it was great. Did that give you – I mean, did that kind of give you a skill of being able to kind of drop in and out of different situations? Yeah, you kind of have to. Yeah. Especially in high school, it starts to get more complex. Like when we were doing Arrested Development, I was away for kind of half the year and then come back to all my friends and uh just just reconnect because everybody's changing and growing up and just yeah re-establish

yourself in that in that formation is is it possible to have a to have a social life like to date and stuff like to have girlfriends at that age yeah yeah i had had a girlfriend at that time who completely broke my heart. She kind of cheated on me, but you know, I was forgiven now. At home or in LA? No, she was back home. I was in LA. Yeah. And then I found out kind of through the grapevine. All my friends had been telling me she's making out with this guy in the hall, like her ex-boyfriend. Yeah. Who she was still very much in love with more than me. Right. And I kind of half confronted her. I was like, my friends say, you know,

you're making out with that guy. And she was like, that's not true. And you know, you can believe them if you want. She kind of gave me a version of that, but it wasn't so callous. I mean, she was really, she was really believable and I believed her. All right. I just like went into active denial. Sure. Of course. Of course. Yeah. And then all my friends on New Year's Eve, I was with all my friends and they were like, Mike, why are you, you know, like, we're not lying, you know, we weren't making that up. Yeah. Why would we lie? And they just kind of confronted me about it. They're like,. You know, we were not making that up. Yeah. Why would we lie? They just kind of confronted me about it.

They're like, it's true. You know, like it's real, you know, and I just kind of had to face it. And, um, yeah. So anyway, I did have a girlfriend in high school, but that's what happened. And, um, it's so funny. I think it's important to say I forgive her. Yeah. Well, it's just so funny.

Like, why wouldn't she just break up with you? You know, like, I don't know. You know, I have theories about it. She was kind of, she was kind of like a bit of a, like a homely, you know, young girl. Oh. Like not, not really noticed by anyone. And then like when we were kind of like 16, she like blossomed and she was so smart and funny and cool. And like, she felt like this thing that nobody else could see because she just was there. And she was so beautiful suddenly to like me and these, you know, two other guys who were both in love with her, her ex-boyfriend and his best friend, all of whom were caught in this web of, of intricate lives.

A quadrangle. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And so I don't really, you know, I think she didn't know how to navigate being like having guys be in love with her or something. I don't know. That's my, like, you know, Well, I've definitely known people through, I mean, just in my youth only people who like, where it was sort of like, well, why don't you just pick one? Cause they're kind of like, cause it's kind of fun to have two. You know, like, why would I play that? Yeah.

If I can juggle this and make this work. They're playing Vegas. Yeah. Like some kind of sitcom where I'm rushing back and forth and putting on wigs and changing identity. I'm trying to maximize. Exactly. What's wrong with that? Yeah.

What's wrong? You know, nobody said I could only pick one off the buffet. Yeah. Nobody said I could only pick one off the buffet. Yeah. Well, now, Arrested Development, I imagine that is a big change in your life. Because that was three seasons. Yeah, huge. Three seasons, yeah.

Was it three full seasons or was it just like three 13s? No, the first season was like 22 episodes. Oh, it was? Yeah yeah and it was like a miracle i remember when they picked us up you know for the back nine this all feels like such like you know you don't do people even have back nines anymore they don't right so anyway we got a back nine and that felt like you know a total like lifeline because it didn't feel like you know anybody was watching the show yeah and then we won an emmy you know after the first season we won the best comedy you know emmy and it was like this crazy upset or at least an art but you know we were sitting there like in the audience just happy to be nominated and then

it was truly unbelievable when we won you know yeah what yeah yeah um and then then it felt like well now we're now we got a show you know now we're gonna be on forever and but nobody was you know watching it and um yeah anyway the second season i think we did like a definitely a smaller order i think like 18 some awkward number you know and then the last season was like just a first you know first order like 13 episodes and so we kind of like ended with a bit of a limp yeah you guys you guys also had there were good i mean this is inside baseball shit but you guys had to you know gail berman was running things and she had committed to you guys and so you had somebody and that's what you know that's what it takes it takes an executive sort of yeah

