The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Paul Reiser

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

Actor and comedian Paul Reiser (“Stranger Things,” “Mad About You,” “Alien”) joins Andy Richter to discuss the release of his first comedy special in decades, what his kids thought of seeing their dad in “Stranger Things,” shooting his new film “The Problem with People” in Ireland, and much more. Do you want to talk to Andy live on SiriusXM’s Conan O’Brien Radio? Leave a voicemail at 855-266-2604 or fill out our Google Form at BIT.LY/CALLANDYRICHTER. Listen to "The Andy Richter Call-In Show" every Wednesday at 1pm Pacific on SiriusXM's Conan O'Brien Channel.

Hey everybody, welcome back to The Three Questions. I'm your host Andy Richter and this week I am talking to Paul Reiser. You know Paul and you have known Paul for many years from his work in Mad About You, Diner, Aliens, Beverly Hills Cop, Stranger Things, his stand-up comedy, and much, much more. His new comedy special, Life, Death, and Rice P Pudding is out now and you can also rent his new film, The Problem with People. Here's my conversation with Paul Reiser. Last time I saw you, if I'm not mistaken, I was sitting in your lap. Probably. No, it was on Conan. They showed a scary clip from Stranger Things.

That's right. And I jumped at you. Luckily, I didn't hurt you. I know. It's so strange. We're rolling, right? Yeah. It's so strange because that was probably

six or seven years ago. Right. Eight years ago, and it feels like we're talking about last year. I know. It all gets blurry. Yeah. Especially, you know, it's the pandemic just throws the timing of everything off. Yeah, forever it's going to be a little bit of a hiccup and you're trying to draw a straight line. Yeah, yeah. How did we get here?

How are you? How's things? You know, you are a very, very busy man. I didn't know you were gonna open with a tough question. He said, how are you? And I got stumped. Well, listen, if you want to lie down before you tell that,

my rates are better than most therapists. Well, you go piercing into my personal life like that. I don't think you can expect an answer. Life is good. Life is good. Life is busy. Life is good. Yeah, I just dodged a... I was about to go somewhere dark. Um...

You can. Yeah, why? You can. Why not? Why not? It's a comedy-type show. Yeah, I know, but, you know, my comedy is usually pretty vicious, so... Well, you know what? You know what? It's funny comedy type show. Yeah, I know, but you know, my comedy is usually pretty vicious. Well, you know what, it's funny, I joke,

my special, and when I've been on stage lately, I just, I open and I just say, nothing tonight's gonna be important. We're not gonna talk about politics, the social, the world, the culture. And I used to say that just as a disclaimer to go, I know I'm gonna be talking silly shit, and I'm very well aware that there's serious stuff.

But I just wanted you to know that I'm aware of that, but we're not gonna talk about it. To my surprise, people applauded, like, thank you, thank you, let's not even go there. So we're ostriches, I'm just gonna put my head in the sand. A lot of times I need more sand. There's not enough sand I need more sand. I know there's not enough sand.

I can still see. No, listen, I'm very unhappy with the results of the election. I'm very nervous about what's going to happen. And I have shoved my head deeply, deeply into the sand. I have not been watching the news. And I think that it is, like it's, people are relieved from that. And that is, so many things I hear are saying,

we're not gonna get tight. Or we're not gonna get, you know, like uptight in this. We're gonna say fun stuff. Well, yes, as entertainers, that is what your job can be. That is what your job can be. But yeah, you know, on the other hand, I don't know that burying our head is gonna make it better.

But I didn't follow the election. Who won, by the way? It is... The man. Yeah, I think I taped it. Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna watch it later. Don't tell me.

The man won. That woman lost again. Surprise, yeah. I'm gonna watch it later. Don't tell me. The man one. The woman lost again. Surprise, surprise. That is surprising. Oh, what a brief shining moment of, I hope we all had, but we will summon it back. I find that when the world gets heavy, maybe not quite bearing the head in the sand,

but getting smaller. Let's like, okay, let's scale down. Let's get through today. Yeah. Let's like, okay, let's scale down. Let's get through today. Let's get out and tomorrow, let's, you know. Where was George Carlin was here? He would have really insightful stuff. He's already said it all. He called it all.

He's already called it all. And all you gotta do is click on a random George Carlin clip and you're like, oh my God, why didn't we listen to it? I think his head would explode if he were here today. Your new special, which is called Life, Death, and Rice Pudding. And Rice Pudding, the important, the big three. The big three, as you know, right there. And it's been how many years since your previous special?

The last special I did was 1991. Wow. I like to space them out, Andy. I don't want to crowd the marketplace. It's been how many years since your previous special? The last special I did was 1991. Wow. I like to space them out in here. I don't want to crowd the marketplace. Right, right. Let them... It takes a while to come up with an hour.

Yes! Yeah. And let them, let them yearn. Let them hunger. Let the demand, you know, blossom. No, I had been, I had been not out there performing for a big chunk of that, like 20 years. I just got distracted with other stuff. And then the last 10 years I've been out there performing for a big chunk of that. Like 20 years, I just got distracted with other stuff.

And then the last 10 years I've been out there and doing shows, but what was surprising to me, though it shouldn't be, is I've been lucky enough to be on all these high profile shows, or Stranger Things, which is huge, and The Boys, and Kaminskyinsky myth and all these things, to the point that people go, oh, I didn't even know he does stand up anymore.

I went, okay, or that he ever did. Yeah, that's the other thing. I bet you there's a lot of people that just know you as that character actor. So I had to get a special out there while there were still people living who remember, oh, yeah, yeah, ay, ay, he's funny. So, you know, but I was, I mean, I joke,

but that's kind of why. It's like, it kind of baffles me, bugs me. There's like, no, no, I'm not, someone said, oh, the guy from Stranger Things is gonna try to be funny. No, it's the other way around. Right, right, right. Funny guy's gonna try to pretend to be a doctor for a year. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

By the way, I'm not really a doctor. Right. So yeah, and it was fun. I'm glad I did it. It came out really well, and the response has been great. People go, I really laughed. And people say that-

It's a very funny special. Oh, thank you. Yeah. But people say it like it's a surprise. I go, I laughed. I go, well, that's the point. I know. That's the point. I know, but they mean well.

Yes, they do. But they urge you, you know. point. I know. That's the point. I know. They mean well, but the years are, you know. Well, my oldest son had never seen me perform, and he was there at the taping. Oh, really? He'd never seen you do stand-up? No. Wow. And they didn't want to.

Did Andy ever watch your specials? No. This is the first special? No. No, they don't care. They don't care. Yeah, yeah. Andy, they don't care.

