Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes) - Jason Ritter

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

Actor and producer Jason Ritter talks to his friend Ted Danson about the positive impact of sobriety on his marriage and other relationships, feeling a responsibility to those who miss his late father John Ritter, playing a villain in the reboot of Matlock on CBS, and more.    Like watching your podcasts?  Visit http://youtube.com/teamcoco to see full episodes.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I started this pattern of running away at the first sign of confrontation. And so without the alcohol and with Melanie, that was the first time that I just had to sit in it. Welcome back to where everybody knows your name. Jason Ritter is one of my favorite actors. He's incredibly talented. He carries the legacy of his family forward and everything he does, from happy endings to the deal to parenthood for which he was nominated for an Emmy. He's also currently starring in Matlock, which airs on Thursdays on CBS. I've known Jason for years. My family adores him.

All of our kids knew him and grew up when they were younger with him. Mary has worked with them several times. I worked with them once. He is a super funny, creative guy, and I can't wait for you to see for yourself. Jason Ritter, everybody. I can't tell you how many people. And my family got the hugest grin and giggle and started reminiscing about you. Oh, my God. Yeah.

Your best friend back then, Simon. Yeah, Simon Helberg, still great friends. So Mary, my wife, Mary, said that you were in our kitchen on prom night with Simon. Right? That's right. You guys were not a couple, but you went to the prom together. Yes, we did. Or did you have dates?

I can't. No, that year I believe we just went. We try not to stress ourselves out. Charlie McDowell sends his love. Oh my gosh. I love him so much. My daughter Kate, who doesn't know that I was talking to today, would send all her love. I love Kate. Your entire beautiful family is just... Lily. Lily. Alexis. Yeah. Amazing. Amazing. and you all went to, most of you went to crossroads. Yes, yeah, Lily and Kate and I were in the same class. Yeah. Does talking reminisce, you know, is it like, oh, Lord, I have to now pretend to be that age again?

No, I, it's so fun. I mean, I remember those days very, very well, and, you know, there were a lot of lovely people, in our grade, a lot of who I'm still very close with. Yeah. That's very cool. Simon especially. Yeah, Simon especially, yeah. That's great. I don't even know where it kind of, let me jump around, which is what I do.

But the other huge connection to our family is you and Mary were in Amber Tamblin and now, Joan of Arcadia. Thank you. Yes. For like three or three years, four years? I think it was only two years. years, yeah. There was a... Really? Yeah, two seasons at least. It might have been over the course of three years by the end, but yeah, yeah, which was absolutely incredible. That was a great show. It was a really

great show. It really was meaningful and also, you know, happened to come at a very difficult point in my life. And so to have lost my dad around the time that we were shooting that show and then get to see Mary every day was just so, lovely and healing and wonderful. And, yeah, Mary and Joe just were, and the whole cast and everybody there was really there for me in that time. But I love Mary, very, very much. And she you. He also went to, did you guys work on stage together?

Yes, yes. We did. A play called The Beginning of August. Beginning of August. That's the Atlantic Theater. Yes, that was so fun. That was very exciting. That was before Joan of Arcadia.

That was you right out of pretty much out of NYU. Yeah, I was actually still going to the Atlantic Theater Company, but they allowed me to have to get credits for my diploma in rehearsal for that play, which was so much fun. We're going to bounce, keep bouncing. And my thing was you and I, we didn't meet because I'd mentioned before, but you and I met at the airport going to work on Larry Kaston. movie Mumford. Yes, exactly. And I remember

like, you're going, oh Lord, I used to go to work with my friends. Now I'm going to work with my friends' kids. Yes, yes. I remember that very well. I was so, that was my first job ever. Wow. And my first professional job, I had done plays and stuff in high school. But yeah, I was so excited. And I remember seeing you at the airport and saying hello. So who else was in it? There were other... Well, Zoe de Chappelle was in it. Zoe, yes.

Simon Helberg also was in it. Oh, my God. But it was Lauren Dean and Hope Davis and Pruitt Taylor Vince and Mary MacDonald. Yes. Oh, there was so many... Priscilla Barnes. There were so many lovely people. And Jason Lee.

Yes, thank you. And Larry Kasden. And Larry Kasden. Yeah, who was lovely. and it couldn't have been a better first experience. Oh, yeah. It was very exciting. It was very exciting.

And I really love that movie. I remember when it came out and we all took a little group to the theater and it was fun. I made the mistake of I was playing some sort of bit of a pompous, bit of an asshole. And I was talking to somebody and I had a big sniffer of brandy, supposedly. Oh, yeah, yeah. And a cigar. Yep. And, you know, the rookie mistake of, I don't know, I wasn't a rookie,

but the mistake of, on the first take, you know, taking a huge bite of a sandwich, then you have to eat the rest of the night, I took a massive puff of my cigar, blew it into the brandy sniffter, and then inhaled it. I have never been sicker in my life. Oh, yeah. Yep. I've made that cigar inhaling the smoke mistake myself.