it kind of likes think okay no this is i know this isn't like yeah this isn't getting huge numbers but i believe in it and let's give it another shot and i mean enough to it's like whatever whatever replaced you nobody's talking about that you know everybody's still talking about you know development that's cool that it's you know like definitely like a couple of years after we were off it started kind of um you know, getting watched more. I think it kind of makes perfect sense to me that, you know, when it was on TV, people didn't really find it because it's so like novelistic and serialized that you kind of have to like, you know, navigate through it. Like have the go on the ride. You have to watch it in a linear kind of way.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, so it's kind of weird. People are like, oh, there's this funny show. And then you turn into episode 10. You're like, who, you know, what are kind of weird people are like oh there's this funny show and then you turn into episode 10 you're like who you know what the fuck is going what are they talking about yeah there's all yeah half the jokes are like callbacks even after like the second episode people are like what you know yeah so it makes sense to me that it went that way um were you aware of how funny it was at that time or were you just so excited that

were you aware of how funny it was at that time or were you just so excited that you know how special well yeah i mean because yeah yeah we all felt you know that i mean from the beginning i mean mitch is just amazing and his energy is so informative of just what the show is you know like he leads with that energy of his that is just so funny yeah to be around and then you have all those other you know guys like just so it really felt great i was so you know proud to be a part of it and yeah excited to be around all those guys really felt like we had an amazing you know cast i just um oh ridiculous it's ridiculous yeah because there's so many shows that like yeah it's a good concept oh good pilot script and then there's just like a couple of a couple of the characters they hired people who were just kind of yeah right but you guys everybody was yeah fucking heavy hitters or whatever

metaphor you want to use yeah it's like so many main characters and yeah yeah a really fun rotating wheel of different different kinds of. Yeah. And I mean, like the first time we ever did a read through for the script was, well, the first time I ever heard the other actors kind of doing their parts was when they were auditioning for Jobes. Because I think that was kind of the last part they had cast. And they brought in the rest of us to read with actors coming in. Oh, wow. All of you. All of us pretty much yeah yeah and um you know it was the first time i ever saw tony hale do his buster and we were just like watching him in shock you know yeah yeah because you kind of read it on the page but then you see this guy doing that

like so fully realized you're like oh my god this show is crazy yeah and then when will came in you know everybody was like just you know it was totally stunning it was so different from everybody else that read and we were all just like wow you know yeah he's a dear friend of mine and yeah yeah will arnett is just like it's i don't know how anyone could not just have a crush on him in like the first five minutes of meeting you know times it's like it's annoying it's like oh my god will you stop being so fucking golden funny and good looking and charming and smart and fuck you fuck you will arnett well me and alia you know who alia who's my cousin on the show and we were kind of the same age in the show we were just

like i mean you feel that way about Will, but imagine like, you know, meeting him when you're 13 and he's bouncing, they're all bouncing off each other with David and Jason. I mean, these guys, it was like just shocking. He just wanted to be part of it with them. And, you know, and they always kind of treated us like, you know, they didn't censor themselves around us. They were all completely inappropriate all the time. Yeah that's and uh it was great yeah yeah it was

great yeah and even and you two guys you know like you two guys you and ali are both fucking fantastic actors and i think that that's you know when you were talking before and i'm not and so i'm not here to blow smoke up your ass are you not no i'm not do what and oh he just hung up no but i mean that was because when you were talking earlier about you know kind of how you sort of traveled through i mean i asked you about how you kind of traveled through a childhood career into an adult career and acting relatively unscathed and i think one of the reasons is because you're relative relatively yeah relatively unscathed you're a fuck you're a mess you know you're a mess right okay no this is i'm gonna listen to all this back like i said i'm gonna watch how i acted yeah and i might might agree with you might disagree with what you're saying now i just

said relatively to give you some wiggle room for like to blame you some of your foibles on your your showbiz career you know like oh okay you know what i mean i didn't know you were giving me a helpful tool okay i was i was you're was. You're like, you know, like you can say like, this is part of how I got scathed. You know, when your wife says, why are you so forgetful or whatever? You know, I was scathed. I'm relatively not. I'm sorry if you were offended by that. But, you know, listen, relatively unscathed in my book that's fair i

think it's pretty fucking good you know yeah um but no i but and especially because i was on the way to again to blow smoke up your ass you you you were so talented and and both and you and alia together so it's such instinctual naturalistic actors that I think that you didn't get put in a lot of shit. You know what I mean? Like you didn't get like put in a lot of kind of crappy, low rent projects that end up kind of, you know, exploiting you. Although there are some. Yeah, of course. Of course.