But he gets nervous sometimes, and he said, he was almost going to come to a show in the past and he went, I'm just afraid I'm gonna laugh. I went, no, that's the point. Like he was- What did he mean? I think he meant like he's just gonna be thrown and like my fear is he's gonna shout out,

that's not true. Our mother never said that and he's painting an ugly picture. He's embellishing for comedic effect. He's embellishing. None of what I said as a child was that too pointed. I think that confused him. So you think he meant like he would be laughing at you

rather than with you or something? Or I think that he would just be inappropriately laughing, like, this guy's no good. I don't know exactly. I can't believe it. But I get that it distracts. My other son, when I did the second season of Stranger Things, I was talking to my son. I said, this is my younger son.

And I said, you know, I would have certainized, just as a viewer, I certainly would have watched the first season, because everybody was talking about it. I said, but it's not really the kind of show that I am drawn to as a viewer. I said, I don't know that I would have watched the second season because everybody was talking about it. I said, but you know, it's not really the kind of show that I am drawn to as a viewer. I said, I don't know that I would have watched the second season. And without any sense of irony, he said, Dad, you know, I think I would have enjoyed the second season a lot more if you were not in it. I went, I can hear you when you say that. You know that. Like it came out of your mouth. He goes, no, it was distracting, you know,

because I couldn't watch it because you're dead. I went, that's how convincing my character was. I went, that's bullshit. That's my father. Not a real doctor. I mean, I wonder. You know, you never had to watch a TV show with your dad in it, so. My guess is he wouldn't have been that funny.

It might be hard to separate, you know? I understood, but it was just a perfect adolescent thing to say, if only you were not in this show, I could have enjoyed it. I mean, I could have enjoyed it. I mean, I always was kind of glad. Like, my kids... My older kids...

My older kids... Well, my son turns 24 tomorrow, my daughter's 19, and now I'm married again, I have a four and a half year old. Oh my gosh. So I got a widespread there, but like... The older kids never were that interested in what I did and stuff. I mean, when I was little or when they were little

and I did animation work that, you know, then they'd be like, that was kind of cool to them. And they liked that. For years, I always wanted to get something, get a Pixar so that my kids could at least, yeah, they could watch it. But, you know, and I still have in the back of my head, oh, I gotta get a Pixar.

I go, no, they don't care anymore. Well, and honestly, when you get it, they don't care it. But, you know, and I still have in the back of my head, oh, I gotta get a picture. I go, no, they don't care anymore. Well, and honestly, when you get it, they don't care that much. That's true. It doesn't, because they're, and there's this weird thing where my kids were little and they knew that my voice was in a cartoon,

but it still was a cart, like they took the cartoon world as real in some ways, you know? Yes, but there is certainly this thing of kids and their parents. There's, you know, the glamor is going to come off. Yeah. Which is healthy, I think. Yes, it is. And I remember hearing Springsteen say that his kids,

you know, he said, my kids know maybe three of my songs. How is that possible? Yeah, yeah. You're everywhere. Yeah. They just know I travel a lot and I stay up late. And I was like, OK. Like, you're everywhere. Like, yeah. They just know I travel a lot, and I stay up late. And I was like, OK. But it's weird.

And then I guess if you're born into that world, it's not impressive, right? But I remember one time I was in a film that was nominated. Not me, but the film was nominated at the Oscars. And so the clip that they showed on Oscar night, which is Billions of People, had a two-second shot of me. And my son, who was like 12 at the Oscars. And so the clip that they showed on Oscar night, which is billions of people, had a two second shot of me. And my son was like 12 at the time went, dad. And he hugged me.

I went, that? I said, I didn't do anything. They just picked. But then you were on that and that's big. But if it started with you, I don't care. Right, right. Yeah. My daughter is overseas.

She's in college now and she's overseas. And she told me one day, and she's like, she's like, I was watching something, and it kind of, and then like an old Conan clip came up, and she said, I was watching some of the clips, and she's like, that show was pretty funny. I was like, yeah, yeah. You just have to come to it. It's kind of generally considered such.

Now why overseas? Where overseas? She's in Ireland. And this is just a weird thing, the college that she's going to, she got into like a small kind of liberal arts college on the East Coast. No, on the East Coast.

I don't wanna say specifically just because. Sorry, none of my business. No, no, no, that's okay. But they do this program where they, cause like another kid from her high school is in the same class and he's in Greece for their first semester overseas. Oh, that, oh wow.

And my son said it's because it's a tough school and there's a high dropout rate and he said they need to send kids overseas for dorm rooms to free up. The kids that go, no, fuck this, I'm out of here. But Ireland, if you gotta go somewhere. Yeah, no, she had a choice between Ireland and Paris and she chose Ireland.

Well, they already speak the language, so that's helpful. I just was there, I was there two weeks ago, this movie that I did, that I wrote, and I wrote it so just because I wanted to go to Ireland and make a movie yeah and nobody was doing it for me so that's the problem with the problem with people yeah so it just opened it opened here a couple of weeks ago and it opened in UK and in Europe or Ireland and UK last

week and you know after spending a summer there shooting it was everything I hope it was so beautiful and and then everyone said, yeah, but now that you're going back, see if it's still as romantic and as well. It is, it's just beautiful. And the people are great and it's just- Yeah, you hear people say that about like, oh, the people are great. And you're like, well, people are people, but no.

The Irish people are really friendly and low-key and you know, just... And there's a sense of humor that's sort of in the DNA and you don't get elsewhere. And they appreciate you being in comedy. Yes, yes. And they have a long history of storytelling and literature and storytelling and totally comedy. But you know, it's funny,

I don't know if you've had this experience, sometimes you got to, in a good sense, comedy humor, I'm saying not comedy, but humor, sense of humor is a universal thing. And it brings people together. So I have been, you know, in Italy or France, and I don't speak the language, but with facial gestures and you know, right?

And I remember we went to Russia as a family trip, don't ask me why. And I went, something's wrong here. I couldn't bring, you know, you get a waiter and like, you can't make a joke about how you're not, no, there's nothing. And I went, it's just gloomy. And like there's certainly Russian people

who I've met here who are funny, but over there, and this is years after, you know, things have happened. The wall fell. There were people, yes, but I went, I can't break through. I can't make a waiter laugh in a country. I ain't coming back. Because that's my only hope of getting food. Yeah, exactly.