It's going to look cool. this first take. Yes, exactly. It did look cool. It looked great. Take 40. Oh my gosh. I did the same thing with some dip. I had to have some dip. And instead of just study it, yeah, well, I maybe could have done something else, but I was trying to be focused and real. And then instead of spitting it out, I mean, instead of keeping it in there, I would spit it out every take and put a new one in. I didn't realize that was like, you know, it's strongest at first. And then it kind of was, so I ended up throwing up after that show. I grew up in Arizona and all the

cowboys and ranchers were into dip. Oh, yeah. Hard days were, and bars. Oh, yeah, yeah, the little thing. Yeah, molasses. Yeah, yeah, that's tough. That's tough. I have been, you know, reading, looking,

seen snippets of you here and there for the last two or three days. You're, you are such a wise from my point of view because I was a late bloomer such a wise, loving, caring,

human, full-blown human being. My mother used to say, my wish for you, Ted, and my sister was to be fully human. And when I listened to you, talk with your wife, Melanie, and about your dad, about acting, about everything,

there's such a rich kind of fully, fully human part of you. And I'm assuming that, I'm assuming it's probably always there, but after sobriety, it probably became the full-blown you, because with sobriety, all things are possible. Yeah, I think that had a huge element to do with it.

I think there was, I think the alcohol had, I think there was the side of me that I wanted to show the world and then there were the parts of me that I felt embarrassed about or something, you know, or the other sides of me that I was trying to push down or push away and the alcohol was mixing it all up together. And I think in a way, after sobriety, I was sort of forced to reckon with all of the different parts of me and make peace with the things that I didn't like. And, you know, I mean, as the prayer goes, change the things you can and have the serenity

to accept the things you can't change and wisdom to know the difference. And that's been a huge thing. I've always tried to, you know, I've been to therapy many times in my life. I've always tried to get to the next level. I've never, anytime I found myself in a cycle, I've wanted to break out of it and figure something else out. And so I do feel like in this chapter of my life, I've gotten to a place where I'm at least acknowledging,

I don't know, at every age I felt you feel like, now I get it. I was a kid then, I didn't really know. But now I really know. And I have come to this chapter to realize that that's probably a recurring thing throughout life. Now I know. I know. I got it.

Yeah. Exactly. And I love growing. and changing. It's exciting. That's my favorite quality in a person. Me too, me too. The willingness to keep growing, keep looking.

Because it can be scary. You found something that works on some level for you and to let some of that go. You know, having to let go of the party persona that I thought that I needed in order to be around people. And your brain, your mind says, oh, you do, pal. You do need it. You do need it.

Don't be doing this work. I'm here to protect you. Just listen to me. Oh, are you happy? You're so boring now. Oh, God. But yeah, I remember that voice in my head. Did you go through that?

Am I going to still be creative? Yes, yeah, because there were elements in which I felt like that was, important. And in hindsight, it was all just sort of Dumbo's magic feather. I, you know, in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have had

alcohol on set if I had to be a little tipsy. But I, you know, there's all these ways in which you can tell yourself these stories about these brilliant people who were method or did this this way. And then I remember I worked with this amazing actor,

Ryan Onan, and he has never had a drop of alcohol on his life, and he can play drunk better than anybody because he stayed sober and watched people. I went, oh, right, the observing part. No one's going to test my blood alcohol level after a scene, but... That was full of shit. You are sober. Yeah, exactly, exactly. So it was, yeah, I was, I was very worried about that. And I'm worried because one of the things that I thought alcohol helped.

me with was my self-consciousness. And so the only way to get out of my attention to myself was to obliterate myself. What was your self-consciousness like? Just very, very, very concerned about what anybody and everybody thought about me and trying to guess what they thought and trying to do a preliminary strike on their opinion of me and really feel kind of crazy if someone didn't like me. Like I could, I remember there was this one time where I was at a party and I was telling a story and I got to the end of it and the majority of people kind of laughed or enjoyed it. And one person went and rolled her eyes and walked away. I was like, excuse me, miss, can you please?

What happened? What went wrong? Because I think there's got to be some miscommunication here. It really drove me crazy. And it was hard for me to understand that, you know, people have other things that are going on and they're not necessarily thinking about you as much as you are thinking about yourself. I think nice guys, because I'm sure you were not.

You're still, I think that before and after me, I was a hot mess right before I met, I was a hot mess all my life, but then finally addressed it when I was right about a year before I met. Mary, my wife. Yeah. My silhouette probably isn't that much different, but I had to work so hard. Oh, yeah.