Yeah. I mean, you got to make a living. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, but, um, well, yeah, I mean, it's definitely something you think about when you're a kid and, um, I mean, Elliot, by the way, is like an amazing, you know, person that has been in my life since I was a kid and just being close to her and like her instincts and her, you know, um,

it was also incredibly helpful in my life. I mean, there's a lot of ways to go when you're like a teenager acting there's a lot of different paths you know and they're a lot of them end up being very very wrong yeah something so it was cool seeing her navigate into adulthood too which is such an amazing brilliant person um yeah but you know i i think like it all comes down to arrested development for me because there's also like you know i i really worshipped david me and ali both did like just we're just always in awe of david and in every sense you know like how he um and not to single him out you know specifically because i could really say this about all those guys but david was like i was a huge mr show fan when before i did arrested development when i heard he was going to guys but david was like i was a huge mr show fan when before i

did arrested development when i heard he was going to be in it i was like you know so excited that he could be in it even he was just cast as like a kind of recurring character you know and he wasn't going to be a regular but it just kind of became that yeah um yeah but i you know just being close to someone like him and see how he conducts himself and see how he curates his career and just worship a guy like that, it's a lucky thing to happen to you when you're a teenager. Yeah. Could have been anyone else. Yeah, so a lot of good luck there. there it does it also it i mean because you did get to sort of see so many talent you know i mean because so and so many different kinds of performers like jeffrey tamber is a much

different you know jessica waltz is different kind of performer than than jason you know and um what were you given a lot of like acting notes from the directors on the show or from Mitch? Or was it kind of just they sort of let you feel your own way? It's a good question. I think there was a lot of help. You know, there was a lot of – I specifically remember Mitch being very helpful in like getting me the part. Mitch, I think, was kind of – wanted me for the the part you know um he had seen me in another show and um he knew about me and then when i came in he was so supportive i really felt like it was my part to lose you know

at least in his eyes and he was kind of selling me to the network yeah so he was very helpful with my audition like very you know helping me kind of just make the most of every moment and you know make it make it right in a way that it really just it felt great because it really felt like he was setting me up to win and yeah knowing what eyes are going to be judging you and what they're going to want to want yeah yeah and also knowing you know what the tone of the show is which you know wasn't maybe that obvious before having ever seen it you know of course um but he had it kind of figured out you know and um so he was definitely yeah as far as performance mitch but but i think they were also so encouraging and you know just made me and alia feel like we were really belonged there

and were funny you know and we like just laugh even you know in the table reads we always kind of got laughs from everyone and it felt like just we really felt supported it didn't feel like okay you know now you know you guys have to kind of earn your your right to be here it really everyone was like wow these guys are great you know they really made us feel good um yeah but i don't know i mean i you know i can't remember too well i i know like as far as direction, everything kind of like, you know, when you're on a series like that, everything kind of starts to just kind of fire, you know,

and it becomes like a well-oiled machine. And I think like, often I feel like Jason kind of directed the scenes just by being at the center of them. Oh, okay. If you know what I mean? Like he often kind of controlled the rhythm of the scene because he's like the guy, you know, you're moving through the show with him right and and and it kind of he goes through it kind of the scenes work that way too in a way and um oh yeah he's carrying the whole thing he's carrying it narratively and pacing wise yeah yeah right right and and he just would set the tone of the scene in a way like even when we were rehearsing

you know he's kind of plodding his way through it and then it's just suddenly like on his feet you know i learned a lot just from watching jason rehearse and and find it and yeah you know so yeah it just kind of became this thing through osmosis over time where you just know how to play off each other right you know it's also the best way i mean i i, you know, every minute that you are being paid to do something is worth two months of learning it in school. You know, like you just, just there's something about being in a professional situation, especially in filmmaking. And I mean, I mean, you know, if you're a camera person, if you're hanging lights, if you're doing props, any of it,

you learn so much more by being paid to do it and being in a professional situation than you ever will by being because that's i went to film school i got out i worked on commercials and i you know i working on commercials for two months was like more than i ever learned in two solid years of film school you know yeah yeah you know and it was like fucking wonder bread commercials and stuff like that like no which was another thing another lesson about like oh this is not at all artistically fulfilling unless you want to think like you know i i i was in charge of picking out the furniture or at least you know culling the choices of the furniture and i like the way