And also enough potatoes. It's all bread and potatoes and cabbage. Sorry, Russian people. No, I love the Russian people. Just when you go there, the food is a little limited. But it's, you know, it's cold there. It's the same thing like Scandinavian food. You better like salmon and dill because that's all you're going to get. Enjoy your herring. Enjoy your herring. Yeah. We're in a hurry. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. who also does stand-up, but I find that I did not know that you studied music.

Go figure. I mean, what did you set out to be when you were starting studying music in college? You know what, I started playing piano when I was a kid. And I was, you know, from like in a class of whatever, 30, I was the kid who played the piano. So I was, you know, the piano player. But I was never really, you know,

I didn't know what I was gonna do with it. But when I went to college, they had a program that you sort of got in easier if you had a special talent. And the coursework was kind of laid out. I went, oh, this'll be easy. If I just, I'll just play, I'm already finished with half my credits just by showing up. So I enjoyed it and I was a, I played piano

and I was classic piano and composition major. So I learned a lot, but I never really thought, I didn't know what I was going to do with it. I knew I wasn't like, well, you're not going to be the guy, the 10 people in the world who make a living playing recitals. You're not that guy.

You didn't have any interest in popular music or? Yeah, but not a talent that's gonna sparkle. Yeah. So it was really just something I did that I loved that was not a career move, but somewhere, actually just when I started college is when I remember going down between my freshman and sophomore year

and that summer I went down to audition, you know, not audition, I guess, yeah, to get a number, an open mic night at Catcher Rising Star in New York. And those clubs had just started to really get into the national consciousness. And a lot of people would emerge from there. And so I go off. There was a standup boom.

Yeah, that was it. So I thought, well, I'll go there. And I still didn't think, well, I'm gonna get fame. I don't know what I was doing, but I thought I was, I'll go there. And I still didn't think, well, I'm going to get fame. You know, I don't know what I was doing, but I thought I was drawn to there. Had that been a desire, like an unrealized desire for a while? Well, you know, ever since I was certainly in high school,

I was just a comedy fan, you know, aficionado. George Carlin, Richard Pryor. Richard Pryor, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Newhart, Bob and Ray. I mean, I just loved comedy. But the Carlin and Robert Klein was certainly huge. And I don't know that I put it in my head like, I can do that. But I just sort of, you just start doing it. And so my goal there was like, I can do that, but I just sort of, you just start doing it. And so my goal there was like,

I think it was over the course of the next four years, like the second year of college, in the summer I would go twice, and then the third, and then I kind of did more, I went, ah, let me see what happens. So then I started hanging out at the comedy club, and then you start, it starts coming into focus, and you go, well, so the guy that was here last summer,

he just got on The Tonight Show, so I guess there's a path here. I'll follow the breadcrumbs. It can be done. It can be done, and I can see how it happens. So, you know, so that was my goal. Yeah. Let me get on The Tonight Show,

and then, I don't know, like David Brenner. And see what happens. Yeah, maybe I'll be one of those guys that can travel from town to town and open for Steve and Edie. You know, I don't know what's gonna... And then totally, but you always knew that they would come, casting directors

would come into clubs and like looking for the right person for this role. Yeah. But even, so, but then just by accident, I literally went with a buddy who was auditioning for Diner and I was hanging out in the waiting room for him and the casting director saw me and I was hanging out in the waiting room for him and the casting director saw me

and asked me to come back the next day. And two weeks later I was in Baltimore making a movie. I went, look at this. So, and I can look back and think everything has been accidental or certainly unplanned. I mean, I may hope for something, but I mean, all good things,

even meeting the people you end up marrying, it's like, boy, if I didn't happen to go there on that date, I would never have met her. It's like, so it is no plan. Yeah, yeah. And I certainly, I feel now, I feel like in a really nice sweet spot. It's like, oh, I'm getting to do these nice acting things when they come up, if they come up.

And in my head, sort of my safety net was always, well, I'm just a comedian. So I never felt like an out of work actor. I was like, well, hold on, a pilot came up? All right, I'll go do the pilot and then I'll go back to Chuckles in Cleveland and then next week in Seattle. So I still have that mentality a little bit that even though standup has been in the background

and that was sort of why I wanted to do the specials. Like, I'd like to do this more. I'd like to just get out there and, you know, be a guy that people go, oh, yeah, yeah, that's right. We know him. Well, I mean, it's interesting, too, because, you know, you're good at both. And there's a lot of stand-ups that can act, but there's a lot of stand-ups that for some,

they can go on stage and they can make people laugh for an hour, but then you give them a script and they hear, not good, you know? It's a different thing. Yeah. Was it intimidating to you when you got on Diner that like all of a sudden you're in, you know, this ensemble film?

Yeah, yeah. Like, cause I know, you know, my first acting jobs, I was like, oh shit, I don't. Totally. I'm the dog that caught the car. Like, what do I do now? I didn't know, you know, but just like in the beginning of comedy, you're sort of protected by an embryo of ignorance.

You don't quite realize how dumb you are. When I got on Moviecept when Diana was like, I really didn't know anything. It was laughable. Yeah. I mean, like I didn't know. They would say, all right, extras over here and principal actors over here. And I go, well, I'm not a principal. I know I'm the sixth guy.

So I remember like early on the AD would come on, the assistant director would say, why are you sitting with the 200 extras? Because I'm asshole. Yeah. You're sitting with, oh, you're an actor. Okay. But I remember I didn't work the first week.

I wasn't in any of the scenes. So I'd watch the other guys. And then the first scene that I was in was actually the opening shot of the movie. And Barry Levinson, the director, that was his first movie, it was his first directing. He decided the opening was going to be a little bit visually interesting. He was going to use a Steadicam.

And so he had to rehearse that the night before. So they go, boy, come in early. We're going to practice. You're walking up the stairs. And it just involves a little bit more as a guy holding a camera. And then it was really complicated, went up on a crane. And all I thought was, I think they're using the baby camera for me, because other guys didn't have this camera. Why are they doing? And I thought, they're not gonna use the big camera. No, you know what? Paul's here, get the camera and'm coming a day early. I went, oh, that's great. I'm already failing.

And I didn't know anything. And I watch it, and I look a little. Sometimes I can look at it and see a scene where I'm a deer in the headlights. But what he wisely did is all the scenes where inside the diner, he shot last. So we had five or six weeks to get to be friendly and cranky and bust each other's balls. And that's what reflected. where inside the diner he shot last. So we had five or six weeks to get to be friendly

and cranky and bust each other's balls. And that's what reflected. So, I mean, it was a ridiculous stroke of good luck that my very first job- That movie made such a splash when it came out. It did. And it's- Because it's really good.