To be that Ted. I was working overtime. I was exhausted. I couldn't even have a conversation longer than five minutes at most before I go, hey, excuse me, I'm going to go smoke a cigarette or I got to go to the bathroom. I'd make some shit up. Oh, yeah. To go catch my breath from performing TED.

Right, socially. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's incredible. I still have an issue with disengaging from conversations. A conversation at a party will die a slow natural death, and I'll go, so what else?

Are you saying that because you're watching me work right now? No, you bastard. No, no, but it's just so funny. That sort of people-pleasing thing as a tough one to kind of let go of and go, you know. The truth is I don't want everybody to like me, you know. I mean, yes, I do. But there are certain people where, you know, anytime I've gone on Twitter or something and someone has said, not like a fair criticism of me or something like that, but like one of the truly cruel and mean thing,

things. And you look at their profile. I always do this. I always like, look, I'm like, who is this person who's saying this very mean thing to me? And it's just a list of horrible things that they're saying to people all over the place. It would be very painful if it was like they were such a nice and lovely person. And it was all about, you know, what charities are supporting. And then they just one jab to me. Jason just pisses me off. Exactly. But for the most part, you know, and so it's always this lake of negativity. And so I've been much better at sort of understanding that and going, I'm not going to be able to clean this lake up and help and get this person to like me and do a, they don't seem like

I would want to be around them. So why am I going, no, but just, you got to change your mind about me. Okay. You just have to. Yeah. I was raised to be nice. I was raised to be sensitive. I was kind of my mother's confidant. My father wasn't as in touch with his emotional side. So I was just really nice, kind, considerate. And my mother had trouble with her dark side. She couldn't deal with petty, mean, anger, anything human, but on the kind of other side of the ledger.

And I kind of grew up that way. And the wonderful thing when you start to realize you're a dick, you're a mean dick, you're capable of horrible, mean things, is then you get to choose. Right. And then being nice has meaning. Right, exactly, because it's not just a performance of a scared person who's, you know, hoping you don't look beneath the mask. You're actually, you know, you're aware that you have the capability of really hurting someone's feelings and you're making the choice.

And do? And do. And absolutely. You can't avoid that. And I mean, I still have a list of every single person that I've, you know, hurt or disappointed in the back of my head. But I, you know, ignoring that doesn't make it go away. Just trying to be nice and offset the pain that I've caused. Yeah. I often say about Mary, because I'm, I still go to my charming card, you know. play that, even though I may not be, I think I am, you know, and I think I'm kind and nice. Yes. Mary is kind, is kind. Yes. That kind of deep kind that changes people's lives. Yes.

I make them happy in the moment. Mary has the ability to change people's lives with her kindness. And, yeah. My wife is the same way. I felt that when I was listening to you guys. She really is. And I remember also when I got to know Mary, just thinking, like, if I could only be so lucky to be with someone this beautiful in every possible way. Just so genuinely kind and lovely and funny and incredibly talented and all of it.

But just like... And you did. And I did. I did. You did. I really did. And it is so funny because it's like, like you said, I'm like, hey, do you like me? All right.

See you later. Melanie. Good talking. Yeah, good talking. All right. Keep that impression of me. And I'll be over here. Meanwhile, Melanie, you know, is, is forging these wonderful, beautiful, deep relationships

and helping people through tough times. And, you know, not to say that I'm like a fair weather friend. I've definitely have been there for people in tough times. But, but yeah, the level of true. kindness that that both of our wives have is pretty inspiring. I love that

I love that you had to meet her a handful of times. Oh my God. Each time anew. Yes. Right? Yeah. I mean, that's just my...

I've learned a lot of things about my brain over the years. Have you ever at a party met the same person coming and going at the end of the party and said, how do you do? Yes, I have done that. Yeah, I always am just

the guy who's going, Do I say, I'll just say nice to see you, just in case. I don't know. I have no idea. I just woke up. I feel, when I saw the movie Memento, I was like, that's what I feel like. Like, what am I doing? I'm at a party.

Okay. Did I meet you? Great. Yeah, we seem like we're friends. No, we're not friends. Okay. Good clue. There was one time where I was crossing the street and I saw, I was getting to the other curb.

And this woman looked over at me and she made a gesture like this. She opened her arms and opened her arms and opened. her mouth and like this. And what I read from that was we know each other. We went to high school together or something. And I gave her a big hug. And as soon as I wrapped my arms around her, I felt her stiffen like this. And I went, oh, sorry. And she was like, I just, I watched this show that she had just recognized me or something like that. But I, I assumed from the social cues that a hug was appropriate. And I was wrong. And I apologized. I have my saving grace is I find when I'm an asshole it's kind of funny yes yes I don't mean

no one else but to me yeah yeah you know oh my god what an assholes you thought that person was waving at you and so you gave a big wave and it's the person behind you oh my gosh I've done that so many times but yeah with Melanie she showed me a picture of the the brunch that we had hosted together a month earlier among other people but yeah it was Yeah, that was an embarrassing moment. You met Melanie many times, but then you really started to get to know before you were sober. Yes, yeah. And that was an impetus, if I'm reading that correctly.