the furniture turned out you know i you know like like that's sort of creative but it's more just you learn how to work as part of this really fun machine yeah and that spreads over into acting too i think you're you're you know yeah you're a very pampered member of the crew but you're still a member of the crew and if you don't think that of the crew. And if you don't think that you're missing the point. Yeah. No, you are because it is a machine and there's a rhythm to everything that, you know, and yeah, you have to get on board. We have to get on the conveyor belt with everyone. I mean, I specifically remember that like feeling when I was 10 and on the first set I was ever on was like just sensing that, you know, sensing that there's like a, there's like a treadmill or something that everybody's in step with each other on it. I have to get on it. I have to orient myself with them and get with the program just to figure out what, what are,

how, how we work. And, you know, it's great. It's true. It's like, it's really what you said. I mean, cause you kind of figured that out in a week, even when you're a child, you know, you're just like, okay, you know, you know but maybe i mean i remember being completely terrified and nervous on the first day and by the fifth day you're like i got this you know yeah yeah i know everyone they're all so nice to me yeah everyone wants me to succeed you know um yeah and nobody's really at you know he's asking you to like tame a lion or anything it's like yeah you just say words and then, you know. Yeah.

They've still got your back. I mean, I think on most productions, everybody has your back. You know, I've never been on like an awful one where it felt like you were totally alone for some reason, you know. Yeah. Now, how old were you when Arrested ended?

I think about 17 or so, 17 or 18 or something and how do you feel when that happens i mean do you feel like well i'm going to go back home i'm going to go to college i mean because that's 17 is a fairly eventful time where you were at a crossroads and you had this extra thing layered into it yeah i wasn't sure i mean all those things were kind of i didn't didn't um want to go to school for myself like well i mean maybe that's not true i can't remember it too well but i i mean i definitely wanted to keep working if that was an option i remember jeffrey tambor said to me very explicitly like in a very clear you know tone, like, don't go to school, keep working, you know? And, and I mean, yeah, I wasn't sure if that would, what kind of opportunities there would be to

keep working, but I definitely would have, you know, wanted to do that. And that is what I ended up doing. Yeah. Do you remember, I don't even know if this is on your, you know, radar or on your question list, but you came and did my web show at that time. I do remember that. You and Clark, yeah, and Clark, what was Clark's last name? Clark Duke. Clark Duke. I mean, it still is, I assume. It still is. Yeah, yeah.

No, I do. I absolutely remember that. That was right around that time. Yeah, it was right around that time. And I, and yeah, and because you and I hadn't known each other from, you know. Somehow I felt bold enough to ask you to do it. Well, no, I was happy to do it. I mean, I don't remember exactly what it is because of the meds. But, but I mean, I remember being there. I have definitely like a place memory of it.

And, and that was where I first met Clark and and then i saw him you know on a few different things beyond that but yeah but it did definitely feel well and that would also was too like at the time when all right this is for the internet all right you know like this is a web series like all right i guess that's gonna be a thing that's the thing and it's kind of like, no, it's not really going to be a thing. You know? Yeah. I mean, I did like I did what Paul F. Tompkins and I did a bunch of like a series of I don't even remember how many or a number of sort of like field remote comic shorts for eBay. That was just like comedy content on the Internet. Yeah.

That would have been like late night sketches, you know, like late night remote sketches, but a series of them where we kind of played comic versions of ourselves as motivational speakers. And I just, at the time, feeling like, oh, this is going to be a thing now. Like corporations are just going to have you come in and do like five little seven minute comedy sketches.

And now, you know, now years later, it's like, oh, no, they're not. No, they did for a minute there. But then they did for a minute. Yeah. Like, why would we do that? Why? That's not working for me. Why would we do that when we could just put like a poster of a beautiful person next to a vodka bottle?

And that's doing the trick. Or just kind of getting it sold. Yeah about putting a commercial on tv you know that now we could put that on the internet too you know so but yeah no that was i mean that's what i mainly remember about it it was like just during that weird time where i mean and it's still not entirely settled what this internet and what is TV. And it just kind of ended up being streaming instead of internet. But yeah, I do remember that. It was fun and I was happy to do it. Yeah.

It was so thrilling for us that you came and did it. You know, it was great. I mean, I felt so cool that I got you. I got you out there to do our show. I was like, wow. That's very validating. Yeah, yeah. Was that before Superbad or after? It was, um, it was right after we shot Superbad. They were putting it together. Cause Superbad was kind of the next big one for you, right?