And it has legs and it inspired a lot of other films and styles. So to get your first, I mean, people said, did you know it was going to be a hit? I go, I don't even know what to look for. I knew it was MGM, there was a lion on the cover of the script. I said, that's cool. Oh, they got a camera truck and everything.

So, and costumes, this is cool. But I didn't know anything. And, you know, I look back and what a nice stroke of good fortune. And that opened up everything else, because then I, like, suddenly, oh, you're the guy from that movie that we never heard of before. Why don't you come out and audition for this pilot? Oh, right.

And then I said, someday, if I get to do radio with Andy Richter, you know, then I'm done. That's all I need to do. I called it. I called it. Oh. No, come on. Ouch. I called it. I called it. Oh. No, listen, I... When you got that movie, like, was there ever a thought that, like,

well, now I'm an actor? Like, I don't have to go back to the chuckle. No, no. See, that's the thing. There were so many... Certainly then. I don't know if it's the case now. But there were comics, like, my peers, that we just were drawn to stand up. And we revered it and we worked hard at it and we respected it.

And then there were a lot of people that we didn't particularly admire. And you could just tell those are the guys that, well, I'm gonna go upstage. Yeah, yeah. I'll get spotted and then I never have to do this. That was never my case. I never was itch into it. Even, you know, when I took all these years off, it wasn't like I was done with it. It was like, mad about you kept me busy,

so I didn't have the brain width to go out and do it. And afterwards I said, I just need a couple of years to chill and, you know, be with the family. And then only when I added it up, I went, hey, it's been 20 years. That's a generation or two of standups. So, but it was always my intention to go back and, and you know, and I hope from here on out,

cause you can do it. You can do it into your seventies and eighties, if you're, if you're spry. I get inspired, you know, I watched Springsteen and like, what, you know, you're doing three hours. Is he seventy? Seventy five? Seventy five.

And better than ever. And that's, seventy five is a diff, that's a different thing than it used to be. Like there wasn't anybody 75 years old. I mean, maybe like, I don't know, Fernando Lamas or somebody like that. You know, you watch, I bet you you'd be surprised. You go back and watch the people that were old

when we were young, you know, Danny Thomas, I bet you he was 48. I know. I think the key to that is cigarettes and booze. You gotta. Cigarettes and booze. Every day you're not drinking and smoking, you're losing life. Make your face look old, you know?

I mean, there is that shocking one of like the cast of Mary Tyler Moore's show. You know, and like Ed Asner is 42 or something, and you're like, what? Yeah. But in fairness, there's been, the world is different. And so like there wasn't workout. People weren't working out.

People didn't live in that culture. So I mean, the idea that McCartney is touring, that Mick Jagger is dancing, you know, around and as good as ever. Yeah. He's 80 plus. That's ridiculous. Yeah.

But it's inspiring. Yeah. And Springsteen, I'll tell you that he has been, well, for so many people, he's been so inspiring. Are you friends with him? No. No. I've met him a couple of times.

Yeah. But, you know, for the longest while, when I was just getting back into standup and I was listening to Springsteen on Sirius Radio. And every day, there's all kinds of variations in his stuff. But then every day, there's a concert of his. And you go, you listen, and it's from 73, it's from 82, it's from 89, I go, everyone is great. And everyone feels important. And while I was getting back into standup,

I found that was such an inspiring, I was feeding off of that. It's like, oh, you just keep at it. That's what you do. Just keep doing it and care about your work. And you can't help but get better or get as good as you're gonna get, whatever that is. I'm not gonna sell out a stadium like Springsteen, nor do I want to.

But the idea of his work ethic, you know, it's like, you know what? You have an album that's 40 tracks and you only used eight and then you have a... What? You just keep writing and doing it. So I just found literally his work ethic something to aspire to. Oh yeah. I mean everybody with a good work ethic is something to inspire to me. Because I can be so easily distracted by like, you know, reading a magazine and raising kids and you know.

People, you know, somebody said, Oh God, you're so busy, always working. You just got to keep working. I went, that's the last thing in my mind. I like, it looks like that because I have all these things happening and some of them happen to come out right now, but nothing makes me more excited than doing nothing. I am so happy to do nothing.

Me too. And yet here we are. That was what the, you know, the whole notion of like, would I be able to be retired? And that was what the pandemic showed me. Yes, I would be fine. You'd be good at it. You'd be the captain.

I will figure out things to occupy my day. It kind of, I was, again, I was surprised by looking at this because like I said, you in my mind were always, I think a stand up first. So it was surprising to me to see that, like, your first special was after you had already been in a few movies. Yeah. You know, I mean, I was doing stand-up, but I hadn't really popped.

In fact, I didn't get on The Tonight Show until the week The Diner came out, and it was sort of like, well, you know, we were on the fence about this kid, but he's got a movie, and people are talking about the movie. It's probably because I was watching TV more than going to the movies, and, you know, it probably saw the fence about this kid, but he's got a movie that people are talking about. It's probably because I was watching TV more than going to the movies,

and you know, it probably saw you on clips and stuff, you know? Yeah, yeah, but you know, I hadn't reached a, I mean, I was working and I was, you know, playing, but I hadn't really made any noise as a standup. Yeah. And so in a weird way, they've kind of all built together. But it's so interesting now,

when I went back into, got back out there, post Man About You, and now I post all these other shows. AIC. Man About You again. Yeah, but I see, yeah, no, but even Stranger Things, it brings in a different audience, like younger people. Oh yeah, right, of course.

But what I feel of like this connection that I couldn't have felt, you know, when you're starting out like, oh, here's another, you know, knucklehead and he's gonna be funny or he's not gonna be funny. But when you've been on TV and they know you, you have all that wind at your back, it's like, we already like you, we bought a ticket.

We drove here. Right, right, we came here specifically for you, not just a two drink minimum. Yeah. And it never ceases to move me. Listen, I know how hard it is to get my ass off the couch. You know, whenever I go, ah, James Taylor's coming to town.

You like James Taylor, I love James Taylor. Wanna go? Yeah, I gotta drive. I saw him once. Yeah, yeah. Those songs are the same. So when somebody has the drive to get in a car and buy a ticket, and it's flattering.

But in another more important sense, I feel like a connection. You know what I do. We've been through this together. And we kind of grown up together. So it feels like getting together with old friends, which is like, I can't ask for more than that. That is really great. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You are a rarity. How's that? You what'd you say? I said, I have no act without my what? Which he points out. She just gives you material. In any heated moment. Yeah, she is more than, on more than one occasion, I said, you know, without me, you got nothing. I go, that's so true.

It is true. That is so true. But you could, you don't, she doesn't have to say it. No, it's- I mean, it's evident. She doesn't have to say it. It's, that's just mean. Yes.