Yes, yes. When you were saying, you had started this work about a year before you met Mary. Or else she would not have even seen me. We would have been going down different hallways. Yeah, absolutely. it was like that in reverse. It was about a year into us having an on and off relationship. And before she went, you know what?

I can't. You can keep drinking, absolutely. But I can't be around. I will, yeah. So totally up to you. And then there was a period of time where I knew that if I had, even one more sip of alcohol that I would never see her again. And I knew that that was a, that was a hard boundary that she had made and she was going to honor it. And it wasn't about

you're a bad person, which may, could have made you defensive. No, it was, it was, it was painful for her. It was confusing. It was, you know, if I, if I went out and I just, my phone died or, you know, something like that, her brain would be wondering and worried and, you know, all these things like this. So it was just, it was too much, it was giving her too much. It was giving her. too much anxiety and she knew that it was unhealthy for her. And so she was like, I, I won't do it anymore. And it was interesting because I had tried to get sober a couple of times before. And then I would, and it is hard at the beginning because when you're one week in, you can have, you can relapse and be at that same place in a week. You know, it's different when

you lose years or something and you're starting over at day one. But you're like, oh, day one was just right there. So I'll just do day one again tomorrow. And you can do that, and I did that for a year or so. And I think in hindsight, I think it was because I didn't really, I wasn't, I didn't really care about, like, myself that much at that point. And so at the beginning of that time with Melanie, I knew that if I took another sip and I started that, thing over that I would lose this forever and I just could never cross that line. And it was easier for me to not cross that line when it was for her than for me, which is weird in hindsight. And now I'm sober for myself, but initially. It's easy to not realize what's really, really at stake. And when you do, it makes all the

difference in the world. Yeah. And then finding out why in having empathy, oh, I totally get why you did that. Oh, yeah. I'm so sorry. I get it. Absolutely. Feeling sorry for that little kid or person or whatever who thought this was the way to go.

Yeah, I know. And it was interesting as well because I had always run away. That was sort of my, you know, emotionally or, I mean, definitely any potential physical fight. I was very fast. So anytime there was a... You did? Oh, yeah. If there was like an issue at a bar or something like that or someone, you know, scooted their chair out, it was just like, hey, let's go to the other... I don't want to get into a fight with this guy. Whatever you think, you're fine. You're right. Let's go. Oh, I thought you were about to say the opposite that you got into fights. Oh, no, I never got into fights. I always would try to avoid it or talk my way out of it. Here, let me

make you laugh for a second. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And so, yeah, I always, I always, I always would run away. And, you know, there have been times where I would get into arguments with other people and it would feel circular or feel like it would never end. And so I just, I would, I started this pattern of running away at the first sign of confrontation. And so without the alcohol and with Melanie, that was the first time that I just had to sit in it and go, I had to remove the tool of running as fast as I could out the door. out of my toolbox of ways to deal with things.

And it was uncomfortable, and it really also helped in a lot of ways because you learn how to communicate differently with each person in your life. You're also blessed, as am I, that you're with a person who will look at her stuff. Absolutely. You know that. So you're encouraged to look at your stuff. Absolutely. Without thinking, oh, I better not let my guard down.

Yes, yes, yeah, that is huge. And she, you know, she has, we've both grown so much from the time that we've met. And I often think that if she had, if she had been a little healthier when we met, we may not have ever, she, you know. She would have recognized yes to her. Oh, no, no, no, no. So we kind of met at this perfect crossroads and then helped each other up and out of it. But yeah, I'm grateful for the work that we've both done. Without signing old and not patronizing, but something, I'm so happy for you.

Thank you. And I'm happy for her. I don't know her, but you guys get to witness each other and laugh and go through life and have a baby and all that stuff. Yes, and our daughter is so very. funny and weird and strange and lovely and she's the best and we feel very very very lucky but yeah i you know it's funny because you the alcohol had told me all of these things about myself that i believed were true that i couldn't be responsible i at a certain point i thought i i knew i would love to be a father but i thought based on my um behavior over the first 30 years of my life i went i don't

maybe I'm not responsible enough. Maybe I can't do it and maybe I just have to let that go. So the fact that once I took the alcohol away and then, you know, it's like that Bugs Bunny cartoon where the monster gets some powder sprinkled on and then it's just tiny and very manageable. It's still there. Yes, it's true. But I can go, all right, it'll take you a couple months to walk back. Yeah, exactly. So what a hoot.