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. That kind of happened right away, basically. I mean, that was kind of the thing that really, you know, I mean, getting a big job like that, like just, you know, a big, you know, a big leading role in a movie, it was, you know, like, the most amazing thing that could have happened to me, I think, in that moment where I was like, what's, you know, what's going to happen to me? You know, because there was also this weird, like, thing about that I lived in Canada, you know, and I didn't have a place or anything in in la you know me and my mom would come when we were doing arrested development and stay in like a furnished you know rental apartment like the oakwood apartments right right which is where we shot

clark and michael even though they explicitly told us we were not allowed to do that but um so i you know i was kind of like what i don't even live here how can i you know, I was kind of like, well, I don't even live here. How can I, you know, I'm living up in Brampton out of, you know, outside of Toronto. And like the whole career thing was very mercurial and, you know, like mysterious to me how it was going to happen. So, yeah, that movie kind of like defined, I guess, you know, what kind of future I could have. Yeah. And I kind of told you, like, yeah, maybe get an apartment. Yeah, I got it. Buy like yeah maybe get an apartment yeah I got it buy a car get an apartment yeah yeah um so yeah we yeah yeah I mean I didn't have that really feeling like I did feel like it was a big opportunity but I didn't feel like okay now I'm gonna live in LA and keep where you know I kind of never felt like that. When did that feeling of like, okay, I'm now an adult.

I'm an adult. I'm an actor. And this is my job. And I'm not going to go to school. And this is my life. When does that start to happen? I think that happened right when I got super bad. I mean, it was such an unbelievable job to get you know i

mean i auditioned for it you know like auditioning for it was my job for a while they kept calling me back and reading with various other people and i was like this is going really well you know they they keep having me back yeah yeah this is but i just you know i hope they find the other guy i hope we even make this movie. Sure. Yeah. So when it all was really happening, it was like, okay, this is the biggest thing that's ever happened to me career-wise. Yeah. So yeah, that cemented my, I'm not going to go to school.

I'm not going to get one of these educations that everybody wastes their time getting and just knows a bunch of stuff, you know, and learns things and can be eloquent and intelligent. I'm just going to be an actor. I'm going to wait for people to tell me what to say. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. During this time,

is there any, because you know, that's gotta have, you know, that definitely turned the dial up a few notches from being part of a respected ensemble show that not a lot of people watched to juggernaut teen film. And I'm wondering what the effect of that was and if it maybe made you go a little crazy or anything because yeah no one would blame you for being 17 and yeah you know because you know i'm sure that there were a lot of people that were like hey what do you want and you know and like when you're 17 or 18 if somebody says that to you

especially you know in los angeles oh i would like yes i would i would like uh party life good yeah i would like party time good good feelings yeah i like dopamine i kind of don't like the restriction of its flow well we got okay we got we're bringing in a tap we're gonna have a tap in your bedroom. A dopamine tap. We know how to act that. Just put your mouth underneath it and go crazy. Just guzzle.

Yeah. Yeah. No, that, it did change everything. It changed my whole experience as a human being. Yeah. Moving through the world, you know, and that was like, that was like a was like a big a big wrenching adjustment because um i found it you know wonderful and also you know it was unpleasant for me because i um i like walking down the street i like like being in the world and seeing people you know i can't imagine being like brad pitt and

like you can't walk down the street you know you've got a great life i'm sure you've got so much access and money but you also lose so much you lose like neighborhood you can't have a neighborhood experience yeah you're that famous and all that was like i kind of felt like i got wrenched out of like what makes sense to me i didn't want to live in a small world you know like a small entourage of people or anything that cut off from like real life yeah so they're like where all your friends are other famous people and you travel from famous bubble to famous bubble because that is a real thing there are some you know there are people who that's that's high level yeah level shit it's very strange and the food is fantastic yes yes it is fantastic in that realm and you meet

all the sexiest people yeah so that's all great but yeah no i just you know i i was like oh my god i can't like change everything that makes you know i can't like i didn't grow up in that world i mean you know i didn't grow up in extreme i think for some people that's like natural you know they can they're like okay that's that can be my home that realm but i was like i can't exist there and it feels good to people yeah yeah right it doesn't feel good to you no no it didn't feel good so i kind of um you know i yeah around that time i really had a big reaction to like the the sudden recognizability i mean it was really like a movie where the weekend that came out, I was walking down the street and it was like every, like every age group and demographic.