But you have been married- How am I a rarity? You've been married for a long time. Yeah, and you know what? Enough is enough. I'm here to say it. That's why I'm here today. You just say it. I'm here to say it, that's just mean. Yes. But you have been married. How my rarity? You've been married for a long time. Yeah, and you know what, enough is enough. I'm here to say it, that's why I'm here today. You decided today.

Yeah, just look at it and you'll go, Andy got remarried, that sounds like some good stuff. This podcast is very powerful. No, but that's, I mean, it is such an anomaly in, you know, I think so. You don't think in show business, is that what you're gonna say? Yeah.

You know, people say. But in life too. In life, yes, I think so. You don't think in show business, is that what you're gonna say? Yeah. You know, people say. But in life too. In life, yes. Yeah. Maybe, maybe. But I, you know, people go, oh show business, you always hear about the breakups. Yeah, cause nobody's gonna make the news going,

they went to church again. Right, right. But also you're not reading about people, you know, the plumber and his wife. Right, right. Or the guy who goes to work every day in the office. Like we didn't read about it. But certainly I'm sure the averages are the same.

But I was lucky and I met my wife and she was, she was, I was 25 and she was 19, which is child. Yeah. And we look at our kids and going, they're not ready for life and they're 29, 24. Oh, I know, I know. And like, but you were 19. But I'll tell you the secret to this long marriage,

and this, I can't speak for anybody, but for our marriage, the secret and the powerful weapon, I'm a delight, Andy. And I can't express enough how- She's a lucky woman. Oh my God, yeah. Yeah, luck. Yep.

One of the funniest, movingest things, I can share this. The night of the finale of Mad About You, so that's 25 years ago. We were going to have a party and I was just watching. It started with you and me, this way, you and me. And we watched it and we sat at home and it was very moving, it was very satisfying, it was a bittersweet ending. But it was also for us the end of a long, long journey together. And the show was over and she said to me

with no sense of irony, she said, what are you gonna do with all the funny shit I say now? I went, oh my God, I need a new show just to put that in. I don't wanna say funny shit if you're not gonna monetize it. I'm gonna stop talking to you, Frank. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The only reason I was talking

is I knew it would be a good Act 3. That's so great. But I imagine too, like, because that, the thing that that does too is I think that it just settles you. Like it just makes everything that life, I imagine that like everything that show business throws at you is like, you know, it's not as important as they think it is. Correct. And, you know, but again, I would say that's probably true if you have a tough day at the

office and you know, bosses, you know, somebody else got the promotion and go, okay, but I got a good, if I'm lucky enough, I have somebody at home to go home to. So yeah, we have been that for each other. And you know, it's, I I never I'm never not aware of like that I'm lucky yeah you know which doesn't mean that every day is smooth no it's all it's still work but you know there was a line we actually had I think we put it in the pot yeah it was in the pilot of matter about you and she said you just in the me he went in the middle of like a stupid argument like it was

something so small and it just got heated. And she goes, you know what? I don't even wanna have a relationship with you. Well, it's too late. We're 10 years into this. Yeah, you kind of blew that. I didn't even ask for this. The whole idea of what?

In general, a relationship with you, that was not something I want. Yeah, the idea of you offends me. Yes, like, okay, that's going in the script, with Mad About You, one of the things that I... I mean, it's always... was striking to me about the show was that it was... it wasn't... There was no high concept. It was just like, oh, these two people are married,

and this is their life. And that was such a great place to start a show, you know? Well, that was by design. I had been approached to develop, come up with an idea for a show for yourself. And I said, and on my standup at the time, we were newly married, and I finally found like my rhythm.

I thought, well, I think this is what I do. I can talk about relationship stuff. Not that I'm going to be the expert at this, but, oh, this feels funnier than whatever crap I was doing before. It's like you talk about relationship, A, it's funnier, it's deeper, it's truer, and it's more relatable. Cause everyone's going, yeah, we're married. Right, right. So I found that was my sort of sweet spot. And so I said, well, if I was going to do a show, it would be really like that.

It'd be small. I like the small stuff. And when I remember pitching it to the networks, and we went to all of them, at each meeting, the exec would jump in and go, oh, oh, listen to this. So my wife's parents, you know, like, and they all had a story, like commiserating. And I thought, okay, I think this is gonna be something. And that was another stroke of good fortune, you know, the timing of it. And literally while I was writing it, met Helen Hunt through my wife. Oh, really?

She was, she and my wife's friend. She wouldn't even let you pick your own TV wife? She? Her friend, our friend was good friends with Helen and they had a dinner party and we were invited and it was like a couple of, while in the midst of writing it. And I didn't have any actress in mind,

I just had a look and I was picturing, I guess my wife or anybody that looked like my wife, Helen Hunt looks entirely different, is very different personality, but I just went, I was kind of enamored. And she was just funny and smart and lovely and offbeat, just the right amount of offbeat. And I remember leaving with my wife and going,

what do we think about her as you? She went, oh, she'd be good. I went, yeah, there you go. So I think, I know we had auditions, we had other actresses in, but in my head, it's like, I think we got a winner. That's great that it was, that's so nice to have that happen organically

rather than be arranged, you know. Yeah, it was, you know, good fortune. And then, you know, we had such a, we laughed about it. We would get a script and we would both have identical notes. And I go, page 12, line three, yeah, yeah, line three. And we just had the same, very rarely, rarely did we ever have a difference of opinion about flavor of the show or a scene.

So we were so well matched and we enjoyed, you know, the tennis game of it. You know, whenever I would see a six-page scene or I'd write a scene, I would just cut out all the stuff other than dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. Let's just, and it should be, and our scripts were always longer than most pilots because we talked so fast and so much. Oh, right, right. So, but those were so fun, you know,

to go to work and play, you know, with somebody at that caliber. Yeah. It was great fun. Was it, I mean, to be in the show, to be running the show, I mean, was that pressure? Yeah. Did you feel that pressure at the top?

Well, we always had a show run. I was never solely in charge, but I always wanted my hands in everything. Yeah. So I was involved in the editing. We had great writers and we had great head writers and we had Vic Levin and Larry Charles was for a year or two.

So we were lucky, but I always, you know, had such a personal investment in it and yeah, I wanted to, I wanted to as best you can, you know, deliver it. Well, I remember when it just started, the first season, it was at some event and met Larry Gilbert. Larry Gilbert, legendary writer, and maybe most famously had created a TV show of MASH. And so this was like three months into Mad About You, and I was just loopy, my eye, I was exhausted.