Yeah. Also, something just stuck in my mind and we can edit it out. No, we won't. It sounds, sorry, boy, we can edit this part out, the stumbling part. But my thought was this morning driving and how proud your father is and your mother is about how you, who, you are. You know, you reflect them really beautifully. Thank you for saying that. Yeah. I, yeah, I, I know my mom is proud of me and I, I feel that my dad would be proud of me. You know, I, I, it's funny when someone goes away, you sort of, you can still kind of have

conversations. You know them so well at a certain point that you can, imagine what they might, how they might react to a thing here or there. And so I definitely, I definitely feel, I mean, he really loved all of us kids so fiercely and really believed in us in a beautiful and intense way. And so I, yeah, I can definitely make myself feel that. There are also times where I just, I feel his absence so keenly, you know. His absence. Yeah. Not to his absence from your mind or your heart, but just his physical. Just the physical absence. You know, like, something amazing and wonderful will happen.

And I'll just go, oh, yeah. You know, what if he was right here? How old were you when John passed? I was 23. I was the oldest. So I, you know, everyone else got even less time. But, but yeah, it was a, it was a, it was definitely, I had to work really hard to understand that that was the whole story,

that that was the whole book of my time on this earth with him. And initially it just felt like, no, there's got, there's more chapters. Someone ripped out the back, but I'll find that back somehow. And to sort of just see the beauty in the time. that we had together was you know it was hard to get there but I appreciate our

entire relationship a lot more now yeah but but yeah it must have been hard to because you weren't just dealing with your grief your family's grief you had to deal with the entire

world you had to host the entire world's feeling of loss for your dad because it was so out of the blue and he was so beloved it shook people's oh dear lord if it can happen to him you know kind of all of that you had to host too must have been it is it's it's amazing i mean there's there's there's will still be times where i'll meet someone and they'll all know what's happening almost immediately they'll usually say your dad and then they will well up And I know that we're about to go back to this place that now I've processed more and I have ups and downs and grief is such a strange boat to be in.

But yeah, where I experience it with someone who is fresh in it or seeing me somehow evokes this emotional reaction. It's really beautiful. There are also sometimes pretty early in my relationship with Melanie. we were on a date and we were at this restaurant and we were sitting at a bar and this woman on the corner asked me if I was my dad's son and I said oh my God I loved him

and she did kind of get emotional and she just started to say how much she loved my dad and then she just went RIP and just started talking to her friend again but it was such a barrage and then she just turned around

and Melanie was right there, and she had never seen that before. And so I spent about the next two minutes just talking to this woman's bag and I'm like, thank you so much for bringing it. I haven't talked to even some of my best friends about it, but I really appreciate you. This is so...

You know, and I think my dad was really wonderful at finding the funny moments, even in the midst of pain. One of the stories that I remember, which is very similar to this one, was when his father passed, a guy from his college went up to one and one. Hey, man, I heard about your dad.

Condoles. Oh, I have to use that one. Oh, it's so. Condoles. Don't have time for the full, for the full word. I am that person, by the way. Mary's watched me go from, bless your heart. Not in that southern phony way,

but my mother always said, oh, bless your heart. And Menda. Then I went to bless you. And now she's saying, do you realize you just say, bless? Oh, bless. That's so great. I'm going to ask you a sign. Let me add one more thing, and then we can move on.

We'll start dishing on your dad in a minute. Oh, yeah. No, no. Does your dad ever hop in when you're acting and go for a ride? Mine does. I can literally go, where the fuck did that come from? Oh. Oh yeah. Did you enjoy the ride there, Dad? And he will literally, everything will come out slightly like my dad.

That, yes, that definitely happens to me. And often would happen, yeah, in auditions, you know, I would come in and I would do it the way I had practiced, you know, a hundred times and it was probably kind of rigid and, you know, and then, uh, every once in a while, a cast and director go, try it this way. And I go, oh, that's great. I have no idea what to do there. And I just sort of jump off the cliff

and try it. And there have been times where those have been, you know, the best moments in my auditions. And I'm like, that didn't feel like I did that. And I also can see it sometimes,

you know, and I don't even, I'm not aware of all of the ways in which he influenced me. So sometimes I'll be watching Matlock or something and I'll go, oh my gosh, that was just so his face, which is weird because I've had people tell me that, but it's, I haven't, I'm seeing it more and more myself now.

I mean, sometimes I do it purposefully or it just feels liberating to me. If I, if I think of my dad, all of a sudden, some boundaries or stiffness disappearing, but also sometimes I swear it's like, and I'm jumping in, this is too much fun. Yes, exactly. Absolutely. Absolutely. Matt Locke. Yeah.