Yeah. Yeah. It was like, oh, wow. It's, you know, cause we were in this big movie that was like in theaters at that moment. It's like, and I just had no, I had no concept of how to, you know, handle that level of exposure. I was just very naive. I was like, I'm just going to go get pizza and, you know, just get grabbed weirdly by people. There are no boundaries. And when you're a child, the boundary thing is even like more non-existent. You're like 18. People can just feel like they can just kind of fall all over you. Yeah. So, yeah. And, you know, obviously, it was also a great experience. So, I don't only want to talk about what was difficult about it because it was also a great experience so i don't only want to talk about what was difficult

about it because it was also so exciting i mean i loved the movie i loved that it was a big hit i loved jonah i love that we were kind of going through it together you know there was a lot about it that was really great which makes it even you know all very it's all very complicated because you kind of love it and you're kind of you kind of keep feeding the engine you know you have momentum in that moment you're like okay now i'm gonna ride this but then it's also like but where's the ride going you know yeah yeah uh is it what i want you know so i i and then you're 19 your brain is so soft and you're so stupid that you can't even handle those big yeah those big questions so so what was your reaction? I mean, what, what sort of, you know, I kept working. I definitely had like a jag of just work where I was like,

that was because work actually felt like a very safe world. You know, I knew sets, I knew, you know, people on the set don't give a shit. Yeah. Yeah. So that was real life to me. That felt like, okay, some contact with reality and i was happy working and then um when i kind of got a little burned out after kind of working for like you know two years or something without any positive i was like i'm gonna take a break and take some time and in that time vacuum of like not working i was like what do i even do what's my life who's around me you know who are my friends what is my day-to-day life I just didn't have any of that built you know like so I had to kind of just like you know figure out what that was you know just get to know who I was and what my life was how I exist in the world and put it all together so as

far as how did I react to it it was kind of a bad reaction honestly it kind of was a couple years of like struggling under all that like I I definitely remember feeling like i think i want to pull the handbrake on the whole you know thing like the kind of big moment for me was like um in 2008 i got asked to host snl and i said no and it was like this big code red alert for my whole team you know my publicist and my manager and my agent they were like we got to get on the phone with him work him down he's gotta fucking do it. He's doing it. He's not, not doing it. And Lorne Michaels called me and somehow they got Lorne Michaels to call me. I mean, Lorne Michaels wasn't applying pressure, but he, they were like, I guess they were like, maybe if you talk to him,

he'll come around to it. Yeah. And I was like 20 at that time. And I, I, um, I just, I just didn't want to do it, you know? And I didn like 20 at that time. And I just didn't want to do it. I didn't do it. Yeah. And I kind of wanted to just hide for a bit. Did you not do it at all? Because I saw something where it was like it was recorded, but there was a writer's strike, so it didn't air. Yeah, yeah.

No, that was, yeah, remember during the writer's strike? That was a year earlier, actually. It was like I was working in New York in 2007, and that was during the writer's strike that was uh that was a year earlier actually it was like i was working in new york in 2007 and there was that was during the writer's strike and um ucb in new york was doing all these live episodes just so because all those people were sitting around so they definitely did like a live 30 rock a couple other shows you know and they did a live snl and i was i knew amy polar through will you know, and they did a live SNL. And I was, I knew Amy Poehler through Will, you know, during Arrested Development. They were married and Amy was this amazing, like, champion of mine in my, you know, teen years. She would always come by the set and be so encouraging and sweet.

And so she texted me and she was like, you know, do you want to do this? And, you know, so it was just that. It was like a live one-off, very kind of special night thing. Right. So, yeah, you just dropped in and did it. It wasn't like the full. Yeah. It wasn't the full thing.

No, I had like one rehearsal. The full hosting. Yeah. Yeah. No, they had it all worked out. They made it very easy for me to just. I did one rehearsal with them the night before. It was very casual.

And then just went in and just did it. And they were like, if it's clunky, it's fun. It's just going to be a fun night. You know? Yeah. Yeah. That was cool. That was really cool.