And I said, Larry, kind of rhetorical, I said, how do you do this? How do you do 22 shows a year? And he said something that was so funny and so true. He said, here's what, here's what it is. He said, you're gonna make 22 babies a year. They're not all gonna be beautiful. He said, you're gonna have three shows.

You're gonna go put those in a vault. Those are great. You're gonna have four or five stinkers, and the rest are gonna be 285 hitters. You go, yeah, they're fine, they got on base. And you go, that turns out to be exactly right. Every season you go, those are great, woof, that one we barely got through,

and the rest, that's fine. But again, going back to the Springsteen analogy, every week you just do the best you can. You never take your foot off the gas. Yeah, and I always found too, that, and I mean, it was from doing improv all the way to doing the Conan show, doing series of my own,

the low notes, like the shows that aren't so good, they actually help the good ones be better. Like, the contrast, it sort of almost needs to be there because it is like, you can't hit home runs all the time, you know? And the strikeouts make the home runs a little even, a little sweeter, you know? Yes, for sure. Kind of.

But you're always, you know, you know, a great hitter is, right, he's gonna hit one out of three. But you don't go up to the plate going, this is the one I'm gonna miss. I'm gonna strike out here. No, you're always aiming for the best. But it's funny, sometimes, you know,

you can be inspired by good things, and you can be inspired by mediocre things. I remember when I was, in those early years, when I was just considering going into the comedy clubs, I remember sometimes I'd see, I'd be back at school in the winter and I'd see a guy on The Tonight Show that I had just seen in the club

and he was just nobody, you know, eight months ago. And so sometimes I'd be inspired, I'd go, wow, he was great, look at that. And so that's what we can do. And the other hand, I remember some other guys going, this guy got on a tonight show? I can do that. Right, exactly. And so like, all right, God bless him.

I'm happy for him. So the bar is not inaccessible. No, I am. I guess gotta be at least that good. I am one of, one of a very big motivator for me. I mean, in the early years was, wait a minute, that fucking guy? That fucking, you know, early years was, wait a minute, that fucking guy? That fucking, you know, that guy is, wait a minute,

if that guy can do it, then god damn it, let me in there. That's the name of our next show, Andy. Inspired by mediocrity. I've always wondered about this kind of thing. When you do kind of work in a, you know, like a thinly veiled autobiographical sort of area, like was there things that happened at home that your wife would say, like, this can't be in the show,

or was there stuff that ended up in the show that she'd be like, what the fuck did you do that for? No, I think I'm probably even more private than she is. So if it was too embarrassing from, of my own behavior, or too revealing of hers, I would be reluctant to bring it in. But you know, it was too embarrassing of my own behavior or too revealing of hers, I would be reluctant to bring it in. But it was such a group. We had a room of writers and everybody would come in.

And before you're not even thinking about writing, you just go, oh, this is this argument I got. Gee, I bought this and my wife said that. And before you go, before you know it, somebody says, wait a minute, that's a good story. Let's use that. And so it became a soup of everybody's marriage. Which was good because you can hide behind that.

Oh, honey, that was not you. That wasn't you, yeah. That was his wife. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, but on the other hand, I'm gonna write something with my son, my younger son. Oh, wow. And it's sort of a father-son thing.

And I said to him, here's the ground rule, because we have nothing, we just have a basic premise. But I said, here's the rule. You have to take from your life, and I'm gonna take from my perspective as the father, and you're gonna write the perspective as the kid, and we can't take it personally. So if you write, oh, and the dad is a real asshole,

it's like, I know it's not me. And I go, boy, the son's a screw up. It's not you. You gotta like shed that and leave room for comedic license. But I don't know, I can only know how to steal from my life and from the people around me. You know, I see something really inventive and creative that nobody's ever done before.

How would I think of that? Where did you, I don't know how to go there. Absolutely, no, there's all kinds, like most of my favorite things are things that I just go like, oh my God, I could never, never in a million. How does your brain do that? You know what I do now, and I realize

this is getting probably tiresome for my wife? We'll watch a show, and I'm just picturing, not because an actor's so good, but like, if somebody has to run really quickly or jump, oh boy, I wouldn't, I couldn't do that. I couldn't. And what you probably want to say is, nobody's asking you to. It's already filmed, and he's younger,

and they're going with him. Right, right. But I'm still going, to. It's already filmed, and he's younger, and they're going with him. Right, right. But I'm still going, oh, I couldn't fall that quickly. Yeah. On purpose. Yeah, yeah. I've said often, like, my knees are so bad that I live in fear of getting an acting job where I have

to, like, get on the floor and look under a couch and then get back up. I'm there. Because I would need three minutes of screen time just to get back up off the floor. But see, here's what was so fun about Mad About You is that all of that would go in. Right, right.

We had a, when we, five years ago, geez, seems like yesterday, but five years ago, we did a little revisit. We did 12 episodes. Yeah. Mad About You, 20 years later. And so we had to use all of that stuff. It's like, well, we don't walk as quickly.

We don't, we don't, we don't hear as well. Where, you know, we're tired. We saw all the, I said- We pee in the night. Yes, that's all gotta be in there. So I remember we were sitting and we had a small writers room. We had like four, there's Helen, Peter Tolan,

and Helen and myself, and then maybe four young writers. And there was a thing where we had to... We needed an example of some reason that my character got hurt. How did it... Some stupid way that he got hurt. And they all come up with ideas, well, he was lifting this, he was doing that. And I wasn't even thinking this was the winning ticket.

I just said, well, you know, I once pulled my neck out, closing my pants. And I go, what the fuck, what? I said, I put on a little weight and I couldn't close. And I was struggling and I popped the thing in my neck. So the woman goes, I think we have a winner. You hurt your neck putting on pants. I went, that's right. That's what happened to me.

We put that in. Because otherwise it was just a horrible event. But now I get an act break. You made money off of it. I made money off of it. It was now a tax deduction. More importantly, we got a story point. Now I remember the end of Mad About You.

And I remember that they moved you and then it just like the ratings kind of stopped. Like you didn't want to go. They moved us all over the place. For some reason, you know, either they didn't love us enough or they thought of us so highly that they thought anywhere we went. And that's what I would hear.

Like, yeah, well, that we could use you to launch other shows. And people said, when is it on? I went, I don't even know when it's on. It was literally, it was on six different nights over seven years. And you know, at one point it was a Sunday night, every day but Saturday, it was on and every,

and it was very frustrating. It's so unfair. And it was so hurtful, but it was mostly because like, well, the people who, there's millions of people who want to find it and they don't know. It takes a while to adjust. There was a period when that was back when you had to go, oh, it's only on Tuesday. Yeah, right, right, the people who, there's millions of people who want to find it and they don't know. It takes a while to adjust. There was a period when that was back when you had to go, oh, it's only on Tuesday.