Very cool. Very fun. And you had, wait a minute, I was about to say, and nobody knows you're the bad guy? Clearly they do. Yes, they do. I wouldn't have known. But what was that like? How long, wait, when did you find out?

I found out. I found out that I had, that Julian had hidden the documents about four episodes before that the episode where you find out. So. Month or two. Yeah, month or two, which was very exciting. And it's so much fun. It's fun to play a character that some people, you know, are just like, I hate this guy. Let's put him in jail, Melanie being one of them.

And then other people going, no, his father influenced him, poor guy, you know. I love that there's varying opinions on him. It's really fun. We attempted to turn the corner and twirl your mustache. I always am tempted to twirl my mustache. But I love, you know, I think one of the things that I love about this character is he for sure, he knows he made a mistake, but he cannot take in the fact that he did this horrible thing. Everything is sort of, you know, what we do, we justify it to ourselves,

or we blame somebody else, or we, you know, we don't take full. accountability of our actions or at least we don't take into stock the ramifications of what we did. So, you know, he's up to this point. He has up to the point in the first season when you find out, he's been, you know, living his life, being a pretty good dad. He has a very deep, dark secret that he's put way far back in the closet. And he's just hoping that his good deeds will offset that in the future. And pardon my ignorance. Are you coming back? I am coming back. I am coming back. Yeah.

So you're to get your come-up. Yes, yeah. We'll see. We'll see. It's the finale's coming right up. And we, yeah, we just finished shooting all of it. So I know the whole story up to the end of the season two. And I don't know what season three is going to be like. I'm very excited to see what they come up with. It's just exciting to have season three. I know. I didn't think it existed. Lord, nowadays it's interesting. Thank you.

I know. No, it's a great show. Thank you. Great show. I think we've had quite enough of that. Yeah. I'm terrible in secrets. I've told this before, but on the good place, my character, you start out thinking he's one of the architects that's just in the good place, you know, that you're, I'm a good guy.

And when it was pitched to me early on, and to Kristen Bell, we were the only people, not even the only people, not even the, the directors who were hired or any of the other actors knew that I was actually, no way. You know, torturing them because I actually was, you know, on the dark side. Yes, yes. And you find out at the very, you'll find out at the very end of season one, I was told. Wow. So my friend, John Krasinski, this is right before we started shooting, was going off to make some, you know, big, huge movie and become

you know, this big, huge movie star. I know. And he said, so what are you up to? What's going out with you? And wanted to impress my friend. Not that I'm competitive. I'm only competitive with people 30 years younger than me. But I said, well, you know, your friend, Mike Shore, because you did the office with Mike Shore.

We're doing a show called The Good Place, and it takes place in heaven. And I'm the architect that builds and designs the heaven for the people who are coming passing over. And I saw him kind of nodding, going, okay, I got it. Behind his eyes, I thought he was saying, yeah, okay, it's the office, but in heaven, God. And I saw that, I went, no, no, no, you don't understand it. Oh, my gosh. And I had to pretend that I hadn't. We were called into the office and said, don't, you know, don't tell anybody and to ruin this. And I had to, like, eat it and finally confess. we have to kill John Cresensky.

Yes. I'm sorry. I did call them. I said, please don't. My career's in your hands. Oh my gosh. I am also like that with secrets. I'm like that Kristen Whig character who's just chewing on her sweater, trying not to spill it.

I'm more her character. Oh, yeah. Mollie Shannon. Mollie Shannon. So good. God, they're funny. Funny ladies. Funny ladies.

So did I read that you are here that you just got cast in? Yes, in The Last of Us. The Last of Us, sorry. Yes, yeah. Well, that's exciting. It's really exciting. I was a huge fan of the video games, and Melanie got apart in the first season. And I remember, because she had just gone from, she had this period of time.

It was pretty, it was like from six months after our daughter's birth, there was a period of time where she just was working one after the other. And the last of us came along and she was like, I'm so tired. No, and after this, you can just, you have to do this. And then you can rest. But so she did it. And Craig Mason, the showrunner and one of the head guys over there with Neil Druckman who did the video games, he knew that I was a big fan of the games.

And in the first season, he allowed me to be one of the infected clickers in this big stunt scene. And so that was really fun. And I kind of thought, well, my dream has been fulfilled. I'm technically in this game somewhere. So the fact that I get to actually come back as a character is just so, so exciting. When do you start that? I did. I've done two days already.

And I have, I think I have another day in a couple weeks. And then I'm done. When do you do start Matlock? September. And that's just right here at Paramount, which is really lucky as well. I love Paramount. That's so nice. It really is nice. Mary and I got to work together the second season of a man on the inside that Mike Schur wrote and directed.