Yeah. Well, I'm, you know, we're getting to time here. And I did want to mention that you, you know, you've released an album. So, you know, like musician, calling you a musician is like a legit you know like you can actually say that you're not just a guy that sort of noodles around on music and i just want to ask like what that what that does for you what doing music i mean what you know yeah it's if it's like something that you feel is like a a completion of you or is it a fun side thing or you know yeah i would say it's a fun side thing um yeah i mean the Yeah, I would say it's a fun side thing.

Yeah. I mean, the album I put out, it's like, it's pieces of music I kind of made over several years just like on my computer at home, you know, having fun. It was never like an ambition to put an album. I mean, when I was recording music, I never thought of even putting it out. I would send it to friends. Yeah.

But, you know, it was quite private, kind of. I never thought about making it public. And then, actually, I had a friend of mine, Sebastian Silva, who's this great director I've worked with a couple times. And he was like, you're way too careful about your music. It was like a very effective criticism. I was like, that's, you know, I don't know. That kind of motivated me to put it out. Like, okay, don't be so careful with it.

Don't be so, you know, just put it out. Were you afraid of the reaction, of a negative reaction to it? Or were you afraid of coming off as like a dilettante, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Like it's embarrassing, I think, to be an actor. And then you put music out. It's like, oh, that's not nice.

That's not a great look. But then I was like, I do, I'm proud of the music. And it's not like, you know, it's just my little music I made at home. So it's like people will either be interested in hearing it or they just won't give a shit and won't go hear it. Right. So why not put it out? So I just did one day. It's nice stuff.

It's not, I mean, it's not like obnoxious kind of like, all right, here I come. You know, like, get ready. You know, just like Sarah in big letters across the stage with pyro going off um well what what are you uh i mean you know fatherhood's ahead um do you have any sort of any anything special planned are you i mean is there something you're dying to do you know yeah i'm trying to get a movie made that I wrote with two friends of mine. So we're chugging along on that. For me to direct, you know, that's kind of what I would, you know,

love to do next, but we'll kind of see, you know. Have you directed much stuff? Yeah, but not on that scale. I mean, me and Clark kind of co-directed Clark and Michael, and, you know, I've done a couple short films and things. That's it. I've never done any TV or anything. I've been basically writing things for myself to direct and trying to get those to take root and pushing those along.

We'll see. Yeah, and then right now I'm in London actually working on the Barbie movie. Oh, cool. Yeah. That looks really fun. Just seeing some pictures, I'm like seeing the Ryan Gosling Ken pictures. I was like, oh, that looks really fun. Ryan is so funny in this movie.

So funny. He's great. And Margot Robbie is fantastic, too. And Margot's amazing. Yeah, I mean, it's an entirely, it's a great, great cast.bie is fantastic margo's amazing yeah i mean it's a it's an entirely like it's a great great cast everyone everyone is so great um i've been excited i feel really good about it i've been excited to be to be part of it and just watching it you know and you just won't believe like it's crazy what the you know the production design and the costumes is going

to be really fun yeah who are you playing in it oh i don't even know if I'm, I don't even know. I mean, no one's told me not to say, but I don't want someone to like, you idiot. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Then don't. I mean, it does feel like it's shrouded in some sort of. Of mystery.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, now people know you're in it though. Yeah. People know I'm in it. I was actually kind of, I was wondering too, cause I was assuming you're on the East coast.

And then when I, excuse me, cause you've got a window behind you and I saw it getting dark. I was like, damn. What the hell's going on in New York? Yeah, it's like 445 and it's getting to be nighttime. What the fuck? There's a major supernatural event happening in New York right now. We're talking about growing up as a child actor. Well, what, you know, I'm sure that people ask you for advice and I'm sure that people sort of, you know, ask you like to impart wisdom. Um, and I, you know, I have, I have a lot of advice to give you. I can think of right away for you, for you. Oh, for me. Yeah. No, I mean, a lot of things come to mind right away. Honestly. Go ahead. You want to do that off the air or do you want no go right ahead why don't we let me knock it into an email because

i don't want to like you know okay make you react live to what may be some you know intense things to hear i got it i got it yeah i don't want to cry on this podcast i don't want to cry on this thing no i mean but like what you're the host like what do you feel like what do you think is that you've learned you know from from this and by this i mean this incredible hour and seven minutes or whatever it is oh god what advice i don't know i mean you know i don't know i can only kind of give advice you know to myself that's like only always rattling in my brain. It's like kind of like we were saying at the beginning, which is just acceptance of people you love. You know, that's something I'm not trying to solve problem. years ago like my my parents got divorced going on 10 years ago now and um it was very you know it was like messy but now they're best friends you know like as soon as the dust settled they travel together they like do everything together now and they they're all good but it