Or you know, you can't tape it. And if you miss it, it's gone. Don't you miss missing things? You can't miss anything. I know, I know. It's like, but that, so that was, that was, yeah, we were like in the top 10 or something, or 15 by the third year.

And then they started moving us, and it's dispiriting. But I can also stand back and go, that's a high cabin problem to have. Right, right, exactly. And I also, at the time, I got to a point of thinking, you know what, I can only do what I can do, and we're gonna make the show as good as it can be.

And then if they wanna put it, my analogy was like, you make a nice painting, we're gonna make the show as good as it can be. And then if they wanna put it in, my analogy was like, you make a nice painting and the guy who buys it puts it in the garage. Well, it's your house, it's up to you. So it was unfortunate and we probably would have certainly gotten a wider audience if we stayed put. But it all exists, it's all done, it's there. I always was, one of the striking things to me

coming out here and doing primetime half hour comedies was the feeling of like, oh shit, whether or not the thing is good, that's like sixth on the list in terms of what keeps it alive. Like, you know, like, oh my God, there's so much other shit that happens ahead of it that that does. Oh, so yeah, you can just make it good.

And then every other reason for it to be is out of your hands. You know? Well, but you know, having done this movie, The Problem with People, which is, you know? Well, but you know, having done this movie, The Problem with People, which is finally out, and it took me a long time to get it made, and it really came into it clearly to me that when you see something that A, works, is good, and B, is successful, that's a miracle because there are so many places

that it can go wrong through no fault of anybody. Just like you make a beautiful movie and something happens in the news and nobody went to see the movie. Or you have to write the script really well then like hope you get the right actors and then you go raise the money, get everything, and then edit it well, and then like, oh.

So when you see something that does thread the needle, you have to stand back and go, that's impressive. And fortuitous. Yeah, yeah. It makes you appreciate it. So, you know, and again, like this movie, I was very pleased with how it came out, really proud of it.

I still look at it and go, ooh, I want to change that. Oh, you know what, I could have done that better. And then you have to go, take the brush out of the little painter's hands. And it's done. Right, right, yeah, it's already out in the world. It's out, enjoy it. The chicken has flown the coop.

Exactly. The problem with people, which by the way, is available to rent on streaming services. Would you explain that to my sister? She says, I gotta buy it. I go, you can rent it. She goes, I said, I sent you the link. She's like, I don't know how to open it.

I said, so rent it, rent it and watch it. But yes. Let me just read it to you over the phone. Yes, on any way you rent or buy on like iTunes or Amazon is the problem with people and also the special, the same brilliant distribution plan. But you've got, so you've got these two things coming out kind of concurrently.

The movie, as you just said, it took a long time to get that out. Yes. Is there, with all these con, and you are, like you're working in different sort of, millions. I mean, it's all comedy, but is there a particular level of satisfaction that you get more from one than the other?

Or is it all sort of- They're different, they're different. I mean, you know, the movie, the satisfaction is, wow, this started as an idea. These 10 things happened wonderfully. And I got these great- They flew people to Ireland to do it. Yeah.

You know, and there wasn't a day goes by that I was, you know, stand up and look at the sun in Ireland going, I'm in fucking Ireland making this movie. And that kind of permeated, everybody had the same feeling. It was like a sweet, funny movie. So everybody was in a good mood. The crew was in a good mood. It was like, this is really lovely.

And you know, and my family was there. We were all there. My son was working on the set. I went, this is a great, like, if nothing happens with this, this is already a great experience. The fact that it's out and people who are seeing it going, I really enjoyed that.

I'm like, beautiful. And for me, it's closure. I can let go. And stand up, you know, it's the highs are not, the highs aren't as high, but they're more frequent. So like, wow, that was a really fun show. And now it's over. Like, next week, oh, then tomorrow

get to do it again. So they've never been as big. That's, you know, I'm curious to see what happens after the special. People may go, no, we know that he does stand up. We just don't care. Oh, well, I didn't know that. OK.

I thought you were unaware. No, we're not aware. We're indifferent. Are you doing dates? Are you going around doing dates? At the moment, like, for the rest of the year, I think I have one or two shows on the books. We're in different. Are you doing dates? Are you going around doing dates? At the moment, like for the rest of the year, I think I have one or two shows on the books,

but I'm gonna start up, because apparently when you make a special, you gotta kiss that material goodbye. So, but that's the fun part is, you come up with the new 40 seconds, a new bit, a new two bit, five minutes. So yeah, so next year, in the beginning of the year, I'm gonna put out some more dates.

And I was never, even in my young single days, I was never a guy who would go out like some guys for like seven weeks in a row, town to town to town. I was like, I'll do three days and I'm gonna go home. Cause I never knew how to pack more than like three pairs of underwear. And also that's- I gotta go home.

It's a bummer being on the road. Yeah, it's not fun. It's not fun. I mean, the little experience I've had with it, just times of like busy, busy, busy all day, rush, rush, get here, get, and then you're like, oh, it's another hotel room. You know, it's like another,

wake up in the middle of the night and not know where the bathroom is. I have a hard time explaining to my agents. I said, well, you know, let me see what dates you bring in. And then I end up being the fussiest guy in the world. I went, oh, that's a connecting flight? Yeah, I don't want to do it. I go, wait a minute, that's so I'd have to fly in the day before.

Yes, you'd have to fly the day before. I go, well, that sounds good, but I know me. I'm going to wake up the day of the show and go, nine more hours to show time. I'm gonna have to shoot myself. I said, I can't do it. But I'm really, and I said, listen, I get it that I'm brutal. I go, I got you.

It's Panhandle, Florida in August, and then Canada in January. I said, asshole, switch January. That's an asshole. Switch that. Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. It's cold there, no. Switch that. Yeah.

Are you telling me you can only find Florida in the summer? There are people there in the winter. I'll bet you they are. So are there things left undone? I mean, you're still plowing ahead with standup. I mean, is there another movie in you? Sure. I don't know, you know, most of the things that have happened, as I said, they're a surprise and they come up and, you know,

I have this, I'm in this movie, I have this movie, I'm in this movie called The Gutter, which is out now in theaters, actually. A bowling movie. It is a bowling movie and it's really so stupid funny. Like, like Dumb and Dumber kind of funny. Where you laugh and you go, I shouldn't be laughing. This is so wrong. I wasn't saying, can you go find me a bowling movie?