He's amazing. But oh my God, it was just delicious to work with her. That's so, yeah. Melanie and I have gotten to work together a handful of times, and it's always just so fun. She's just so, she's so fun to work with. I mean, aside from, you know, being married to her, she's so funny. She's always so in the moment. And it's really fun. I hate people who are always in the moment.

I'm 50-50. Me too. Me too. I'm like, yeah, I'm in the moment, but I also planned a couple things just in case the moment's not, just in case the moment's not exciting enough. Just got a couple things in my back pocket.

In case, uh... Yeah, or just the fact that you say, boy, I'm really in the moment. Oh, yeah, I know. I've done that too. There was a time I remember I got back from my first year of acting school in New York, and we were really talking about listening a lot. I remember I came back, and a friend of mine was telling me this story,

and all of a sudden I realized how much I was listening to him. And I was like, oh, wow, so this is what really listening feels like. I am just paying attention to everywhere. And then he asked a question, and I was so excited that I was really paying attention that I had just fully taken all that attention and put it back on myself. It's hard. It's hard to just stay in the moment.

How old is your daughter? She's seven. She turned seven December. Oh, oh, you're in it. I'm deep in it. Yeah, she's a first grader. She's no longer under your thumb. No, she's wild.

She's getting feedback from all over. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Wow. She's, uh... What is seventh? Is that second grade? First grade.

First grade. still in first grade. And yeah, she's, she's, she still is very attached to both of us, but I can see the, the teenager starting to peek through, you know, there's a couple of like, earlier and earlier. Yeah. That kind of stuff. Any concept of what you do for a living, both of you?

Yeah, she sort of has an idea, but. Could care less. Yeah, she's a little bit like, there, I, there was one time. where she said to us, guys, is it okay that I don't want to be an actor? And we're like, yes, of course. We're not like going to force you into it.

That would be so horrible. But yeah, she has some idea of it, but then she'll also say things like, I wish your character would die on Matlock. And I'm like, no, you don't. Please don't say that. But she wants to spend one time. dressed you're wearing. Yes, exactly. Very lucky. It's a very tough time out there right now. So let's just

hold on to it as long as possible. Oh, we take our granddaughters. We have, wow, 14. 14. 13, no, not 14. Oh, my gosh. We have 14. Our kids are very prolific. I was going to say. I thought I thought I. We have five. Yeah, that's, that's, that seems right. That's the number I would have had in my head. A couple of one-year-olds.

And then Lily has, four, and Charlie have 14-year-old, 13-year-old almost. Incredible. Yeah, and an eight, nine-year-old. I just got them all wrong. But that's all right. That's all right. You can air it when they all are that specific age. But, you know, you.

You think, oh, you'll take them to work and it'll be so cool for them to watch you work. And then you ask them later, never has craft service been, you know, not the number one on their list. That's reasons to go to work with you. That was our daughter's favorite. She was like, so you're telling me that all of this candy is just free. I can just grab it and take. Like, yeah, I mean, I don't think you should eat all the candy, but yes, yeah, you can just go up to this booth. Were you working early enough in your life that craft service went from donuts and coffee and bagels and cream trees to this astounding spread that sometimes you eat instead of lunch?

Yes, absolutely. Yeah, it was initially it just felt like, are you a little bit hungry? Here's something. Here's something to put in your stomach until the real food comes. And now, yeah, now they have all these options and choices. Yeah. Yeah, I feel like in the craft service world, it's gotten competitive, so they have to really step it up. And a lot of people going, I need healthy options.

So now there's healthy options there. And it's great. It's really great. And unlimited coffee. Yeah. Switching gears. The world today. Yes.

How are you doing? I mean, I wrestle with how I'm doing. Am I doing anything or enough? is caring and spreading love and hope anything? No, probably not enough. Am I taking action here, maybe not there? I'm always wrestling with it.

Can I ask you where you are and we don't have to get political? Yes, no, I absolutely. I mean, you know, I... One of the things that I've felt is that it's very hard to change someone's... mind, even in your own family or, you know, a lot of people have to just have to like learn things for themselves and won't understand something or think you're lying or think you're telling.

And so I never know what I never know what to do. I always feel like sometimes what I've done is basically just behind the scenes. I've donated and I've tried to do things here. Especially Twitter has felt like such a different place now that going on and saying something is, it just feels like it's opening myself up to some of the worst comments from other people. And, you know, maybe that's not the worst thing in the world, but I just have felt like the hard thing

is to know where to put your attention to affect the most change. And I also think that, you know, trying to... I struggle with all of this as well, because I've always been a uniter and I've tried to make people get along and I've tried to add joy and laughter and kindness and it doesn't feel, it feels ineffective and it feels weak in the midst of all of this chaos. And so it's a constant struggle. I don't know what to do. I follow a lot of people and I listen and I watch them and I and I don't know. I always feel like I should be doing more and I don't know what that is,