was like at the time it was like you know but and i was going home and i was getting you know me and my sisters were kind of just managing everything and ali was like but it's not your problem to solve yeah and it was really good good thing to hear if you're you know a person who tries to manage you know people when you're when it's not your function you know i think sometimes when you see people suffering you just feel like well what can i do it's not a good feeling to be like well there's not much you could do just be there for them right but that's kind of i think what it you know just be there and love them and that's my advice yeah and especially too i think with your parents like that's i always try and remember like parents are supposed to take care of children you know yeah until you know like the parents can't get

out of bed then maybe it switches around but yeah then i don't then i want to ask my mom to make me breakfast when she's using a elevator up the stairs yeah but i mean but you know what i mean i it's like parents even parents shouldn't expect their adult children to prop up their happiness. No, absolutely not. That's not the deal. And for that deal to turn that way is a malpractice. Very well put.

So I think like, yeah, it's like, you know, they'll figure it out. They're the parents. You're the kid. Right. You know. That's good, yeah, let they'll figure it out. They're the parents. You're the kid. Right. You know, that's good, man. I mean, I guess you're, you know, you probably got kind of like a different perspective and a little clarity on that once you had kids of your own. Right.

I mean, yeah. And got divorced, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. No, it's, you know, it's a big, difficult thing, but it's like, I certainly didn't. I certainly didn't want it i mean it's gonna be somewhat of a burden you know because it's like a destructive you know it's initially destructive

hopefully eventually constructive but um it's like it's a upaval. It's an explosion of a unit. And yeah, it's going to be really, really tough. But it's my, you know, it's like, it's the adult's work. It's the adult's burden. It's not the, you know, like, and yeah, there's going to be stuff that's hurtful to the kids, but you cannot add on to that. Yeah, there's going to be stuff that's hurtful to the kids, but you cannot add on to that. You cannot be like, you know, like, I'm hurting and I'm lonely and I'm scared and please help me, child of mine. You know, that's like where, like, honestly, that's like a source of many of the world's great ills. It comes from shit like that the role reversal yeah yeah yeah expecting kids to be yeah to be something other

than kids you know yeah oh you know what quick uh plug um please do you ever watch do you ever watch couples therapy uh i don't the showtime show uh--uh. Wow. It is so fantastic. Is it? It's couples therapy with this woman who is just a rock star. Is it true? Is it like real? It's real. Yeah.

And it's amazing. And it all comes back to this stuff, to childhood dynamics with parents and stuff. It's what all these couples are working through at the end of the day. childhood dynamics with parents and stuff is what all these couples are working through at the end of the day. They're like, they're trying to play out some, some narratives of like reconstruct some element of their childhood that they kind of want to go a different way or something. And, you know, I mean, that's a lot of the time what's, what's going on at least. Try to relive history and fix it. Yeah. Exactly. And you learn so much about yourself and about relationships watching this show. It's just brilliant. I love it. I'm not making any money on it, but, you know, I think everybody should watch it.

Good. I like that when you said, can I plug something? It was not something of yours. Something I'm watching. Yeah. You're like Jesus, man. You're totally selfless. All right. Well, Mike, thank you so're totally selfless. All right. Well, Mike, thank you so much for spending time. Thank you. Thank you, man. Yeah.

Thanks for having me. Yeah. And good luck over there in the UK. And, you know, swing up to Dublin if you want. I'll tell you when I'm up there. Yes. Yeah. Oh, let's have a Guinness.

David Tell has a great line. He's like Guinness. Yeah. I want to get fucked up, but I also want pancakes. I remember that. Yeah. Yeah. All right.

Well, Michael, Sarah, Godspeed to you. It's great talking to you. I'm glad to catch up with you and thank all of you out there for listening to this episode of the three questions and I will be back next week to query again the three questions with Andy Richter is a Team Coco and Your Wolf production it is produced by Lane Gerbig

engineered by Marina Pice and talent produced by Galitza Hayek the associate producer is Jen Samples supervising producer Aaron Blair, and executive producers Adam Sachs and Jeff Ross at Team Coco, and Colin Anderson and Cody Fisher at Earwolf. Make sure to rate and review The Three Questions with Andy Richter on Apple Podcasts.