But the producers knew me and they sent me the script and on page five I'm going, this is hysterical. Yes, count me in. So I never know what's going to come up. You know, the idea, like, the problem with people, like, that took so many years. Like, I don't know how many of those I have time left, let alone I don't know that I even have, you know,

two or three ideas that I have enough energy to say, I wanna push this one up. But you know, I've learned to not make plans and I've learned to be ready to be surprised. I think if nothing happened, I'd be okay, cause I enjoy sitting home and reading a book and eating a sandwich. Are you just, do you just live in LA now?

I do. Have you, because you were born and raised in New York City. I was, but I... And mad about you was such a New York-y show. It was, I had an apartment, my very first apartment, on the east side of New York in a little old building for $390, had a little studio and I decided I was going to keep that.

And I kept that for a few years while I was living here. And then I unfortunately lost it in the New York City real estate world versus Paul Reiser. They went, you live in New York? Oh yeah, I live in New York. But they go, just show us your, because it was, what do you call it? Rent controlled. Yeah. And like, which is only applicable if you're... Of course, you've got to live there. I said, oh, yeah, no, I definitely live in New York.

They said, well, really? Because your rent checks are coming in from a California bank. I said, oh, yeah, well, my accountant lives there. But I... they said, great, just show us your New York City tax returns. I went, okay, you got me. And I remember there was, you got me. And I remember there was a year or two that I was doing that. I'd go on Letterman and Letterman would just, you know, throw it open and they go, so you live in California? I go, no, no, no, Dave.

X-Nay. X-Nay. X-Nay. I live in New York. Yeah. Yeah. Don't say that. Yeah.

But yeah, one of my proudest achievement is my two boys who were both raised here in LA have New York accents and I couldn't be prouder. Couldn't be prouder. I didn't mean for it to, I guess, guess they were listening to me at some point. That's great. Well, let's, the next thing I do have,

I will come back and tell you, I know that. The next thing I come up with, you'll be the first one. Well, certainly the top 100. Excellent. I wanna end with just right. You'll be the first one. Well certainly the top 100 excellent I I want to end with just kind of like No, like what what kind of advice you have for people? What do you feel like is a lesson that you've learned? You know, it's funny because I imagine people got to ask you that. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I hope so I hope I'm not the first day. No, it's the first one. I've never heard that. How dare you how very dare you?

you know, it's funny. I recently, someone said, what would you tell your younger self? Which is, I guess, the same kind of question. And I, oh no, I know where I was. I played the film, The Problem of People, played it at USC, film school. And I was a little anxious.

I was like, oh, this kid's not gonna, it's a movie about two guys in their 60s. They loved it. Anyway, so the kids, they were asking questions. And somebody says, well, we're in film school. What should we do? And my quick answer was just say yes to everything. Yeah. Right?

Because like, you know, I wanna be a director, so I don't wanna act. No, if somebody, I wanna be an actor, but if somebody says, we're making a little student film, would you drag cables? Yes, just do that. Cause you'll learn something, you'll be in a community, you'll, and even if you just learn what it is

you don't wanna do. Like, so. And it all informs whatever you, everything. If you wanna be an editor, pulling cables is gonna help you edit, you know. Or editors, try acting for a minute you edit. Right, or editors try acting from it. Yeah.

Or directors try it. So I was saying, just say yes to everything. But at the same time, I've also learned sometimes say no. And maybe that's just when you get to a certain age. It's like, yeah, and I don't, I'm not gonna be happy doing that for, you know, whatever the reason. I remember once canceling a family vacation because I got pushed to do it.

You should do this movie. It was like a sweet little movie. But I went, but I have this really wonderful trip. And then I regretted it, you know? And I said, so that just, it's okay to say no. It's okay to say no. You know, we didn't get to go to Italy. And I said, yeah, that's a shame

because nobody ever gets to the end of the life and goes, I went to Italy too often. No. Right. Right. So it's, it is somewhere in that balance of say yes to opportunity, especially and when you're young and get the experience, cause you'll, I can certainly think of things that I didn't love doing, but they informed every decision going

forward, even if that next decision is now I know what to say no to. Yes. So, Even if that next decision is, now I know what to say no to. Yes. And there are plenty of people, especially in this business, that will, if they figure out that you say yes to everything,

they will take advantage of that. And so you, but it does take, you're right. It takes a little bit, you learn a certain level of composure to where you start saying no. Not just to like doing something like a whole project, a little bit you learn a certain level of composure to where you start saying no. Not just to like doing something like a whole project, but you know, like a director tells you do this and go, nah, I don't think that's a good idea.

I'll regret that. Yeah, I'm not going to do that. You know, and I think that's also as we get older, you know, you see the time continuum and you go, certainly with projects like, well, I don't know that I wanna spend a year of the remaining years that I have. Right. Yeah, that's gonna be, that's not gonna be fun. So- Those days are too long.

So that's what I say to you kids. Yes. Say yes and say no. And then, but at a certain point say no. Yes. When they get used to you saying yes. Yes. It'll throw them for a loop. And then they go, did you just say no? Yes, I did. Well, Paul, let me tell you what you're doing. Please, because I forget. Your special life, death and rice pudding. It's everywhere now. I mean, as a, I mean, every digital platform. Yes. You got to go find it and then you watch

it and enjoy it. Yes. And the problem with people? Same plan. Same deal. Look it up. And The Gutter, which is in theaters now. That is in theaters. That's silly, so silly funny. Yeah.

Shemek Moore, Susan Sarandon, Darcy Garden. Darcy Garden, yeah. What a great cast. Great cast. And you're doing more Stranger Things. They're doing more Stranger Things. They're doing it. And you're doing it too.

You don't know if I'm in it. You have to wait and see. I can't talk about it. Okay, never mind. He might be in stranger things. Might be. Yeah. Because I said to them maybe. Maybe. Yes, right down the middle.

A solid maybe. A solid maybe. Well, Paul Reiser, thank you so much for coming in. It was great to spend an hour with you. I really appreciate it. Thank you, Andy. This was great fun. I will look forward to doing it again. All right. And I look forward to all of you out there tuning in next week for more of The Three Questions. The Three Questions with Andy Richter

is a Team Coco production. It is produced by Sean Doherty and engineered by Rich Garcia. Additional engineering support by Eduardo Perez and Joanna Samuel. Executive produced by Nick Leow, Adam Sachs, and Jeff Ross. Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Battista, Adam Sacks, and Jeff Ross. Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Battista, with assistance from Maddie Ogden. Research by Alyssa Grahl.

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