the most effective way is aside from trying to be the best person that or, you know, try to do instead of show. I guess that's, that's what I've, where I'm at. And I always, yeah, I, I, I always, I don't, I, I never know. It's just gotten so crazy in the last couple of years that I, I'm just hoping, it seems like every step down into hell we get, there are more and more people who seem to be going, wait a second, this doesn't seem like what I was promised. And I'm hoping that that waking up keeps going. Yeah, and I don't think my voice and perhaps yours is the voice that like you said will change minds

because we're predictable. you know, they've already made their assumption about us. Right, exactly. But people who are in the same world or have changed their mind or are going, wait a second, are probably the hope. Yes. But it doesn't mean that we, because there's trickle down. There's, you know, there are ripples that kindness, love, joy, hope, nurturing, you know,

No, kindness does have a ripple effect. And it's all I know anyway. I don't mean I'm saying like. I mean, but it's the only thing I know that I care about putting out. Yes, absolutely. And it is my lane. So, you know, for me, it all of a sudden jump on the ramparts and start throwing rocks. It's not my comfort zone, but it's also not something that I, whatever, it's not me.

Yes, exactly. I do feel like empathy seems to have become an undervalued quality, or at least I've seen so many people almost revel in their lack of empathy to certain groups. And so even just to stand for someone who, to stand and to be someone who cares about people and doesn't want, you know, doesn't put one group over another or something like that. I hope people understand, you know, the end game of that. And, and, and, but I do feel like some people won't get that lesson until it happens to them. They, it's, you know, that people have a real, they can have a real sort of dog-eat-dog kind of view of the world. And, and I think,

you know, the more that we help each other and want to help each other and and say that having empathy for your fellow human is a good thing to have. But yeah, it's a really painful, dark time. Yep. I constantly feel like, is there more I could be doing? Is it effective? Am I being a coward? am I, what, you know, what, what can I do?

And then on the other hand, there are these causes that I care very much about that are battles that are outside of that I, you know, that I advocate for. With people who get joy from fighting. Yes. Fighting justified, you know, the legal battle. Yes, absolutely. You know, absolutely. Exactly.

So, yeah. But I think in terms of, I, I, I, I, try to make sure that people in that I know personally and in my life and that you know and even people that I've forged friendships with online that we are all being safe as possible and helping each other in the shadows it you know it's just it's a scary time where they you know they say like hey we know every single person who criticize this thing on Twitter now we have a list of you guys It's scary as a father to think about that. So, you know, to be doing as much as you can behind the scenes is at least something, if not, you know.

I just had this funny thought of somebody out listening to us going, oh, I guess what's your saying, Ted, is that it's hard to be a rich, old white male in America. I know. I'm literally sweating. I know. I mean, that's the thing is I see so many people who are being so incredibly brave and, you know, don't have the privileges that I enjoyed and, you know, and they're braver and better people than me. So I try to amplify some of their voices sometimes, but yeah, I always am like, what I need to be doing more. I don't. I'm in a panic about it.

sometimes I ask people what they're kind of North Star, what they're guiding, you know, their moral compass. It feels like Melanie is a big part of that. She is. She really is. She's incredible. She's fearless and fearless in her kindness and goodness. And, you know, I think it's, I think she's very resilient and in some ways that I am more fearful. you know, not in ways that I'm proud of, but yeah.

I so like you. I like you, too. I like you, Jason. I like you too. I cannot thank you enough. I have no idea how much time we've spent, but I can't thank you enough. Oh, my gosh.

It makes me feel so happy. I'm so happy to see you. And all our kids and much love and Mary and all of that. And someday I'd love to hang with your wife. Yeah, that'd be amazing. I would love that. You could have a little hangout, dinner party. We'll bring younger people, too.

There you go, yeah. Just in case you start looking over my shoulder. Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Yeah. So nice. Thank you, Jason Ritter.

Catch him in Matlock, airing Thursdays 9 p.m. Eastern Pacific on CBS. That's it for this week. Special thanks to Team Coco. If you've enjoyed this episode, please send it to a loved one. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app and maybe give us a great rating and review on Apple Podcasts if you're in the mood. If you like watching your podcasts, all our full-length episodes are on YouTube. Visit YouTube.com slash Team Coco. See you next time.

Everybody knows your name. You've been listening to Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Dan. and Woody Harrelson sometimes. The show is produced by me, Nick Leow, our executive producers are Adam Sacks, Jeff Ross, and myself. Sarah Federovich is our supervising producer,

engineering and mixing by Joanna Samuel with support from Eduardo Perez. Research by Alyssa Graal, talent booking by Paula Davis and Gina Battista. Our theme music is by Woody Harrelson, Anthony Yen, Mary Steenbergen, and John Osmore.